People in the early Tang Dynasty: I compete with Wu Zhao for the throne

Chapter 1752: Di Renjie is ordered to return by the end of the year
Taiji Palace, Nanhai Pond.

Wangyun Pavilion is covered with silk cloth on three sides.

The steaming hot pot cooked the fresh fish meat hot. Wu Niang Qiong Yu carefully picked up a piece, blew on it, and then brought it to Li Xuan's mouth.

Li Xuan put down the book in his hand, turned around, and swallowed the fish in one bite.

Qiong Yu continued to cook the fish with her head down. For some reason, her face turned red.

Li Xuan turned sideways and continued reading the book in his hand, a book that recorded the item-by-item rituals of worshiping Mount Tai during the reign of Emperor Gaozong.

At this moment, hurried footsteps came from the Ziwei Palace in the distance. Li Xuan raised his head slightly and immediately saw Xu Lu coming quickly with four eunuchs.

After entering the pavilion, Xu Lu immediately bowed and handed over a memorial, saying excitedly: "Your Majesty, the congratulatory letter from Huanzhou has arrived."

"Hmm!" Li Xuan stood up suddenly, walked down quickly, took the memorial from Xu Lu, and looked at the name of the governor of Huanzhou written on it. Li Xuan couldn't help but ask, "Is this the last memorial submitted by the 323 governors of the country?"

"Yes." Xu Lu responded subconsciously, then stepped back and bowed, saying, "Congratulations, Your Majesty. All the prefectures and counties in the Tang Dynasty congratulate Your Majesty on your ascension to the throne. All the prefectures and counties in the world bow down to Your Majesty. Your Majesty will unify the Tang Dynasty and the country will last forever."

The four eunuchs behind him saluted at the same time and said, "Congratulations to your Majesty for unifying the Tang Dynasty and wishing the country long lasting."

Li Xuan smiled and raised his hand, his eyes looking towards the entire Chang'an City, and even in the direction of the entire world.

He finally succeeded in unifying the Tang Dynasty.

All the governors of provinces and counties in the country congratulated him on his ascension to the throne and acknowledged his imperial power.

Li Xuan turned sideways, looked at Liu Qiongyu, and asked, "Wu Niang, do you know what this memorial means?"

"I don't know." Liu Qiongyu shook her head in confusion.

"This means that anyone in this world who dares to oppose me will be killed by the whole world with just one word from me." A cold color flashed in Li Xuan's eyes.

Getting this memorial meant that Li Xuan immediately had more chess pieces to use.

Orthodoxy and righteousness have never been just a title, but a powerful force.

Especially if one has sufficient strength, stability in the world is at the fingertips.

Liu Rengui said something right, there is no other Li Xuan in the world, so no one dares to stand up against Li Xuan.

Especially when the military forces of the four major military governorates were completely under his control and he could immediately send troops to eliminate any rebellion.

Now that everyone has submitted their congratulatory letters, it is equivalent to everyone submitting their surrender.

Even if they really want to do something in the future, the opinions of their neighbors will become an obstacle to their actions.

Because anyone can turn around and become their enemy at any time.

This would greatly increase the cost for them to resist Li Xuan, and they might even dare not do so again.

"Decree the decree." Li Xuan raised his head and said directly, "Give fifty pieces of silk to each of the 323 provincial governors in the country, and announce it to the world at the same time."

"Yes!" Xu Lu immediately bowed, and seeing that Li Xuan had no other arrangements, he turned around to pass on the order.

Li Xuan looked at Chang'an City in the distance for a while, then returned to the pavilion, gently lying in Liu Qiongyu's arms, and whispered: "Wu Niang, do you know that each of the 323 governors will be given 50 pieces of silk? How many pieces of silk should I give?"

"Three hundred and twenty-three provincial governors were given fifty rolls of silk each, that's not 16,000 rolls of silk..." Liu Qiongyu exclaimed in surprise, "It's more than 16,000 rolls of silk."

"It's 16,150 rolls of silk." Li Xuan let out a sigh of relief, and then said, "With so much silk, the Shaofu's storage will be reduced by half immediately."

"Your Majesty!" Liu Qiongyu's face showed a trace of worry.

"Haha!" Li Xuan patted her soft hands and said softly, "If your third sister were here, she would only say that I did a good job. Do you know why?"

"I don't know?" Liu Qiongyu looked confused.

"With these 16,000 pieces of silk, the price of silk cloth in Chang'an and even Luoyang will drop. In this way, many families will be able to afford silk cloth, and many people will be able to survive this winter. With more people, more taxes will be paid next year, and everything will be back to normal." Li Xuan looked forward, sighed, and said, "Not to mention, I have also announced to the world that the people's hearts are stable, which is even more cost-effective."

