Chapter eight hundred and nineteenth court proceedings
Liu Xiu raised his head to Zhang Kunyang and said, "Go to the West Palace!"
West Palace.
When Liu Xiu arrived, Yin Lihua was taking a nap in the bedroom. Xueying and Hongjian originally wanted to go in to wake up Yin Lihua, but Liu Xiu stopped them. He whispered: "I'll sit down and leave in a while, don't wake up Lihua."
"
Liu Xiu had just finished handling government affairs and hadn't eaten lunch yet. Now he was a little hungry. He asked, "Is there anything to eat in the dining room?"
Xueying quickly replied: "Your Majesty, there are still some pastries."
Liu Xiu nodded and said, "Let someone take him to the pavilion!" After saying that, he turned around and walked out of the hall and entered the pavilion in the garden.
Although the garden of the West Palace is not as grand as Changqiu Palace, compared to other palaces, the garden of the West Palace is already quite large.
He sat down for a short time, and Li Xiu'e brought over plates of cakes.
Yin Lihua likes to eat these, so here in the West Palace, pastries are always available, and they can be eaten at any time. Liu Xiu picked up a piece and took a bite. The sweet fragrance of osmanthus immediately spread in his mouth.
He smiled, nodded, and praised: "This osmanthus cake is really well made. Who made it? It deserves a big reward!" As he spoke, he ate up a large piece of osmanthus cake in a few mouthfuls.
Li Xiu'e's face turned red, she blessed Liu Xiufu and said, "Your Majesty, your servant did it!"
Liu Xiu looked at Li Xiu'e in surprise and said with a smile: "I didn't know that in addition to causing trouble, you also have such good skills."
Zhang Kun, Xueying, and Hong Jian almost laughed out loud when they heard this. Li Xiu'e's face turned redder, and she whispered in a low voice: "My maid no longer causes trouble."
Liu Xiu glanced at her and said, "That's because Lihua taught you well! You are too wild and stubborn, and you don't know how to restrain yourself. Fortunately, you have Lihua protecting you in the palace."
Even though Liu Xiu didn't say much on weekdays and didn't have much contact with Li Xiu'e, she was like a mirror in her heart. In just a few words, she thoroughly explained Li Xiu'e.
Li Xiu'e pouted and stood aside with an indignant look, as if she was not satisfied with His Majesty's evaluation.
Xueying and Hongjian felt a little uncomfortable. His Majesty could explain Li Xiu'e so clearly, which meant that His Majesty always remembered Li Xiu'e in his heart.
Liu Xiu picked up another cake, took a sip of tea, and asked while eating the cake: "How was the tea party in Changqiu Palace today? What interesting things happened?"
Li Xiu'e raised her head and said: "The pastries in Changqiu Palace are not as delicious as those in Xigong Palace."
Liu Xiu blinked, then burst out laughing. Just as he was about to speak, Yin Lihua's voice came over first: "Your Majesty, don't listen to Xiu'e's nonsense. The pastries in Changqiu Palace are very good."
Following the voice, Yin Lihua walked over.
Liu Xiu's eyes lit up, and she immediately stood up, walked out of the pavilion, came to Yin Lihua, held her hand, and asked: "Why don't you sleep a little longer? Did I wake up Lihua?"
Yin Lihua shook her head and said, "I have almost slept all afternoon."
"You are heavy now, so you will inevitably fall asleep." Liu Xiu pulled Yin Lihua and walked into the pavilion. Li Xiu'e took the mat and placed it on the ground, then carefully helped Yin Lihua sit down.
With Yin Lihua present, Li Xiu'e became more talkative. She said: "Today, the Queen specially invited Colonel Wei Xun and asked Captain Wei to dance with his sword for fun."
"Well, I heard about it." Liu Xiuxiao asked, "How is Wei Xun's swordsmanship?"
"The swordsmanship is okay, but the person is not that good." Li Xiu'e pouted and muttered in a low voice.
Yin Lihua looked back at her and said with a displeased look on her face: "Xiu'e, don't talk nonsense."
