For the royal family, a fine is not a very serious punishment, but to be fined millions of coins at any time, do you really think your family also makes money?
Take Prince Li Tai for example. All his annual overt income added up to only a few thousand strings of cash. Otherwise, he would have a lot of income in secret, but if you add them all up, it would be at most ten thousand strings of cash.
This is already the highest income among the nobles. Only the emperor's son has this income. You can imagine what the situation is like for others.
The fines here are equivalent to hundreds of years of income. Only Li Xiang dared to take it. If it were someone else, they would have admitted defeat by now.
"Father, if I remember correctly, Xiang'er's main source of income is liquor. He currently has to pay 100,000 strings of cash every year. If he loses again this time, I'm afraid that money won't be enough, right?"
Li Tai thought about it for a while and finally said this, which means that Li Xiang did not have enough money to take on this task.
"Talk to your second uncle."
Li Shimin sneered, thinking that his second son could only tinker with such trivial matters.
"To answer your question, Uncle, the sales in Chang'an City are basically like this, but our Great Tang is a vast territory, and sales in other cities have not yet been rolled out. According to the information obtained by my subordinates, if we roll out sales in other cities, the income will be about three to four times that of Chang'an City, so Uncle, don't worry that I won't be able to pay back the money."
Li Xiang said calmly that Li Shimin had already made an estimate of this matter, otherwise he would not have put forward this condition. The other punishments were indeed severe, but they would not benefit the Tang court. If Li Xiang could be fined another one million strings of cash, then Li Shimin could do a lot.
Sometimes Li Shimin even thought that this guy must not catch all the Goguryeo spies. It would be better to catch the main part so that it would not cause any interference with major events. In that way, he could solve the spy problem and fine him another one million strings of cash, which was equivalent to having the best of both worlds.
"Alright, alright, let's all go back. We've all been exhausted all day. You can recruit the eight hundred elite soldiers yourself or go to the military camp to select them. Your second uncle will take five hundred, and you three hundred."
Although Li Shimin seemed careless, he was actually very meticulous in doing things, including the allocation of manpower. Li Shimin gave the two of them a tight rein. Although Li Tai had 500 elites under him, there were too many things to take care of. Li Xiang had only 300 people, but he only had to take care of the Goguryeo line, which was much easier than Li Tai's.
"I'll take my leave."
"Grandson, take your leave."
Both of them breathed a sigh of relief, as it was the first time they had obtained military power. However, Li Tai felt a little uncomfortable. He was already in his twenties, and this was the first time he had obtained military power in addition to the original prince's guard.
This kid is only thirteen this year, and he has obtained military power just like himself. Comparing people will make you die, and comparing goods will make you throw them away. His future is limitless.
"I heard you have a batch of good weapons. Why don't you supply them to our Imperial City Division? You can take out the weapons temporarily. When the national treasury pays the bill next year, I will write you a note."
When they arrived outside the Qinzheng Hall, Li Tai began to take advantage of Li Xiang. He had also heard that Li Xiang's weapons were powerful, so he wanted to let Li Xiang take these weapons for free.
"A few days ago, someone came to my house and asked for knives. Each knife was 3,500 strings of cash, which is already the lowest price. If Second Uncle is willing to take it, we can write a note first, and then I will hurry up to work on it."
Hearing Li Xiang's words, Li Tai's face changed. Although the Imperial City Office was an important government office, no matter how important it was, it was impossible for them to be equipped with such weapons. If one person cost 3,500 strings of cash, then 800 people would cost millions of strings of cash. It would be strange if the court did not kill him then.
Li Tai got into the sedan chair and left cursing. Li Xiang was too lazy to argue with him. This was the second assignment he had received. The first one was the Liaodong Division of the Ministry of War. Now he had become the deputy seal of the Imperial City Division. Each department was more powerful than the other. All the affairs of the two yamen were handled by the emperor himself, which showed their importance.
Besides battling Li Tai, Li Xiang now had to face the Qinghe Cui family, which was a real headache. Li Xiang didn't want to face so many enemies at this stage, but some people just came knocking on his door, and he had to fight back. And then there was the guidance of his grandfather behind him...
If it weren't for Li Shimin's guidance, Li Xiang would not be attacked from all sides now. The people around him were just a whetstone to test Li Xiang, and also let Li Shimin see whether Li Xiang had the ability.
"Prime Minister Fang..."
When Li Xiang was about to leave, he saw Fang Xuanling coming from a distance.
"Is Your Highness disappointed today?"
Although Fang Xuanling did not participate in Li Xiang's series of actions, this man was very experienced and nothing that happened in the court could be hidden from his eyes. Li Xiang originally wanted to become the seal-in-chief, but now he has become a deputy seal-in-chief, and he also put a tight ring on the emperor.
"The East Palace has a weak foundation. I am very satisfied with today's achievements."
Li Xiang said helplessly that if Li Chengqian could leave a few people in the court, Li Xiang would definitely not have been defeated so badly today.
After carefully planning the Imperial City Administration, Li Tai ended up reaping the benefits. Of course, it's not that Li Tai was that capable, but it was the five surnames and seven families who went with the flow, which led to the result today.
"A true man can bend and stretch. If Your Highness has such thoughts, then our Tang Dynasty is truly blessed. I have something to say, but I'm not sure if I should say it or not."
Hearing that Fang Xuanling was willing to give him some advice, Li Xiang quickly stood by and showed respect to his nephew.
After Fang Xuanling saw this scene, he was filled with mixed emotions. When the prince was this old, he was polite to all the adults, but he didn't expect that later...
I hope His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will not follow his father’s path.
"The situation in Chang'an is chaotic. Your Highness must not get bogged down. No matter how chaotic the situation becomes, Your Highness only needs to remember one thing: catch all the Goguryeo spies. This matter concerns the fate of the Tang Dynasty."
After Fang Xuanling finished speaking, he left immediately. Li Xiang stayed where he was, repeating Fang Xuanling's words.
Li Xiang nodded in place. Fang Xuanling was right. No matter what Chang'an City became, no matter how Li Tai and the Five Surnames and Seven Families jumped around, he could not divert the current focus. Goguryeo spies were the primary targets.
The Tang Dynasty's destiny is first...
