Thief Emperor

Chapter 1067 Difficult, Difficult, Difficult

In Yongshou Palace, the mother and son were finally able to meet.

When she saw her son return safely, Consort Liu could still hold back her tears. But when she saw the arrow and knife wounds on her son's body, the already gentle Consort Liu burst into tears.

Even the tall and imposing King Yue couldn't help but shed tears.

Emperor Li sighed silently to the side. He took Consort Liu's hand and said softly, "Sister Su, he has loved martial arts since he was a child. It's his nature. Since it's his nature, it's inevitable that he will get injured."

"Back in my day, didn't I also fight my way through countless battles?"

Empress Liu wiped away her tears and looked at Li Yun: "How could you have such terrible wounds on your body?"

Emperor Li was speechless.

Having been husband and wife for many years, Consort Liu was naturally very familiar with what the Emperor possessed.

In his early years, Emperor Li did indeed frequently charge into battle, but because he was so fierce, he almost never suffered any serious injuries. He only sustained minor cuts and injuries that did not even leave any scars.

The only time he was in real danger was when a sharpshooter got close and shot him with an arrow. This arrow was blocked by the current Imperial Guard General, Marquis Yang Xi, and Yang Xi's ennoblement was at least 70% due to this arrow.

Apart from that, Li Yun didn't really have any major injuries.

"That's because Erlang is not as good as his father, me, on the battlefield."

His Majesty the Emperor said with a smile, "Back when I first started out in Jiangdong, I led a dozen or so guards and fought my way through enemy lines more than a dozen times before escaping unscathed."

He smiled and said, "Many of the generals in the court today were defeated by me back then."

Upon hearing this, His Highness the Prince of Yue smiled and said, "I heard about this from General Yu. General Yu said that back then, my father almost single-handedly leveled their village."

At this point, His Highness the Prince of Yue looked down at his hands and shook his head, saying, "Compared to Father Emperor, I am still far inferior."

Emperor Li patted his shoulder and said with a smile, "When I was young, I learned a breathing method. After practicing it, it became second nature to me. I don't know if it's because of this that I am so strong and healthy. Come to the palace in a few days and I will teach you this breathing method."

His Highness the Prince of Yue's eyes lit up, and he beamed with joy: "Thank you, Father!"

Empress Liu shook her head helplessly, "You and your son are the Emperor and a prince, respectively. You are already incredibly noble in the world. Why do you always talk like warriors when you meet?"

His Majesty the Emperor smiled, lowered his head to drink his tea, and said nothing.

His Highness the Prince of Yue was still quite afraid of his mother, so he forced a smile and said, "It's always a good thing for your son to learn something from your father, isn't it?"

Consort Liu shook her head, about to speak, when the Third Princess, Afu, came running in from outside the palace gate. She rushed to the Prince of Yue, grabbed his sleeve, and jumped up and down, saying, "Second Brother, when did you come back?"

His Highness the King of Yue hugged his younger sister tightly and said with a smile, "She came back yesterday and came to see Little Afu today."

Consort Liu frowned: "Why didn't you bow to your father? Have you no manners?"

Emperor Li, sipping tea, smiled and said, "It's alright, it's alright."

"Please continue, my beloved consort."

In public, His Majesty the Emperor was too embarrassed to refer to Consort Liu as "Sister Su" anymore, since she was already around forty years old.

Empress Liu nodded and continued, "Before you came back, your father and I had already discussed it. The first thing we would do upon your return is to arrange your marriage. After you are married, we will consider the matter of you being enfeoffed."

His Highness the Prince of Yue held his younger sister, looked at his parents, and bowed slightly, saying, "These are all the orders of my parents, Father and Mother. I dare not say anything more."

As he spoke, His Highness the Prince of Yue looked at his father with some curiosity and asked, "By the way, Father, we've had such a bad falling out with the Tibetans, haven't they said anything?"

Upon hearing this, Emperor Li put down his teacup and said in a daze, "You'll know once you go to the Ministry of Rites' guild hall."

He said slowly, "From February to now, June, three groups of Tibetan envoys have come and they haven't left yet. There are about a hundred of them in total."

His Majesty the Emperor smiled and said, "Every day we argue with the people from the Ministry of Rites and the Bureau of Foreign Affairs, saying that our Li family is untrustworthy."

Upon hearing this, His Highness the King of Yue touched his nose, somewhat embarrassed.

His Majesty the Emperor remained calm and composed: "It's no problem. Let them argue. Among so many scholars, there are bound to be a few who are good at arguing."

"Ignore it, let's just do what we need to do."

His Highness the King of Yue embraced his younger sister, pinched the Third Princess's cheek, and said with a smile.

"Father is wise."

…………

In July, the weather became increasingly hot and dry.

Even His Majesty the Emperor could not bear it, so he placed some ice blocks in the Ganlu Hall to cool off, and had palace maids serve him in the hall to fan him and cool him down.

That afternoon, Prime Minister Du, dressed in casual clothes, entered the Ganlu Hall, wiping away sweat. After bowing to the Emperor, he remarked, "This summer is strangely hot. It's much cooler here, Your Majesty."

His Majesty the Emperor looked at Du Qian and asked, "Didn't the eunuchs supply ice to the Secretariat?"

Du Qian shook his head: "I didn't see it."

