On weekdays, the emperor only discussed political affairs with his important ministers. There were not many people, and the relationship between the emperor and his ministers was very casual. This is called the Chang Dynasty.
But today the emperor summoned the officials of sixth rank and above in Chang'an to discuss matters.
The emperor stood above him, looked at the ministers and said: "When I destroyed Shi Nihou, I did not go back to Chang'an, but went south to conquer the Southern Zhou Dynasty. Some people said that I was mad and worried that returning to Chang'an would lead to Guanzhong.
Those powerful families joined forces to create chaos."
The ministers were shocked in their hearts.
The emperor said calmly: "When I came to Chang'an back then, I heard a saying during my reverse journey that Guanzhong is the Guanzhong of aristocratic families and powerful Guanzhong."
These words are becoming more and more disturbing.
The courtiers looked at the wat tablets in their hands uncomfortably. According to the rules of the Tang Dynasty, officials of the fifth rank and above should hold ivory wat tablets, while those below the fifth rank could only hold bamboo and wooden wat tablets.
The strict hierarchy is clearly demonstrated here.
In order to obtain ivory tablets, Datang would trade with overseas and small countries in the southwest every year.
At this moment, except for a few important ministers, the wat board is completely blank, with nothing on it.
Moreover, officials below the fifth rank rarely have the opportunity to report to the court... They are not eligible to participate in the regular court on weekdays. If they want to report something, they can only go through the channel of delivering the memorial.
When the emperor opened his mouth, he positioned the great families and powerful people in Guanzhong on the opposite side of the emperor and the country. Although these words are very true, many things can only be understood and cannot be explained in words!
The emperor became more and more unscrupulous.
"But to say that I am worried and to say that I am scared is the narcissism of those people."
There was an obvious hint of ridicule in the emperor's voice, "I entered Chang'an, and everything was waiting for me, so I was very busy for a while. Now, the spring breeze of the first year of Yongde has blown through the Tang Dynasty, and everything is full of vitality.
…”
Hey!
Why did the emperor change the subject again?
And it's very peaceful.
Isn't this moody?
The ministers murmured that the emperor had learned the mysterious technique of imperial disguise without any teacher.
"But this spring breeze cannot blow on some people."
The emperor's voice rose a little higher.
What the emperor said was... Several ministers secretly raised their heads and glanced at the emperor.
"In Guanzhong, in this world, how many people are forced into slavery. The spring breeze blows, but they can only work hard in the fields under the instructions of their masters."
Coming!
Coming!
It’s finally here!
The last time the emperor took action, he punished Prince Xiang's family who had played dirty tricks on the emperor during the slave registration incident, and even had Prince Xiang killed.
Many people say that there is no problem for the emperor to avenge his father, but the issue of citizenship is too big. If it is not handled well, it will cause turmoil in the world. The emperor must be a big thunder and a small rain...
Sure enough, after King Xiang was killed, the emperor seemed to have forgotten about it and never mentioned it again.
As a result, the wealthy and powerful people in Guanzhong, as well as the powerful, all breathed a sigh of relief.
But I didn't expect that the emperor would bring up the old things again today, on such a beautiful day with a gentle breeze.
"Your Majesty, those are all slaves!" someone reminded.
"Are you reminding me that I should act according to the law?" The emperor looked at the man, "That's right."
However, the emperor immediately asked: "Are all those slaves legitimate?"
Normal storage...is it possible?
According to the laws of the Tang Dynasty, good people were not allowed to be slaves unless they committed a serious crime and were punished as slaves.
But how many people are punished into slavery every year?
"I didn't check for any abnormalities in the household registration. I only checked how many people were confiscated into slavery every year for more than ten years. Do you know how many there are?"
The emperor smiled and said: "After calculation, the number of people who are punished as slaves every year is less than five hundred. Five hundred! But how many slaves have been added to Guanzhong and the world in the past ten years? Who can tell me?"
Everyone heard the thunder roaring over the hall.
Some people were even sweating profusely.
Something big is going to happen...
"More than eight hundred thousand!"
The emperor pointed to the ministers, "This is just a preliminary estimate. Maybe it is more than a million, maybe it is more. I just want to ask, why is no one saying it is against the law at this time?"
Who dares to say?
The ministers bowed their heads.
"The law has become the papyrus used by the nobles to wipe their butts. I turned around and tore up the laws of the Tang Dynasty and used them to wipe my buttocks. How about you wait and see?"
When these officials mentioned the law in daily life, they always said sanctimoniously that there was no family affection under the law, and they acted like it was selfless.
At this moment, there was total silence.
People who design rules often place themselves outside the rules.
The same is true for the law.
"Things that violate the law happened under my nose. Please tell me, how should I deal with it? Should I turn a blind eye, or...take action to correct it?"
Who dares to speak?
Anyone who opens his mouth is the mortal enemy of those meat eaters!
"Your Majesty, do it!"
Who is this?
The officials were astonished and thought, is this man so bold that he is not afraid of the carnivores in the world?
Wang Laoer raised his hands and shouted as if he were in Northern Xinjiang, "I haven't killed anyone in a long time."
grass!
It turned out to be the idiot General Qianniuwei!
"The second child is the most popular with me." The emperor nodded happily, "I have said before that some people say that this world is composed of aristocratic families and powerful people. If their interests are affected, it will cause turmoil in the world and cause chaos.
No, even I, the emperor, will have to be ousted by them."
It’s good that you know!