Li Xuan was not willing to go to war easily.

Once the army moves, there will be thousands of taels of gold, which is much more valuable than these things.

Moreover, there is not much profit after the rebellion is quelled, and people's livelihood needs to be appeased and stabilized, which requires even more investment.

Especially after Liu Rengui mentioned that the Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai was a conspiracy.

Liu Qiongyu nodded, not quite understanding. Li Xuan sat up, picked up the chopsticks and put them into the hot pot. He picked up a piece of meat and put it in his mouth. Suddenly, he said, "Order the hot pot and ingredients to be sent to each prime minister's home. It's cold today, and I hope they and their families can be warmer."

"Yes!" A eunuch in thick clothes walked out from outside the curtain, bowed, and then left quickly.

Li Xuan put the piece of meat completely into his mouth and chewed it carefully. At the same time, he leaned into Liu Qiongyu's arms and read a book while one of his hands seemed a little restless.

Liu Qiongyu's face was very red.

……

In the Liangyi Hall, Li Xuan was carefully examining the huge map of the territory of the Tang Empire.

Although his power can now penetrate every corner of the empire, if he wants to maximize his power, it is better to rely on the power of the entire court system.

In this case, the selection of the governor is very important.

Of course, he didn't have that many suitable confidants to send to local areas, and he was also reluctant to give up those who were truly capable.

Then the local chief historian Sima is the key.

In fact, in many places, Li Xuan doesn't need to put too many people.

A local chief historian or Sima can radiate to many states.

Li Xuan raised his eyes and looked towards the direction of Hebei.

In the whole Hebei Province, the only two places he really cared about were Youzhou and Jizhou.

Dou Huaiqi, the governor of Youzhou.

Xue Jichang, the governor of Jizhou.

Dou Huaiqi was not only from the Dou family, he was also the son-in-law of Princess Lanling, the nineteenth daughter of Emperor Taizong.

As for Xue Jichang, he was the son of Xue Rengui's elder brother.

He was older than Xue Na and more stable, so he did not get involved in the affairs between Xue Na and Princess Taiping. He even cursed Xue Na directly after knowing about the affairs between Xue Na and Princess Taiping.

Now both of them have submitted a letter to congratulate Li Xuan on his ascension to the throne, and have expressed their surrender. If Li Xuan continues to hold on to it, it will seem that he is not magnanimous.

"Wan'er!" Li Xuan called out sideways.

Shangguan Wan'er immediately stepped forward and bowed her head and said, "Your Majesty."

Li Xuan nodded and said with a half-smile: "Send an order to Yingzhou and tell Di Renjie that he must come back by the end of the year."

"Yes!" Shangguan Wan'er bowed immediately.

Li Xuan turned around again and looked towards Hebei. In the northeasternmost part of Hebei, Yingzhou was at the forefront.

If there was no Yingzhou, Hebei might have been connected with Khitan.

Khitan people!

It is also an ambitious group.

……

It’s the first day of November, and the weather is cold.

In the Taiji Hall, all officials paid homage to the emperor and discussed state affairs.

"Your Majesty," said Pei Judao, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue, bowing his hands. "All the prefectures and counties in the country have sent all the autumn grain this year to the Ministry of Revenue. The total tax amount in the account books is about 2500 million dan of millet, 740 million pieces of silk, and 1605 million rolls of cloth, which is equivalent to about 1053 million strings of cash.

Among them, 200 million copper coins, grain, silk, cloth, etc. converted into copper coins amounted to 853 million copper coins. "

Li Xuan breathed a sigh of relief, then asked, "What was the total tax revenue for the entire country last year?"

"947 million strings of cash." Pei Judao bowed and gave the exact number.

"Last year, the Wu family rebelled, and it was inevitable that the court had lost some tax revenue." Li Xuan nodded while sitting on the imperial couch, looked at Pei Judao and said, "Check carefully. If it is indeed the case, it is fine to make up the loss, but if someone embezzled, the Ministry of Revenue will investigate and hand it over to the Censorate for impeachment, and the Dali Temple will convict."

"Yes!" Pei Judao immediately bowed and stepped back.

"The Palace Department." Li Xuan looked at Zheng Xuankai and said seriously, "Inside the Taiji Gate, on both sides of the Imperial Road, there are iron plates recording the total amount of taxes this year."

"I obey your command." Zheng Xuankai immediately stood up and bowed, accepting the order solemnly.

"From now on, the total amount of taxes each year must be erected for me inside the Taiji Gate. I want to see whether the taxes in the Tang Dynasty are getting higher or lower year by year." Li Xuan said this, and when Zheng Xuankai bowed, many people looked up in surprise.

The total amount of taxes levied by a country has always been a secret among secrets.

