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

Chapter 1804: The Emperor's Revenge, Cold and Iron-Blooded
In the lobby of the Yangzhou Grand Military Governor's Mansion, all the ministers stood in silence.

Taizhou Governor Jing Hui and Yangzhou Grand Military Governor's Office Sima Heng Yanfan stood in the hall with their hands clasped.

Li Xuan calmly flipped through the memorial in his hand. The affairs of Le'an County were thoroughly investigated in a very short time.

The entire Le'an County, including the county magistrate, county lieutenant, chief clerk, various department heads, clerks, yamen runners, and even local headmen and wealthy families, were all imprisoned.

As for the county magistrate, he is already dead.

"Every year, the court allocates relief to Le'an, of which one-third is divided up by officials at all levels, one-third is divided up by three powerful families, and only one-third falls into the hands of the people. If you do the math, even without all this mess, as long as things are handled fairly, the people can still get that one-third of relief. All of this is nothing more than a collusion between the powerful families and local clerks to deceive the court." Li Xuan threw the memorial aside.

"Your Majesty." Heng Yanfan bowed solemnly, and then said: "When the army entered Le'an, more than a hundred bandits were intercepted on the spot and all of them were killed. The army entered Le'an County, wiped out the wealthy families, arrested corrupt officials, and most things went smoothly. However, the local people..."

"A lot of resistance." Li Xuan sneered lightly, Heng Yanfan and Jing Hui looked guilty.

Jing Hui finally took a step forward and said, "May I ask your Majesty, how should we deal with the people of Le'an?"

"How should we deal with them? They are all people under my rule. How can I deal with them?" Li Xuan shook his head slightly and said, "They are just a group of poor people who have been deceived. Pass on my decree that all the property and land of the local nobles will be confiscated by the government, and then distributed to the people without leaving anything behind."

When Li Xuan said this, all the ministers in the hall were surprised and looked at him in disbelief. Then they bowed and said at the same time: "Your Majesty is wise and benevolent, and can surpass Yao and Shun."

Li Xuan waved his hand gently and said, "My intentions are not that kind. All I want is to let the people of Le'an know that if there were no wealthy families who deceived them, they would be able to live well."

"Yes!" The ministers bowed.

Liu Jing first stepped forward and said, "In this way, the people in Le'an County will no longer be so resistant to the court."

Li Xuan nodded and said, "They are my subjects after all. I cannot kill them all. I decree that all taxes in Le'an County be reduced this year... Oh, this was supposed to be reduced in the first place."

"Your Majesty is benevolent." The ministers bowed again.

Li Xuan's eyes turned cold, and then he continued: "All the officials that Le'an County lacks will be transferred from other disaster-stricken counties in Jiangnan."

"Yes!" The corners of the ministers' mouths twitched slightly as they bowed. The emperor's revenge finally came.

With these officials transferred from the disaster-stricken counties and prefectures, the people of Le'an should not have too good expectations for the future.

"I don't mean to punish them." After Li Xuan finished speaking, the ministers couldn't help but look up slightly. Li Xuan continued, "It's just that the people of Le'an are under Xu Pu's rule. I'm afraid that deceiving the court has become a habit. Therefore, to govern them, we need to make them realize how much harm they have caused to the people in other places. Only in this way can they recognize their own mistakes."

"Yes!" All the ministers bowed.

Li Xuan calmed down his breathing and continued, "Pass on my decree. From today on, there will be no county school in Le'an County."

The ministers suddenly looked up in surprise.

What? Le'an County doesn't have a county school, so what will happen to education in the future?

"Le'an County will only have rural schools in the future, and the funds originally allocated by the court to the county schools will all be transferred to the schools in various villages and towns." Li Xuan sneered and said, "I feel that Le'an County School has not taught any useful scholars, but has made the people more confused. In this case, it is better to demolish the county school.

All the officials of the county school were sent to local schools by me. When Le'an produces a Jinshi, I will set up a county school. "

"Yes!" The ministers bowed solemnly, and unknowingly, they felt a chill down their spines.

They knew in their hearts that the emperor's final move was the real punishment for Le An.

Without the county school, it will be difficult for families from other places to take root in Le'an in the future.

Without the county school, it would be difficult for their children to receive a good education.

Either you hire someone to teach you, or go to other states and counties to learn.

In that case, why go to Le'an?

County schools and state schools are where people’s hearts are gathered.

……

Li Xuan looked at the ministers calmly, feeling somewhat disappointed. None of them could see Li Xuan's real intention.

Enlighten the people and eliminate the powerful families.

Without oppression, the people will be truly prosperous in the future.

Li Xuan believed that as long as Le'an could do this, a Jinshi would emerge in three years rather than five years.

Hidden in this is Li Xuan’s experiment on local governance.

"From today onwards, all official documents from Le'an County, except those handled by Taizhou, will have a copy sent to Chang'an." As soon as Li Xuan finished speaking, all the ministers looked up in astonishment.

Li Xuan continued, "I am in Chang'an. I want to know all the official documents of Le'an County governing the people every year. I want to know how much grain the people of Le'an have left in their homes after paying taxes every year... Jingqing, please be more detailed. I want to use Le'an as an example to educate the prince."

"Yes!" Jing Hui bowed solemnly.

