Lou Rui is quite enthusiastic.
He was not afraid at all of Liu Taozi, who was covered in blood in front of him, and walked quickly to Taozi's side. Everyone dismounted, and Lou Rui gestured with Taozi's size with his hand.
"What a strong man!"
"My nephew's war horse is not bad either."
"My subordinates pay homage to the prefect."
"Hey, my nephew, why do you need to be so outspoken? Just call me your lord!"
"My nephew has been in Liyang for a while. How is it? Are you still used to it? Is the food delicious?"
The two of them just started chatting as if no one else was around. They were all normal greetings. However, there were four piles of Beijing temples not far away, blood was still flowing in the drainage channel, and rows of corpses were placed there.
In front of those red doors, black smoke billowed in the distance, exuding the smell of burning destruction. Evil birds gathered in mid-air, looking down at the grand scene below and screaming loudly.
In such an environment, the normal greetings between the two people became abnormal.
Everyone looked at the two of them in shock. Shi Yao was shocked when he heard that Lou Rui and Liu Taozi were so close. He wanted to ask Tian Zili and others, but he found that these people were also confused, but
Dutian Zili, he was thoughtful, and when he saw Shi Yao's eyes, he shook his head slightly and signaled the other party not to speak yet.
Lou Rui looked around, as if he had just discovered the situation here.
He shook his head and said, "This place doesn't seem to be a suitable place for chatting. The smell is too great! Come on, come back to your home with me. We'll chat again when we get back home!"
He took Taozi's hand, and Taozi looked back at the crowd and motioned for them to continue carrying it.
Lou Rui pulled Taozi into the car, and the carriage immediately started to leave.
Yao Xiong was a little nervous, and he quickly asked: "Brother, I'm going alone, will everything be okay?"
Tian Zili shook his head, "No. If he wants to harm his brother, why would he need such methods? Just keep moving!"
Everyone dispersed and continued busy.
On the opposite side, Lieutenant Dugu, was extremely embarrassed at this moment. He froze on the spot, at a loss.
Shi Yao also followed Tian Zili at this moment, "What is going on? Why is Lou Rui so enthusiastic? Who is Liu Jun?"
Tian Zili did not explain, "Don't be anxious, Mr. Shi. You can ask him personally when your brother comes back."
At this moment, Liu Taozi and Lou Rui were sitting in the carriage. Lou Rui said confidently: "My cousin said that you are one of our own. I was a little confused. Now I believe it. You are indeed one of ours!!"
Then he was a little confused: "But why don't you come to see me?"
Liu Taozi said calmly: "My subordinates are only low-level officials of the ninth rank. How dare they disturb the prefect?"
"Don't talk nonsense!"
Lou Rui waved his hand displeased, with a serious look on his face: "Just tell me the truth. My sixth cousin and I have always been on good terms. You don't have to worry."
He lowered his voice, "I support his rise to power!"
Liu Taozi's face remained calm, "I was planning to go to the house to see you later."
The two chatted all the way to the county government office. The door of the mansion was opened, and Lou Rui's carriage drove in smoothly. They arrived at the door of the backyard, and Lou Rui and Tao Zi just got out of the car.
The backyard was also quite huge. Lou Rui walked in front of him proudly, pointing around, showing off his luxurious decoration. According to him, it was the wood used to build his pavilion.
They were all bought from the south at a huge price.
"Look at the material and pattern of this wood, you can't find it in the entire Sizhou, not to mention Liyang!"
Liu Taozi followed what he pointed at and looked at the wood. The wood was as red as blood, and the patterns on it looked like tortured souls with twisted faces, struggling and roaring.
Lou Rui talked like this all the way and finally took him into the inner room.
As soon as he walked in, Lou Rui took a deep breath and said, "I have been eating fast and chanting Buddha's name for many years, and I have never smelled the smell of blood. I still smell the fragrance in my house."
He sat on the upper seat and asked Liu Taozi to sit aside.
When Taozi took his seat, he began to look at Liu Taozi again.
"My dear nephew, why do you look so familiar to me the more I look at you? Have we met before?"
