Datang: Acting as a celestial mystery at the beginning

Li Shimin's action was very fast. After returning to the Ganlu Hall, he directly ordered the Ministry of Punishment and Dali Temple to arrest people first.

All officials who were recorded and found to have problems with their accounts were arrested, and none were kept.

Then, according to the method given by Li Yi'an, Li Shimin re-recommended poor scholars as officials, and promoted lower-level officials to fill the vacancies.

A series of decrees were passed out continuously.

When the imperial court was about to make a big move, the patriarchs of the five surnames Qiwang and their seven families gathered in Cui's house again.

"The imperial court rectified the salt and iron and asked us to pay the salt and iron tax. It only gave us five days. It seemed urgent, but now it has been four days, and the imperial court has not made any movement."

What Lu Yulin and the others were discussing at the moment was precisely the matter of salt and iron.

"I wonder if there is nothing to write in the newspaper, so Li Erlang wrote something casually so that the newspaper will not be embarrassed." Zheng Quan smiled contemptuously.

"It's just that the Wang family is the quickest to pay the salt and iron tax!"

Li Chengen looked at Wang Yuanhua, who was sitting opposite him, and said, "The Wang family paid all the salt and iron taxes immediately. By doing this, Brother Wang, you are doing too much to please Li Erlang, right?"

"Brother Wang must be afraid of Li Erlang, right?"

Li Yongfeng said with a smile: "I just saw it was published in the newspaper, so I couldn't wait to send money."

Afterwards, Cui Mao and the others laughed.

The fact that the Wang family paid the salt and iron tax has spread throughout the circle of the aristocratic family. In the past few days, Wang Yuanhua didn't know where to put his face.

Why didn't Wang Rujing notify him in advance, and sent all the salt and iron tax to the salt and iron department, and he didn't even get an explanation.

Wang Rujing just said that the Wang family will see the results soon, but after three or four days, what results can there be?

After the government decree was issued, nothing would be done. The money could only be handed over in vain, and would be laughed at by other families.

"I need to be afraid of Li Erlang?"

Wang Yuanhua snorted coldly and said, "If I didn't hand over all the business to Ru Jing, and she didn't know why she sent money to the court, would I be like this?"

Speaking of this, Wang Yuanhua was heartbroken again, very sad.

"My niece Ru Jing did this, why on earth?"

Cui Mao asked incomprehensibly: "None of us is ignorant of her ability, and she will definitely not do such a stupid thing. Could it be that there are other hidden secrets in it?"

Li Chengen thought of something, and said with a smile: "Could it be that niece Ru Jing has taken a fancy to Li Yi'an, right? But it's no wonder, Li Yi'an looks good, and niece Ru Jing is a woman."

"nonsense!"

Wang Yuanhua slapped the table with his palm, and said loudly: "My Wang family will never have such a relationship with that Li Yi'an."

How could Wang Rujing, the proud daughter of heaven, fall in love with a fortune teller?

Dare to use his daughter to compare with Li Yi'an, Wang Yuanhua was very angry.

"However, it is really wrong for your Wang family to do this!"

Cui Jingsheng of the Boling Cui family said: "If you didn't get some inside information, then there is something really wrong with Jingru's niece."

Wang Yuanhua assured him with a heartbeat: "Our Wang family has absolutely no inside story. I am also worried about Ru Jing's matter!"

"Aye, something is wrong!"

Cui Tianming hurried in suddenly: "The imperial court is going to do something, they are finally going to do it..."

"What did you do?"

Cui Mao asked nervously.

"The imperial court arrested all the salt merchants under our Cui family. The reason is that we evaded taxes and did not pay back the salt and iron taxes."

After Cui Tianming finished speaking in one breath, he took another deep breath.

"Tianming, are you serious?"

Cui Mao was furious: "How dare Li Erlang do this!"

"Master, you are really here!"

At this time, the housekeeper of the Cui family in Boling hurried in and said: "All the salt merchants under our Cui family were arrested by the court, all the salt and iron were confiscated, and many people were ransacked and fined. I caught it too."

"what!"

Cui Jingsheng stood up abruptly.

However, before he could say anything, a housekeeper from the Li family in Longxi happened to come in and said, "Master, the imperial court has arrested very few of us because of the salt and iron tax, not just our seven families, but all the families in Chang'an City. Those who do not pay the salt and iron tax will all have their homes searched and prosecuted..."

As their news came in one by one, everyone present was stunned.

Li Shimin really dared to do this, not only to deal with the seven of them, but also to all the families in Chang'an, including the entire Gyeonggi Province. Maybe in the future, Chang'an will be the center, spread outward, and completely crack down on private salt and iron.

How dare Li Shimin do this?

"Something is bad!"

They had just been quiet for a while when a housekeeper from the Zheng family in Xingyang finally ran in and told them a more important news: "Master, the court not only arrested our Zheng family's salt and iron merchants, but also our Zheng family's officials. More than a dozen people were arrested, and officials from the Li family and the Cui family were arrested one after another, and all of them were taken to Dali Temple to be detained and await interrogation."

boom!

These words, like a thunderbolt, suddenly sounded from above their heads.

They can understand the arrest of those salt and iron merchants, but why did the imperial court dare to arrest even the officials below them?

This is not normal!

"why?"

Zheng Quan asked excitedly.

"I...I don't know either!"

The butler said quickly.

"The officials of our Cui family were also arrested?"

Cui Jingsheng stared at him and asked.

"Everyone was arrested, except...except..."

The steward glanced at Wang Yuanhua and said, "Except for the Wang family, none of their salt merchants have been arrested, nor have any officials."

As soon as these words were said, everyone's eyes fell on Wang Yuanhua. They finally remembered that only members of the Wang family had never come to look for Wang Yuanhua.

"Brother Wang, how do you explain this?"

Li Yongfeng asked.

"How can I explain it? Our Wang family paid so much salt and iron tax, this is the explanation."

Although Wang Yuanhua was a little flustered by them, when he thought of this, he said confidently: "Although I don't know why Ru Jing insisted on doing this, you all know the ability of my family Ru Jing, and she must have judged something, so make up for it." pay."

"Then why didn't you tell us earlier?"

Zheng Quan said loudly.

"That's what I said back then, can you believe it?"

Wang Yuanhua snorted coldly.

At that time, these people still regarded themselves as fools and their entire Wang family as fools before that.

They wouldn't believe it anyway.

Do you know it's wrong now?Really deserve it!

The people from the six families suddenly had nothing to say, because it was also true, and they often laughed at Wang Yuanhua in private.

"wrong!"

Lu Yulin said loudly: "We don't pay the salt and iron tax. What does that have to do with our officials? There is a conspiracy, and there must be a conspiracy."

Cui Mao narrowed his eyes: "I'm afraid Li Erlang wants to take this opportunity to deliberately suppress us. He is going to declare war on us!"

"Declaration of war?"

Li Chengen sneered: "He may have forgotten how Yang Guang died in the end?"

In an instant, they became murderous.