Chapter 371 Desire

Chen Mansion.

After listening to the reports from several guys, Chen Tieniu's face looked very ugly.

More and more stores have stopped supplying them, and the several stores at home are about to close down.

Of course he could see that this was clearly targeted.

After he reduced the rent of the tenants and increased the wages of servants and employees, several businessmen who usually cooperated with him began to deliberately target him and the Chen family's business.

This caused his thoughts to waver.

Should we help more people live a good life within the limited scope of our abilities, or should we protect ourselves and bow to those people, just like them, caring only about making money and not caring about the lives of others?

At this time, a servant suddenly came to report: "Master, Shopkeeper Zhao, Shopkeeper Xu, Shopkeeper Huang and Shopkeeper Zhang are here, and they want to see you, Master."

Chen Tieniu's face darkened. Are these guys here to show off their power?

If he didn't see them, wouldn't that mean he was afraid? He said with a sullen face, "Let them in."

Soon, four figures walked into the hall from outside. The leader smiled and walked up quickly, holding Chen Tieniu's hand and said, "Old Chen, I'm really sorry for what happened recently. We were bewildered. You must forgive us..."

The other three also spoke up.

"You are right. How much money is enough? People say that when you are rich, you should help the world. We should do something for the people."

"Old Chen, you are the one who realized it earlier. We are not as good as you in this respect."

"We were not good at what we did before. Please don't hold it against us. Let's work together from now on..."

…

Chen Tieniu was stunned when he heard this. Are these guys deliberately saying sarcasm to irritate him?

However, looking at their sincere expressions, it seems that they are not speaking in a sarcastic way.

This made him not know what to say.

This was the scene Chen Qi saw when he returned to the Chen Mansion.

My father had a very pleasant conversation with several businessmen who had been targeting the Chen family in recent days. They didn't seem like enemies at all, but rather like close friends. From their words, it could be heard that not only would they no longer target the Chen family, but they would increase their cooperation with the Chen family.

In addition, they seemed to be planning to follow the example of the Chen family and reduce rent and increase wages for tenants and servants...

Chen Qi stood there in a daze for a while.

He and his father have been practicing the teacher's teachings: if they are poor, they should take care of themselves; if they are rich, they should help the world; they have used the Chen family's strength to help more people become rich, but they have been attacked and targeted by these people.

In desperation, he had to ask his husband for help.

Whether the Chen family's business would be affected was not what he cared about most. What he cared about was that after the Chen family collapsed, many people would lose their livelihoods.

The teacher not only agreed to help him, but also gave him some pointers on the Six Arts.

Unexpectedly, by the time he got home, the matter had been resolved.

The gentleman is indeed very powerful.

Seeing Chen Qi, a shopkeeper came over and said with a smile: "Chen Qi, you must be a good official with a broad mind and be honest and upright in the future. Use your talents well to let the people of Daxia live a good life..."

Chen Qi could only nod in agreement.

But he was still curious, how come these profiteers who only cared about money suddenly changed their nature and became so aware? Could it be that they were threatened by the Mingjing Division?

This was the only possibility he could think of...

…

Ningxin Garden.

study.

Li Nuo threw a piece of paper covered with words into the fireplace.

"Huang Tianyue suddenly realized that he was too harsh on his tenants. They got up early and went to bed late, working all year round, and could barely make ends meet. Putting himself in their shoes, he suddenly felt despair and understood Chen Tieniu for a moment..."

"After deep thought, Zhang Yuandong realized that he would never be able to spend all his money in his lifetime, and that there were still countless people suffering in the world. He could not help but feel like helping the world..."

"Xu Yunlang..."

"Zhao Dongcheng..."

He had just received news that after Chen Tieniu, four more businessmen in Chang'an had greatly reduced the rent of their tenants, returned the indentures of their servants, and increased the wages of their shop assistants several times.

There are many ways that Lino can do this.

He could send people to threaten them. Given the power of the Li family, they would not dare to refuse, but they would certainly be unwilling to accept it in their hearts.

He could also use the art of diplomacy to influence their minds, just like he did with Chen Tieniu, but he needed to create opportunities to communicate and engage with them face to face. If he did it too obviously, it would inevitably arouse suspicion.

Only the calligrapher's technique can be done silently and without any trace, making it impossible for anyone to imagine it.

There is a reason why a family with such powerful capabilities was buried in the long river of history and even its authenticity was questioned.

