Li Chengqian of the Tang Dynasty: Please say long live His Majesty

Chapter 330: Your Highness, Li Yifu, the Imperial Censor of Jin Wang, Impeaches the Prime Minister (Part )

On the fifteenth day of the twelfth lunar month, only a few corners of the palace roads still had some snow left.

Li Chengqian sat on a sedan chair and entered the palace from the Tongxun Gate. He finally passed the Wude Hall, the Lizheng Hall, and arrived at the Ganlu Gate.

After getting off the sedan chair, Li Chengqian stood respectfully at the foot of Ganlu Gate with his hands clasped.

A moment later, the emperor, dressed in a scarlet and yellow dragon robe and a crown on his head, came out in his imperial sedan chair with a calm expression.

Li Chengqian immediately bowed and said, "Father!"

Li Shimin turned to look at Li Chengqian and asked, "How is the matter going?"

Li Chengqian bowed and said, "There are many wealthy merchants from Yangtong in Chang'an City. The Hundred Cavalry Division has already bribed some of their lower-class laborers under the guise of the Yangtong royal family. Once they have a grasp of their inner workings, they will directly intervene and capture some of them, ultimately turning them into spies for the Tang Dynasty."

Although the country of Yangtong has now been controlled by Tubo, the trade between Yangtong merchants and the Tang Dynasty has never been cut off.

For a businessman, loyalty is a difficult word to say.

They are now subject to Tubo, but to be honest, once Tubo becomes weak, they will immediately betray Tubo.

The emperor waved his hand slightly, and the imperial carriage continued to move forward. Li Chengqian quickly followed.

Soon, the group arrived at the east gate of the Taiji Hall.

The emperor stepped down from the imperial sedan chair and, supported by Li Chengqian, walked up the stairs. He paused for a moment, looked at Li Chengqian and said, "Let's also make arrangements for the Tibetan envoys to come to Chang'an in advance."

"Yes!" Li Chengqian immediately lowered his head.

At this moment, a big sun suddenly jumped out on the horizon behind Li Chengqian.

Then, a ray of light fell at the emperor's feet.

Li Shimin walked into the Taiji Hall in the morning light with a calm expression.

……

In the Taiji Hall, the emperor sat high on the imperial couch.

Li Chengqian stood on the third step of the Danbi, and Li Zhi stood on the first step of the Danbi, both with solemn expressions.

All officials above the ninth rank in Chang'an City stood inside and outside the main hall, holding their tablets with respectful expressions.

Yu Zhining, the Imperial Court Assistant Minister, Vice Minister of State Affairs, and Inspector of Yongzhou's Chief Clerk, stood in the hall and reported to the emperor, "Your Majesty, officials from various departments of Yongzhou Prefecture have rushed to various parts of Yongzhou to provide disaster relief. Yongzhou Prefecture has allocated a large amount of supplies to ensure the safety of the people after the snowstorm."

The emperor nodded slowly and said, "Thank you for your hard work, Yu Qing. This heavy snowfall is the heaviest in years, and the damage is bound to be severe. Yongzhou Prefecture must be prepared for people from other places to come to Chang'an for the winter."

"Yes!" Yu Zhining immediately bowed.

Li Chengqian glanced at Yu Zhining calmly. Yu Zhining was the Chief Secretary of Yongzhou as the Prime Minister, and only had half a month left.

Half a month later, the emperor will appoint a new Chief Clerk of Yongzhou, and he will then step down.

This year's heavy snow fell for three days and three nights, then turned into light snow for another two days, and only stopped yesterday.

After the snowstorm, there will definitely be a lot of victims, but with today's snowstorm, those who can survive will survive in the future, and those who cannot survive will have frozen to death.

"Your Majesty!" After Yu Zhining returned to his post, Yuwen Chongsi, the Minister of Rites, stepped forward and said with a bow, "Your Majesty, over a dozen tribal leaders in the southwest, Jiannan, and the grasslands have heard that Your Majesty has returned to Chang'an and have requested permission to come to Chang'an to pay homage to Your Majesty at the end of the year."

Li Shimin nodded in satisfaction and said, "Approved. The Honglu Temple will be ready to welcome you."

"Yes!" Yuwen Chongsi immediately bowed and then returned to the train.

Li Chengqian sighed in his heart.

His father, the Heavenly Khan, had won his battles with every sword and every strike.

Anyone who refuses to submit will be killed immediately.

Even Songtsen of Tubo had to show outward respect.

……

The emperor sat on the imperial couch, listening to his ministers report on government affairs.

Li Chengqian knew about these matters and had dealt with them in advance, but today, he still needed to pick out the important ones and report them to the emperor.

Li Shimin glanced at Li Chengqian, who looked serious, and nodded with satisfaction. Then he looked at the ministers and said, "When I was in Luoyang, I ordered that the imperial examinations would be held again next year. How is the registration process at the Ministry of Personnel now?"

"Your Majesty!" Cui Renshi, the Vice Minister of Personnel, stepped forward and said with a bow, "Your Majesty, although quite a few people have registered with the Ministry of Personnel, the number is lower than in previous years."

"Hmm!" The emperor nodded and said, "I anticipated this. I will issue an order to extend the registration period of the Ministry of Personnel to the 18th day of the first lunar month, and the examination will begin on the 8th day of the second lunar month."

"Yes!" Cui Renshi immediately bowed.

Li Shimin turned sideways and looked at Li Chengqian: "Prince!"

"Your son is here!" Li Chengqian bowed in surprise.

"For next year's imperial examination, I will give the last essay question. You and the Ministry of Personnel will do the rest. Select some talented people for me!" The emperor looked at the ministers in the hall with some pride. Every imperial examination in the Tang Dynasty was able to select many useful talents for him.