Several veterans sighed.
"But if I sit back and ignore this matter, what will happen next?"
"Aristocratic families and tycoons will continue to absorb people. Every time they absorb one person, the Tang Dynasty will lose one manpower and one less tax. On the contrary, the Tang Dynasty will weaken. What will happen if the ministers are strong and the master is weak?
?”
The emperor said coldly: "With a sharp knife in hand, murderous intentions arise. With a lot of land, money and slaves in their hands, what will this person want to do? They will want to be an emperor!"
"Your Majesty, these words are biased!" A minister wanted to defend himself, but the emperor sneered: "Why did Chang Sheng of Jianyun Temple rebel?"
Liu Qing left the mission, "Your Majesty, the pseudo-emperor ascended the throne and received help from Jianyunguan. After the success, Jianyunguan was rewarded with a large amount of land and population. In addition, many people subsequently donated land, and the power of Jianyunguan gradually expanded..."
"As His Majesty said, with a sharp knife in hand, murderous intention arises. Chang Sheng has a large number of people, money and food in his hands, and his ambition is strong, so he took the opportunity to rebel." Luo Cai went out to make up for it.
"The Chang Shenghui is planning to rebel. So, what are the people in charge of the world thinking? If they are allowed to continue to act recklessly, how can I, the emperor, rest in peace? How many years can the Tang Dynasty survive?"
The emperor looked at the ministers, stood up, and asked, "Who will tell me?"
A minister came out and said: "Your Majesty, I think that if we start a big war, war will break out all over the world. In this way, let's forget about it... we will strictly control it in the future."
"I think so too, but I know that people's hearts are unpredictable. If we ignore the blame, many people will feel lucky. If you don't hold it accountable, I will do it worse. People's hearts are never satisfied."
The emperor said categorically: "It must be investigated!"
"Your Majesty, the world will be shaken!"
"If this matter is not resolved, the Tang Dynasty will never have peace. If I are here, I can still suppress the world. Without me, who would dare to attack those blood-sucking maggots?"
Can A Liang do it?
The emperor felt that it could not be done.
A Liang doesn't have that prestige or skill.
"I also want to put this matter aside. After my death, I won't care about the flood. But I can't bear to watch the Tang Dynasty sink and watch the people of the Tang Dynasty become slaves of foreign races..."
In the spring of the first year of Yongde, the emperor held a court meeting and announced the purge of the world's population.
Immediately, Chang'an was shaken.
"Is he crazy?"
Chun Yudian said in disbelief: "At first, I thought that even if he wanted to take action, he would only take action against our five surnames, or even just your two families. But I didn't expect that he actually...he dared to take action against the entire world
Take action. This lunatic is not even as crazy as honoring the emperor!"
"What's the use of talking about this now?" Yang Xinxiang looked sternly, "Population is the foundation of your family. Once those slaves are gone, what else will your family have?"
Chun Yudian slapped his forehead, "Without those slaves, it would be easy for that bastard to attack us." He gritted his teeth and said, "What a bastard, what a wild dog. In the name of cleaning up the population, what he does is weaken the great family.
And the reality of tyranny.”
"His method is sharper than Li Bi's, and it is upright and impeccable!" Yang Xinxiang closed his eyes, "This is to draw fuel from the bottom of the cauldron... In addition, there is another matter."
Yang Xinxiang opened his eyes, "Do you still remember why the Guanzhong clan was so confident?"
"At the beginning, we all felt that that scoundrel would immediately send troops to Shu. In this way, he would appease Guanzhong, so as not to send troops on the front foot, and we would cut off the back foot. Therefore, after returning to Chang'an, he said that he had to rest and recuperate after years of fighting. At that time, he was still
He laughed at me and said he was cowardly."
Chun Yudian was suddenly stunned, "He...he..."
"The reason why he doesn't send troops to Shu is not to cultivate his health, but for this moment!"
Yang Xinxiang's calmness disappeared, and his face was ashen. "He wants to be ruthless against the world's rich and powerful people. Will those people just sit back and wait to be killed? I bet that when this decree reaches the place, there will be war everywhere."
"And the troops stationed in various places are waiting for this moment!" Chun Yudian turned his back on guests and ordered: "Go and ask personally where the northern Xinjiang army is now."
A servant looked at Yang Xinxiang, who nodded, "Go quickly!"
They have connections in the military and the Sixth Department, and they can find out information very quickly.
"Except for the tens of thousands of troops guarding Chang'an, the rest of the troops are scattered everywhere, saying they are training. There are also newly formed armies in northern Xinjiang, which are also scattered everywhere..."
Chunyudian and Yang Xinxiang looked at each other.
"What a scoundrel, this has been planned for a long time!"
"He is trying to suppress the world!"
…
The emperor at this moment was dressed in military uniform, with a sword at his waist.
Below are the generals under his command.
"Let the troops stationed in various places be on guard. If someone plots rebellion within the territory, they will resolutely suppress it. Don't be afraid of blood!" The emperor said calmly: "Without blood, there will be no peace in this world!"
"Yes!" Pei Jian and others responded.
"Also, Jinyiwei."
"His Majesty!"
"Jinyi guards from all over the country are keeping an eye on those officials. If they find someone colluding with the local powerful families, they will take them down!"
"Take orders!"
The emperor held the handle of the knife, looked at these confidants, and said:
"The new emperor will use three fires when he takes office. With this first fire, I will burn down their tangled root system!"