Wentang

Chapter 790: Court Discussion
Since the last time the early court proposed a plan to support the government with a high salary, Yue Shan never went to the court again, and spent every day at home with his wife and children, writing and writing books.

Except for a few people with unreliable relations who came to visit and greet them, other outsiders were all gone, and the outsiders were allowed to make noise.

Until the news came from the palace asking him to go to court tomorrow morning, he knew that Li Shimin had already prepared the layout and was ready to close the net.

In the past, he used to get up half an hour earlier in the morning and go to the court on a horse.It's only a distance of ten miles, and it's all morning exercises.

Now, in order to take care of Xu Shanying, he went to live in the Duke's Mansion in the city the first afternoon.

"Da Lang, you really don't need to do this. Although I am old, Xu has not yet reached the point where I need your care." Xu Shanying said with the appearance of an irritated daughter-in-law who was humiliated and dared not get angry.

"Hehe... You know what a fart, I was asking you to spend more time with your wife. It is said that thirty is like a wolf and forty is like a tiger. She is so lonely when you are not at home all day." Yue Shan said Duanzi joked:

"In two years, even if you want to, you won't have the strength. If you enjoy these two years, you might be able to grow old. Didn't you always want a daughter? Come on."

The other guards around all sniggered.

It's not the first time that Yue Shan has talked about nasty jokes, but every time they hear such a big man tell them, they still find it very novel and funny.

What's more, the target of ridicule this time is their leader Xu Shanying, which is double the joy.

"You..." Xu Shanying wanted to laugh but felt inappropriate, wanted to be touched but felt weird, and didn't know what to say for a long time.

"Haha... don't you, me and me, let's go quickly, the city gate will be closed in a while." Yue Shan rode forward first, and the others followed suit.

Yue Shan is not afraid of death, but he is definitely a life-saving person, and his own safety is always the top priority.

Every time I go out, I will bring eight defenses, including Xu Shanying, there are nine people.These people are all elites selected from the army, with high martial arts skills and strong fear of death.

Not only did he carry the best weapons, but he also carried a strong crossbow with him. It would be impossible to ambush him without a fully armed elite soldier.

It is impossible to hide such a team near Chang'an, so his safety is very guaranteed.

A group of people went straight to Chang'an City, and pedestrians on the road saw them far away and stood on both sides to make way for them.Those who dare to make such a publicity in the capital are not ordinary people, and ordinary people can't afford to provoke them.

People who often come and go on this road are very familiar with their group, and they know it is him by looking at the formation. Some people with the surname Ping waved to him from a distance to say hello.

Although he didn't stop to say hello, he responded one by one.Everyone who received a response was particularly proud, standing upright under the envious eyes of the people around him was called a straight.

As soon as he reached the gate of Fanglin, he happened to see the gatekeeper closing the gate, so he hurriedly asked Xu Shanying to go up and stop him.

The city gate officer also noticed their group and stopped without Xu Shanying, and the captain of the gatekeeper even ran over to say hello to Yue Shan.

Obviously this person knew Yue Shan.

It's normal to think about it. The gatekeepers, especially the gatekeepers guarding the Fanglin Gate, which is adjacent to the imperial palace, know the rich and powerful the most.

Especially for someone with such obvious characteristics as Yue Shan, it is even more impossible not to remember it.

Yue Shan got off his horse and had a chat with the city gate official, encouraging him to work hard and he will surely accomplish a lot in the future, making that man happy.

When Yue Shan entered the city gate, Xu Shanying, who was following behind, gave the city gate officer a large silver coin: "This is a reward from the public of my family. Brothers, take it for tea."

"Xie Guogong." The city gate officer was even more happy when he was under his command. One hundred Wen is equivalent to his salary for several days.

Yue Shan, who was walking in front, knew what was going on when he heard this thank you, and he was also very helpless about it.Human relationship, even he, the Duke of the state, cannot avoid it.

Normally, he would not reward the city gate officials for going in and out of the city gate, so he just went there.But today he was delayed. Normally speaking, it is normal for people not to let him in.

Don't underestimate the closing of the city gates. The Tang Dynasty had very strict management of the city gates of the capital, and even had special laws.

There are Chengmen Lang, Jianmen General, Zhonglang General and other institutions and officials to jointly manage, so that they can restrict and cooperate with each other and reduce the possibility of accidents.

There are strict regulations on what time the door opens and when the door closes.Under normal circumstances, once they start closing the city gates, it means that traffic is prohibited.

