Elegy of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 732 Economic War
The cold wind blew in from the cracks in the wall. Yan Zhenqing, who was flipping through the files, couldn't help shrinking his neck. Jingxiang was damp and cold. After the beginning of autumn, the weather was colder with each passing rain. It was even colder than the north, making people feel uncomfortable.

Sitting opposite him was the Minister of Revenue, Diwu Qi. At the moment, there were only the two of them in the council hall.

"This year's salt tax is 40% lower than last year."

Yan Zhenqing sighed, with a reproachful tone in his voice.

Diwu Qi was his old partner in Chang'an. As for the salt tax, it was a familiar policy, collecting taxes invisibly. Even the powerful and wealthy Tianlong people had to eat salt and pay salt taxes.

Logically speaking, the salt tax should be very high, but why couldn't the court collect it?
Yan Zhenqing was a little confused.

Without taxation, the government cannot function and cannot smoothly implement government orders. Therefore, no matter when or where, the economy comes first.

"Mr. Yan, I have to remind you. Jingxiang doesn't produce salt. We are just middlemen."

Diwu Qi's words dispelled the complaints brewing in Yan Zhenqing's heart.

Seeing that Yan Zhenqing seemed to have taken his words to heart, Diwu Qi continued to explain: "It's not that we don't want to receive it, but that we can't."

"Why can't we receive it? Is it because Huainan has blocked the salt road?"

Yan Zhenqing was a little confused. As the prime minister, he was in charge of the overall situation and was not very clear about the details of taxation.

Hearing this, Diwu Qi smiled bitterly.

He waved his hands helplessly and explained:

"Prime Minister Yan got it wrong. They didn't block the salt route. They completely opened the border, allowing everyone to smuggle salt over there. There is no investigation at all. The huge amount of Huainan smuggled salt is only one-third of the official salt after the markup. We can't collect salt tax simply because smuggled salt continues to be banned and no one buys official salt, so naturally we can't collect salt tax."

Diwu Qi sighed again. This is how second-hand dealers are treated. If there were large salt wells in Jingxiang, they could collect taxes on the production side and not be so passive.

However, the source of official salt is also Lianghuai salt, which originates from Yangzhou and comes from the Yangtze River waterway. Yangzhou does not produce salt, it is just a distribution center for Lianghuai salt.

Huai salt is sea salt. Its production cost is not the lowest, but the cost of water transportation is insanely low.

The overall cost is much better than the Shu salt from Shu.

The latter has extremely low mining costs, and there are even pure natural salt wells that do not require any processing, which can be directly dug. The problem with Shu salt is that it is difficult to transport. The cost of long-distance land transportation is staggering, and it is difficult to leave Shu.

The official salt of the Jingxiang court actually came from the same channel as the local private salt, which went along the Yangtze River and was "purchased" from Yangzhou.

Simply put, because the imperial court in Bianzhou did not prohibit the export of salt at all, and even deliberately encouraged it, private salt in Jingxiang was rampant, which squeezed out the official salt.

This conspiracy was extremely vicious.

If Lianghuai salt was prohibited from entering Jingxiang, the Jingxiang court might still try hard to find salt wells locally. However, since private salt from outside was very cheap, there was no motivation for local people to find salt wells.

Historically, this situation did not change until after the Opium War.

The Taiping Army occupied Wuchang and was blocked by the Qing Army. Under extremely difficult circumstances, they tried hard to find local salt mines, and finally the Jingxiang area had a large-scale salt well with stable output: Yingcheng Salt Well.

Since the Han Dynasty, either Huai salt went to Chu or Shu salt went to Chu, one of the two must have happened.

"Guan Zhong had a similar strategy back then, but Fang Qing did the opposite."

Diwu Qi shook his head in disappointment, closed the account book, and continued to sigh: "What's worse, Jingxiang rice continued to be transported to Yangzhou through the Yangtze River in exchange for private salt there, and the private salt made it impossible for us to collect salt taxes. In the end, we received neither rice nor salt taxes. The court has been stretched to the limit in recent years. Alas, I can't do anything about it."

