Chapter 294: A Stone Stirs Up a Thousand Waves, the Tax Commissioner’s Third Fire

Li Shimin summoned his ministers to discuss the military actions against Tubo.

Li Chengqian was also involved.

There were not many different opinions among the ministers on how to respond to this matter.

Almost everyone agreed to clean it up.

The envoys were all dead, no matter if they were seeking death and making up excuses, or if the Indian Kingdom was just being audacious and presumptuous.

Everything happened.

What else is there to say?

“Tell the King of Wu that Hou Junji and the others should be gathered together.”

“The country of India has violated the law of heaven. Only by crushing it with the force of thunder can I relieve the hatred in my heart.”

Li Shimin said coldly: “King Wu and Hou Junji are allowed to mobilize all the troops in Tubo, but there is one thing, to ensure the stability of Tubo, we must not only focus on the front but also the back.”

“The court will not allocate any troops, let them handle it themselves.”

“I don’t care about the process, I only care about the result.”

“Military Department!”

Li Xiaogong stepped forward and said, “I am here!”

“Mobilize three thousand fire bombs and one hundred crossbows and send them to Tubo.”

Li Xiaogong said: “As ordered!”

“Ministry of Personnel!”

Su Tan stepped forward and said, “I am here!”

“Immediately formulate a reward for Su Cheng, the chief envoy, and for the heroes who rescued and escorted the envoys, as presented by the King of Wu, and reward them according to their merits.”

After Li Shimin finished speaking, he looked at Li Chengqian and said, “Prince, do you have anything to add?”

Li Chengqian said: “Your Majesty, you should order the Tang Empire Newspaper to publicize and report on this matter.”

“I will inform all the people of the world that the country of India has killed our Tang envoy and violated our majesty. They should be punished and their country should be destroyed.”

Li Shimin nodded and said, “Okay, let’s do it.”

The court has made the decision, and the decree only needs to be passed on to Tubo. The court will continue to do what it should do.

Not much has changed.

After all, not only did Tibet have garrisons, but it also had Tibetan troops, all of which were controlled by the Tang Dynasty.

This time, the Tang army was not the main force in destroying India, but the Tibetan army was.

……

The tax commissioner is very busy.

After they were busy checking Taoist temples and monasteries, Xu Jingzong’s third fire was officially ignited.

His target was directly aimed at the population census and land measurement of the aristocratic families.

This fire directly set the entire court on fire.

At the court meeting, Xu Jingzong was attacked by everyone. Officials jumped out one after another to refute and accuse him of causing trouble and denounce him for bringing disaster to the country and the people.

For a time, Xu Jingzong was hated by everyone and became infamous.

Even the newspapers openly criticized Xu Jingzong’s behavior, saying that he was harming loyal and good people, bringing disaster to the people of the world and making their lives miserable.

“Your Highness.”

“This time the commotion is huge.”

Di Renjie said with some worry, “Even the newspapers of the Jiangnan gentry, the Jiannan family, openly criticized the tax commissioner for not doing his job properly and frequently exceeding his authority.”

“Shandong-affiliated newspapers even said Xu Jingzong abused his power and misused it to harm the country.”

too big.

It was absolutely terrifying.

Di Renjie felt uneasy, as he knew that the actions of the Tax Commissioner had touched the sore spot of all the wealthy families in the world.

Conduct population census and measure land.

Which noble family can withstand such an investigation?

Upon checking, almost all of them were ruined.

Xu Jingzong offended all the aristocratic families in the world.

With such tremendous pressure, Di Renjie had almost realized that Xu Jingzong was most likely finished and would not be able to stay in the position of Commissioner of Taxation for long.

He is the public enemy of the whole court, how can we let him continue doing his job?
“It’s only a short time now.”

Li Chengqian sneered and showed Di Renjie the memorial presented by Xu Jingzong.

Di Renjie didn’t understand what was going on, so he continued reading with doubts. But after reading it roughly, he felt a chill on his back and his hair stood on end.

