364, want something
364, want something
The steward of the palace came out in a hurry and saw a young man in white standing at the door. He looked up and saw the guard standing behind Lord Lu.
Isn't this someone close to their prince? Why is he following this Lord Lu?
Considering that this Lord Lu came to ask for an audience with their prince's personal jade pendant, the steward immediately understood that this Lord Lu must have a very close relationship with their prince.
With this thought, the butler became more polite to Lord Lu, "Lord Lu, our prince invites you in."
"Sorry for the trouble." Lu Mingfei nodded and motioned for the other party to lead the way.
"Master Lu, please come this way." The steward turned sideways and let Master Lu walk in front, while he followed on the side to lead the way.
Lu Mingfei walked in front with confidence. This was not his first time entering Prince Ding's Mansion, but it was his first time entering Prince Ding's Mansion with his real identity.
They were lucky to have run into Prince Ding in Pingzhou City. He handed over the jade pendant and the invitation for an audience that Zhao Lang had given him, and the people inside didn't deliberately leave him alone. Someone came out and led him into Prince Ding's mansion.
Walking on the corridor he had walked before, he recalled the scene when he came to Dingwang Mansion, and couldn't help feeling a little funny.
He wondered if Princess Ding would recognize him if she saw him again. However, it was better not to meet her, as he was afraid that it would cause unnecessary trouble.
Following the steward, we entered a large courtyard. It looked like this should be the main courtyard of the palace, where Prince Ding lived.
Arriving at the door of the study, the steward whispered to the guard standing at the door, "Lord Lu is here. Go in and tell the prince."
"Wait a moment." The guard glanced at the people coming and going, then pushed open the door of the study and went in to report to the master in the room.
After getting the master's consent, the guard came out and invited the guest in. "Our prince invites you in."
Hearing this, Lu Mingfei stepped over the threshold and walked into the house.
As soon as he walked into the room, he saw a majestic man sitting there. The man looked somewhat similar to Zhao Lang. The first time he saw this man, he could almost imagine what Zhao Lang would look like in twenty years.
When his eyes met the other person's, he quickly retracted his gaze, lowered his head to look at the ground in front of him, bowed and said: "The subordinate Lu Mingfei greets the prince."
"Get up, sit down and talk." At this time, Prince Ding was holding a jade pendant in his hand, which was the jade pendant representing his status as the legitimate son.
This jade pendant was the one he personally hung around his son's neck on the first day he was born. He never thought that the boy would one day give this jade pendant to someone else.
Prince Ding's gaze fell on the young man in front of him, with a scrutinizing look in his eyes.
He has a handsome appearance and a refined demeanor, and one can tell at first glance that he is a civil servant.
He looked to be about the same age as his legitimate son, and he came from Kyoto Prefecture. He also brought his legitimate son's personal jade pendant to ask for an audience with him. It seemed that he had a good relationship with his legitimate son.
"Thank you, Your Highness." Lu Mingfei withdrew his hand and sat down in the seat closest to him, allowing Prince Ding to look at him with a frank attitude.
Since he dared to come to Prince Ding today, he was ready to let Prince Ding know about his relationship with Zhao Lang. However, it was okay for Prince Ding to know, as Prince Ding didn't know about the many things he and Zhao Lang had done outside.
After he sat down, someone brought in tea and placed it next to him, then left.
Hearing the sound of the door closing, Lu Mingfei knew that someone who was leaving had closed the door.
As soon as the door closed, he heard Prince Ding ask him, "Are you close to Lang'er?"
"Your humble servant and the prince... do have a slight acquaintance." Lu Mingfei thought for a moment and replied.
Upon hearing this, Prince Ding did not delve into the issue further, but instead asked directly, "Tell me, why did you come to me with Lang'er's jade pendant?"
Lu Mingfei watched as Prince Ding casually placed the jade pendant he had handed to him on the table. He resisted the urge to ask Prince Ding to return the jade pendant. He first talked about some of the current problems Li County was facing, and then mentioned the land issue.
"Those lands are lying idle anyway, so why not give them to the people to cultivate? If we can cultivate all of this land and plant crops, we'll have no problem feeding the people there, and we can even provide some rations for the army."
"But those lands are not owned by the government, nor by the people... Therefore, I would like to ask the prince for a royal decree to give me the land in Li County, so that I can control it and distribute it to the local people for cultivation."
Beijun was the fief of Prince Ding, and it could be said that the entire land of Beijun belonged to Prince Ding. As long as Prince Ding said a word, he could control the land of several surrounding counties, not to mention Li County.
However, Lu Mingfei did not ask for more than that. He only asked for the land in Li County. Once he managed Li County well and planted crops, King Ding would give him the rest of the wasteland next year without him having to ask for it.
