Chapter 306 The Taxation Department has been upgraded again.

Li Chengqian took them to see the artillery and muskets.

Li Zhi and Li Ke completely changed their minds.

“I was just worried that they might do something desperate.”

“That’s it, how dare they do that?”

Li Zhi’s eyes lit up. How had the Tiangong Institute been able to produce such a thing during the two years when he was away from Chang’an?

Li Ke was also excited. He had seen the power of fire bombs and crossbows. Using them in India would make fighting a war a breeze.

If these cannons and muskets were used.

Does the Tang Dynasty still consider the possibility of losing the war?

“Father’s prestige in the army is at its peak.”

“And this weapon.”

“I really think too much.”

Li Ke expressed such emotion.

“There are some good things you don’t know about.”

Li Chengqian smiled.

“Aye!”

Li Jue shouted excitedly: “Take it out and let us see it.”

“It’s not the right time.” Li Chengqian said.

Li Jue was not disappointed either. He said excitedly, “There are more good things. They must be amazing.”

“Aye, I was in Shanghai and saw a ship launching. I learned how they deal with pirate ships at sea.”

“They said they were going to use bows and crossbows, and engage in close combat or something like that.”

“I wonder if this cannon can be mounted on ships so that we can attack from a distance without engaging in battle…”

Everyone was greatly surprised, and then they understood.

“Brother, Jiro is right.”

Li You said: “You just said that this cannon is too heavy and difficult to move, but if it is placed on a ship, it will be different.”

Li Ke also praised: “Erlang has a wonderful idea and is very far-sighted.”

Li Zhi also patted Li Jue on the shoulder and said, “It seems that you really learned something in Shanghai Prefecture.”

Li Chengqian was also very pleased.

He had wanted to propose this idea before. After all, the sea and land lines would run parallel in the future.

We must expand outward on land and carry out great voyages on the sea.

There is no need to worry about land, but on the sea, the Tang Dynasty has just made contact. How to improve military strength and have an overwhelming advantage has always been something Li Chengqian has to consider.

Li Jue’s idea of ​​putting artillery on board ships coincided with his idea.

It gave him a scene that was neither big nor small.

The free-range study tour program in Shanghai Prefecture has begun to show results.

“Jiro.”

Li Chengqian looked at him with appreciation and said, “I have never been too strict with you.”

“I just hope that your mind is not bound and you can imagine boldly.”

“good.”

“very nice.”

“But I hope you can do a little bit.”

Li Jue’s face flushed, and he cupped his hands and said, “Please teach me, Father!”

Aye’s praise and compliments were a great recognition for him.

Aye has always been his most majestic and glorious image.

Even Aung cannot shake his position in his heart.

Now that he had received such praise from Aye, he was so excited that he could hardly stop.

“I’ll give you eight words.”

Li Chengqian looked around and said, “This is for all of you too.”

Li Ke and others bowed and saluted, and so did Li Chunfeng, Yuan Tiangang and others.

“Make bold assumptions and verify them carefully.”

Eight characters.

Let everyone be shocked.

Li Jue immediately said: “Thank you for your teachings, Father. I will be vigilant in the future.”

“Brother, these eight words are about me.” Li You said shamelessly: “This is how I behave and do things.”

“I have always been bold, but when I was doing it, I was very careful and cautious, and I didn’t dare to be careless.”

Everyone present was shocked.

Why do these words sound so strange coming from the mouth of you, the King of Qi?

If it were someone else, they might still be able to barely believe it.

Forget about you, the King of Qi.

“New Shao Hou, my expectations for your Tiangong Academy are just like these eight words.”

“You can fail, but you can’t be discouraged.”

“After many failures, you will always find a way to success. Besides, maybe on the road to failure, you will find other surprises.”

I didn’t stay in Tiangongyuan for long.

Li Chengqian and his group returned home.

Li Chunfeng looked at the departing guard of honor and couldn’t help but say, “Today, we are benefiting from the Emperor’s grandson.”

Yuan Tiangang nodded and said, “Yes, one cannon on board, one eight-character mantra.”

“If the Emperor’s grandson hadn’t been here, we would probably still not have been able to listen to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince’s teachings!”

“It’s been a great benefit.”

Li Chunfeng smiled and said, “I will use these eight words as my motto from now on.”

“Why not use it as the motto of Tiangongyuan?”

“That’s what I meant.”

……

Time flies.

The grand court meeting of the 22nd year of Zhenguan arrived.

It is proceeding according to the usual procedures of previous years.

Look back at the past year and look forward to the future year.

Everything is proceeding in an orderly manner.

It is worth mentioning that the population growth and the increase in taxes.

This year’s tax revenue reached an unprecedented 200 million guan.

It’s really shocking.

However, the core ministers of the central government knew that in order to whitewash his achievements, Changsun Wuji made up for the amount of less than 200 million strings of coins by finding supplements from other places and forcibly increased it to 200 million strings of coins.

No one had any complaints about this.

Taxes are good.

Then everyone will feel proud.

It can also bring an excellent signal to the world.

The next highlight is the temple calculation. The court is generally familiar with the rules of the temple calculation and knows how to proceed.

It’s just that the Ministry of War wants money, and always asks for an exorbitant amount.

They wanted to take half of the 200 million guan of tax revenue.

Li Xiaogong did not feel embarrassed at all. Instead, he looked at each civil servant.

I am asking the Ministry of War for money to equip the army with artillery and muskets.

The military’s plan simply couldn’t handle the money-burning hole of Tiangongyuan.

