The treasury, as the name suggests, is the treasury of the state capital.
The grain and grass stored here come from the land taxes of people from all over the surrounding areas.
Earlier, these field taxes had to be transported to the capital in batches and uniformly dispatched by the imperial court.
The main purpose of land tax is to provide grain and grass for the army during foreign wars.
When construction projects are carried out in various places, the food and grass used by laborers, as well as the salaries of officials in daily life, all come from here.
Of course, the most important purpose is to prevent natural disasters that may occur at any time.
After all, in ancient times, food was life.
Only when people have enough to eat can they stay in peace and not make trouble.
After Li Chengqian was born, he not only promoted the south-to-north grain transfer, but also developed Beimo Farm.
A grain planting base as large as Hedong can basically fill the entire capital granary.
So after that, Li Shimin implemented the grain storage system throughout the country.
In other words, it only means that the food in the state government's warehouses does not need to be sent to the capital in the future. All food will be controlled by the state governments themselves.
This can not only control food prices immediately, but also provide relief to victims as quickly as possible when a food shortage breaks out in the surrounding areas.
Of course, the most convenient thing is for the armies in various places. When the army is dispatched to go on an expedition, it no longer has to wait for food and grass to arrive first before the army can move as before.
They can collect it from the treasury while traveling through various places.
This can greatly shorten the marching time and allow the army to ensure the fastest marching speed.
No matter what, this policy is a good policy.
People all over the country even praised Li Shimin for this for a long time.
But as the saying goes, there are countermeasures from above and policies from below.
Some people took advantage of this policy to take the grain and grass in the treasury and sell it elsewhere to seek personal gain for themselves.
This phenomenon occurred in Jiangnan some time ago.
After the incident was revealed, Li Shimin directly ordered the officials involved to have their homes confiscated and beheaded.
But this Things didn't cause much trouble.
After all, that place is Jiangnan Province, and the possibility of a food disaster is extremely slim.
But Longyou Road is completely different.
This is the frontier of the Tang Dynasty. Not only is the land barren and agricultural productivity low, war may break out at any time.
Once the war begins, Liangzhou's treasury will become the logistical supply for the entire war chain.
But now, all the food and grass in the treasury are empty, not even a grain of rice is left.
How could this make Li Chengqian not angry?
After bringing the young official back to the government office, he almost didn't even interrogate him, and immediately ordered someone to severely punish him with thirty military sticks.
This time the military stick came down and the officer was beaten until his mouth and nose started to bleed.
He lay on the ground and begged for mercy: "Your Highness, this matter has nothing to do with the villain. The villain is just doing things for others..."
"Doing something for someone else?"
Li Chengqian was so angry that he almost wanted to laugh.
He said: "I just want to ask you one thing. As a court official, who should you be loyal to and who should you think about?"
The clerk was speechless for a moment.
After a long time, he whispered: "As a court official, I should be loyal to the court and consider the people..."
"But what have you done now?"
Li Chengqian tilted his head and looked at the other person, saying: "You watched helplessly as someone misappropriated the grain and grass in Liangzhou's treasury, but did not report it. Is this showing your loyalty to the imperial court and thinking about the people?"
"Tell me, if a food disaster breaks out now, how will the people survive?"
"Tell me, if a war breaks out now, what will the soldiers eat and drink, and who should the common people protect?"
This was the first time for many people to see Li Chengqian getting angry.
They really didn't expect that His Highness, who was usually pleasant and approachable, would be so scary when he got angry.
The clerk was so scolded by Li Chengqian that he didn't even dare to raise his head.
Li Chengqian raised his head and sighed, saying: "Okay, I don't want to listen to your explanation, and I don't even bother to listen to your explanation."
After he finished speaking, he waved his hand slightly and said: "Drag him down and chop him off."
Hearing this, the clerk suddenly panicked.
He immediately raised his head and said: "Your Highness, this matter has nothing to do with me. I was forced to do nothing. They forced me and didn't let me tell anyone."
"If I tell them, they will kill my whole family." ??
"There are seniors and juniors above me, and I have to obey their orders."
The clerk begged with runny nose and tears.
Li Chengqian looked down at him and slowly asked: "Then let me ask you, who asked you to do this?"
"Yes Yes……"
The clerk lowered his head, bit his lip and said, "It's the inspection history of Longyou Road, Zheng Kuan, Mr. Zheng..."
It's him?
Li Chengqian's eyes narrowed slightly.
He looked back at Changsun Chong beside him and said, "Brother Chong, what is the crime of embezzling food from the treasury?"
"This year, His Majesty's newly revised laws clearly stipulate this."
Changsun Chong raised his eyes and looked at Li Chengqian and said: "Anyone who dares to take advantage of his authority and misappropriate property from the treasury will have his home confiscated and executed, regardless of his official position."
"Search the house, ask for execution..."
Li Chengqian narrowed his eyes and said, "Is this evidence enough to bring down Zheng Kuan?"
"enough."
Changsun Chong only replied with one word.
After hearing this, Li Chengqian felt confident.
He raised the corner of his mouth and said, "If that's the case, then what are you waiting for?"
Changsun Chong nodded and said: "I will take people to capture him and bring him back to the capital, where he will be handed over to His Majesty for disposal."
After saying that, Changsun Chong took the people away.
And Li Chengqian also absorbed the previous experience He taught him a lesson, while putting the petty officials into the government prison and protecting them strictly.
This is an extremely important witness, and there cannot be any sloppiness or mistakes.
Wait until everything is handled.
Only then did Li Chengqian suddenly think of Zhai Yuexiu.
He walked into the government office. Zhai Yuexiu was drinking tea in the government office lobby.
This girl, how can she still look as pitiful as she did when she asked Li Chengqian to do something for her?
Her face was full of confidence and pride, as if everything was in her calculations.
Li Chengqian said directly: "Miss Zhai, I really underestimate you."
"ah?"
Zhai Yuexiu pretended to be confused and said: "Your Highness, what do you mean by this, and why can't I understand you?"
"Okay, Miss Zhai, don't act stupid with me."
Li Chengqian said: "You have been doing business in Liangzhou for a long time. It is absolutely impossible that you don't know where there are bandits and where there are not bandits."
"But even if that's the case, you still let your people take a route that involves bandits."
Li Chengqian looked at Zhai Yuexiu and said, "So, you did it on purpose, right?"
Zhai Yuexiu did not speak, but looked at Li Chengqian quietly.
"I am eager to reshape the image of Longyou Dao officialdom."
"But we haven't found a way to save the merchants."
"And you came to beg me because you knew what I was thinking."
"Because you know that if you beg me, I will definitely open the treasury and compensate you for your losses."
"At that time, I will find out by myself that the granary is empty, and that the person who misappropriated the food in the granary is Zheng Kuan."
Li Chengqian looked at Zhai Yuexiu and smiled.
"I have to say, you are very powerful. I was plotted by you, and everyone was plotted by you."
"But I'm just curious."
Li Chengqian looked at Zhai Yuexiu and said, "Why do you want to help me?"