From Joy of Life, the Tian Gang is reversed

Chapter 120 The only heroes in the world are my aunt and Cheng Qian!

The world is like the tide and people are like water, but I sigh that few people return.

In the chess game of the world, even a grandmaster may not necessarily be able to become a chess player.

This time, Northern Qi was not only defeated on the battlefield, but also in other places. It can even be said that it was a great defeat.

The fall of Langtao caused great chaos in Northern Qi. Fortunately, the Crown Prince of Nanqing seemed to have a conflict with the Censorate, and he did not hand over Langtao to the Censorate. Instead, he detained it himself and brought back the news through the Northern Qi envoy who was driven out of Kyoto last time.

The Eastern Palace of Nanqing wants to trade wolf peaches and bitter lotus in exchange for the Tianyi Dao mental method and the complete collection of Western magic.

The so-called situation is stronger than people.

At first, this deal was controversial in Northern Qi, but after a major defeat, Northern Qi had no choice but to compromise.

Western magic is fine, but the Tianyi Dao mental method is of great importance and not everyone can obtain it. This is why the Northern Qi Saint Haitang Duoduo followed the diplomatic delegation to the capital to complete the transaction with the Southern Qing East Palace.

Guangxin Palace

The eldest princess stared at Li Chengqian's wheelchair with an unfriendly look on her face.

"You have hands and feet, so why can't you leave this broken wheelchair? Do you have to imitate that old cripple?"

"There's nothing I can do. I just get used to it after sitting here for a while. Who made me lazy?" Li Chengqian said with a smile.

"I really don't understand you." The eldest princess shook her head helplessly. "You're just acting out of turn. Why are you clashing with the Overwatch Council again? You hate Chen Pingping so much. How did he offend you?"

"He's blocking my way." Li Chengqian picked up the teacup and took a sip. "My aunt's place is still the best. They have all the good stuff. This tea tastes better than the one in the East Palace. I don't understand why my aunt's place always brings surprises when we have the same tribute."

"What do you mean? Are you saying that I withheld tribute?" The eldest princess narrowed her eyes and said unhappily.

"Most of the tributes were chosen by Auntie. What I meant is that in the future, the things given to me and the old man should be swapped. The things given to him before should be given to me, and the things sent to the East Palace should be given to him. He is a rough man anyway and can't taste it, right? It would be a pity to give him such good things."

The eldest princess opened her mouth slightly in disbelief. After a long pause, she pointed at Li Chengqian and said, "You...you are so, so filial."

"I have always been very filial."

"Yes, your father has confined you to the Eastern Palace. It's only been two months, and you've already come to Guangxin Palace. Aren't you afraid of your father's blame?"

"Aunt is one of us, she probably won't tell anyone. As for Guangxin Palace, I wonder if Aunt can fully control it?" Li Chengqian's tone seemed to imply something.

"What do you mean?"

"What I mean is that Guangxin Palace is leaking everywhere. It didn't matter before, but it won't work from now on." Li Chengqian put down his teacup and said, "What we are going to do next is very important. We must not let anyone else know. Lately, the old cripple has been keeping an eye on not only me but also your Guangxin Palace. I'm afraid of leaks."

The eldest princess's expression grew serious. "We can't let anyone else know about this, not even your father?"

"Aunt has been in charge of the inner treasury in recent years and has achieved remarkable results. I imagine she has a lot of experience in economics, right?"

"Of course." Li Yunrui couldn't help but flash a hint of pride in her eyes when she mentioned this. In the years of running the inner treasury, she had a general view of the overall situation and knew all kinds of business of Qing Kingdom like the back of her hand. Naturally, she also had a unique understanding of economy and governance, especially when it came to matters concerning the court's finances. Others might think it was a mess, but in her eyes, she could always see the essence of the problem and give corresponding solutions.

Of course, this was just her own experience, and not many people knew it. "So, it's not that Father is incompetent, it's that he truly is incompetent in this area. Even if we told him, he wouldn't understand. Why waste time explaining it?" Li Chengqian said with a smile.

"If you were my son, you would have been beaten to death long ago."

