"I said take it."
Li Shimin patted the hilt of his sword and hummed,
"You have made great achievements in Northern Xinjiang. Although I have given you a name that will last forever, I am still a little uneasy in my heart."
"I am just too generous and miss the kindness of the hero too much."
"This Emperor's Sword is awarded to you! From now on, it will be renamed Shang Fang's Horse-Zhan Sword. This sword is the same as the Emperor's Sword, and it also has the privilege of killing first and then killing!"
Xu Fenglei: "?!"
Shang Fang's sword? !
Why is Li Er so crazy? This supreme privilege can be distributed at will?
This is not a drama!
"Your Majesty, please take back your order. I dare not accept it."
Xu Fenglei quickly put down his chopsticks, stood up and bowed,
"Whether it is the Tianzi Sword or the Shang Fang Sword, they both represent the emperor's supreme power. How can we separate them?"
"Besides, it's useless for me to hold this sword! I can't just kill any minister because I see him unhappy. Even if I have deep hatred, I will never do it. All my actions should follow the duties of a minister, and I don't dare to overstep my authority. "
In his eyes, how could this be Shang Fang's sword?
This is simply a hot potato, a catalyst for desire!
Just like the Ming Dynasty's iron book of elixirs, it sounds very awesome, but in the end, few ministers who have the iron book of elixirs can actually die well...
"It is naturally good for you to follow your duty as a minister."
Li Shimin patted Xu Fenglei's shoulder and said in a deep voice,
"The more this happens, the more confident I am in giving you this Shangfang Sword, because you have always been the most measured."
"Go on! It doesn't matter if you put it up, it can shine on your lintel. Maybe one day in the future, when Datang is in danger, it can play an unexpected role in your hands."
After saying that, he couldn't help but tie the sword to Xu Fenglei's body again and asked him to carry it on his back.
Xu Fenglei: "..."
"This...how can there be such forced control? It's okay if you don't want it."
He said helplessly.
Li Shimin glared.
"You kid, you've got a small advantage and you still act like a good boy!"
Li Er scolded,
"It's just showing your merit, it's already a partial favor!"
"I haven't asked you about your crime yet! We got so much loot from the two battles at Dingxiang and Tieshan, why didn't even 80% of it go to the treasury?"
"Where did the remaining 20% go?"
Faced with the emperor's rebuke, Xu Fenglei remained calm and unhurried.
"Returning to Your Majesty, it was naturally divided among the soldiers."
he responded.
Li Shimin frowned.
"You still have the nerve to say it?"
He asked accusingly,
"Those are all trophies. Every single hair of the cow must be confiscated. How can we share it privately?"
"Is there still royal law? Is there still military law?"
"Just for one thing like this, I can punish you! You are lax in running the army and condoning corruption. In the worst case, you will lose your title!"
Changsun Wugou's expression was slightly stern, and he looked at Li Shimin nervously.
Erfeng, are you serious?
A few scoldings are enough, but it would not be good to praise first and then belittle them...
Chiliu, Chiliu.
Xu Fenglei picked up the spoon, scooped two spoons of fish soup for himself, and swallowed it slowly.
The heat flowed down his stomach, causing him to narrow his eyes and burp comfortably.
"What I'm asking you about!"
Li Shimin said with some annoyance,
"You know, there are already ministers admonishing you. If you don't give me a satisfactory answer, I will punish you!"
This kid, if he continues to have such a careless attitude, he will be so angry that he will be punished with an edict!
"Your Majesty, how can anyone not be greedy when marching and fighting? When you were fighting, were the hands and feet of your soldiers so clean?"
Xu Fenglei shaved his teeth and said slowly,
"If the water is clear, there will be no fish; if the people are careful, there will be no disciples. This is especially true in military camps."
"You risk your life to fight and lick blood from the knife's edge, but after winning the battle you still can't let go. So why do you work as a soldier and work hard? Can you get a wife with just a few bucks from the military salary?"
When Li Shimin heard this, his brows were raised.
"You! You are lying!"
He said angrily,
"This is not a reason, this is not an excuse!"
"In my army back then, if anyone dared to commit corruption, he would be beheaded immediately! He would be beheaded immediately after leaving the camp gate!"
"I have won many battles, but my subordinates don't have such bad habits!"
Xu Fenglei raised his head slightly.
"Then I dare to ask, how much of the spoils of your Majesty's army belong to the national treasury?"
he asked, tilting his head.
Li Shimin: "..."
This question made Li Er's expression a little ugly.
