A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Emperor Yuan Cong

Chapter 954: Reward Thousand Liang of Gold

Changan.

The emperor put aside all official duties and concentrated on mourning and observing filial piety.

Changsun Wuji was the envoy of the mountain mausoleum. He led his people to build a mausoleum on the north plateau of Sanyuan. The mausoleum was six feet high.

Li Shimin originally planned to build it according to the specifications of Changling, the emperor of the Han Dynasty, which was nine feet high. However, Li Yuan left an edict to be frugal and consider the rules of Han and Wei. Zuo Pushe Fang Xuanling believed that the Changling system was too grand and extravagant and violated the imperial edict of the Daxing Emperor. The two-foot rule was also harmful to customs. Guangwu Zhongxing Mingzhu relied mostly on allusions and respected it as a formal style, which is actually very appropriate. .

That's how it's settled,
According to the six-foot mausoleum system of Emperor Guangwu of the Han Dynasty, the mausoleum was built for Emperor Daxing.

East Palace.

Crown Prince Cheng Qian served as regent during the emperor's mourning period.

The prime ministers and the officials of the East Palace jointly assisted,
"The temple is named Gaozu, the posthumous name is Emperor Taiwu, and the mausoleum is called Xianling!"

Xuanling, the servant of the left servant, shot Fang to play.

When he received the news, he still couldn't believe it.

As for the posthumous title of Emperor Taiwu, they debated it for a long time. At first, they discussed it was Emperor Wu. Later, they reported to the emperor. Li Shimin thought about it before his father's death and shook his head.
He felt that Emperor Wu was not enough to demonstrate his father's achievements in founding the country and entrepreneurship.

Xiao Yu is now the Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, and Wu Huaiyu suddenly wants to donate 1,800 taels of gold to the court, which is equivalent to 14,400 taels of gold.

After learning from Wu Huaiyi, the former governor of Guangzhou, that Wu Huaiyu could indeed get 1,800 taels of gold, and that it was definitely not a joke, Xiao Yu reported the matter today.

Everyone was surprised by Wu Huaiyu's generosity.

The remaining 40% is allowed to be sold by the mine owners themselves.

One thousand eight hundred taels of gold.

Li Hu was already the Taizu of the Tang Dynasty, so Li Yuan could no longer be the Taizu. As the founding king, the temple title Gaozu was also very appropriate. Liu Bang was the Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty.

This is much more advanced than the previous direct levy of fixed taxes on mines. The court left 40% of the mines for the mine owners to buy and sell for themselves, which also benefited the people and prevented the court from extracting 20% ​​of the mines. After buying at an 80% discount, The mine owners will not get much profit, which will make the private mining industry depressed.

Relying on official mines alone is far from enough.

"Wu Huaiyu from Lingnan was immediately cleared away. The Dao of Lingnan paid a tribute of 1,000 taels of gold to build the mausoleum, and another 800 taels of gold to help conquer Tuyuhun."

So Emperor Taiwu, the great ancestor, made the decision like this, and reporting to the prince now is just a formality.

The prime ministers and the Ministry of Rites discussed the decision to give Li Yuan the temple name Gaozu.
The reason why the temple is named Gaozu instead of Taizu is very simple. After Li Yuan founded the country and proclaimed himself emperor, he already respected his grandfather Li Hu as Emperor Jing, and the temple was named Taizu.

So Wen Yanbo proposed to change the name to Emperor Dawu.
Finally, Li Shimin talked about Emperor Taiwu,

Xiao Yu came out of the queue,

This tea is easy to transport by sea, and the tea is bright red in color, rich and long-lasting, and has a strong and refreshing taste, especially when paired with sugar. It is loved by many Hu merchants and sells well in Guangzhou Port.

"I heard that there is a lot of gold and silver in Lingnan, and many gold and silver mines have been discovered in recent years. The imperial court's mining tax is a 28-cent system. Official mines are divided into 2 cents for tax, and the remaining 8 cents are divided into 4 cents for purchase and 4 cents for purchase. They can be sold freely." Xiao Yu reminded Wen Yanbo that since the Zhenguan period, the imperial court's main focus on minerals such as gold, silver, copper, iron, lead, and tin was to collect and buy them, first with a 20% tax, and then with a 40% tax.

But officials from the Ministry of Civil Affairs told him that Lingnan was very wealthy now. Wu Huaiyu's embassy held one-third of Lingnan's tax revenue, not to mention that the Lingnan states still retained one-third.

Cheng Qian also knew about this and nodded in agreement with the temple name, posthumous name and mausoleum name.

Xiao Yu made a special trip to Taifu Temple to find Wu Huaiyi, who had returned to Beijing to serve as Taifu Minister.
After drinking a pot of Guangzhou Yingde black tea, Xiao Yu was full of praise for the tea. He learned that it was the Nanzhong large-leaf species obtained by the Wu family from Su Dingfang, the governor of Yaozhou. It was a new tea species that was cultivated and improved in Lingnan. The tea plantations are improved and processed into black tea suitable for foreign trade.

Wen Yanbo asked, "Is the tribute gold? Is the eighteen hundred taels all gold?"