Yan Zhenqing nodded silently. These problems were difficult to solve, at least he didn't have any immediate solutions.

Because Xiangyang's geographical location has determined that in non-peacetime periods, it is a towering fortress rather than a commercial center.

Its defensive value far exceeds its economic value.

The Bianzhou court controlled Bianzhou and Yangzhou, two economic centers in the south and the north, and connected the two golden waterways of the Yangtze River and the Yellow River through the canal.

This is a natural economic advantage. As long as it is managed well, the advantage will only grow bigger.

"Prince Yan, His Majesty has ordered you to go to the Purple Palace for a meeting."

At this moment, a minor official hurried into the council hall and whispered to Yan Zhenqing.

"Your Majesty's order? Enter the palace?"

Yan Zhenqing was stunned, not understanding why Li Yu summoned him to the palace at this time. Didn't he see that he was busy now? The front line needed military rations, and he couldn't raise them in Hongzhou, right?
Hongzhou was not a wealthy prefecture and could not afford to support Lu Jing's army.

"Did your majesty say what it was?"

Yan Zhenqing subconsciously asked back, and the clerk spread his hands, with a speechless expression. How could a small person like him know what important matter Li Lu summoned Yan Zhenqing to the palace to discuss? Was that something he should worry about?
He only knew that the eunuchs were already waiting outside the Council Hall and Yan Zhenqing had to go out.

Li Lu hated eunuchs very much and did not give them any power on a daily basis, so there was no need for Yan Zhenqing to be nice to these eunuchs.

But this does not mean that Yan Zhenqing can ignore Li Lu’s oral instructions.

"I will enter the palace now, you can go on with your work."

Yan Zhenqing smiled, stood up and left. Diwu Qi looked at his back with a complicated look in his eyes.

Almost everyone in the court now knows about Lu Jiong's affairs. On the surface, it seems that this villain Lu Qi is causing trouble, but it is hard to say whether Li Lu is behind it.

Many people understood this truth, and they all chose to protect themselves and were unwilling to get involved, naturally including Diwu Qi.

Not long after, Yan Zhenqing rushed to the Purple Palace, exhausted, and saw Li Yu whispering with Lu Qi, but no one knew what they were talking about.

"Your Majesty, why do you urgently summon me?"

Yan Zhenqing was a little impatient, and his tone was not as polite as before.

"Lord Yan, do you admit your guilt?"

Li Yu did not care about Yan Zhenqing's attitude. The "Son of Heaven" sitting on the dragon throne was staring at Yan Zhenqing with a somewhat cold tone.

On the verge of exploding.

Hearing this, Yan Zhenqing was slightly stunned. He had no idea what was going on. With the salt tax on his mind, Yan Zhenqing did not notice the subtle change in Li Lu's attitude.

"Your Majesty, I do not know what crime I have committed. Please tell me clearly."

Yan Zhenqing saluted Li Lu with his hands crossed. At this moment, he was also angry and wanted to hear what Li Lu had to say.

"Prince Yan said before that Yu Qi is a righteous man and his words should be trusted, but he is not familiar with military affairs. Is that right?"

Li Lu had a smile on his face, but it seemed to be full of deep meaning no matter how you looked at it.

Yan Zhenqing did not doubt him and nodded, saying, "I did say so. Yu Qi is upright and will not lie."

"Okay, since Mr. Yan agrees, then things will be easy."

Li Lu clapped his hands, and a eunuch beside him walked forward and handed the opened envelope to Yan Zhenqing.

"Mr. Yan, this is Yu Qi's handwritten letter. Take a look and see if it is his handwriting. You are a master of calligraphy. I believe you should be able to distinguish a forged letter, right?"

Li Lu spoke calmly, his face a little tense, trying his best to suppress the anger in his heart.