Because the loot he returned to the national treasury was very small, not even 30%, and most of it was swallowed by himself.
Otherwise, how can you have so much money to manage your power?
But he couldn't say this... If he said it, he wouldn't be able to stand it, and he would be severely beaten by Xu Fenglei.
"Not much, right?"
Xu Fenglei said with a half-smile,
"It shouldn't be 80%, right? Not even 70%."
"Sixty percent? Fifty percent? Forty-three percent? No, no, not even 30%, right?"
Li Shimin: "...Stop nagging!"
"whispering sound."
Xu Fenglei showed a hint of ridicule, but stopped, and then said seriously,
"Your Majesty, my military discipline is actually very strict. The first few scoundrels with dirty tricks were strictly punished by me in accordance with military orders. It is for this reason that greed has not prevailed in the army."
"But after all, the army is made up of living people. As long as they are human beings, they will have desires. Some rules are difficult to follow completely. It will be the same no matter who you are."
"I think the 20% loss is within the acceptable range."
"If anyone thinks that what I do is not good, then he can do it. As long as he can confiscate 100% of the loot, then I will resign and return home immediately!"
After all, this was an army from the feudal era. Xu Fenglei asked himself whether he could do enough.
What's more, he himself is not greedy for a penny!
"You still care about you..."
Li Shimin still stared, but his voice was much softer.
He also knew that what Xu Fenglei said was good.
The admonishing censor had never led an army and did not know the situation in the army, but he, the emperor who fought on horseback, knew everything.
Therefore, there is no reason to raise troops to investigate again at this time.
But the more Xu Fenglei looked like this, the angrier he became, and he wanted to find a fault to deal with this boy who deserved a beating.
What are you dragging? !
Just as he was bored, Xu Fenglei suddenly took out a small box from his pocket.
Uh-huh.
In the small box, there is a thin strip wrapped in paper.
Wow!
He took out another fire stick from his pocket, blew on it gently, and the fire light started to light up.
The thin strips were lit on the fire folding plate, creating a puff of smoke.
Xu Fenglei put his mouth to the other end, took a deep breath, and narrowed his eyes comfortably.
"call--"
As soon as he puffed out a puff of smoke, his whole body relaxed, and he felt like he was soaring in the clouds.
There was smoke in the room, and the emperor and empress just stared blankly at Xu Fenglei's series of operations, and then...
Even more stunned.
"Listen clearly..."
Li Shimin didn't want to pay attention to him at first, but seeing the boy's cheerful look, he couldn't help but ask,
"What are you smoking?"
"This smoke... ahem, why is it a bit choking?"
Xu Fenglei ignored him, narrowed his eyes slightly, and took another sip.
"call--"
After spitting out the second mouthful, he said leisurely,
"A cigarette after a meal is better than a living god."
"Your Majesty, this is a wonderful product. It is a good thing that a man will never let go of once he gets it."
"I got it from Northern Xinjiang."
When Li Shimin heard this, he immediately became curious and came up to take a few more sniffs.
"nice one?"
Changsun Wujia covered his nose and frowned,
"The taste of this thing is so pungent, what kind of good thing can it be?"
"Go out, don't burn grass here, it makes me uncomfortable...ahem..."
The smoke drifted over, instantly making Changsun Wuji feel uncomfortable.
"Sorry, sorry, it has affected the Queen."
Xu Fenglei quickly stood up to apologize, then turned around and said,
"I'll go smoke outside."
As soon as he lifted his feet, Li Shimin grabbed his sleeve.
"Listen Ming, let me try?"
Li Eryi grinned and said,
"What you can call a good thing must not be an ordinary thing."
Xu Fenglei also smiled.
"Here."
He took another one out of the box and handed it to Li Shimin, saying,
"Come on, Your Majesty, let's go out and smoke. Don't disturb the Queen."
The two of them walked out of the house one after the other, and happened to see the attendant running up carelessly, holding a basin of water in his hand.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty! There's a fire, isn't it?"
The attendant saw Li Shimin and said hurriedly,
"My slave is here to get water. There's a fire somewhere... Ahem, there's such a strong smell of smoke!"
Li Shimin rolled his eyes.
"Go! What's on fire? It's just burning grass."
he rebuked,
"Back off."
The waiter was stunned, and now he saw the cigarette between Xu Fenglei's fingers.
"This slave is wrong, this slave is wrong... I will retire now."
He quickly retreated, leaving only two men in the yard.
"How to do it?"