Sometimes when the weather is good and the harvest is good, the total tax amount will be higher; sometimes when there are natural disasters or man-made disasters, the total tax amount will be lower.

Some people even use natural disasters or man-made calamities to conceal taxes.

Even causing natural disasters and man-made disasters.

"Your Majesty!" Lu Yuanfang had no choice but to stand up and said, "The actual amount of taxes is related to national strength. Once foreign races find out the actual amount of taxes levied by the Tang Dynasty, they will most likely raise troops to attack the Tang Dynasty, which will be detrimental to the world. Your Majesty, please think twice."

"Then you should work hard to govern the country better." Li Xuan turned to look at Lu Yuanfang, narrowed his eyes slightly, and said: "With your abilities, it is impossible that the tax revenue of the country will be worse than it is in a year, not to mention the storage of the Changping Warehouse... As for if we really encounter natural disasters and man-made disasters for four or five consecutive years, then we should let the people of the world know and fight the disaster together."

When Lu Yuanfang heard what Li Xuan said, he always felt that there was something strange.

But after thinking about it, what Li Xuan said made sense. With such a thing in hand, court officials would only be more attentive, and some numbers did not necessarily have to be true.

Seeing Lu Yuanfang bow and return to the train, Li Xuan continued, "Issue an order that the teams presenting gifts at the end of the year in all prefectures and counties do not need to be too extravagant. If time is too tight, it is enough to just send people. There is no need to rush to escort the gifts just for my enthronement hall. The most important thing is to look at the people."

"Yes!" All the ministers bowed their hands together, but as they lowered their heads, they couldn't help but ponder the meaning of Li Xuan's words.

It has been a month and a half since Li Xuan ascended the throne, and his ministers have gradually adapted to his style.

As long as you work hard and do your part according to the court rules, he will never blame you.

But if you deliberately procrastinate and are lazy, the precedents set by those who were dismissed from office are examples.

The court officials were more concerned about Li Xuan's layout of the world. They took one step forward and looked three steps ahead. Even the prime minister could not keep up with many things.

This time, what is he planning with these words?
……

Li Xuan raised his head and looked at the ministers: "Where is Li Sixun, the chief officer of Qizhou?"

"Your Majesty, I, Li Sixun, pay my respects to you. May your Majesty live forever." Li Sixun, dressed in a light crimson official robe, walked out with a solemn expression.

"Xue Ji, the proofreader of the Ministry of Secretariat." Li Xuan continued.

"I am Xue Ji, the proofreader of the Ministry of Rites. I am here to pay my respects to Your Majesty. May Your Majesty live a long and healthy life." Dressed in a green official robe, the 35-year-old Xue Ji stood out with his hands clasped.

Li Xuan nodded and continued, "Minister of Rites Li Ne!"

"Your Majesty, I, Li Ne, pay my respects to you." Li Ne bowed and stood up.

"The chief architect is Pei Feishu."

"I'm here!" Pei Feishu bowed and stood up.

Li Xuan looked at all the ministers and said, "I feel deeply sorry that the Lingyan Pavilion was burned down. Now, each family has sent their portraits to the palace. Today, Li Ne, the Minister of Rites, will be the envoy for rebuilding the Lingyan Pavilion, Pei Feishu will be the deputy, Li Sixun will be transferred to the Doctor of Rites, and Xue Ji will be transferred to the Doctor of Taichang to assist in drawing the portrait. It must be both spiritual and physical."

"We obey your orders." Li Ne, Pei Feishu, Li Sixun, Xue Ji and others all bowed.

"Ministry of Works, Ministry of Revenue, Ministry of War, coordinate the mobilization of manpower and materials." Li Xuan raised his hand slightly, and the ministers of various ministries bowed in unison.

Li Xuan sighed and said, "Although I have tried my best to collect portraits of ancient sages, for special reasons, such as Hou Junji and Zhang Liang, it is really difficult to find portraits. Therefore, I plan to select portraits of virtuous officials in the court in recent years and send them to Lingyan Pavilion, such as the Duke of Bian and the Duke of Jiang."

The ministers couldn't help but be slightly surprised. Liu Rengui and Pei Xingjian were indeed qualified enough to be sent to the Lingyan Pavilion.

"Of course, other people who you think are qualified can also write to me. I will discuss with the ministers and decide whether to send them in." After a short pause, Li Xuan smiled and said, "Of course, I also want to enter the Lingyan Pavilion, but I am afraid that I am not qualified now. As for you, work hard. Sooner or later, one of you will be drawn in the Lingyan Pavilion."

"We obey your command. Your Majesty will be wise and virtuous forever." The ministers subconsciously bowed excitedly.

……

Tang Jianri stood at the end of the ministers, and when he lowered his head, his expression became extremely ugly.

(End of this chapter)