Established a millennium family since King Wu defeated Zhou

Chapter 1003 A way out
The proposal of the exchange is closely related to the current reality of the Tang Dynasty. From the various cruel punishments in ancient times to the abolition of corporal punishment, and then to the simplification of administration and leniency in punishment in the Tang Dynasty, this is actually a gradual downward shift of the people-oriented thought.

Civil rights thinking also flourished within the Tang Dynasty, which led to subsequent events.

“We can pool the idle money in society and invest it in enterprises that need funds, while at the same time enabling the people who invest to gain tangible benefits.”

This is the advice given by the minister who made the suggestion to the emperor.

This matter was quickly brought to the imperial court meeting, and those attending the meeting were the real top leaders of the empire. The emperor and Luo Changqing were both in hesitation.

After listening to everyone's opinions, the emperor was inclined to establish this exchange, mainly because it seemed to be another place to attract private funds, which made him very tempted.

This is mainly due to problems with Luo's Bank.

Luo's Money House has naturally made considerable profits in recent years, but now, Luo's Money House has a big problem, that is, it is backed by Luo's family, and they have strict auditing of various loan documents.

For a money bank, this can ensure that the bad debt rate of the bank is very low. The healthy and good operation of Luo's Money Bank for so many years has benefited from this.

But this makes it difficult for many factory owners to withdraw funds from banks, or to obtain loans illegally by offering bribes.

For local officials, many of the factories they saw needed funds but could not get approval from the Luo Bank. In addition, it was now the electrical age and transportation and communication were no longer as inconvenient as in the past. Therefore, money banks were now everywhere, and there were basically money banks in every province and even state capital.

In the eyes of ordinary people, those money houses are naturally not as stable as Luo's Money House. In terms of scale and operation, they are far inferior to Luo's Money House.

But many of those small money houses have grown to be large in scale, and their interest rates are higher than Rockefeller's, and they have also attracted a lot of savings.

Those money houses and factories combined to form giant groups. The strength of these groups is difficult to describe in simple words. Let’s put it this way, Luo Changqing used these people to defeat the land nobles.

For example, some factories appear to produce farm tools and cars, but with just a little modification they can be transformed into military factories.

The speed of industrial value-added in turn fed back to the banks, and many banks expanded at an extremely fast rate. The combination of industry and finance created monopoly groups.

In Luo Changqing's opinion, this is of course very dangerous. After all, once problems arise in the factory, these banks with only one business will go bankrupt and be unable to recover the loans, and the depositors' savings will basically be wiped out.

If there is a problem with the money bank, the factory’s capital chain will also be in trouble, and a large number of employees will lose their jobs.

Most of the hired workers could only make a living. If these people lost their jobs, the impact on the empire would be like farmers losing their land in the agricultural era.

The collapse of the empire was brewing in this.

But he had no right to take care of the matter.

Theoretically, the power of a monarch is unlimited, but in reality it is not. There are naturally people in this world who are more powerful than the monarch.

A king can trample on these principles, but he cannot change the thinking of the people of the world.

This is the principle of paying back debts.

A contract agreed upon between two parties, and this contract has been confirmed by two normal people, and even the king cannot interfere.

People can freely decide which bank to invest their money in.

This has been the truth since ancient times.

Today's Datang Money Bank is essentially a form of private lending. The savings slips received are not stamped with official seals, but only with seals between the people and the money bank.

The same thing happened to Luo's Money House back then, but the credit of Luo's Money House was so strong that everyone simply ignored it.

Luo Changqing saw this danger, so he naturally became more cautious about finance. The more he came into contact with this aspect, the more he felt that it was something that could destroy everything.

If it is not strictly controlled, it will sooner or later cause a big mess. According to Luo Changqing's judgment, the money banks in various provinces are already gradually having problems. It's not because of poor management, but because they are being hollowed out by the local government.

Now a new tool for making money has appeared. Luo Changqing was silent for a long time, but still felt that this thing should not be allowed to appear.

The transaction is said to be simple, allowing people to freely choose the companies they want to invest in. In theory, those companies with good performance and promising prospects will naturally get more money.

But the problem is, how can ordinary people know the internal operating conditions of the company? Luo Changqing only thought about it for a moment and thought of many loopholes. This thing is a scam.

