Chapter 300: Yuan is not a thing in the pool (2)

Zhang Chengda has been in Suzhou for nearly two years, and he is a fugitive.

This word was very sensitive in the Tang Dynasty, and there were three reasons for the evasion, the most important of which was the uneven taxation, and there were many households exempt from taxation in the Tang Dynasty, and all of these households were exempt from taxation, including relatives of the clan, dignitaries, monks, nuns, Taoists, righteous husbands and women, etc. It should not occupy much, but this is not the case, as Li Wei saw in the Shaolin Temple, because of the tax exemption, many people calculated the accounts, it is better to hang the fields on these tax-free accounts, and pay less rent than the tax paid to the imperial court. Therefore, the number of exempt households gradually exceeds that of tax-paying households. At its peak, the Tang Dynasty once reached nearly 90 percent of the households exempt from classes. However, the Tang Dynasty calculated taxes on a ding basis, so all these taxes were apportioned to the common people. The second is the merger of local tyrants, and the third is natural disasters.

Therefore, whether it is Wu Zetian or Li Wei, they are very conflicted about the psychology of famous families, there are many talents in famous families, and their demeanor is good, not necessarily because of the merger of famous families, and the emerging landlords of the Shu clan are also merging, but it is these big families who take the lead.

It was precisely because of the previous reasons that Zhang Chengda fled from Jianghuai to Jiangnan. Then to Suzhou, Suzhou began to have a harbor, every day need to be carried by the people, in winter Suzhou to Huzhou and there are many sugarcane fields, refining sugar, working for a short time, life is not too good, but stronger than the original.

This year, he went to a family surnamed Liang, and they all called him Liang Dalang, whose origin is not clear, and it seems to have something to do with the famous Liang Jinzhu, and even this piece of cane sugar workshop is Liang Jinzhu's. It doesn't matter what, he's just a small person, just take his wife and children to eat a mouthful.

When winter comes, Jiangnan is also very cold, and when you get up in the morning, you can see the silver frost with white flowers on the ridges. Some ponds also have a thin layer of melt ice at the edges. The sun gradually rose, Zhang Chengda pushed his wife and said, "I'm up and I'm going to work." ”

"Well," the wife snorted, and suddenly woke up, and immediately got up to get dressed, and made breakfast for him. Zhang Chengda also began to freshen up, several children were also woken up, and the youngest child was crying, so he had to coax the children while freshening up. At this time, there was a knock on the outer door, Zhang Chengda dropped the towel, opened the door and asked, "Who?" ”

It's cold, and it's early in the morning, who comes to the door?

As soon as the bolt of the door was opened, a group of servants rushed in like wolves and tigers, like the cold wind outside, and took out the shackles, and two of the officials twisted his elbows behind him, and the other two took the shackles and cuffed him. Then he turned to his wife and children.

……

Liang Jinzhu was imprisoned at this time.

The crime is very simple, bribing court officials, but he is also a "court official", if you put aside the scattered officials, his Xuande Lang rank is also equivalent to the county order rank of a middle and lower county. is a good businessman again, and he has a relationship with the prince. After entering prison, he was not severely beaten, and even allowed his subordinates to bring good food and drink.

But Liang Jinzhu faintly felt that something was wrong, and his servant came to deliver something again on this day, looked at the official in the distance, and said in a panic: "Ah Lang, it's not good, the government sent someone to our sugar workshop to arrest people." ”

