Man Tang Huacai

Chapter 102
Compared with the bustling Chang'an, Bieye in the suburbs has a different scene.

In the evening, there is no annoying sound of evening drums.The women came back from washing clothes by the stream, talking and laughing, and the wind rustled through the bamboo forest.

After seeing the guests off, Pei Kuan stood under a willow tree with his hands behind his back, and muttered to himself, "If you want the spring to rest, the king and grandson can stay."

"Aon."

Pei Liuniang rushed over crying.

"Don't marry Du Wulang for your granddaughter... The Lu family will choose a girl who is both talented and beautiful, beautiful and handsome, and have an extraordinary appearance for their daughter, but choose a dumb one for their granddaughter..."

Pei Kuan turned his head and scolded: "You don't want to marry? You are only a prostitute of the Pei family in Hedong, and you are only worthy of marrying a side branch of the Du family in Jingzhao. Do you understand?"

Pei Liuniang was still crying, but she was stunned when she heard the words, she didn't know what to say, she followed Pei Qiao who was on the side, and coaxed her away.

"Uncle Ba, you also met, how different are the two of them, please help my niece."

"Don't make trouble." Pei Qiao said, "Uncle Ba understands what you mean."

Pei Qiao, courtesy name Shiming, is the eighth son of Pei Kuan. He is 28 years old this year.

After coaxing Pei Liuniang away, he turned back and said, "Grandpa, entering the court is not as good as staying at the border, and it is better to complain less."

"The old man wants to say, look at Du and Lu's marriage, do the two families get along well? The sister-in-law and sister-in-law have been arguing all day, and they don't think it's noisy enough! How can you look like a newcomer in Guanlong if you don't suppress the Hedong family?"

Pei Qiao said: "My little daughter has a crush on Xue Bai's demeanor and appearance, that's all."

"It can be seen that the granddaughter of the old man has vision, and the Hedong family should marry the Hedong family."

"Grandpa thinks too much."

"The old man sees that you are thinking less!"

Pei Kuan originally just took the opportunity to have a good time, scolding Brother Nu and complaining about the saint, but after scolding, he became even more sad, and sighed: "Genu had a dream recently..."

The father and son talked for a long time, Pei Kuan relayed Xue Bai's words, and finally asked, "What do you think?"

"Xue Bai actually has such a city?" Pei Qiao frowned and thought about it, and said: "He tipped off the news, saying that my brother slave wanted to harm my grandfather, and put forward conditions, but in fact he didn't mention how to help my grandfather."

"Help Yang Chen discuss the salt law, and take this opportunity to replace Li Linfu, shall we?"

"Disaster."

Pei Qiaodang even shook his head, he was a practical officer, he was quite insightful about this, and he spoke slowly.

"For one thing, since the founding of the country in the Tang Dynasty, in order to benefit the people, it has been forbidden to illicit salt and not collect salt tax. Therefore, the price of salt is low and stable. Once the levy is launched, the price of salt will rise. This is a disorderly government;"

"Secondly, apart from the private salt in the Jianghuai River, the world's salt farms are actually in the hands of the imperial court and the aristocratic family. Take Jiechi, a large salt farm in Hedong as an example. When Princess Taiping was exiled to the fiefdom of Puzhou, it was precisely with Tai Shugong who controlled Jiechi. The salt field forced the sage to give in and returned to Chang'an to take power. After the sage gave Princess Taiping to death, he let the local officials take charge of the Jiechi salt field."

"On the surface, the large salt field is controlled by the imperial court. For every three stones of salt mined, one stone of tax is used to supply military supplies and stabilize the price of salt. But the local officials only collect taxes on the salt field, regardless of other things. The salt field is still a democratic system, democratic movement, democratic In fact, it is controlled in the hands of our Hedong family;”

"Thirdly, the imperial court originally had a simple salt policy. If it wanted to levy salt taxes, it would be extremely difficult to set up complicated decrees and send additional officials. Therefore, Xue Bai proposed 'discussing salt', that is, 'people's collection, government revenue, business transport, business To put it simply, it seems to be operated by the imperial court. However, if the government is not clear, it will still enrich the officials' private pockets, and the salt merchants will sell at a higher price, making people's livelihood difficult."