In the end, the ones who can benefit from this are nothing more than the powerful and wealthy. Moreover, if this newly established exchange is regarded as a government office, what level of government office should it be? If the level is low, there will be more people who can take advantage of it.

Luo Changqing put forward all his ideas, and the faces of those who had made suggestions changed immediately, while the eyes of some others lit up.

It seemed that he got some inspiration from Luo Changqing's words.

After hearing what Luo Changqing said, the emperor hesitated for a moment. He thought about it and felt a little tired. After all, he was old. If Luo Changqing, a nearly 100-year-old man, had not been here, he would be the oldest person here.

The emperor is already the longest-lived emperor in the history of the Tang Dynasty.

This man.

Sometimes living too long is not a good thing.

Although the emperor still trusted Luo Changqing in the past ten years, he had a problem, which was that he was a little foolish and easily believed the words of women, such as the teenage and twenties girls around him, who would whisper in his ear and cause him to do some ridiculous things.

Fortunately, he still knew his limits and basically the things he did did not amount to a big deal, but this was already a very bad sign.

In the past few years, Luo Changqing only needed to explain the pros and cons, but now sometimes he needs to scare the emperor. The emperor does a lot of things now, and he cares about how big the things are. This leads to many things that seem to have no harm on the surface, and even have benefits, but in fact may cause far-reaching harm.

These things that should have been rejected were all agreed to by the emperor. Luo Changqing was the prime minister, and without the Fengge Luantai seal, the imperial edict could not be implemented.

But there were too many things to do, and Luo Changqing could not possibly reject them all, otherwise where would the emperor's face be? Moreover, if he rejected the emperor's edict, he would always have to give a reason, unless there were clear disadvantages. Many things could not be based on mere speculation.

For example, this matter now.

Although Luo Changqing expressed his concerns, the emperor might not realize how serious the situation was.

To put it more clearly, the world is developing too fast. In just a few decades, it has completely leapt from the steam age to the electrical age. An old man like Tianzi can no longer keep up with today's society.

The rising class has advanced toward the highest stage of neo-education, imperialism, and is now gradually moving toward monopoly. The combination of finance and industry that is booming in the provinces is a clear proof of this.

It's not just the emperor. Many people in the middle and high-level positions in the empire are like this. Facing this new world, they have fallen behind and are far inferior to those young people.

In this world, young people are stronger than old people. Even if old people have vast resources, most of the time they will be overthrown by young people who have nothing.

Not to mention today's turbulent times, the power of the entire world is now in a stage of rapid growth.

If the power of the entire world was 10 ten years ago, and the empire controlled 6, then it could suppress all disobedience. But now the power of the entire world has become 30, and the power controlled by the empire may be only 12. It seems that the power of the empire has doubled, but in fact the relative power of the empire has decreased.

If the top leaders of the empire continue to be immersed in vanity and fail to see the dangers hidden among the people, then no one will be able to save them.

"Grandfather, the emperor issued an edict to open exchanges in several major cities of the empire and appoint gold guardians, high-ranking officials of the fourth rank."

I'm so tired.

Sitting in the palace, Luo Changqing felt a little tired after a long time. At the beginning, he told the new school members who came to persuade him that the empire was on his shoulders. Now the empire was really all on his shoulders.

……

The establishment of the exchange has indeed made the current booming situation even more prosperous. In fact, most people don’t even know what an exchange is. Those who can participate in these exchanges are those with some savings and assets, the so-called middle class.

Luo Changqing is not the only smart person in the world, and he is not the only direct descendant of the Luo family. It’s just that most people are dazzled by the prosperity in front of them.

Today's economic society has only been around for a short time, and no one knows where the current social form will lead. It is like arriving in an unfamiliar place, and no one knows what dangers there will be. We can only grope our way around bit by bit.

Because of the existence of Luo's Money House, Luo Changqing can see a lot of data, so he can foresee some dangers in advance, but others can't do it.

Most people can only see that the world is changing every moment. High-rise buildings are rising from the ground, there are more and more cars on the road, and almost all factories are running at full capacity, continuously producing all the materials needed by mankind.

