"Brother Duan, what did you say about our soldiers yesterday?" Xia Hongsheng sat in the tent, raised his head and said to Duan Zan next to him.

"Very good, my father was full of praise when I went back." Duan Zan seemed to be in a good mood.

Xia Hongsheng nodded: "Then why didn't you say anything about Your Majesty?" Not to mention how many levels our brothers have been promoted, why don't we have to reward a hundred taels of gold and a few strong cows or something? ”

"The holy will is unpredictable, you can't speculate, be careful of being heard." Duan Zan smiled helplessly and shook his head.

Xia Hongsheng was about to speak, when he suddenly heard a soldier coming outside, Xia Hongsheng asked him to come in, and saw a sergeant leading a palace guard in. As soon as they saw that it was the palace guard, Xia Hongsheng and Duan Zan stood up.

"I've seen the two generals, Your Majesty has an order to summon Captain Xia to the palace for a while." The palace guard said to Xia Hongsheng.

Xia Hongsheng smiled and shrugged his shoulders, Li Shimin summoned him, this was within his expectations, if he saw this kind of military training method, and didn't call Xia Hongsheng over to ask for clarification, it would not be the Emperor of the Ages. Xia Hongsheng explained a few words to Duan Zhan, and then left the barracks with the janissary guard and went to the palace to fight horses.

It's still the royal garden, it's still the same pavilion. Xia Hongsheng went over to meet Li Shimin and sat opposite Li Shimin. As soon as he sat down, Wang De, who was standing next to him, put down a pair of dishes and chopsticks, and then saw a few yellow doors coming over with a few small dishes and placing them on the table in front of him.

"Haha, Xia Qing has an empty stomach today? I have a little leisure today, so I invited Xia Qing to come and talk about it. Li Shimin said with a smile: "After watching Xia Qing's training yesterday, I have many questions in my heart, there are no monarchs and ministers here today, I hope Xia Qing can let go of his caution and have a good chat with me." ”

"This ...... Wechen obeyed. Xia Hongsheng bowed forward and replied.

Li Shimin took a bite of the dish and ate it, and said: "I often hear Ke'er and Changle talk about it, but Qing is quite good at this way of cooking. The two of them were thinking about Xia Qing's family's food, but they didn't even let the imperial chef in this palace think about it so much. ”

"Well, thanks to His Royal Highness the King of Han and His Royal Highness the Princess, Weichen has no other hobbies, but he likes to eat this mouthful, so he likes to make some food by himself, if Your Majesty can afford to taste it, the minister should do it for Your Majesty." Xia Hongsheng bowed and said.

"Okay, let's not hide it, I've been listening to Ke'er and Changle all day long, but I've been salivating for a long time! Hahaha......" Li Shimin laughed: "I am very confused, Xia Qing is only thirteen years old, but where did you learn all these things?" Don't talk about it, just talk about the method of leading soldiers yesterday, boy, don't lie to me again, say that you came up with it yourself. I have been fighting horses for half my life, the Emperor Taishang was named the king of Qin with my military merits, promoted to the general of Tiance, the fierce generals in my Tiance army are like clouds, Li Jing and Li Shiqi are all handsome talents of my Tang Dynasty, Qu Tutong and Duan Zhixuan are strict in governing the troops, and they are extremely strict in leading the army, which of them is not a soldier who has brought a lifetime, but they have never been able to come up with such a method of leading troops. I don't believe you came up with it yourself. ”

Xia Hongsheng chuckled in his heart, and immediately understood the purpose of Li Laoer's summoning him today.

Xia Hongsheng had already considered this matter a long time ago, no one would not be curious about the origin of his advanced knowledge, this set of rhetoric Xia Hongsheng had already prepared, with that rhetoric, even if he didn't believe it, no one could say that it was wrong. After all, this is an ancient time, not an atheistic afterlife, and it coincides with the era when Taoism was prevalent, so this statement is ambiguous, it is difficult to distinguish between right and wrong, and it is very suitable to be used to fool around.

"It's not that the minister doesn't want to say it, it's just that I'm afraid that it will be difficult for anyone to believe it. Master Yan had asked the same question before, and the minister had told Master Yan truthfully. Xia Hongsheng said to Li Laoer: "Since Your Majesty wants to know, the minister will naturally not hide it, but he is afraid that it will be unbelievable...... In fact, once before, the minister followed his sister-in-law to Laojun Mountain to collect firewood, the minister was young, and after walking for a while, he couldn't walk, and while his sister-in-law was looking for spring vegetables around, he fell asleep against a bluestone. Then in a trance, he got up and saw a white-bearded old man coming and grazing cattle, so the minister went over to help. That cow is really big, and the minister standing there is not as tall as the green cow. The minister saw that the old man was very old, and his hair and beard were gray, so he went up to help. The old man seemed to be a little surprised by the appearance of the minister, and then said that the minister had a fate with him, and then stroked the minister's head with his hand and said a verse, but it was: Bai Yujing in the sky, five cities on the twelfth floor. The immortals caressed my top, and my hair was immortalized. I don't understand what it means, and then I was confused, and after waking up, there were a lot of things in my head, but it was vague, as if I had a very long dream, and I couldn't remember anything on weekdays, and sometimes I suddenly saw something, and I suddenly felt that there was something about this thing in my head, and if I didn't encounter it, I might not be able to remember these things for the rest of my life. Your Majesty, that's what it looks like. ”

Li Shimin didn't speak, and Xia Hongsheng observed his expression. I've already said it to this point, the old man with white hair and white beard, and the green cow, this hint is obvious enough!