Just because strategists can subtly influence other people's thoughts, they are treated like rats crossing the street and everyone stays away from them.

The ability of a calligrapher is even more terrifying than that of a strategist.

No one wants someone to control other people's thoughts and decide other people's lives with just a pen.

Unless that person is themselves.

This ability has touched upon certain taboos.

However, at present, Li Nuo's calligraphy skills have not played a big role.

Just by writing this page, the power has been exhausted and it will take at least a day to recover.

Moreover, with his current strength, he can only use the power of calligraphy on ordinary people. There is no essential difference between it and the art of diplomacy, except that the process of implementation is simpler.

Fortunately, after this incident, his Confucian cultivation has also made perceptible progress.

For hundreds of years, Confucianism has always been the leader among all schools of thought, with the largest number of practitioners. This is not only because Confucianism is respected, but also because their practice methods are not that harsh. No matter which school, they can resonate with Confucianism.

Especially with the assistance of strategists and calligraphers, and the practice of Confucianism, one has advantages that no one else possesses.

…

In the last two months of the thirty-fifth year of the Great Xia Supreme Saint, good news came one after another for the people living near the capital.

At first, several wealthy businessmen in Chang'an announced that they would reduce tenants' rent and increase employees' wages, which won unanimous praise from the people.

Not long after, the Ministry of Revenue summoned dozens of top wealthy businessmen in Chang'an to discuss matters.

People don't know what the court talked about with these merchants, but shortly after the meeting, the court issued a law.

Every household and every major shop in Chang'an must pay its long-term workers and assistants no less than two taels of silver each month. Any violation will result in a fine of ten times the amount of silver.

This law will be implemented first in the capital and then nationwide.

Just as the lower-class people were cheering and a group of merchants and masters were waiting and watching, dozens of the largest merchants in Chang'an immediately announced that they would set an example, actively respond to the court's call, pay attention to the poor people, and contribute their own strength to the prosperity and stability of the country...

These big businessmen in Chang'an all have powerful backers behind them.

Since even they have to obey the laws of the court, naturally there is no room for others to resist.

In addition, the court's tax laws also underwent more in-depth reforms.

Starting next year, the court will exempt families with an annual income of less than 20 taels of silver from taxes. For families with an annual income above 20 taels, the higher the income, the higher the tax rate.

Similarly, the less land a person owns, the lower the land tax will be, or even tax-free; the more land a person owns, the greater the tax burden he or she will have to bear.

The court's move seems to be robbing the rich to help the poor.

This was not the first time that the imperial court wanted to do this, but all previous attempts had ended in failure. This time, there were fewer powerful and influential people who opposed it in the court, and the aristocratic families also remained silent, which was unusual.

This is because these laws were promoted by Li Nuo, the Secretary of the Central Secretariat.

Although he was only a fourth-rank official, he was definitely someone that no one in the court dared to offend.

Li Xuanjing, the Minister of Dali Temple, is his father, and the Zuo Xiang, the head of the civil officials, also listens to him. This makes him able to get both good and bad things in the court. What's more, he has the imperial sword in his hand. In such a huge court, who dares to provoke him?

In the last month before New Year’s Eve, good news also came from Sinong Temple.

Through joint research with the Ministry of Industry, Sinong Temple has successfully doubled the yield of several major crops in Daxia, and has begun large-scale seed cultivation to ensure that all Daxia people will have enough food to eat within five years.

Of course, not everything is good news.

The news coming from the border of Liang State is not optimistic.

Since the abdication of the Emperor of Liang, the court of Liang has been completely controlled by Wei, and Liang has completely become a vassal of Wei.

Over the past few months, Wei State has continued to increase its troops on the border of Liang State. Daxia will naturally not sit idly by and has also dispatched a lot of troops to garrison the southwest, and the number is still increasing.

The people of several southwestern states have already smelled the scent of war and have begun to flee in advance...

The thirty-fifth year of the Holy Year passed with mixed feelings among the people.

As the first heavy snow fell in Chang'an, Daxia officially entered the 36th year of the Holy Emperor.

As the new year arrives, more and more people begin to realize one thing.

Your Majesty changed the reign title in the year he ascended the throne, which means that he has been emperor for a full thirty-five years.

Daxia was established for more than 300 years, and he was the longest-reigning emperor.

In the past, emperors would only reign for a maximum of thirty years before passing the throne to the new emperor.

