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

Chapter 1791: Jingzhao Dou clan surrenders and suppresses Hongnong Yang clan

At the foot of Mount Huashan, the fleet began to slow down gradually.

Li Xuan stood on the deck, looking at Mount Hua in the distance, and couldn't help but think of Li Jingye and Ming Chongyan.

It was here that the two men died at his hands.

"What are you thinking about, my husband?" Liu Jinyu walked out of the cabin, holding Xia'er's hand.

Li Xuan looked at Mount Hua in the distance and said softly, "Last year, after the Central Turks were annihilated and the Duke of Jin offered the heads of Ashina Gudulu and Ashina Mochuo to the Imperial Ancestral Temple, someone submitted a secret memorial asking me to follow the example of Emperor Gaozong and offer sacrifices to the gods at Mount Song."

"Fengshan?" Liu Jinyu looked at Li Xuan in surprise and whispered, "Didn't the old man say..."

Li Xuan gently waved his hand to stop Liu Jinyu from speaking, and then said softly: "I have denied it, but I wonder if he can offer sacrifices to the gods at Songshan after he pacifies Silla?"

"Husband, do you still not want to be enshrined in the Taishan Temple?" Liu Jinyu looked at Li Xuan seriously.

Li Xuan nodded slightly and said, "Back then, the Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai and all the rituals were set by Liu Xiangdao, the Duke of Guangping, who was the Minister of Rites at the time. After he completed all of this, he immediately requested to retire and died of illness in the summer of the following year."

"Is there anything wrong?" Liu Jinyu suddenly became cautious.

Liu Xiangdao was the Shangshu You Pushe at that time. Before retiring, he was transferred from Shangshu You Pushe to the Minister of Rites.

Now, Liu Xiangdao’s son Liu Jingxian is Li Xuan’s Minister of the Central Secretariat. If there is really any problem, it will definitely be Liu Jingxian’s fault.

"That year, there was a great earthquake in Jiannan Road." Li Xuan couldn't help but shake his head and said, "Although Shuzhong didn't lose all its harvest that year, the amount of tax grain sent to Chang'an was definitely not much. And I can guarantee that the emperor even sent a lot of grain to Shuzhong that year."

"That year, there was a civil war in Goryeo, and the court had already sent troops to Goryeo, right?" Liu Jinyu's brows immediately frowned.

It cannot be said that the Fengshan Ceremony at Mount Tai had no benefits. At least it brought people together. However, that year, there was a civil strife in Goryeo, and the Tang Dynasty immediately seized the opportunity to dispatch a large army to attack Silla.

At this time, the whole world was in need of food, but one of the world's food sources, Jiannan Road, was hit by a major earthquake.

That is to say, the imperial court had abundant savings during those years, otherwise, it might not have been able to survive that disaster.

"So my husband transferred Feng Yuanchang to Qizhou as the governor, and brought Prime Minister Liu along on this trip to the east." Liu Jinyu understood Li Xuan's meaning a little.

Li Xuan sighed and said, "Zhang Jianzhi will handle the affairs of Jizhou very properly. They will not keep any land that should not be left by the Feng family. Even this case will implicate other noble families. Zhang Jianzhi will not hold back. So in order to avoid an ugly situation, Feng Yuanchang was transferred to Qizhou, which is at the foot of Mount Tai."

Dredge the Yellow River and be transferred to Mount Tai.

In Feng Yuanchang's eyes, Li Xuan, who always liked to make moves in advance, had already begun to make plans for the Fengshan ceremony a few years later.

Once Li Xuan succeeds in his Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai, Feng Yuanchang will inevitably return to the court and be transferred to a more important position.

Moreover, Liu Jingxian was following Li Xuan. If they really had some contact, then the news that Li Xuan often asked about the Fengshan rituals would have reached Feng Yuanchang's ears.

Feng Yuanchang and the noble family behind him will have to endure it because of this.

For the overall situation of Fengshan a few years later.

