The main reason why the world thinks that he is not a qualified successor to the monarch is that he has little political talent and an indecisive temperament. He does not have the courage of Emperor Taizong to think about the world, the wisdom to guide the country, and the decisiveness to kill. Li Chengqian
No argument can be made and no argument can be made.
There are even times when he has to admit that Pheasant Nu would be better as emperor than him. At least if he changes his place and wants to fight to the death when his throne is deposed, there is a high probability that no one will follow him in rebellion.
…
But Li Chengqian didn't think there was anything wrong with this.
Although Emperor Taizong was not the founder of the country, he conquered most of the Tang Dynasty. Naturally, he must have the domineering power to conquer mountains and rivers. Otherwise, how can he subdue the heroes and dominate the world? And he is the king who ascended the throne, and his greatest responsibility is to maintain his legacy.
Instead of exploring, the most important thing is to carefully manage the empire that Emperor Taizong conquered and consolidate the foundation of the Tang Empire. If you blindly pursue the expansion of territories and destroy countless countries, it will easily shake the foundation of the empire.
, once the root element is damaged, even if there is no danger for a while, it may still cause disaster.
As long as you can keep the word "benevolence", you will be a qualified emperor.
If he can successfully create some unprecedented innovations after stabilizing the situation, he will be a truly wise king, enough to go down in history and be famous for generations to come...
Therefore, he felt that there was no need to kill the pheasant slave, and he could not bring himself to kill him.
Thinking back to the time when Queen Wende held his hand before her funeral and repeatedly told him to be friendly to his brothers and unite as brothers, and when he thought about the pheasant slave kneeling in front of Queen Wende's bed and crying sadly, with tears streaming down his face, he felt soft-hearted...
…
Forget it, if you are weak, be weak. If you are a brother, let him live, so that you can have peace of mind.
…
Therefore, Li Chengqian did not comment on the advice of the ministers, and instead asked: "What kind of punishment should be given to Xiao Yu, Cui Xin, Chu Suiliang and others?"
An official said angrily: "Such traitors have caused harm to the country and the people, and will never be forgiven for their crimes. Your Majesty should issue an imperial edict to accuse them in detail, and then display their heads outside Chengtian Gate to serve as a warning! At the same time, the guilty members of his clan should be held accountable.
,Severe punishment without mercy!”
Li Chengqian remained silent. Even fools knew that the identities of Xiao Yu and Cui Xin were extraordinary and could not be dealt with easily. Otherwise, Jiangnan and Shandong would immediately change, with disastrous consequences. Those who could sit in the court were all outstanding figures in the world.
, how can we not see this? The reason why they clamored for "severe punishment" of Xiao Yu and Cui Xin was just intentional. It was to implicitly remind these two people that the punishment should not be too harsh.
In short, it is suspected of coercing the imperial court...
Liu Zi sorted out his words in his mind, and was about to plead for Xiao Yu and Cui Xin. Before he could speak, he heard someone say: "Your Majesty, you must not do it! Although Xiao Yu has made a big mistake and his crime is unpardonable, he is still his wife after all.
The meritorious service of the Tang Dynasty not only assisted Emperor Zuo Gaozu at the founding of the country, but was also regarded as a humerus by Emperor Taizong. Now that your majesty executed this person when he came to the throne, he would be misunderstood by the world as a mean-spirited, cold-blooded, and unkind person.
If you can deprive him of his title, remove him from his post, order him to return to his hometown to be recuperated, and serve him as an old man, then the world will definitely praise your majesty for his kindness."
Liu Zi was robbed of his words and almost lost his breath. He followed the voice and found that the speaker was Xu Jingzong...
I couldn't help but wonder in my heart that the reason why I wanted to plead for Xiao Yu and Cui Xin was to win over the powerful people in Jiangnan and Shandong, so as to increase my power against the growing military.
After all, after this battle, the clans all over the world were severely damaged. Even Xiao Yu was not strong enough to compete with him. He only needed to win over these two clan factions, and he would be able to secure his position as a civil servant leader and be able to suppress it internally. Each faction has a stable foundation and can compete with the military externally, killing two birds with one stone.
However, Xu Jingzong was promoted to the Minister of Rites by an imperial edict, so he regarded himself as a "lone minister". He was worried about His Majesty's needs and thought about His Majesty's thoughts. As for his official reputation and prestige, he completely ignored them and blindly used slanderous words to flatter his superiors, like a hawk. , why are you trying to protect Xiao Yu at this time?
Subconsciously, he felt something was wrong. Liu Zi suppressed his inner thoughts, did not speak, and waited quietly to see what happened.
As expected, after Xu Jingzong's words, the military, which should express its stance most, fell silent collectively. Li Ji, Li Jing, Fang Jun remained silent, and even Li Daozong stayed out of the matter...
What exactly is going on?
Liu Zi was puzzled and became more and more uneasy. It was obvious that there were some things that he, the Zhongshu Ling, did not know, and it must be a big deal to bypass him, the Zhongshu Ling, lest he interfere with it... …
Li Chengqian asked: "Where are Xiao Yu, Chu Suiliang, and Cui Xin?"
Li Ji replied: "I am waiting for your Majesty's summons at Chengtian Gate."
Li Chengqian thought for a while and sighed: "At least it's a battle between the king and the minister. Although you have failed me and the empire, I can't bear to punish you face to face. Moreover, this matter involves serious matters, so we can discuss it later."
"Here."
Li Ji agreed and said no more.
