Elegy of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 568 Help Me Up...

Chang'an, Daming Palace, the main hall of Zichen Hall. Li Heng was summoning several ministers to discuss important matters, well, or rather, these ministers, forcing Li Heng to stay in the hall.

Autumn is the season of harvest and a good time to go out and play. However, the coolness and prosperity of autumn seem to have nothing to do with the people in the hall.

No one had a smile on their face, whether it was Li Heng who was pretending to sleep with his eyes closed, or the ministers who looked worried.

Some people don't care, some are worried, and there seems to be an unbridgeable gap between them.

"My dear ministers, please speak directly if you have anything to say."

Li Heng spoke lazily as he sat on the dragon throne, crossing his legs, without any of the manners that an emperor should have.

Of course, the ministers present pretended not to see this. As long as Li Heng did not interfere with government affairs, he could do whatever he wanted in Daming Palace!
Ever since his great revenge, Li Heng wanted to announce his abdication and then live in seclusion in Huashan.

However, how could the princes and ministers in Chang'an City allow him to retire?
You want to escape after killing your father and your king? No way!
If Li Heng retired, who would be held responsible for Ji Ge's sudden death in the future?
Can a deposed emperor bear such a huge blame? If he can't, then the ministers around Li Heng must bear it!
Therefore, under the "persuasion" of the central government officials, which was almost like house arrest, Li Heng had no choice but to stay in the Daming Palace with great reluctance and was not allowed to go out at all.

But Li Heng also took this opportunity to completely give up.

Whatever the prime minister said was the final word. Whatever the prime minister had discussed in the Council of State, he would just issue an imperial decree. He never asked if it was okay, good, or right.

However, in such a state of "inaction", the government affairs in Chang'an City were running smoothly! The originally chaotic counties in Guanzhong were gradually returning to normal.

After Li Heng lost his power, the court seemed to be more energetic. There was no chaos, and he didn't even need to step forward to calm things down.

All sorts of strange things often made Li Heng feel bored. After his great revenge, he was now left with only emptiness. Nothing could arouse his interest, and his mentality of handling government affairs every day was more like watching a play.

"Your Majesty, the country is in turmoil right now, the court is short of money, and we need to reform the tax system. Simply put, we need to get more money.

I, your humble servant, earnestly request that the salt tax be reformed and the salt monopoly law be implemented. "

At this moment, Diwu Qi, who served as the Minister of Revenue, stood up and saluted Li Heng and said.

Why did the court run out of money?

Because it is impossible for the Hebei rebels to pay Hebei’s taxes to Chang’an!
Because many prefectures and counties in Henan are in a semi-independent state, it is impossible for them to pay taxes to Chang'an!

Because the economic center Luoyang had fallen, many taxes from areas outside Guanzhong, although willing to be sent to Chang'an, could not be transported into Guanzhong at all!

But this was none of Li Heng's business. If the sky fell, there would be a lot of people buried with him. So at this moment, he just sat quietly on the dragon chair, listening to Diwu Qi's memorial, and said two words expressionlessly.

"Prelude!"

I haven't even said the content yet! And you agree?

Diwu Qi was a responsible minister. He was very unhappy with Li Heng's attitude of not caring about the matter and was speechless.

But no matter what, this kind of "Emperor with Stamps" is much better than a loser like Brother Ji who likes to make trouble.

Then Diwu Qi crossed his arms and saluted Li Ying and explained:
"I plan to set up salt warehouses in the northwest, Jingxiang, Lianghuai, Jiangnan and other places. Salt officials will be appointed in all salt-producing areas. Salt households will specialize in producing edible salt, and all the salt produced will be purchased and transported by the government. Private sale is strictly prohibited.

In this way, enough taxes can be collected for military supplies. Now that the Guanzhong army is insufficient, it is necessary to expand the army and prepare for war and recover lost territory. No matter what you do, you need money.

A salt tax six times the selling price would be enough to meet the demand.