Under the mining class system like Zhenguan, the mining industry has been very prosperous in recent years, especially in Lingnan.

Firstly, there are many mines there; secondly, it is remote and wild, and it is easy to get cheap slaves to work as miners; and thirdly, for iron, Shaozhou has the largest pig iron leaching copper field, and Foshan is now the largest iron processing industry in the south. , iron ore is mined in Lingnan, the cost is low and it is easy to sell.

The same goes for gold and silver. Lingnan's foreign trade is booming and there is a tradition of gold and silver transactions. It is also more convenient to trade gold and silver with Hu merchants.

The gold and silver mines in Lingnan were mined in large quantities, and the local government in Lingnan naturally mined and bought more, and a lot could be obtained through sea trade.

Wen Yanbo frowned.
Xiao Yu is much more senior than him. This Xiao Dabao can sometimes kill people.
"It seems that there are too many taxes retained in Lingnan," Wen Yanbo said, "especially the city's shipping tariffs, mining taxes, gambling, and government-run revenue. I think these should be based on the three-point system, leaving two to Lingnan. This is unreasonable."

"Two taxes can be divided into three parts, and two parts should be retained by the prefectures, but the rest should be treated as central taxes and turned over to the central government in full, or at least half."

Xiao Yu looked at Wen Yanbo and said mercilessly, "Any system in the imperial court is formulated after repeated research. There is no reason to change it overnight. What's more, after the three-point tax is formulated, the proportions of each tax's payment and retention are still relatively high. reasonable,

There are many places that need money in the local area. If all the money is turned over to the court, the court will still have to allocate it again. It will be more troublesome to go back and forth. It is unnecessary to just take off your pants and fart, but it will make the local government tied up and unable to do anything."

"Lingnan has a surplus of fiscal and tax revenue. This is because they have done a good job of increasing revenue and reducing expenditure. They have indeed made a lot of money through sea trade and mining, but this is also their ability.
Lingnan maintains so many soldiers, including nearly 80,000 government soldiers, garrison soldiers, and town soldiers, as well as unity and archers. Lingnan has been fighting in the past few years.

But Wu Huaiyu did not ask for a penny from the court, and faithfully paid one-third of the taxes to the court every year, and often paid extra tribute.
This is his thing.

Let’s just talk about these 1,800 taels of gold. I’ve also learned about it. Last year, Lingnan merged into provinces and counties, from ninety-eight to forty-nine prefectures. Dozens of prefectures were merged into the province at once, and a large number of officials were streamlined. Saved a lot of money. Even by suppressing the barbarian rebellion, the seizures were used to make up for the expenses of fighting and raising troops, and there was even a surplus."

Xiao Yu stared directly at Wen Yanbo and asked, "Lingnan is originally a remote and barbaric place, but Wu Huaiyu guarded Lingnan, but he was able to do so without any support from the court. On the contrary, he was able to pay the taxes in full and keep the taxes according to the system. , can have surplus,
That's their thing,
People can increase revenue and reduce expenditure, and Lingnan's business is booming.

If you look through the account books carefully, you will see that Henan Road and Huainan Road, the heart of the Central Plains, have been in deficit and owed money for two consecutive years. How much tax, money, and food have been paid?
There are also Hexi and Longyou. How much has been turned over? Shannan, Jiannan, and Jiangnan East-West Road, not to mention the Central Guizhou Road,

Wu Huaiyu did well in Lingnan, could he still be wrong?

Now that they have saved some money and are about to reach out, do other departments also need to change their tax payment ratios? "

Wen Yanbo was speechless after being sprayed by Xiao Dapao.

Not to mention that Henan, Huainan, and Hebei Provinces, which have been hit by severe floods for two consecutive years, have not paid enough taxes in these two years, and the court has to spend money there.

Even in Hedong, Guanzhong, Jiannan and other places, not much was handed over.

The reason is not complicated. These places are indeed wealthy but also have a large population. In recent years, the imperial court has invested a lot of money and food in these places to build rivers, roads and water conservancy.

On the contrary, Lingnan Road seems to be a mess, but people really make waves.

Wen Yanbo could sourly say that Wu Huaiyu took advantage of sea trade and benefited from the abundant mineral resources in Lingnan. He could even say that Wu Huaiyu robbed the savings of the barbarians, and even made war fortune by plundering and selling the barbarians into slaves.
But no matter what, the fact is that Lingnan Road has been very eye-catching in recent years.
Not only can people be self-sufficient, not only can they pay more and more taxes every year, but their own Lingnan is also developing faster and faster.

Wu Huaiyu can still pay tribute of 1,800 taels of gold at this time, which is in addition to the prescribed taxes.

Lingnan had no choice but to not take out this money, but now that it has been taken out, not only did you not appreciate it, but you even wanted to confiscate the entire treasury.
This is going too far.

Xiao Yu couldn't stand it anymore.
Zuo Pushe Fang Xuanling also said, "The tax system cannot be changed lightly. If you want to change it, you must make a plan before moving. How can the general chess game of the whole country be targeted at one place alone?"

Zhongshu Ling Ma Zhou was even more blunt, "You can't target someone. The prime minister's heart can support the boat. How can he be the prime minister without the measure?"