With the trend of urbanization, as long as something can be put on the market, there is no need to worry about selling it. The huge productivity brought by the electrical age is changing everyone and the entire world.

Only at this time can we see the importance of a unified empire. If there was no unified empire, wars might have already broken out between the provinces. However, although the competition is extremely fierce now, there is still a bottom line. No matter how brutal the business war is, at least millions of people will not die.

The situation has developed to this point, and the last obstacle for them may be the royal family.

The “they” here are not only the big businessmen, but also a large number of imperial bureaucrats, even including officials at the governor level.

Luo Changqing is still holding on, and sometimes he doesn't even know what he is holding on to. He is not much of a paperhanger, because he is the first contributor to the Tang Empire's current leaky state.

The change in the economic base was his reform, the political relaxation reform was also his reform, and the relaxation of cultural control was also his reform.

If we were to rank the gravediggers of the Tang Dynasty, he would indeed be number one.

But it is visible to the naked eye that the current Tang Dynasty is better than before, much better in all aspects.

He was genuinely delighted about it.

How can we achieve both in this world, without letting down the Tang Dynasty and the people?

...In recent days, the emperor has become more and more absurd. It is said that he spends all day playing with beauties in the harem and collecting all kinds of rare treasures and antiques, which shows the signs of an ancient tyrant. To be honest, this emperor worked hard to govern the country in the first half of his life since he ascended the throne, but in the second half of his life, he has been playing for decades.

Luo Changqing hadn't seen the emperor for some time. As usual, he left the Prime Minister's Residence and headed back to the palace, but he was unexpectedly stopped by the eunuchs in the palace on the way.

The eunuch said anxiously that the emperor wanted Luo Changqing to enter the palace. Luo Changqing did not doubt it and entered the palace.

It was only after entering the palace that Luo Changqing felt something was wrong. The atmosphere in the palace was tense. Something big must have happened.

He didn't care about his own danger, because this kind of assassination was useless to the head of the Luo family. In the case where assassination was useful, the political figure must have no political heirs. However, the Luo family would always have heirs, and they could inherit the will of the previous generation, so there were basically no assassinations against the Luo family.

When he walked into the imperial palace bedroom, Luo Changqing actually saw white silk hanging. Could it be that the emperor had passed away?

He felt as if struck by lightning, but then he thought something was wrong. Even if the emperor had passed away, how could he be hanged in a white silk scarf if none of his important ministers came? The emperor would not bypass him, the King of Luo, and let others take charge of the funeral affairs. This had never happened for more than a hundred years.

The emperor and the King of Luo saw each other off to their final resting places; this was an iron rule of the Tang Dynasty's politics.

When he walked into the hall, he found a coffin inside, but the lid was not closed. Court musicians were playing funeral music. As if they heard footsteps, a person sat up from the coffin. Luo Changqing looked closely and found that it was the emperor!
Even though I knew that the emperor was becoming more and more absurd, I never expected that he would be so absurd as to hold such a funeral for himself.

This is really ridiculous.

Seeing Luo Changqing coming, and looking at Luo Changqing's face, the emperor was obviously very old, but he had an embarrassed look on his face. He climbed out of the coffin, smiled and said to Luo Changqing: "Prince Luo, you are here, don't be angry, I feel that my ancestors are going to summon me, so I am familiar with them in advance. Look at my cheeks, they are so pale, I am afraid that I will not live long."

Luo Changqing then carefully observed the emperor's complexion, his brows furrowed immediately. The emperor's problem was not just paleness, his biggest problem was that there was a sallow complexion underneath the paleness. The emperor said that he felt the call of his ancestors, and he was not talking nonsense. Judging from this, death really could come at any time, and the emperor was really going to die of old age.

"All of you go out, let me have a good talk with Prince Luo."

The emperor drove everyone out, including the historian. This move startled Luo Changqing, who knew that the emperor was going to say something that would be difficult to record in history books.

The emperor invited Luo Changqing to sit down, "Lord Luo, we are all old and used to sitting on chairs, so I won't do the kneeling thing. Just sit down.

Come, Prince Luo, you have poured tea for me many times. This time, I will pour tea for you once. I am about to die, and I just want to have a good talk with you, Prince Luo."

