The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 567 I Will Live Two More Years

Outside Beiyuan, Li Chengqian and his father sat in a pavilion, which was a place full of academic atmosphere.

Li Shimin took a sip of tea and exhaled a breath of hot air in the cold wind, "You are really tired and annoyed with state affairs."

Li Chengqian peeled walnuts, smiled and said nothing.

Li Shimin put down his tea bowl, squinted his eyes and watched the volumes of books being sent out of Beiyuan, and said, "In the past, you would probably bury your head in reading the files sent from all over the place, sitting there for the whole day, and not leaving."

Li Chengqian continued to peel the walnuts and put some walnut kernels into his mouth to chew.

"You've been outside, tell me what it's like?"

If you eat too many walnuts, your mouth will feel a bit bitter. Li Chengqian picked up the kettle on the stove and made himself a bowl of tea.

"Why? You don't want to tell me?" Li Shimin said with emotion, "Recently I heard some rumors that you and two censors killed many people in Yangzhou?"

"Actually, this rumor is not true."

"What's wrong?"

Li Chengqian thought about it and replied, "Li Yifu and Liu Hongye haven't come back yet. In fact, it's not just Yangzhou, there are salt merchants from other places as well."

"Back then, I said that we should give the people a rest and let the Tang Dynasty recuperate. That was back then..." Li Shimin paused for a moment, and then continued, "Back then, Xuanling, Fuji, Wen Yanbo, and Duke Zheng worked with me to formulate a strategy for governing the country. It did not involve salt and iron, nor taxes, so that the people could rest and the country could recover."

After saying this, Li Shimin asked, "Why did you..."

Li Chengqian explained: "Isn't it good to interfere with the salt and iron business?"

Perhaps because he was too old to argue, Li Shimin took a sip of tea and said, "I'm hungry, is there anything to eat?"

Li Chengqian handed over the peeled walnut kernels.

Li Shimin took another sip of tea and turned to look at Li Ji behind him.

Li Ji, with white hair and beard, stood up with the help of a cane and whispered, "This old minister brought some dry food."

As he was talking, he took out a cake from his arms. The front of the cake looked greasy and delicious.

Li Shimin was not interested in the pancake. Just then, Linchuan came with a group of palace maids, carrying bowls of steaming noodles.

Linchuan walked closer, glanced at his brother, father, and Duke Ying, and said, "My mother is afraid that you will starve to death."

Li Chengqian took the noodles and said, "This chopped green onion is very good."

Li Shimin took the noodles and ate them happily.

Seeing that Li Ji was still holding the cake, he explained, "Princess Dongyang said that I need to eat often, saying that my internal organs are not good at digesting food, so I should eat occasionally."

Li Ji pointed to his stomach again, took another bite of the biscuit, and chewed it in his mouth. His snow-white beard moved with the chewing.

The father and son withdrew their gazes and stopped arguing tacitly.

Whether governing the country should involve salt and iron is a two-sided issue.

If we really start arguing, everyone will think they are right and it will end up being endless.

So both father and son stopped arguing at the same time.

One abdicated, the other stopped caring about state affairs. As for the crown prince in the East Palace, he might be so busy that he doesn't know when to fall asleep or when to wake up.

After eating a bowl of noodles, Li Chengqian took his fishing rod and went to the Longshou Canal to fish.

"Maogong's disease..."

"It's an old disease. Some old soldiers suffer from it too. They go hungry sometimes and have no food for many years."

Li Shimin recalled those years and said, "It was indeed not easy for Maogong back then."

As he spoke, Li Shimin looked back at Li Ji and whispered to his son, "Can this be cured?"

"Hard to say."

Li Shimin sighed and said, "All the old brothers back then had old illnesses. It was not easy for each of those old soldiers."

A gust of cold wind blew, and Ying Gong stood behind the father and son with his crutches, standing still like a mountain.

These days, the prince has been overwhelmed by the state affairs.

In the Secretariat, there was a mountain of files in front of Yu Tu's desk. In front of him were Yu Zhining, Shangguan Yi, Pei Yan, Xu Yushi, Guo Zhengyi and others.

Yu Tu sat cross-legged, with a sea of ​​people in front of him. Listening to their voices, he felt blocked for a moment.

Yu Tu tugged at the corner of Shangguan Yi's clothes and asked, "How did the emperor deal with these things in the past?"

Shangguan Yi replied: "Usually, your majesty gives orders directly."

"Hmm..." Yu Tu hesitated and said, "Don't we need a court meeting?"

Since Your Majesty went on a trip, he has not dealt with state affairs since returning to Guanzhong.

