Chapter 69

October, 130 BC, the beginning of the fifth year of Yuanguang.

"Emperor Wu of Han" ordered all feudal kingdoms to melt their stored copper coins into copper material and transport it to the center; in this year, the annual tribute could be exempted. Afterward, the central government would issue new currency—the Five Zhu Coin—to each feudal kingdom based on the weight of the copper material they transported.

As for the common people and the powerful merchants, the policy was the same. Departments specializing in exchanging new currency were established in each commandery and county to exchange old coins for Five Zhu Coins, aiming to achieve the goal of "good money driving out bad money" and ultimately allowing the newly issued Five Zhu Coins to circulate thoroughly throughout the world.

From this point on, the economic reform plan previously proposed by Sang Hongyang was considered completely finished.

【Witnessed the "Economic Reform" event, rewarded with 8000 points.】

There are actually eight thousand points!

Hearing the system's notification sound, Liu Li quickly closed her eyes to check the system interface. Sure enough, the entire major task of economic reform was shown as completed.

The reason why the points rewarded for this task were so high was that the entire task was the sum of all its small branches.

Looking back at the order of Sang Hongyang's reforms, Liu Li had to admire his talent and courage.

In fact, according to historical development, the 【Order of Grace】 should also be considered a part of the economic reform. It was precisely because of the existence of the Order of Grace, which struck at the strength of the feudal kingdoms, that the subsequent economic reforms proceeded so smoothly.

Because of the need for "economic reform," Liu Li inadvertently triggered the Order of Grace in advance, which could also be considered a form of help to the economic reform.

The first step of Sang Hongyang's reform was the Edict on Reporting Property, aimed at powerful landlords and merchants, through which wealth was forcibly redistributed.

The second step was the policy of "State Monopoly on Salt and Iron," because salt and iron were indispensable items in production and life, and both were consumables that everyone needed.

Therefore, it was very necessary for the state to control salt and iron; theoretically, controlling these two things could influence everyone to a certain extent.

After this policy was issued, Sang Hongyang received the Son of Heaven's permission to establish specialized departments and officials in salt and iron production areas to manage them, completely reclaiming control over salt and iron.

And for the above policies to operate smoothly, the stability of currency was very important. Therefore, the third step was that the right to mint coins and the right to mine ores belonged to the state.

When the Five Zhu Coin designed by Liu Li came into being, the central court began to recall all existing copper coins of the Great Han, thereby issuing and using the new Five Zhu Coins, completely stabilizing the value of the currency and even preventing the appearance of counterfeit or privately minted coins in the market.

Then there was the final step—the Equalization and Standardization System, which stabilized prices and the circulation of goods, completely establishing a relatively mature economic management system.

What Liu Li admired most was the final Equalization and Standardization Law; in modern terms, that is price management!

The father of economics is truly the father; this Equalization and Standardization Law has continued to the modern era.

"Economic Reform" went through a full year of operation and management; the central government could be considered to have completely controlled the national economy and also struck at a group of local feudal lords and powerful families. It could be called a feat.

Seeing that the reform plan proposed at the beginning of the year had taken shape in just over a year, Liu Che was naturally very happy; after all, this could also be considered a manifestation of centralizing power.

Liu Li looked at the more than nine thousand points that had suddenly become abundant in her system and was grinning from ear to ear. However, this time she also learned the lesson of having no points before and would never use points randomly again.

If the points were converted into RMB, her current savings would only be nine thousand yuan. She decided that she would not stop being frugal until she had accumulated at least one hundred thousand points.

To thank Sang Hongyang for his contribution to her points, Liu Li decided to give him a gift.

She specifically found a carpenter and showed him a blueprint she had drawn, hoping the carpenter would make it according to her drawing.

The carpenter took Liu Li's blueprint and looked at it very carefully, asked about the parts he didn't understand, and then began to help Liu Li make it.

In just one day, the carpenter had finished making the item Liu Li had drawn and personally brought it to Liu Li for inspection.

Liu Li truly admired the carpenter's craftsmanship and was very satisfied with the item he finally presented to her.

Liu Che caught a glimpse and asked curiously: "What is this?"

