Regarding the movements of foreign visitors, it only took two days to put it on the emperor's desk. This was not the norm. Now the Tang Dynasty had several vassal states. In addition, there were memorials about the Turks, and there were many contacts with the outside world.
Now, it has gradually become routine in the DPRK.
It's just that this year the imperial court may have to use troops in the Western Regions, so it will receive special attention.
In order to clear himself up, Xu Jingzong reported to the court, from Queen Yuwen Yubo of Gaochang to Fufeng, reporting every detail, no matter how big or small.
Li Po looked at it carefully and became a little confused. Logically speaking, such an article should have been submitted by Changsun Wuji. How could it be Xu Jingzong?
You must know that Changsun Wuji was the envoy appointed by the imperial court to go to Gaochang. He welcomed the people from Gaochang in Zhangye and accompanied him all the way back to Chang'an. The days on the road were not short.
Why did you open your heart and start chatting with your local governor when you arrived at Fufeng's house? Is it because Xu Jingzong is so beautiful, or is it just because Xu Jingzong himself said that he has a good father?
It doesn't make sense logically, but it's not a big deal. Maybe it's just because Changsun Wuji doesn't treat people well enough, so people don't want to talk to him?
Li Po made a mental calculation, had Changsun Wuji been kicked out of the capital and started to be absent-minded when doing things?
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But in any case, Xu Jingzong did a good job. Once he understood the internal situation in Gaochang, the court could calmly make a response that was in the interests of the Tang Dynasty.
The DPRK and the Central Government have been discussing this matter for almost a year. There is no need to change the big strategy. Everyone is in the honeymoon period. The Tang Dynasty has no intention of conflict with the Turks in recent years, let alone competing with the Turks for control of the Western Regions.
Just as Shangshu Ling Wen Yanbo said, no matter who is in charge of the Western Regions, they must do business with the Tang Dynasty. This is the most ideal situation today.
With the current national power of the Tang Dynasty, it was still not possible to make the countries in the Western Regions bow their heads like the Sui Dynasty.
Many years ago, Yang Guang visited Zhangye and summoned people from the Western Regions to come to court. This was a willful move based on the perennial gatherings of the Sui Dynasty. The result was that he became a laughing stock. The Tang Dynasty was unable and should not imitate it.
As for the military options, based on the fact that the King of Gaochang came to court on his own initiative, one was to station troops in Gaochang. It didn’t take much, just 500 cavalry. With the combat effectiveness of the Tang army, it was enough to control the royal city of Gaochang.
Another more symbolic option is not to station troops, but only to send envoys from the Tang Dynasty to Gaochang.
The covenant with the Turks is evidenced in black and white. If the Turks rebelled and invaded Gaochang, the Tang Dynasty would first protest to the Turkic royal court. If the Turkic royal court ignored it or did not deal with it promptly enough, then the war between the Tang Dynasty and the Turks might begin.
It's about to break out.
At that time, the Tang Dynasty would not cross the Gobi Desert to recapture Gaochang, but would march towards the Turkic royal court to punish the Turks for their treachery.
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As for the domestic political struggle in Gaochang, it was not enough to arouse Li Po's interest.
Later, people always said that weak countries have no diplomacy. In fact, this is the truth. In front of big countries, the domestic affairs of small countries are trivial. No matter who is the master of the country, they can't change their situation.
Of course, Li Po would not interfere with the ownership of the King of Gaochang just because of a secret report from Xu Jingzong. That would be too hasty. He would still have to meet someone from Gaochang before talking.
The origin of Yuwen Yubo is quite interesting. His maternal grandfather was Yuwen Yun, Emperor Xuan of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, and his maternal grandmother came from the Yang family. Starting from here, they have relatives, and their blood relationship is quite close.
Because Yang Lihua was the eldest daughter of Emperor Wen Yang Jian, according to seniority, he, Li Po, wanted to call the Empress Dowager Tianyuan of the Northern Zhou Dynasty and the former Princess Leping of the Sui Dynasty his aunt.
This is also a person who is not easy to evaluate. Li Po has seen her deeds. As the eldest daughter of Yang Jian, she married Yuwen Yun, Emperor Xuan of the Northern Zhou Dynasty.
There are records in the history of the Sui Dynasty, and there is a story in it that impressed Li Po deeply. Emperor Xuan Yun of the Northern Zhou Dynasty was violent by nature, and because he was afraid of Yang Jian, he later wanted to abolish him.
Anyway, one day, Yu Wen Yun took action without thinking and accused the Queen Yang Lihua for no reason. Yang Lihua did not give in. It is said that no matter how Yu Wen Yun scolded her, she looked calm and unmoved.
Yu Wen Yun was furious and wanted Yang Lihua to die. It was Yang Lihua's mother, Dugu Jialuo, who hurried into the palace after hearing this and kowtowed in front of Yu Wen Yun until her head was broken, which saved her daughter from death.
This was the palace struggle of the Beizhou Zhou Dynasty. There is no need to pursue the cause of the incident. This is what happened. Anyway, Yang Lihua tortured Yu Wenyun to death.
The political system of the Northern Zhou Dynasty was relatively arbitrary, which meant chaos. Yang Lihua was the queen of Emperor Xuan, and her title was Empress Da Tianyuan. There was another queen, and she was titled Empress Tianyuan.
Otherwise, how can we talk about chaos? How can any queen have a title during her lifetime? But when Emperor Xuan Yun of the Northern Zhou Dynasty came here, he called himself Emperor Tianyuan, and the queen Yang Lihua became the great Queen Tianyuan, and even created a nondescript Tianyuan Emperor.