If the supervisor sees them letting people in and out midway, they will be reprimanded, and they may be implicated if something happens.

Although as Yue Shan, even if the supervisor saw it, he wouldn't say anything.But after all, he is causing trouble for others, and if he rewards some money, others will be happy.

I will miss him in my heart, and I will be more polite next time I meet him.

In a word, to be a human being, sometimes you have to be with the light.

There are almost two worlds inside and outside the city of Chang'an. The sky outside the city has gradually darkened, and there are not many people in sight.

Pedestrians are everywhere on the streets in the city. The lanterns hung by residents and businesses on both sides of the road, and in front of hawker stalls on the street, illuminate the whole street.

It has been more than ten years since the Tang Dynasty was in peace, most cities in the Central Plains have lifted the curfew, and visiting the night market is no longer a luxury.

Yue Shan and his party led the horses and walked slowly on the street, following the crowds towards their place of residence.

However, after all, there are still a few lively places. After walking through that lively street, it becomes relatively dark when entering the workshop.

Fortunately, I met a group of Marquis Wu on patrol and asked them for a lantern.

Yue Shan couldn't help thinking of the street lamp, if only there was such a thing.

In other words, with the current technological strength of Datang, it is more than enough to produce electricity, right?
In the previous life, there was a small hand-operated generator in the physics laboratory of their school, and the electric energy generated after turning turned a small light bulb.

This is a small generator for teaching, the kind that can be disassembled.The structure is very simple and there are very few parts, which can be disassembled by anyone with a little manual ability.

Yue Shan recorded it in his notebook more than ten years ago, but he didn't take it out when the conditions were not ripe.

For example, electric wires need insulators to make covers, and the most affordable insulator is rubber, which is native to the Americas.

A few years ago, the expedition team led by Sun Fucai retrieved rubber tree seeds, and he asked Li Dewu to try planting them in Lingnan, which was very successful.

Over the years, Datang's fleet traveled frequently to and from Dongsheng Shenzhou, and brought back more rubber tree seeds, all of which were planted in Lingnan and Nanyang.

The rubber trees first planted can already be tapped, and now the locomotives produced by the steam engine factory are all sealed with rubber.

Because of its superior performance, more and more industries begin to use it.

With the rubber, the wire sealing problem is solved, and it's time to get the electricity out.

Oh, by the way, you have to get out the light bulbs. Lighting is the most intuitive way to use electricity.

Although the bulb in the previous life was filled with inert gas, it can still light up even if it is not filled.

It doesn't matter if there is no tungsten wire, other wires can also be bright, but the lifespan is not as long as tungsten wire.

In short, get out the electricity and light bulbs first, and leave the rest to the people of Gewuyuan to study.

Now the people of Gewuyuan are too obsessed with mechanical research and have gone astray. It is time to bring them back to the right path.

Write this down, and when you get back, find Tian Shungu to get out the generator and light bulb.

……

Early the next morning, Yue Shan came to the gate of Yong'an Palace on time and waited for the morning court to start.

When the officials saw that he, who had not been in court for a long time, appeared, they immediately realized that it was time to see the real chapter.

Whether the tax-free privilege is abolished or retained depends on today.

Both the reformers and the opposition took advantage of the time before the palace gates opened to connect with each other and discuss how to defend after going to court.

But the rich and powerful people stood aside with their gods, as if they were not participating or interested.

But no one believed that they would stay out of it, and there was only one reason for their appearance. They had reached a consensus.

Soon the palace gate opened, and everyone entered the imperial city one by one.

After going to court, Li Shimin routinely dealt with some other affairs, and after finishing everything, he asked casually:
"Xia Guogong changed the tax-free privilege into a law of high salary and honesty. I don't know how you are discussing it?"

As soon as he finished speaking, someone jumped out impatiently and said: "Saint, this method is absolutely wrong." It was Honglu Temple Shaoqing Tian Daoshan.

"Oh, what's Tian Shaoqing's opinion?" Li Shimin asked.

Tian Daoshan said: "Xia Guogong's method is too harmful to the public and private, and it will be a burden for the court in the long run, so it is not feasible."

Yue Shan smiled and said: "So it is like this, Tian Shaoqing's heart for the court is really a role model for all officials."

Tian Daoshan said coldly: "I don't dare to be a role model. I seek to govern in his position. As an official of the imperial court, I shall serve for the imperial court."

