My older brother said I'm invincible.

Chapter 152 It's me again??

"what?"

Li Shimin was still somewhat bewildered.

Li Jiancheng cursed again, "Sanlang has always been obedient. I guessed it was you who instigated him to go hunting! And with a bow?!"

Li Shimin also felt somewhat aggrieved, "Brother, you can't blame everything on me, can you? Why is everything being blamed on me? Am I really so unloved by our father and brothers? In your eyes, am I such a despicable person?"

Li Jiancheng was taken aback, then his expression softened slightly. "That's not what I meant."

"Didn't you take him out hunting?"

"This"

"Brother, it's true that I took him there, but I didn't do everything. This isn't to say that I'm a despicable person who always instigates my younger brother; the matter is a bit complicated to explain, and this time was an exception."

"Ow!!!"

"Brother, stop hitting! Stop hitting!"

"I did it! I did it all!"

Inside the room, Li Xiuning looked helplessly at her younger brother who was whining beside her, and just shook her head.

"You know what a royal bow is, so why would you want Xuanba to take that thing out hunting?"

"That thing is only for the emperor's use, how can you take it into your hands without permission?"

Li Shimin winced in pain, explaining, "I just asked Sanlang to take me out for a walk; Sanlang can't shoot arrows anyway."

"Holding that thing in your hand is already presumptuous, how dare you take it out and parade it around in public?"

“You know what a sage is like. He’s in a good mood these days and doesn’t care. But what if he’s in a bad mood one day and someone reports that my family has overstepped its bounds by using the imperial bow bestowed by the emperor to parade around and show off to outsiders? Do you think the sage will let our family off the hook?”

"Because of these recent incidents, there are already many people watching our family. You're just asking for trouble!"

"Grandpa and Grandma were furious, and both my eldest brother and Sanlang were punished."

Li Shimin hesitated for a moment, then said, "It was my oversight."

In Li Xuanba's courtyard, Madam Dou sat in the seat of honor, looking at Yu Gong beside her, and then glared at Li Xuanba.

Li Xuanba sat quite obediently, with his head down and not uttering a sound.

"I'll keep this bow for you for now."

“You’re not a child anymore. You can’t just do whatever your second brother says.”

"do you know?"

"Here"

Madam Dou was reluctant to hit Xuanba, after all, it was the second son who started this. She just gave him a stern scolding and ordered the imperial bow to be taken away. As compensation, she kept another one for her son to use for hunting or training.

"How are your mines doing?"

After scolding her son, Madam Dou asked him about the mines he had just taken over.

The money for these mines came from Lady Dou. After these private mines were confiscated, they became county property. In theory, Li Yuan could have kept a few mines for himself without spending money, but Lady Dou still paid enough money to buy them and then handed them over to her son.

Li Xuanba hurriedly said, "I don't know anything about governance, so I asked someone who is familiar with this matter to help me."

"I handed over the management of the mines to him."

Madam Dou nodded and said, "If you encounter any difficulties, just tell me. Don't look for your second brother, and don't hide it from me. I'll leave you some more money. You can use it for recruitment. Most of the merchants outside are cunning and treacherous. You need to be careful and not trust them easily."

"The child knows."

Madam Dou gave many instructions before leading everyone away from the courtyard.

After everyone had left, Li Xuanba took out the map he had hidden in his robes and sat down in the study, examining it intently. His second brother had clearly put a lot of effort into making this map; it seemed his brother knew what he needed it for. It was a route from Loufan to Yeniu Mountain. Whether for transporting goods or delivering orders, this map would be extremely useful.

Establishing contact with Xingyang is actually the most important thing, rather than the transportation work that follows.

However, this matter was not easy. Loufan and Xingyang were not close, separated by many counties, making the transmission of information very inconvenient.

Hopefully, Zhang Du can come up with a good solution.

Li Xuanba put away the map and then waited for Liu Xuan to arrive.