The emperor mentioned the crown prince, which meant that the nature of the matter had been raised to a higher level. It also meant that what he did in Taizhou could be sent to Chang'an through Le'an. "Let's put the matter of Le'an aside for now." Li Xuan looked at the ministers with a stern look and said, "Now that the states have reported, there are more or less such things, but since you have all reported them, I will not pursue them any further."

"Your Majesty is benevolent." This time, the ministers bowed with a bit of awe.

Li Xuan nodded slightly and continued, "This kind of thing happens mostly because of poverty. But you, my lords, this is Jiangnan, the richest place in the world after Yongzhou and Luozhou. There are so many poor places here. I am really disappointed by you."

"We are guilty." As the ministers bowed their heads, they had already realized in their hearts that Li Xuan was definitely going to do something.

Li Xuan nodded and continued, "Pass on my order. From now until the end of the year, all counties and cities in Jiangnan must find the ten poorest towns and villages. Then, from the ten states of Yangzhou, Runzhou, Huzhou, Suzhou, Changzhou, Hangzhou, Yuezhou, Wuzhou, Kuazhou, and Quzhou, each state must send people to carry out special governance. We must make these places prosperous as soon as possible."

Li Xuan's words left all the ministers confused.

Liu Jingxian quickly bowed and said, "May I ask your Majesty, how is the power of governance of these places divided?"

"The governance power no longer belongs to the original territory." Li Xuan looked at the ministers in the hall and sneered: "If the original territory can be governed properly, why do we need to operate today."

"Yes!" Many of the ministers in the hall looked embarrassed.

"After paying taxes, they can store grain for two years, and then they will be handed over to their respective places." After a short pause, Li Xuan said, "Once the prefectures and counties in these places are successful, officials at all levels will be given priority when they are appointed."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." The eyes of all the ministers in the hall lit up at the same time.

Although this is not a big reward, it is definitely affordable.

Think about it, if the position of Shaoqing of Dali Temple is vacant, and your name is on the assessment list of the Ministry of Personnel, as well as the names of several Zhongshu Sheren and Jieshi Zhong, then under the same circumstances, you can directly bypass them and be promoted to Shaoqing of Dali Temple.

This alone can save ten years of research.

"That's it." Li Xuan waved his hand. Xu Lu walked over from the side and said loudly, "Dismiss the court."

"Your Majesty, we respectfully bid farewell to you." All the ministers bowed their heads.

……

The night is bright and the stars are shining.

In the Yangzhou Palace, Li Xuan sat on the imperial couch, still thinking about today's events.

Through today's various means, Li Xuan's tentacles will be able to penetrate into the deepest parts of Jiangnan.

In this way, nothing that happens in Jiangnan in the future will be hidden from him.

To control Jiangnan, his real purpose of coming to Yangzhou this time was achieved.

A light sound of footsteps was heard in the hall, and the Silla envoy Qin Dunjiaogan appeared in the hall and bowed to Li Xuan, saying, "I, your Majesty, am here to see you!"

"Stand up." Li Xuan looked at Qin Dun Jiaogan who was standing in the hall and said, "My dear, I will send General Li Shou, the left thousand-man guard, to Silla to continue searching for Emperor Suzong. Would you like to go with me or write a letter back?"

"Can foreign officials return to Silla?" Qin Dunjiaogan looked at Li Xuan with surprise.

"Of course." Li Xuan smiled, waved his hand and said, "The Tang Dynasty and Silla are as close as a family, and we can interact with each other freely. Of course, I am talking about merchants. From today onwards, merchants from the Tang Dynasty will go to Silla more often, and merchants from Silla can also come to the Tang Dynasty more often. I can decide on the city tax. Silla merchants entering Yangzhou can be exempted from 10%."

"It is said that Your Majesty is rigorous, and now I see that his reputation is well-deserved." Qin Dunjiaogan couldn't help but smile bitterly. As the emperor, Li Xuan only exempted 10% of the tax. If Silla merchants sold more goods, the Tang Dynasty could earn it back immediately.

No matter what, the Tang Dynasty will not suffer any loss in this matter.

Li Xuan smiled and said, "Let's go back with the envoy. It's a good opportunity to discuss this matter with the King of Silla. In addition, although the matter of Emperor Sukjong has been resolved, I don't want to see the border friction between the Tang Dynasty and Silla again... If the King of Silla can't handle his generals, then let me help him."

"Yes!" Qin Dun Jiaogan's expression suddenly became stern, and he cupped his hands and said, "The foreign minister will definitely convince my king to live in harmony with the Tang Dynasty."

"Don't challenge my patience. Many people think that provoking someone once and then giving them some gifts is like begging for mercy." Li Xuan leaned back slightly and said, "I know that there are many people who take chances like this... But once, I immediately granted Li Duozuo, the general of the Right Army Guard, the right to act at his own discretion."

"Yes!" Qin Dunjiaogan felt a chill in his heart. The words "act according to the emperor's discretion" were enough to show the emperor's determination.

"Go." Li Xuan waved his hand, and Qin Dunjiaogan immediately bowed and retreated.

Looking at Qin Dunjiaogan who was leaving, Li Xuan sneered.

Jiangnan is stable, so the next step is Hebei.

Once Hebei is completely stabilized and the internal and external situations of Silla have been investigated almost completely, it will be time for them to send troops to Silla.

Li Xuan raised his eyes. The three things he came to Jiangnan for this time were finally all completed.

By the way, regarding Li Chongzhao’s matter, I still need to go back to Chang’an to finish the final things.

It's time to return to the court.

(End of this chapter)