"Never met."
"That's weird"
Lou Rui frowned and stroked his beard. He quickly raised his head and scolded the servant beside him: "You haven't welcomed guests for a long time. Have you even forgotten the etiquette? What are you doing in a daze?!"
The servant hurriedly apologized and immediately began to get busy.
At this moment, Lou Rui was about to speak but stopped.
He pondered for a moment, and then said: "My dear nephew, we are all a family, so I won't hide it from you. I have always been straightforward, unlike those Han officials who have to hide everything and hide everything. They are extremely hypocritical.
!”
"The family you just killed, they gave me a lot of benefits, and they paid tribute every month without interruption, but you just went and slaughtered that family, how can I explain to them?"
"Who else will dare to come and give me gifts in the future? Doesn't this ruin my reputation?"
"You are a member of your own family, why do you need to imitate that crazy person Yang and Shi crazy person and engage in hypocritical activities?"
Lou Rui now transformed into an elder of the "Gao family" and began to teach Liu Taozi, a junior of the "Gao family".
"Look, what was the purpose of our past wars and killings? Isn't it just to live a good life? What's the use of having a name? If you don't enjoy it while you're alive, everyone will miss you when you die.
Well, can you still live again?"
"My dear nephew, as a human being, firstly, you must know how to enjoy yourself and not do meaningless things. Secondly, you must have principles and fulfill your duties."
"Don't just believe the words of those Han officials. They keep saying that they want to govern the country, but their relatives occupy a lot of farmland and their slaves are tyrannical. Do you think Madman Yang is dedicated to serving the country? He has many relatives in his family.
, then what does the Li family mean in front of his family? Even their evil deeds are not even 10% as good as theirs!"
"Like me, although I receive money from big families, I don't occupy the cultivated land of ordinary people. I don't have tenants. There are not many good people like me anymore."
"My dear nephew, you are still young and ignorant. Listen to me and don't do such wrong things again!"
Lou Rui's tone was very sincere.
He seemed to really think so, and didn't feel there was anything wrong with what he said at all.
Liu Taozi looked at him, her brows raised, her eyes deep.
"Sir, there are many things you said that are inappropriate."
Liu Taozi interrupted Lou Rui, but Lou Rui didn't feel angry. He was very surprised by this.
"What's wrong?"
"Sir, you have seen today how wealthy the Li family is. Even if they are an official servant, the food in their storehouse is piled up like a mountain, and the cloth can fill two large houses. It can be seen that the amount they donate every month
What I gave you was less than 10% of what they received."
"This is our family's territory. How can we let these people take the majority and let us eat the rest?"
Lou Rui's eyes lit up, and he nodded with joy, "You can teach me!"
Here, as long as they are not like Shi Yao and Yang Min, they are all "teachable".
He smiled and said: "What you said makes sense, but you are still young and don't understand the principle of long-lasting water. You beat the Li family half to death with a stick and rob other people's property. What's the point? This is called fishing in a river.
"
"Think about it, we used to get gifts every month, but now we can only get them once or twice. We got a lot in these two times, but what about in the future? Who will give us money?"
"My dear nephew, as a human being, you still have to have a long-term vision and not be short-sighted!"
"wrong."
Liu Taozi interrupted him again, and Liu Taozi said: "To give gifts like in the past is the only way to make a profit."
"ah?"
Lou Rui stared at him.
Liu Taozi said: "People like the Li family are extremely greedy and do things without any restraint. They eat up the cultivated land, eat up the taxes, and then spread the tribute grains evenly to the people. In October,
The people in Liyang County have no food left, and this is driving them to a dead end!"
"If the common people have no way to survive, then who can the Li family turn to? If they don't take advantage of the common people, who can we ask for benefits?"
"Besides, these traitors are brutal and are distributed throughout Daqi. If they commit such crimes, the people's hearts will be shaken, and Daqi will not be able to survive for long. If my family's empire is lost, how can we talk about glory and wealth?"
Lou Rui looked at him in shock, then lowered his head and began to think deeply.
