Chapter 50: Reducing the income of the imperial clan
Pei Ju already had an idea in his mind on how to obtain the emperor's understanding. For the emperor and the court, what they needed most now was nothing more than food or money. As the Prime Minister of the Political Affairs Hall, he naturally knew that in the past two years,
, destroying the Turks, and natural disasters have emptied the Ministry of Civil Affairs' warehouses.
If he could donate food and money to the emperor for free, it might be effective. But he was not very sure about this. After all, if the emperor used this to target the Pei family, he could also get these things.
Thinking of this, he thought of Zheng.
If he could ask Zheng Shanguo what price he paid, he would feel more confident. But when he thought of Zheng, he felt sick in his heart.
Zheng definitely betrayed him.
Besides food and money, what else could Pei have that could make the emperor's heart flutter?
field!
Only land can make the emperor's heart move.
Pei Ju smiled bitterly and said, "Maybe I can find a way."
"What solution?" Pei Xuanji asked.
"Dedicate Pei's field."
"This... can't be done, sir. Farming is the foundation of the Pei family. If it is all handed over to His Majesty the Emperor, how will the Pei family be appeased?" Pei Xuanji said: "My lord, why don't I go and ask for help from the Concubine Xian?
Bar."
"Shut up!" Pei Ju shouted angrily, "You idiot, you do stupid things!"
"I......"
"Once you go to find Concubine Xian and ask Concubine Xian to intercede for Pei, it will be over while Concubine Xian is in the palace!" Pei Ju said, "You are not allowed to interfere in politics in the harem. If you do this, you will only give the queen a handle against Concubine Xian.
idiot!"
After a while of scolding, Pei Xuanji shrank his head and did not dare to speak any more.
Pei Ju said: "Go and find the land register of Pei's fields in Hedong, and let's sum it up."
"Sir, do you really want to do this?" Pei Xuanji couldn't bear to ask.
Pei Ju sighed: "Why am I willing to do this, but if I don't do this, Pei will never have a chance to recover in the Zhenguan Dynasty. I don't care, but what about you?"
Hearing this, Pei Xuanji's expression changed unpredictably, and finally he nodded helplessly.
"yes."
Three days later, Manlu Hall.
Li Zhiyun looked at the memorial and felt very troubled about the number of clan kings, various subsidies, and salaries.
The Li family of the royal family was canonized by the late emperor in quite a number of counties and princes. Just the money and food supplies given to these clan kings every year was a large expense. In the past, when the country was peaceful and the people were safe, nothing could be seen. Now disasters occur frequently in various places.
, the imperial court could not make ends meet, and this expenditure suddenly became an eyesore.
"Do you want to take action?" Li Zhiyun rubbed his chin.
After thinking about it, I decided to postpone my plan to cut the titles of these useless kings. Firstly, he had not been on the throne for a long time, and secondly, everything was complicated. If these clan relatives started to cause trouble, it would be enough for him to drink a pot.
Still have to wait.
However, you can first limit the income from those who do nothing but eat.
He picked up a pen and wrote down the order on the memorial, then handed it to Gao Liangzhong and asked him to send it to the Shangshu Province for execution.
Soon after, this decree spread, and Li Shuliang, Zong Zhengqing, found the emperor.
Political Hall.
"Your Majesty, I heard that you want to reduce the expenses of the clan?"
"It is true." Li Zhiyun said earnestly: "Uncle Emperor, the harvests everywhere this year are very bad. After thinking about it, I still feel that we need to increase revenue and reduce expenditure."
Li Shuliang said: "Your Majesty, I have no objection to this. However, the decree states that the clan food and towns will no longer be allocated directly to the clan by the local government according to the system, but will be handed over to the imperial court for unified distribution. Isn't this inappropriate?"
In Li Zhiyun's decree, two orders were written to limit the income of the clan.
One is to stipulate that the food entitlement of a clan king shall not exceed 3,000 households. Once a descendant ascends the throne, the food entitlement will be reduced routinely.
