Chapter 234: The Battle at the Court Meeting (II)

Li Qing turned around and saw Yang Guozhong standing behind him with a smile, his eyes were too long, and a sneer was hanging on the corner of his mouth. He was greedy for wine, lust, and was happy to make money, but he became the chief censor who impeached officials. He was lazy and had good gambling skills, so he claimed to be good at governing the branch. The Minister of the Ministry of Revenue could not do it, but he could have the Taifu Temple Minister who had to "review it between a yard and a ruler". He was a slave and scammer of Chang'an, and took advantage of other people's property, but he became Jingzhao Yin, who maintained the public order of Chang'an and maintained the stability of the capital. He held three positions, all of which were powerful real positions.

Yang Guozhong's career has risen sharply, but he has not reached the level of success he longed for. He learned from his mistakes and finally found that the obstacles came from Li Qing, who had been in harmony with him and was kind to him. As his status improved, his mentality gradually changed. From looking up to contempt to being able to get rid of it now, the "official and business incident" and the "Li Jingyan marriage incident" were all specially fabricated by Yang Guozhong for Li Qing, but unfortunately he failed to succeed.

In terms of position, Li Qing's Ministry of Revenue and Yang Guozhong's Taifu Temple have a clear boundary. The Ministry of Revenue is in charge of financial and economic affairs but does not involve affairs. The Taifu Temple is the executive authority for specific affairs, "in charge of wealth, food storage and trade affairs. All contributions from all directions will be made to the cashier of all officials'. This is a bit like the relationship between the Ministry of Finance and the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, the Treasury, and the General Administration of Customs in later generations.

But now there have been some changes. Li Qing suggested establishing an "official cabinet" to manage the Tang Dynasty currency, and to divide his Yang Guozhong's Zuozang from Taifu Temple, and to mint money from Shaofujian, and finally all belong to the Ministry of Revenue directly. In other words, the Ministry of Revenue must actually manage the income and expenditure of the world's currency and issue.

This is what Yang Guozhong pointed out that Li Qing was not kind. He believed that Li Qing was using the reform to strengthen his power this time. He looked at Li Qing up and down, and a sarcastic smile appeared on his face, "I have known Brother Li for many years. I have always thought that Brother Li's feet were quite long. I ran to Nanzhao and ran to the Western Regions, but now I suddenly found that Brother Li's hands were longer."

Li Qing smiled to the sky, looked at Yang Guozhong sincerely and said, "My brother is instructed by the emperor because he is busy with his hands and feet. It is really not worth mentioning. Brother Yang loves to wear women's clothing. I only heard of it today. I am ashamed! I am ashamed!"

As soon as Li Qing said this, several officials next to him couldn't help laughing. Yang Guozhong's nepotism was known to everyone in Chang'an. Yang Guozhong's face suddenly turned into a pig's liver. He was about to attack, but Li Qing smiled slightly and waved his hand and said, "It's time to go to court, Brother Yang, please return!"

The drums sounded in court, and officials above the fifth rank were placed in two rows, and walked into the Hanyuan Hall of the Daming Palace from the long Dragon Tail Road in turn. The Hanyuan Hall was magnificent and tall, with a tall terrain. It was the commanding height of Chang'an City. Looking out from the entrance of the hall, you can see the spectacular Chang'an City, which makes people sigh that they can't help but embrace thousands of miles of land. In this solemn and solemn atmosphere, the officials who were laughing constantly gradually straightened their lips, stretched their faces, and looked solemn, and they were silent.

The bell rang out in the ground, and the eunuch on duty echoed in the hall for a long time: "His Majesty the Emperor is here!"

Two rows of ceremonial guards then raised the soap flag, and the yellow-roofed umbrella came, followed by dozens of eunuchs, palace maids and close guards entering one after another. After a while, they saw the Emperor Li Longji, wearing a sky-scaling crown and a yellow-patterned silk robe, slowly walking towards him and sitting on the dragon throne. All the officials below bowed and bowed together under the leadership of Prince Li Heng, "I will see His Majesty the Emperor!"

"Dear everyone, please don't give me a gift!"

Li Longji glanced at the hall and his eyes fell on Li Qing behind Zhang Yun, the Minister of Revenue. He smiled slightly and said, "Today is a great dynasty, there are many things to discuss. In order to save energy, anyone who is fifty years old and above who are above the third rank will be given a seat!"

In the Tang Dynasty, the seniority rankings were mostly those who could reach the fifth rank or above, and most of them were 40 or fifty years old. Therefore, when the order was issued, most officials had seats. Although Li Qing was less than 30, he had not yet obtained the title of Censor and the title was from the third rank, so he also got a seat.

The officials who were not qualified all stood behind consciously, but there were only a few hundred people. The hall was a little busy for a while and soon became quiet. Seeing this, Li Longji asked Li Linfu with a smile: "Li Xiangguo, what are the arrangements for the provincial examination?"

