Thief Emperor

Chapter 1117 The New Generation of the Tang Dynasty

Minister Xue was pulled along by Emperor Li, feeling somewhat at a loss. He looked at Chen Da beside him and said with a wry smile, "Your Majesty, I still have many things to take over in the Ministry of Revenue. Minister Zhuo will be going to the Ministry of Personnel in the next few days, and I need to take advantage of the time to ask him many questions."

"I won't go with you for the drinks."

Emperor Li looked up at him, then chuckled.

He knew in his heart that Xue Shou's refusal to go drinking with him was not simply because he was busy with matters at the Ministry of Revenue. After all, no matter how important the matters at the yamen were, they were not as important as drinking with one's superior.

Ultimately, it's because Xue Shou wasn't a member of the Wu Xun Group; to be precise, he wasn't a member of the anti-theft team.

In terms of social class, he was a civil official among the maternal relatives, or a maternal relative among civil officials.

There was no problem with him attending the party; Chen Da and the others would give him face as the leader's brother-in-law, but they would still feel a little reserved. Xue Shou was a very sensible person.

Therefore, he declined.

Emperor Li turned to look at Chen Da, and said with a smile, "Wait for me."

As he spoke, he pulled Xue Shou aside and said, "Do the Ministry of Revenue's affairs as they should, and don't pay attention to the nagging of those old men in the Council of State Affairs. This year's taxes and levies are waived, and no local areas are allowed to collect them."

He paused for a moment before speaking seriously: "The Ministry of Revenue must issue a public notice and post it in every county and even every township, clearly informing the people that if anyone in any place acts recklessly and continues to accept money and grain from the people, they will be punished for the serious crime of deceiving the emperor."

"The imperial court will not let this go lightly."

Xue Shou responded first, then said, "Your Majesty, I have calculated it these past few days, and several ministers have also said that spending a whole year's worth of taxes for nothing will make the court live a very tight life again."

Li Yun shook his head and said, "The court wants to save money, but it's not very useful. It'll just rot in the warehouse."

At this point, Emperor Li narrowed his eyes and said softly, "Moreover, if too much money is deposited, it might become a huge sum, at which point no one will be able to enter the treasury or check the accounts."

"It's made filthy."

In another world, there was a precedent for this: the soldiers guarding the treasury would use all sorts of methods to smuggle silver out, and the methods they used were extremely unsavory.

Moreover, they would regard this smuggled income as "legitimate income" for their job, and some would even practice this smuggling technique diligently.

Over time, the official accounts of the Ministry of Revenue showed a huge discrepancy between the actual amount of silver stored in the treasury and the actual amount stored there.

Of course, the treasury of the Li Tang dynasty now mainly contains copper coins and grain, not much gold or silver.

However, no matter what it is, as long as it is useful, someone will try every means to possess it.

It's better to just spend it.

He looked at Xue Shou and continued, "At the end of last year, Zhuo Guangrui and I carefully calculated the accounts. If we follow the situation from the seventh year of Zhangwu to this year, the court can exempt one year's worth of taxes roughly every five years."

"This matter could even be set as a precedent."

The emperor smiled and said, "However, it is not appropriate to make this a regulation. After all, every year may not be blessed with good weather. If we exempt people from this for five years, we will have to for the next five, and the people will resent us. So let's just consider it an act of grace."

Li Yun looked at Xue Shou and continued, "The court's money is enough to keep the court running. The probability of a major war in the next ten years or so is not high. Just go ahead and do it."

"besides."

Emperor Li stretched and said, "That brat Xue Gui can't just loaf around in my Imperial Guard forever. In a couple of days, I'll have him come to the palace to see me."

"I'll talk to him."

Xue Gui, Xue Shou's eldest son and the heir of the Xue family, grew up in Li Garden in Jinling in his early years. Compared to Meng Qing, Xue Gui is more like Li Yun's adopted son.

Even the Crown Prince had to address him as elder brother, as he was the eldest cousin of all the princes of the Li family.

Xue Gui is only about ten years younger than Li Yun, and is now thirty-five years old. He has now become a deputy general in the Imperial Guard, second only to Lord Yang Xi.

However, given Xue Gui's background, Li Yun naturally couldn't let him stay in the Imperial Guard for his entire life. Now, the older generation in the court was gradually passing away.

Emperor Li's elders were few and far between, like candles flickering in the wind.

Many of his peers are already gray-haired.

Now, it's time for the next generation in the court to rise to prominence.

Upon hearing this, Xue Shou immediately lowered his head: "Yes, Your Majesty, I will inform Xue Gui immediately after I see him."

Emperor Li patted Xue Shou on the shoulder and said, "Alright, let's talk about it in detail another day."