This flattery hit the spot right on the eldest princess's lips. Although she was harsh in her words, the corners of her mouth that were raised by the flattery said it all.

"This time, the Northern Qi delegation came here, ostensibly to negotiate peace, but in reality, they had another purpose: the salt administration. They probably wanted to cooperate with the Imperial Treasury, utilizing the new salt-drying method to manage Northern Qi's salt administration." Li Chengqian looked at the princess, a look of admiration flickering across his face. "You could also see this as Northern Qi coming to pay you tribute."

"Oh, what do you mean by surrender? And Northern Qi? Cheng Qian, you praise me too highly."

"How could that be? This great victory in the north may seem to be the work of my father-in-law, but we all know that more than half of the credit belongs to you. My father-in-law simply took advantage of you." Li Chengqian continued, "It's a pity that the world doesn't know the role that economic principles can play in national wars. In this world, the only ones who truly understand and can play this trick are you and me. Everyone else, huh—"

"Chengqian, you think too highly of me." The princess picked up the kettle and poured a glass of water for Li Chengqian. "I only gained some understanding of economics after taking over the inner treasury. If it weren't for your help, I wouldn't have understood it so clearly, and I wouldn't have thought of using the salt administration to impact Northern Qi's political situation!"

"That's because Auntie is smart and seized this rare opportunity. As for me, I can only offer suggestions and actually make the decisions, but I can't be as perfect as Auntie. I can only serve as a military advisor by her side."

"Hehe, Cheng Qian, you are really too modest!"

Praising each other always makes people feel inexplicably happy, and neither Li Chengqian nor the eldest princess is an exception.

"Cheng Qian, since you attach so much importance to what's coming next, I guess you already have a plan in mind?"

"Not really. Everything depends on your aunt's methods." Li Chengqian straightened his body, his expression becoming serious. "Northern Qi has come here to discuss the issue of salt administration. And if you want to discuss salt administration, you can't avoid your aunt. Because neither my father nor the ministers understand it, so the Northern Qi envoy will definitely come to discuss it with you. What do you think, aunt?"

"What do I think?" The princess narrowed her eyes and smiled like a fox. "At first, I was thinking about whether I could take advantage of this opportunity to make a fortune and expand the inner treasury's business. Northern Qi has different customs and industries from Southern Qi. Through the inner treasury, we can exchange for many precious resources. In the past, we relied on smuggling. Now, we can expand official business and make some money for the court. However, since you came here for this matter, I guess you don't like these conditions."

"These are as they should be, but what I really care about is the iron business."

"Ironware business?" The princess was shocked. "Are you crazy? Smuggling from the inner treasury to Northern Qi is almost open, but the smuggled items must not involve important military equipment. Because of this, the Supervisory Council has previously shut down two smuggling channels. Your subordinate Mao Qiwu was also involved. Don't you know?"

"I know. I don't want small-scale ironware business like yours. I want a large-scale ironware business," Li Chengqian said. "Northern Qi has abundant mineral resources, and many of the iron ores are very high-quality. However, due to limited smelting technology, they can't produce high-quality steel. On the other hand, we have excellent technology in the inner treasury, but we lack good ore. Don't you think this is a complementary opportunity?"

"But……"

"Aunt, following the old salt administration rules, can we dump our high-quality Daqing steel into Northern Qi within three years? Can we destroy Northern Qi's smelting industry? Make all their iron smelting workshops close down?"

"Uh--"

The princess' heart moved, as if she realized something. After a moment of silence, she said, "Well, I can give it a try. At worst, I can even buy him a kitchen knife."

"Find some ports, cooperate with Northern Qi, establish a few trading houses, and use sea transportation directly. In addition, the salt administration should be as big as possible to attract everyone's attention. As for how to operate, you are more familiar with it than I am."

The princess looked at Li Chengqian deeply and said, "I think I understand what you mean. Don't worry, I will carefully select the person and will never make a mistake."

"Alright." Li Chengqian slammed the table. "If this succeeds, the credit for destroying a nation will be easily within our grasp, and my aunt will be famous for all eternity!"

(End of this chapter)