The Reborn Lao Tzu Is the Emperor

Chapter 70 On the Land Distribution System
Seeing that the two old men didn't intend to say hello anymore, Zhao Dongting winked at Li Yuanxiu, got up and said, "Seniors, I will take my leave first."

Hong Wutian didn't speak, and Xiang Dongyang just bowed and said: "Respectfully send off the emperor."

When Zhao Dongting first came in, there was earnestness in his eyes, but at this moment, he seemed indifferent for no reason.

Li Yuanxiu couldn't see the arrogance of these two old men, so he snorted slightly, and walked out with Zhao Dongting.

Once outside, Zhao Dongting closed the door.Walking to Zhizhou Mansion, Li Yuanxiu couldn't bear it any longer, and asked: "Why is the emperor so polite to that rude beggar?"

For Hong Wutian and Xiang Dongyang, he obviously disliked Hong Wutian even more.Of course, it may also be due to meeting an opponent at chess and becoming determined to win.

Zhao Dongting said with a smile: "Senior Hong is extraordinary in martial arts, and he is also a person from the Jianghu. He is not like your father-in-law who stays in the palace all year round. It is normal to have outstanding arrogance."

Li Yuanxiu said indignantly: "But he actually called himself the emperor, it is an unforgivable crime."

He is full of heart toward the Southern Song court.

Zhao Dongting said: "Senior Hong bluntly said that he is a beggar emperor, and he kept claiming that he was 'I Chao', which on the contrary shows that he is an open-minded person. Compared with those who secretly want to rebel like Mr. Ge Li, it is worthwhile." Much more trustworthy."

Li Yuanxiu was slightly stunned and stopped talking.

At this time, the elders Hong Wutian and Xiang Dongyang in the house were also talking.

Hong Wutian smiled and asked: "You old man, you always talk about being unrecognized for your talents. This time the emperor came in person, why did you put on airs and stop talking halfway? You also didn't ask the emperor to become an official."

Xiang Dongyang smiled and said, "What do you think of the Emperor?"

Hong Wutian said: "Although he is young, he is full of self-confidence, broad-minded, and humble. In the future, he will be the rare emperor of the Song Dynasty."

Xiang Dongyang said: "Then why don't you say that you want those little beggars under your command to join the army and serve the country?"

Hong Wutian squeezed the chess piece in his hand, and looked a little more serious, "If he can really manage Leizhou well, I don't need to persuade you, the brothers of our beggar gang will be willing to resist the Yuan thief. If he can't even manage Leizhou well, In the future, even if the Yuan Thief is wiped out, the world will never be peaceful, so I might as well let my brothers beg for a living in peace of mind."

Xiang Dongyang said again: "Then what if I manage this Leizhou Mansion?"

Hong Wutian chuckled lightly and said: "Although you are a sour old man who can't do anything else, you have nothing to do with government affairs. Eh... What do you mean, you decided to go out to assist the emperor?"

"Hehe, my book full of poems is still worth some money."

But Xiang Dongyang said: "If I take the initiative to ask, the emperor may not pay attention to me."

Hong Wutian understood Xiang Dongyang's plan in an instant, "It turns out that you, an old man, still want to take advantage of the emperor and sell it for a price! Aren't you afraid that waiting for you to die of old age will not give you the chance to display your full ambition?"

Xiang Dongyang said earnestly: "Confucius said that a good bird chooses a tree to live in, and a good minister chooses a master to serve. If the emperor doesn't value me, then I would rather never serve as an official."

Hong Wutian nodded lightly, "You are right, it's just that the old man looked at you just now, and the emperor didn't seem to have any intention of recruiting you! He asked you why the land distribution system is difficult to implement, and asked you why the spark of fire Liao Yuan, if you speak out those thoughts in your heart, he will definitely ask you to become an official, but you are an old fellow who is arrogant, but you don't say anything. I look at him, and he seems to be a little angry in his heart!"

Xiang Dongyang said: "During the Three Kingdoms, Uncle Liu visited the thatched cottage three times to invite Zhuge. I am not good at marching and fighting, but when it comes to governing the government and developing the region, I consider myself not inferior to Zhuge. If the little emperor has a heart for the common people, I have not received my answer this time. If he doesn't come, it can only show that he doesn't pay enough attention to the matter of dividing the land, and doesn't pay enough attention to the people of Li. Even if I advise him, what's the use of it?"

Hong Wutian smiled lightly and stopped answering, only said: "Play chess, play chess."

Then the two played against each other again.

Here, as soon as Zhao Dongting returned to his bedroom, he said to Li Yuanxiu: "Elder-in-law, prepare some exquisite fruits tomorrow, and then accompany me to my hometown."

Li Yuanxiu was puzzled and said: "Your Majesty, why are you going to his house?"

He always has a heart for Hong Wutian and Xiang Dongyang's arrogance.

Think about it, whose home the emperor will not receive hospitality?
But those two old guys only made a cup of tea, and then ignored them.That Hong Wutian was even more hateful, he didn't even kneel, it was very rude.