The tens of millions of kan that he had finally obtained from Japan and the family fortune that he had saved up were gone without even a single drop of water when he threw them into Tiangongyuan.

There is no explanation yet.

The final calculation would definitely not satisfy the Ministry of War, as they only gave 30 million strings of cash according to the calculation.

The other departments each gained something.

Just when everyone was still feeling complacent and happy about the temple they wanted.

A bombshell news was dropped.

The Commissioner of Taxation was upgraded to the Ministry of Taxation, a third-rank official.

Xu Jingzong, the former director of the Taxation Bureau, was promoted to Minister of Taxation, and other former officials of the Taxation Bureau were promoted in turn.

This news almost caused an uproar in the court.

The Commissioner of Taxation was a fourth-rank official, and he almost caused chaos in the world.

Promoted to the third rank, Ministry of Taxation.

Wouldn’t that really cause chaos?
The year before last, he was the Commissioner of Taxation of the fifth rank, last year, he was the Commissioner of Taxation of the fourth rank, and this year, he is the Commissioner of Taxation of the third rank.

Is it really an upgrade once a year?

The speed of this rise is a bit too exaggerated.

Those officials in the Taxation Department can get promoted just by sitting there.

If they had known this earlier, they would have gone to work for the Department of Taxation and picked up such a great bargain.

It has to be admitted that many officials present were envious and jealous of Xu Jingzong.

Why?

Just because he is the tax commissioner, is he in charge of making money?
However, the worst-hit department should be the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

This power originally belonged to the Ministry of Civil Affairs, but after being divided out, it became very powerful and is now on an equal footing with the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

Minister of Civil Affairs Liu Li, what do you feel now?

“Your Highness Xu Jingzong thanks the Holy Emperor for his grace. Our tax department will resolutely implement the Holy Emperor’s thought and conduct a comprehensive inventory of the country’s population and land next year.”

“The Ministry of Taxation has assured the Holy Emperor, the Crown Prince, and the officials of the court that after a comprehensive investigation is completed, taxes will be formally collected according to the amount of land…”

One shocking piece of news was not enough, Xu Jingzong threw out another one to increase the weight.

Taxes were levied according to the amount of land.

This really does not give the aristocratic families any room to relax.

“His Majesty!”

Someone immediately stood up and said, “The Taxation Department is responsible for taxation, but it does not have the power to decide whether to collect taxes based on the amount of land.”

“It should be discussed by the Holy Emperor and the officials of the court before deciding whether to implement it.”

“Minister Xu’s move is suspected of abusing his authority and exceeding his authority.”

“Your Majesty, please tell me clearly!”

The opposition was expected and not surprising.

It would be strange if no one objected.

“The Ministry of Taxation is responsible for the taxation of the whole country. At the end of the 19th year of Zhenguan, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince proposed the 21-point plan. Our Ministry of Taxation will act in accordance with the plan and naturally has the power to decide and issue tax orders.”

Xu Jingzong said calmly: “The Ministry of Taxation has already submitted the tax order to Your Majesty and the Ministry of Shangshu.”

“The tax department is not going to formally enforce it now, they just said they will do it after a comprehensive investigation.”

“How can you say that you are abusing your power and exceeding your authority?”

Not only that official, but some other officials also stared.

You, Xu Jingzong, play with words, right?
Your tone doesn’t sound like a determination to execute.
Still using sweet words and making excuses.

“okay.”

“I am a little tired. It is time to end today’s grand court meeting.”

“Dismiss the dynasty!”

Li Shimin got up and left.

After Li Chengqian was seen off respectfully, he also left the Taiji Hall with the respectful farewell of all the officials.

This put those officials who wanted to oppose him in a dilemma, and they could only glare at Xu Jingzong.

“A scoundrel who brings disaster to the country and the people.”

Facing the polite gazes of many colleagues, Xu Jingzong walked out of the Taiji Hall leisurely.

Swear.

No matter how harshly you curse, this Shangshu’s official position will not be lost.

When the time comes, I will be the first to take action against you.

The content of the grand court meeting spread.

Chang’an was in an uproar, and the undercurrent surged at this moment. Ordinary people seemed to have felt it, and the spectators did not dare to gather together.

“This time, those people probably can’t sit still anymore.”

Li Zhi said.

Li Ke shook his head and said, “I am curious now, how they resisted.”

“They dare not use force, and neither can the people.”

“What could that be?”

Li Chengqian said calmly, “Wait and see what happens.”

“Let’s see what tricks they can come up with.”

Now it’s a step-by-step approach.

The aristocratic families were hardly given any chance to breathe.

They say a cornered dog will jump over the wall, let alone a human.

How can we eliminate the harm if we don’t force them to take action and come out into the open?

“Your Highness, the Marquis of Xinshao requests to see you.”

“when?”

“It’s time to say it.”

“Oh?”

Li Chengqian’s eyes lit up. He had been thinking about this thing for too long.

Accurate time and the ability to judge time at any time are of great significance to the entire Tang Dynasty.

Not long after, Li Chunfeng came in.

“Your Highness, it has lived up to your expectations. The Tiangong Institute has developed the ‘Moment’.”

“After two months of multiple comparisons, it is accurate and correct.”

Li Chunfeng shouted loudly.

“Ha ha!”

Li Chengqian laughed and said, “New Shao Hou, your Tiangong Academy has added another magical weapon to our Tang Dynasty!”

“Let’s go to Tiangongyuan and take a look.”

(End of this chapter)