Liu Li shook the new item in her hand and said: "This thing is called an abacus; it can greatly speed up calculation results. I plan to give this to Lord Sang Hongyang."

"Abacus?" Liu Che took the so-called abacus and raised his hand to move the beads on it: "I only know that calculating rods can help with calculations; how does one calculate with this?"

Liu Li then moved the abacus beads to demonstrate the correct usage of this item to Liu Che: "This thing has terminology; the beads that rely on the beam to count are called inner beads, and there is moving up and moving down..."

As she spoke, her small hands quickly moved the abacus beads, her skillful movements as if she had performed calculations with such an abacus many times.

Liu Che felt a little dizzy just hearing these terms and interrupted Liu Li's words directly: "I think Sang Hongyang should like this gift."

Liu Li smiled and nodded: "Yes, I also think he will like it, which is why I specifically had the carpenter make it." Liu Li hugged the abacus to her chest and said happily: "Then I will go back to my room and write down the specific usage of the abacus, and then send it to Lord Sang together."

Seeing her daughter so attentive, Liu Che couldn't help but feel a bit jealous: "Li, why haven't I seen you specifically give me something?"

"Eh?" Liu Li was stunned: "Haven't I given you enough things?" She felt that Liu Che was a bit ungrateful; she had redeemed so many things from the system store for him, and he actually said she hadn't given him anything.

Liu Che raised his eyebrows slightly, his eyes fixed on the abacus in Liu Li's arms: "It's different."

"How is it different?" Liu Li couldn't understand.

"The things you gave before were all because you saw I needed them, so you took them out to give to me. But this abacus you are giving to Sang Hongyang is something you sincerely want to give him." It was as if one was passive and the other was active.

Such differential treatment made Liu Che feel inexplicably unhappy. Li was clearly his daughter, not Sang Hongyang's daughter. Yet Liu Che felt that his status in Li's heart seemed to be a bit inferior to Sang Hongyang's.

After Liu Che's reminder, Liu Li also looked down at the abacus in her arms. After a three-second pause, she looked up at Liu Che and said: "But Father Emperor, Li's status in your heart was once not as high as your other daughter's either."

Liu Che: "???"

Liu Li looked at him earnestly and said: "I have always believed that the giving of affection is relative. When others treat me with sincerity, I will also respond with sincerity. Father Emperor, your heart for me only has 60 points, so I will also give you 60 points of sincerity."

And Lord Sang's favorability toward her had long been one hundred points, so of course, she would also treat him with one hundred points of sincerity.

Liu Li smiled: "When Father Emperor treats me with one hundred percent sincerity, I will also take the initiative to give gifts to Father Emperor."

Liu Che was stunned—one hundred percent sincerity?

Seeing him dazed, Liu Li hugged the abacus and returned to her room.

She used the improved Jianling paper to write down the various terms of the abacus and the bead-counting formulas.

She wrote these terms and formulas on three full sheets of paper. When the ink on the paper dried, she carefully folded the three sheets, placed them on the abacus, and then asked Qiao to find a piece of silk cloth.

While wrapping the gift, Liu Li recalled what she had just said to Liu Che, and her movements paused. She pursed her lips, her mood suddenly becoming somewhat complicated.

She hoped Liu Che could understand that whether it is romantic love or family affection, it is relative. A Jiao once treated him with one hundred percent sincerity, but in return, he was cold-hearted and deposed her.

No one is a fool; after being hurt once, they will not continue to foolishly give for him. So if the current Liu Che wants A Jiao to treat him with sincerity again, he must first give his own sincerity.

As for herself, Liu Li asked herself, in fact, before Liu Che protected her from falling off the cliff, she did not view Liu Che as a father.

She could empathize with A Jiao and was willing to help A Jiao because A Jiao treated her with sincerity and truly regarded her as a daughter.

And she only viewed Liu Che as an NPC whose favorability needed to be farmed, so what if the daughter Liu Che liked most in his heart wasn't her?

But when she fell off the cliff, Liu Che used his body to block the harm for her, and even carried her on his back while traversing the dense forest.

Lying on his back, when he was clearly also weak but insisted on carrying her, Liu Li actually felt his care for her.

The care of a father for his daughter.

