Can I get to the other side?.

Chapter 496: The music of Lord Wen breaking the formation, wherever the emperor’s sword points, the iron hooves will go!
After Liu Xie issued an order to survey the land across the country and conduct a population census, Jia Xu quickly took action.

The team formed by Xiuyi Envoy and the Tax Bureau went to various places as soon as possible and started the census from the local wealthy and prominent families.

The speed of the action caught all the noble families off guard.

There wasn't even time to react.

The census of aristocratic families started with the Yang family of Hongnong. Because of Yang Biao's instructions, the Yang family cooperated very well with the census.

In this census, the Yang family's land assets that were surveyed totaled more than 100,000 acres, and a full 70,000 acres of land were concealed!
And the number of tenants registered under the name of Yang family reached tens of thousands!
These numbers may not seem like much at first glance, but they are just the numbers found at Yang's!

The world is so vast, and there are so many nobles and wealthy people. One can imagine how much land and population have been concealed.

All the taxes that should have been submitted to the imperial court went into the pockets of the aristocratic families and wealthy people. This is the fundamental reason why the national treasury is empty!
It took only ten days from the time Yang was investigated to the time the results came out.

After the results came out, Yang Biao immediately wrote a letter to the emperor to apologize, but the emperor did not punish him because of his outstanding contributions.

He only confiscated 50,000 acres of land as a punishment, and ordered Yang to reorganize the situation within a limited time and register all the nominal tenants with the court.

This treatment can be said to be magnanimous, because according to the laws established during the reign of Emperor Wu, concealing land and not reporting it would result in all the concealed land being confiscated, and a large fine would also be imposed.

But the Yang family was only fined 50,000 acres of land. Although it was a huge loss, it was not really a serious loss.

Although the emperor did not punish him severely, Yang Biao still felt guilty towards the emperor, so he took the initiative to ask to retire and return home.

Although the emperor tried to persuade him to stay again and again, Yang Biao still insisted, so the emperor had to give him a set of ceremonial equipment and allow him to retire.

At the same time, Yang Xiu was transferred to the Shangshu Tai and promoted to Shangshu Zuo Pushe.

The investigation of the Yang family was just the beginning.

After the Yang family, other major families were also investigated, and large amounts of concealed land and unregistered population were discovered.

In order to handle these matters, the tax bureau is brightly lit every night, and officials work almost around the clock, even sleeping, eating and drinking have to be scheduled.

……

Weiyang Palace, greenhouse.

Liu Xie has now converted the Xuanshi into the Cabinet Office, where the Grand Secretaries handle government affairs, and the Greenhouse has become the new place to receive ministers.

At this time, Jia Xu and Fa Zheng were reporting to him on the progress of the current land and population inventory.

"Your Majesty, we have discovered that a total of 270,000 mu of hidden land has been found among the Yang, Cui, Dou, Dong, Xun and other major clans, involving as many as 40,000 households."

"These are just rough estimates, the exact figures are still being tallied and it will take some time to come out."

Fa Zheng said respectfully.

When the Taxation Bureau was established, it was originally only responsible for matters such as trade, salt and iron, and commercial taxes. Land statistics and tax collection were not under the management of the Taxation Bureau.

However, the emperor temporarily asked them to be responsible for counting the numbers reported by the Embroidered Uniform Envoys, so that the officials in the tax bureau were very busy.

As the director, he only sleeps less than three hours a day.

Even dark circles appeared.

However, although I am busy, I dare not complain at all. Moreover, if this matter is handled well, the functions of the tax bureau will be taken to a higher level.

It truly became the powerful department that controls the court’s finances!
After listening to Fa Zheng's report, Liu Xie took the statistical book from him, flipped through it briefly, and then put it on the table.

"From just the five aristocratic families, we have found 270,000 acres of land and more than 40,000 households."

"It seems that I still underestimated them."

There was not much joy in Liu Xie's tone, but rather it was full of indifference, and his expression showed no fluctuation.

These figures all show that the land annexation of the Han Dynasty has reached a very serious level. Without his current inventory, the national treasury will only become more and more empty, and it will be a luxury to make the Han Dynasty prosperous.

Throughout history, the fundamental reason for the decline of dynasties has been serious land annexation. As a large amount of resources are concentrated in the hands of a few people, the people are finding it increasingly difficult to survive, and so they embark on the path of rebellion.

However, Liu Xie did not expect that the extent of the Han Dynasty's land annexation was so exaggerated. Just a few big families had annexed so much land.

Fa Zheng did not dare to respond. This topic was a bit sensitive and he was not in a position to speak.

Jia Xu did not have so many concerns and said: "As long as we can carry out the land survey to the end, the national strength of our Han Dynasty will surely be greatly improved."