Liang Jinzhu's face changed, there were already escapees, and soon after Chen Ang wrote that 30,000 escapees in the world were hidden in the mountains and forests, and the powerful households were hidden. There is not much explanation, it is not as serious as the later period, but the actual number is much more than Chen Ang's book, after all, Chen Angzhi was just a petty official at that time. Not only are large households using it, but also various workshops are using it, and half of the craftsmen working in the porcelain kilns in Xianggong County are almost deserters. Policies varied from state to state, with the Tang Dynasty government prohibiting the movement of the people, and merchants had to open cumbersome procedures. Officials in various prefectures and counties have also forbidden the movement of people, and even resorted to drastic measures such as blocking roads, but they have a different attitude towards the fugitives who have migrated to the local area, and they have connived. After all, the more people there are, the more prosperous the territory will be. In addition, the people who took in the fugitives were all wealthy families, and the branches were intertwined and they couldn't move. This was the unspoken rule of the Tang Dynasty, and Li Zhi and Wu Zetian also knew that it had become a gray area of the imperial court, so they had to take some measures, such as encouraging the return of fugitives, or appeasing and appeasing, or forcibly looting, or vacating a place to settle in Kuanxiang. However, it was of little use, and even the law stipulated that the fugitives should be treated like deserters, and if they resisted arrest during arrest, they could be forcibly killed, and those who took in the fugitives would be punished. But the law is the law, and the system is the system, just as the law strictly prohibits the annexation of land, but the big family is not annexing, the famous family is annexing, the powerful are annexing, the Shu landlords are annexing, and the clan disciples and meritorious disciples are also annexing.

No one takes it seriously.

But Liang Jinzhu's face was pale, although they were not regarded as the same thing, they could be used as a legal basis when punishing. No, almost all the salt works and sugar factories are more or less taken in fugitives, just a businessman, good at business, not good at politics, otherwise it wouldn't have dragged on for so long without understanding. At this time, he finally reacted and said to his servants: "You don't care about this matter, go back immediately, call Mr. Lu to write a letter for me, stamp my seal, send Zhong Lao Si and Liang Datou with four horses, day and night, rush to the Eastern Capital, and find the prince." ”

The servant was just about to leave, but was called back by Liang Jinzhu, and whispered: "Then you immediately go back to Yangzhou, and visit the governor of Yangzhou with a sticker, if you don't see it, you will take out the words given by the prince and meet him, and tell him the identity of the four little ladies." ”

If you can do it to yourself, maybe you can do it to Yang Min and them, and they came in secret. It's okay to play stupid. But when he said it, it was difficult for the governor of Yangzhou to avoid it.

This is because he is too careful, Li Ming dares to attack them, thinking that they are businessmen, the topic is sensitive, and the prince is not easy to protect. But Yang Min and the others didn't dare to move, and the imperial court deliberately sent two fire guards to protect them in a low-key manner. This was a concession that Li Zhi made to his son at that time. It's a good citizen again, and there's no excuse to start. Of course, if Li Wei is still inactive, he will be bold, and he can't say for sure.

……

On the night of the winter moon, the weather in Danshui is colder than in Jiangnan, and the other half is drained, and the water flow on this half is a little rapid, and the river surface is also frozen. In the distance, there are tents and straw huts, in which the people who have been tired from a long day snore and sleep, and there are guards patrolling from time to time. It is not to protect the safety of the people, and no one will attack the people, it is fire prevention and theft. A carriage slowly made its way down the path, and when it reached the river, four men walked down the carriage.

Looking at the opposite side, he saw that there was no one on the other side, and a strange thing was lifted down from the carriage. It should be said that it is a shield, I don't know if it is old, or because it has been soaked in salt and brine, there are some rust stains on it. In the center of the shield are two dragons surrounding, and in the middle are dozens of large characters.

Nine more things stretched out around the shield, axes, swords, spears, and so on, nine weapons.

This shield is not small, and the four big men are a little difficult to lift it. Slowly, it was half lifted and half dragged to the river, and down a steep slope. The ice in the river was not too thin, but the shield was so heavy that it burst through the ice and slid down.

The four men immediately left with the carriage.

The sky was getting white, the cold weather made the river freeze again, and the hole disappeared silently.

……

Li Wei got up from the bed, he had just returned to Longju Village, and had been in Danshui for more than 20 days. There were all kinds of troubles, but before he came, it was basically solved. Not only the groundwater, but also the local mountains are not solid and easy to collapse, so on both sides of the mountains, cut down giant trees to strengthen the ridge, that is, to use giant trees to make a collapse embankment under the mountains, and even use gunpowder to intentionally collapse the ridge. This is a man-made landslide, which can be controlled, otherwise the mountain will collapse in the future, and the anti-collapse embankment will be breached. There are very few such cases in the upper reaches of Danshui, but there are many mountains in the upper reaches and to the Zhengdang Canal that will encounter similar situations.