“this…….”

“This this…….”

He was somewhat speechless, it was too shocking, too horrible.

Di Renjie swallowed his saliva and said, “Your Highness, is Xu Jingzong going to cut himself off from the world?”

“Oh?”

Li Chengqian asked playfully, “How do you know?”

“The aristocratic families in the world have the most land. How can they be willing to pay taxes according to the amount of land they own?”

Di Renjie said quickly: “Originally, taxes were paid based on the number of people, but now they are calculated based on the amount of land.”

“The people pay less, and they pay more.”

“Plus checking the population and measuring the land.”

“The population and land that they were able to hide have all been exposed.”

“These benefits….”

He didn’t even need to say anything more, it was scary just thinking about it.

What on earth did Xu Jingzong do?

Does he really not hesitate to offend all the powerful families in the world just to gain power?
They are not afraid of backlash and having their property confiscated and their clan exterminated.

“You.”

Li Chengqian sighed: “You understand it, but you feel scared.”

“Do you think this is right?”

Di Renjie said: “I dare not hide it, this is the right thing to do.”

“After all, the vast majority of farmland is controlled by aristocratic families, but they pay very little tax.”

“On the contrary, the common people, who have less land, still have to bear the same taxes, which is obviously unfair.”

“There is no problem with the tax commissioner’s memorial, and the students agree with it.”

“But the student has something to say but he doesn’t know whether he should say it or not.”

Li Chengqian nodded and said, “You and I, just go ahead and talk.”

“The tax commissioner’s move will shake the foundation of the Tang Dynasty.” Di Renjie said bitterly.

“I’m glad you can say it.”

Li Chengqian said: “It can be seen that you are worried about the Tang Dynasty and care about the people.”

“I know what the tax commissioner’s intentions are.”

He pointed at the tax commissioner’s report and said, “But these are all unnecessary.”

“Don’t let fear stop you from doing something.”

“Even if the sky falls, Your Majesty will still hold it up!”

Di Renjie asked, “Your Highness, are you saying that this will be confirmed?”

“That remains to be seen.”

Li Chengqian didn’t explain it clearly.

Di Renjie still doesn’t quite understand it now.

Whether it was a population check or paying taxes based on the amount of land, each one was affecting the fundamental interests of the aristocratic families.

The aristocratic families have done so many dirty things in secret that they simply cannot withstand investigation.

Once they are checked according to the method of checking Taoist temples and Buddhist temples, go and check them.

Once problems are uncovered, the reputation accumulated over generations will be destroyed in an instant; even if it is preserved, it will no longer be the same.

The eyes of the people are sharp.

The propaganda power of newspapers is there, and the thought of the court publishing their filth in them makes them shudder.

In addition, the promotion of age-appropriate education is also taking advantage of the wealthy and powerful families.

The imperial examination system for selecting officials was still being established and improved, and had not yet been officially held.

But it is also a sword hanging over the heads of the aristocratic families.

Things have come to this.

The trend is established.

No matter what, the aristocratic families, which are the stumbling blocks that hinder the development of the general trend, must be eliminated.

Li Chengqian has been in power from the 14th year of Zhenguan to the 22nd year of Zhenguan.

A full eight years.

The countless moves and arrangements he made were all part of his planning.

The day of closing the net is getting closer and closer.

Tax Division.

It was the first shot in his crackdown.

First, let the Commissioner of Taxation make a feint at the Taoist temple to let the people in the court understand the role and importance of the Commissioner of Taxation.

In fact, it is secretly directed at the aristocratic families in the world.

really.

The Tax Commissioner had only started his third fire when the aristocratic families became completely uneasy.

Judging from the public opinion in Chang’an, almost everyone, regardless of north, south, east or west, got involved, and no one did not blame Xu Jingzong.

Xu Jingzong’s bottom was relatively clean, otherwise he would have been exposed and reported and thrown into prison.

……

Liangyi Palace.

Li Shimin, Fang Xuanling, Zhangsun Wuji and others played against each other.