"What's the name of the mountain?" Li Shimin was silent for a while, and asked with a raised brow.

"Laojun Mountain." Xia Hongsheng said.

Li Shimin was silent again. Xia Hongsheng didn't speak, he was talking about the self-styled ancestor of your Li family, in this way, Li Lao Er didn't have anything to say, could he question whether his ancestor didn't exist?

"Xia Qing, come, eat vegetables." Li Lao Er smiled and gave way, Wang De next to him added wine, Li Shimin pointed to the wine again, and asked Xia Hongsheng: "I heard Ke'er say that Qing wants to do business with Ke'er, and can you make the best wine that can't be compared to Sanle pulp?" ”

"Poof-" Xia Hongsheng squirted out a sip of wine as soon as he took his mouth, how could Li Ke even tell Li Lao Er about this!

"Hehe, Xia Qing doesn't have to be surprised, I just didn't bother to hear Ke'er and Changle talking." Li Lao Er smiled like an old fox, and said to Xia Hongsheng: "I'm curious, what's the matter, Xia Qing is not enough to support the family?" ”

Well, it's not interesting to ask that, how many people in the court can support this big family by relying on Yulu alone? There are old and young, and there are so many servants, how can they be supported by that mere wealth? That one nobleman doesn't have some property in his family? Those who have no property and can still support their families are corrupt officials! Of course, except for Wei Shuyu's father, there are not many servants in his family, and Wei Shuyu has never eaten or eaten brocade, which can be seen from the simple clothes he wears on weekdays.

But having said that, officials are still not allowed to do business on the surface, so at this time, Li Lao Er was exposed like this, and immediately Xia Hongsheng's forehead oozed sweat, and he hurriedly said: "This and this...... The minister is also a fist for the heart of the country, please also ask Your Majesty to be clear! ”

"Oh?" Li Lao Er looked like he was watching a good show: "Xia Qing's business move, or to serve the country?" I have to listen to what Xia Qing said. ”

Xia Hongsheng bowed forward and said, "Your Majesty, the Turks like to drink the most, and the wine made by the ministers is definitely a strong wine that the Turks have never tasted, and they will definitely like it." Your Majesty, do you remember what the minister said about the economic war? Since the Turks like spirits, this wine must be bought, but they don't have the skills of the ministers, so they can't make it themselves, so they can only buy it from our Datang. We can sell it to him several times the price! Too expensive? Don't buy it if it's too expensive! They won't do it themselves anyway. In this way, we have not only strengthened the Turkic dependence on Datang, but also been able to earn all the wealth of the Turks into the hands of my Datang, killing two birds with one stone, why not? Moreover, since the minister is in business, he naturally has to pay taxes, and the more wine he sells, the more taxes he pays to the state, and the more wealth the country has. Not only alcohol, but also any other business must pay taxes to the state. Since His Majesty ascended the throne, he has changed the phenomenon of emphasizing agriculture and suppressing commerce throughout the ages, and has promoted agriculture and commerce at the same time, which is a good thing and also a wise thing for His Majesty. The development of commerce can bring great wealth to the country, not only in taxes, but also in various other aspects. The minister has an idea, but it is not easy, so the minister is to explore the way for His Majesty first and find the best way. ”

"What thoughts?" Li Lao Er drank a glass of wine and asked.

"I don't dare to say it yet." Xia Hongsheng shook his head: "Maybe, after saying it, even if Your Majesty doesn't blame, the minister won't end well." ”

Li Shimin frowned, his eyes froze suddenly, and he asked in a deep voice: "But it has something to do with this tax word?" ”

Xia Hongsheng was noncommittal, but was silent.

Li Shimin slowly took a breath, and then lowered his voice: "Okay, let me let you find a way." If the road is unclear, it's best not to say it! ”

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Xia Hongsheng bowed forward and thanked him.

The development of commerce is the inevitable for the social form of a society to move towards a higher level, but it needs a foundation, and the current Datang does not have this foundation.

The tax system of the early Tang Dynasty was inherited and developed from the Sui Dynasty, which was based on the equalization of land and was restricted by the feudal land management system, which firmly bound people to the land. The development of commerce, on the other hand, required the emancipation of a large number of people from the land. However, the limitations of the productive forces doomed the population to face a desperate situation of severe food shortage once a large number of people were liberated from the shackles of land. Therefore, if you want to develop commerce, you must first solve the food problem, and then you can further liberate the population from the land, engage in business, and change the tax system.

In Xia Hongsheng's heart, one day, the tax of commerce will completely replace the tax revenue obtained by the state from the farmers, but now, it is still only, and can only be an idea, before this, there are too many problems to solve. Li Lao Er understands this and will say this.