Tibet

In the blink of an eye, at noon on the third day, hundreds of cavalry escorted a large carriage to Wude Restaurant. This carriage was a stab-proof carriage, basically made of pig iron, with iron plates on the four walls and an iron chassis. Boards, tall iron wheels, and very thick glass windows. Ordinary arrows cannot penetrate the glass. Even if a six-stone crossbow can penetrate the glass, there are cavalry with shields around, so there is no chance at all.

Li Ye and Dugu Taiwei were sitting in the carriage. Dugu Taiwei was holding his several-month-old son Li Ju. At noon today, Li Ye and Dugu Ming had tea, and he simply let Taiwei carry his son to see his grandfather.

"Husband, why don't you talk to your uncle instead of talking to my father?" Dugu Taiwei was covered with a blanket and was close to her husband. She has a beautiful appearance, a tall and plump figure, her skin is as white as fat, and she has a well-behaved and sensible personality. He was very favored by Li Ye.

Li Ye hugged his beloved wife and smiled and said: "Your uncle is the Prime Minister and Minister of the Ministry of War. It is okay to talk about official matters, but it is a bit inconvenient to talk about private matters. Your father and I have a good relationship, and he can also understand what I mean. Talk to him It’s very pleasant, and I haven’t seen him for a long time and want to talk to him.”

"It's a pity that my father doesn't want to be an official"

Li Ye said with a smile: "He is not in good health. Being an official requires hard work. His body cannot bear it. Besides, he is also the Duke of the country now and has a high status. It doesn't matter whether he is an official or not. I think it is better to recuperate at home. After all, he is old. It’s also big.”

Dugu Ming was already over 40 years old when he gave birth to Dugu Taiwei. His eldest daughter was named Princess Jingle and went to Khitan to marry her. She was beheaded by the Khitans when she was only sixteen years old. As a result, Dugu Ming became seriously ill and lost her figure. Better off.

Dugu Tai nodded slightly, "My husband is right, my father is not in good health and is not suitable to be an official!"

Soon, the carriage entered Pingkangfang and drove towards Wude Restaurant

Wude Restaurant was closed for business at noon today. Three hundred internal guards were stationed and inspected everything inside and out carefully. There were sentries all around and no one was allowed to approach.

Moreover, the shopkeeper, chef and bartender in the restaurant all went to rest elsewhere temporarily, and the chef and maid from Xingqing Palace took over the restaurant.

The carriage slowly approached the back door. Dugu Ming and his wife were waiting at the door. Li Ye and Dugu Taiwei, surrounded by a large group of female guards, got out of the carriage. After everyone saw the ceremony, they entered the restaurant through the back door.

They did not go to the restaurant, but went to the independent courtyard at the back. In addition to the three-story restaurant, Wude Restaurant also had eight small courtyards at the back, which were of high quality. They entered the Plum Blossom Courtyard, which was a small courtyard that Li Ye often visited. .

Dugu Ming hugged his grandson and smiled from ear to ear. The little guy slept soundly, and no one dared to wake him up. So Dugu Ming gave the child to his wife, and his wife went to chat with her daughter next door with the child in her arms.

Li Ye and Dugu Ming sat down. They were Weng's son-in-law, and they usually had a good relationship, which was quite relaxed.

The maid served a few side dishes and a pot of tea. Dugu Ming was still in mourning and could not drink, so he could only drink tea instead of wine.

He poured a cup of tea for Li Ye, and Dugu Ming smiled and said: "Starting yesterday, all the slaves of the Dugu family have begun to become civilians. There are more than 18,000 people in total, and they will all be converted to civilians by the end of the year."

Li Ye nodded, "That's good. Although I also know that it is impossible to completely ban slaves, there will be various ways to work around it, such as criminals not being official slaves, long-term employment in disguise, etc., as well as slaves sold from abroad, but It must be expressly prohibited in the law, at least it is strictly forbidden for good people to be sold into slavery. If one person is convicted, then one person will bear the responsibility, and the whole family is not allowed to be an official slave. "

Dugu Ming said with a smile: "Since the Dugu family has been released, they won't make any changes. They will definitely become civilians completely. In fact, I advise my brother that instead of waiting for the imperial court's decree to abolish slavery, it is better to take the initiative to de-slave. It has to be a favor." "If the master is kind, others will naturally follow you to the island. If the master is unkind, even if the others are slaves, they will not go with you."