Luo Changqing felt very strange about the emperor's actions. He didn't know what kind of medicine was sold in the emperor's pot. He didn't shy away from it. He took the tea directly and said casually, "Thank you, Your Majesty."

The emperor poured himself another cup of tea and took a sip. "It has a sweet and refreshing aftertaste. It is really good tea. It's a pity that I won't be able to drink it in the future. It's not just this good tea, but also the beauty, the wine, the beautiful scenery, and many other things that I won't be able to enjoy anymore."

The emperor sighed here, feeling regretful from the bottom of his heart, "Lord Luo, the absurd things I have done over the years must have given you a headache. Are you wondering why I suddenly became like this?"

As soon as the emperor said this, Luo Changqing instantly raised his head and stared at the emperor with a serious expression on his face.

Luo Changqing previously thought that the emperor was slacking off because of his old age. After all, there were many such cases in history. But after listening to the emperor's words, he felt very curious as to whether there was any hidden story behind this.

The emperor seemed to be recalling something, "Every emperor of the Tang Dynasty would think about boosting the country's strength after ascending the throne. This is a dynasty that every descendant should be proud of, the greatest throughout history, and I am no exception.

But later something went wrong for me, starting from the first time the Tang Dynasty conquered Rome but failed to achieve any success. Later, Prince Luo proposed reforms, and thus the current Tang Dynasty was established.

Actually, do you know, King Luo?

During this process, someone told me that the damage that the reform had done to the Tang Dynasty and to me as the emperor was irreversible. I know that you also know these things. "

Luo Changqing did not say anything. The emperor was not a fool, and he was not the only source of information for him. It was normal for someone to tell the emperor these things over the years. He became even more curious about the emperor's thoughts.

The emperor sighed slightly, "When I first learned about this matter, I was very angry. I didn't understand one thing, that is, why would you, the dignified King Luo, undermine the foundation of the Tang Dynasty.

I have suspected everyone, but I never thought that the head of the Luo family would do this. I wanted to summon you to the palace and question you. You betrayed my trust. I was very angry and sad. I wanted to kill someone to suppress my anger. "

"The emperor did not summon me in the end."

Luo Changqing said softly.

The emperor nodded slowly, "Yes, I did not summon you because I used the last bit of my rationality to restrain myself. I have always been thinking that this world is not only half owned by the Li family, but also half owned by the Luo family. How could the Luo family do anything that is detrimental to the Tang Dynasty? If the Tang Dynasty is destroyed, what will you do, King Luo?"

Luo Changqing seemed to be very casual, but he said firmly: "It's nothing more than dying for the country."

The emperor waved his hand heavily and said with emotion: "Yes, I knew you would do this. Why did you want to harm the Tang Dynasty? I have been thinking about this question for a long time. When the sun set and the moon rose, I finally figured it out."

Luo Changqing raised his eyebrows, "Your Majesty, do you believe that I did not do that?"

The emperor shook his head and said, "That's not the case. Your actions, Prince Luo, are harming the Tang Dynasty. What I want to know is why you are doing this.

Let me guess.

Does it have to be this way? "

Luo Changqing was somewhat moved. For a family to have such a reputation, it was unparalleled in the world. Although he knew that Luo Changqing was doing things that were harmful to the empire, he still believed that he had his reasons.

As Luo Changqing nodded, the emperor seemed to be relieved of his worries. "I knew it was like this. Many people have told me many ways to maintain my rule, but I rejected them all. Since you, Prince Luo, have not told me these things, there must be something wrong."

Luo Changqing heard this and slowly said: "I want to do good deeds for the royal family. Your Majesty must know that many kings and grand dukes in Europe have been pushed to the guillotine. I don't want the royal family to fall to that point, so over the years, I have never forcefully suppressed those civilian forces.

I do not want the hands of the royal family to be stained with the blood of too many heroes, otherwise if one day the Tang Dynasty really perishes, they will be held accountable.”

The emperor was actually a very smart man. He guessed this as soon as he heard what Luo Changqing said. His hands were shaking a little, but he still asked firmly: "Prince Luo thinks that there will be no more royal family in the future."

If there is still a royal family in the future, then the Tang Dynasty will not be destroyed, because for the world, if there can still be a royal family, why not the Tang Dynasty?