As emperors of the five dynasties, although they possessed supreme status, supreme power, and powerful strength, they were also eroded by the national destiny they carried. In order to protect themselves, they had to pass on the throne.

His Majesty has been sitting firmly on the throne for thirty-five years, but he still has no intention of abdicating.

Strangely, his body has always been healthy and is not affected by the years at all.

His Majesty made a brief appearance at the grand court meeting that just ended.

Officials all over the world were shocked to find that His Majesty's appearance had turned into that of a young man.

No one dared to question this, and no one dared to mention the deaths of a number of powerful people. At this year's grand court meeting, how to deal with the possible war was the most important topic.

The strength of Wei State is one level stronger than that of Daxia.

If Daxia only had to deal with Wei, it would be a bit of a stretch. But if another country took advantage of the situation, Daxia would definitely not be able to cope with it.

For this reason, as soon as the grand court meeting ended, the court sent envoys who were familiar with Chu and Qi to the two countries to keep an eye on the movements of the two countries at any time.

At the same time, the three provinces summoned the Zhao delegation as soon as possible.

Although the two countries are the weakest among the five dynasties, if they stick together, even Chu and Wei cannot underestimate them.

Ningxin Garden.

The three siblings Li Yan, Li Nian and Li Zhi, who are only five months old, have obviously developed faster than ordinary children. They can already walk unsteadily and can clearly call out the names of all the people in the family.

Li Nuo did not deliberately use his abilities as a calligrapher to promote their growth.

Whether he was a strategist or a calligrapher, except for the initial verification ability, he did not use them on his family.

The expansion of strength often leads to the expansion of desire.

Whether it is a warrior or one of the various schools of thought, this is unavoidable.

The special characteristics of the diplomats and calligraphers enable them to satisfy their various selfish desires in a simpler way, and the expansion of these desires is naturally stronger.

If it is not restricted, it is very likely to sink into it.

Li Nuo had felt more than once that the power of the strategists and calligraphers would make him have some unnecessary thoughts, but these thoughts, which were intended to satisfy his selfish desires, would be suppressed by the great righteousness.

“Daddy!”

A childish voice came to his ears. Li Nuo had just picked up Li Nian when he saw Li Zhi staggering towards him. Li Nuo held one in each hand, kissed their delicate little faces, and at the same time transferred a stream of medical energy into their bodies.

The most important reason why the three little ones can have such physiques is that they are often baptized by the medical Qi.

Looking at their tender and cute little faces, Li Nuo couldn't help but feel a sense of urgency in his heart.

Phoenix's initial concerns are now gradually being confirmed.

The State of Wei deployed a large number of troops on the border, and its ulterior motives were known to everyone.

The attitude of the State of Chu was ambiguous. In the name of suppressing bandits, it dispatched part of its troops to the south. Although there were three small countries between the two countries, if the State of Chu really wanted to invade, these three small countries could be destroyed overnight.

Although Qi has not made any unusual moves against Daxia, if it attempts to contain Zhao, Daxia will be isolated and helpless and will undoubtedly be defeated.

What will be the fate of a country that has been destroyed? This is clearly recorded in history books.

Although he has been practicing hard during this period, it is obviously not enough to cope with future changes.

Li Nuo's eyes swept over Jiaren, An Ning, Yiren, and Fenghuang one by one. He walked over slowly, handed Li Nian and Li Zhi to them, and then left Ningxin Garden.

Prince Chun's Mansion.

Li Yun looked at a stack of drawings on the table and his eyelids couldn't help twitching.

Li Nuo said, "Just look after the research first. If you don't have enough money, go ask Fenghuang for it. I've already told her."

Li Yun reacted, looked at him, and asked, "Are you leaving Chang'an?"

Chang'an, street.

There were very few customers in front of a fortune-telling stall.

Although most fortune tellers are scammers, there are always curious people who want to give it a try. The business of the stall is not very good, but it can still make a few deals every day.

A newly married childless couple heard that they would have a baby this year. They happily gave the old man some money as a reward and left happily.

Behind the fortune-telling stall, the girl was flipping through a comic book out of boredom. When she looked up, a smile immediately appeared on her face, and she said, "Big brother, can I go to your house to see Li Zhi and Li Nian today?"

Dongfang Xuan looked at Li Nuo, counted with his fingers, his eyebrows moved slightly, then he looked at his granddaughter and said, "Qing'er, I'd like you to stay at your eldest brother's house for a while, are you willing?"

(End of this chapter)