Now that Liu Xuan's time is increasingly limited, he can no longer supervise Li Xuanba's training as before. Li Xuanba's martial arts training depends entirely on his own initiative. He has come here today to lecture on the scriptures.

Liu Xuan was supposed to arrive early in the morning, but because of an agreement with his second brother, Li Xuanba sent someone to inform Liu Xuan in advance to postpone the class.

Liu Xuan was inside the mansion when he learned of Li Xuanba's arrival, so he took the time to come and give Li Xuanba a lesson.

This time, Liu Xuan's courses have truly undergone a significant change.

Liu Xuan casually placed the few books he had brought in front of Li Xuanba and looked up.

"From this day forward, we shall learn the methods of governance."

"During the Han Dynasty, Chancellor Tian Qianqiu and Imperial Censor Sang Hongyang summoned talented people from across the country to engage in a great debate, which became known as the Salt and Iron Debate."

"Scholars and virtuous men say: The imperial court and the people compete for profit, with salt and iron monopolies and alcohol monopolies."

Liu Xuan recounted the debate between the two sides, and then asked, "Who do you think is more reasonable?"

“I think both arguments make sense. If the national treasury is empty, it cannot be governed well. But if we are always striving for profit and only thinking about filling the national treasury, then things will end up like they are now, with granaries piled high with grain while the people suffer from hunger and cold.”

"That's the first question: when you open a mine, do you want to give more money to the laborers, or do you want to keep more money for yourself?"

"If you have more money, you can buy more mines, more farmland, and perhaps do more things. But if you distribute more money to the conscripted laborers, they will live better and work more diligently."

"I"

Li Xuanba was stunned for a moment, but Liu Xuan said without hesitation, "In my opinion, you would give more money to the laborers. Zhang Du told me that you would lend those farmers farm tools, cattle and horses, allow them to cultivate the land, and let them leave all the grain behind."

“This is not something a ruler should do!” the rebuttal physician said. “The Xiongnu are currently a menace, constantly invading the borders and plundering the people. If we don’t replenish the national treasury for military supplies, what will happen to the soldiers on the border? What will happen to the people?”

"Therefore, governance requires balance. The people must not go hungry, but you must also have money. Moreover, there must be rules for doing things, and adjustments should be made according to different situations. Rules can be modified, but they cannot be absent, like a mountain stronghold."

“Ordinary thieves don’t have any concept of governance, so their rules are too weak and there are no fixed rules. Whether they are farming, hunting, or plundering, once they get something, they fight over it. The leader eats and drinks more, and they only have someone cook some food for the rest of the gang!”

"But to govern, one cannot use the methods of thieves; there must be order and rules!"

"Next, I will tell you a few rules."

"You have studied the Book of Rites with me, so you should understand that rites are used to establish and maintain rules. However, the foundation of governance by rites lies in people, which includes personnel arrangements. It is not just about simply granting official positions, but also includes administrative divisions, household registration management, official salaries, sacrificial rites, and relief and assistance."

"Take that knock-off, for example."

This time, Liu Xuan really started to deliver substantial content. He stopped talking about grand benevolent policies and went straight to practical things like administrative divisions. He talked about the administrative differences of past dynasties, their advantages and disadvantages, and the reasons for their establishment. Unfortunately, every time, he used a certain mountain stronghold as an example.

This lecture lasted a full hour.

Liu Xuan felt he couldn't say too much, otherwise the child wouldn't remember it, so he decided to stop there.

Li Xuanba's pen kept moving as he wrote down many things.

When the teacher stood up, Li Xuanba was quite excited. "Master, you were right! These are the true ways to govern the world! I know how to expand mines and farms, how to strengthen mountain strongholds, and how to accumulate strength!"

Liu Xuan was still smiling, but after hearing what Li Xuanba said, he suddenly felt something was wrong.

"Alas, this is the way to govern the world, not the way to expand a mountain stronghold."

"I understand, Master! I will definitely study hard!"

(End of this chapter)