"What do you mean?"
"Sir Cai just advised me to attach importance to profits and not to attach importance to fame."
"But I think we should gain both fame and fortune."
"What does it mean to have both fame and fortune?"
"These big families have a lot of property. The ones in Liyang have not yet been counted, but I know that the money and food of the Murong family in Cheng'an is enough to feed tens of thousands of people for several years. They lend part of it to neighboring counties.
, it will not affect it at all.”
"How much wealth does this wealthy family in Liyang have?"
"This profit, of course, must be taken from these big households. How much money do the poor people have? If you want to get money, of course you have to get it from rich people! Loot their homes and rob their food! This time,
It’s more than what they got in the ten years since they presented gifts!”
"As for this man, after robbing the big households, he used some of their grain to subsidize taxes and appease the people."
"In this way, the people can continue to work, Daqi's country will be more stable, and your reputation will also increase greatly. Everyone will think that you are a sage who can govern the world. If you raid the Li family today, you will loot other houses tomorrow.
If your family can be copied, if you change it to a county official, you will get more than before, and your reputation in the government and the opposition will be greater. Even people like Madman Yang can't say bad things about you. This is what is called
Fame and fortune!"
Lou Rui was shocked.
Lou Rui lost his father when he was young and was raised by his uncle. During this process, he did not receive much education. He hung out with Xianbei military households since he was a child. He knew how to ride a horse, kill people, fight, and was only enlightened in reading.
I have learned a rough idea and have no interest in the so-called principles of governing the country.
After the Gao family gained control of the world, he, who could only ride a horse and kill people, occupied a high position, and then he began a crazy plan to make money.
Gao Cheng couldn't stand his many ridiculous behaviors and almost wanted to deal with him. In the end, for Empress Dowager Lou's sake, he slightly tolerated him and demoted him to a lower level, but he still didn't know how to restrain himself.
Liu Taozi's words instantly opened the door to a whole new world for Lou Rui.
Lou Rui looked at Liu Taozi blankly, and murmured: "I understand. This is why King Changshan asked you to go there!"
"Did he send a lot of people to punish the local powerful families?"
"First it's the Murong family, now it's the Li family"
Liu Taozi nodded lightly, "Yes, your Majesty attaches great importance to people's livelihood. Today, Da Qi's national treasury is seriously short of food, and even the army's expenses are difficult to support. Therefore, your Majesty has sent many people to severely punish local tyrants and solve the food problem.
.”
Lou Rui stood up suddenly and began to walk back and forth around Liu Taozi, his pace getting faster and faster.
He walked like this for a long time, and suddenly stopped in front of Liu Taozi, grabbed his hand, "Why didn't I meet you earlier!"
"You're right! I've long felt that their gifts were too little. Then Madman Yang can pretend to be a good person, but I can't do the same?!"
"Good nephew!"
Liu Taozi stood up and said, "Sir."
"I'll leave this Liyang County matter to you. Well, you can keep the Li family's things for yourself. You don't have to give them to me!"
Lou Rui said it twice and was still looking at the peach secretly. Liu Taozi said: "How can I eat so much money and food by myself? I will send someone to transport the things from the county government to the county later."
Yamen, please allow me to use some of it to appease the people in the city in your name."
"Oh!! Good nephew!! Why are you doing this?!"
Lou Rui exclaimed in surprise. He stood on tiptoes happily and patted Liu Taozi on the shoulder, "My good nephew! My good nephew!"
He groped around, then gritted his teeth and took off the sword from his waist.
The sword was very slender. The scabbard was black, with golden decorations on the middle and top. There were two golden bumps on the hilt. He slowly pulled out the sword. The sword was ordinary and had no decorations, but it was shining.
With a sharp cold light.
"This is what my uncle gave me when I won my first big victory. It's called the Huaxing Sword."
Lou Rui's face was a little hesitant. He held the sword tightly and felt very entangled in his heart.
Liu Taozi spoke, "Since it was given by Emperor Shenwu, please keep it."
"Give it to you!!"