His Majesty the Emperor frowned and called out, "Gu Chang, Gu Chang."

Eunuch Gu jogged in, bowing slightly.

The emperor frowned and said, "Send some ice from the palace ice cellar to all of you gentlemen every day. In this heat, don't let yourselves suffer from heatstroke."

Eunuch Gu groaned inwardly, but dared not say anything more, and could only bow his head and say, "This servant obeys." Seeing that his expression was not right, Emperor Li said again, "The ice cellars in the palace are not enough, so use the imperial treasury to buy some outside the palace. I estimate that the ice won't last much longer, so don't try to save money in these places."

Gu Chang then responded with a deep bow: "This servant obeys."

After he left, Li Yun looked at Du Qian and said with a smile, "Brother Shouyi, what brings you here?"

"Return to Your Majesty."

Du Qian hurriedly said, "Zhang Sui sent an official document to the Secretariat today, reporting on the new policies in Jiangdong and Jinling Prefecture. After receiving the document, I dared not delay and came to report to Your Majesty immediately."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Li said, "Speak."

"Yes."

Minister Du said with a smile, "Your Majesty is wise and insightful. The new policies in Jiangdong are being implemented very well. The Maritime Trade Tax Office of the Ministry of Revenue has been established. In just one month of June, the tax revenue collected by this tax office amounted to 90 million coins."

Upon hearing this amount, Emperor Li was taken aback for a moment, then looked at Du Qian with annoyance: "Ninety thousand strings of cash is ninety thousand strings of cash, why say ninety million?"

Minister Du lowered his head slightly and said with a smile, "This is the number Zhang Sui reported; I was just reading it aloud."

He paused, then continued, "Your Majesty, this Maritime Customs Service has only just been established, and to have this amount is already quite remarkable."

"In the future, there will definitely be more and more."

Du Qian said, "If it were even better, it could really replace most of the local land tax."

"I know."

His Majesty the Emperor looked at Du Qian and said, "It's only been a month since it started, and it's already this much. That's at least a million strings of cash a year. If it's implemented throughout the country, the court will have an extra ten million strings of cash in tax revenue every year."

"Even so, it's already quite a lot, providing the imperial court with at least 20-30% of its revenue, but..."

The emperor looked at Du Qian and asked, "Was it really that smooth?"

Du Qian paused for a moment, then remained silent.

Li Yun gestured for him to sit down and speak.

After Du Qian sat down, Emperor Li quietly expressed his concerns.

"I'm afraid those local people are ganging up on me to make me happy."

Upon hearing this, Prime Minister Du lowered his head slightly. After hesitating for a moment, he said, "Whether it's to please His Majesty or not, things are progressing. Moreover, the government is now efficient and clear-cut, and His Majesty is discerning. They wouldn't dare to falsify anything."

"We dare not falsify anything."

His Majesty the Emperor said calmly, "There are so many merchants in Jiangdong. Whether they make money or not, they all go to the Maritime Trade Office to pay taxes. This is legitimate income, and no one can find out anything wrong with it."

As he spoke, His Majesty the Emperor squinted and said, "I suppose he's worried that I'll become suspicious. Otherwise, with so many wealthy merchants in Jiangdong, it wouldn't be a problem to multiply that number several times over."

Merchants are profit-driven, and under normal circumstances, it is very difficult to get them to voluntarily pay taxes.

Even with Li Yun's reputation in Jiangdong, it would be difficult to achieve.

But things are different now. His Highness the Crown Prince is in Jinling, and he is the one overseeing this matter. If it's to curry favor with the future heir of this country...

Don't even mention 100,000 strings of cash; even a million strings of cash would be a small amount.

Minister Du smiled wryly and said, "If that's what Your Majesty thinks, then we'll have to wait until His Highness the Crown Prince returns to court before considering it further."

"but…"

Du Qian lowered his head slightly and said, "Zhang Sui and his group wouldn't have such audacity. I believe this number is accurate. If they dare to collude with the local gentry to deceive their superiors and cover up the truth..."

"I will be the first to not forgive him."

His Majesty the Emperor waved his hand: "Enough, enough. This isn't something that can be resolved in a month or two, or a year or two. We agreed on five years, so it's five years. We'll see how it goes in five years."

Du Xiangong bowed his head in agreement, and when he raised his head again, he glanced at the emperor's desk.

On the emperor's desk were two stacks of documents. One stack was sent by Qian Zhongshu, while the other stack, which must have been sent by the Nine Departments or some other government office, was also piled up thickly.

Minister Du glanced silently at the stack of documents, then looked away.

His Majesty the Emperor was rubbing his temples when he sensed Prime Minister Du's gaze. He glanced at Du Qian and asked, "What are you thinking about, Brother Shouyi?"

Du Qian hesitated for a moment, then shook his head slightly: "I didn't think of anything."

Emperor Li also glanced at the documents sent by the Nine Departments on his right.

He knew that Du Qian had guessed some of it.

In fact, Du Qian was not wrong. This stack of documents was indeed related to the Crown Prince, recording his words and deeds in Jiangdong.

After a moment of silence between the two longtime partners, His Majesty the Emperor sighed deeply and remarked with emotion.

"Brother Shouyi, raising a son is tough."

He shook his head.

“Raising a crown prince is even more difficult.”

(End of this chapter)