Chapter 517?? Birds are not exhausted, bows cannot be hidden
For many nobles, the income from three thousand acres of tax-free cultivated land is really not enough to consider. However, each noble family has tens of thousands or even tens of thousands of acres of cultivated land in their name. These cultivated lands only need to pay taxes to the noble family. Generally, nobles
Only 20% of the income is collected, and the state's land tax is also 20%. Logically speaking, farmers pay almost the same tax to the gentry as they do to the state.
The same, but it is local officials who collect taxes. When local officials collect taxes, they often squeeze farmers' field taxes harshly, squeezing their 20% income down to 10%, in order to exploit the people and line their own pockets. Therefore, farmers in order to survive
If you go down, you have to put your fields under the accounts of the nobles. At least the nobles will even reward the common people with the land rent when they collect rent.
However, while farmers reduced their payments, the gentry owned more and more land and the country received less and less tax revenue. Therefore, in order to increase bargaining tax revenue, Emperor Dade had to implement reforms. Compared with the reform law of institutions, in addition to
The country's court is good, but it is not good for the nobles and the common people.
The Holy Han Empire was short of money every year and borrowed money every year. Emperor Dade was well aware of the difficulties, so he asked his grandfather Zhang Kuan for advice.
Zhang Kuan warned him that if he insisted on reform, he would inevitably arouse opposition from the nobles, and advised Emperor Dade to be cautious in administration. This was a very important matter, and even Emperor Daode and Emperor Taigan did not dare to do so.
"Did the emperor and his father lack money when they were in power?" Emperor Dade asked back at that time, leaving Zhang Kuan speechless.
The reform of Emperor Daedei was imperative, and there was endless opposition. Moreover, the natural tax law was opposed by almost everyone from the planning to the introduction. However, Emperor Daede was very determined in his reform, no matter how others tried to persuade him,
He never wavered. Emperor Dade once said that he did not want to be a king who would subjugate his country, but many people were now ministers who would subjugate their country.
When the ministers saw that Emperor Dade was determined to do this, they no longer tried to dissuade him, but used other methods, such as warnings.
In order to prevent Emperor Dade from reforming, Zhao Bu sent people to secretly cause Emperor Dade to drown. The person who carried out the drowning assassination was Yang Guan, the famous Little Dragon King of Jiao Yang in the world.
Zhang Xiaowu naturally knew Yang Guan. He once lurked in the pond of General Saibei's Mansion and helped the rebels defeat the ghost guard's warriors. But he never expected that Yang Guan was the one who assassinated the emperor. Fortunately, Yang Guan did not really
murderous intention, he is just
It was when Emperor Dade was fishing in a boat that he deliberately caused the boat to shake and caught him when he fell into the water. Yang Guan was worried that he would be punished by heaven for killing Long Zi Long Sui, so he gave up the murder of Emperor Dade at the last moment.
Emperor De's method was to escape through the water.
However, Emperor Da De strengthened his determination after this assassination, and even transferred Zhang Xiaowu's ghost guard to Longdu, and appointed him as the commander of the Silver Guards, in charge of the public security of Longdu. Regarding this fall into the water, even Da De
Emperor De thought it was an accident, but he completely trusted Li Canglan and Du Shanbo, thus creating new opportunities for Zhang Biao and Zhao Bu.
Just a month ago, Emperor Dade officially promulgated the tax law reform to all officials, and it will be implemented from next year, the third year of Dade. At this time, Zhang Biao and Zhao Bu thought that they could not delay it any longer, so
He contacted the ministers privately and bribed Li Canglan, thus launching a rebellion.
"Why was Li Canglan bribed?" Zhang Xiaowu asked curiously.
The person in charge of the torture was Li Chuncheng. He replied: "I also tortured Zhao Bu about Li Canglan, but he refused to answer. He insisted on telling you in person before he would give up. Otherwise, he would never tell."
Zhang Xiaowu said: "Is there any special reason? Is Li Canglan's secret too big?"
Li Chuncheng shook his head and said: "He seems to be asking for something from you and wants to use this method to see you. We originally didn't agree to let him see you. After all, this person is really hateful and the toughest."
Zhang Xiaowu smiled and said: "He still has something to ask of me? A man who is destined to die is not asking me to let him go, right?"
Li Chuncheng paused and took Zhang Xiaowu to the prison of the Inspectorate.
The Prison of the Inspectorate naturally imprisoned corrupt officials of the imperial court. Moreover, the Prison of the Inspectorate was built in the Eighth Division and Sixth Courtyard of the Imperial City. It was deep underground and did not see the sun all day long. Only a small area of air defense three feet above the head could breathe, so
People also call the prison of the Supervisory Office as the Tianlao.
After arriving at the Tianlao, Zhang Xiaowu found that the guards of the Tianlao had been replaced by the Imperial Guards. After several days of review, about 800 Imperial Guards were cleared of suspicion and returned to work. But from now on, no one will enjoy the holiday.