This seemed to be a test for the crown prince. As a crown prince, he needed to have the ability to handle state affairs. After all, the crown prince was regent... This was the tradition of the Li Tang Dynasty.

Court meetings are a process of deciding state affairs and issuing government decrees. Normally, everyone needs to discuss before getting something done.

"In fact, Your Majesty rarely arranges court meetings. Most of the time, the various departments in the court cooperate with Your Majesty."

Yu Tu frowned and said, "So, father makes decisions on his own most of the time?"

Shangguan Yi nodded, with pride in his smile.

It seems to be saying that the current Majesty is so wise that he can directly arrange and issue government orders.

This is entirely a matter of personal ability, and Yu Tu believes that he does not have such ability.

Seeing that everyone was still discussing without any conclusion, Shangguan Yi gave the prince another reassuring look.

The next day, after morning.

The prince is very hardworking, but Shangguan Yi cannot be ignorant.

This morning, it was a cold winter day and there was a thin layer of ice on the ground. Shangguan Yi arrived at Your Majesty's residence early.

Li Chengqian, wearing a cloak, saw Shangguan Yi standing in the cold wind.

The weather was obviously very cold, and Shangguan Yi was shivering with cold, maintaining the same posture for half a minute.

Li Chengqian stepped forward and asked, "What's wrong?"

Shangguan Yi followed behind His Majesty, two steps behind, and replied: "Some things happened in the court recently, and each department in the court has its own ideas."

"what is the problem?"

"It's about the ownership of the land in Liaodong and Hebei."

Li Chengqian said: "Isn't it very simple to go to each household?"

Shangguan Yi stepped forward and whispered, "But the local government sent a document saying that there are many outsiders in the area, and the land is good or bad, so it is difficult to divide it equally."

Li Chengqian looked unhappy and continued walking, saying, "Isn't this a problem of local officials? Why is it brought up in the court?"

Shangguan Yi lowered his head in shame, and said: "The situation has gotten out of hand. People in various places have started fighting. The local authorities really don't dare to intervene, so they sent the case to the court." Ten years ago, under the auspices of the Sino-Agricultural Temple, Hebei and Liaodong carried out a large-scale land reclamation.

In the current Tang Dynasty, land relations have actually changed. Whether in Guanzhong or Luoyang, the right of each county and village to use farmland has been strengthened, and particularly obvious results have been achieved in Guanzhong and Luoyang.

It is said that those who are dressed in silk and satin are not silkworm breeders...

So the saying "he who tills the land owns it" is so harsh in the feudal context of land annexation.

What else can we do in this world?

We need to change not only production relations, but also land relations and people’s concepts.

Recalling what Shang Yang said back then, only by reforming the law and strengthening the nation can we create a new world.

For thousands of years, people in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period have tried this. People like Shang Yang dared to declare war on vested interests and challenge the outdated and pedantic system.

There was no Shang Yang in the Tang Dynasty, but Li Chengqian felt that there would be someone like Shang Yang in the Tang Dynasty sooner or later.

Even if there are none now, I can train a few more in a few years to help Datang to have them.

Li Chengqian said: "The people are the foundation of the Tang Dynasty. Land without people is worthless."

Shangguan Yi bowed and saluted.

"For the people of the world, the land can be used free of charge and indefinitely. This is the right granted to them by the Tang Dynasty. No one may occupy, annex or annex it."

"The land belongs to the public, the county, the court, and the Tang Dynasty. As for the crops grown on the land, they own them. Tell them not to worry about the land. The more they worry, the more confused they will be. They need to think outside the box and look at other directions."

"First, if there are no people on the land, then the land will be worthless. This is the first prerequisite for production."

Shangguan Yi bowed and said, "I obey your command."

"Second, no one is allowed to occupy land privately. Each township and county only has the right to cultivate the land, but not the title of land owner. All the land belongs to the Tang Dynasty. Each county only has the right to distribute production, but not the right to divide the land."

“Third, the villagers in each county only have the right to produce, and the food they grow belongs to them. The land without food is worthless. Production is divided among households, and each household is considered to be a farmer.”

"Fourth, as long as the Tang Dynasty still exists, anyone can cultivate the existing land for free, and the period of free cultivation is indefinite and passed down from generation to generation."

"Fifth, the Tang Dynasty no longer collects any land tax based on the registered population of a household, but only collects market taxes on grain transactions. Self-cultivators do not need to pay any land tax."

"Sixth, after the scope of production land is divided equally according to household registration, the land will no longer be divided equally from generation to generation. Even if the tax is equalized in the future, the land cannot be divided equally again. Anyone who proposes to divide the land equally again will be punished with hard labor, flogging, or exile."

