To put it bluntly, these young but frighteningly high-generation royal family members all benefited from the fact that after their grandfather Li Shimin became emperor, their great-grandfather Li Yuan had nothing to do every day, so he had to stay in the palace and give birth to younger brothers and sisters for their grandfather out of boredom.
Bai Chun smiled sickly and said, "To answer Princess Qianjin's question, I will have to wait until His Royal Highness the Crown Prince returns before I can give you what you said. I don't have that much power."
"Haha, you don't have that much power? I heard that you were so majestic when you made things difficult for the prince consort. Show me how majestic you were back then and let me learn a lesson. Bai Chun, I'm not forcing you. Even if my grandson was standing here, I would still say the same thing. Since I'm here, I won't go back empty-handed. Do you understand?" Princess Qianjin looked at Bai Chun coldly, as if to say, if you don't give it to me now, then we'll settle all the old and new accounts together.
Li Hong felt a chill as he heard this outside. This was really difficult to deal with as her generation was too high. Even if his father met her, he would have to be polite and respectfully call her "Aunt".
He continued to eavesdrop at the door and heard nothing but the princess putting pressure on, threatening and intimidating Bai Chun, hoping to get the production license for iron, glass, crystal, etc. as soon as possible. He even wanted to get a piece of all the industries in Taiyi City.
Li Hong walked in slowly from outside, and greeted with a gloomy face: "Grandson Li Hong greets the Imperial Aunt and the Imperial Uncle."
Princess Qianjin and the others were stunned. The arrogant and arrogant look on their faces disappeared immediately, and in an instant they were replaced by a kind smile.
"Wow, Hong'er has grown so tall..." Princess Qianjin hurriedly stood up, walked up to Li Hong and said.
"Your subjects, Wen Ting and Wen Zhen, greet His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."
...
...
"Stand up. Auntie and uncle, please take a seat." Li Hong walked to the top seat with a dark face and sat down, puffing out his cheeks and continuing to be angry.
"Hong... Hong'er, it has been three or four years since you last went to Luoyang, right? Aunt Huang has been talking about you every day. I still remember that time you went to Dongdu and made your mother so angry that she chased you all over the palace and beat you..." After sitting down, Princess Qianjin looked at Li Hong's gloomy face and forced a smile while chatting about family matters.
Li Hong interrupted her and said coldly to Bai Chun before she finished speaking: "Bai Chun, cancel the qualifications of Helan Minzhi and Lanling Xiao to participate in the Chamber of Commerce. Also, find out if there are any merchants secretly cooperating with them. Don't let any of them go. Go and do it."
"Yes, sir." Bai Chun bowed and walked out.
"What's wrong with Hong'er? Why is he... angry with Minzhi?" Princess Qianjin asked cautiously.
Li Hong did not answer but asked Wen Ting: "I heard from Bai Chun that he saw you bumping into someone in Taiyi City that day. Are you okay?" After saying that, Li Hong glanced at Suo Yuanli, who had been standing since he came in and did not dare to sit down.
"Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. I am fine. And... I was too impatient and rash in the beginning, but I have handled it properly."
"Oh, that's good, as long as you're okay. I'm really worried that you'll get hurt because of this. If that happens, my mother won't let me go."
"Yes, yes, your highness is right." Wen Ting said humbly.
"Hong'er, your document from the Ministry of Revenue has been reviewed by my uncle. It is very meticulous. After many rounds of selection, it will probably take at least half a month to reach a conclusion. This time, I have thought about it and I think it is necessary to be more rigorous in issuing the permit, so as to prevent the secret recipes of the Tang Dynasty that benefit the people from falling into the hands of others. I came here this time to ask for your help. After all, we are all members of the royal family, and we are not afraid of leaking the secret recipes to outsiders. In addition, I have to go to my fiefdom in a few days, so I wonder if Hong'er can first..." Cao Wang Li Ming stopped talking and looked at Princess Qianjin, as if to say, "It's your turn to speak next."
"Yes, Hong'er, the imperial aunt came here this time just to see if Hong'er can give us the permission first. On the way, I should have met your father and mother first and had some private conversations when I passed by Chang'an, but the imperial aunt was afraid that you would be anxious, so she came to you first, so as to avoid all the clan members gathering together and making things difficult for you. It's just right that when I go back this time, I will pass by Chang'an and meet your father and mother again." Princess Qianjin took over Li Ming's words and said bluntly.
Li Hong looked at the two of them and said, "On behalf of my father and mother, I would like to thank the Imperial Aunt for her concern. Speaking of the Ministry of Revenue's permission order, it was approved by my father himself. He only gave Hong'er 17 permission orders in total, and asked Hong'er to issue them to the royal family and nobles. Now there are too many people and too little porridge, but fortunately, Helan Minzhi is no longer qualified, so there is one less person to compete with us."
