The days are long in summer, and at the turn of Shen and You, there is still a trace of the setting sun on the horizon, pouring slantingly from the trees outside the window into the imperial study.
The lamp beads had been lit, and Li Chengqian was at his desk writing notes and reviewing memorials. The queen walked in gently from the door holding a cup of ginseng tea. Seeing the emperor burying his head in the case, she frowned slightly, stepped forward and placed the ginseng tea in the corner of the imperial desk, and stood
Behind the emperor, he stretched out his slender jade fingers to knead the emperor's temples and said softly: "
How can your body survive without even having dinner?"
Li Chengqian dropped the brush and leaned back against his wife's soft body. He closed his eyes for a while and then opened them again. He looked at the desk and the pile of memorials on the wall and sighed in annoyance.
"Where is the time for meals? These must be dealt with today and handed over to the Secretary. Tomorrow, they must be implemented according to the approval. There can be no delay."
"It's enough to deal with the important matters. Why do we need to take care of everything?" "It's okay to delay it for a day, but day after day, day after day, over time, the affairs of the state pile up like a mountain. As an emperor, I can be compared to a Jie and Zhou people.
, believe it or not, it only takes three to five days, and the censors and officials will have to stand at Chengtianmen
Do you want to accuse me of being a fool who is addicted to pleasure, stupid and lazy?"
Li Chengqian smiled bitterly and shook his head.
He is determined to be a good emperor. Not only to be on par with the previous emperors, but also to be one of the wisest emperors in history. No matter how hard and tiring he is, he has to endure it... The queen also sighed: "But it is like this day after day.
How can I review so many memorials? If something goes wrong, it will be a serious matter. I know that your Majesty is determined to be a good emperor who is not inferior to the Qin Emperor and the Han Dynasty.
But you must also know that times have changed, and the Tang Dynasty today is far from comparable to the Qin and Han Dynasties."
Li Chengqian took a sip of ginseng tea and clicked his tongue, a little helpless, but he also admitted that the queen's words were not bad. Although the Qin and Han Dynasties unified the world, how much territory did they have in total? How many people were there? The empire now has a vast territory. Liaodong in the east is already at dawn.
The Suiye City in Suiye City is still full of stars in the middle of the night, the island in the south is fragrant with coconut palms and the waves are bursting, and the North Sea in the far north is still covered in cold wind, snow and ice.
The land... The country is divided into ten provinces, 360 prefectures, and more than 1,550 counties. There are also Duhu Prefectures and several Jisi prefectures, with a population of tens of millions. Such a huge land area and population means that there are countless
Government affairs by counting, and then fine
It is impossible for a powerful emperor to control the affairs of the world by just one person, so the "Zhengshitang" came into being. The original intention of the birth of the "Zhengshitang" was to assist the emperor in handling state affairs, and was equivalent to a "secretary"
However, as the territory of the empire grew larger and the population increased, the corresponding government affairs became more and more complex.
As time goes by, the power of the "Zhengshitang" will inevitably increase.
Today, the "Zhengshitang" has long become an existence that "seizes imperial power." Even if Li Chengqian feels deeply in crisis and is unwilling to do so, he still has to watch the "Zhengshitang" erode the imperial power bit by bit.
After all, there are too many government affairs in the country. Even if the "Zhengshitang" is abolished, there must be another institution similar to the "Zhengshitang". Otherwise, the overwhelming number of memorials every day will tire the emperor to death...
It is completely impossible to think about life and death like Emperor Qin and Emperor Wu of Han, and Qiangang is arbitrary. It would be great if we could hold important matters in our hands and handle them properly without being ignored by the ministers.
But it is easy to decentralize power, but it is difficult to arrest it. If you are not careful, you will be ignored by your ministers...
When the imperial power falls and he, the emperor, becomes a puppet, won't it be an eternal humiliation?
But even if he wanted to set up another "inner court" to help him deal with state affairs, the ministers in the "Zhengshitang" would definitely not allow it...
So Li Chengqian was in a dilemma.
The queen saw his expression changing and his face tangled, so she said no more.
The husband and wife have known each other very well for many years, how could she not know Li Chengqian's true indecisive character underneath his seemingly generous appearance?
"Your Majesty, Duke Ying, Duke of Yue, Zhongshu Ling, Jing Zhaoyin and other ministers are asking to see you outside the palace, saying that they have something important to report to Your Majesty."
Seeing Wang De coming in to report, Li Chengqian looked at the sky and asked, "Have the ministers just finished discussing matters in the political hall?"
"Exactly."
"Then we are here to talk about the tax increase by the Buddhist and Taoist sects. This is an important matter and cannot be delayed. Let them come over."
"Here."
Wang De accepted the order and bowed out. The queen looked at Li Chengqian's tired face and suggested: "It's already this hour, and all the ministers must have been unable to eat. Why don't I ask the imperial kitchen to prepare a simple meal and send it over? Your Majesty and the ministers were having a meal,
Discussing things on the side?"
Li Chengqian thought for a while and nodded in agreement: "That's very good. There is no need to be extravagant. An ordinary meal will suffice. Let's all just eat a little." We can't drink with the ministers at the same table as the late emperor did, and "demon dance" after getting drunk, but we can have a relaxed meal together
The food is pretty good...
"Here."
The queen retreated from the back hall and went directly to the imperial dining room to deliver the message.
