The Flourishing Tang Dynasty: Beginning with Marrying Yang Yuhuan

Chapter 212 Treat
The issue of land annexation has existed throughout the entire feudal society. Successive dynasties have made efforts to address land annexation and provided different solutions.

To sum up, there are roughly two types of solutions.

The first category went straight to the core of the problem and tried to find ways to curb land annexation. However, since the ruling class in feudal society was the landlord class, this method had little effect.

The second is to expand the scope of taxation and make people who were previously exempt from tax pay taxes. Based on this idea, the two-tax system was introduced in the late Tang Dynasty, and the Qing Dynasty introduced the tax-sharing system based on the two-tax system.

Li Heng is now only a Jiedushi and cannot promote institutional reform. All he can do now is to make the annexation of the areas under his jurisdiction less serious, so as to ensure that there are enough tax revenue and population under his rule.

Therefore, Li Heng would never let go of those evil forces that were so corrupt that it affected his local governance.

Those corrupt officials also knew this clearly, so they chose to give it a try.

Li Heng was silent for a while, then said, "It seems that the assassination attempt against me this time is closely related to Xizhou."

"That's right." Liu Yan nodded in agreement. "Officials embezzled and misappropriated grain from the warehouse, wealthy merchants paid to buy grain from Anxi, and local big families were responsible for annexing land. This matter involves a lot of people. I am willing to investigate, but..."

"But what?" Li Heng asked.

Liu Yan said: "I am worried that we may find some important people, and then we will be afraid to take action and end up with nothing."

Liu Yan's words were very straightforward, which was equivalent to doubting whether Li Heng would get to the bottom of the matter.

However, it is understandable that Liu Yan has this suspicion, because this time the case involves too many people, and high-ranking officials, generals, new nobles, and old powers may all be involved. If the investigation is carried out further, the shock caused will be no less than that caused by Li Heng's previous treatment of Gai Jiayun.

Li Heng did not rush to express his determination, but instead asked, "If I authorize you, can you be impartial and investigate thoroughly?"

Liu Yan stood up and saluted Li Heng, saying solemnly: "These insects are eating away at the country and sucking the blood of the people. If I am lucky enough to contribute to the country and eliminate this harm for the people, I will definitely do whatever it takes to overcome the disaster."

"Very good." Li Heng stood up and said happily, "I have already asked General Feng and Governor Yuwen to handle the assassination. As for Xizhou, I will leave it to you to handle it. In addition, Cen Shen has been transferred to Xizhou as the military envoy of Tianshan Army. I will write to him and ask him to assist you in the investigation. No matter who is involved in this matter, I will definitely handle it impartially."

"Thank you, Your Highness." Liu Yan accepted the order and retreated.

……

Xizhou, Gaochang.

Liu Yan and Cen Shen met at a street stall.

Although the two men currently hold high positions, they are both young people in their twenties with cheerful personalities. The bureaucracy has not yet affected them, so neither of them cared about the ostentation and just found a small restaurant on the side of the road to eat and chat.

Liu Yan said: "General Cen is now the military commander of the Tianshan Army, in charge of all the troops in Xizhou. I hope General Cen can help me with this investigation."

"Of course. We are all working for His Highness, so we have to work together." Cen Shen said as he put the leftover Hu pancake into the porridge and stirred it, then picked up the bowl and took a big sip.

Seeing that Cen Shen was enjoying such coarse food, Liu Yan couldn't help but smile and said, "General Cen, with his current status and position, is not picky about food."

"We are used to eating when marching and fighting." Cen Shen smiled heartily, "Your Highness eats the same food as everyone else when he leads the troops to battle, so our generals can't be too picky. By the way, where does General Liu plan to start?"

"The warehouses in Xizhou are full of grain borrowed by those people. We need to think of a way." Liu Yan pondered for a moment and came up with an idea. He said, "I heard that there is a very large wine shop in Xizhou City called Taoyuan. It usually only entertains dignitaries. General Cen, are you interested in going there?"

"This is a good thing!" Cen Shen immediately agreed and said with a smile: "Going to a wine shop with Hu Ji and listening to music in a brothel are the joys of life."

Liu Yan said: "I want to call the officials in charge of Xizhou together and have them stay with General Cen for three days."

Cen Shen knew what Liu Yan wanted to do. After thinking for a while, he said, "I can do this, but you have to give an explanation in three days."

"Of course." Liu Yan saluted Cen Shen and said, "Thank you very much, General."

Cen Shen said, "You're welcome. When do you want me to go?"

Liu Yan said: "How about tonight?"

"Okay." Cen Shen nodded and called his deputy general Bai Wenda behind him, saying, "General Bai, take people to invite all the officials of Xizhou to Taoyuan. I will host a banquet for them. If there are any who don't give me face, I will force them to come."