Please Your Majesty, please understand. "

The salt monopoly law is nothing new. To put it bluntly, it is a state-run monopoly on salt, with heavy taxes levied on it! The advantage of doing this is that the tax is imposed in secret, which is an indirect tax that the taxed cannot feel.

There is another benefit, that is, the big tax evaders also have to eat salt, which is equivalent to paying indirect taxes. In this way, the national tax base is expanded.

However, the disadvantages are also obvious. First, it increases the living burden of ordinary people. Second, it will foster a group of salt merchants who are both merchants and thieves.

Many dynasties used salt monopoly, and although they all seemed to be salt monopoly, the different operating details led to very different results. This is a very profound governance science.

Having said that, the tax is six times the original selling price...it's a bit embarrassing.

"Accurate."

Li Heng spoke calmly, as if he had not heard what Diwu Qi said. In fact, he did not understand the consequences of implementing the salt monopoly and what price the court would have to pay.

Even if I understand, I don’t have much to say.

Everyone has his own destiny. The common people have their own destiny, the powerful have their own destiny, and the emperor has his own destiny.

Salt is expensive, so eat less.

Li Heng didn't want to worry about the people at the bottom of society, just as the people at the bottom of society didn't worry about his fate.

Everyone was trying to survive, and the salt tax was not used on Li Heng. Li Heng just wanted to be a lying salted fish.

Although Li Heng is the emperor on paper, he has no say in government or military affairs. The ministers and military commanders are used to Li Heng not interfering.

Perhaps this is the main reason why he has not been killed by the ambitious people.

Although Li Heng has a bad reputation for killing his father, he does not hinder everyone from doing evil things!

How can you say that others hate dogs?

"Your Majesty, I would like to ask for your approval to sell official positions and titles."

Yan Zhenqing saluted Li Heng with his arms folded, took out a memorial from his sleeve and gave it to Cheng Yuanzhen, who brought it to Li Heng.

Even if you don't care about the matter, you still have to read the memorials.

When Li Heng opened the memorial, he was immediately horrified.

Yan Zhenqing's suggestion was also very simple: Doesn't the imperial court have no money? The people have some! Especially in Lianghuai and Jiangnan, there are many rich families!
However, there are some rules to selling official positions.

The imperial court does not sell official positions, it only sells the qualification to pass the Mingjing examination!

As long as someone was willing to pay money, he would pass the Mingjing examination and immediately be qualified to become an official (not that he would become an official).

This thing is very attractive to those officials who want to become officials but cannot pass the imperial examination and whose family conditions are good!

Are you saying that Yan Zhenqing sold official positions?
No, he just sold the "qualification to be an official", but the power to select officials is still in the hands of the Ministry of Personnel.

Those who had passed the Mingjing exam and were eligible to be selected as officials were asked to wait at home. According to the Ministry of Personnel's employment rules, those people had to wait for at least three years.

Who knows what the situation will be like in three years?

So no matter what, the side effects of this move are still controllable, but it can solve the urgent problem of the court's lack of money.

In the past, Brother Ji asked Yan Zhenqing to do many shameless tasks. Now Yan Zhenqing is following suit, refining those tricks to their essence and using poison to fight poison.

"Okay, let's implement it in Guanzhong now. Jianghuai is too far away. Even if we receive the money, it will be difficult to transport it back to Guanzhong safely.

"Lord Yan, please do what you can and take as much as you can."

Li Ying waved his hand listlessly and said.

In fact, Yan Zhenqing only had this idea, and never thought that it could be successfully implemented in Jiangnan and Lianghuai. If he could plunder Guanzhong, he should be able to deal with it temporarily.

"I obey your Majesty's orders."

Yan Zhenqing bowed to Li Ying.

At this moment, he found that Li Mi, who had been silent beside him, was a little too quiet.

Li Yan looked at him and asked, "What else do you want to say, Mr. Li?"

"Your Majesty, the rebel army led by Shi Siming from Hebei has retreated from Hedong to Youzhou.

The rebel army led by Li Baochen entered Luoyang and took control of the false emperor Li Wan.

I suggest that we send an envoy to Youzhou to confer an official title on Shi Siming, so as to cause internal strife among the rebel army."

