Big people always have to make a disgusting look that is close to the people.

However, Li Chengqian felt that instead of acting, it was better to really have a deep understanding of the people. After all, Datang's policies always have to be implemented on them, whether they are good or bad, they are the ones who have the most right to speak.

Seeing that the prince was surrounded by a group of elderly people, Chang He wanted to stop it, but he didn't know how to start. They are all seventy or eighty years old, so they dare to come to the front by virtue of their age, and if an old man of such age pulls too much in front of the public, he may appear on the impeachment note tomorrow and directly lose his reputation.

I don't know if it's an illusion, Li Chengqian always feels that being surrounded by a group of old people brings more security than a group of guards, I don't know how much.

"So, you support the resumption of taxation by the imperial court?"

An old man from a homeless background said with a smile: "Naturally, it is supportive, the court is merciful, although we were coaxed out of the mountain in the name of raising taxes, but after that, it was still reduced again and again until there was none?" In the first two years of coming out of the mountain, we didn't collect taxes if we didn't collect them, and now we can be regarded as settling down at home, and we already owe taxes to the court, and if we don't collect them, we will live a bad life. ”

On the other hand, the old man, who was not born as a homeless person, also said: "This is the reason, only by paying taxes, can we live in peace." Besides, only when the taxes are enough can the court have the money to go to war with the bastards outside, we all understand these truths. ”

Li Chengqian nodded, leaving other places aside for the time being, it seems that the restart of taxation around Chang'an is not a big problem. The peasants, in fact, are very contented people, as long as the life goes on, they do not care how much tax the court collects, on the contrary, if it is impossible to live, their resistance will also make the dynasty collapse, no matter how strong it is.

"It seems that Lone will have to send officials to check the situation when he goes back today, the taxes around Chang'an, it's time to restart, the old people go home and talk to the descendants of the family, and if they can't get by, tell the court, the court will not forcibly collect taxes."

"Hey, hey? We know? We know..."

A conversation that lasted from noon to afternoon? A lot of the time it's Li Chengqian who listens? The old people said. But that's it, and it makes them extremely satisfied. Compared to the mysterious and majestic emperor? It's still easy for His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to get along with, and there is not so much pressure.

The old Liu Tou of the cold powder stall is holding the silver in his hand? Afraid of losing it? He is ready to pass on this piece of broken silver as a family heirloom, no matter how poor he is, he will not spend it.

On the way back, Zhang Yun couldn't help but ask, "Your Highness, you are in a good mood today." ”

Li Chengqian smiled before saying, "It's really a good mood?" Presumably what's happening today? Many people in the DPRK and China have seen it. Kong Yingda's good strategy, Lone changed from passive defense to active attack, and it is estimated that he shocked I don't know how many people. I used to always want to pretend to be a pig and eat a tiger, but now I find out that I have been pretending to be a pig for a long time? People will really think that you are a pig, and everyone will want to come and kick it. So huh? Sometimes you still need to roar twice. If you don't yell, who knows you're not easy to mess with? ”

Humming a little tune back to the East Palace? When passing by Zuo Chunfang, Kong Yingda naturally followed behind the prince? They went into the study together.

Don't have a lot of money to accumulate today? The most common ones are reports on disaster relief. Ever since he took the whitewashed memorabilia as a disgraceful criticism of officials? There is no longer a hidden twist and turn, and it is not until this moment that the number of people who are really affected is really reliable.

"More than 20,000 people were affected by the disaster, and countless farmlands were destroyed, which is a big disaster."

Kong Yingda sat under Li Chengqian's hand, and when he heard this, he arched his hand and said: "Your Highness, Hedong Province was originally because of the withering of the population of the conquest at the end of the Sui Dynasty, so the situation of more fields than farmers is the worst, and destroying some farmland is nothing, as long as you ensure that people don't have accidents." Hedong Province has been enjoying tax reductions and exemptions over the years, and it will not take long for people's livelihood to recover. ”

Li Chengqian nodded, with Kong Yingda here, he wanted to know the people's situation somewhere, so he didn't need to write to ask Fang Xuanling and others. Lao Kong, as the prince's left concubine, is actually like Wei Zheng, in addition to having the power to refute the documents he reviewed, he also has the responsibility of admonishing. But fortunately, he has a better temper than Wei Zheng, and he won't scare people at every turn.

