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

Chapter 650: Li Yifu, Do Your Best (First Update)
With the word "invasion", the entire imperial carriage immediately became quiet.

Li Ji, Yu Zhining, Gao Jifu, Li Qianyou, Zhang Daxiang, Xu Jingzong and others all looked up in astonishment.

Only Li Yifu and Pei Yan are recorded today.

Li Chengqian looked at Li Ji and said gently, "The soldiers' military merit rewards must not be reduced in any way. Tell the army that this is my order."

"Yes!" Li Ji bowed with a heavy expression.

Li Chengqian smiled and said, "Your Excellency, please be personally responsible for this matter and ensure it is fully implemented."

Li Ji's lips trembled slightly, but he still bowed and said, "I obey your order."

Li Chengqian nodded and said, "The army has returned from a fierce battle. I cannot let the soldiers shed both blood and tears. No matter who harms the interests of the soldiers, they will be severely punished... I believe that the soldiers will share my attitude."

"Yes!" Li Ji nodded solemnly.

Soldiers who have just returned from the battlefield will definitely not mind killing anyone if their interests are infringed upon.

Especially when the emperor is standing behind them.

So, this thing will definitely work, but...

"Okay, let's do this." Li Chengqian waved his hand slightly.

Everyone hesitated slightly, but still bowed and said, "We will take our leave!"

"Ok!"

……

"Your Majesty!" After leaving, Yu Zhining returned to the imperial carriage. He bowed to Li Chengqian and said, "Your Majesty, I have something to report privately."

Li Chengqian glanced at Yu Zhining, then looked at the others in the imperial carriage and waved his hand gently: "Everyone, leave!"

Xu Jingzong, Li Yifu, Pei Yan and others stood up together and then retreated.

"I know what Master Yu is going to say, but before that, Master Yu, take a look at this!" Li Chengqian calmly handed a memorial to Yu Zhining and said, "This is the amount of hidden land that Chu Qing discovered during his investigation of Hongnong last year. It's a total of 200,000 mu, and this is just for Yang Gongren's lineage."

Although Yang Gongren is the patriarch of the entire Hongnong Yang family, he only owns less than 30% of the wealth of the entire Hongnong Yang family.

This gives us an idea of ​​the vast amount of land hidden by the Hongnong Yang family.

"Even the Hongnong Yang family is in such a state, let alone the other aristocratic families in the world." Li Chengqian raised his head, squinted his eyes, and whispered, "How much land have they hidden? How much tax have they underpaid each year? How much has the court lost?"

Yu Zhining fell silent. He didn't expect that the emperor would actually set his sights on Yintian.

The matter of hidden fields concerns the taxes of the whole country. Especially when there is a great war in the court and food and wages are being drawn out of the treasury like water, everything becomes even more sensitive.

Although Yu Zhining was not like Li Ji, who was at the front of the army, controlling an army of 100,000 and living in fear every day, he was a minister of the imperial court and was equally aware of the key points.

So he kept an eye on the treasury every day, fearing that one day there would be a sudden shortage of food and grass, which would lead to an uproar in the army and a great defeat.

If he was like this, let alone the emperor who was most sensitive to finance and taxation.

Taking a deep breath, Yu Zhining bowed and said seriously, "Your Majesty is right. The Yintian incident has indeed caused serious damage to the world. However, I, an old minister, have something to say. I beg for your permission, Your Majesty."

Looking at Yu Zhining's sincere expression, Li Chengqian nodded.

Yu Zhining breathed a sigh of relief and said sincerely, "Your Majesty, the issue of hidden fields is very serious. Looking back at the past, hidden fields are not a new phenomenon. From the Han Dynasty to the pre-Sui Dynasty, they were banned repeatedly but never ceased.

Even during the time of the previous emperor, this was the case, yet the previous emperor did not initiate a major war because, if the Hidden Fields issue wasn't properly controlled, it would lead to rebellion by the aristocratic families, and ultimately, the collapse of the empire... Wasn't it for this reason that Yang Guang extorted the entire population, ultimately causing disunity in Guanzhong?"

Yang Guang launched three expeditions to Goguryeo and failed three times, leading to chaos in the country.

However, what really shook his foundation was the previous census of the world's population and land, which eventually led to disunity in Guanzhong.

Even Yang Guang's final death, if examined in depth, was still the work of the Guanlong clans.

The Yu family is also an old family in Longxi, so they naturally know the answer.

Although Li Chengqian is now firmly on the throne, he will still have a headache if the Guanlong clans cause trouble for him.