"What else does it matter to me? I agree." Upon hearing this, King Ding agreed without much hesitation.
"On behalf of the people of Li County, I thank the prince." Lu Mingfei didn't expect to get Prince Ding's consent so easily, so he quickly stood up and thanked Prince Ding.
Prince Ding waved his hand nonchalantly, his expression saying, "If you have nothing else to do, please take your leave."
However, Lu Mingfei seemed to have not noticed Prince Ding's expression as if he was trying to drive him away. He then asked, "Your Highness, the grain tax we paid to Li County in the past three years has accounted for 10% of the per-acre grain output, right?"
"One percent?" Prince Ding laughed when he heard that, with an expression that said, "You are kidding me, right?"
"Your Highness, I believe you also know that the population of Beijun is not large now..." Lu Mingfei coughed guiltily and reported the population of Li County, including how many elderly people, children, and young and strong people who can work.
He also knew that the grain tax paid by various places to the higher authorities had always been at least 30%. However, secretly, he wanted to get more food for the local people and reduce the grain tax.
Here he mentioned a problem, that is, there is chaos everywhere now, and the people also want to find a place where they can live in peace.
"If we can lower the grain tax in the first three years, we can attract people from other areas to settle here. Then we can allocate land to them for farming, which will open up more land and grow more food."
"Your Highness, please calculate this number. If the annual grain output is 10,000 catties, and the grain tax we pay is 30%, that would be 3,000 catties."
"But if our annual grain output is 100,000 catties, and we pay a 10% grain tax, that would be 10,000 catties of grain."
"In general, as long as we increase the total output, the amount of grain we pay will not decrease due to the low share, but will increase instead." After Lu Mingfei said these words, he saw Prince Ding's thoughtful expression, and he knew that Prince Ding was tempted.
Now that everything is in chaos, the population is also a very important labor force for each vassal king, and can even be used to supplement the soldiers in the army.
"You're certainly considerate of the local people. If I don't respond, wouldn't that be my fault?" Prince Ding initially dismissed Lu Mingfei as a weak civil servant. But after hearing this young man's forceful arguments, he realized it was no wonder his arrogant son was befriending this man.
"I dare not." Lu Mingfei did not hear any anger in Prince Ding's tone, so he knew that there was hope for what he was talking about.
"Your Highness, you love the people like your own children. I believe you care about the people of Beijun more than I do." After finishing, he did not forget to flatter the king.
This flattery really made Prince Ding feel comfortable.
Even though he knew that this guy was just trying to flatter him, Prince Ding still agreed generously: "Alright, I agree to everything you said."
"If there are many people who need land, and the land in Li County is not enough to distribute, can I expand it to the surrounding areas?" Not knowing whether he could see Prince Ding again next time, Lu Mingfei wanted to take the opportunity to ask for more benefits.
Since he was already here, he definitely couldn't let his trip go to waste. Who knew if he would be able to meet this distinguished Prince Ding again next time?
"You haha..." Prince Ding laughed out loud this time. He tapped Lu Mingfei twice in the air and said, "I finally know how you ended up playing with that kid Lang'er."
Lu Mingfei had a sincere look on his face, waiting for the other party's response.
Prince Ding was so angry that he laughed and waved his hand to send the man away: "Get out now."
But Lu Mingfei was not so easily dismissed. He came prepared this time. He pulled out a fresh memorial he had just written in the carriage and handed it to the table in front of Prince Ding. He respectfully asked, "This humble official has a memorial here. Your Highness, please stamp it."
"Otherwise, I'm afraid someone will come and cause trouble. I'm a lowly official, and my words are not as powerful as yours, Your Highness."
"You really know how to climb up the ladder. This is the first time I've seen someone come to me and ask for this and that!" Although he said so, Prince Ding still picked up the memorial that Lu Mingfei handed to him and began to read it.
This boy's handwriting is quite good.
What was written on it was exactly the same as what the boy had just said. He picked up his pen and wrote the word "Yun" on it, then stamped it with his own big seal. "Hurry up and take it and leave."
"Your Highness, could you please return this jade pendant to me?" Lu Mingfei took the stamped letter and wanted to get back the jade pendant that Zhao Lang had given him.
"This is what I gave to that kid. When did it become yours?" Prince Ding began to glare at him.
However, Lu Mingfei was not afraid of Prince Ding's face, and he did not feel any anger from Prince Ding, so he knew that Prince Ding was trying to scare him.
"What you give to the prince belongs to him. What the prince gives to me belongs to me." He didn't care anyway. What Zhao Lang gave him belonged to him.
"..." Prince Ding, he never thought that one day he would be so angry that he could not speak.
Tonight, the book
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