Yue Shan said in admiration: "Admiration, Tian Shaoqing just said that my method of increasing the salaries of officials is too much and harms the interests of the court, so you are against it?"

Tian Daoshan always felt that there seemed to be something wrong with this statement, but he guessed it for a while.He couldn't procrastinate under the eyes of everyone, so he could only say: "That's true."

Yue Shan put on an appearance that he knows his mistakes and can correct them: "That's very easy to handle. Since you think my salary increase is too much, then just reduce it."

"It's best to reduce the amount of tax to be equal to the part of the tax exempted by the tax-free privilege. Isn't it perfect? ​​Thank you Tian Shaoqing, if you didn't remind me that I still can't think of such a good way."

"So you won't object to replacing tax-free privileges with high salaries?"

Tian Daoshan still didn't know that he had fallen into the pit, and said with a squeak: "This... I don't mean that, I mean that the tax-free privilege is an ancient rule, how can it be easily abolished."

Yue Shan's expression immediately turned down: "One moment you say that too high a salary is harmful to public welfare and private interests, and the next moment you say it is a rule since ancient times. Which sentence is the truth?"

"This is in front of the saints above the court, how can you let you talk nonsense here? Tian Shaoqing is still talking after thinking about it."

Tian Daoshan turned pale with shock, and hurriedly pleaded guilty: "The sage has learned from it, I have absolutely no such intention."

Li Shimin said indifferently: "Back off, think carefully about what you want to say in the future, so as not to make a joke like today."

"Here." Tian Daoshan retreated into the crowd with a dusty face.

"Who else has any opinions? Let's put them forward together." Li Shimin asked again.

Tian Daoshan's failure could not stop the opposition, and many people jumped out to oppose it immediately.

Moreover, the opinions of these opposition groups have also diverged. One group has removed the point of harming the public and benefiting private interests, and only said that this is the rule since ancient times.

The other school simply thinks that the salary increase is too much, and if the increase is less, this method is not unfeasible.Of course, there are fewer people in this row.

The reformists were not willing to be left out, and jumped out to support Yue Shan on the spot.

Their reasons are very unified, the tax-free privilege should be abolished unjustly, and increasing the salaries of officials is indeed conducive to maintaining integrity.

Some people did an account for the court on the spot, how many acres of land a county has, how much food it can produce, and where the money and food are spent.

In short, after all the calculations, it is impossible to support a county government by relying on job fields alone. In order to maintain the operation of the government office, officials must find ways to make money.

Those with strong abilities are fine, but those with less ability or a little less willpower can easily be dragged into the water for corruption and bribery to get money they shouldn't have.

In the end, they came to a conclusion that high salaries may not necessarily lead to honesty, but insufficient wages will inevitably lead to corruption.

If the imperial court wants officials to work, it must first let them live well. Only those who are officials can serve the imperial court wholeheartedly without any worries.

This speech can be said to be well-founded, and the opposition who refuted it was speechless.

However, they will not admit defeat on the spot, and still insist that this is an ancient rule that cannot be easily abolished.

When the two sides were at odds, Li Shimin began to consult the opinions of several prime ministers.

Changsun Wuji was the first to stand up and support: "I have been in charge of the official department for many years. I ask myself that I know the officials quite well, and I feel the same about the investigation of the county government's revenue and expenditure just now."

"How many officials who originally had the heart of serving the country have gone astray. Every time I think of this, I feel very sad, so I support Xia Guogong's policy of maintaining integrity with a high salary."

What he said is equivalent to an endorsement of the investigation report just now, and no one can question its authenticity anymore.

And his statement was like a signal. Ma Zhou, Sun Fujia, Fang Xuanling and others also expressed their support, and the dignitaries who had been watching the excitement also stood up to support it.

This time, the officials who supported Yueshan's policy far surpassed the opposition not only in terms of rank, but also in number.

Everyone knows the big picture is settled.

But this does not mean that the opposition gave up just like that. Several officials knelt on the ground and wept bitterly, saying that this is a method that will bring disaster to the country and the people and cannot be done in this way.

In the end, he was coaxed out by the furious Li Shimin.The hard-headed ones were driven away, and the rest naturally didn't dare to speak.

But just when Li Shimin was about to announce the implementation of the policy of replacing tax-free privileges with high salaries, Li Chengqian stood up again:
"Sage, although Xia Guogong's law is a good policy, it is a little too hasty. I think it should be dealt with separately according to different situations."

(End of this chapter)