Li Chengqian nodded and sighed, "I understand Master Yu's concerns. Otherwise, why would I wait until now to start?"

Li Ji returned to the court with 50,000 soldiers who had fought on the battlefield. These people were Li Chengqian's greatest support.

He cleverly linked the incident of Yintian with the military achievements of the soldiers.

Once conflicts arise, the ones that are directly involved are the generals and local families.

Who wouldn't be afraid of fifty thousand knives?

Someone is bound to make concessions.

Only when the situation could no longer be suppressed locally would it be brought to the court and into the hands of Li Chengqian.

After all, there is a layer in the middle.

"Besides, it's not that Father didn't investigate hidden farmland back then. It's just that at the time, the number of hidden farmland held by aristocratic families was relatively small, so Father didn't pay much attention to it." Li Chengqian shook his head and said, "But in recent years, the amount of hidden land held by aristocratic families has been increasing. If we don't rectify this, land annexation will become rampant, and tax revenue will be completely lost. By then, the army will be unable to support itself, officials will be corrupt, war will break out, and the Tang Dynasty will be destroyed."

"The Tang Dynasty is about to perish", these four words are deafening.

Even Yu Zhining didn't expect that the emperor could actually say these four words.

"Your Majesty!" Yu Zhining's lips paled slightly. He wanted to say something, but in the end, no words came out.

He was the emperor's Prince's Secretary, the Prince's teacher for many years, and the Palace Attendant for many years. Nothing the emperor did in secret could be hidden from him.

For example, the matter of the Yang family in the memorial.

There were many things about that case that didn't make sense, but because the Yang family did contact Prince Jing and Princess Gaoyang in an attempt to rebel, no one dared to pursue the details.

It now seems that the emperor had long been aware of the Yintian incident, and he himself accelerated the Yang family case in order to get to the bottom of it.

Now that the army has returned, the emperor has the confidence and begins to take action.

The emperor has 50,000 troops at his disposal, so this matter will surely be accomplished.

Yu Zhining understood the reason behind this, but the matter of investigating Yintian was of great importance. Anyone involved in it might be torn to pieces if they were not careful.

……

Looking at Yu Zhining, who had been silent for a long time, Li Chengqian suddenly smiled and waved his hand, saying, "I am exaggerating a bit. The Tang Dynasty has just come out of the prosperous Zhenguan era. Even if there is the matter of hidden fields, it is not too serious in the eyes of the whole world. However, this is ultimately a deep hidden danger. If it is not dealt with, the world will become increasingly difficult in the future."

"Your Majesty is right!" Yu Zhining nodded seriously, then folded his hands and said, "I don't object to Your Majesty investigating the hidden farmland, but this matter needs to be carefully planned. It would be too reckless to directly involve the Duke of Ying in this way."

Li Chengqian smiled and nodded, "There are some things I understand. The matter of concealing land, or more accurately, it's a tacit understanding formed between the court and the local aristocratic families. The aristocratic families use their power to enjoy special treatment, and even concealing land is considered a privilege."

"Your Majesty!" Yu Zhining heard the deep meaning in Li Chengqian's words and quickly bowed.

The reason why aristocratic families were able to hide their land was ultimately because of their power.

The so-called county magistrate who ruins a family, the prefect who wipes out a clan. If local officials really become ruthless, they cannot be restrained by a noble family.

No one can resist a butcher's knife.

As soon as the butcher knife is used, the situation will be difficult to control.

"I have no intention of thoroughly investigating all the hidden fields in the world." Li Chengqian calmly waved his hand and said, "Does Master Yu really think that I can really do something big with that memorial?"

"Your Majesty, please give me some advice?" Yu Zhining looked up in surprise.

Li Chengqian took a deep breath and said, "I still say the same thing. Everything should be done in moderation. I can accept the powerful and wealthy enjoying a little privilege, but if it exceeds the limit, don't blame me for taking action."

"Yes!" Yu Zhining bowed with a serious expression.

"Especially, there are some families who clearly don't have much power or achievements, but they've coveted too much land that they shouldn't have, even more than a true aristocratic family. Furthermore, their methods are too crude, and a simple investigation will reveal a ton of trouble." Li Chengqian pounded his fist, his face filled with hatred as he said, "These two kinds of things, these two kinds of people, are what I cannot tolerate the most, and they are the focus of this investigation."

Yu Zhining began to understand a little.

The emperor wanted to investigate the hidden fields, but he also wanted to investigate those people and families who were too greedy and whether they had enough ability and background to support their greed.

It would actually be much easier if you do this.