Zhao Dongting knew what Li Yuanxiu was thinking, and said softly, "Father-in-law just do what I say."

If a person is still arrogant in old age, he must have extraordinary abilities.On this point, Zhao Dongting came to a conclusion in his previous life.

Another day passed.

The next night, Zhao Dongting didn't go to the roof to stare blankly, and asked Li Yuanxiu to go to the roof to see. When he learned that the lights were on in Xiang Dongyang's house, he carried fruit and took Li Yuanxiu to Xiang Dongyang's house in casual clothes.

He knocked on the door, but it was still Hong Wutian who opened the door.

Seeing that it was Zhao Dongting, Hong Wutian was slightly surprised and said: "Why is the emperor here again?"

Zhao Dongting said with a smile: "I don't feel sleepy in the palace yet, come and see the two seniors."

After that, he personally carried the fruit into the door and walked into the inner room.

Sitting on the mat, Xiang Dongyang saw Zhao Dongting coming, his eyes flashed joy, but he didn't show it, he just bowed and said: "I have seen the emperor."

"Seniors don't need to be polite."

Zhao Dongting put the fruit on the case table and said: "Last night I came to visit in a hurry, it was impolite, I brought some fruit today, and please accept it, senior."

Xiang Dongyang was not too polite, and immediately asked Hong Wutian to wash the fruit, saying: "Why did the emperor come to the humble house again?"

Hong Wutian had nothing to put on airs when he had something to eat, so he went out with the fruit with a smile on his face.

Zhao Dongting said: "Last night, I heard senior say that dividing the land is feasible but difficult. I went back and thought about it late at night, but I didn't think of any proper solution. I came here to ask senior tonight. Do you have a good plan?"

Originally, in Zhao Dongting's imagination, the land distribution system should not be too difficult with a large army.But the situation in the past two days told him that he had underestimated the arrogance of these nobles and gentry in the Southern Song Dynasty too much.

Just in the two days since the land distribution order was promulgated, there have been riots by landlords one after another.Some gathered family members to sit in the fields, and did not allow the small officials of the Ministry of Agriculture to measure the land. What's more, they even sweared at the small officials and pointed sticks at each other.Most of these gentry were related, and the imperial government did not send out troops, and the government turned out to be a handicap, and officials repeatedly complained to the superiors.This made Zhao Dongting and Lu Xiufu very troubled.

But those noble gentry did not go too far, sending troops to suppress it seemed too fussy.

When Zhao Dongting said to ask for advice, he was not speaking politely, but because he really didn't have any good ideas in his heart.

Xiang Dongyang stroked his beard and said with a smile: "The emperor really wants to hear the old man's humble opinion?"

Zhao Dongting said: "I am sincerely asking, and I also ask seniors to give advice."

But Xiang Dongyang asked again: "The emperor thinks, why did the nobles of Leizhou Prefecture obstruct the distribution of land?"

Zhao Dongting replied: "I want to distribute the land in Leizhou equally to the common people. Their land will be deprived and their interests will be damaged, so it is natural to obstruct it."

"From the perspective of the old man, it's not just that."

Xiang Dongyang shook his head slightly, "These nobles are extremely wealthy and have a lot of property. If they lose some fields, the real loss of benefits is not too great."

Zhao Dongting couldn't help pondering the words, and then said: "Since this is the case, I also promised that the people will have a tax reduction and exemption policy. The nobles will suffer less damage to their interests. Why are they so violently obstructing it?"

As he spoke, he also took out the tax reduction and exemption regulations submitted by Lu Xiufu from his sleeve, and handed them to Xiang Dongyang.

Looking at Dongyang carefully, he suddenly left the seat and knelt down, sighing: "The emperor cares about the people of Li, it is really a blessing for the common people..."

Zhao Dongting hurriedly helped him up, and said: "It's a pity that there are many obstacles to this matter of dividing the land. If we really want to carry it out, we don't know when we will get it."

Xiang Dongyang understood Zhao Dongting's meaning, knew that he was trying to induce him, and didn't care, bowed and said, "Your Majesty, in fact, according to this old man, what those nobles care about is not the real land, but their face."

After reading Zhao Dongting's tax reduction and exemption policy, he concluded that Zhao Dongting's allocation of land was really for the sake of the people, and he didn't plan to hide it anymore.

Zhao Dongting couldn't help being surprised when he heard the words, "Face?"

Xiang Dongyang said: "That's right. The people treat them as nobles because their family has fertile land to lean forward. This is a special favor from the court to them. But if the court takes back their land, it is tantamount to this grace No, they are no different from ordinary people except that their families are richer. At that time, the nobles will no longer be nobles, so how can they be willing to take back the land from the imperial court?"

Hearing what Xiang Dongyang said, Zhao Dongting felt suddenly enlightened.

That's right, I only thought about the interests of these nobles, but didn't think about their face.

Isn't the rich and noble family in ancient times reflected in the large house and a lot of fertile land?

With their land taken back, even if they have other ways to make money, they will not be able to reflect their status as ordinary people.

(End of this chapter)