Yan Zhenqing took out the letter from the envelope with a puzzled look on his face. After reading it, his expression changed drastically and his body couldn't help but tremble slightly. "Your Majesty, since Yu Qi has captured Yuan Zai, why didn't you send him to Xiangyang for a confrontation?"

Yan Zhenqing asked sharply.

Unexpectedly, Lu Qi interrupted and said, "Because Yuan Zai ran away. Of course, it is also possible that Yu Qi let him run away. After all, the two of them used to be colleagues in the same government office. Anyway, there is no evidence, so whatever Yu Qi said is true. There is no need to investigate further."

Yan Zhenqing immediately understood what was going on.

It is true that Yu Qi is upright, but that doesn't mean he is a fool.

He delivered Yuan Zai's letter of persuasion to Lu Jing to the Jingxiang court, narrated the whole story, and told Li Lu that Yu Qi had done his utmost.

You have to know that this is not the Kaiyuan period, and Li Lu is not Li Longji!
Yu Qi was just a minister, a worker who received a salary, and his salary was very meager. He caught an old acquaintance, but he didn't let him go. Did he really want to put himself on the "blacklist" of Bianzhou?

In the future, when Fang Qing’s army sweeps across Jingxiang, will he let the Bianzhou army hang his entire family on street lamps?
Out of consideration for the old friendship, he should do Fang Qing a favor. After the Bianzhou army occupies Xiangyang in the future, Yuan Zai will not repay kindness with enmity and settle accounts with their entire family, right?
Thinking of this, Yan Zhenqing couldn't help but smile bitterly. Without Yuan Zai as a witness, what could a letter of persuasion to surrender prove?

He took the letter of persuasion handed over by the eunuch, which was written by Fang Qing himself. Fang Qing's calligraphy was learned from He Zhizhang, and Yan Zhenqing could tell the authenticity at a glance.

This letter was indeed written by Fang Qing himself, and what was mentioned in the letter was a high-ranking official with generous salary. The conditions offered were extremely generous, and Lu Jing was allowed to retain a certain degree of autonomy.

Almost as much as it is now.

To be honest, Yan Zhenqing felt that after reading the letter, Lu Jing might not be able to bear it and be shaken. Fang Qing's strategy was not to recruit a governor for himself, but to muddy the water.

As long as Lu Jing rebels, Fang Qing will still gain even if he doesn't surrender.

"Your Majesty, General Lu has already handed over the military affairs, and Yu Qi has also successfully taken over Yuzhang. General Lu is still on his way back. When he arrives in Xiangyang, Your Majesty can summon him for a face-to-face confrontation.

Fang Qing's recruitment does not mean that General Lu has rebellious intentions. It is possible that this is a counter-espionage plot. I have also written a letter to Li Guangbi, persuading him to abandon the dark and join the light. "

Yan Zhenqing said calmly.

Snapped!
"Yan Zhenqing, you are so outrageous!"

Hearing this, Li Lu was furious and threw the paperweight on the table directly at Yan Zhenqing's feet.

Lu Qi, who was standing aside, had a playful smile on his face, as if he saw prey entering the trap he had set.

"Mr. Yan, you might as well take a look at this letter sent by the Hongzhou scout. It has been seven or eight days since Lu Jing left Yuzhang. He has been traveling by water for such a long time. Could it be that he is imitating a turtle to swim in the water?
Even if it swam, it should have swum back, right? Turtles swim very fast in the water!"

Lu Qi took out a piece of paper from his sleeve and placed it lightly on the table in front of Yan Zhenqing. Then he returned to Li Lu's side, looking like he was enjoying a good show.

When Yan Zhenqing opened the note, his pupils suddenly contracted!

The words "Lu Jiong and his personal soldiers entered Xunyang" were like a knife, scratching Yan Zhenqing's eyes and making them hurt.

Xunyang was the territory controlled by the Bianzhou army, and Lu Jing actually rebelled!