Li Mi said slowly.

"Okay, you can arrange this matter yourself." Li Heng nodded, still looking nonchalant.

"Your Majesty, this is not possible."

Yan Zhenqing suddenly stood up and expressed his different opinion. He looked at Li Mi and said, "Mr. Li, if we make peace with Shi Siming, it will undoubtedly be an acknowledgement of Hebei's independence. If the court wants to control Hebei again in the future, it will be very difficult. We cannot plant hidden dangers for the country for the sake of temporary stability!"

Recruit Shi Siming?

What are you thinking!

In this case, doesn't it mean that the Hebei rebels are justified in their rebellion? How can the imperial court suppress the rebellion justifiably?

When Yan Zhenqing heard Li Mi's bad idea, he was furious.

"Prime Minister Yan, the country is in turmoil right now, so we should first wipe out the rebel army, and the rest can be done slowly.

If Shi Siming could be recruited, Li Baochen would be unable to handle the situation alone.

The imperial army could march out of Tongguan and Puzhou and capture the three cities of Heyang and all the cities west of Luoyang.

By then the enemy army will be in chaos without fighting and will surely be exhausted.

As for Shi Siming, we can slowly deal with him in the future. Taking Luoyang and opening up the connection between Guanzhong and Guandong is the top priority! "

Li Mi was a Taoist and didn't want to argue with anyone. But seeing that Yan Zhenqing seemed to have a lot of disagreements, he patiently explained.

It must be said that Li Mi's statement is also very reasonable. Hebei is still a long way from Chang'an. Now everyone is playing an open game, so it is difficult to have a thousand-mile raid, and Chang'an is not likely to fall in one day.

But Luoyang blocked the eastern entrance to Chang'an, making it impossible to transport supplies from all over the country to Chang'an, which was very fatal.

If this continues, something big will happen in Guanzhong!

If the government troops can recapture Luoyang and drive the Hebei rebel forces back to Hebei completely, then the situation can be slowly resolved.

Maintain a superficial peace and unity.

Therefore, sending people to persuade Shi Siming to surrender was the most important part of this strategy. If Shi Siming officially turned against Li Baochen, the Hebei rebels would no longer be a threat.

"The one who started the figurines has no descendants!"

Yan Zhenqing did not give a long speech, but instead threw out these eight words in a sonorous and powerful voice!

If we surrender Shi Siming today, we will certainly lose Youzhou. If we surrender another rebel tomorrow, we will lose another state. If we keep doing this, won't the Tang Dynasty be scattered all over the place and become fragmented?

Yan Zhenqing obviously disagreed with Li Mi's idea.

"There's no harm in sending someone to contact Shi Siming. Why not listen to what Shi Siming has to say?"

Li Ying, who had been sitting and watching the show, suddenly said slowly.

Now Yan Zhenqing had nothing to say.

Yes, what would happen if we sent someone to contact Shi Siming? It's not like we had to persuade him to surrender.
Having said that, Yan Zhenqing couldn't hold on any longer.

"Ugh!"

He sighed, bowed to Li Ying, then turned around and left.

The music and dialogue in the Zichen Hall was still going on, but Yan Zhenqing already felt that it had nothing to do with him anymore.

……

In the inner courtyard of the government office of Ye County in Laizhou prefecture, Zheng Yan, the governor of Laizhou, was eating mutton hotpot with his nephews and nieces, sitting around a small red clay stove.

This is not a good time to eat mutton hotpot, but Zheng Yan just likes it!

Money can’t buy my happiness!
"Meat the lamb and put it in a clay pot. In addition to the onions and peppers, there is a secret method. Just use a few pounded almonds and cook it over a live fire until the bones are rotten. It's a pity that this method didn't come into being during the Han Dynasty. What's the point of a waiter in the pass!"

Zheng Zhen picked up the mutton in the pot with chopsticks while introducing it to his two nephews and nephews, looking very excited and sighing with emotion.

He ate from a pot as if he were a god, with a look of comfort and happiness on his face.