Already.
The imperial guards were on duty outside. The jailer guided Zhang Xiaowu and told him to be careful where he stepped. From the ground to the prison, he needed to walk through a long tunnel. The road surface was dark and slippery, but the temperature underground was very high. The further down you go, the higher the temperature. People also
Sweating slowly.
Zhang Xiaowu felt that there was something wrong with his breathing. He stopped and took a few breaths slowly.
Wang Yijin hurriedly said with concern: "General, you are not feeling well yet. Otherwise, let's go back and bring Zhao Bu for interrogation."
"Forget it, we've already come here." Zhang Xiaowu wiped his sweat and said. Somehow, he suddenly thought of Doctor Dong's advice, saying that if he didn't cultivate his body, he could only live to be thirty-five at most. He said
He quickly shook his head to dispel the worry in his heart: "That's nonsense! It's just a little injury." He covered his mouth and nose with his hands and continued walking downward for a while, finally coming to a brighter place.
The jailer of the Inspectorate said: "Master Shaobao, there are only eighteen cells in the Heavenly Prison of the Inspectorate. The first one is the torture room, and the rest are where serious criminals are detained. However, in the past few years, His Majesty was so generous that almost no ministers were supervised.
The Inspection Yuan is in prison, so the Heavenly Prison of the Inspection Yuan has not been used for a long time and has a bit of a damp and musty smell."
Zhang Xiaowu nodded, and was led by the jailer to sit in the execution room. There was not much bad smell here, but more of the smell of blood. It seemed that the ministers who had rebelled had been tortured in the past five days. As for the method and extent of torture,
, just look at the bloodstains on the torture instruments and you can know the cruelty involved.
Maybe it was just the cold truth that the servants brought up, but behind it was the forced confession of cruelty and killing. He sighed, this is the fate of losers, this is the fate of losers, dying in painful torture. So he will never
Failure is not an option and failure is never allowed, especially now.
"General, are you feeling uncomfortable?" Wu Song noticed something strange about him and asked hurriedly.
Zhang Xiaowu said: "It's okay."
Wusong may have sensed his emotions, or he himself thought of this place, so he said: "If Zhang Biao and Zhao Bu succeed in their rebellion, we will be the ones imprisoned here."
Zhang Xiaowu smiled and said: "No."
Wu Song asked: "Why?"
"Because they need us." Zhang Xiaowu smiled confidently, "Just like I let Zhang Kuan go, they will let me go. I can't kill Zhang Kuan, nor can I eradicate Hengshui Bofu and Zhang Dang. Even if Zhang Dang this time
The rebellion failed. If I kill them all, there will be no one left in the court, and I cannot give His Majesty a mess."
Wusong saw that there was no one around him and whispered: "General, have you ever thought of saying this: the bird is gone and the bow is hidden."
Zhang Xiaowu said: "It doesn't matter, the birds will never die, and the bow cannot be hidden. The King of Jin will never be found either."
Wu Song was stunned for a moment, then realized what he was doing and nodded with a smile. He finally felt relieved. Zhang Xiaowu was not stupid and loyal, he just had little ambition. However, if anyone could threaten him, he would definitely try his best to fight back, even including
emperor.
Soon, Zhao Bu was brought up. The former right minister of the Ministry of War was now in tatters and covered in blood, with blood stains on his hair. He exuded the smell of a dying struggle. It seemed that he had suffered a lot of torture.
.
Zhao Bu raised his head and looked at Zhang Xiaowu. It took him a while to recognize him, and he laughed miserably: "The winner is the king and the loser is the bandit. I am convinced. I just want a quick death."
Zhang Xiaowu said: "You are still a hero. You are worthy of being a member of the Xuanwu Army. The heroes of the past died honorably."
Zhao Bu sighed. He was also one of the few survivors after the Xuanwu Army was defeated in the Huashhu River. However, he was not besieged by the Huashhu River, but was sent to Longmen Pass due to injuries. Later, Zhao Bu heard that the Xuanwu Army was besieged.
, then he took two thousand dead soldiers and rushed
He went to the Huashu River to rescue. Although he fought to the death with the Beiyi Army for several times, he was still unable to break through the defense line. In the end, he had to regretfully withdraw his troops. Zhao Bu was also reused by Emperor Taiqian because he was the only army commander who supported the rescue of the Xuanwu Army.
Eventually he became the right minister of the Ministry of War.
Thinking of the prosperous years of the past, and then thinking of the consequences of today's downfall, Zhao Bu couldn't help but smile bitterly. It was also fate. If Zhang Xiao hadn't used force to turn the tide, I'm afraid he would be the right minister today, replacing Xiang Rui in charge of the Eight Departments.