After listening to His Majesty's words, Shangguan Yi digested them and only took a few steps. His Majesty said so much and spoke very quickly.

At what level of attainment does a person have to be able to articulate national policy so clearly in such a short period of time?

Li Chengqian said: "That's all for now, go and make the arrangements."

Shangguan Yi said: "Your Majesty..."

"Why? Are you worried that someone might object?"

Shangguan Yi nodded stiffly.

Li Chengqian said: "So, there is only one Duke Zheng in the Tang Dynasty. If Duke Zheng were still alive, he would definitely agree with my ideas and implement them with all his strength, because Duke Zheng is the same as me. I have never thought about satisfying everyone."

Shangguan Yi looked stern and said, "I understand."

No matter how perfect a policy is, there will always be people who oppose it; no matter how wise a decision is, there will always be people who stand up to refute it.

The emperor never took everyone's interests into consideration from the beginning.

As the times change, some people's interests will be redistributed.

As a minister, he naturally hopes that the Tang Dynasty will be strong during the period when he serves it.

Therefore, being in his position, he feels deeply that Shangguan Yi will stand firmly on Your Majesty's side and assist the Crown Prince with all his heart and soul without any ulterior motives.

People always have to give up something, just like when Li Yifu killed people, he had to kill all the vested interests before he could redistribute the benefits.

During the days of rest in the cold winter, Shangguan Yi returned home and often stayed up all night writing memorials. The words of His Majesty appeared in his memory again and again. When all the fields belonged to the Tang Dynasty, no one would be allowed to occupy the fields without permission. Without private fields, there would be no land tax.

After breaking out of the inherent framework, people's thinking will become much more open-minded. Without private land, the relationship between everyone and the land has changed, and the land relationship has turned into a market tax relationship in the transaction process of the produced grain.

Land is not important, people are the most important. Only with people farming can there be food. In a word, tens of millions of people are the foundation of the country.

In short, this means equal taxes but not equal land!

In order to curb land annexation, dynasties throughout history have distributed land equally.

After writing the memorial, Shangguan Yi, who was full of emotion when writing, calmed down after finishing it. If he really wanted to make such a change, it would be very dangerous and someone would rebel.

In the 26th year of Qianqing's reign, Li Chengqian once again saw a letter from Songtsen Gampo, the first letter after many years since Tubo was divided into prefectures and counties.

Li Shimin sat aside and said, "You have given Shangguan Yi a great fortune."

Li Chengqian looked at the letter from Songtsen Gampo and nodded.

"You want Shangguan Yi to take charge of the government? To assist the future crown prince?"

"Father, you are joking. Shangguan Yi is diligent, but he is not smart or strong enough. He will give everything for Li Tang, but he may not be a match for Pei Yan and Pei Xingjian."

Li Shimin understood and said, "You really want to make use of Pei Xingjian."

From the time the emperor went on a journey in the 24th year of Qianqing's reign to the 26th year of Qianqing's reign, the emperor still ignored state affairs.

Some people asked where the emperor went. Some said that the emperor went to Mount Zhongnan, while others said that the emperor went to the Hexi Corridor.

In the second year of the crown prince's supervision of state affairs, he issued a decree that was enough to shock the world.

The last time a decree was issued to change the ownership of land was when Your Majesty was still the Crown Prince.

In order to develop Guanzhong at that time, the land relations were indeed changed once.

Now it has come again, and judging from the decree, it should be the last time, and it will be implemented first in Hebei and Liaodong.

In the autumn of the 26th year of Qianqing's reign, Li Chengqian was hunting with his father at the foot of Mount Li.

The father and his sons did not go down the mountain to ride and shoot, but sat under the shade of a tree and watched a group of children line up to compete in archery.

Li Shimin said: "I heard that the Crown Princess will be giving birth soon."

Li Chengqian nodded and looked at a boy about ten years old. The boy was a member of the royal family of Li Tang, although he was from an inconspicuous branch, but his name was Li Linfu.

"When do you plan to abdicate to my grandson?"

The emperor's words, intentional or not, frightened Li Ke who was standing beside him so much that he trembled, and even Li Tai, who had just taken a sip of tea, almost spit it out.

"Father, please live two more years."

Li Chengqian also replied lightly.

The father and son talked about abdication and giving up the throne so casually that it frightened the onlookers.

Li Shimin supported his chin with one hand, and the wide sleeves had nowhere to go, so they just casually slid to his wrists, and said slowly: "Then I will live two more years."

(End of this chapter)