"My intention is to have the Duke of Ying identify these two types of people, take drastic measures, and then warn others, so that other noble families will voluntarily hand over some land. This way, I can save face and they won't suffer too much loss."

Li Chengqian raised his head, his face cold, and said, "But if they are unwilling to even put in this little effort, and have no respect for me or the court, then such people deserve to die."

"I understand." Yu Zhining suddenly calmed down and said, "If anyone disobeys Your Majesty, I will personally impeach them."

Li Chengqian nodded gently, then picked up the memorial beside him and said, "I will not give any additional reminders on this matter, but Master Yu can find a way to pass on some information privately. However, if you still do not correct your mistakes after receiving the message from your Excellency..."

"They deserve to die." Yu Zhining bowed seriously.

"Ok!"

……

Looking at Yu Zhining's leaving back, Li Chengqian narrowed his eyes slightly.

Investigating the hidden fields is not an easy task. Li Ji's hesitation and Yu Zhining's worries are obstacles that Li Chengqian needs to face.

However, with tens of thousands of troops at his disposal, Li Chengqian took action and exercised self-restraint, which made Li Ji and Yu Zhining agree.

If he wanted to investigate hidden fields by using military merit, he could only do so in the name of military merit, and he couldn't even put the words "hidden fields" in the open. Otherwise, there would be opposition from the whole world without Li Chengqian even having to take action.

Moreover, we cannot take action against Guanzhong.

Yu Zhining actually gave in only after he understood this point.

In fact, Li Chengqian had no intention of taking action against Guanzhong. The Tang Dynasty used Guanzhong to rule the world. If Guanzhong was in chaos, even if Li Chengqian had troops, his foundation would be destroyed and he would be finished.

Not only Guanzhong, Li Chengqian also had no intention of taking action against Bingzhou.

Bingzhou is a small place, and even if the local wealthy families try to swallow up the land, how much can they swallow up?

In this way, many big families such as Wei, Pei, Xue, Liu, Yang, Du, Changsun, Pei, Li, and Wang were excluded.

In this way, his targets were the local gentry and the lower-class families who had the most contact with the people.

After all, real top families all have to save face.

Although they also swallowed up the land, they often made others willingly give the land to them through donations, loans, scholarships, etc.

The ones who are truly unscrupulous and making the people feel like they can't survive are those lower-class families who have a lot of contact with the people.

They are not even considered a noble family, but their methods are brutal and bloody, and have caused countless families to be broken up and killed.

But many times, they would instead transfer the land they had obtained bloodily to the hands of the real top families through some obscure means.

These are the dark sides that the real top families are most reluctant to let others see.

From top to bottom.

The people below are just low-level thugs.

In the quiet imperial carriage, Li Chengqian raised his eyes and sneered softly.

What he is doing now is to keep an eye on these thugs.

As long as the direct interests of these top families are not touched, they will not hesitate to throw out the low-level thugs in front of the emperor and the 50,000 troops.

After all, the custom of aristocratic families has always been to fight for a lifetime rather than a moment.

The most frantic time for them was when the previous emperor passed away and the new emperor ascended the throne, a time of chaos in the world.

All that remains is consolidation.

Yu Zhining only let go after he understood what Li Chengqian meant.

Because in this way, even if there are any conflicts, they can be suppressed.

In this situation, those who are unwilling to make concessions to the emperor can only die.

……

Li Chengqian raised his head calmly and called out, "Li Yifu!"

"I'm here!" Li Yifu walked in from outside the imperial carriage with a serious face and bowed solemnly to Li Chengqian.

"The Duke of Ying is responsible for the implementation of the rewards for the soldiers' military merits. You, the Attendant, and Pei Shuang, the Secretary of the Secretariat, should participate in it together on behalf of the Secretariat." Li Chengqian raised his head slightly.

Li Yifu raised his gaze, then he bowed vigorously and said, "I obey your command."

Li Chengqian looked at Li Yifu and smiled with satisfaction. He then said, "Your goal, in addition to assisting Duke Ying, is to find out as much as possible about the true amount of hidden farmland in the counties involved!"

"I understand." Li Yifu took a deep breath and looked more excited.

Li Chengqian waved his hand, and Li Yifu bowed and stepped out of the imperial carriage.

Li Ji and Yu Zhining both had reservations about these matters.

After all, the family behind them is gradually becoming a top family, so they will do everything in a rigid manner within the framework set by Li Chengqian.

Any deeper, and they won’t.

In this way, the only person Li Chengqian could rely on was someone like Li Yifu.

Only they are willing to do whatever it takes to take a big piece of meat from the top families.

Next, it depends on which family is more unlucky.

(End of this chapter)