"Take your time. At least we can mobilize these people with good intentions little by little." Li Xuan breathed a sigh of relief, looked at the full moon above his head, and said softly: "As long as the Ministry of War and the Sixteen Guards are in our hands, they can't turn the tables. The rest are the government soldiers from Qizhou and Jizhou, and the five thousand soldiers from Youzhou."

Li Xuan had a sneer on his face.

The military power of the world is in his hands, and he can easily mobilize the sixteen guards and troops from various states.

Temporarily use these soldiers to stabilize those people, and then remove the firewood from under the cauldron...

Liu Jinyu stood aside and looked at the expression on Li Xuan's face. She knew that Li Xuan was fully confident about the current situation, and that was enough.

"There is one more thing." Liu Jinyu suddenly spoke, looking at Li Xuan and said, "The Dou family asked Princess Huainan to pass on a message a few days ago, saying that they have a girl of marriageable age who can marry into the palace."

Li Xuan was slightly stunned and said, "Does the Dou family also intend to give up the Li Dan lineage?"

The reason why Li Xuan was afraid of the Dou family was because they were Li Chengqi's maternal family.

He is even a member of Queen Taimu's clan.

You know, even Li Xuan had to call Queen Taimu "grandmother".

There is no way around it.

That was his biological grandmother.

Now that the Dou family wants to marry their daughter to Li Xuan's palace, it means that they have completely decided to give up supporting Li Chengqi's lineage.

Especially if Li Xuan and Dou's daughter have children in the future, the power of the Dou family will naturally gather around the son born to Li Xuan and Dou's daughter.

In this way, there will be fewer people supporting Li Chengqi.

Liu Jinyu nodded gently and said, "That should be the case. What are you going to do, my husband?"

Li Xuan hugged Xia'er and stood under the moonlight, saying softly: "Madam, you make the decision. I don't care. The Dou family is no longer a threat. If they are willing to give up completely, it will be a good thing for the world. But unfortunately..."

"What a pity?" Liu Jinyu asked curiously.

"It's a pity that there is no way to take more of the Dou family's land and give it to the people." Li Xuan's light words carried an immense heaviness.

Liu Jinyu shook her head slightly and said, "I know what my husband is thinking, but we can't be too hasty about this matter. I even think that in today's world, even if my husband gives more land to the people, he may not be able to keep it. If he loses it again, it will be a harm. In fact, that kind of turmoil is not a good thing in the first place."

Li Xuan looked at Liu Jinyu in surprise. He had never thought about the problem from this perspective.

The greed of the noble families is inevitable. If too much land is given to the people, without sufficient self-protection ability, it will be difficult for these people to keep the land given by Li Xuan. Even if the noble families act together, it will be a kind of turmoil. If such turmoil is used by someone with ulterior motives, he, the emperor, will probably be driven off the throne.

If you think about it carefully, there are clear examples of such things in history, both before and after.

Even extremely painful.

Li Xuan nodded gently and said, "My lady is right. I should slow down my pace."

……

The next day, the fleet moved forward again, but when it reached the outside of Shanzhou City, it slowed down again.

"Shanzhou City is originally located in a low-lying area. Back then, the Yellow River surged and the flood directly rushed into the entire Shanzhou City, drowning countless people. Even the local autumn harvest was greatly affected. Now there may be floods this summer. Not only are the people unable to sleep day and night, but even the price of food has risen a lot."

Liu Dingyuan, the governor of Shanzhou and general of the Crown Prince's Right Guard, looked solemnly at Li Xuan and the prime ministers and ministers in the cabin, and said, "I ask the court to think of a way to prevent Shanzhou from being submerged by floods this summer."

Li Xuan raised his head calmly and looked at Xu Jian, the Water Conservancy Supervisor.

Xu Jian immediately stood up and said, "Your Majesty, if you want to control the flood, the only thing you can do is to dig ditches or even empty the lake!"

Li Xuan immediately understood, looked at Liu Dingyuan, and said, "Xu Qing is right. The best way is to dig out the empty lake, find land that is not suitable for farming, dig it out, and make an artificial lake."

"I'm afraid one is not enough." Liu Dingyuan smiled bitterly.