But why did he rebel after handing over the military affairs? Why did he abandon the army and rebel?
Yan Zhenqing was puzzled, but considering that Lu Jiong had not returned to Xiangyang for so many days and no one saw him alive or dead, he was most likely to surrender to Bianzhou alone.

As for the reason, Yan Zhenqing didn't know and didn't want to pursue it anymore because it was meaningless.

He only knew that Lu Jiong's escape made him unpopular inside and outside, and he didn't even know how to defend himself.

"Come here, put Lu Jiong's family in jail. If Lu Jiong doesn't come to Xiangyang to report within five days, he will be executed immediately."

Li Lu ordered in a cold voice.

"Your Majesty! General Lu must have his own difficulties! Please let me think of a solution!"

Yan Zhenqing quickly stood up and bowed to Li Lu.

He understood that this time he was in real trouble!

"Prince Yan, I believe you are loyal to the court. Without you, I would not be sitting here.

But this time, you were also deceived by Lu Jing!"

Li Lu said with great sorrow.

Li Lu actually understood why Lu Jiong ran away, and he was not stupid at all.

If a person knew that there was a very hungry tiger waiting for him in the grass on his way home, would he still return as planned? Return according to the planned route?

The answer is no, at least you have to take a detour.

By the same token, if Lu Jiong knew that Lu Qi had the intention to kill him and was trying to defeat him and Yan Zhenqing together, would he not think about anything else, abandon his troops, and go back to Xiangyang obediently?
The answer is also very obvious, it is impossible.

Lu Jiong did not lead his troops to rebel, which shows that he did not intend to rebel. But he fled and did not return to Xiangyang, which shows that he did not want to sit and wait for death. These two things go hand in hand and there is no contradiction.

However, Li Lu knew this but would not point it out.

In the same way, he needed to suppress Yan Zhenqing, but he would not dismiss Yan Zhenqing. If Yan Zhenqing was gone, then Lu Qi would surely become more powerful.

Judging from Lu Qi's character and style of doing things, he may not be as honest as Yan Zhenqing after he becomes powerful.

In the future, Li Lu also plans to hang Lu Qi on a street lamp to quell the dispute, but he cannot let this person be unrestrained.

"Lord Yan, you don't need to worry about what's going on in Hongzhou. Minister Lu said he has a plan to raise food and money, so let him do it."

Li Lu sighed and shook his head as he spoke.

He knew what Lu Qi was thinking. He was full of nonsense and his slander was not entirely true. However, Lu Qi said that he had a way to solve the current financial difficulties of the court.

In order to appease Lu Qi, Li Yu had to make a fuss about Lu Jiong's escape. This also dismantled Yan Zhenqing's ability to "depose and enthronize the emperor."

It can be said that it kills two birds with one stone.

Even though Li Lu was almost 100% sure that Yan Zhenqing would not do such a thing, the principle of power struggle is to see whether one has the ability, not whether one has the willingness.

"Weak minister, I obey the order."

Yan Zhenqing bowed deeply to Li Yu and sighed silently. He glanced at Lu Qi, who looked pleased, and didn't know what to say.

At this moment, a question arose in Yan Zhenqing's mind.

Li Lu did not seem to be a foolish monarch. There were no warlords or military governors in the court to hinder his tyranny, and no eunuchs to interfere in politics.

But why couldn't the new court develop? What was the problem?

For the first time, he began to have deep doubts about something.

He returned home in a daze. As soon as he entered the yard, he saw his eldest son Yan Po coming over excitedly and shouting to Yan Zhenqing: "Father, uncle is back from Bianzhou. He is really back! He is fine! Nothing happened to him!"

Yan Zhenqing was stunned until he saw Yan Gaoqing, who was wearing linen clothes, sitting in the main room, and then he suddenly realized what was going on.

Fang Qing actually let Yan Gaoqing go!

In the past, Yan Zhenqing would have been ecstatic. But now, when he saw Yan Gaoqing, he only felt a bitter taste in his mouth.

(End of this chapter)