After quickly approving the folds, they all moved to Kong Yingda's table, and Li Chengqian didn't go back, so he sat opposite Kong Yingda and said: "Your plan succeeded, Zhang Xiao really took the bait, and now he is controlled by the Baiqi Division, to be honest, I still think that using such a strategy is a bit inferior, at least for Qingque, it is very inappropriate." ”

Picked up a letter of review and looked at it, Kong Yingda nodded with satisfaction, and then added the prince's seal, and after finishing the work, he put down the fold and said seriously: "It's not appropriate?" Does it mean that you are too naïve, do you think the old man is full of food and support to do this kind of thing that will attract the resentment of King Wei? Not yet entrusted? Before Li Sikong died, he recommended to His Majesty that the old man should serve as an important position in the East Palace, and specially asked the old man to take more care of you. Your Highness, it's good that you want to maintain the brotherhood with King Wei, but this has to be on the premise that King Wei doesn't have a careerist like Zhang Xiao by his side. With him, when the Wei Wangfu has too much power, believe it or not, it will be the next Tiance Mansion. ”

After speaking, Kong Yingda coughed and continued to look at the twists and turns, as if nothing had happened.

Li Chengqian arched his hand, he knew that Lao Kong had already gone against the grain when he said such a thing, and now the two of them could only say nothing.

Return to your desk and put your hand on your chin.

I'm still a little impressed! Even when the old gentleman was dying, he was thinking about himself.

The statement of the old gentleman and the old Kong is actually not wrong, although the emperor's father does want this position, but, at least on the surface, it is the coercion of those people in the Tiance Mansion who plays a major role. There is no Fang Du and the like, at most, the process is a little more tortuous.

In the final analysis, it is the thoughts of the superior themselves that are the most important.

Regarding Qingque, Li Chengqian admits that he has not mishandled the relationship, at least Li Tai's performance in Zhang Xiao's matter is very normal, and there is no resentment.

Just when Li Chengqian was thinking about things, Kong Yingda had already re-reviewed the folds, stamped them with the prince's seal, and after confirming that they were correct, he packed them and ordered the officials to send them to Menxia Province.

Looking back and seeing that the prince was still in a daze, Kong Yingda smiled, got up and left quietly.

Now, he finally understood a little why Li Gang was so interested in this disciple. It's because it's a piece of jade! There are many smart people, but it is rare to be so smart at the age of thirteen. What's even more rare is that people are not complacent and can listen to contrary advice. Such a holy monarch billet, as long as he is a courtier, will like it. During this period of time, he rarely had the opportunity to correct the prince's comments, as long as the comments written down by the pen were extremely correct and accurate. To say a big rebellious word, even if the crown prince ascends the throne now, he will become a qualified emperor.

Before leaving the main gate of the East Palace, Kong Yingda turned right and went to Zhongshu Province. Tomorrow is the official's period of rest, and he is going to ask Fang Xuanling if he has any thoughts about boating and drinking.

Zhongshu Province, as the core department of the imperial court, has always been busy, but compared with the bustling outside, the lobby of Zhongshu Province is much quieter, and only Fang Xuanling is alone at the table to deal with the twists.

"Haha, old fang, I want to be lazy and be discovered by the prince, don't you still return to the life of the case?"

Fang Xuanling was about to shoot the case, and when he saw that the person who came in was Kong Yingda, his anger dissipated. Pointing to the teapot and cup, he motioned to Kong Yingda to take care of himself, and continued to deal with the unfinished letter.