Liu Zi frowned, feeling more and more something was wrong...
Li Chengqian took a sip of tea, looked around at the ministers in the palace, and said calmly: "Dear ministers, do you have any other important matters to discuss? If there is nothing else, they will return to their Yamen to implement the important matters that have been agreed upon. The severe winter is approaching, and the people in Guanzhong are suffering from military disasters. The losses have been heavy, and all ministries and government agencies must cooperate sincerely to properly handle disaster relief matters, and do not allow the people in Guanzhong to be separated from their wives and families."
"Here!"
The ministers agreed in unison, and then many people wanted to get up and leave thinking that nothing happened.
Xu Jingzong suddenly said: "Your Majesty, I have one more thing."
Li Chengqian raised his eyebrows and said, "Tell me."
All the ministers had to sit down again and listen to what else Xu Jingzong had to do.
Xu Jingzong sat upright and said with emotion: "Your Majesty has learned clearly that at the end of the Sui Dynasty, the world was full of disputes and troubled times. Bandits and bandits were swarming everywhere, wars were everywhere, wars were endless, and people's livelihood was in decline. At the same time, many local government functions were paralyzed, household registrations were lost, and farmland was lost. Chaos. The Tang Dynasty succeeded the Sui Dynasty, and many policies were inherited in one continuous line. From the founding of Emperor Gaozu to the Zhenguan period, although the national population census was carried out many times, it was only a superficial effort, and no real efforts were made to clarify and conduct a census. Now His Majesty has ascended the throne. , Benevolence shines all over the world, and the new dynasty has a new atmosphere, why not accurately conduct a census of the world's population and add them to the list, so that the people of the world can bathe in the emperor's favor? What's more, this time the Jin Dynasty mutiny, all the nobles in the world were more or less involved, including Jiangnan, Shandong and other places even recruited private soldiers to enter the customs. Countless people died in battle, and countless people were missing. It was time to re-determine the population and measure the acres of land, so that the imperial court would have a clear understanding of the world's situation, so that it could formulate various decrees to restore national power. of letting go.”
As soon as these words came out, there was a sound of gasping in the Wude Hall...
The ministers looked at Xu Jingzong in horror, thinking that although this guy is your majesty's loyal dog, he actually dares to dig up the foundation of the world's great families for your majesty's great cause!
What is the foundation of the family family?
It is the collection of thousands of books accumulated over the years, the official career and politics that have been monopolized for generations, the fertile fields connected by long distances, the rows of mansions and mansions, but most importantly, the servants who directly join the family!
Population means everything.
The current main tax system of the Tang Dynasty is the "renting system", which is a bit complicated to say, but the core point is the "capitation tax", which is taxed according to the head!
The aristocratic families control a large number of people, thereby creating huge wealth. At the same time, these people are hidden and not shown in the official household registration. They become the private property of the aristocratic family and naturally avoid court taxation.
If the imperial court is allowed to conduct a population census, the aristocratic families will have to pay a huge "poll tax" and their wealth will be severely reduced. In comparison, measuring acres is nothing...
"Your Majesty, you must not do this!"
"Nowadays, various places have suffered heavy losses and the people are in dire straits. It is time to recuperate and benefit the people. If a population census is forced, it will inevitably cause chaos in various places, and the gains outweigh the losses!"
"Not only that, aristocratic families from all over the country have a large number of slaves. These slaves are all slaves. Their identity can be traced back to Wude. During the Zhenguan period, they came from different sources and were complex. If they were to screen them one by one, it would consume a lot of manpower and material resources.
, but if you treat them without any screening, it will cause the family to suffer losses... Please think again, Your Majesty."
"The Tang Dynasty inherited the Sui Dynasty, and many lands were inherited from the previous Sui Dynasty. After many years of evolution, the context has become impossible to examine. Rushing to pursue it will only cause confusion. In the end, it will still be impossible to clarify. Why bother?"
"Xu Jingzong is really a traitor who has brought harm to the country. I am so bold that I beg your Majesty to strip him of his official position and send him to the army!"
"At this time when the world is calming down, anyone who makes false claims about starting a war must have ulterior motives and should be severely punished to serve as a warning to others!"
The sky above the main hall was like a vegetable market. Many ministers were furious and tried to stop him. They even described Xu Jingzong, who proposed this opinion, as a heinous person who brought disaster to the country and the people. They wished they could eat his flesh alive to get rid of their worries.
hatred.
Xu Jingzong seemed to be in the center of a storm, with spittle flying towards him. However, how could he be afraid of this?
Faced with the challenge and criticism, Danran calmly retorted: "The whole world is not the king's land, and the shores of the land are not the king's ministers. If your majesty can't even figure out how many people and how much land there is in the empire, how can he be called the supreme emperor of the Nine-Five-Year Plan?"
The king rules the world? We are all ministers, and it is our duty to share your worries for the king. Why are you trying so hard to shirk it? What are your intentions?"
Are they all talking about high-sounding morals, or are they trying their best to hide their population and avoid paying taxes to the court? Emperor Taizong suppressed the aristocratic families in the past, and it makes sense for His Majesty to continue this national policy today. The aristocratic families are like leeches lying on the body of the empire, sucking the blood, greedy and shameless
Especially...
Some ministers worried: "If we forcibly promote population census and land measurement, it will inevitably arouse dissatisfaction among the clans in various places. If someone uses this to criticize the court, slander His Majesty, or even rise up, the world will be in chaos!"