The capital of Grand River Province, the city of Hekou

Royal Pavilion

This is a completely newly built Han and Tang style palace, located in the quiet Paraná River between the low mountains and jungles, only 1,700 meters away from the bustling city of Hekou, a good place to take a quiet break.

Emperor Richard and his entourage had just made a long voyage, so they planned to stay in the province of Grande Rivers for more than 10 days, and in addition to resting, they would make a detailed and in-depth inspection of the only overseas province in South America.

With his current age, it is very likely that he will only make a trip to South America, and he can't just look around and go back.

The Tang Empire's South American Affairs Minister's Office is located in Hekou City, and when the royal driver arrived, the Minister of South American Affairs, Viscount Guan Hong, and 13 vassal kings arrived together to greet the Holy Driver with the most solemn etiquette.

These 13 vassal kings were 11 vassal kings who were reorganized from the 11 provinces under the former Andean Governor's Palace, plus the king of Qinzhou and the king of Binhai (ceded by Chile), all of whom had gathered in Hekou City to welcome the holy driver.

From this alone, it can be seen how glorious and lucky it must be that the two vassal kings of Colombia and Cuba were able to accompany them throughout the whole process, without the competition of other kings.

Viscount Guan Hong, Minister of South American Affairs, was Emperor Richard's gatekeeper in South America, and his executive office had the power to supervise the administration of the vassal states, correct violations of the laws and regulations of the empire, impeach the local officials of the vassal states, and assist the General Audit Office and the General Administration of Integrity in purging the administration of officials.

One word

Viscount Guan Hong had an important mission, he could not guarantee the upper limit of the economic development of the feudal states, mainly to ensure the lower limit of the feudal states.

You can't act recklessly and make a mess of the vassal country.

The Minister of South American Affairs is the clairvoyant and downwind ear of the imperial family, and is the bag of inquiry placed in South America, that is, the so-called "gatekeeper".

“……

As far as Wechen knows;

His Royal Highness Tang-Li Ren (the twelfth son of the emperor) of Youzhou has a good personality, and the royal family lives a poor and extravagant life.

Not only did he accept 31 concubines, sing songs every night, but also built a Cupid palace of unprecedented scale, and there is a saying called "Eros Palace".

Cupid's palace cost more than 10 million yuan, employing 5,300 craftsmen and tens of thousands of hard laborers, many of whom were bankrupt Chinese laborers who could not afford heavy taxes.

On the basis of the "ten taxes and three" policy stipulated by the empire, the Youzhou Kingdom also arbitrarily apportioned various taxes, such as poll tax, property purchase tax, cattle and sheep slaughter tax, pasture tax, seedling tax, etc., and the overall tax revenue exceeded 6 percent, almost more than double that of the surrounding kingdoms.

The so-called upward and downward effect.

The royal family of Youzhou often increased the harsh taxes, which led to the government departments to follow suit, which has become more and more erosive over the years, causing the people to complain.

The above-mentioned indiscriminate actions have caused the population of the Youzhou Kingdom to stagnate for more than 10 years, always hovering around 1.3 million people, and the living standards of ordinary people are also greatly inferior to those of neighboring countries.

Among the 16 vassal kings in South America, the king of Youzhou is the most out of line, and he does not listen to persuasion and acts recklessly.

Over the years, the Office of the Minister of South American Affairs has issued 17 official letters of government accountability and 10 requests for assistance, but there has been no response.

The staff of the PCPD have been repeatedly beaten, intimidated, and even worse violent confrontations during the secret defense of the Youzhou Kingdom, and two PCPD officers have disappeared one after another, and no follow-up has been found.

The relevant circumstances have been written and submitted to the Imperial ......"

Viscount Guan Hong's detailed report, Emperor Richard listened to it with a sinking face, and the atmosphere in the palace was so depressed that it was suffocating, and a storm was brewing.

After listening to all the reports, Emperor Richard had a general understanding of the situation in the sixteen vassal states of the Americas, and the overall situation was good, but it was inevitable that one or two pests would appear.

In recent years, he has not specifically asked about these trivial matters, and they are mainly handled by the crown prince Tang Li Qian, so he has not heard of similar bad things.

The recital submitted by the Minister of South American Affairs is most likely that Tang Li Qian was suppressed.

What does the crown prince think?

After a little thought, Emperor Richard could guess that it was not far from the truth.

As the crown prince for nearly 40 years, Tang Li Gan, the king of Qin, has a noble status, has always been conscientious and scrupulous in his duties, and does not dare to make mistakes in half a point.

