Tibet.

Chapter 1469 Conflicts intensify

In the past two days, the news spread throughout Chang'an that the states of Bashu collectively boycotted the court's abolition order and slave tax. It was not just a civil boycott, but many states also issued statements that the abolition order and slave tax were invalid in their states, openly confronting the court.

Bashu maintained stability and peace during the Anshi Rebellion, but unexpectedly, a serious political crisis emerged more than ten years after the Rebellion.

For three consecutive days, people in the streets and alleys of Chang'an were talking about this matter, and it was even more widely known among officials in the court.

At noon that day, the Danfeng Restaurant was filled with officials who came for lunch, and the Bashu political crisis was naturally the main topic of discussion in the restaurant.

As the saying goes, the layman sees the excitement, while the expert sees the details. The people of Chang'an were talking about the abolition order, but the court officials saw it more deeply.

Several officials from the Ministry of Revenue sat together and chatted. Sun Shaokan, a member of the Ministry of Revenue, said worriedly, "There are rumors that the court sent Minister of Rites Tian Shengong to Bashu for negotiations. Is it true or not?"

An official from the Ministry of Revenue snorted, "You must be mistaken! Tian Shengong went to Nanzhao to attend the coronation of their new king. How could he negotiate with Bashu?"

"Why isn't it possible?"

Sun Shaokan said angrily: "Nominally he went to Nanzhao to attend the coronation ceremony, but in reality he went to negotiate. Isn't this a rare case?"

"Then who are you going to talk to? Negotiating between officials from the imperial court and local officials? That's simply ridiculous!"

"Of course, we negotiated with Hezhou Governor Guo Xiang. He was the initiator of the declaration of the various states in Bashu. Who doesn't know his background?"

Liu Jianning, a doctor at the Ministry of Revenue, picked up his teacup and sneered, "Brother Shaokan, you are really wrong this time. This time, the boycott of the abolition order is a continuation of the last salt tax case. The key is that the court finally compromised in the last salt tax case. They thought the court would continue to compromise. Just wait and see! This time, the court will definitely settle accounts thoroughly."

Another assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue also laughed and said, "I guess those nobles in Bashu thought that they could reach a compromise with the court by symbolically releasing a few old and weak slaves. It can only be said that they don't realize the seriousness of the problem. Previously, the court sent 30,000 troops to the Jiannan Governor's Office and appointed Li Sheng as the Jiannan Governor. It was obvious that they were going to settle accounts. How could they not realize it?"

Sun Shaokan slammed the table and said, "Brother Liu, let me make a bet with you. What if we compromise this time?"

Liu Jianning smiled slightly, "Let's bet ten strings of cash! If I lose, the ten strings of cash you owe me will be written off. If you lose, you have to pay me twenty strings of cash. How about that? Do you dare to bet?"

Sun Shaokan gritted his teeth and said, "Let's bet, everyone can testify!"

"What are you betting on?"

Liu Yan, the Minister of Finance, suddenly appeared in front of everyone and said angrily, "How dare you use the lunch time to gamble?"

Everyone stood up in fear. Liu Jianning smiled and bowed, saying, "Your Excellency, Prime Minister, we are betting on whether the imperial court will compromise with the local forces of Bashu like it did with the salt tax last time?"

Liu Yan snorted, "The last time we compromised was because the war in Hebei was not over. Will we compromise again this time?"

"we know!"

Liu Yan glanced at the wine pot and glared at him, "You are not allowed to drink at noon, don't you know?"

"Prime Minister, this is not wine, it's tea. We just put it in the wine pot to make it look like tea."

Liu Yan snorted, "Hurry up and finish your meal and go back to the court. The report for the first half of the year has not been compiled yet, and the Right Prime Minister is urging me!"

"We will go back immediately and complete the summary today."

Liu Yan turned and left. Everyone wiped the sweat off their foreheads. Liu Jianning smiled and said, "Brother Shaokan, do you want to continue the bet?"

Sun Shaokan said with a gloomy face: "Let me think about this again!"

Everyone laughed.

In the imperial study, Li Ye slowly said to Wei Jiansu and Zhang Li: "I have always regretted giving in to the salt tax. This time I have decided to use the abolition order to target Sichuan. Immediately notify Wang Wei to withdraw his men from all over the country back to Chengdu. The Ministry of Personnel should also be prepared to send a large number of officials to take over Sichuan. It is best to wait in Hanzhong first and enter Sichuan at any time."

"Your Majesty, has you decided to carry out a large-scale cleanup of the Bashu officialdom?" Wei Jiansu asked.

"of course!"