"Your Majesty, this is truly a wise move."

Liu Xie looked at Jia Xu and asked, "Did you encounter any obstacles during the investigation?"

Survey the land and conduct a population census.

It goes without saying that this act of directly cutting flesh from the major families will encounter great resistance, even if the Embroidered Clothes Envoy is dispatched.

Jia Xu smiled and said, "Of course there are obstacles, but they are just minor troubles. Your Majesty, don't worry. I can solve them properly."

Jia Xu did not elaborate, and Liu Xie did not ask any more questions.

He believed in Jia Xu's ability and means.

If he can't even solve such a small matter, then Jia Xu would be unworthy of the name of "poisonous scholar".

Liu Xie discussed with the two for a while. At this time, Gao Lan walked into the greenhouse and reported: "Your Majesty, the general wants to see you."

When Liu Xie heard that it was Lü Bu who wanted to see him, he said to Jia Xu and the others, "Just leave the book here. You can go and do your work first."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Jia Xu and Fa Zheng bowed, turned around and left the greenhouse.

Soon Lu Bu walked in.

Seeing Lü Bu, Liu Xie smiled and asked, "Why is Lord Wen here? He is such a rare guest."

Lu Bu had a golden decree given by him, which allowed him to enter and leave the palace at will. This was to make it convenient for Lu Bu to enter the palace to see his granddaughter, and it also represented honor and favor from the emperor.

However, Lu Bu also knew his limits. Although he had the imperial edict in hand, he would still have someone inform him every time he entered the palace.

"See Your Majesty!"

Lu Bu clasped his fists heavily and saluted.

Liu Xie raised his hand and pressed it down, indicating that he didn't need to be polite, and asked the eunuch to bring him a stool, and then asked: "What is the purpose of Fengxian entering the palace today?"

"Uh, this..."

Facing Liu Xie's question, Lu Bu scratched his head and laughed dryly: "Nothing, it's just that I haven't seen Your Majesty for a long time, so I miss you very much."

"Miss me?"

Liu Xie was stunned for a moment, then laughed and said, "I am not some stunning beauty, why do you miss me?"

"Fengxian, please stop beating around the bush. If you have anything to say to me, just speak directly. What do you want from me?"

Liu Xie could see through Lu Bu's thoughts at a glance.

It was obvious that he came to see him today to ask for something.

Having his thoughts revealed by Liu Xie, Lu Bu felt even more embarrassed. His old face turned red, and he rubbed his hands and said shyly: "It's not a big deal... I just want Your Majesty to write a poem for me."

Ever since the emperor wrote a poem for Zhao Yun after the last martial arts examination, he has been thinking about it all the time, and even eating and drinking no longer tasted good to him.

A poem written by the emperor! What a great honor! He has now become a general, the leader of the military commanders, how can he not have this honor?
So after struggling for a long time at home, he decided to go to the palace and ask the emperor to write a poem for him.

"I knew it was because of this."

Liu Xie couldn't help but laugh when he heard this. In fact, when he heard Lu Bu asking for a meeting, he roughly guessed what Lu Bu's purpose was.

After all, with Lu Bu's competitive nature, it is impossible for him not to covet this honor. In fact, Lu Bu is not the first one to make this request. Huang Zhong, Zhang Liao and other generals have made the same request to him in both explicit and implicit ways.

It's just that he has been pretending to be deaf and dumb.

The main thing is that it is difficult to start. Once he starts, everyone will come to him to ask for poems. Where can he write poems and give them out?

Lu Bu said with a little surprise: "Your Majesty, have you agreed? Quick, quick, quick! I brought a pen and ink, Your Majesty, just write it down!"

As he said this, he took out the four treasures of the study from his arms.

Obviously he came prepared.

Liu Xie spread his hands and said, "I didn't agree. As the saying goes, writing is a gift from nature, and it is something that can be achieved by a skilled hand. Writing poetry is not something that can be done casually."

"I wrote that poem because I saw Zilong's heroic demeanor that day. How can I write it now?"

Lu Bu slapped his thigh and said, "That's easy! I will show you a set of boxing skills right now, so you can see how good I am!"

As he spoke, he stood up, rolled up his sleeves and was about to start boxing.

Liu Xie's eyelids twitched as he watched, and he quickly stopped her, saying, "Alright, alright, stop dancing. Do you want to destroy my greenhouse palace?"

Lu Bu scratched his head again and suggested carefully, "How about your majesty move to the military camp and watch me, Zilong, Han Sheng and I practice sparring?"

"Your Majesty, rest assured. Even if Zilong and Han Sheng join forces, I can defeat them together!"

For this honor, he risked his life!

It's just one against two!
Liu Xie sighed and said helplessly: "Stop struggling, bring me the pen and ink."