The second one is what Li Shuliang said. In the past, the local government collected taxes and gave the portion of the clan king's share directly to the clan king according to the number of households in the town. But Li Zhiyun changed the distribution method.
The portion due to the clan kings will be handed over uniformly, and the court will uniformly distribute it to the kings of each province.
To put it simply, in the past, the local government gave the money directly to the clan king. Now, the local government gives the money to the court, and the court transfers it to the clan king.
This is very interesting, but also very fatal to the clan king.
Because once the order is established, how much food the clan kings will receive depends entirely on how the emperor distributes it.
Moreover, if any clan king disobeys, the emperor can directly cut off his food supply.
This is simply more fatal than directly reducing food supply.
"What's wrong?" Li Zhiyun asked.
Li Shuliang said: "This system has been around for a long time. If your Majesty changes it rashly, it may cause turmoil."
"Unrest?" Li Zhiyun said amusedly: "Uncle Huang means that if I insist on going my own way, will the clan members rebel against me?"
"I never meant this!" Li Shuliang quickly denied.
Hearing this, Li Zhiyun snorted, stood up and walked around.
"Uncle Emperor, the system you mentioned is no longer applicable to today's people. Just like the Qin Dynasty changed the enfeoffment into counties and counties, we must keep pace with the times."
Li Shuliang didn't care, he didn't have a lot of food, and he was also a well-known rich man in Chang'an. Naturally, he wouldn't compete with the emperor for three melons and two dates.
However, other clans came to him to seek justice, which gave him a headache.
But the emperor made it clear that he wanted to force the clan members to acknowledge this order.
He is not stupid either. The emperor's order is actually to restrict and control the clan.
"Your Majesty, the opinions among the clan members are quite strong now. Do you think we should tone down a little or two, and then we'll see you later..."
Li Zhiyun interrupted him and asked: "Uncle Emperor, do you mean that you, Zong Zhengqing, can't control people?"
Li Shuliang was in a dilemma, if he answered yes.
Zong Zhengqing's position will be lost, and his position in Zhengshitang may also be lost. Even the opportunity given by the emperor to sell soap will be taken away.
If the answer is no, he will have to face those clan members who are unwilling to accept the order, and will be in a dilemma.
"I understand." Li Shuliang agreed.
Li Zhiyun patted him on the shoulder, "Uncle, the late emperor told me when he left that he should listen to his advice and discuss with him when encountering problems. The late emperor also said that his uncle was loyal to the court and would definitely solve my problems for me.
What the late emperor said is indeed true."
Hearing this, Li Shuliang forced a smile on his face.
"I dare not live up to the reputation of the late emperor."
Li Zhiyun chuckled, "Uncle Huang is worth it."
He did not raise Li Shuliang in vain, and it was natural for Li Shuliang to do the evil. Now Li Shuliang has been manipulated to death by him in terms of power and wealth, so he can only obey his orders.
When sending Li Shuliang away, he happened to meet Pei Ju.
Pei Ju has been recuperating at home these days. Today he has recovered a little and hurried back to the political hall.
The king and his ministers went to the inner room and sat down.
Li Zhiyun slowly picked up the tea cup and took a sip.
"Mr. Pei, I told you that you are a great hero of the Tang Dynasty. If you are feeling sick, you should have a good rest and don't hurt your body. I am still young and I still need more help from Mr. Pei."
Pei Ju chuckled and said: "Your Majesty cares for me, and I will bear it in my heart, so I cannot let you down."
"Haha, Mr. Pei is still so funny."
In the relaxed atmosphere of communication, it was completely impossible to tell that the emperor actually wanted to kill the other party.
Pei Ju said: "Your Majesty, I think it would be a good move to transfer Pei Shiqing to Luozhou. Your Majesty has such foresight and foresight, which makes me sigh with emotion."
"Wither's little trick made Mr. Pei laugh." Li Zhiyun waved his sleeves and was quite humble.
The monarch and his ministers chatted and laughed, quite harmoniously.