"All in all, if my father supports disputing salt, bearing the name of chaotic government, harming the interests of Hedong, helping the court to exploit the people, and fighting fires with salaries, it will not be beneficial to the present..."

~~
The next day is Qingming, Yang's house.

"It makes sense."

Xue Bai put down Li Linfu's memorial against Yan Yan, nodded endlessly, and praised: "Brother's criticism of other people's tax laws really hits the nail on the head and covers everything."

"Alas." Yang Lie sighed, "I can't argue with him. The sage has been thinking about it for a long time since Brother Nu presented it, but he has never approved my method of disputing salt."

"That's because the sage loves the people like a son, and worries about the soaring price of salt and the boiling of people's livelihood."

Yang Li gave Xue Bai a sideways look, and said, "There is no one else here. I'm asking you, how should I persuade the saint again?"

"Then I'll just say it."

Xue Bai glanced at Yang Yuyao beside him, and she returned him a doting smile.

"Any tax law in the world, if you want to pick it, you can always pick something wrong, because the essence of tax is to collect money, and the rich and powerful will always have a way to transfer the losses to ordinary people. But it doesn't matter if others pick it, brother slaves pick it , It's just farting."

"There are too many disadvantages in discussing the salt law. If I were to oppose it, I would even dare to say 'I fear the country will be overthrown'. But before that, it is better to look at today's land equalization system and rent mediocrity. Tian, ​​only the average tax. Who pays the tax? Registered households."

"Except for being exempt from prostitution to the wealthy family, the remaining registered households have to bear all the expenses of this huge Great Tang Dynasty, whether they have land or not, rent mediocrity, foot money, discounts, various miscellaneous taxes, and enlist in the army. Expansion of borders, built an indelible feat, let Zhaozhao Tang be famous far and wide."

"In this case, Ge Nu will of course be worried that these registered households will not be able to bear the heavy price of salt. After all, he has promised the saint, Tianbao for six years, expanding Huaqing Palace, attacking Shibao City, and the Great Tang Dynasty will collect these fees."

"Wang Yu can also levy another 1000 million guan in addition to the rent and adjustment, which will be used exclusively for the saint's expenses. "The money and things other than the annual rent will be used for the emperor's internal funds." ?!"

"..."

Xue Bai's meaning is actually very simple, if the Zuyong tune does not change, there will be chaos in the Tang Dynasty, or it will be a chaos of devastation.

The Two Taxes Law and the Salt Dispute Law were not perfect, but they replaced the land equalization system and rent adjustment after the Anshi Rebellion.It is a historical process to change the backward system of equal taxation and expand the tax collection targets to people who are not registered households.In his current position, it is impossible to propose a comprehensive tax law.

More important is execution.

For example, what is the simplest, most beneficial and most effective way at the moment?frugal.

Li Linfu saved government paper, which actually saved a lot of money.But compared to the annual expenditure of the emperor, it is really a drop in the bucket.

If the administration of officials is not rectified, under the governance of such sages and prime ministers, no matter how much reform is done, it will be useless.

For the time being, Xue Bai's proposal to question the salt law is more aimed at dealing with Li Linfu and gaining power.

"If a sage is sympathetic to the people, according to what I just said, it is at least better to ask for salt than rent."

"Then why the saint refused to agree."

"Because the profit is small, but troublesome and dangerous."

"Why?"

Xue Baidao: "Take the Jiechi Salt Field as an example. Princess Taiping once conspired with Puzhou Inspector Pei Tan to control the Shuofang Army by using the Jiechi Salt Field. Back then, Jiechi produced 40 shi of salt a year, earning 12 guan a year. Now the salt field is actually controlled by Wenxi Pei’s family, and [-] rock salt is paid into the Changping warehouse every year. Three taxes and one tax are not too high. Then, in the eyes of the sage, even if the salt is sold, it can be collected from the Jiechi Salt Field in a year How much will it cost?"

Yang Chen frowned.

During the Jingyun period, [-] guan per year might be a big deal.But after experiencing the prosperity of Kaiyuan, even Wanguan couldn't even look up to him, let alone a saint.