From this perspective, the signs of the collapse of the Northern Zhou Dynasty have been revealed. The emperor is unreliable, so how can he govern the country well?
Yang Lihua had no children, and Zhu Manyue, the empress of Emperor Tianyuan, was the biological mother of the later Emperor Yuwen Chan of the Northern Zhou Dynasty. After the death of Emperor Xuan Yun, Yuwen Chan succeeded to the throne, and he was only seven years old when he succeeded.
Later, he appointed Duke Yang Jian as a minister to assist the country. Soon, Zen was located in Yang Jian, and Yang Lihua must have played a role in this process.
In the fifth year of Daye, Yang Lihua accompanied Yang Emperor Yang Guangxi on a tour of Zhangye. She fell seriously ill in Hexi. Before she died, she took her brother's hand and told him that I was only a daughter like Yuwen Eying, so I could support the country in the Sui Dynasty.
, my father promised me that he would make my daughter rich and prosperous for the rest of her life.
Now that I am about to die, my brother must promise me that after my death, all the existing fiefdoms and towns will be handed over to Eying...
Listening to these words, it can be seen that Yang Jian's daughter Yang Lihua was almost an indispensable part of his success in winning the Northern Zhou Dynasty.
But in the end... Yang Guang did not keep his promise to his sister, and finally killed his sister's only daughter and killed her son-in-law's family.
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Based on this blood relationship, Queen Yuwen Yubo of Gaochang, who is now visiting the court, is Li Po's niece and can be considered a close relative.
You must know that Yang Lihua is the biological sister of Yang Yong and Yang Guang brothers. Within three generations, their descendants are undoubtedly blood relatives.
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What made Li Po a little annoyed was that in addition to telling stories, Xu Jingzong also described the appearance of the Queen of Gaochang. This guy was good at writing. In just a few strokes, he created an image of a Xianbei aristocratic beauty with reckless words and powerful momentum.
It was forcefully instilled into Li Po's mind.
After reading it, Li Po cursed in his heart, "Who does this bastard Xu Jingzong think of Li Po?"
Li Po sniffled, gathered up his robes, and felt a bit chilly in the palace. He thought it was okay, okay, the origin of this woman was relatively clear, and he was not a fool who raised troops in Jin and didn't know anything.
The king of heads.
It will definitely not be like Ashina Tianxiang, who got things done in a hurry.
Considering that Turks, Silla, and Subi are now all headed by women, it would not be a big deal if the small country of Gaochang had a different queen.
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Put this matter aside, let’s move on to the report from the Ministry of Revenue.
New changes to the tax system will be made this year. The Ministry of Household Affairs has made preparations and approved them. Mingfa Tianxia will mainly change the commercial tax part.
Since the end of the East China Sea War, North Korea and China have discussed encouraging trade. How to encourage trade, the first thing to do is to reduce commercial taxes. Naturally, the main target is to facilitate foreign business transactions.
The previous commercial tax was much heavier, because the income from trade with the Eastern and Western Turks was not much, and the imperial court had a policy of neither encouraging nor opposing this.
Nowadays, the situation is gradually changing. There are contacts between the East and West Turks, the Shannan Three Kingdoms, the islands in the East China Sea, Funan, Chenla and other countries in Southeast Asia, plus the upcoming Liaodong Trading Company.
In Asia alone, the Tang Dynasty will inevitably become the center of commercial exchanges. Of course, it will not be as prosperous as it was later, and the circulation of goods will not be as fast, but the income from business and trade is still worth looking forward to.
Especially for profit-seeking merchants who took risks on the sea, Datang must solve the merchants' worries, and reducing business taxes was just one of them.
In the Age of Discovery, there were many policies that Li Po could learn from. He might as well put them to use. As for what kind of situation it can create, let's wait and see.
In addition, the household registration work of the Ministry of Revenue is coming to an end this year. Su Dan, the Secretary of the Ministry of Household Affairs, made a prediction that the population of the Tang Dynasty will exceed 16 million people, which is a gratifying milestone.
However, the population recovery rate of the Tang Dynasty was definitely not that fast. The population growth was mainly due to prisoners of war from the Japanese and Goguryeo countries.
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In March, the spring plowing season is coming again. Year after year, spring plowing and autumn harvest are never absent. Every time, Li Po has to say a few words to prevent the officials from slacking off.
The land tax system of the Tang Dynasty has basically matured, and there is little chance of changes in recent years. At most, it will just be a slight increase in taxes for the nobles.
There is nothing much to say this year. The important thing is that next year, in the ninth year of Yuanzhen, the tax exemption period in Henan, Shandong, Hebei and other places has expired, and taxes can begin to be levied on the farmers there.
By the time of next year's autumn harvest, it is foreseeable that the national treasury will experience a rapid growth.
Originally, when Hebei was pacified in the third year of Yuanzhen, Li Po saw that Henan, Hebei, Shandong and other places had ten houses and nine empty houses, and were so dilapidated that he thought of giving these places tax exemptions for five years to restore their vitality.
Then depending on the situation, it should be tax-free for three to five years. The final outcome of these places where the war started in the late Sui Dynasty was too tragic. If everyone could have imagined such a result before, then the government would still use such cruel methods.
Treat the people in such a way?
Otherwise, will the common people rise up and send almost everyone to death?
This is a question that does not need to be answered, because people just keep tossing and turning in reincarnation, and no matter how much they learn from the past, it doesn't matter.