Wentang

Chapter 758
Franchise?

Everyone was surprised, but surprisingly, no one objected.It seems that this has been expected for a long time, and they are even looking forward to this day.

In fact, this is indeed the case. Anyone who has seen the world map understands that enfeoffment is a matter of time.

If it is enfeoffment at home, most people will stand up and oppose it. History has proved that this is a way to kill, but no one opposes enfeoffment overseas.

It is beyond the reach of the whip, and it is almost impossible for the court to form an effective rule over the land hundreds of millions of miles away, and enfeoffment is the best way.

The imperial court can realize the rule over those lands by enforcing the country, and the courtiers can also establish the king and establish a system in a certain sense, realizing another leap for the family.

Many people have even conceived in private how the enfeoffment of Datang should be carried out.For example, what are the rights and obligations between the suzerain and the princes and kings.

It's just that it's impossible for the courtiers to speak first about this kind of thing. It's no different from rebellion. They can only discuss it after the emperor speaks first.

They are also guessing when Li Shimin will raise this issue publicly, and now it has finally arrived.

Li Shimin also saw their reaction, and was not dissatisfied, but felt that they were all a bunch of old foxes.

"You think that the imperial court should restart enfeoffment?"

Everyone glanced at each other, and finally kicked the ball to Changsun Wuji's feet. As the chief assistant, he really should speak first.

"Dare to ask the sage, where do you plan to distribute the land to the princes and kings?"

Li Shimin had expected that they would ask this question a long time ago, and said: "The two continents in the southeast and the south are both suitable, but this is still in the stage of exploration. It is estimated that no one is willing to establish a feudal state here. Therefore, I am going to go to the Nanyang Islands first. Pack it up."

Changsun Wuji said: "If the sage wants to restart the enfeoffment, he must legislate that the enfeoffment cannot be implemented in the Tang Dynasty, otherwise it will lead to catastrophe."

Li Shimin said deeply: "Local enfeoffment is the way to bring disaster. I will circle which lands can be enfeoffed and which ones are not allowed. There is no need to worry about auxiliary machines."

Changsun Wuji said: "The minister is undoubtedly doubtful."

After he sat down, Li Shimin looked at the others and said, "Do you have any objections?"

Fang Xuanling stood up and said, "I don't know who the sage is going to entrust, the royal clan or all the nobles?"

Li Shimin said: "It is not advisable to entrust all of them. Foreign ministers can only be entrusted with outstanding achievements, and only princes and outstanding meritorious relatives of the royal family can be entrusted."

Now everyone has opinions, not because only foreign ministers with outstanding merits are awarded the title, so many nobles can't all seal the country, and they must be divided into ranks and ranks.

What I have a problem with is the enfeoffment of the royal family, which is too strict.There are only a few princes, and those who make military contributions through the clan are even rarer. If they do this, they will be scolded and treat their clan members poorly.

Liu Ji said: "You can't be a saint. How can the royal family members be treated differently if they are all descendants of the Taizu, let alone fall behind foreign ministers."

Cen Wenwen said: "The royal family members should be granted first, and then the foreign ministers should be granted. Please think twice."

Others also expressed their opinions one after another, the clan first and then the foreign ministers.The clan has not yet been divided, which foreign minister dares to accept the title.

Li Shimin said: "How can you forget the heroes because of your clan relatives?"

However, he also accepted part of the suggestion, saying: "However, what you said is also reasonable. If there is no distinction between clans, it will inevitably make people think that I am mean and ungrateful."

"In that case, first divide the princes and the clans that have made great contributions to the country, then divide the meritorious officials, and finally divide the rest of the clans."

Seeing that everyone still wanted to persuade him, he said without doubt: "There is no need to discuss this matter again, and we will act accordingly."

"Here." Everyone accepted the order helplessly, but they were very happy in their hearts.At the same time, I also feel that following such an emperor is worth it.

Just when they thought the matter was over, Li Shimin threw another big bomb: "Since all of you are not opposed to enfeoffment, let's discuss another issue now, whether to adjust the food and privileges of the princes and kings in the Tang Dynasty. "

"Hiss..." Everyone was terrified, knowing that things were not that simple, and it really was.In this way, the emperor wanted to take advantage of the opportunity of enfeoffment to weaken the privileges of the powerful.

But I have to admit that this opportunity is well chosen, it can be said to be great.

If you directly cut the privileges of the powerful and powerful, it will inevitably arouse everyone's opposition, but now... Do you want to close the country?Give in if you want.

Is it important to seal the country or the privilege is more important... They will say that both are important, but if they have to choose one or the other, most people will choose the country.