"For this petty profit, we need to send more officials and reform the salt law. This is troublesome." Xue Bai said: "As for the danger, the Jianghuai Salt Field is controlled by private salt traders, and the Hedong Salt Field is controlled by aristocratic families. If it moves, if it causes turmoil, how will it end?"

"you……"

Yang Li stood up, dissatisfied: "Then you still coax me to propose this salt method?!"

"Uncle Guo, don't worry, just listen to what I have to say to make the world more turbulent."

"What's the matter?"

"It's my elder brother's jealousy and ability to eliminate dissidents." Xue Bai said: "Let's take Wenxi Pei's family behind Jiechi Salt Field as an example. Uncle Guo might as well ask Pei Kuan if he is willing to give a little profit to save his life and become a marquis." Do you want to pay homage to the prime minister, or are you willing to be chased and killed by my brother slaves, and die in a foreign land?!"

Sometimes he really felt that Li Longji was in a daze.

On the one hand, due to their natural and keen intuition, they are very afraid of the Hedong family and prevent it from being suppressed;

Li Longji was too lazy to take care of it, so he handed it over to Li Linfu.What should Li Linfu do?Defilement, relegation, terror killing.

Maybe it worked, at least at this moment, Pei Kuan was really scared out of his wits.

"May I ask Pei Kuan?" Yang Li was stunned and said, "Shall I ask Pei Kuan?"

"No need." Xue Bai said, "Pei Kuan wants to see Uncle Guo."

"Really?"

"It's true. I'm not going to hide it. During the Cold Food Festival, it was Pei Kuan who invited me to Qingxu Bieye to have a long talk with me."

Although Yang Tie was still at a loss, he already roughly understood Xue Bai's plan, and asked, "How did we talk about it?"

"There is a preliminary plan, and Pei Kuan will fully support Uncle Guo's salt law. If the sage still hesitates, he can try it out in Hedong Road, abolishing various taxes and implementing the salt law. Let the sage see it with his own eyes. Uncle and Pei Kuan are far more capable of governing the country than Brother Nu and Wang Huo. At that time, Uncle Guo and him will be the one on the right and the other on the left."

"Xiechi collects only [-] guan of salt a year, is he really far better than Brother Nu?"

Xue Bai smiled and said: "Uncle Guo, don't worry, this is a battle for Pei Kuan to save his life and win the position. He will go all out and never let Uncle Guo down."

"it is good!"

Knowing that he has no talent and hope, Yang Li was content with the status quo.

But once the prime minister's power waved in front of him, he still couldn't resist the temptation, and there was excitement in his eyes.

Only then did he realize that he was a holy family member, an ally, a counselor, and a strategy all in one, and he was far more suitable to be the chief executive of the Tang Dynasty than Ge Nu.

"When is it arranged for me to meet Pei Kuan?"

"No rush, after the retest is released."

"..."

The next step is to discuss slowly.

Xue Bai sincerely hoped to support Yang Zhen as a chancellor. This uncle of the country is very ordinary. Apart from his good demeanor and good temperament, he has few advantages but also few disadvantages.And the interests of each other are bound.

The key point is that the saint is willing to let Yang Zhen be the prime minister. As the elder brother of the noble concubine, once he worships the prime minister, he will continue to suppress the East Palace for the saint.

The only worry is that Yang Li is not in good health. I hope he can live longer and strive for more opportunities to make progress.

Thinking of this, Xue Bai suddenly thought of a little girl who liked medical skills.

He promised to visit her after he was released from prison, but recently he really couldn't get away...

~~
The tin carts with four wheels are large and stable, and they can only drive on the flat and wide streets in Chang'an City.

The tin car entered Mrs. Guo's mansion, and continued to drive along the open green brick avenue to the backyard.

In fact, Yang Yuyao used to go out more often to ride horses, but she just wanted to chat with Xue Bai when she was with Xue Bai.

"You can't avoid the Yang family, so you must persuade your brother to maintain an aggressive attitude and be unshakable..."

Xue Bai knew the fate of the Yang family, so he spoke very frankly.