Li Xiu'e said sternly: "Your Majesty, noble sir, I did not say anything nonsense. When Wei Xun saw the noble man, he seemed to have lost his soul. The look he looked at the noble man also made people very uncomfortable. At first glance, he looked like a pervert.
Blank."
Liu Xiu was stunned, and turned to look at Yin Lihua for confirmation. Yin Lihua explained softly: "Captain Wei has just entered the palace not long ago, and he doesn't know much about the rules in the palace. It is inevitable that he will be disrespectful."
.”
Li Xiu'e said unconvinced: "There are many people entering the palace for the first time. He is the only one who keeps staring at the noble man when he sees him!"
Yin Lihua looked at Li Xiu'e helplessly and motioned for her to say less. Wei Xun was not an ordinary palace guard, but the eldest son of Kai Xiao. No matter how much he disliked this person, he should not be spoken of in front of His Majesty.
Speaking ill of him will also make His Majesty very embarrassed.
Seeing that Yin Lihua was thinking too much, Liu Xiu patted her hand and said in a brisk tone: "If he dares to be rude to Lihua again in the future, tell me and I will punish him! If his eyes are rude, he will be dug out.
If his eyes are opened and his words are disrespectful, cut out his tongue."
Yin Lihua looked at Liu Xiu in surprise and said, "Your Majesty..."
Liu Xiu said quietly: "Kui Xiao is half-hearted and it is difficult to conspire."
The implication is that she is clearly telling Yin Lihua not to care too much about Wei Xun's identity. In Luoyang, Wei Xun is just a hostage, or a scapegoat arranged by Wei Xiao.
If Wei Xun still doesn't understand his situation and still dares to accuse Lihua, he is really seeking death, and no one can save him.
After listening to Liu Xiu's words, Li Xiu'e became more energetic. She said: "Just tell me, my servant, so what if he is the eldest son of Marquis Liang? How can Your Majesty be afraid of Marquis Liang? It should be Marquis Liang who is afraid of Your Majesty!"
"
Hearing this, Liu Xiu laughed loudly, raised his finger, tapped Li Xiu'e, and said with a smile: "Although you are a girl who speaks freely, you are right this time!"
Hearing Liu Xiu's praise, Li Xiu'e was also happy from ear to ear, and nodded at Yin Lihua. Yin Lihua smiled helplessly and said: "During this period, Xiu'e has been spoiled by me so much. If
If His Majesty supports her again in the future, she will become even more arrogant!"
"Haha——" Liu Xiu laughed even more after hearing this, and her mood became much brighter.
He wanted to carry out political reform and faced layers of resistance and pressure. When he arrived at the West Palace, he felt much more relaxed. Before he knew it, Liu Xiu had eaten a whole plate of pastries.
He touched his belly and smiled at Li Xiu'e: "Your skills are indeed good. Remember to make more in the future and send them to Qingliang Hall."
"Your Majesty often handles official business in the Qingliang Hall. My servant has nothing to do, so I don't dare to go there casually."
Liu Xiu said angrily and funny: "You girl, how dare you fight with me now?!"
"My maid doesn't dare!" Li Xiu'e saluted seriously.
Liu Xiu said helplessly: "I won't let your efforts go in vain. As long as you come, Zhang Kun will be rewarded!"
Li Xiu'e's eyes suddenly lit up, and she immediately said happily: "I would like to thank Your Majesty for your kindness!"
Liu Xiu laughed again, picked up Yin Lihua, and walked towards the main hall of the West Palace.
The next day, Liu Xiu raised the issue of restructuring in the court. One was to streamline the local bureaucracy, and the other was to streamline the local army. As Liu Xiu expected, when this issue was raised, it immediately attracted opposition from many ministers.
Grand Situ Fu Zhan and Grand Sikong Song Hong all believed that given the current situation, it was not appropriate to reduce local armies, let alone local officials. As for abolishing the captaincy, it was an absolute no-no.
The world is uncertain and wars are going on. It is too risky to reduce the local army at this time. Removing the captain will greatly reduce the combat power of the various counties. Subsequently, the power of the prefect will be too great and unrestricted.