Perhaps in the heart of Liu Che, the cold-blooded emperor, the former Liu Li had no weight at all.

But after the gender transformation and such a long time together, as Liu Che's favorability toward her increased, the weight of her, this daughter, in his heart must have increased.

Liu Che's words just now also made Liu Li realize that after the shared adversity under the cliff, she no longer viewed Liu Che as an NPC.

She would care why Liu Che, as a father, only had 60 points of favorability toward her. Clearly, Sang Hongyang, who had nothing to do with her, had 100 points of favorability toward her because he appreciated her.

Is it because, in fact, the child Liu Che likes most in his heart is still his first daughter?

Liu Li carefully wrapped the abacus, tied a beautiful bow on it, and stuffed it into her schoolbag. When she went to the Imperial Academy tomorrow, she would give this to Sang Qian and let Sang Qian pass it on to his father.

In the evening, Liu Che recounted the topic he had discussed with Liu Li to A Jiao and complained for himself: "Li actually said that I only have sixty points of favorability toward her, so she responds to me with sixty points; this is very unreasonable."

A Jiao sneered: "How is it unreasonable?"

"I..." Liu Che opened his mouth but didn't know how to explain it. Finally, he snorted: "Anyway, I think I like Li the most right now. I haven't even looked at my Imperial Eldest Son a few times; doesn't that explain her status in my heart?"

A Jiao asked with interest, raising her eyebrows: "Then why don't you go see your Imperial Eldest Son?" The Liu Che of the past had hoped so much for the appearance of a son; yet now that he already had two sons, he hadn't cared about either of them.

Liu Che frowned: "Yes, why don't I go see them?" He himself didn't understand either.

Clearly, when Wei Zifu was pregnant, he was so looking forward to the child in her womb being an imperial son. How is it that now he doesn't seem to care at all? It's really strange!

Liu Che thought about this question for a long time and finally decided to go to the inner palace tomorrow to see his two sons.

The next day, Liu Li went to the Imperial Academy for class as usual.

And because Liu Che wanted to go to Pixiang Hall and Lanlin Hall to see his two sons, he dragged A Jiao along.

They said they would go to Pixiang Hall, where Wei Zifu lived, first.

The attendant notified Wei Zifu in advance, and when the imperial chariot stopped in front of Pixiang Hall, Wei Zifu had already come out to greet them.

On the imperial chariot, Liu Che looked at Wei Zifu standing in front of the hall, her black, straight hair hanging to her waist, her head slightly bowed, humble and beautiful. For a moment, he felt that the Wei Zifu before him was somewhat unfamiliar.

A Jiao let Wei Zifu rise and asked: "Where is the Imperial Eldest Son? I have come specifically to see him today."

This remark stunned Wei Zifu; after all, since the Imperial Eldest Son was born, the Son of Heaven had not cared much about this son's growth. Coming to visit the Imperial Eldest Son so suddenly was truly surprising.

Wei Zifu bowed and replied: "Your Majesty, Ju'er is playing in the side chamber; I will take you there."

A Jiao turned and let Liu Che get off the imperial chariot. Only then did Liu Che walk out of the chariot and appear before everyone.

"Empress and I will go see the Imperial Eldest Son together; Zifu, you won't mind, will you?" A Jiao asked indifferently.

Wei Zifu smiled awkwardly and quickly replied: "Na, naturally not."

The group walked toward the side hall of Pixiang Hall. The Imperial Eldest Son, Liu Ju, who was already half a year old, was sitting on a soft couch, holding a cloth item in his hand.

Hearing the movement of people coming, little Liu Ju turned his head curiously, his pair of bright, clear black eyes very much like Liu Che's when he was young.

"Yi ya." Perhaps seeing his mother, little Liu Ju held the small doll in his hand high and looked at Wei Zifu.

Facing such a cute son, Wei Zifu felt a softness in her heart. She walked a few steps faster to Liu Ju's side, took her son into her arms, and a kind smile appeared on her face.

The palace maid taking care of the little imperial son saw that the Son of Heaven and the Empress had also come and quickly bowed: "Greetings, Your Majesty, Little Lord."

A Jiao: "Rise."

A Jiao turned her eyes to the little boy held in Wei Zifu's arms and said softly: "Ju'er and... I were somewhat similar when I was young."

