"Is this a dead end?"
Minister Lu was a little confused.
Renqiu nodded.
After eating two apples in a row, his mouth felt a bit sour. He picked up a piece of pineapple cake and started eating.
"Knowing it's a dead end, why did His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and Lord Li bother planning and even instigating this war? Do they have a way to break this dead end?"
Minister Lu asked a soul-searching question.
Renqiu finished the pineapple cake in a few bites, then picked up a piece of cloud cake and started eating.
As he ate, he said, "Without the Crown Prince, the Sihai Trading Company, and Lord Li, this game would be a dead end. But adding them to the game makes it alive. So I say, Lord Li's collusion with the Crown Prince may not be bad for you. By then, as the Minister of the Central Secretariat, you can coordinate and suppress them, and you will be able to control the situation."
Minister Lu slowly shook his head. "The emperor is far away, and the situation on the battlefield is changing rapidly. I am in the imperial court, and by the time the order reaches the battlefield, it is already too late."
Renqiu ate until he was only 60% full and felt a little thirsty, so he picked up the teacup and drank some tea.
As he drank, he said, "So you need to send your trusted confidant to the battlefield to supervise the troops. Lord Li can coordinate the overall situation, so you need to place a spy next to him. This is an open and aboveboard conspiracy."
Minister Lu walked around the room with his hands behind his back.
"The eldest prince and Lord Li, how are they going to break the impasse?"
Renqiu picked up a piece of osmanthus cake and said, "The key to breaking the deadlock lies with the Marquis of Lu and the food and fodder, that is, the Sihai Trading Company. To be more specific, Madam Zhao decided the outcome of this war."
"absurd!"
"Don't look down on Madam Zhao. Just to accommodate so many refugees, who could possibly do this?"
Minister Lu was speechless.
Ren Qiu continued, "I suspect that Lord Li is a chess piece used to deal with the Marquis of Lu. The Marquis of Lu is unruly and needs someone of equal strength to suppress him. Looking at the entire court, is there anyone more suitable than Lord Li?"
As for the financial resources and power of the Sihai Trading Company, I suspect no one in the world, except Madam Zhao, knows. I'm certain that the Sihai Trading Company's power has surpassed that of the Shaofu. I remember last year when the Crown Prince went to Jiangnan to buy grain for disaster relief, I specifically asked my acquaintances in the south. There's something fishy going on here."
"What's that?"
Ren Qiu casually said, "The first batch of grain was not purchased from the wealthy families in Jiangnan, but from an unknown grain trading company. I have specially checked the background of this grain company, and I am afraid it is the Sihai Trading Company.
Do you know how much grain this grain store sold to His Highness the Crown Prince in one go? A full one million catties, of which half a million catties were rice and half a million catties were paddy. How could such a small grain store have so much in stock? Isn't it strange? And this was only the first batch; they subsequently sold three or four more batches to His Highness, each totaling no less than one million catties.
Minister Lu's expression changed repeatedly, "What's the name of this grain store?"
Renqiu opened his mouth and said, "It's called Pacific Grain Store!"
Minister Lu frowned. Pacific Ocean? What the hell?
Why such a weird name?
"Such an important matter, why did you only tell me now?" Minister Lu was a little dissatisfied.
Ren Qiu laughed. "How would I know if this matter was important? If you hadn't mentioned Beirong, Lord Li, and the Crown Prince, I wouldn't have remembered it. Besides, this matter isn't important. What's important is that Sihai Trading Company is financially strong and has a full warehouse of food and fodder."
Only when the eldest prince joins the game and takes the lead will Madam Zhao devote herself to dispatching food and fodder to the border, and provide sufficient food and fodder without increasing taxes or imposing labor service.
On the contrary, if His Highness is not allowed to join the chess game, Madam Zhao will definitely stand by and watch the disaster unfold. Last year, the disaster was so severe, so many people died, and there were also rebellions. Do you think Madam Zhao cared about the country and took the initiative to provide food and fodder for disaster relief?"
Minister Lu gnashed his teeth and said, "This world has been ruined by this ** merchant."
Renqiu shook his head. "That's wrong. Without this 'business', the burden on the people would be three or four times what it is now. The Ministry of Revenue wouldn't be able to balance its revenue and expenditure, and wouldn't have enough money to pay back the arrears of money and grain accumulated during the Kaiyao era."
Minister Lu nodded.
Although he looked unhappy, he still admitted in his heart that Renqiu was right.
Unscrupulous businessmen are unscrupulous businessmen.
It is also an indisputable fact that unscrupulous businessmen made huge contributions to the imperial court's finances.
Just for the sake of reducing the burden on the people, we cannot suppress or deny businessmen.
Not to mention that business taxes are increasing every year.
Commercial taxes solved most of the court's problems.
Minister Lu frowned and said, "The eldest prince wants military power. Could it be that he wants to rebel?"
Ren Qiu laughed heartily, as if he had just heard a terrific joke. "As the eldest son, the Crown Prince is the legitimate heir to the throne, even without a crown prince. Why would he rebel? To put it bluntly, if something were to happen to Your Majesty, Your Highness would naturally ascend the throne, and no one would have the right to question his succession."