Wen Yanbo's old face turned red, but he was speechless.

Wang Gui, who once again entered the court as prime minister, came out to smooth things over, "Wu Gong is still very selfless. If Lingnan Dao had more money, he would immediately send such a large gift to the court.
One thousand eight hundred taels of gold, worth 14,400 gold, one thousand taels were used to build the imperial mausoleum, and eight hundred taels were used to subsidize the Tuyuhun military supplies. This was a great help to the court, and it no longer had such a headache. "

More than 10,000 guan of money is not a small amount for the imperial court.

With more than 10,000 yuan in hand, the prime ministers felt much more relaxed.

Prince Chengqian had not spoken just now, but when they finished speaking, he said, "The two tribute gold tributes from Lingnan Road have been accepted. The court must reward Duke Wu and Lingnan Road officials. Someone will go back and draw up a plan." The reward charter comes out,"

The prince ended the topic and turned to ask about the war against Tuyuhun.

In this battle, during the national mourning period, the emperor made a special statement that the war could not be suspended because of the mourning. It had to be fought and the battle had to be successful.

"Your Highness, the war is going quite smoothly."

Doulu Kuan, the new Minister of War, said, "Duan Zhixuan and Fan Xing marched along the river and defeated the enemy in Shanzhou. Li Daozong defeated the Tuyuhun army again in Kushan, southeast of Qinghai Lake."

"Then Li Jing, Fan Xing, Xue Wanjun and others led the army to the north and left the right side of Tuyuhun. Li Daozong, Hou Junji, Niu Jinda and others led the army to the south and left the left side of Tuyuhun."

"A few days ago, Li Jing's general Sagu Wuren fought in Mandu Mountain and killed the famous king Tuyuhun.
The general managers of all roads took advantage of the victory and defeated the Tuyuhun army again at Niuxindui and Chishuiyuan. They captured Murong Xiaojun, the minister of Tuyuhun Khan Fuyun, and captured tens of thousands of miscellaneous animals.

The Southern Route Army also reported success. Li Daozong and Hou Junji defeated the Tuyuhun army in Wuhai and captured the famous king Liang Qucong."

There are soldiers and horses on both sides of the north and south, and the general managers of each road frequently report good news.

The Tang army had planned this operation for a long time and dispatched elite cavalry with great speed. It can be said that Tuyuhun was caught off guard.
But there is another main reason why the war went so smoothly this time. It was that the Tang Dynasty successfully instigated Tubo and Tuyuhun to enmity last year, and then Tubo Zampo Songtsen Gampo sent troops south last year to fight with Tuyuhun at Bailan.
Fu Yun had no choice but to dispatch the main force and other troops from the Party and Xiang tribes to rescue and resist.
The two sides fought for a long time, with each winning or losing, but Tuyuhun's main force was pinned to the south and suffered considerable damage.
The Tang army made a sudden attack this year, and Tuyuhun was caught off guard. They were still preparing for the wedding ceremony and were coming to Chang'an to marry the emperor's daughter, Princess Honghua. Who would have expected that the in-laws would be beaten as soon as they asked.

In this battle, not only did the old coach Li Jing take action, but also a bunch of famous generals.

Xue Wanche even showed off his power at Chihai and rode alone to attack Chihai. No one dared to capture him. King Tianzhu led an army to besiege him. Wanche fell from his horse. His brother Wanjun came to rescue him, but he was also shot and fell from his horse. Qibi Heli led hundreds of Tiele's elite cavalry to arrive, broke through the encirclement, attacked bravely, and rescued the two brothers.

Xue Wanche, who was rescued, was covered in blood, but he still shouted that the thief was nothing more than that, and then took the lead in killing him.
The generals followed closely behind, and they cut down thousands of ranks, and the men and horses shed blood, and they were brave enough to defeat the three armies.
He defeated the King of Tianzhu in the Red Sea and captured 300,000 of his miscellaneous animals.

Xue Wanche was only a general manager, but he captured 300,000 livestock.

And it's not just Li Daozong, Xue Wanche, Hou Junji and others who are so fierce.

Fan Xing and Tuyuhun fought in the Shuhun Mountains and captured 20 of his famous kings and 50,000 miscellaneous animals. He lost his mind and defeated the enemy in Juruchuan.
Tang troops from all directions advanced bravely and fought all the way to Fuqi City, the royal city of Tuyuhun.

Fu Yun set fire to the grass again and surrendered Dafeichuan.

"Your Highness, our soldiers of the Tang Dynasty have captured Fuqi City, the royal city of Tuyuhun. Governor Li Jing's army took advantage of the victory to pursue Fu Yun. Tuyuhun's power is exhausted!"

Crown Prince Li Chengqian sat there, listening with excitement.

I didn't expect that this battle would go so smoothly and these generals would be so brave.
"Rewards, there are rewards for all. Send an order to the army to reward the three armies. All the 800 taels of gold paid by Duke Wu are sent to the army. The court will transfer 200 taels of gold from the treasury and collect 1,000 taels of gold to reward the soldiers. !”

(End of this chapter)