As she spoke, she turned her eyes to Liu Che: "Empress, don't you think so?"

Being asked by A Jiao, Liu Che carefully examined his son and really felt that this little baby was somewhat similar to himself when he was young. He felt an itch in his heart and wanted to hold him.

However, how would Wei Zifu dare to let the "Empress" hold her son? Wei Zifu didn't even want the Son of Heaven himself to get close. After all, this Son of Heaven was the culprit who had once forced her son to commit suicide.

A Jiao said: "Give the child to me to hold."

Wei Zifu's movement of holding the child stiffened; she was resistant in her heart but had to obey the order and handed little Liu Ju to the Son of Heaven.

Perhaps it was leaving his mother's soft embrace, or perhaps A Jiao's movement of holding little Liu Ju was too stiff, but Liu Ju burst into tears.

Wei Zifu immediately and nervously took her son back from the Son of Heaven's arms, holding him and coaxing him again and again, and little Liu Ju finally stopped crying.

Liu Che said: "Why not let me hold him?"

Wei Zifu's expression stiffened: "This... this is not good, is it?"

Facing Wei Zifu's resistance, Liu Che acted as if it were a matter of course: "I am the child's legitimate mother; I just want to hold the child, what is not good about that?"

After a pause, he frowned: "Could it be that I would harm my own son?"

Wei Zifu: "..."

She extremely reluctantly placed her son into Liu Che's arms. This time, little Liu Ju did not cry but instead stared at Liu Che curiously.

Liu Che held the child for as long as Wei Zifu stared at him. Finally, Liu Che couldn't stand Wei Zifu's vigilant gaze and returned little Liu Ju to her.

With her son back in her arms, Wei Zifu breathed a sigh of relief.

Liu Che curled his lips with lack of interest: "Liu Ju has been seen; let's go to Lanlin Hall to see the Second Prince."

A Jiao nodded slightly: "Hmm." Afterward, she also formulaically exhorted Wei Zifu: "Zifu, take good care of the Imperial Eldest Son."

Wei Zifu: "Nuo." So the Emperor and Empress came over really just to see the children?

Leaving Pixiang Hall, A Jiao saw that Liu Che hadn't spoken and asked curiously: "You've seen the son you've been longing for; how do you feel?"

Liu Che frowned slightly: "I can't say what I feel."

A Jiao: "?"

He was silent for a while and said: "I have a feeling of looking at someone else's child." But clearly, this was his own son.

"Pfft." Hearing this, A Jiao couldn't help but laugh.

In fact, little Liu Ju looked quite like the young Liu Che, and he liked him quite a bit too. But Liu Che didn't know why he didn't feel the love of a father for little Liu Ju.

Even if he liked him, it was just an ordinary liking, just like how he liked hunting, liked beauties, and liked cats and dogs.

The two arrived at Lanlin Hall to visit the Second Prince, Liu Hong. Liu Hong was younger than Liu Ju by a few months and was still in swaddling clothes.

The nurse responsible for taking care of Liu Hong took good care of him; the little guy's cheeks were round, and he looked quite cute. Liu Che held little Liu Hong in his arms and rocked him, accidentally waking the child up.

Little Liu Hong's large, dark eyes looked at him, and then he actually revealed a "toothless" smile, which made Liu Che feel happy.

Compared to the Imperial Eldest Son, Liu Ju, Liu Che liked the Second Prince, Liu Hong, a little more.

After seeing the two sons, on the way back, Liu Che seriously compared his children in his heart and finally said: "By comparison, the one I like most is still our Li."

"Why is it Li?"

"Li is exceptionally intelligent; I'm afraid you couldn't find a child as intelligent as her in the entire Great Han. Moreover, Li is also the person chosen by the Goddess." It was precisely because the aura on Liu Li was too dazzling that when Liu Che looked at his other children, he felt they were so mediocre.

"But what about before Li was chosen by the Goddess?" A Jiao mocked: "You wouldn't even have looked at her."

Liu Che suddenly choked.

"What you like is only the convenience Li can provide you, the power of the Goddess behind her, not Li as a person." A Jiao hit the nail on the head and exposed Liu Che: "That's why Li said your heart for her only has sixty points."