Li Linfu gave a tribute to the class and replied in a deep voice: "Thank you, the provincial examination is scheduled for the tenth day of April, and there are still ten days left before. The examination will be conducted by the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Personnel. This year, the examination will be Da Xixun, the Minister of Rites, and the deputy examination will be Miao Jinqing, the doctor of the Ministry of Personnel Examination Agency, and the two departments of the Ming Jing. Currently, there are no less than 30,000 scholars from all over the country. The Ministry of Revenue has begun to verify the certificate the day before yesterday. Everything is going smoothly. Please rest assured!"

Li Longji nodded and glanced at the ministers, "Da Xi, where is Miao Erqing?"

"Your Majesty Xuanda Xi Xun and Miao Jinqing meet!"

Da Xixun and Miao Jinqing flashed out from the ranks of the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Personnel at the same time, approached the jade steps, and bowed to Li Longji and said, "I will meet your Majesty!"

"My dear friends, I will say every year that the imperial examination is the main channel for my Tang Dynasty to recruit scholars. We should put justice and fairness first. No matter how poor or lowly or high or lowly, only talent is the only one. Can you remember it?"

Da Xixun and Miao Jinqing bowed deeply and said in unison: "I obey the order!"

Seeing the two retreat, Li Longji pondered for a while, and said slowly: "Since the founding of the Tang Dynasty, the salt administration has been in abdicated and taxes have been lost. In the third year of Kaiyuan, I had rectified the salt tax, but due to inadequate measures, the results were very little. Now since the implementation of the monopoly system, the salt tax has reached one million guan in just two months, and it has been determined to exceed three million guan by the end of the year. Therefore, I discussed with the prime minister and decided to establish a salt and iron supervisor, each of which has set up a salt and iron supervisor, and specialize in the salt administration and monopoly. Now, the prime minister nominated the former Zongzheng Temple Minister Li Lin as the first salt and iron supervisor. Do you have any objections?"

Li Longji's voice was very small, and almost only the prince Li Heng, who was closest to him, could hear it. Since Li Heng recovered from his injury, he lived in the palace, doing nothing, and no one dared to visit him. He had no public information for the past two months, and his whole body seemed to have evaporated from the world.

But without his information, it does not mean that he does not know what happened. On the contrary, he knew everything about it. The Zhang Qiu Party replaced the princely party and became the second largest faction in the court. The Boling Cui family turned to Li Linfu through marriage. The Ministry of Personnel was the sphere of influence of the Zhang Qiu Party due to the turn of Yang Shenjin, the Minister of Personnel, and Yang Guozhong was re-elected as the Yin of Jingzhao and the Minister of Taifu Temple, and gradually began to break away from Li Linfu and wanted to form a party.

Li Heng watched all this coldly, but he was more concerned about Li Qing. From his son's description, he had already guessed that he had escaped from the trouble this time because of Li Qing's behind the scenes, but he never dreamed that even the arrow he shot was given by Li Qing.

At this time, the eunuch on duty had finished recounting Li Longji's decree and ordered Li Lin to be the first salt and iron supervisor to solicit opinions from all the ministers.

"Does the prince have any objections?" Li Longji smiled at Li Heng.

Li Heng bowed slightly and said, "My son agrees with the father's decision!"

"Where are all my dear friends? Do you have any opinions?" Li Longji raised his voice, and there was no need for eunuch to repost this time.

The hall was silent and no one objected. The emperor had made it clear that this matter had been discussed with the Prime Minister and was decided. In addition, the emperor had just issued an imperial edict yesterday. Li Chengshi, the governor of Yangzhou, was removed from Li Linfu's son-in-law Zhang Boji, and was promoted to Li Linfu's son-in-law Zhang Boji. This means that the Prime Minister and the King of Chan and the Party reached a behind-the-scenes deal. In this way, who would still make trouble for themselves?

"Since I have no objection, the Salt and Iron Supervision Bureau decided to entrust Li Lin as the Salt and Iron Supervision Bureau!"

"Your Majesty has an order to grant Li Lin the Salt and Iron Supervision Order!"

Li Lin quickly walked to the jade steps, knelt down on both knees and said, "My dear Li Lin thanked Lord Long's kindness!"

Subsequently, Li Longji approved some personnel appointments and removals from the Ministry of Personnel, and gradually the atmosphere in the hall began to become tense.

The next thing is to discuss the establishment of an "official cabinet", which involves the interests of too many people. There are those who agree, but more opponents. Many people quietly took out the memorials, which they wrote overnight last night.

"My dear friends, I believe everyone has read the content of the court discussions distributed by the supervisor in the hall in advance, and should also pre-examine the draft regulations for the "official cabinet". I don't need to say much about the significance of establishing an official cabinet. Here I need to say something to you. This matter is of great importance and I have no conclusion. I just hope that all my dear friends will predict it freely and point out its pros and cons. The pros and cons outweigh the disadvantages. This draft can be implemented. If the disadvantages outweigh the advantages, the plan will be cancelled."

"Your Majesty, I have some doubts and want to ask Mr. Li!" The first shot was Zhang Yi, the chief censor. He had short limbs and half bald head. Zhang Yi was also a favored minister of Li Longji. Nine out of ten officials he impeached would be dismissed. He was known as the first sword of the Censorate. He was originally a princeling. After the Eastern Palace case, he did not favor Prince Li Heng, so he defected to King Yong.

