A Genius Remembers Love in One Second? We provide you with wonderful novels to read.
How could Yu Chengjie not be anxious? How could the Emperor of the Tang dynasty change his mind so easily? But he really couldn't afford to lose. This trip to Chang 'an City to help his father, Pi Luoge, was his last chance. If he lost, he would really be a good-for-nothing in Pi Luoge's eyes. In this way, it would be even more impossible for him to defeat Gelofeng and obtain the right to inherit the title of the King of Nanzhao.
Impatience, resentment, unwillingness, powerlessness, and annoyance. Countless emotions swirled around Yu Chengjie's heart, causing it to feel like it was about to shatter. He even wanted to find someone to beat up to vent the enormous grievance in his heart.
"Will the Emperor of the Tang dynasty really change his mind?"
Yu Chengjie looked at his trusted subordinates nervously.
"Second Prince, don't worry. We will do our best to persuade Right Prime Minister and the others. No matter how high the probability of success is, we will do our best."
"Yes! Second Prince, don't forget that there are too many officials of the Tang dynasty behind us. They all support you. We won't lose like this. "
The future of these trusted subordinates was tied to Yu Chengjie. For this reason, even if Yu Chengjie was useless, they would do their best to support him. As long as Yu Chengjie could inherit the title of the King of Nanzhao, they would be able to live a life of glory and wealth.
Yu Chengjie nodded with a little relief. "This matter depends on you. Don't worry. As long as I, Yu Chengjie, can successfully inherit the title of the King of Nanzhao, you will be the righteous officials of Nanzhao."
"Thank you, Second Prince."
The trusted subordinates were more or less happy to get the promise.
Of course, this was the wishful thinking of Yu Chengjie and others. The officials of the Tang dynasty knew that Yu Chengjie was weak, so they were naturally willing to support him. But when it came to the vital interests of the Tang dynasty, they might not support Yu Chengjie.
When several of Yu Chengjie's confidants were running for the leadership of the rebellion in Nanzhao, almost all the officials of the Tang dynasty that they came into contact with were perfunctory. They accepted Yu Chengjie's gifts, but at the same time, they did not give any promises. They just symbolically said that they would try their best. In fact, they would not really persuade Li Longji and just accepted the gifts for nothing.
#####
In the Zichen Hall of the Daming Palace, the Emperor of the Tang dynasty, Li Longji, was reading through the memorials sent by the Ministry of Revenue. He also asked the Imperial Censor and Minister of Imperial Household, Yang Shenjin, who was standing in the hall, about the income and expenditure of the Imperial Household.
Yang Shenjin was the great-great-grandson of the former Sui Dynasty Emperor, Yang Guang. He was upright and talented. After the death of his father, Yang Chongli, he took over his father's position of Minister of Imperial Household. He also supervised the Imperial Censor and was in charge of the income and expenditure of the Imperial Household.
It could be said that the entire treasury of the capital was managed by Yang Shenjin. He knew the materials and money in the treasury like the back of his hand. Moreover, through strict management systems and superb financial ability, he put an end to the waste and loss of property. This made Emperor Li Longji quite satisfied and relieved that he handed the Imperial Household over to Yang Shenjin to manage. 【Love ↑ Go △ Xiao ↓ Say △ w】
qu
】
Since then, although Yang Shenjin's official position had been rising and he had been appointed as the Imperial Censor, the position of Minister of Imperial Household had always been with him. He was still the main official in charge of managing the Imperial Household.
The reason why Li Longji suddenly cared about the situation of the Imperial Household's financial reserves was because Ang Lee had proposed that Piluoge should not be fully responsible for quelling the rebellion in Cuandi, lest Cuandi become Nanzhao's territory. In this way, the Tang Dynasty would have to send troops to Cuandi.
Sending troops to war required financial, manpower, and material resources as guarantees. Before giving the order to send troops, Li Longji had to understand the basic situation of the Tang Dynasty's treasury. From there, he had to calculate how many strategic resources could be used and the maximum number of troops to send.
However, the situation of the Imperial Household was not very optimistic. The reserves of money were not enough to support the Tang Dynasty's imperial court to wage war on all sides. In order to defend against the strong enemies in the west and north, the Tang Dynasty's resources had been consumed very heavily. It was almost reaching the point of balance. If they opened up a long-term battlefield in the south, the Tang Dynasty's finances would have a tendency to collapse.
Moreover, the financial potential of the Tang Dynasty's imperial court was gradually weakening. As the aristocrats annexed large amounts of land, the 'equalization of land' system, which was the foundation of the Tang Dynasty, was completely collapsed. The consequences were a significant decrease in tax revenue and a gradual increase in exorbitant taxes.