Of course, the powerful are the powerful, and it is impossible to take away all the privileges. The problem now is which part of the privileges the court wants to take back.

This will determine the attitude of the officials on this matter.

Changsun Wuji said: "I don't know how the sage wants to make adjustments, so please ask for instructions."

Li Shimin said: "You can choose between the food city and the feudal state. If you want the food town, you don't seal the country, and if you want the state, you hand over the food town."

Everyone has no objection to this point, which is easy to understand. If you have a feudal country and then want food, it is greed.

"The privileges of those who choose to eat will remain unchanged, mainly for the dignitaries who choose to seal the country. Most of the privileges they enjoy will be retained, mainly for their property privileges in the local area."

"Anyone who chooses to close the country can do business, but they are not allowed to buy land on the mainland. Their property will no longer enjoy tax-free privileges, and they must pay the imperial grain and national tax like ordinary people."

Everyone waited for a while, seeing that Li Shimin had no intention of continuing, Fang Xuanling asked, "Is that just two points?"

Li Shimin said: "Yes, what do you think about these two points?"

Everyone felt incredible. Originally they thought that the emperor would propose very harsh exchange terms, so they all breathed a sigh of relief.Unexpectedly, the board was lifted high, and it was put down gently like this.

In their view, this is not a weakening of the privileges of the powerful, but a very normal behavior. If the emperor does not take such measures, there will be problems.

The rich and powerful owning the feudal country can continuously obtain a large amount of wealth, if they are allowed to buy land on the mainland.

The power of the princes and kings will only become stronger and stronger, and the court will become weaker and weaker. Restrictions on them are inevitable.

Confirming that Li Shimin's weakening of the privileges of the powerful and powerful is so simple, everyone was relieved and said in unison: "I have no objection."

Li Shimin said: "Then Zhuqing should think carefully about how to proceed with this enfeoffment."

At the end of the meeting, everyone walked out of Zichen Hall, thinking about the content of the meeting.

Changsun Wuji walked in the forefront, and Chu Suiliang followed him and said, "Gongsun Gong, this Xia Guogong's hand is a bit too long. He actually crossed the political affairs hall to represent the court and Buddhism to reach an agreement. Is there any court in his eyes?" Gentlemen, do you still have laws and regulations?"

"Hehe." Changsun Wuji patted him on the shoulder with a chuckle, and left without saying anything.

Only Chu Suiliang was left with an extremely ugly face, looking at the back of Changsun Wuji, his eyes were full of resentment.But soon returned to normal, found Liu Ji with a smile on his face, and said:

"Liu Xiang, do you agree to the matter of the museum just like that?"

Liu Ji said helplessly: "So what if we disagree? The sage Gan Gang's arbitrariness doesn't give us any room to object."

Chu Suiliang said indignantly: "A sage is not a headstrong lord, such abnormality must be bewitched by others. You have been the leader of Qingliu since the death of Prime Minister Wei, and you can't just sit back and watch the thieves take power and ignore them."

Liu Jie said: "A thief? I don't know who Chu Xiang is referring to?"

Chu Suiliang said: "Who else can it be? Naturally, it is the person who deceives the saint by the way of ghosts and gods. He must be unwilling to be lonely and encourage the saint to establish a museum in order to achieve the goal of recovery."

Liu Jie frowned and said, "You mean Duke Xia?"

"Hush." ​​Chu Suiliang looked around in a panic, and lowered his voice: "Hush your voice, the walls have ears. That man has a deep collusion with the warriors in the palace, especially the eunuch Zhao Meng, who is his guest. You If you speak ill of him here, be careful of retaliation."

Hearing the words, Liu Jie not only was not afraid, but raised his voice and said: "My generation is Qingliu, and Xiaoxiao's generation is at odds with each other. How can we not dare to speak out because of fear? If Xia Guogong really dares to collude with his servant, I will read his book. Xiang Chu said he and The eunuch Zhao Meng colluded, is there evidence?"

Seeing many people looking at them, Chu Suiliang was terrified, already regretting why he came to Liu Jie.

Knowing that this old man is strong, but did not expect him to be so straightforward, how could he dare to yell such words in the palace.

But the regret is over, so I can only hold him back and say, "If I want to talk about evidence, I have seen two people flirting with each other with my own eyes."

Liu Jie blamed: "Since I saw it with my own eyes, why didn't I report it to the saint earlier?"

Chu Suiliang said: "I think so, but there is no evidence. You also know the status of Xia Guogong in the hearts of saints. If I play it without proof, it will only arouse their vigilance."

Liu Ji said: "That also needs to be played. Only in this way can they be deterred. Tomorrow morning, I will write to the sage to clarify this matter together."