However, the construction progress is still relatively fast, some sections of the river have not been dug half of the way, and some of the entire river sections are closed.

Wei Xuantong boarded the boat with great interest and measured the depth with a penny.

Li Junzan said: "Wei Yuanjun, the depth of the current measurement is not counted, and the depth of the water can only be measured when the entire river is completed." The width of the river and the speed of the river will inevitably cause the final depth to be incorrect, and the depth will be very large. ”

This is easier to understand, not how deep the river will be, if that is the case, at any cost, open deeper, can accommodate three or four thousand stone ships into Danshui, its role can be no less than the Yellow River. It is still a question of water source, how much water is attracted, how deep the river will be.

It is precisely because of the water source that it is destined that no matter how Danshui is constructed, it can only be used as an auxiliary canal in Guanzhong.

Li Wei smiled and said, "Wei Qing, you come up, let's discuss it again." ”

When I came to Danshui, I looked at the upstream for more than ten days, and I will make the fourth revision of the map of the upper reaches of Danshui. It's not about modifying the map, it's about modifying the data of some mountain flows. The final data will be used as the basis for construction. At this moment, two men galloped in the distance on four horses.

Normal horseback riding, all of them are one person and one horse, and the same is true for the post man, who changes horses at the post station. However, it is not an official matter of the imperial court, and some private urgent reports, or special urgent reports of the imperial court, have to prepare two horses and take turns to transfer.

After a while, he came to the front of him, turned over and dismounted, Li Wei was in civilian clothes, and he didn't know him, so he had to ask: "May I ask who is His Royal Highness the Prince?" The subjects are Liang Jinzhu's servants, and there is an urgent matter to find the prince. ”

Li Wei walked out and said, "Lone is, what is the matter with Liang Jinzhu looking for Lone." ”

Zhong Laosi and Liang Datou bowed down and cried: "His Royal Highness the Prince, save our family Ah Lang." ”

"What happened to Liang Jinzhu?" Li Wei asked puzzled. Almost everyone knows that they are their own people, and they have the official position of the court, what can happen?

Zhong Lao Si took the letter.

Li Wei opened it and said angrily: "Bastard thing." ”

The standing of the officials below has caused a lot of disputes, not unknowingly. At a glance, I knew that this was a tripartite alliance between the City Shipping Division, the Salt and Iron Envoy, and the Suzhou officials, wanting to cut off their own arms. In Suzhou, he suddenly thought of a person, Cao Wang Li Ming, and thought about the relationship between Li Ming and Xue Yuanchao. Immediately woke up. But not only that, this incident has an extremely bad impact, and Liang Jinzhu is not only his spokesperson, but also related to a safe future for him.

Immediately said to Wei Xuan and the others: "You continue to discuss, you have to go to Xijing." ”

After speaking, he turned over and got on the horse, came to Chang'an, found Di Renjie and Wei Yuanzhong, and took out Liang Jinzhu's letter to them.

Wei Yuanzhong snorted coldly: "Idiot." ”

Even if you don't know the aftermath of this incident, you may know that you still do it deliberately. However, fleeing households was a hidden pain in the Tang Dynasty, and there were even many escapees in the manor under the leadership of Cao Wang Li Ming. This is a question that is deliberately being avoided. There is no way, the gate valves are too powerful. Otherwise, the word valve would not be used. Li Wei also knew this, so he had to find another way, as much as possible to transfer to industry and commerce, or to overseas land. At first, it was purely to prepare for escape, and later it was also intentionally guided. What if he ascends the throne himself? This evolution process is very slow, and the foundation laid now will reduce the pressure on governing the country by oneself in the future. It has also done well, and the results have been seen, and the increase in millions of dollars in revenue a year has loosened the pressure on the country's taxes.

King Cao can use other blows to Liang Jinzhu, and must not take advantage of this. But on the other hand, Liang Jinzhu may have had some bad things before, he did things for the prince, and he was paying attention to all aspects, and it was not easy to find a handle if he really wanted to.

This matter is easy to handle, come to find Di Renjie and Wei Yuanzhong, and see if you can maximize your interests.