In order to maintain the basic operation of the imperial court and obtain enough financial resources, the Tang Dynasty's imperial court had to transfer the pressure to the ordinary people. As a result, the pressure on the ordinary people to survive was increasing, and the people's satisfaction with the imperial court was gradually decreasing.
Li Longji was well aware of the drawbacks and financial difficulties of the Tang Dynasty's financial policies. He was also very anxious. However, it was difficult to touch the interests of the landlord class and the aristocrats. After all, the Tang Dynasty's country was maintained and ruled by these aristocrats. If these aristocrats were annoyed, it was difficult to guarantee that they would not rebel. It seemed that there was no better way than to increase the burden on the ordinary people.
"The Cuandi Clan is rebelling against the Tang Dynasty. I've decided to send the army to quell the rebellion. However, the reserves of the Imperial Treasury seem to be a little insufficient. Zuozang and Jingcang's reserves are not too much either. Minister Yang, you have to think of a way to get more money as soon as possible."
Li Longji looked at Yang Shenjin and passed the problem to this financial expert.
Yang Shenjin was an old man who had been in the officialdom for many years. He naturally understood Li Longji's eagerness to get a large amount of money. However, he also had his own difficulties. He was only the Minister of the Imperial Treasury, responsible for the income and expenditure of the Imperial Treasury. It was not up to him how the imperial court levied taxes on the ordinary people.
What he could do was to eliminate waste through efficient management and prevent his subordinates from embezzling money from the treasury due to unclear accounts. He really did not have any good ideas on how to increase the treasury's income. As for the drawbacks of the imperial court's tax collection, he did not dare to casually propose any reform ideas in order to avoid offending the aristocrats in the world.
"Your Majesty, I'm only responsible for the income and expenditure of the Imperial Treasury. It's impossible for me to produce a large amount of money. Your humble servant is incompetent. Please forgive me, Your Majesty."
Yang Shenjin had no choice but to tell the truth.
Li Longji knew that Yang Shenjin would answer in this way. He sighed and asked, "Of course I know that you can't produce money for me. However, you are good at managing money and should be very familiar with the tax system of the Tang dynasty. Do you have any good suggestions to increase the source of tax revenue for the imperial court?"
Yang Shenjin was startled when he heard this. The reason why the source of tax revenue was insufficient was that a large amount of land had been occupied by the aristocrats. The ordinary people who worked on the land had become the aristocrats' tenant farmers and the private property of the aristocrats.
With the current "rent adjustment" tax system, the tax was collected according to the number of people. No matter how much land you had, the tax was the same. In this way, the aristocrats who owned thousands of acres of fertile land only had to pay a small amount of tax. As for the tenant farmers who had lost their land and turned to the aristocrats, they were already servants of the aristocrats. Of course, it was impossible for them to pay taxes. In this way, the ordinary people were still poor, the imperial court could not collect taxes, and all the money was concentrated in the hands of the aristocrats.
This was a serious drawback. It was doomed from the moment the imperial court of the Tang dynasty tacitly approved the aristocrats' annexation of land. Yang Shenjin knew this, and so did all the smart people. However, no one dared to say anything in case they offended the aristocrats in the world. Yang Shenjin especially did not dare to say anything because his identity was too special. He was a member of the royal family of the former Sui Dynasty. If he offended the aristocrats of the current dynasty, all kinds of groundless schemes to restore the dynasty would come at him. Obviously, this was not something he could bear.
Yang Shenjin's forehead was covered in cold sweat. After thinking for a long time, he said in a trembling voice, "Your Majesty, the expansion of the Hot Spring Palace will cost a lot of money. If we can temporarily stop the expansion, we can save a lot of money. We can continue the expansion after the land is settled."
When Li Longji heard this, his face immediately turned cold. The Hot Spring Palace was the famous Pure Flowers Palace in the future, but its current name was undoubtedly the Hot Spring Palace. This was where Emperor Li Longji relaxed and entertained. The renovation and expansion was also to make it more comfortable for him to relax. Although it would cost a lot of money, to Li Longji, it was all worth it.
As the ruler of a country, could it be that he did not even have the right to enjoy this little bit of enjoyment? As for Yang Shenjin's suggestion to temporarily stop the expansion of the Hot Spring Palace, he couldn't help but feel a sense of disgust. He believed that as a subject, he should increase his income and reduce his expenditure in other areas. He should not focus on the personal life of the ruler, nor should he make suggestions that would make the ruler unhappy.
"The money needed to expand the Hot Spring Palace is probably just a drop in the bucket! Beloved subject, do you not have a better idea? "
Li Longji said coldly.
