Datang: I am so happy to marry a disfigured princess!

Chapter 24 The tit-for-tat confrontation in the court
Lin Heng couldn't help laughing when he saw Cheng Huailiang's eager eyes, obviously eager to regain his position.

Seeing Lin Heng's refusal, Cheng Huailiang was not unhappy, but showed a simple and honest smile.

"That's right. I have been practicing martial arts with my father since I was a child. I have never read a few books. If I can connect with this couplet, Changsun Chong and the others will definitely not believe it."

Lin Heng smiled and said nothing.

In the Daming Palace, the court meeting began. After the mountain call, all the cities saluted.

Above the Golden Palace, the Supervisory Censor took a step forward and said: "I would like to report to Your Majesty, the East and West Roads in Shandong Province were hit by a snowstorm last October, affecting hundreds of miles in radius. Huge hail fell from the sky and destroyed countless houses, most of the livestock were frozen to death, and the people's winter food was destroyed. Once this happened, nearly 7000 people froze to death."

"Last year, His Majesty transferred 30 dan of grain, plus the grain stored by the local state government, to barely allow the victims of the Shandong disaster to survive the winter. Now the people's food has not yet matured, and the people in Shandong have no food to eat. Most of the food shipped from the south of the Yangtze River has a premium of more than ten times. The people are suffering unspeakably.”

“Shandong Prefecture requests your Majesty to adjust grain and allocate funds for disaster relief!”

Hearing this, Li Shimin looked at Dou Jing, Minister of Civil Affairs, who immediately said: "Your Majesty, the national treasury is now empty. There is no grain or money left, and it is difficult to retrieve it."

Li Shimin just feels like he has a headache. Now he doesn't have money even if he wants to provide disaster relief!

Immediately, the Minister of Industry and Industry stepped forward and said: "The canal from Jiangnan to Chang'an is blocked and water transportation is blocked. If it is not cleared in time, the price of food in Chang'an will increase several times next month."

Li Shimin had no choice but to look at Dou Jing again. The latter was choking on his neck and was also very embarrassed.

In a word, no money!
Since Li Shimin ascended the throne, there have been constant disasters in the country. In addition, he has been fighting against the Turks for many years, and his military expenditure has been astronomical. All the treasury saved in recent years has been used up.

If it weren't for the lack of money, he would have wiped out the Western Turks long ago, and still allowed them to surrender?

Nowadays, the issue of victims in Shandong is a top priority. If it is not resolved as soon as possible, more victims will starve to death every day. The most serious situation is local riots.

If that happens, it will be out of control.

Li Shimin took a deep breath and said: "First allocate money from internal funds to Shandong for disaster relief, stabilize the situation of the victims, and try not to cause the victims to starve to death because they cannot eat."

"The canal issue will be postponed for the time being. I think I can store enough food in the homes of the people who come to Chang'an City."

Li Shimin shook his head. Being an emperor is not very good without money. He is helpless in everything he does.

At worst, when the imperial city runs out of food in winter, I can take my whole family to Luoyang to spend the winter!

Li Shimin lamented, looked at the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty and asked: "Everyone, I believe you have seen the current situation of the court. How to increase revenue and reduce expenditure to solve the current problems is a big deal. Does anyone have any good ideas?"

As soon as this statement came out, everyone looked at each other in confusion, hesitating and unable to say a word.

Seeing this, Li Shimin couldn't help but burst into anger. I give you so much salary every year, but now I can't even think of a solution!

But he also knew that it was not easy to solve this problem now, so Li Shimin did not scold them directly.

At this time, Ma Zhou stepped forward, raised his hands and said, "Your Majesty, I have a plan!"

Li Shimin's eyes suddenly lit up. Seeing that he was one of the people he trusted most, he immediately said: "Ai Qing, please tell me!"

"Weichen thinks that the taxation of the Tang Dynasty is too simple now."

Ma Zhou continued: "Since His Majesty came to the throne, he has ordered to reduce taxes, and the people have rarely lived a good life, and their families have more and more food. This is a good thing."

"According to Wei Chen's understanding, most of the people in Chang'an City have much more grain than they need, so they sell the excess grain for money. In addition to Chang'an, Luoyang, Yangzhou, Hangzhou, Suzhou, and Jinling also That's all the case." "Why don't your Majesty make a living with the people? Increase the amount of taxation in good years to fill the national treasury, and reduce it in bad years. This will not have much impact on the people, but it can bring a great increase in national tax revenue. "

After hearing this, Gao Shilian, the Minister of Civil Affairs, and Dou Jing, the Minister of Civil Affairs, both came forward to petition.

After all, His Majesty is extremely sensitive to the issue of taxation. He believes that as long as taxes are reduced, the people can live a good life, so he has always said that taxes should be set at a very low range.

Seeing that Ma Zhou and others were all making suggestions, Li Shimin couldn't help but think about it. It didn't seem to have much impact. Besides, the price of food in the Tang Dynasty was not high. Those people who sold the food were just taking advantage of the wealthy families.

"In this case, it's settled at this time, Dou Jing, you can arrange the implementation, but you must not adjust the tax too high."

"It's Your Majesty!"

Ma Zhou then continued: "Actually, a large source of tax revenue is not food, but commerce."

"The Tang Dynasty has always imposed heavy taxes on merchants, which has made it difficult for many merchants in our dynasty to operate. They are supported by big bosses from all over the country. For example, in the Jiangnan area, their own family assets are large enough and their profits are large enough. Only by doing so can they survive. The amount of taxes imposed by the Tang Dynasty.”

"Weichen believes that by lowering commercial taxes to allow business expansion and the number of merchants to increase, Datang's tax revenue will naturally increase!"

As soon as these words came out, there was an explosion in the court.

After all, businessmen are low-level people, and everyone present has a professional background. How can they bear to confuse business with state affairs.

"Ma Zhou, you are confused. How can we, a huge country like ours, collude with cheap merchants?"

Ma Zhou was right and responded on the spot: "Anything that is beneficial to the country and the world is a good deed! The circulation of commodities can not only bring huge tax revenue, but also promote exchanges between cultures. In terms of opinions, isn’t it true that I have fallen behind?”

The official immediately became angry: "Who do you think has fallen behind? You, a shameless kid who relied on advice to get to the top, have the nerve to criticize me!"

Ma Zhou said coldly: "In my opinion, you, who entered the court through the imperial examination, are nothing more than this. Why didn't you say a word when His Majesty needed someone to come up with a solution?"

As soon as these words came out, the court immediately exploded. Most of the civil servants present had taken the imperial examination and became officials. Wouldn't scolding him be equivalent to scolding everyone?

The seemingly angry civil servant pointed at Ma Zhou and said, "Say it again if you can!"

"Old man, I'll say this a hundred times. If you have the ability, you can find a way to make money!"

"Who are you calling an old guy? Ma Zhou is a kid. He's his own mother!"

"His mother seems to be sick!"

"Hey! You are my mother's maid!"

Seeing the two people starting to curse, the surrounding civil servants also started to curse. The military attache on the side became anxious when they saw this group of usually gentlemen, and immediately joined in the curse.

Protect our output!

The courts in the Tang Dynasty were relatively open, and it was common for both parties to curse and fight each other due to disagreements.

There was a commotion in the court, but Li Shimin had no intention of stopping it, and was still thinking about developing business.

When he thought of this, he thought of a person, and then the corner of his mouth twitched.

How could I have thought of this guy!
At the same time, outside the Jiade Hall, Lin Heng fell asleep sitting on the steps!
The eunuch on the side has long been unable to remind him, why is this new prince-in-law so unruly?
(End of this chapter)