After saying this, Emperor Li turned and walked up to Chen Da, smiling as he said, "Let's go, let's go."

Chen Da nodded first, then turned around and bowed to Xue Shou with clasped hands.

Xue Shou returned the greeting with a cupped hand.

His Majesty the Emperor chuckled and pulled Chen Da away from the palace, heading straight for the Chen residence.

At this time, the gloom brought about by Zhou Liang's death was finally dispelled by the return of his old friend Chen Da and the news of the great victory in the Western Regions. And with the war in the Western Regions basically coming to an end, exactly fifteen years after the founding of the country.

The newly established Tang Dynasty seemed poised to usher in a new era.

…………

Three days later.

Xue Gui, dressed in a black military officer's uniform, appeared in the Ganlu Hall. He first bowed and clasped his hands in greeting, addressing the emperor as "Your Majesty." After Li Yun told him to stand up, he looked around and, seeing that no one else was there, smiled and said, "Uncle, what brings you here?"

Xue Gui had been following Li Yun for far too long; he arrived in Jiangdong more than two years earlier than his father, Xue Shou, and his uncle, Xue Fang.

Having spent a long time with Li Yun, he understood Li Yun's temperament well. He knew that Li Yun valued relationships and preferred to address him as "uncle" unless it was a major occasion like a grand court assembly.

It makes us seem closer.

His Majesty the Emperor put down the documents in his hand, looked at his nephew who had long since grown into an adult, and patted his hand.

"Find a place to sit."

Xue Gui responded and, without any hesitation, found a chair and sat down.

Emperor Li looked at him and said, "Your father should have told you that, why are you asking a question you already know the answer to?"

Xue Gui said with a smile, "My father only said that you wanted to talk to me, but he didn't say what it was about."

Li Yun looked at him and said, "Yang Xi came to me a while ago and said he wanted you to take over the Imperial Guard, but I rejected it."

"At your age, you can't stay in Luoyang forever."

His Majesty the Emperor thought for a moment and then said, "I plan to transfer you to Jinling to serve as the Deputy General of Jinling."

"To be Deng Yang's deputy."

His Majesty the Emperor said, "If you are capable of taking over the Jinling Army within three years, I will appoint you as the General of Jinling and have you oversee Jiangdong for a period of time."

Xue Gui was taken aback at first, then looked at Li Yun and asked, "What about General Deng?"

Deng Yang was one of the original four generals of Jiangdong. The other three generals were Su Sheng, Zhao Cheng, and Li Zheng.

It could be said that Deng Yang was the most inconspicuous.

Therefore, after the founding of the People's Republic of China, Deng Yang only served as the Taiyuan General and then the Jinling General, without having the opportunity to become a top military leader.

However, Deng Yang's seniority is undeniable, and even someone of Xue Gui's status wouldn't dare to directly take his place.

Emperor Li glanced at him and said, "Deng Yang will be transferred to Luoyang in the future. I have my own arrangements for him, so you don't need to worry about it."

He paused, then continued, "This is my idea. If there's anything you'd like to go to or do..."

"You can also tell your uncle."

His Majesty the Emperor stood up and stretched: "We can discuss this."

Xue Gui lowered his head and said with a smile, "Uncle, I know that Jinling is a very important place. Since you asked me to go, I naturally have no reason not to go. I will say goodbye to my family in the next few days and head to Jinling."

Li Yun looked at him and instructed him, "You've served as a deputy general for three years, and there are at least two more Jinling generals to go, which is almost ten years. You don't have to go alone; you can bring your family with you."

“Your Xue family has a house in Jinling, so you can continue living there and prepare to reside in Jinling permanently from now on.”

The Xue family's house was the Li Garden where Li Yun originally lived. A few years ago, he went to Jiangnan and lost his temper, wanting to return it to the Zhuo family. But even if the Zhuo family had lost their minds, they would never actually take it back.

The house remains empty, still inhabited by the Xue family's servants.

Xue Gui responded and then said, "In the first year, I didn't bring my family with me. If the whole family, including my wife, concubines, and so many children, went together, I wouldn't be able to learn anything."

"It won't be too late to bring the family over after my nephew has learned something from General Deng in a year or two."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Li glanced at the fellow and grumbled, "You brat, are you worried that bringing your wife and children will prevent you from enjoying the pleasures of Qinhuai?"

Xue Gui quickly waved his hand and said with a wry smile, "Uncle, why do you think of me like that? Am I that kind of person?"

Emperor Li glanced at him.

Xue Gui glanced at Li Yun, then blushed, coughed, and lowered his head: "After I arrive in Jinling..."

"I will focus on military affairs and will never let you down."

Li Yun then gave a soft "hmm".

"Let's leave it at that then."

(End of this chapter)