It was Emperor Richard's excessively strong and unshakable prestige that caused the crown prince to live in the huge shadow of His Majesty the Emperor and carefully manage his own power.

The crown prince cherished feathers very much, and did not accept any other women except for one crown princess and two side concubines.

Regular and simple in daily life, never extravagant and wasteful, and acting in a dignified and steady manner, he has earned a consistent good name among the royal family.

The king of Youzhou gave him a problem, if he was severely punished, he would inevitably leave a bad reputation of "cannibalism", which His Royal Highness the Crown Prince could not accept no matter what.

There are a total of eighty-one princes in the Tang royal family, and the youngest is 13 years old and is about to reach adulthood.

So many princes are themselves a complex palace battle drama, and they can completely open more than a dozen plays, which are constantly cut and sorted out.

Therefore, Emperor Richard simply divided all 24 princes (Note; The four princes, Tang and Li Dian, were in the same line as the two feudal states, namely the Kingdom of Amami and the Kingdom of Massachusetts), and the other princes were largely scattered in major banking consortia, royal charities, and royal museums.

In this way, endless worries are avoided.

Emperor Richard's final bottom line is that no prince is allowed to enter the Royal Internal Affairs Office, nor is they allowed to meddle in the Eight Royal Funds, which is the heavy money bag of the Tang Imperial Family.

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince Tang Li Gan almost thought the same, the hot potato of the King of Youzhou was suppressed first, and he was severely reprimanded in private, so that he could be restrained a little.

If it is put on the bright side, it is not good to deal with it lightly or severely.

As for the suffering of the people of the Youzhou domain, it is already a feudal country that His Majesty the Emperor has given to the king of Youzhou, just like brothers who live separately, and it is not appropriate to interfere too much.

After several hours of reporting, Viscount Guan Hong's mouth was dry, and Emperor Richard waved his hand to let him retreat, and he didn't drink a glass of water.

Viscount Guan Hong can feel the horror before the storm, where does he dare to stay in the palace?

When he left, he realized that his entire back was already full of sweat, and his calves and stomach were a little numb and crispy.

His Majesty the Emperor's authority was too strong, and invisibly, it produced great pressure.

But as the gatekeeper of South America, Viscount Guan Hong did not dare not report these real situations, let alone conceal them.

The Holy Monarch may not notice it for a while, but it will not be blinded forever.

At that time, a mere viscount family will not be able to withstand the thunderous anger of His Majesty the Emperor, and there will inevitably be no scum left that will be burned when it breaks out.

After thinking about it, he still chose to tell the truth, after all, such a big thing can't be hidden.

In the palace

"Hmph, what a bastard." Emperor Richard said coldly with a pale face.

Emperor Richard hadn't been so angry for a long time, and the anger in his chest was burning at the moment.

He forcibly suppressed the command; "Xu Aiqing, immediately send a telegram to the General Security Bureau of the Empire to submit a complete report on the national governance of the thirteen parties in South America, including the government's governance, with a focus on the Youzhou Kingdom, and do it quickly."

"Wechen obeys." Viscount Xu Maolin, the head of the secretariat, did not dare to say much at this moment, and took the order with a respectful expression.

Emperor Richard held the supreme power of the empire for 55 years, and he was extremely experienced in governing the country.

This matter still needs to be verified by the intelligence of the General Security Bureau of the Reich, and the conclusive evidence can be seen before the final conclusion can be closed.

Generally speaking

The royal heirs committed crimes, and it was not the turn of the legal system of the Tang Empire to punish them, but was dealt with by the internal council of the Royal Commandment House. Today's precept dean is composed of His Royal Highness the crown prince Tang Li Gan and several older princes.

The Royal Discipline Institute is similar to the Zongren Mansion of the Qing Dynasty, which is in charge of all royal affairs, and is an institution that enforces the strict laws of the royal family, which makes the princes and grandchildren fearful.

Over the years, there have been many princes and grandsons who have been punished by the Royal Discipline Academy.

Some are banned, some are fined with prescribed money, some are deprived of other punishments attached to their positions abroad, and the most severe is to deprive the right to inherit the title, and the emperor and grandson will be deprived of the royal title and demoted to a concubine.

No matter what kind of punishment is given, the most severe will not abolish the vassal state and take back the fiefdom, such an influence is too great, it is tantamount to a slap in the face.

Maintaining the royal glory is always in the first place, and this kind of thing that makes relatives painful and enemies happy, of course, cannot be done.

It's like throwing a boulder into calm water, and the ripples will have a long impact that won't dissipate for decades.

Governing the country is like cooking small and fresh, and it is better to be slow than urgent.