At this time, Liu Xiu stopped talking, and naturally someone would speak on his behalf: Zhi Jin Wu Zhu Fu, Shangshu Ling Hou Ba, and Sili Xiaowei Bao Yong.
Bao Yong took the lead and said: "Fu Situ and Song Sikong are very aware that the national treasury is getting increasingly tight now. It is already stretched to support hundreds of thousands of capital troops. We also need to support hundreds of thousands of local troops. Where do the money and food come from?"
Fu Zhan said seriously: "The problem of tight national treasury can be solved through taxation!"
Bao Yong said: "The world is in chaos, wars have been going on for years, the people are in dire straits, and people are dying of hunger everywhere. Your Majesty is benevolent, considerate of the people, and implements ten taxes and one. Does Fu Situ think that now we should implement eight taxes and one, seven taxes and one, or even five taxes and one?"
Fu Zhan was silent. After so many years of war, all counties and counties were riddled with holes and in need of improvement. The people indeed could not afford heavy taxes, but without levying heavy taxes, the imperial court could not afford to have a large number of troops.
The capital army and local army are indeed a troublesome problem.
When Bao Yong finished speaking, the ministers in the hall were also talking about it. Song Hong said meaningfully: "Reduce the local army. I am worried that the bandit armies from various places will resurrect and cause chaos in various places again!"
Fu Zhan said quietly: "If there is internal instability, the imperial court's external campaigns will be greatly affected... I hope your majesty will think twice!"
The hall gradually became quiet, and the chattering ministers all stopped their discussions and looked at Liu Xiu. When the hall was completely silent, Liu Xiucai slowly said: "Given the current situation, reduce the local army.
It is bound to take huge risks, but the imperial court cannot afford to support hundreds of thousands of capital troops and hundreds of thousands of local troops, so it must make a choice and choose the lesser of two evils."
When Liu Xiu finished speaking, the buzz of discussion among the ministers sounded again in the hall.
If the imperial court cannot distribute food and pay, the morale of the army will inevitably weaken, and the soldiers will lose their fighting spirit.
The reduction of the local army gave the rebel army an opportunity to take advantage of. Once the rebel army revived and caused chaos in the local area, no matter the county government, county government or state government, they would be helpless and could only turn to the court for help.
The lesser of two evils, but which one is the least?
One group of ministers advocated restructuring, while the other opposed it, and the debate continued.
Unknowingly, more than two hours had passed and it was approaching noon. Fu Zhan raised the wat board to Liu Xiu and said, "Your Majesty, it is difficult to come to a conclusion today, so why not discuss it tomorrow instead?"
Liu Xiu, who had been silent, said: "The matter is of great importance. Today, we must draw a conclusion! If we can't finish the discussion in the morning, we will continue the discussion in the afternoon. If we can't finish the discussion in the afternoon, we will discuss it all night. In short, when will the discussion be completed and when will we disperse?
towards!"
After hearing Liu Xiu's words, the ministers in the court looked at each other, couldn't help but swallowed their saliva, and continued to discuss and discuss.
Liu Xiu rarely behaved so forcefully in court, which meant that the matter had reached a point where it was imminent and could not be delayed.
At the beginning, only 30% of the ministers agreed with the restructuring, 50% to 60% opposed it, and the remaining ministers did not express their stance.
By the afternoon, the number of ministers who supported the restructuring increased to 50%, and the number of ministers who opposed the restructuring was also 50%. The two sides argued hard and refused to give in to each other.
By the time of application in the afternoon, the stomachs of the ministers began to drum.
You must know that the time for going to court is Mao hour, which is five o'clock in the morning. Ministers have to leave home at around four o'clock in the morning. Basically, they do not eat breakfast. They go home to eat after the court is over.
Nowadays, the court meeting is held from Mao Shi to Shen Shi. The ministers have not eaten breakfast or lunch. How can they not be hungry? The hungrier they are, the more irritable they feel, and their attitude towards discussions becomes more and more irritable and irritable.