Li Ye said coldly: "The governors of the twelve states in Shannan East Road have declared that they do not recognize the abolition order. The seven states in Jiannan Road do not recognize the abolition order. The abolition order was signed by me personally. If they do not recognize it, doesn't that mean they do not recognize me? I have sent 5,000 internal guards into Bashu to completely deal with these bastards. The Guo and Jia families will also exterminate their entire clans."

Wei Jiansu and Zhang Li both knew that the emperor was really angry and dared not persuade him anymore.

Wei Jiansu sighed and said, "I just hope that the war will end quickly and that no innocent people will die in the flames of war."

Li Ye nodded, "Li Sheng knows what's going on, he won't kill people!" Li Ye waved his hand again, "What's the situation in Jingxiang?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, the Huang family has converted all their slaves into civilians during the rectification period. The state government has also reviewed it and found that there is no problem with the Huang family. Now there is a one-month gap between their conversion and the issuance of the slave tax. The state government is asking whether they should make up for this month's slave tax?"

Li Ye asked with a smile: "What is the opinion of the Political Affairs Hall?"

"We suggest that it is best to be reasonable and legal. The Political Affairs Hall suggests that the time when the local slave tax was promulgated should be used as the benchmark. Tax exemption is allowed within ten days, and additional tax will be required for the period exceeding ten days."

Li Ye nodded, "This plan is good, I approve it."

Zhang Li added: "I heard that the Du family was in a more miserable situation. They hid 3,200 slaves. When they were discovered, they had to pay compensation and a fine of 70,000 strings of cash. The head of the family, Du Youguang, couldn't bear the pressure and hanged himself. I heard that the inner guards still went in and confiscated the Du family's property."

Li Ye snorted, "If I had known this would happen, I wouldn't have done it in the first place."

Li Ye hesitated for a moment and said to Wei Jiansu, "Let the weekly magazine publish the details of the Du family's affairs. There is no need to cover it up. Publish it directly with real names and send it to all parts of the country."

"I understand that the Du family is the best example. It is worthy of vigilance for all the wealthy families in the world."

When Li Ye saw Wei Gao appear at the door, he said to the two men, "You two prime ministers, go ahead! If there is any situation, contact me immediately!"

"We're leaving!"

The two men bowed and left, and Wei Gao reported: "Your Majesty, Liu Wutong wants to see you!"

"Let him in!"

Soon, Liu Wutong hurried in and bowed, "Your Majesty!"

"Tell me! What's the matter?"

"Reporting to your majesty, we have found Guo Kun. He is in Xianyang County and is now under close surveillance. He can be arrested at any time."

Guo Kun was Guo Huaiyan's second son, studying at the Imperial Academy. When the inner guards went to arrest him, he escaped. Li Ye thought he had fled back to Shu, but he did not expect that he was hiding in Xianyang County.

Li Ye nodded, "Arrest him immediately!"

Near the west gate of Xianyang County, there is a small house covering an area of ​​three acres. It looks no different from that of an ordinary family. The house was purchased legally three years ago.

Guo Huaiyan's second son, Guo Kun, was studying at the Imperial Academy. Two days ago, he received an urgent notice from his father, asking him to hide immediately.

Guo Kun didn't know the reason, but he immediately took two of his men and hid in Xianyang County, just in time to avoid being captured by the internal guards.

If he had stayed hidden and motionless, the internal guards would not have been able to catch him, but the problem was that he didn't know why his father asked him to hide, so he didn't know the seriousness of the matter.

He left in a hurry and didn't have time to go to the mule and horse shop to get his beloved horse, so he asked one of his men to go to the mule and horse shop to get the horse.

However, they did not expect that the mule and horse shop had been under the watch of the Internal Guards. This morning, when Guo Kun's men came to the mule and horse shop to get horses, the Internal Guards watched him and followed him all the way to Xianyang County, where they discovered the small house.

The internal guards stood on the west city wall and used their clairvoyance to observe, and indeed, they discovered a young man who looked like Guo Kun in the small house.

As night fell, Liu Wutong personally led a hundred internal security soldiers to surround the small house in Xianyang. Liu Wutong waved his hand and more than twenty internal security soldiers immediately climbed over the wall and went in.

After a while, there was a sound of fierce fighting in the house, but it soon became quiet.

Soon, the door opened and a young man in gorgeous clothes was escorted out, tied up, with his mouth blocked and a look of horror on his face.

Liu Wutong took a look at him. He was in his early twenties, of medium build, with fair skin and tender flesh, and he looked quite good.

"is it him?"

A classmate who was brought in for identification took a closer look and nodded, "Yes, it's him!"

Liu Wutong waved his hand and said, "Take him away!"

The soldiers immediately covered Guo Kun's head with a black bag and put him on a carriage. A dozen inner guard cavalrymen escorted the carriage and quickly left.

(End of this chapter)