Looking at Lu Bu's attitude, if he doesn't write something for him today, there's no way he can be sent away.

Lu Bu was overjoyed and hurried forward to spread the paper and grind the ink.

The movements are extremely skillful.

Liu Xie took the brush from him, thought for a moment, and then began to write on the paper.

Lu Bu watched happily from the side.

His face was full of anticipation.

But soon, this expectation gradually turned into doubt, and in the end it was full of confusion.

"Okay, take it."

Liu Xie finished writing quickly, then put the brush aside and said to Lu Bu.

But Lu Bu did not look very happy at this time. He looked at the words on the paper with an expression as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.

After hesitating for a while, he couldn't help but ask, "Your Majesty, is this really the poem you wrote for me?"

“This… doesn’t look like it.”

What was written on the paper was not words praising his bravery like "Mr. Wen is brave and unparalleled in the world", but some words that he could not understand.

"According to the law, I resigned from the head of state and went to punish the traitorous ministers.

Sing the music of breaking the enemy's formation and enjoy the peace together.

The imperial wind covers the four seas, and the water is clear for a thousand years;
I don’t even need to wear my military uniform, as today I announce my mission is accomplished.

The Lord is holy and has a prosperous era. The ministers are loyal to His great plan.

You see, after the revolution, there will be a peaceful autumn. "

Lu Bu was not an illiterate man. He had read some books and had at least a basic level of cultural literacy.

The poem written by the emperor was more like a celebration of peace, and was completely different from the "majestic and murderous aura" he wrote for Zhao Yun before.

The key point is that his name was never mentioned from beginning to end, so even if this poem was written for him, he couldn't show it off to others.

"I told you to drink less and read more with Gongtai, but you refused to listen."

Liu Xie rolled his eyes at Lu Bu and said unhappily, "This is not a poem, this is the lyrics of a song, which I named "Wen Gong Po Zhen Yue"."

"I'll give you this poem. When you go back, find a few musicians with superb musical skills, compose it into a song, and have them perform it at the New Year's Day banquet."

"If you don't want it, I will change the name of it to 'Wenyuan Breaking the Formation' and give it to Wenyuan. He is asking me for a poem anyway."

Liu Xie was indeed not good at writing poems. He could only recite those that were familiar to him, and it would not be appropriate to give them to Lu Bu.

So after much thought, he decided to write this song "Pozhen Music" to fool Lu Bu.

"Mr. Wen's music of breaking the formation?"

After listening to this, Lu Bu was stunned, and then he was overjoyed, and hurriedly said: "Yes! Yes! I will find a musician to compose music when I go back!"

Wen Gong Po Zhen Yue, it sounds majestic, and the key is how it is sung, isn't it more impressive than ordinary poems?

Moreover, the emperor also said that he would have someone play this piece of music at the New Year’s Day banquet in the near future. When others ask what the piece of music is called, and they hear it is “Wen Gong Po Zhen Yue”, they will be so proud!
Lu Bu happily took the paper with the song in his arms and said to Liu Xie in high spirits, "Then your majesty, I will take my leave now!"

"Wait a minute."

Liu Xie called out to Lu Bu again.

Lu Bu thought that the emperor regretted giving him the song, so he subconsciously covered his chest and looked at Liu Xie vigilantly.

Liu Xie said: "After the New Year's Day banquet, you send Gao Shun to Jizhou to garrison there and let him stay there for a while."

"I have recently been surveying the land and population of the country. This is a matter of great importance, and I am afraid that there may be some evildoers involved."

The land survey affected the interests of the wealthy and powerful families.

Liu Xie was worried that some people would become restless.

There are many aristocratic families in Jizhou, so it is necessary to send troops to garrison there. Moreover, not only Jizhou, but also Jingzhou, Yangzhou, Xuzhou and other places need troops to be stationed there.

"Rogue? Who is it?"

When Lu Bu heard this, his face suddenly turned cold, and he said murderously: "Your Majesty, just give the order. If anyone dares not to obey the order, I will personally lead the troops to the gate!"

Seeing Lu Bu's murderous look, Liu Xie's eyes flashed with relief. He patted his shoulder and said, "Just in case."

"I don't want to shed blood unless I have to,"

At present, all the major families are relatively law-abiding, and Liu Xie sent troops to various places to intimidate them.

Lü Bu then restrained his momentum and said in a deep voice: "I don't understand these twists and turns, but no matter who dares to disobey Your Majesty, as long as Your Majesty orders, I will kill them without hesitation!"

To him, the emperor's will is everything!
The emperor gave him his current status and honors, and also made his daughter the queen. He will never be able to repay him in his entire life.

Wherever the emperor's sword points, his horse's hooves will go!
(End of this chapter)