Li Chengqian stood up and stretched his body to stretch his muscles. There was a loud crackling sound in various joints. Then he washed his face and wiped his hands under the service of the palace maid, and then the ministers filed in. The monarch and his ministers greeted each other, and then sat in the room by the window. Everyone knelt down on the floor, and the servants brought a short table and placed a table in front of each person. Seeing that the ministers were confused, Li Chengqian smiled and said: "Dear ladies, you haven't eaten the dinner, have you? I haven't eaten either, Your Majesty.
Finally, I have asked the imperial kitchen to prepare the meal, let’s talk while eating.”
"Here."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
In the end, Li Chengqian still couldn't hold it back. He looked at Ma Zhou and asked: "How did the Buddhist and Taoist parties react to the imperial court's tax increase?"
Ma Zhou said: "Your Majesty, both sides are very supportive and there is no resistance at all."
"Huh?" Li Chengqian was very surprised: "It shouldn't be..."
Everyone explained the various reasons they had discussed before, and Li Chengqian nodded repeatedly in approval. "It seems that Duke Yue has a good grasp of the current situation, and he launched a tax increase just in the middle of the fierce battle between the two factions.
, causing both sides to be wary and worried, so they had to show a "submissive" attitude.
They are afraid that the imperial court will become angry and turn to support their opponents. It is said that those who are good at fighting have no great achievements. The Duke of Yue made great plans and won a decisive victory thousands of miles away, which is the greatest achievement."
Fang Jun said with a smile: "Your Majesty is so flattering, how dare you take the role of a minor minister? Brother Bin Wang is responsible for this matter, and the credit will naturally belong to Brother Bin Wang. The minor minister just raised his head, and he must not dare to take credit."
It has been a long time since the monarch and his ministers had been so harmonious and friendly. With the exchange of words, it seemed that all the barriers in the past had disappeared and they were reconciled.
Ma Zhou looked indifferent: "Not only was the Duke of Yue the first to propose this matter, but the detailed strategy was also designed by the Duke of Yue. It should be the credit of the Duke of Yue, and lower officials dare not be corrupt."
Fang Jun was speechless: "You are such a boring person. I am just being humble. When His Majesty gives you a few more words of encouragement, I will take the credit and take credit for it. Who would sincerely pass the credit to you? You are being sentimental."
Seeing Ma Zhou's embarrassment and helplessness, the emperor and his ministers all laughed. Although there were civil and military conflicts within the imperial court, although there was unrest within the clan, although the family's roots were still intact, and although the Hu tribes in the border areas were eager to make a move... the empire's national power was growing day by day.
, the people live in peace and all industries prosper
, the army is fighting on land and sea, invincible, and some hidden dangers are not worth mentioning compared with the overall prosperity. The chamberlain brought the meal and placed it on the low table in front of everyone. Li Chengqian picked up the chopsticks and raised the bowl:
"It's already late today, so I won't prepare any drinks. Just use some meal mats to fill your stomach. I'll wait until the Zhongyuan period.
There will be a banquet in the palace to entertain all my dear friends."
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
No one spoke during the meal. When Li Chengqian finished eating, everyone quickly put down their chopsticks. The waiters took the food away, wiped it clean, and served fragrant tea. Then they began to discuss government affairs.
Li Chengqian drank tea and asked Ma Zhou: "Since both Buddhism and Taoism have cooperated in the implementation, let's seize the time this morning to prevent changes." "Your Majesty, don't worry, the minister has transferred capable officials from the Jingzhao Mansion and the Ministry of Civil Affairs, and also from the academy.
He seconded dozens of students who were good at arithmetic and immediately went to temples and Taoist temples in various places in Jingzhao Prefecture to first measure their fields and then inspect their houses.
If you want to build businesses and shops, you must thoroughly investigate the properties of temples and Taoism in various places." The two sects of Buddhism and Taoism are extremely special existences. They relied on the power of these two sects at the beginning of the founding of the country. After the founding of the country, these two sects naturally took advantage of the opportunity.
Sitting big. Because the imperial court gave him various preferential treatment and privileges, plus his unique
The imperial court turned a blind eye to its rapid development and was helpless to do anything about its influence. To this day, it is completely unknown how many industries the two factions own and how many people they hide.
Now it is appropriate to take advantage of the opportunity of increasing taxes to explore its territory. If the two major sects with such powerful power and influence cannot be firmly controlled by the imperial court, it will be a very dangerous thing.
Changes will not only cause turmoil in Guanzhong, but also the entire world will be involved in the flames of war.
... Li Chengqian nodded and told Fang Jun: "You will personally be in charge of Xuanwumen. During the period of measuring the land and real estate of the two sects of Buddhism and Taoism, you will be in control of the Jinwu Guards on both sides. You must ensure peace and tranquility in Guanzhong. If anyone has evil intentions, he will be suppressed immediately."
Pressure!" The strength of the two sects of Buddhism and Taoism is too great, and there are many factions within them, which are complicated. Now they are willing to cooperate with the court to collect taxes, but they may not be consistent in the future. If there is another wave of trouble, it will inevitably cause turmoil in the capital. There must be strong figures at all times.
He was vigilant and killed ruthlessly when he noticed something was wrong. This was something that no one else could do and would not dare to do. Only by putting the safety of the capital in Fang Jun's hands could he sleep peacefully.
Liu Ji, who was drinking tea on the side, was filled with helplessness. His Majesty and Fang Jun had been estranged from each other recently, and they kept getting into trouble. It seemed that they were already estranged. However, if something happened, you could see the importance of Fang Jun in His Majesty's heart. No more arguing.
Nao, Fang Jun is still the most trusted person by His Majesty. Looking at the court and the clan, no one can surpass him...