Liu Che: "..."

"Liu Che, think carefully: if Li were not the person chosen by the Goddess, or if the person chosen by the Goddess were one of your other children, would you still like Li?" Seeing Liu Che speechless, A Jiao smiled: "So, it's no wonder that in Li's heart, she would like Sang Hongyang more."

Liu Li placed the wrapped abacus on Sang Qian's desk. Sang Qian was curious: "What is this?"

As he spoke, he reached out to open it, but was pressed down by Liu Li: "You are not allowed to open it; this is for your father. You help me pass it to Lord Sang and say this is a little token of my appreciation."

Sang Qian: "?"

He gave a light sneer: "Your Highness, if it's for my father, why are you giving it to me? Don't you know that I don't get along with the old man?"

Liu Li said: "Who told you to be Lord Sang's son."

"Who wants to be his son." Sang Qian's nostrils were pointed to the sky, looking very disdainful.

"In any case, help me pass this gift to your father." Liu Li said: "You have a very great father; don't be ungrateful for the blessings you have."

Liu Li thought if her father were Sang Hongyang, she would definitely join forces with Sang Hongyang to make the Sang family the richest in the Great Han.

"Why do you admire my father so much?" Sang Qian was very curious: "I heard his mental arithmetic isn't as good as yours, is it?"

Sang Hongyang wasn't as good as her because he hadn't learned equations, but Liu Li wouldn't look down on the ancestor of economics in Chinese history just because of that.

Sang Qian put away Liu Li's gift, a teasing smile appearing on his face: "I say, Your Highness, since you admire my father so much, why don't you marry into our Sang family in the future?"

Hearing this, Liu Li widened her eyes and said: "That wouldn't be good!"

Sang Qian curled his lips: "I think I could barely accept it..."

Before he finished speaking, he was interrupted by Liu Li: "Lord Sang and I are twenty years apart in age, and besides, Lady Sang is still alive; how could I destroy your parents' relationship?"

Sang Qian: "???" Do you want to hear what kind of nonsense you are saying?

Liu Li said solemnly: "So Sang Qian, you shouldn't say such things in the future. Lest it cause unnecessary misunderstandings, that would be a big trouble."

Sang Qian: "..."

Liu Li suppressed her laughter and turned to leave the classroom. When she left, she turned her head to see Sang Qian still sitting there foolishly, and she laughed out loud only after she had walked further away.

She finally had a moment where she left the sharp-tongued little Sang Qian speechless.

"What are you laughing so happily about?" Huo Qubing's voice came from the side.

Liu Li greeted him with a smile: "Oh, Little Huo, long time no see." She had laughed until tears came out, so she quickly wiped them with her hand.

They hadn't seen each other since returning from outside the palace last time. Come to think of it, it had been a month and a half. Liu Li noticed that Huo Qubing was still holding two bamboo slips, clearly having just come out of the nearby book pavilion.

"What books did you borrow from the book pavilion?" Liu Li craned her neck to look.

"The third and fourth chapters of 'The Art of War by Wu Qi'." Huo Qubing replied: "I studied the first and second chapters a while ago and benefited a lot. I finally understand what you once meant by saying there is gold in books."

It felt like after that adventure in the jungle, Huo Qubing had become much more steady than before, not as frivolous as he used to be.

Liu Li paused and encouraged him in an old-fashioned way: "Since that's the case, you must study hard; if you encounter anything you don't understand, you can ask the teacher."

The Records of the Grand Historian: Biographies of the Piaoqi General once recorded that Emperor Wu of Han once wanted to teach Huo Qubing the Art of War by Sun Tzu and Wu Qi, but Huo Qubing refused on the grounds that "I have my own strategies in my heart; it is not necessary to learn ancient military tactics."

But the Huo Qubing in this space-time was actively studying the Art of War by Wu Qi; could this be considered a change?

What kind of fate would that young general who didn't live past twenty-four in history have in this space-time? If possible, Liu Li still hoped that Huo Qubing could live a little longer.

She even had a little expectation that the Huo Qubing of this space-time could live past twenty-four and then lead the Great Han army to the legendary shores of Lake Baikal!