Li Longji looked at Zhang Yi and was slightly worried for Li Qing. Zhang Yi was best at grasping the loopholes in the problem, and he could focus on the key points in a few words. However, Li Longji also wanted to know what Zhang Yi found, so he smiled and said, "Zhang Zhongcheng, but it's okay to ask!"

Today, Zhang Yi was also prepared. He slowly walked to the ranks of the Ministry of Revenue, bowed to the Minister of Revenue, and bowed directly to Li Qinggong, "I only have one unknown. In the general outline of the draft, Mr. Li said that the new official cabinet is mainly in charge of the world's currency, but there is a one in it that says that the people of each county can pay the rent to the counter, which is considered to have been paid. However, the tax paid by the Ding household in the Tang Dynasty was not copper coins, but grain and cloth. Is this inconsistent with the general outline? Moreover, the official cabinet must be built to each county, so where does the money come from? Here are these two questions, please reply to Mr. Li."

Li Qing stepped out of the ranks, gave him a gift, and gave Li Longji a gift. Then he turned around and said, "The official cabinet only cares about the storage of money, not about grain, cloth and silk. The reason why the official cabinet collects rent and mankind is to consider that the household registration book is all formulated by the local government and they will collect taxes on their own. This will cause cheating. The official cabinet is the third eye, which can play a role in supervising the local area. The tax it levied will be released into the official warehouse nearby. Moreover, if the conditions are ripe, you can also consider converting the physical rent and mankind tax to currency tax."

Before Li Qing finished speaking, his old rival, Li Daofu, Minister of Works, said: "Mr. Li has also been the chief clerk of the small county. Haven't he considered it? This time he deprived the local financial power. If an emergency occurs, such as a broken bridge or a broken road, the local government will have no money and property, so he has to apply to the court. After approval, it will take half a year to do nothing in the place."

Li Qing glanced at him and said without any haste: "Shu Li thought too simply. The rent collected from various places should be returned to the court, and the court will allocate it to the local government. But now, many prefectures and counties have been squeezed and misappropriated by the court's taxes. It seems that what I have done is to re-rect the old system. What is surprising? Did Li never hand over the taxes to the court when he was an official in the local area?"

Li Daofu blushed and couldn't speak a word, so he quietly retreated.

"Does Yang Jingzhao have something to ask?" Seeing that Yang Guozhong was eager to try, Li Qing sneered and said it for him first.

"Yes! I have something to say." Yang Guozhong took a step forward, glared at Li Qing fiercely before bowing to Li Longji: "I have always thought that the Ministry of Revenue has made an outline without taking detailed matters. Now, Mr. Li wants to take away the Zuozang of Taifu Temple and the coin minting envoy of Shaofu Temple, but he also wants to hand over this so-called official cabinet to the Ministry of Revenue directly under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Revenue, which makes people have to suspect Mr. Li has selfish intentions!"

Li Qing tilted the corner of his mouth slightly and shook his head. He saved even the strength to refute Yang Guozhong's personal attack. If Yang Guozhong said too much, he would only humiliate himself in the end.

Sure enough, Li Longji's face sank, but he ignored him, which made Yang Guozhong feel like he was hitting the sky with one punch. He was immediately panicked and didn't know where he said the wrong thing.

However, Yang Guozhong's speech mobilized everyone's enthusiasm, and officials immediately expressed their opinions, all thinking that this law was too harsh and would seriously affect local governance.

"Your Majesty, setting up official counters in various counties in the Tang Dynasty will increase the labor costs."

"Your Majesty, you need to solve the problem of canal transportation first!"

Everyone was talking and making Li Longji feel a headache. He glanced at Li Linfu, and saw him gently stroked his beard and smiled without saying a word, then asked, "Li Xiangguo, what do you think?"

Li Linfu had a long time ago, but he saw him slowly walking to the jade stairs and said calmly: "The old minister thought that the idea of ​​establishing an official cabinet was very good, but the details were a little inappropriate, such as the problem of canal transportation and the problem of absorbing free money among the people. If these problems are not solved well, there will be future problems in the future."

"What if you rely on the views of the prime minister?"

Li Linfu smiled slightly and couldn't help but stroke his long beard, "I'm! There are three additional opinions. First, build imperial warehouses in local areas, such as Yangzhou, Chengdu, Xiangzhou and other places. Except for money, the rest of the materials can be put into the warehouse nearby without going to Beijing; second, as Lord Yang said, I also believe that the establishment of an official yard should not be directly under the Ministry of Revenue, but this is easy to deal with, just set up a temple alone; third, this matter involves the relationship between the local government and the court, and has a great impact, so it should not be made hastily. I suggest that you choose a certain place to run for one or two years first, and then promote it to various places after the conditions are ripe."

"Not bad! Not bad!"

Li Longji repeatedly praised, "It's still the Prime Minister's idea that it is safe, and it is in line with my wishes!"

He looked at Li Qing and asked with a smile: "Mr. Li, what do you think?"

Li Qing nodded, "I especially agree with the third article of the Prime Minister."
Chapter completed!