"Your son obeys the order!" Li Chengqian bowed, his expression still somewhat doubtful.

The imperial examination is more than just setting questions. Apart from arranging the examination room at the front, supervising the test questions in the middle, and also the admissions at the end, does he have to be involved in all of these?

The emperor said that he would do everything else. That seems to be what he meant.

Presided over the imperial examinations.

"My Lords!" The Emperor looked up at his ministers and said with a look of deep emotion, "Over the past two years, I have campaigned against Goguryeo in the east, and the people of Guanzhong have shown great support. Furthermore, the snow is very heavy today. Therefore, I hereby decree that the people of Guanzhong will be exempted from land tax for next year... for one year!"

All the ministers in the hall could not help but look up in surprise, and then they all bowed and said, "Your Majesty is benevolent and virtuous, and your virtue is known throughout the world. Long live Your Majesty!"

The emperor exempted the annual land tax in Guanzhong just by saying so.

The Tang Dynasty's two-year eastern expedition to Goguryeo has consumed a great deal of the court's resources. Although a lot of spoils have been captured in Liaodong and Goguryeo, to be honest, it will take time to digest them.

In other words, the Tang Dynasty's treasury was far from abundant, and now the emperor was going to exempt Guanzhong from land tax for one year. His determination was truly rare.

As Li Chengqian bowed, he couldn't help but look a little funny.

In fact, he had already discussed this matter with the prime ministers in the court.

In fact, their initial suggestion was to reduce the land tax of the people in Guanzhong by 30% per year, but the emperor directly decided to reduce the land tax of the people in Guanzhong by 10% per year.

Because when the army returns from Mobei, the court will immediately reward all officials and soldiers. At that time, a large amount of copper coins, gold and silver will be given.

When people have more money, they will naturally spend it.

By then, the prices of grain and many other things in Guanzhong will rise.

Guanzhong was already short of food, and it had to be transferred from other places, resulting in huge losses. This was not a good thing for the people in Guanzhong.

On the contrary, if the emperor exempts the people from land tax for the next year, the people will have surplus grain and the price of grain will not rise next year.

At that time, the imperial court would not need to transfer grain from Guanzhong, and these consumption could be made up from other places.

The court did not suffer any loss, and at the same time it showed kindness to the people in Guanzhong.

Of course, this inevitably aroused the jealousy of the nobles and common people in other places.

However, the Tang Dynasty controlled the world with Guanzhong, and Guanzhong was the foundation of the Tang Dynasty.

It was inevitable that the Tang Dynasty would treat the people of Guanzhong well.

……

The emperor looked at his ministers with satisfaction, then raised his hand and said, "Everyone, please stand up. If there is nothing else to do today, this will end here..."

"Your Majesty!" Before the emperor finished speaking, the Imperial Censor Li Yifu stood up.

"Does Minister Li have any memorial?" The emperor looked at Li Yifu in surprise.

Li Yifu bowed solemnly and said, "Your Majesty, I, the Imperial Censor and Official of the Prince of Jin, Li Yifu, impeach the Imperial Court Assistant Minister Liu Li, the Imperial Secretariat Assistant Minister Chu Suiliang, and the Right Chancellor Yuwen Jie for spreading rumors and unsettling people's hearts. I request their execution as a warning to the world!"

The ministers were stunned. Why did he suddenly want to kill someone?

Moreover, Yuwen Jie is one thing, but Liu Li and Chu Suiliang were both prime ministers!
Did Li Yifu intend to use his own strength to force the emperor to execute two prime ministers?
……

Under the Danbi, Li Zhi stared at Li Yifu.

When Li Yifu said the three words "Prince of Jin", he suddenly felt a chill all over his body.

At this moment, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that many people were looking at him in surprise.

Li Yifu impeached and requested the execution of the prime minister. Could it be that it was ordered by the Prince of Jin?

In a moment, Zhang Ananda had taken Li Yifu's memorial and presented it to the emperor.

The emperor opened the memorial and read it for a moment, then looked up at Liu Li. "Minister Liu, what does 'the holy body is suffering from a serious carbuncle, which is worrying' mean? Please explain to me what the word 'worry' means?"

"Your Majesty!" Liu Li stood up with a horrified look on his face, then bowed solemnly and said, "Your Majesty, I did not say that!"

Li Shimin looked past Liu Li and looked at Chu Suiliang and Yuwen Jie, and asked calmly: "Mr. Chu, Mr. Yuwen, did Mr. Liu say so?"

Chu Suiliang calmly stepped forward and solemnly bowed to the emperor, saying, "Your Majesty, Prime Minister Liu has said that there is no need to worry about major court events. As long as we follow Yi and Huo's example, we can assist the Crown Prince and eliminate those who are disloyal!"

Li Chengqian suddenly looked up and said, "The story of Yi and Huo", Liu Li must be confused.

The story of Yi Yin happened a long time ago, but the story of Huo Guang did not last long.

When Huo Guang was alive, although he was a wise minister, the emperor was like a puppet. His daughter even killed Emperor Xuan of Han's original wife, Xu Pingjun, in order to become the queen.

Anyone who wants to be like Yihuo, whether he will be a wise minister or not is another matter, but he will inevitably be a powerful minister, or even a treacherous minister.

Li Chengqian clenched his fists tightly. Although he knew that this was unlikely, at least someone had thought of killing his Crown Princess.

This man deserves to die.

The emperor looked past Chu Suiliang and looked at Yuwen Jie, and continued to ask: "My dear Yuwen, it was just the three of you that day. I want to ask you, did Liu Qing say anything like that?"

Yuwen Jie, looking pale, cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, yes!"

Li Shimin turned to look at Li Chengqian and asked, "Prince, how do you think this matter should be handled?"

"cut!"

(End of this chapter)