However, his nephew Wang Zai's attention was not on the dishes at all. He asked worriedly, "Uncle, I heard that the Silver Spear Xiaojie Army occupied Dengzhou Penglai. If they go south to Laizhou, how will uncle resist the enemy?"

"What is that? What does it have to do with me?"

Zheng Yan asked back with a bewildered look on his face, and it was unclear whether he was really confused or just pretending.

"Uncle, don't you know what happened to the Silver Spear Filial Piety Army in Hebei? And the emperor killed his father... Now they are rebels!"

Wang Zai was just a minor official and was quite concerned about the affairs of the court. He was not as carefree as Zheng Zhen.

If a team like the Silver Spear Filial Piety Army lost the control of the imperial court, they would become the most powerful bandits.

Need I even explain what it means for bandits to cross the border?
However, Zheng Yan, who was born in the Zheng family of Xingyang, seemed not to take it to heart at all.

He did not answer his nephew's question, but instead looked at the dead leaves on the ground in the yard and chanted a poem with emotion:
"Seeing flowers in early spring, I hate that they bloom so late. I watch the flowers fall, but they are still blooming.

This way of life makes me feel the rise and fall. I only then realized that the mountain is surrounded by mountains and often goes to Xijia Pond. "

Wang Zai was so anxious that he almost cried. How could he have such a stupid uncle?

The bandits are coming, and instead of inspecting the city walls, you are sitting here eating from the hot pot and reciting poems. Is that acceptable?
Just as Wang was about to speak up to remind his uncle, suddenly, a tile from the lobby of the government office fell down and hit Zheng Yan right on the head.

Blood immediately gushed out from Zheng Zhen's head, and even the jade hairpin that tied her bun was broken.

"Uncle!" "Uncle!"

The two young men who were eating hotpot were terrified. Zheng Yan was lying on the ground, staring at the blue sky. It was unclear whether he was stunned or died with his eyes open.

"Quick, go call the doctor, and get more people to carry my uncle to the clinic!"

Wang shouted to the yamen official.

At this moment, Zheng Yan suddenly sat up from the ground, his face covered with blood. He shouted to the people around him, "I'm fine! Don't call anyone! Don't call anyone!"

Zheng Yan was very concerned about his reputation and didn't want others to see him in such a state of disgrace.

At this moment, his nephew and nephew were both scared silly. After Zheng Yan shouted, he lay on his nephew's thigh and shouted: "Just give me some wine, something stronger, give me more."

Zheng Yan closed his eyes and kept talking.

It seems to be in good condition.

His nephew Zheng immediately brought a pot of good wine from the government storehouse. Zheng Zhen took it and drank it in one gulp before falling into a deep sleep.

Wang Zai tried to smell Zheng Yan's breath and found that his uncle was sleeping soundly. He was speechless about this careless elder of his family.

Zheng Zhen used to be very close to Wang Changling, Wang Zhihuan, Cui Guofu and others. He was unrestrained by nature and liked to mingle with the younger generation all day long without any airs. Of course, rather than saying that he was an official, it would be better to say that he was just a scholar who didn't care about government affairs.

Zheng Zhen was a lazy governor who just did his best to get by without putting much thought into his work. His sons and nephews were all helpless against Zheng Zhen, who was lazy by nature.

At this time, the county lieutenant of Ye County hurried into the government office. When he saw Zheng Yan sleeping soundly with blood all over his face, he smiled bitterly and reported to Wang Zai, "There is a large army outside Ye County, and they want us to open the city gate. Eh? What happened to Envoy Zheng?"

We were about to fight to the death, but the governor fainted first, with blood all over his face. What should we do?
The county lieutenant was in a state of devastation at this moment.

"Hel me up!"

A lazy voice came from the king beside him.

Zheng Yan stood up unsteadily, looked at the terrified county lieutenant, and said with a breath of alcohol: "Take me to have a look! Lead the way..."

After saying this, he fainted again.

Wang Zai and others looked at each other in confusion, not knowing how to deal with the crisis that was approaching the city.

(End of this chapter)