Emperor Zhenguan

Chapter 550 Reducing the income of the imperial clan
How to obtain the emperor's understanding, Pei Ju already had an idea in his mind. As far as the emperor and the court were concerned, what they needed most now was nothing more than food or money.As the prime minister of the political affairs hall, he naturally knows that in the past two years, the destruction of the Turks and natural disasters have emptied the warehouses of the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

If you can donate food and money to the emperor free of charge, maybe it will be effective.But he is not particularly sure about this, after all, if the emperor uses this to target the Pei family, he can also get these things.

Thinking of this, he thought of Zheng Shi.

If he could ask Zheng Shanguo what price he paid, he would be more confident in his heart.It's just that when he thinks of Zheng Shi, he feels sick in his heart.

Cheng absolutely betrayed him.

Apart from food and money, what else could the Pei family have that could make the emperor's heart flutter?
field!

Only the land can move the emperor's heart.

Pei Ju smiled wryly, "Maybe I have a solution."

"What way?" Pei Xuanji asked.

"Donate Pei's field."

"This won't work, my lord. Farming is the foundation of the Pei clan. If it's all handed over to His Majesty, how will the Pei clan appease you?" Pei Xuanji said, "My lord, why don't I ask the concubine Xian?"

"Shut up!" Pei Ju yelled angrily, "You idiot, do stupid things!"

"I"

"Once you go to find Concubine Xian and ask Concubine Xian to intercede for Mrs. Pei, it will be over for Concubine Xian in the palace!" Pei Ju said bitterly: "The harem is not allowed to interfere in politics. If you do this, you will only give the Queen a handle against Concubine Xian. idiot!"

After cursing angrily, Pei Xuanji shrank his head and dared not speak any more.

Pei Ju said: "Go, find Pei's land register in Hedong, and let's make a total calculation."

"My lord, do you really want to do this?" Pei Xuanji couldn't bear to ask.

Pei Ju sighed: "Why am I willing to do this, but if I don't, the Pei family will have no chance of recovery in Zhenguan Dynasty. I don't care, but what about you?"

Hearing this, Pei Xuanji's expression changed unpredictably, and finally he nodded helplessly.

"Yes."

Three days later, Ganlu Hall.

Li Zhiyun looked at the memorandum, and was very troubled about the number of clan kings and various subsidies and salaries.

The Li family of the royal family had a lot of county kings who were canonized by the first emperor, and the annual supply of money and food to these clan kings was a considerable expenditure.In the past, when the country was prosperous and the people were safe, nothing could be seen. Now that disasters are happening frequently in various places, and the court cannot make ends meet, this expenditure has suddenly become an eyesore.

"Do you want to do it?" Li Zhiyun rubbed his chin.

After thinking about it, I decided to suspend my plan to cut off the titles of these good-for-nothing kings.Firstly, he has not been on the throne for a long time, and secondly, everything is complicated. If these clan relatives start a fight, it will be enough for him to drink a pot.

Still have to wait.

However, you can first limit the income of these people who eat and do nothing.

Pick up a pen, write down the order on the memorial, and then hand it over to Gao Liangzhong, and let him send it to the Minister of Shangshu for execution.

Soon after, this decree spread, and Li Shuliang, Zong Zhengqing, found the emperor.

political affairs hall.

"Your Majesty, I heard that you want to reduce the royal family's expenses?"

"It's true." Li Zhiyun said earnestly: "Uncle Emperor, the harvests in various places are very bad this year. After thinking about it, I still feel that we should increase revenue and reduce expenditure."

Li Shuliang said: "Your Majesty, I have no objection to this. It's just that it is stated in the decree that the clan's food will no longer be directly allocated to the clan by the local government according to the system, but will be distributed by the imperial court. Is this inappropriate?"

In Li Zhiyun's will, two orders restricting the income of the clan were written.

One is to stipulate that the food seal of the clan king should not exceed [-] households. Once the descendants inherit the title, the food seal will be routinely reduced.