Now that Chu Suiliang was remorseful, he hurriedly dissuaded him: "Don't worry, Mr. Liu. I'm collecting evidence. When I get the hard evidence, I'll knock them down in one fell swoop. You must not make a fuss about it."

Then Liu Ji said: "Okay, when you have collected all the evidence, you must tell me, and I will join you in the performance."

Chu Suiliang wiped off his sweat and said, "Okay, okay, let's continue talking about the museum. I'm going to write a letter against this matter, and ask Liu Xiang for help."

Liu Ji sighed and said, "If Xiang Chu is willing to play, I will support it, I'm afraid it won't be of any use."

Chu Suiliang said sadly: "If the saint insists on going his own way, we are not helpless."

Liu Ji said: "Oh? I don't know what good strategy Chu Xiang has."

Chu Suiliang said: "The establishment of a new organization is not that simple. Many things must be approved by the Political Affairs Hall. At that time, we only need to..."

Knowing that he hadn't finished speaking, Liu Ji flicked his sleeves, looked at him contemptuously and said, "Small man, I, Liu Ji, am upright and never do such low-level things, Xiang Chu should hire another wise man."

After speaking, he turned around and left, leaving Chu Suiliang with a livid face.

In the distance, Fang Xuanling, Ma Zhou, and Sun Fujia walked together, looking at Liu Ji who left angrily, and Chu Suiliang who stood still, they all showed meaningful smiles.

Fang Xuanling said: "Do you think these things have anything to do with Xia Guogong?"

Ma Zhou said: "The lice on the bald man's head is obvious. A few days ago, the sage went to Xia Guogong's mansion under the pretext of visiting Princess Jinyang. After returning, the cabinet has been busy. If there is no relationship between the two, no one will believe it." of."

Fang Xuanling said: "Doesn't that mean that Xia Guogong is coming back again, what a joy to congratulate."

Ma Zhou shook his head and said, "Mr. Fang is too optimistic. Now it is not whether the saint is willing to use Duke Xia, but whether he is willing to come back. I think this is a mystery."

Sun Fujia also said: "If it weren't for the fact that no one has ever seen the museum before, Xia Guogong probably wouldn't show up this time. Just wait and see, he will resign after the museum is completed."

The matter of resuming enfeoffment passed smoothly in the Zhengshitang, but it was not over.Such a big matter cannot be discussed by a few people behind closed doors, and permission from the ruling and opposition parties must be obtained.

On the second day at the court, Li Shimin issued several government orders one after another.

For the establishment of the museum, it is tentatively decided that the fourth-rank government office will be in charge of Xia Guogong Yueshan. The hospital is directly responsible to the emperor, and other departments must fully assist.

Liu Ji once again raised objections, thinking that it is possible to establish a museum, but it cannot be given an official position, not even an official.Instead, Chu Suiliang did not show up.

It's just that it's useless for him to oppose it alone. The seven prime ministers of Zhengshitang agreed to pass the resolution directly.

The policy of allocating prisoners to Ningyuan in the Western Regions has won the unanimous approval of all officials, and the farther this black sheep can be driven, the better.

The development of the southwest to open up the passage to Tianzhu has also aroused considerable controversy.But now it is the Tang Dynasty, which favors martial arts, not the bloody castrated dynasty of the later generations, and there are not many people who oppose the expansion of the officials.

At most, there are some people who oppose the participation of Buddhism, and there are disputes over the specific implementation methods.But these are not big problems and can be discussed.

The big news that really exploded was the resumption of enfeoffment. When Li Shimin proposed this motion, everyone was shocked at first, and then objected.

At least half of the people in the court stood up to oppose it, bluntly saying that this is a way to bring disaster, and history has long proved that this method is not feasible.

Even if Li Shimin emphasized that only overseas territories should be enfeoffed, it would be useless not to enfeoff at home.

But this time he didn't enforce the order, but let the people of the world discuss it together, and make a decision after the discussion.

After retiring from the court, all the ministers surrounded the prime ministers one after another, asking them what the emperor was going to do, and even expressed their views on the matter.

Changsun Wuji and the others naturally wouldn't express their opinions. They only said that they were just shocked when they found out, and they didn't have any thoughts yet.

Even if everyone knew they were talking nonsense, they had no choice but to let them go.

And the news that the emperor was going to restart the enfeoffment also spread throughout the capital as quickly as possible, and spread to all parts of the country, causing a thousand waves of waves for a while.

There are two types of people who are most enthusiastic about this matter, one is Qingliu, who firmly opposes it; the other is the clan, who are almost going crazy like a cat smelling fishy smell.

(End of this chapter)