"This is a good saying. The key to making people follow you whether they are life or death is kindness. It has nothing to do with whether you are a slave or not. Tian Heng's five hundred warriors are not slaves either!"

Dugu Ming poured another cup of tea for Li Ye, "My eldest brother has been thinking about what path the Dugu family should take in the past two years. In fact, not only the Dugu family, but other Guanlong families are also thinking about it. Sometimes they vaguely see something. , but sometimes I’m confused and don’t know what to do? Your Highness is far-sighted, can you give me some direction?”

Li Ye smiled and said: "Actually, no matter which direction you go, as long as you are not drunk, arrogant and enjoying life, or domineering and bullying the people, I think any direction is fine.

Of course, the imperial court does not support the powerful people of aristocratic families taking the old path of annexing land. It really needs to assess the situation and move in the direction of long-term prosperity. "

Dugu Ming smiled bitterly and said: "The key is that I hope His Highness can point in a direction of long-term prosperity."

Li Ye smiled, "Technology!"

"technology?"

Dugu Ming looked confused, "I don't quite understand. Can Your Highness make it clear?"

Li Ye said lightly: "To put it simply, it means walking faster and farther, with greater output and higher efficiency. Specific examples can be given. For example, it usually takes three months to travel from Chang'an to Beiting. If I want to compress it into one What about Yue? Yes, first of all, road construction is a matter for the government. Once Tang Zhidao is completed, how to make full use of Tang Zhidao?

When the first industry came, a large number of posthouses could be built along the way, and horses were replaced every hundred miles, which required a large number of horses. Then the second industry also came, animal husbandry and horse breeding.

What if it is to transport goods? There are many industries involved here. First of all, we need very strong and durable large carriages, so the car manufacturing industry came out. Strong and durable carriages must use a lot of pig iron, which involves mining and smelting.

In fact, I hope that the Dugu family can invest in mining and smelting. The military weapons supervision has explosives, which is a powerful tool for mining and can greatly develop the mining industry. With enough pig iron, we will enter the iron age from the wooden age. Now the plows used for farming only account for 30%, and the other 70% are still wooden plows. If they are all replaced with iron plows, will the efficiency of farming be higher? "

Dugu Ming nodded, "I understand, your highness hopes that the Dugu family will invest in the industry, dig more mines, smelt more iron, and weave more cloth. "

"That's right! "

Li Ye nodded happily and said, "There is another strategic industry, which is shipbuilding. I suggest you go to the School of Engineering. The School of Engineering is testing steam engines and is about to succeed. Once successful, it can drive ships to sail tens of thousands of miles, no longer requiring wind and manpower, and regardless of the season. In the future, when you recruit laborers from Tianzhu to develop islands, you will rely on this kind of steam ship for transportation. In addition, I hope that all seagoing ships will be built into iron-hulled ships in the future."

Dugu Ming's eyes were originally shrouded in fog, and Li Ye's words were like a gust of wind, sweeping away the fog in front of him. He saw a broad road in front of him. He knew that the Dugu family How should the family go. "

Dugu Ming nodded slowly, "Your Highness's words made me completely enlightened, and I know which direction the Dugu family should go. "

Li Ye smiled slightly and said, "Which direction, can you tell me?"

"Shipbuilding, mining, and smelting!"

"Very good!"

Li Ye praised, "This is the way to long-term development!"

At this time, Dugu Ming thought of something, and said to Li Ye, "After discussion, our family decided to transfer 70% of the shares of Baoji Guifang to Xinyue and Taiwei."

The transfer of shares to Dugu Xinyue and Dugu Taiwei is actually to Li Ye's two sons, or to Li Ye's family.

Li Ye narrowed his eyes, "Will the Dugu family be willing to give it up?"

Dugu Ming nodded, "The remaining 30% will be sold to the Ministry of Revenue!"

The entire court's official and military salaries, as well as the court's large-scale fund transfers, are all operated by Baoji Guifang. In fact, Baoji Guifang has already controlled the court's financial lifeline. Li Ye had hinted to Dugu Lie before that the court had become dependent on Baoji Guifang.

Dugu Lie really understood, but it was impossible for them to give such assets worth hundreds of thousands of guan directly to the court. The family discussed and sold 30% of them to the court, and the remaining 70% to the two imperial concubines, which was actually given to Li Ye's family.

As for whether Li Ye should give all of it to the court, it was none of their family's business.