They all saw the memorial submitted by Xu Jingzong.

Everyone was silent.

Changsun Wuji had a gloomy face and his expression was flickering.

He was wondering whether Xu Jingzong’s actions were instructed by His Majesty or by the Crown Prince.

This question is very critical.

No matter what the tax commissioner does, the Changsun family cannot escape.

It must be investigated.

Similarly, taxes were paid according to the amount of land.

There is no escape.

In other words, the interests of his eldest grandson’s family were also affected.

So, is it His Majesty or the Crown Prince?

He wanted to find out the answer so that he could prescribe the right medicine.

“Tell me about it.”

Li Shimin looked very relaxed and said, “What do you think of what Xu Jingzong said?”

As soon as these words were spoken, no one in the hall responded.

Even Fang Xuanling kept his head down and said nothing.

Li Shimin couldn’t help but laugh in his heart. He flipped through the memorial with his fingers and said, “Assistant, tell me.”

Zhang Sun Wuji said, “I don’t have any opinion, but for a small tax bureau official to bring up such a big issue, isn’t it a bit too arrogant?”

“Well, a little bit.” Li Shimin nodded and asked again: “Duke Shen, what do you think?”

“Your Majesty, this matter should be discussed by the three provinces, and they should also weigh whether it is feasible.”

Gao Shilian also stood with Zhangsun Wuji and said, “Duke Zhao is right. The tax commissioner should just handle his own tax affairs. How can he make irresponsible comments on such a major issue of people’s livelihood?”

“Your Majesty, please give me a warning and warn Xu Jingzong not to overstep his authority.”

Li Shimin looked at a few people with interest. He felt a little regretful that he didn’t call the prince.

Such a good show, so exciting.

Changsun Wuji and Gao Shilian actually wore the same pants.

The Shandong aristocratic families and the Jiangnan gentry will form a group.

“Xuan Ling, what do you think?”

Fang Xuanling smiled bitterly in his heart, knowing that he couldn’t escape it.

“Your Majesty, I think the tax commissioner should just check the population and clarify the land. This matter involves a lot of things, and it is not something that a secretary like me can interfere with.”

Li Shimin said with emotion: “That’s right.”

“Xu Jingzong just doesn’t see himself clearly. He dares to say anything.”

“Ananda!”

Zhang Ananda bowed his head and said respectfully, “Your Majesty!”

“Take it and burn it, and then pass on my oral instructions to admonish Xu Jingzong and tell him to do his duty well.”

That’s a strange thing to say.

Duty: Isn’t taxation the duty of the Commissioner of Taxation?
Your Majesty, are you playing with words?

Zhang Ananda did not leave, but burned it in public in the hall.

Seeing this, they did not feel at ease and were somewhat worried.

If you are not afraid of Your Majesty getting angry, then just keep Your Majesty in mind.

After everyone left, Li Shimin had a faint smile on his face.

“Go and call the Prince of Hejian.”

“Yes!”

Not long after, Li Xiaogong arrived at Liangyi Hall.

He lowered his head and looked at Li Shimin from time to time.

“Brother also has an opinion?”

Li Xiaogong smiled bitterly and said, “I do, but…”

“Forget it. Your Majesty, whatever you want to do, I will support you.”

Li Shimin laughed and said, “Brother, you can just remain neutral.”

“No need.” Li Xiaogong shook his head and said, “Your Majesty, just let me know when you need me.”

“The Ministry of War will absolutely obey your Majesty’s leadership.”

Li Shimin said calmly: “Some people from Guanlong, you can do whatever you want.”

“Your Majesty, please remember our old friendship.” Li Xiaogong couldn’t help but plead, “Give them a chance.”

Li Shimin said: “I am just giving a chance.”

“I give them a chance, but who gives me a chance?”

Li Xiaogong was stunned.

Li Shimin looked outside the hall and vaguely saw Gao Ming standing there.

Just looking at him and saying those words to him.

(End of this chapter)