"Haha... Is that so? This..." Princess Qianjin was also an intelligent person. She understood that Li Hong was using Helan Minzhi and others as shields. What he meant was that even the queen mother's nephew could be disqualified. So if he wanted to get the permission, he could only be selected through layers of selection. There was no way to take shortcuts.
Therefore, she would not follow Li Hong's words and ask what Helan Minzhi had done wrong to be disqualified.
But her not asking does not mean her prodigal husband will not ask. As soon as the princess finished speaking, Wen Ting hurriedly asked, "I wonder what Helan Minzhi did wrong? Why did His Highness get so angry that he even disregarded the Queen's feelings and cancelled his qualification?"
"Oh, it's nothing. They just formed cliques and bribed many merchants in the hope of obtaining the license as much as possible. Unfortunately, I discovered it. Oh, the Lanling Xiao family is the same. They colluded with foreign merchants in secret and even reached an agreement that as long as they got the secret recipe, they would give it to foreign merchants within two years. Auntie, uncle, you must not do this, otherwise Hong'er will not be able to help you. This time, people from the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Rites, the Honglu Temple, and the Zongzheng Temple have come."
Li Hong pretended to think with his head up, "Let me think about it. Yes, these people will arrive in the next two days. Father has ordered that anyone found secretly forming cliques must not be favored and must be disqualified immediately, and must not contact me and Bai Chun in advance. By the way, who is this person standing?"
"Your Highness, I am asking for Yuanli."
"Hu people?"
"Uh... yes, but I have been in the Tang Dynasty for many years."
Suo Yuanli was deeply engraved in Li Hongjiu's memory, because he was originally a retainer of Princess Qianjin's mansion. Later, after Xue Huaiyi entered the palace, he was recommended by Xue Huaiyi and became one of the four most famous cruel officials in the Tang Dynasty. Even when he was at the peak of power, Xue Huaiyi once recognized him as his godfather!
It can be imagined that Suo Yuanli and Princess Qianjin and others have been friends for many years, otherwise Xue Huaiyi would not have recommended him so easily.
Princess Qianjin glanced at Suo Yuanli with an uncertain expression, thinking, "Is this a sign that the Crown Prince has recognized me and has formed an alliance with the foreign merchants in the Western Regions?"
Seeing that Li Hong had a firm attitude and had been sitting here for a long time, but his expression did not improve, it was obvious that he was just doing it for him to see.
Seeing that there was no hope of getting it in advance, she could only hope that the Crown Prince would not disqualify her because of the request for Yuanli. So after thinking for a while, she continued to test: "Hong'er, I wonder if the Imperial Aunt and your Imperial Uncle Li Ming will compete with ordinary merchants? Or will it be just our royal family alone?"
"Don't worry, my grandson would be disrespectful to you if I allowed you to be with ordinary merchants. How could my father spare me if he knew about this? Of course, I am a member of the royal family."
"Oh..." Princess Qianjin replied to Li Hong, and in her mind she had already quickly calculated whether she could get one of the 17 places.
There are still people in the royal clan who are older than Li Zhi, but after all the calculations, even if Li Zhi's generation is included, these seventeen can basically be taken care of.
The three people from Xincheng, Chengyang and Lanling are excluded. These are Li Zhi's comrades-in-arms, and these three people are already worth millions of wealth. They have a good relationship with the prince and visit him frequently. They have already gained a lot of benefits. I'm afraid they will not put down their status and participate?
The remaining important princes, princesses and other members of the royal family have either died or been dismissed over the years. Counting these seventeen lists, they should be safe in my pocket.
However, when she saw Li Hong's calm appearance, she always felt that this boy was playing tricks on her, as if he was hiding something from her. Maybe these seventeen portions would not be enough?
"Then I wonder how Hong'er plans to distribute it? The imperial aunt just calculated it, and with the royal grandfather, uncle, aunt and others from the royal family, these seventeen shares are obviously enough. Why does Hong'er still need to select?" Princess Qianjin was determined to win. Although she was now a royal princess, she was not valued by the royal family when she was born.
If Li Zhi had not ascended the throne and had a kind heart, and had not visited Luoyang frequently in recent years, the royal family would probably have completely forgotten about her, the princess.
But even so, his life was still not as good as some wealthy businessmen or officials in Luoyang. Even ordinary rich families were richer than him. In recent years, there were fewer and fewer maids in the mansion, and fewer and fewer servants to be dispatched.
If she doesn't grab Li Hong as a straw now, by the time she is old, this huge princess mansion will become desolate and deserted.
"How could it be..." Li Hong said curiously.
At this moment, Bai Chun suddenly ran in with a nervous look and hurried steps. He glanced at a few people apologetically, walked up to Li Hong, and whispered in his ear: "Master, 'Jingwei' has contacted King Liang and is on the way to Taiyi City. They will be able to arrive in the city by night at the latest."
"Really?" After hearing this, Li Hong stood up from his chair with a look of surprise and joy, making people wonder what he was thinking.
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