Now that Emperor Richard has personally visited South America, he can directly issue an order to punish without going through the Royal Commandment House, which is the supreme imperial power of the empire.

After walking back and forth several times with his hands behind his back, the anger burning in Emperor Richard's heart slowly subsided, and he seriously thought about the response plan.

Although the evidence of the rebellion of the king of Youzhou has not yet been submitted, Emperor Richard can see that Viscount Guan Hong, the Minister of South American Affairs, is not false, and every evidence is substantiated.

borrowed 10,000 of his courage, and did not dare to slander the emperor's heir.

Under the attention of Emperor Richard, all government agencies have been running at a high speed, and the recitals that were originally suppressed by the crown prince will also be collected and sent to the imperial front.

After a few comparisons, the facts are revealed.

After pondering for a while, Emperor Richard felt that this matter should not be dealt with in a big way, and should be dealt with quickly and secretly, so as not to interfere with the current prosperous situation of the Tang Empire.

What's more

Avoid giving some people or foreign forces an excuse to meddle, and maintain the noble image of the Tang royal family, which is much more important than several Youzhou kings combined.

Anyway, the king of Youzhou is in his early forties, and it is normal for him to have a mistake in his body, and he died suddenly.

Now there are 81 princes of the Tang royal family, because of this and that kind of illness or accident, there are no 6, plus not many Youzhou kings.

The government of the Youzhou Kingdom is basically rotten, let the General Administration of Corruption enter and investigate, basically one can bring out a nest of moths.

The bottom of the butt is not clean, and it cannot withstand inspection at all.

Anyway, the Tang Empire has cultivated a large number of experienced colonial officials over the years, and it is not a big deal to change hundreds of officials from top to bottom.

The repeal of the indiscriminate apportionment of the tax law, one is not left to repeal altogether. The officials of the kingdom who should be punished shall be punished severely.

As for the Youzhou royal family, Emperor Richard needs to go and see for himself to see which imperial grandson can shoulder the burden of reviving the Youzhou Kingdom?

All of this was resolved with minimal impact and without leaving any hidden dangers, which was also a blow to the South American vassal kings, who were to constantly review what they had done.

The Tang royal family has strict laws and rules, but it is not a place where you can act recklessly.

All the children of the royal family have the sacred mission of maintaining the glory of the imperial family, and if they deviate from this red line, it is not easy to make up their noble status.

Think back to the beginning

When he was young, the Duke of Panama, His Royal Highness Don-Li Geng, the second prince, couldn't hold on to the temptation of a prodigal woman when he went to Europe to study, and did something that damaged the glory of the empire.

After that, he was recalled to China and confined for 5 years.

Every day, in the morning, noon and evening, the royal precepts are repeated three times by the royal missionary, repeatedly instilling the glorious growth history of the empire, and repeatedly instilling in the royal children a sense of responsibility and sacred mission.

Day after day, year after year.

After such a heel, His Royal Highness Don Li Geng, Duke of Panama, knelt down outside the Qinzheng Hall for 6 hours after ending the captivity, and sincerely repented.

Since then, he has been a different person, acting in a disciplined manner, and during his more than 20 years as honorary chairman of the Royal Red Oak Bank, he has contributed to its growth into the largest banking consortium in the empire.

The so-called prodigal son does not change his money, and of course Emperor Richard will not beat the prince to death with a stick, but retains a lot of opportunities to wake up.

It is precisely because of this that His Royal Highness Don Li Geng, Duke of Panama, was especially there, and he was finally able to seal Oklahoma and become one of the four vassal states in North America.

As the supreme of the empire, Emperor Richard was not willing to take advantage of the royal family from the bottom of his heart.

Even if you kill ten or eight with a knife, can you show majesty?

The king of Youzhou died purely by himself, and he couldn't find a reason to forgive.

Emperor Richard pinched his eyebrows with some headaches, he was in charge of a huge empire with a population of up to 176 million and a territory of more than 20 million square kilometers, and his every move was watched by thousands of people.

If not

simply imprisoned the king of Youzhou until he died, the tiger poison does not eat children, what can he do if he is willful?

Reason clearly told him that he couldn't do this, he lost the hearts of the people, and left a weakness for future generations to attack, which is a big hidden danger!

The destruction of a thousand-mile embankment in an anthill contains such a profound truth.

Compared with the complete inheritance of the empire, the sacredness of royal glory cannot be defiled, and the weight of a mere Youzhou king can be ignored.

Come on, let me be the wicked man.

After thinking about it, Emperor Richard made up his mind decisively and prepared to eradicate the hidden dangers of instability in the royal family, so as not to grow the pustule bigger and bigger.

(End of chapter)