Zhang Xiaowu asked again: "Why did Li Canglan rebel? I am very curious about this. He does not need to rebel at all. His Majesty once told me that he will be reused in the future and even let him rebuild the Xuanwu Army."
Zhao Bu laughed and said: "Your Majesty will use him again? That is just a promise. Do you think that as the Crown Prince's Shaobao, His Majesty will let you go in the future? If you can protect the emperor's world, you can also threaten him.
This time, you are not protecting him, you are threatening him. Anyone who has the ability to threaten the emperor's life does not need any crime, he is born with a capital crime."
Zhang Xiaowu also had to nod his head to admit this truth, which was why he was ready for another song.
Zhao Bu said: "I can tell you the secret of Li Canglan's rebellion, and I will also tell you an important clue, but you must promise me to let my son go. I don't ask him to avenge me, nor do I ask him to
If you are rich and powerful, send him to the southwest. Although the jungle there is dense with poisonous insects and wild animals, there is no threat from anyone, so he can survive."
Zhang Xiaowu nodded without thinking: "I promise you."
Zhao Bu was stunned and asked: "Don't you think about it?"
Zhang Xiaowu said: "You are no longer a person, and I don't need to worry that he will seek revenge from me. I have heard others talk about his experience and character, like a tiger father and a dog son. He is not a person with great ambitions, and he will not do anything for him."
You take revenge. What do I need to worry about? Soon, your son will be exiled to the southwest region. Whether he can survive depends on his fate."
Zhao Bu smiled and said, "It turns out you had already planned it."
Zhang Xiaowu said: "Although I have thought of your request, it is not difficult for me. Tell me, what is the reason that prompted Li Canglan to rebel? I am so curious that this smart man actually did this. Stupid things."
Zhao Bu sighed and then said slowly: "Actually, the reason why Li Canglan rebelled was mostly due to Uncle Dushan's wariness against him."
"Uncle Dushan, beware of him?" Zhang Xiaowu asked curiously, "Uncle Dushan knows that he is going to rebel? So you should be careful early?"
Zhao Bu said: "Li Canglan is very ambitious and has superb martial arts. Among the eighteen adopted sons of Du Shanbo, the other seventeen are no match for him. In terms of martial arts alone, Li Canglan is the first of the eighteen adopted sons. In terms of martial arts, there are few people in the world who can defeat him. But he wholeheartedly wants to be the commander of Xuanwu and lead the Xuanwu army to destroy the Beiyi Kingdom. This is something Dushanbo will never allow. The country established on the ice sheet is a burden and even a disaster for the Holy Han Empire. It must not be a burden to the country because of personal grudges."
Zhang Xiaowu thought in his mind: "For the farming people, the ice fields are naturally a burden, but for the industrialized countries, the vast land is wealth."
Zhao Bu laughed: "In addition, Li Canglan proposed marriage to Uncle Dushan seven years ago."
"Proposal? Du Shanbo's daughter?" Zhang Xiaowu thought for a while and said, "I remember that Du Shanbo had three sons, but two of them are dead, but I don't remember that he had a daughter."
Zhao Bubu: "Li Canglan was only twenty-one years old when he defected to Uncle Dushan. At that time, he saw Uncle Dushan's granddaughter Ye Yuying for the first time and made up his mind not to marry her. Although Ye Yuying was only ten years old at the time, Li Canglan immediately He told Uncle Dushan that he was willing to wait until she turned eighteen before marrying her. Uncle Dushan was worried that Li Canglan was very ambitious, so he adopted him as his adopted son. From then on, Li Canglan was Miss Ye's uncle, so he could not marry her for the time being. she."
Zhang Xiaowu opened his mouth wide, and Wu Song on the side was also dumbfounded. It turned out that Du Shanbo and Li Canglan had this story.
"What do you mean by temporarily?" Zhang Xiaowu asked.
Zhao Bu added: "Bo Dushan later comforted Li Canglan and said that if Miss Yuying did not get married after turning eighteen, he would sever the relationship with Li Canglan as foster father and adopted son, leaving him to propose marriage. As for whether Miss Yuying was willing to do so, Marrying Li Canglan depends on Miss Yuying's wishes. Li Canglan foolishly waited for her for seven years. However, when Miss Yuying was seventeen years old, Uncle Dushan suddenly announced that he would marry his granddaughter to His Majesty. Although Queen Li Canglan pretended not to care on the surface and seemed to have long forgotten Du Shanbo's promise, he always remembered this agreement in his heart. And Du Shanbo blatantly violated the contract and deceived him. Do you think Li Canglan is unruly? Will he be indifferent to his rebellious character? Will he not care? Will he let Dushanbo go? Moreover, he learned about Dushanbo's long-term illness from the Jinyiwei and the White Tiger Army - as the so-called Chong Guanyi Anger is beauty, Li Canglan is such an infatuated person, and his love rival is His Majesty the Emperor."