Lou Rui tilted his head, closed his eyes, and forced the sword to Liu Taozi in front of him.
"I'm too fat now to ride a war horse or wield a sword. Just take it!!"
Liu Taozi took the sword. The sword was quite heavy and felt very special when held in his hand.
"Thank you, sir."
Liu Taozi held a magnificent sword in his hand and strode out of the inner room. Under the guidance of a servant, he walked quickly outside the courtyard. His pace was so fast that the servant had to run to keep up. The servant was filled with hatred.
Teeth itching, this was the first person who dared to run to lead the way, but remembering the name and attitude the family master had just given him, he did not dare to reveal any of his resentment.
When they walked out of the county government gate, there were two people standing at the door.
Zhao Juncheng and Lonely Junwei.
The moment Zhao Kai saw Liu Taozi, he stepped back in horror, trembling all over.
Just because Liu Taozi still hadn't washed up, he still looked like a ghost covered in blood at this moment.
Luckily for Captain Dugu, he was not afraid. He frowned and looked at the little county magistrate in front of him.
"Mr. Liu."
When Dugu Wei saw the sword in Liu Taozi's hand, his pupils shrank, he immediately changed his words and lowered his head. When he raised his head again, a flattering smile appeared on his face.
"During the Dugu Festival, I have never had the opportunity to visit Mr. Liu. I will definitely come to visit him in a few days."
Liu Taozi nodded and passed between the two of them. There was already a servant standing aside holding a green lion. He took the horse and strode towards the county government office.
Dugujie watched him go straight to the county government office and wiped the sweat from his forehead, "What is this guy's background? Mr. Lou gave him all the Huajingjian??"
Others don't know, but Dugujie knows very well that Lou Jun likes the sword the most. He takes it out to show off to everyone when he has nothing to do on weekdays. When he goes to bed at night, he has to hold it in his arms and mention it to everyone he meets. But
The treasure that was so valued was now in the hands of this guy.
Dugujie let out a long sigh.
This Liyang is really getting harder and harder to get along with.
The servant who sent Liu Taozi away now raised his head, his face full of defiance, "The master of the house wants you two to come in and pay homage!!"
"only"
The treatment of these two people was far less than that of Liu Taozi. They lowered their heads and followed the slaves. They did not dare to look at the situation in the county government office. After all, there were many female relatives in the county government office.
When they entered the inner room, Lou Rui was patting his legs gently, with a look of reluctance on his face. When he saw the two people coming in, he waved roughly to ask them to come closer.
The two of them stood in front of him. Lou Rui frowned and pondered for a moment, "Dugujie, please assign a group of people to Zhao Kai."
"only!!"
Lou Rui then looked at Zhao Kai and said, "Take someone with you and go to Dunqiu County and Dongli Township to share the tribute."
Zhao Kai was a little confused, "What does Mr. Lou mean?"
"Is this big family only found in Liyang?! Don't Dunqiu and Dongli not have one? County Cheng Liu has done a very good job. How come you, County Cheng, don't understand anything?!"
Zhao Kai still didn't understand, "Does the prefect want me to do what Liu Zhizhi did and plunder the wealthy families in the other two places?"
"What does robbery mean? How unpleasant it sounds! It's an equal share! It's an equal share!"
"The tribute grain is insufficient, do you need to make up for it?"
Zhao Kai was stunned. He didn't understand why his prefect suddenly made such a decision. He pursed his lips and said, "Prefect, there has never been any reason to let big households share the situation equally."
"Okay, okay, if the rich people don't share the balance equally, then you can share it equally!"
"Lou Gong! It can be divided evenly! It can be divided evenly! I will go now!"
Zhao Kai stood up tremblingly. Lou Rui hurriedly stepped forward and grabbed his sleeves. Lou Rui's eyes were extremely fierce as he stared straight at Zhao Kai.
"Just do what Liu Taozi did. Don't think about fooling me, and don't think about your friends. You are an official. I can't draw my sword to kill you, but I have countless ways to make you
Life is worse than death, do you understand??"
Zhao Kai nodded dully, "I understand."
Chapter completed!