"Yes."

Bowenda took the order and left.

Cen Shen drank up all the porridge in the bowl and then went his separate ways with Liu Yan.

That night, Taoyuan, Gaochang.

Cen Shen arrived at the gate of Taoyuan and was about to go in when the captain of the guards at the gate asked, "Sir, do you have an invitation?"

"Invitation?" Cen Shen frowned. "Can't I enter without an invitation?"

The captain of the guards asked, "Can you enter the Chang'an Opera House without an invitation?"

The Liyuan was the inner courtyard of the Chang'an Palace. It was just an orchard at first. Later, under the "virtuous rule" of Li Longji, the Liyuan became the most famous cultural and artistic center in the Tang Dynasty. At one time, the number of disciples in the Liyuan reached tens of thousands. Not only was the famous "Rainbow Skirt and Feathered Robe Dance" born there, but it also cultivated outstanding talents such as Lei Haiqing, Li Guinian, and Xu Yunfeng.

Cen Shen already had some opinions about Li Longji's indulgence in the Pear Garden and his neglect of state affairs. Now the captain of the guards actually compared it to a local tavern, which made Cen Shen laugh out of anger.

"Interesting." Cen Shen smiled slightly, then slapped the captain of the guards in the face and said, "You compare this shabby place to the Pear Garden. This is a great disrespect to the royal family. How many heads do you have?"

"You..." The captain of the security guard covered his face, "You are so bold, you know whose place this is, and you dare to act so presumptuously here?"

As the captain of the security team was speaking, the rest of the security team came over, and in a moment there were twenty or thirty people.

"Somebody come!"

Cen Shen shouted loudly, and a large group of soldiers came forward from behind.

When the captain of the guards saw this scene, he immediately realized that the young man in front of him was not simple, and hurriedly said: "I am blind and have offended the general. I don't know that the general..."

Cen Shen didn't wait for the security captain to finish speaking. He kicked him away and rushed in with his men.

There is a quiet path after entering the gate. After crossing the path, you will reach the main garden.

The main garden is divided into three small courtyards, whose styles correspond to the Old Courtyard of Liyuan, the New Courtyard of Liyuan and the Special Courtyard of Taichang Liyuan in Chang'an Liyuan.

At this time, everyone in the garden knew that someone had broken in. The person in charge of Taoyuan hurried forward and said respectfully: "This is the first time that the general has visited Hanyuan. The guards were blind and did not recognize the general. Please don't blame me. If the general wants to have fun, just let me know and I will send someone to invite him. I am afraid that mobilizing so many people will hurt the harmony."

Cen Shen said, "I am the new military commander of the Tianshan Army, Cen Shen. This is my first time in your place, so I naturally want to have some fun in this rumored paradise on earth. Please lead the way."

When the person in charge heard Cen Shen's name, he was shocked.

The person in charge knew that Cen Shen was one of Li Heng's trusted generals, and that his coming to Taoyuan now must be bad news. But since the people were already here, he had no choice but to invite Cen Shen in.

Cen Shen came all the way to Taohua Tower, sat down in the main seat without any courtesy, and said: "This general will host a banquet for distinguished guests here today. Please bring the best wine and food, and arrange the best songs and music."

"Yes." The person in charge went down to make arrangements reluctantly.

After a while, all the officials from Xizhou arrived, and half an hour later, all the officials in charge were present.

When everyone was present, Cen Shen ordered the soldiers to close the gate and prohibit anyone from entering or leaving.

Seeing Cen Shen's order, the officials of Xizhou knew that something was wrong. Among them, the more impatient Sima Tang said, "General Cen, what do you mean? We have not committed any crime, why are you putting us under house arrest?"

"Sir Tang, I recognize you." Cen Shen stood up and said with his hands behind his back, "Your grandfather Tang Jiahui was loyal to his country and was a famous general of the Tang Dynasty. I admire him very much, but unfortunately I have no chance to meet him. However, I have met his descendants today, which makes up for the regret. I offer you a toast."

As Cen Shen spoke, he handed a glass of wine to Sima Tang.

Sima Tang glanced at Cen Shen and ignored him.

Cen Shen smiled slightly, not feeling embarrassed, and took back the wine, drank it all, and said, "This is the best wine. One glass is worth several pieces of silk."

"Then please enjoy your drink here, General Cen. I have something else to do, so I'm sorry I can't keep you company!" Sima Tang bowed to Cen Shen and walked quickly towards the door.

But as soon as he reached the door, he was stopped by Bo Wenda and his men.

Cen Shen still retained some of the elegance of a scholar, but Bai Wenda came from a military background and didn't care about that. He drew his sword and said, "General Cen has invited you to this great event. If you don't give me face and dare to step out of this door, don't blame me for not giving you face."