Di Renjie said: "Your Highness, the minister has four strategies. The first strategy is that you go back to the eastern capital to meet the saint and explain the reason clearly, and Liang Jinzhu will be released immediately, although he has received some losses, but His Majesty will think that you care about the general situation. Article 2 His Royal Highness stayed in the capital for a few days, and the minister asked him to search the list, inside and outside the city, there were people who took in the fugitives, especially the great drought in the past few years, and allowed many people to come down, with the spear of the other, the shield of the other. Liang Jinzhu is still worry-free. The third method is that the minister secretly sent people to collect some evidence of the crimes of the relevant people, since they dared to attack Liang Jinzhu, there would be some illegal things. ”

Li Wei shook his head. None of these three approaches are in favour.

"There is another method, there are some bad consequences, such as Your Majesty will be angry, and the ministers of the Yongwang faction will take the opportunity to make a fuss, saying that His Highness will not tolerate the children of the clan, and so on. But the good thing is that many ministers who have their hearts set on His Highness are even more heartbroken for His Highness......"

"Tell me about it?" Li Wei immediately became interested.

What is power, there must be resources in hand, not only money, but mainly people, there is a group of civil and military generals, like Di Renjie to help themselves, this is the real power.

……

The next day, Li Wei issued an order to stop the construction of the two canals. But there is no need to stop the work, but to stop the construction of the two canals, all the materials are transported back to the warehouse, and the people go home.

What is the significance of the two canals to the Tang Dynasty, and some workarounds were used, so that the people did not complain about the construction, and even Li Zhi felt the pressure brought about by the completion of the two canals.

This order was given very abruptly, but the prince was the governor of Liangqu, Wei Hongji and Yao Xuan had no choice but to give an order, and sent someone to quickly ask Li Wei what had happened. Li Wei's reply was very simple, there was no money for construction. Of course, I am even more puzzled, I don't know what the situation is, but there is still some money left in the treasury of the East Palace. But the prince shouted that there was no money for construction, and something happened about it. I just want to construct, and I can't do it without money. For example, if you let the people go home, you have to pay a huge salary.

Li Wei delayed for a few more days, and after getting a list from Di Renjie, he returned to Luoyang unhurriedly.

The sudden suspension of the two canals can be imagined, how much shock it caused, the news reached Luoyang, and there were many discussions, and even Li Zhi couldn't sit still. Immediately sent guards to inquire, blocked Li Wei on the road, asked, Li Wei did not answer, and said that I would go back to Luoyang to explain. Then a hundred miles a day, at a speed slower than walking, returned to Luoyang.

This is in the open, Li Wei in the secret gave Di Renjie 10,000 yuan, and Di Renjie distributed the money again. With more than 100 people, they set off to Suzhou, Yangzhou, and even Li Ming's farm. But Li Ming didn't know all this yet.

When he returned to Suzhou, he saw Liang Jinzhu in a cell as if he had entered a nursing home, and he was furious and began to be tortured by the officials. To admit guilt, bribing officials and taking in fugitives are clear crimes, and there are more information that interests him, such as how much money he gave the prince in total, what relationship he has with the prince, and so on. The latter is the main thing, and the reputation of the prince must be stinked.

How to fight, Liang Jinzhu was silent. endured it, tortured it, and tortured it. But there are also benefits of money, and some officials were paid off with money, and the descendants of the Liang family delivered the news. Liang Datou and Zhong Laosi left smoothly.

Therefore, Liang Jinzhu was beaten to death many times, and even fainted, but he didn't move. At this moment, Li Ming heard that the two canals had suddenly stopped. At first, I didn't think about it, but after a while, I came to my senses and sat on the chair and froze.

He is the king of Cao, but he is just two businessmen, and he wants to come to the prince to take what he has nothing to lose. It's not good to come forward directly for the businessman, so he made a move. The harvest was quite rich, from Yangzhou to Suzhou, all the properties of Liang and Lu were confiscated, the ships were detained, and then these properties were handed over to the public, and the ships were also sold to others. Part of the money filled the treasury, but most of the money went into his pocket with Tianshui. The industry is large, and only half of it has been processed until now.

But I didn't expect that the prince would use two channels to suppress himself!