Yang Shenjin was forced to the point that his face turned red. He braced himself and said, "Your Majesty, in order to send troops to Tibet this year, we have already imposed an additional tax. If we increase the tax again, I'm afraid that the commoners will not be able to continue living."
"Hmph …"
Li Longji was very angry. He slammed the document in his hand onto the table.
"Your Majesty, this subject is willing to contribute a year's salary to the court."
Seeing that Li Longji was angry, Yang Shenjin hurriedly expressed his support for Li Longji's decision to send troops to Tibet. He also hinted that he could have the court officials contribute a bit of money to fund the military.
When Li Longji heard this, he nodded lightly. He felt that this was a good idea. There were so many court officials in the court. If each of them contributed a portion of money, it would add up to a huge sum. However, the operation of the court depended on these court officials. If he asked them to contribute to the country willingly, he was afraid that these court officials would not be happy. However, if he borrowed money from these court officials in the name of a loan, it was a good idea.
"I don't need you to contribute a year's salary. I only need you to lend it to the court. Also, I plan to borrow money from everyone in the world in the name of the court. When the treasury is full, I will gradually repay the money. What do you think, beloved subject?"
Li Longji thought of a good idea and was very excited.
Yang Shenjin hurriedly said, "Your Majesty is wise. This is indeed a good idea. As long as Your Majesty asks for a loan, everyone in the world will respond. This way, the army's salary for the southern expedition will be settled."
"Alright, Yang Shenjin, I'll leave this matter to you. Go!"
Li Longji urgently needed to raise enough money as soon as possible. Hence, he immediately ordered Yang Shenjin to handle this matter.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Yang Shenjin breathed a sigh of relief.
In fact, he had already thought of this method of borrowing money, but he did not dare to mention it casually. Therefore, he gave a hint and let Li Longji think of this method himself.
After solving the problem of funds, Li Longji began to think about how to deploy the troops. The main force of the border army in the west and north could not be transferred to Cuandi because that was the direction where the Tang dynasty faced the greatest threat. Moreover, Cuandi was high and humid. The main force of the northwest might not be able to fight in Cuandi. Because of the climate, many soldiers would fall ill and lose their fighting ability.
Since the troops in the west and north were not suitable to fight in Cuandi, then he could only mobilize the troops in the capital or Jiannan Circuit.
The number of troops in the capital was enough. However, most of them were the sons of nobles and might not be able to bear the hardships of Cuandi. Jiannan Circuit only had 30,000 troops and could not mobilize too many, so as not to affect the overall situation of the whole Jiannan Circuit.
Although Ang Lee proposed that he only needed 3,000 to 5,000 troops to quell the rebellion in Cuandi, Li Longji always thought it was a joke. In order to win the war in Cuandi, he could not really prepare 3,000 to 5,000 troops and supplies. In his view, if Nanzhao did not play a leading role in quelling the rebellion in Cuandi, he would need at least tens of thousands of troops and supplies. And he also made strategic preparations based on tens of thousands of troops and supplies.
"Summon Ang Lee for an audience."
Li Longji was going to summon Ang Lee and have a good talk with him. After all, he also thought that it was most appropriate to let Ang Lee, a rising star with good performance, be in charge of quelling the rebellion in Cuandi. Only by cultivating a qualified young talent could the Tang dynasty have hope to continue.
In Daye Square, Ang Lee and several of his trusted brothers were cleaning the backyard of the house. The backyard, which was six acres of land, was full of all kinds of weeds. The dense weeds were as thick as a person. If they were not cleaned up, it would become a breeding ground for insects and snakes.
What made Ang Lee puzzled was that there were people living in this house a few months ago. How could such tall weeds grow in the backyard? Did the original owner of the house not clean the backyard?
"Big Brother, there is a lot of hay here. It seems to be from last year. This backyard probably hasn't been cleaned for many years."
"Big Brother, the weeds here are taller than a person. It looks scary. Who lived here before? How could they be so lazy that they didn't even clean up their own backyard?"
"Snake, there are snakes in the grass."
Li An also saw it. There were indeed a few huge grass snakes leaping out from the bushes and sneaking away under everyone's legs.
"Big Brother, there are too many weeds in this yard. If we clean it up like this, I'm afraid it will take many days. It's better to set a fire and burn them all."
"Yes, set a fire. This is the most convenient way."
"No, this is the capital, not White Wolf Village. How can we set a fire casually? As long as we set a fire, we will definitely attract people from the imperial court. At that time, we may be punished."
Ang Lee also felt that it seemed inappropriate to set a fire in the capital. However, the weeds in this six acres of land were as tall as a person. If they didn't use fire, it would be difficult to deal with them.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