After the performance was finished, Fang Xuanling breathed a sigh of relief, got up and sat next to Kong Yingda, and said with a wry smile: "This is also a matter of being measured, Your Majesty sent to the grassland are all low-level officials who are eager to make merit, and they all have the right to play, although this can form a strong constraint on the grassland, but for the imperial court, it is a burden." Do you know how much grassland is burned every day? More than 200 letters! ”

Kong Yingda wiped a handful of sweat that didn't exist, more than two hundred a day? No, it's too much, you know, it's not a day or two, it's almost every day.

"Your Majesty sent these young officials into the grassland, in fact, to use their meritorious service to find a way to clean up the grassland in a short period of time. As everyone knows, for the grassland, the bond is so easy to form? I also asked the prince the same question, guess what the prince said? ”

Hearing Kong Yingda mention the crown prince, Fang Xuanling immediately became interested, arched his hand and said, "I want to hear about it." ”

"The prince said, now if you want the grassland people to be obedient, it is tantamount to a fool's dream, the empire wants to form an effective bond with the newly acquired land, and the deterrence of force is only a short-term approach, the most correct thing is to slowly erode the grassland people, so that they gradually begin to rely on the Central Plains, until they leave the Central Plains and can't survive, you can find a grassland man at random and ask him where he is, and he will reply that he is a member of the Tang Dynasty."

Fang Xuanling laughed: "This opinion can be regarded as a unique way, the old man really thinks it makes sense, but what is the saying is the law, what is His Highness going to do?" ”

Kong Yingda took a sip of tea before saying, "His Highness said that if it were him, he would send flour to the grassland, and encourage non-grassland areas to reclaim fields, and encourage semi-herders to settle down." In this way, the population will settle down, and a stable population will have a sense of belonging. The old man felt that although this idea was still very immature, he had to say that the direction was right. ”

Fang Xuanling nodded: "You're right, even the old man thinks that this framework is very feasible, as long as you add more bricks and tiles, you can form a complete building." It's ridiculous that His Majesty now thinks that he is one in the world, and now he is becoming more and more arbitrary in doing things, and he always feels that he can completely the heart of the world alone. ”

Kong Yingda smiled bitterly: "What else do you want him to do?" Don't look at the many things he has done, which is shameful, but whether it is the troubled times at the end of the Sui Dynasty or after the establishment of the Tang Dynasty, he has shed an unknown amount of blood for this country and this ethnic group. These are all established facts, and they can't be changed, so it's not a big deal to be proud. ”

As soon as he finished speaking, Kong Yingda noticed that there was someone behind him, and before he was about to jump up, he found that it was Wei Zheng.

Since it is Wei Zheng, there is no problem, talking about the emperor in private, although the emperor said on the face that he would not care, but everyone encouraged him, but no one knew when the emperor would overthrow his previous words.

"Go on, the old man's government affairs have also been dealt with, and I just want to chat with you two for a while."

As he spoke, Wei Zheng handed over a book of recitals in his hand to Kong Yingda.

After looking through these letters, Kong Yingda was puzzled: "Regarding the maintenance of commercial taxes, didn't the prince say the reason?" Why do you want to bring up the old thing again and increase the business tax? ”

Wei Zheng poured himself a cup of tea, and only after drinking it did he say: "The two of you run between the official offices and the house all day long, and you don't know how to manage the caravan at home, so it's understandable that you don't know. Do you know that the old man was ordered to supervise the noble industry, only to find out that we were all deceived by false poverty, and the noble and wealthy families are inexhaustible, where does the inexhaustible money come from? The dowry of a wealthy family is just a drop in the ocean, and what really makes them strong is actually business.

As a local wealthy family, their ability to control local commerce has almost reached the extreme, and many hot-selling commodities are handled by their own clan or side branches, no matter how poor they are, they are also their own domestic servants. My Datang levies a commercial tax, which is one out of twelve in kind, and such a tax rate is too low. In addition, His Majesty relaxed the restrictions on the nobles, and many people let go of their hands and feet and completely demonstrated their strength. Good guys, there are a few poor ghosts in the court, and the rest are rich! ”

Speaking of which, Fang Xuanling and Kong Yingda were unnatural. After all, they are also one of them. Especially Fang Xuanling, since he became the Zhongshu Order, the Fang family has inherited the grace of heaven and deterred millions, and it can be regarded as a wind and rain in Datang. Although he knows how to be restrained, but with the emperor's intentional or unintentional connivance, the Fang family inevitably prospered in a short period of time.