You have to know that Tang Dynasty has the full support of Luo family!
Luo Changqing was silent for a moment and then said: "To be honest, I don't know now, but looking at the current development trend, it may be so. With the progress of society, the Tang Dynasty may really perish. Now many imperial officials are a little restless."

"I knew it."

The emperor choked up a little, "I actually guessed this from your actions, Prince Luo, so I didn't care much about the situation in the world and the Tang Dynasty. I can hold on for one more day. Since it is impossible to save it no matter what I do, I will just enjoy it. Fortunately, the Tang Dynasty did not perish in my hands."

It is truly a rare sight that an emperor and a King of Luo can calmly discuss the issue of the fall of the Tang Dynasty. This can only happen in this special era.

After calming down, the emperor said dejectedly, "Lord Luo, is there really no other way?"

Luo Changqing also said very depressedly: "Your Majesty, in fact, I have been looking for a way to have the best of both worlds over the years, but I can't find it. You are actually a wise monarch, but even you have done a lot of things over the years, and some things are difficult for me to handle. Many things within the royal family are difficult to handle, which has caused a lot of dissatisfaction. These are actually problems with the imperial system itself.

As the empire changed, the obstacles from the royal family and nobles in handling various affairs became greater, and the conflicts between them became greater. "

The emperor was of course very clear about what Luo Changqing said. Clan relatives and in-laws naturally possessed enormous power. In the empire's mainland, most banks and factories had their shares. These people were close to the center and held enormous power. They could easily influence the market and the government.

Their business is good, but it is difficult for others to survive. However, even Luo Changqing cannot solve this problem.

The power these people have is innate. Under the imperial system, it is very reasonable and cannot be criticized by anyone. It has a huge ideological foundation, namely the traditional patriarchal system, clan traditions, and local party thinking, which are typical feudal remnants left over from reforms.

The Emperor and Luo Changqing have known each other for so many years. To some extent, the Emperor can be considered as half a disciple of Luo Changqing. He still understands some principles. Some things cannot be dealt with and can only be postponed.

"Lord Luo, how many years do you think the Tang Dynasty will last? Can the Li family really escape this catastrophe?"

The emperor's voice was a little hoarse. Luo Changqing mentioned many difficulties in front of him, but did not mention any solutions. He knew that Luo Changqing would not do those inhumane methods, and would not let him do them.

The Tang Dynasty belongs to both the Li family and the Luo family. If the Luo family disagrees with something, it will be difficult for the Li family to accomplish it. The royal family will do some inhumane things to maintain their rule.

The emperor guessed that not only would Luo Changqing not help the Li family, he might even stand against the Li family. That would be the greatest danger that the Li family and the Tang Dynasty would encounter, and the outcome would be unpredictable.

"I have a vague idea about the future of the Tang Dynasty, but Your Majesty should not be able to see it, which is a good thing."

It was indeed fortunate that he did not witness this incident when the Tang Dynasty was about to collapse. The emperor himself nodded in agreement.

"Can Prince Luo tell me about that vague idea? I am a little curious."

What method can allow the Li family to safely survive such a murderous moment? How can such a huge empire be handed over?
Luo Changqing was silent for a long time, then slowly said: "At an appropriate time, take the initiative to abdicate and hand over power. With the merits of the Tang Dynasty over the years and its reputation in the hearts of the people, plus Luo's guarantee, the Li family will definitely not be liquidated."

!!!

Luo Changqing's words were like a bolt from the blue, leaving the emperor speechless with shock. This was simply unbelievable, voluntarily abdicating. Where in history had there been such a dynasty?

but.

That makes sense.

The emperor lowered his hands helplessly.

Luo Changqing also knew how shocking these words were. After a long while, the emperor panted heavily and said, "Lord Luo, I will explain this matter in my will. If the next emperor is not up to the task, he can abdicate."

In the last moments of his life, this emperor who had been in power for decades still had some courage. Between death and extinction of his clan and preserving the clan's name, he made what he thought was the right choice.

The two chatted for a long time, and then Luo Changqing said goodbye.

The next time the two meet, it will probably be when the emperor really passes away.

(End of this chapter)