The second is the one Li Shuliang said.In the past, the local government collected taxes, and according to the number of households in the city, the part due to the clan king was directly sent to the clan king.And Li Zhiyun changed the distribution method.The local government will uniformly hand over the part due to the clan kings, and the imperial court will distribute it to the kings of the various houses in a unified manner.

To put it simply, it used to be that the local government directly handed over the money to the clan kings.Now it is the place that hands over the money to the court, and the court hands it over to the clan king.

It's fun, and deadly for a clan king.

Because, once the order is made, how much food the clan kings can get will depend on how the emperor distributes it.

Moreover, if any clan king is disobedient, the emperor can directly cut off his food supply.

This is simply more deadly than directly reducing food prices.

"What's wrong?" Li Zhiyun asked.

Li Shuliang said: "This system has been around for a long time, if His Majesty changes it rashly, it may cause turmoil."

"Turbulence?" Li Zhiyun said with a smile: "What the emperor means is that if I insist on going my own way, will the clan members turn against me?"

"I have absolutely no such intention!" Li Shuliang hastily denied it.

Hearing this, Li Zhiyun snorted, got up and paced.

"Uncle Emperor, the system you mentioned is no longer applicable to today's people. Just like the division of counties into prefectures in the Qin Dynasty, we must keep pace with the times."

It doesn't matter to Li Shuliang, he doesn't have a lot of food, besides, he is also a well-known rich man in Chang'an, so naturally he won't fight the emperor for three melons and two dates.

It's just that other clans are looking for him to uphold justice, which makes him a headache.

But the emperor made it clear that he wanted to force the clan to accept this order.

He is not stupid, the emperor's order is actually to restrict and control the clan.

"Your Majesty, the opinions of the clan members are quite serious now. Do you think it is necessary to relax for a while, and then wait a little longer?"

Li Zhiyun interrupted him and asked, "Uncle Huang, what do you mean, you, Zong Zhengqing, can't control people?"

Li Shuliang is in a tangle, if he answers yes.

Zong Zhengqing's position is about to be lost, and the position of Zhengshitang may also be lost.Even the opportunity given by the emperor to sell soap will be withdrawn.

If the answer is no, he will have to face those clan members who are unwilling to accept the order, which is a dilemma.

"I understand." Li Shuliang agreed.

Li Zhiyun patted him on the shoulder, "Uncle, when the late emperor left, he told me that he should listen to the advice of the imperial uncle and discuss with the imperial uncle. The late emperor also said that the imperial uncle is loyal to the court and will definitely solve my problems.

What the late emperor said is indeed true. "

Hearing this, Li Shuliang forced a smile on his face.

"Don't dare to be honored as the first emperor."

Li Zhiyun chuckled, "Uncle Huang deserves it."

He didn't raise Li Shuliang for nothing, and the villain naturally had Li Shuliang to do it.Now Li Shuliang has been pinched to death by him in terms of 'power' and 'finance', so he can only be obedient.

When sending Li Shuliang away, he happened to meet Pei Ju.

Pei Ju has been recuperating at home for the past few days, and today he has recovered a bit, so he hurried back to the Zhengshitang.

The monarch and his subjects went to the inner room and sat down.

Li Zhiyun picked up the teacup unhurriedly and took a sip.

"Pei Gong, as I said, you are a hero of the Tang Dynasty. If you are sick, you should rest well and don't hurt your body. I am still young, and I still need a lot of help from Pei Gong."

Pei Ju chuckled, and said: "Your Majesty cares, and the veteran will always remember it, so we must not disappoint His Majesty."

"Haha, Mr. Pei is still so funny."

In the relaxed atmosphere of communication, it is completely impossible to see that the emperor actually wants to kill the other party in his heart.

Pei Ju said: "Your Majesty, the old minister thinks that transferring Pei Shiqing to Luozhou is a wonderful move. Your Majesty has far-sighted plans, and the old minister is deeply moved."

"Small tricks, I made Pei Gong laugh." Li Zhiyun waved his sleeves, quite humble.

The monarchs and ministers talked and laughed, quite harmonious.

(End of this chapter)