Kong Yingda is the same, thanks to the status of a saint, although the descendants of the Kong family are already very low-key, they still inevitably become one of the wealthy families.

Wei Zheng also noticed the unnaturalness of the two of them, and said with a smile: "The old man didn't refer to the two of you, that is, to talk about things." His Majesty's words unveiled the fig leaf of the family, and many bold people exposed their greed. If this development continues, the old man is afraid that the scene of all people being businessmen will appear, so it is urgent to increase the supervision of business, especially the wealthy families, how can the tax be mentioned, otherwise, while maintaining a transcendent status, there is no need to make any contribution to the country, which is the biggest unfairness to the people! Ask the two of you, relying on the benefits of your own status, and using them so happily? ”

Fang Xuanling arched his hand and said: "You are right, the old man also wants to increase supervision and is willing to pay more taxes, but do you think everyone is willing?" If you Wei Zheng said such a thing in the court, you will be torn apart by those red-eyed people when you go to the court. Lao Wei, blocking people's wealth is like killing your parents! ”

Kong Yingda shook his head irritably and said: "The old man always feels that there is something wrong with this matter, Your Majesty should be aware of the harm of doing this, but he still did it, which shows that there are greater benefits than danger." Moreover, when it comes to money, the old man always feels that there is the shadow of the prince in it. Lao Wei, this recital was written by you, and it was also rejected by you, you might as well go to His Highness to find out, this matter is definitely not that simple! ”

"In that case, why don't we go together? Tomorrow is a rest, why don't we wait for a visit to the East Palace? ”

Kong Yingda and Fang Xuanling could only smile bitterly, if it was really as Kong Yingda said, there was some plan of the emperor or the crown prince, and if they got into it, they didn't know if it was a good thing.

The next day, the officials took a break, but Wei Zheng and the three of them still put on official uniforms and went to the East Palace to meet them.

Speaking of which, if you want to be an official, it is still very cost-effective to become an official in Datang. The leave system for officials in the Tang Dynasty was even included in the law.

The "Tang Law" stipulates that parents who live 3,000 miles away will have a 30-day provincial leave every three years, and parents who live 500 miles away will have a 15-day fixed provincial leave every five years. And the time spent on the journey is not included. When the son is crowned, he has three days off; If it's a relative, then one day. There are nine days off for the wedding of the children, and five days, three days, and one day for the other close relatives to get married.

When his parents died, he was forced to dismiss the official for three years, and if he was in a military position, as long as the emperor did not take away his love, he also had a hundred days of filial piety leave. In the case of the death of other close relatives, there will be 30, 20, 15 or 7 days of leave respectively; In the case of distant relatives, five, three, or one day, respectively. The teacher who was employed died, and he was given three days off. Personal death day, give a day off.

In addition, there are 15 days of field leave in May and 15 days of garment leave in September.

This is an official public holiday, namely provincial family leave, bereavement leave, weak crown adult leave, marriage leave, employment leave, yang leave, field leave and clothing leave. In addition, even dignitaries can have a normal mid-term vacation, usually three ten-month offs a month.

In this way, the rest time of Tang Dynasty officials is very considerable, and the above holidays are all holidays except for emergencies such as war. When encountering the birthday of Taishang Laojun and the emperor's birthday, they will also have a holiday.

Today is the mid-year holiday, also known as rest, and people in various departments, as long as there is nothing urgent, can generally rest for a whole day.

Kong Yingda, who originally wanted to go on a boat to drink, could only put on an official uniform, and together with Fang Xuanling, he was "kidnapped" by Wei Zheng to the East Palace.

Because it was an official visit, not a weekday, the three of them handed over the prayer post at the main gate and waited for the prince's summons.