"You, you..." Sima Tang stomped his feet in anger, but he knew in his heart that Bai Wenda and Cen Shen had been through life and death with Li Heng, and what they said was definitely not just a bluff.

Therefore, although Sima Tang was angry, he did not dare to go out and returned in shame.

Cen Shen didn't even look at what happened at the door. He flipped through the Taoyuan account book and said, "According to the records here, Sima Tang came to Taoyuan seven times a month on average. Not only that, he also took three girls away from Taoyuan, one of whom was twelve years old..."

"So what?" interrupted Sima Tang.

Cen Shen said: "With your salary and land, you can't afford such a large expense. Where did you get the money from?"

"This... is none of your business!" Sima Tang was still being stubborn.

"Really?" Cen Shen shook his head and smiled, then continued to look through the account book.

……

Inside Xizhou City.

Liu Yan posted a notice requiring all merchants who had lent grain to the government to come and redeem the grain within two days. Those who failed to redeem the grain within the deadline would be deemed to have donated the grain to the government.

As soon as this notice was issued, without any prior notification to other officials, merchants came one after another to ask for grain, and in less than two days, the warehouse was emptied.

Liu Yan's plan succeeded, and he sent someone to tell Cen Shen the news.

Cen Shen received the news and took all the officials to the warehouse.

Looking at the empty warehouse, the officials involved all looked pale, and Sima Tang no longer had his previous arrogance.

Cen Shen looked at Sima Tang and said, "Sima Tang, you are the descendant of a general. You should have inherited your father's aspirations, repaying the emperor's kindness to bring peace to the world and governing the people to comfort the common people. But what have you done? You live in the eight seats, keep slaves and prostitutes, and indulge in pleasure. You dare to be so arrogant in the name of your father! If you still have a sense of shame, you should quickly report the matter of the grain stored in the warehouse."

Upon hearing this, Tang Sima burst into tears and said, "I confess everything."

……

Liu Yan and Cen Shen opened a gap by starting with the grain stored in the warehouses, and followed the clues to uncover the corrupt officials, the landlords and wealthy businessmen involved, as well as some well-known people in other fields.

On Li Ying's side, Feng Changqing and Zhang Guangsheng followed the assassin all the way to Xizhou.

Li Heng also came to Xizhou.

In the government office, Liu Yan and Cen Shen presented the results of the investigation to Li Heng.

Li Ying took a look and found that He was also involved.

However, they participated in another way.

Other wealthy businessmen sold grain at high prices, but He sold it at a low price.

They sell the goods in Xizhou at the same price as they buy them from Anxi. Not only do they not make a penny, they also have to pay for the transportation.

Li Ying was a little confused and said to He Jin who was following him, "We can make a lot of money by buying grain from Anxi and selling it in Xizhou. As the largest caravan on the Silk Road, why don't the He family join us and make some money?"

He Jin said, "I asked the princess for her opinion. She thought that it was okay to sell grain like this during normal times, but during a disaster, selling grain at a high price for the purpose of buying the land of the disaster victims was against the law. After weighing the pros and cons, the He family did not make any money. Moreover, the He family has made a lot of money through the Silk Road over the years. The people of Xizhou are in trouble, and it is only right that the He family can help."

After hearing what He Jin said, Li Ying finally understood why Yang Yuhuan said that He Jin had noble character.

"Although you have helped the people by doing this, you have harmed the interests of other officials and wealthy businessmen." Li Heng smiled, "Cutting off someone's financial resources is like killing their parents. No wonder they want to frame the He family, and when they fail, they want to kill you."

He Jin sighed, "I wonder when the competition will be based solely on the quality of the goods."

"I want to know, too." Li Heng pondered for a moment and said, "Since you did such a good thing, why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"He didn't do this to seek credit, and Your Highness didn't ask about it..." When He Jin said this, he remembered Li Ying's appearance that day and felt a little aggrieved. He complained in his heart: "You were so scary that day, who would still remember these things."

Li Ying didn't know that He Jin was blaming him in his heart, so he just said, "I have always been clear about rewards and punishments. Since the He family did such a good thing, I will naturally reward them. After the case is handled, I will issue a notice to praise you."

He Jin said boldly: "I thought His Highness would have other rewards."

"What reward do you want?" Li Ying looked at He Jin and said with a smile, "If you want money, you are richer than me. If you want treasures, you have more treasures than me. I can only give you fame. But don't underestimate this fame. It can make ordinary people more willing to buy He's things."

"That's right." He Jin agreed, hesitated for a moment, and said, "Your Highness said before that he would exchange textile skills with me after returning. If I have other product ideas, I can also ask Your Highness. Will Your Highness keep this promise?"

"Of course." Li Heng nodded, "Once we finish this case."

　There is no time to divide the chapters, so I will post them together first.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)