Minister Lu frowned and looked at Renqiu with dissatisfaction.
Ren Qiu raised an eyebrow, "Why are you looking at me? Did I say something wrong?"
Minister Lu sighed, "I can't help but wonder if you've accepted Madam Zhao's favor and are speaking well of them."
Ren Qiu laughed again, "What would you do if I really accepted their benefits?"
"Hand over the money, whoever sees it will get a share." Minister Lu was also very straightforward.
Ren Qiu smiled and said, "I don't want any money. Madam Zhao's money is too hot to handle, I won't accept it. After all, I eat your food, drink your drinks, and live in your house. I will definitely stand on your side and think about you."
Minister Lu tapped the table lightly. "Are you suggesting that I facilitate the plans of Lord Li and the Crown Prince?"
Ren Qiu said with a smile, "Using someone else's strength to fight them is a good thing. Not all conspiracies and colluded are bad. At least this time, we all know that war between Da Zhou and Bei Rong is inevitable; it's just a matter of time. Unless Da Zhou pays tribute to Bei Rong, sending money and people to support Bei Rong's people, perhaps war can be avoided."
Minister Lu's face turned stern. "Nonsense! The Great Zhou is the Celestial Empire. How can we cut off our own back and pay tribute to barbarians? Absurd! Stop your nonsense."
Renqiu laughed and said, "I was just saying it casually. I'm not really going to pay tribute."
Minister Lu stared at him, making Renqiu feel creepy.
"Why are you looking at me? I'm not a beauty."
Renqiu snorted in dissatisfaction.
Minister Lu frowned, his expression solemn, "Have you calculated it?"
"What's the big deal?" Renqiu pretended to be stupid.
Minister Lu lowered his voice and asked quietly, "National destiny!"
Renqiu was stunned at first, then burst into laughter.
After laughing, he waved his hand, "How can I calculate the fate of a country? I told you long ago that I am not good at the I Ching and Bagua, and I don't understand ancient divination. Don't say such ridiculous things again in the future."
Minister Lu's expression remained solemn, and he seemed not to believe Ren Qiu's words.
Ren Qiu chuckled twice, "Have you ever seen me tell fortunes for anyone? I can't even tell fortunes for people, so how can I tell the fate of a country? You're really ridiculous."
Minister Lu sighed, seeming disappointed but also relieved.
"It's better not to know! Understanding the I Ching, the Eight Trigrams, and ancient divination may not be a good thing. I'm also afraid of the five disadvantages and three shortcomings."
Renqiu secretly rolled his eyes with a look of disgust.
Minister Lu focused his attention on Lord Li. "I must find a way to test Li Bingming and find out the specific plans he and the First Prince have."
"Are you not going to report this to His Majesty?"
"This matter is of great importance. I will keep it secret until it is fully investigated. Once it is fully investigated, I will report it to His Majesty truthfully."
As the trusted advisor of Emperor Wende, Minister Lu had no intention of hiding anything from Emperor Wende from the beginning to the end.
Ren Qiu looked at him, "Aren't you worried about the eldest prince's situation? Emperor Wende knows that the eldest prince is secretly colluding with Lord Li, so how can he tolerate him?"
Minister Lu said, "In the current situation, everything is possible. Moreover, the eldest prince's plan is not a bad thing. As a prince, taking the initiative to take responsibility is also a virtue."
Ren Qiu sneered, "I'm afraid that in the eyes of Your Majesty, advantages are also disadvantages."
Minister Lu interrupted his rant, "I know my limits on this matter. Your Majesty is not a rigid and stubborn person. Besides, Life Show's tactics against the Imperial College are rather too despicable."
Ren Qiu laughed heartily. "The Imperial College deserves it. They're so dirty themselves, yet they dare to stir up trouble. I thought the punishment from Life Show was too lenient. I should have beaten the Imperial College to death."
"The Imperial College was beaten to death, and Life Show won't have an easy time either. The Imperial College must be rectified. Do you want to go to the Imperial College?"
Minister Lu looked at Renqiu eagerly.
He felt that Renqiu's talent and knowledge made him fully qualified for the position of Imperial College Priest. His only shortcoming was that he was too young to convince the public.
But with Renqiu's intelligence and talent, if he could become the chief academic officer of the Imperial College, he would definitely be able to defeat Shanhe Academy.
Shanhe Academy has been arrogant for so many years. It is time to enhance the strength of the Imperial College and let Shanhe Academy know that there are always people better than you.
Ren Qiu shook his head and refused, "I'm doing fine at the Imperial Observatory. It's not busy and I have plenty of time every day."
Minister Lu sighed, "You are just too lazy."
Ren Qiu chuckled twice. "Those people in the Imperial College are all troublemakers. I'm just bored and looking for trouble. I'm full, so you can go about your business and leave me alone."
Renqiu ate all the snacks in the food basket, clapped his hands, and left in a leisurely manner.
Minister Lu looked at the empty food basket and laughed, "Foodie!"
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