"Then make a few more." Xu Jian bowed to Li Xuan, and then said: "Your Majesty, there will be a lot of rain in summer and autumn. After a heavy rain, while the soil is soft, find a place that is not suitable for farming, dig a lake, store water to prevent floods, and even next year, you can use water for irrigation."

"But there are not many places like this." Liu Dingyuan still looked embarrassed.

"No way. If I remember correctly, there are many places in the fields of Shanzhou that are not suitable for farming, Mr. Pei?" Xu Jian said, turning to look at Pei Judao, and then looked at Cui Xuanwei, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue.

Cui Xuanwei said nothing and nodded calmly.

Pei Judao also nodded in agreement.

Xu Jian turned around, looked at Liu Dingyuan, and said, "If Shanzhou Prefecture is not able to do it, then I, the Water Conservancy Bureau, will do it. How about that? Of course, the cost will still have to be paid by Shanzhou Prefecture."

Everyone in the cabin was silent.

In fact, they all knew in their hearts that the places Xu Jian mentioned must exist. On the blank book, those places must be saline-alkali land that is not suitable for farming. However, in reality, those fields are not saline-alkali land that is not suitable for farming, but excellent farmland that is cultivated by people.

The ones who actually cultivated them were the local families.

Hongnong Yang family.

Li Xuan lowered his head and looked at Liu Dingyuan.

At this time, Liu Dingyuan cupped his hands with a look of joy and said, "If the Du Shui Jian is willing to take over, then that would be great. Shanzhou will pay for it."

Xu Jian turned around and looked at Li Xuan: "Your Majesty."

Li Xuan nodded slightly and said, "That's it. In addition, as far as I know, there are still many dry mines in Shanzhou. This time, we can think of a way to use them to store water."

Liu Dingyuan was slightly stunned, then he bowed his hands in surprise and said, "I accept your order."

The other ministers in the cabin paused for a moment, and everyone became more cautious.

"Issue a notice in advance and set up fences in advance to prevent people from entering by mistake. Anyone who ignores the obstruction and trespasses will be executed." Li Xuan raised his head slightly and filled in the only possible loophole, that is, someone would drive away or lure the people in in advance to prevent the government from destroying the mine.

Someone, who?

Of course, they were the local families who colluded with the local authorities and reported the mines that were still being mined as abandoned mines.

Who?
Hongnong Yang family.

"Yes!" Liu Dingyuan bowed solemnly.

Li Xuan sat up straight, looked at Liu Dingyuan, and said, "I have also been to the local area. Shanzhou allows people to set up storage towers at home. They can store food in the towers before the rainy season. They can even use them to escape when floods come. I remember that the floods in Shanzhou should not exceed the eaves."

"Yes!" Liu Dingyuan nodded and said, "Your Majesty is absolutely right."

"As for the granaries, move them to higher places in advance to prevent them from being flooded when the flood comes." There was a sneer in Li Xuan's eyes.

"I obey your order." Liu Dingyuan bowed again.

Li Xuan turned sideways, looked at Yun Hongyin, and said, "The Ministry of Personnel's Office of Personnel must monitor the flooding of granaries this year. The Ministry of Revenue will issue an official document from today, requiring all prefectures and counties to immediately select high places to build granaries and complete the transportation before the summer rain arrives... If any granary is flooded due to inability to transport the granaries in time..."

Li Xuan sneered softly, and then said: "Then all the governors, chief secretaries, Sima, assistant military officers of the household department, county magistrates, county lieutenants, county lieutenants, and assistant military officers of the household department of the prefectures and counties involved will be dismissed and will not be promoted to permanent positions."

"Yes!" All the ministers bowed.

Li Xuan relaxed his body and looked forward.

It is useless for a county magistrate who cannot even protect his granary, no matter how talented he is.

Li Xuan turned to look at Liu Dingyuan and said softly, "Pass the decree to exempt Shanzhou from grain tax this year."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Liu Dingyuan's face was full of ecstasy.

Li Xuan smiled gently. Did he really think he couldn't see the real purpose of Liu Dingyuan's visit?

(End of this chapter)