As soon as the waiter ran away, Li Er immediately put down his airs. He looked like a bad student who had just learned to smoke, with eyes full of eagerness to try.
"Now, this end is for smoking. It should have a filter. That would give a better experience, but I haven't found the right material yet."
Xu Fenglei pointed at the cigarette butt and said,
"You light the other end, and then suck from this end."
"Be sure to take your time when you smoke it for the first time, because this tobacco is very choking and irritating, and your respiratory tract and lungs need to get used to it."
"Here, I'll light a fire for you."
Wow!
The fire was lit again, and Xu Fenglei skillfully lit a cigarette for Li Shimin.
"Just suck it?"
Li Shimin held the cigarette between his arms, watching the wisps of smoke coming out of it, and carefully put it to his mouth.
After hesitating for a moment, under Xu Fenglei's gaze, he took a sip.
"Cough, cough, cough..."
"What does this taste like? It's bitter and choking!"
"Ahem...is this the wonderful product you are talking about? Are you lying!"
Xu Fenglei didn't respond at all to Li Er's chirping. He just took a gentle breath and spit it out slowly, showing an expression of enjoyment.
Li Shimin: "?"
He began to doubt himself.
Is it really the wrong way to open it?
Have another bite.
Li Er took another sip.
"Cough, cough, cough..."
"It's still uncomfortable. How can this be comfortable..."
So weird, have another bite.
By the third puff, Li Shimin was already careful and careful, and he sucked the cigarette butt with extremely gentle movements.
He swore that he had never kissed a girl so tenderly for the first time.
But this time, when the wisp of smoke rushed into his lungs along with his inhalation, Li Er finally felt something.
"Dizzy..."
He murmured,
"It's interesting, let's try again..."
One sip, another sip, another sip.
As he became more and more proficient in smoking, Li Shimin was no longer satisfied with taking small sips, and began to take big sips.
The puffs of smoke puffed into his lungs, but it made his brain buzz like never before!
"ah……"
Li Shimin exhaled a circle of smoke, looked at Xu Fenglei, and narrowed his eyes in comfort.
"What does it feel like?"
Xu Fenglei said with a smile.
"...I can't tell."
Li Shimin thought for a long time and then said,
"I just feel my head is very comfortable and relaxed. I have rarely felt this relaxed before."
"I was still dizzy when I smoked just now, but now I feel more and more awake as I smoke, and I even have a lot of unusual ideas!"
"I know how to respond to those difficult things that have piled up! I have an idea! Hahaha..."
He laughed, his expression cheerful.
This feeling of having a clear mind and smooth thinking... is very refreshing!
"This is the effect of nicotine in tobacco leaves."
Xu Fenglei took one last puff and said,
“It relaxes the mind, relieves pain, and makes people think like they are incontinent.”
"But if you are infected with it, it is difficult to quit, and it is also very harmful to the body, especially the liver and lungs. If Sun Simiao knew about it, he would probably make me bloody."
"But...whatever!"
laugh.
He put out his cigarette.
“Life is short, take advantage of the moment.”
Xu Fenglei smiled and said,
"We men are always under a lot of pressure, so it would be nice to have something like this to relieve us."
Li Shimin nodded with deep understanding.
"Yes, having such a soothing thing can also add a little more fun to a boring life."
He skillfully blew out a puff of smoke, looked at the half-burned cigarette in his hand, and commented,
"This is a good thing. I agree. It is indeed a treasure."
"Come."
Li Er waved to Xu Fenglei.
"Hand them all over."
Xu Fenglei: "?"
"Are you robbing?" He closed his pocket and said with a vigilant look, "No, that's all."
Li Shimin glanced at him.
"Are you lying? I just saw a box like this!"
He snorted coldly, immediately reached into his pocket, and murmured while snatching back,
"You're fine now, why are you doing this? I'm under great pressure! I don't know how many things I have to deal with. It's more useful to me than it is to you, do you understand? You, a minister, are not considerate at all."
"Also, I have given you the Emperor's Sword, why don't you reciprocate the favor? This smoke is your tribute!"
"Bring it to you!"
With a click, the cigarette case was already in Li Shimin's hands.
As soon as he pulled away, a look of displeasure suddenly appeared on his face.
"One, two, three, four... just a few? Are you sending beggars away!"
Li Er spat,
"Bring me some more, I love smoking!"
"Did you hear that?"
Warm reminder: Smoking is harmful to health. Try not to smoke if you can. If you can't learn it, it's best not to learn it in this life. The description here is only for plot needs. The author himself does not smoke.
(End of chapter)
