Li Zhi was not completely unable to walk, but he felt chest tightness and shortness of breath after walking for a while, so he often sat or lay down.

After getting a wheelchair, Li Zhi would ask someone to push it over to Wang Zheng's side for a spin from time to time. For this reason, the thresholds of the Grand Steward's Mansion and the Imperial Palace were all reduced a lot, and a slope was built with cement to be more comfortable for a wheelchair.

Seeing Xiao Taiping stuffing carrots into the tiger's mouth, Li Zhi smiled and shook his head, and asked Wang Zheng, "How did the steward find out that tigers are vegetarians?"

"Guess."

"Guess?"

Wang Zheng nodded and said with a smile, "Aren't dogs domesticated from wolves? Since wolves can eat vegetarian food, tigers should be able to do the same. I tried it and found that it really works. Moreover, tigers are relatively mild when eating vegetarian and cooked food."

Li Zhi raised his eyebrows and asked, "Does the steward rely on guessing for many of his secrets?"

Li Zhi thought about it for a long time, and finally sighed and said to Wang Zheng with some complaints: "Why didn't the chief steward train more talents like the four great disciples?"

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"Your Majesty, you are too kind. I dare not take credit for it."

"Why?"

Or should we continue to explore overseas? I believe the chief steward has also received the same request. What does he think? "

Li Dan ran over and picked up a large coconut. He took out a small golden hammer and knocked a hole in it. Then he took the bamboo tube from the plate and inserted it into the coconut. He handed it to Li Zhi and said, "Drink it, father."

Wang Zheng hesitated for a moment and replied, "I think we should stabilize and govern the South China Sea first."

Li Zhi was stunned for a moment and asked, "What are the rules? Can you explain them in detail, Chief Steward?"

Li Zhi always wanted to continue exploring overseas, and especially after he fell ill, he seemed a little anxious.

That requires talent, or like Wu Yi, one has to follow Wang Zheng in handling government affairs since childhood and gain a lot of experience.

Li Zhi put down the coconut, pondered for a moment, and said, "The third brother has been wandering around the South China Sea for more than a year and has finally completed the exploration of the entire South China Sea. He is now resting in Baoan City to accompany the fourth brother and the children. He wrote to ask me whether we should develop the South China Sea first and stabilize it first?

No matter whether a place is conquered or explored, it must be thoroughly governed before it can become part of the territory. And if an area as large as the South China Sea is to become the territory of the Tang Dynasty, it must be governed well.

"Then your majesty must first send someone to take over Lingnan. It's impossible for you to really hand Lingnan over to Fang Zhuo, right?"

Not to mention the entire Lingnan, even handing over Bao'an City alone to Fang Zhao would be a bit of a stretch.

Wang Zheng bowed to Li Zhi and continued, "My talent is a gift from heaven. Heaven gave me talent only for your majesty to use. So, in the final analysis, it is still your majesty's blessing."

Li Zhi laughed cheerfully and said, "Hehe, the chief steward is always so honest and modest. I don't know what to say."

Of course, that's not the way it should be said. Li Zhi smiled and said, "The steward is too modest. Without the steward's enlightenment, the Taoist temple wouldn't have achieved so many results. The fact that Lü Dongbin and Qingxuzi have been busy for most of their lives but still achieved nothing is a clear proof. The steward has made an indelible contribution to the Taoist temple's current achievements!"

Wang Zheng smiled and said, "That's right. For example, I first made straw paper, added oil to charcoal to make soap, and filtered salt stone with charcoal to make salt. Many things were guessed at first, and then slowly verified, and results appeared.

Wang Zheng took the coconut and gulped down a few big mouthfuls before he suppressed the resentment in his heart.

After a moment of silence, Li Zhi asked, "What do you think of sending Zhang San to Lingnan? With Zhang San's ability, he should be able to take over from Lao San, and there is no need to worry about winning the support of the people."

"Zhang San can indeed take over Lingnan, but who should be handed over to Nanzhao? Your Majesty, do you think that Li Xian and Ping An can really govern Nanzhao?"

Hasn't the gym achieved a lot in the past few years without my participation? In fact, the results are even greater than when I was involved. After all, the strength of one person is not as good as the strength of many people. "

Just flatter each other. Who can't say nice things? Ordinary people's flattery can no longer make Wang Zheng and Li Zhi feel a sense of accomplishment. It is a good thing to flatter each other.

Wang Zheng was stunned, and he curled his lips. Finally, he bowed to Li Zhi and said, "I know I was wrong. I will drink a cup as punishment."

Li Zhi hesitated for a moment, then asked tentatively, "Can't we let the fourth child govern the South China Sea while the third child continues to explore overseas?"

There are more than a hundred prefectures and counties in the five major border areas, plus various subordinate officials, which requires a huge administrative system, not to mention the manpower needed for various workshops, transportation, and logistics systems.

Wang Zheng pondered for a moment, then continued, "If Your Majesty really wants to continue exploring overseas, then why not issue a sailing license."

"The benefits of the South China Sea are too great, and the territory is equally vast. If we don't stabilize and govern it, and allow the aristocratic families to occupy the land and rule as kings, it may become an enclave in the future. We must guard against this."

The Yuzhou school has only been around for more than a decade. Being able to support the five major border areas at the same time is already the best that Wang Zheng has done. Talents like those of the four great disciples can be said to be hard to come by.

Li Zhi happily took it and started drinking. After Li Dan toasted one for Wang Zheng, he toasted one for himself and Xiao Taiping.

Li Zhi nodded, agreeing with Wang Zheng's opinion. After all, the dojo had achieved a lot of results in the past few years since Wang Zheng left.

Li Zhi also knew that he had said something wrong and smiled apologetically at Wang Zheng. Of course, it was impossible for him to apologize, but giving an apologetic expression was already very good.

If the imperial court issues navigation licenses and stipulates that wealth obtained from distant seas is exempt from tax, then I think countless big businessmen will be willing to go out to sea to seek wealth.

This way, I believe it will be faster than the third brother going out to sea to explore personally."

Li Zhi thought about it and suggested, "Isn't it too cheap for them to be completely tax-free? If nothing else, just transporting the goods from the Tang Dynasty to India would bring more than ten times the profit, and the round trip would only take a year.

If the tax exemption lasts for a few years, those aristocratic families will probably be out of the control of the imperial court."

Wang Zheng smiled and shook his head, and said confidently: "It is impossible to have a tenfold profit all the time. The reason why the profit is high now is just that the third brother deliberately controlled the goods brought over."