Yang Yuyao had been looking at him when he was talking to Yang Tong today, and suddenly said, "I suspect that you are not a young man."

"You saw it." Xue Bai said solemnly, "It's okay to tell you the truth. I'm a goblin. I practiced in Qingcheng Mountain for 1000 years, and I specialize in seizing the souls of beauties in the Tang Dynasty."

"What a goblin, watch and fight."

Yang Yuyao raised her hand to pat him, the fragrance was overwhelming, but she was reluctant to spend half of the wave, caressing his handsome face, and said softly and emotionally: "My family wants to subdue the demon."

"Go back to the room and subdue the demon."

"Then how long can you stay?"

"Right now I have to focus on my studies."

"I'd like to see, what achievements have you made in your studies during the few days of recuperation?"

Xue Bai held her waist and let her sit on his lap, but first he took out a stack of papers from his arms and said, "This is a real academic achievement, don't make it crumpled."

Yang Yuyao took it, first glanced at it casually, and then doubts appeared in her eyes.

"Hey, is this Wen Fu?"

"If you find it interesting, you can keep it and watch it slowly."

"Really? I have received all the gold, silver and treasures, but this is the first time someone has given me an investment bank account." Yang Yuyao said, thinking it was funny. Filling in poetry books..."

The tin car shook slightly, and the two rubbed against each other.

After all, Yang Yuyao still couldn't bear to read those strange stories, she put them into the box under the car couch with one hand, and leaned over Xue Bai weakly.

"Fill in something else?"

"Ah."

The tin car stopped, and Mingzhu lifted the curtain to get out of the car, saying, "Everyone get out."

"Yes."

Mingzhu then drove away the others and stood by alone.

After hearing the shaking in Tian's car, she stepped back a few steps and stood further away...

~~
After the Ching Ming Festival, it rained for two consecutive days, moistening the earth in late spring.

After Xue Bai returned home, he rested for a day and then went to Yan's house to pay a visit. He handed in five posts at a time.

Yan Yan was taking medicine, she quickly put down the medicine bowl and ran over to take it from him, lest her grandpa find out that all the stories written were strange stories.

Fortunately, Yan Zhenqing was too lazy to look at Xue Bai's ugly words, so with a sullen face, she invited Xue Bai to the side hall to talk.

"I heard that you stayed at Mrs. Guo's mansion for two days again?"

"Yes, the family is in decline, and Madam Guo Guo sent someone to help during the Qingming festival sweep."

"The old man still has to praise you for your filial piety."

"Students dare not be."

Xue Bai borrowed the identity of Xue Ling's son to repair Xue Shenhuo's dilapidated tomb.

Yan Zhenqing sighed, and said: "A gentleman loves his mouth, and a peacock loves his feathers. Since you are called my husband's disciple, you should cherish your reputation, otherwise, who will marry a daughter to you in the future?"

"The students know that they are wrong. The students will be cautious in their words and deeds in the future, and work hard to improve their reputation."

"This time, you haven't offered any more playthings and depressing things, have you?"

"Teacher, don't worry. The students remember the teacher's teachings and are determined not to be jesters anymore. This time they only contributed articles."

"..."

Yan Yan probed into the side hall for a while, saw Grandpa bringing Xue Bai out, looked around, picked up a branch and threw it on Xue Bai's back, when he turned his head, he beckoned.

"Ok?"

"Brother, I haven't got the marking paper yet." Yan Yan took out the post he gave last time from behind her, and said, "My medicine is almost finished, I have to go to Yuzhen Temple again today for medical treatment, how many medicines do I have?" I don’t know where brother bought it from?”

"I'll go together."

"Aniang said it's too troublesome brother, so let me not say it."

"No trouble, I'll wait for you at the alley."

Xue Bai accepted the post, glanced at Yan Yan inadvertently, and saw that she smiled with slightly curved eyes, although she was a little sly, but very simple, with a childishness that had not faded on her delicate face, so he immediately took two steps back, Turn around and walk away.

His mind was filled with images of tossing around with Yang Yuyao in the tin car, and the charming beauty kept begging for mercy. He consciously decided to stay away from the teacher's little girl.

(End of this chapter)