Emperor Que Shaohua

Since I went to Wulan Mountain in the past few days, and then returned to Luocheng, I was in a trance. Jingyu Guard had accumulated a lot of files and documents, and they were all waiting for King Ning to review them one by one. procedures.

Before leaving, Yu Chiyan handed over all the matters in his hands to Shen Ling.Liu Kedu has been escorted to Luocheng, and Jing Yuwei has already interrogated him once because of the order first.

As soon as King Ning arrived at the guardhouse, Vice-Commander Shen reported, "This man is a hobbit, he sneaks in when he sees a crack, he doesn't recognize anything, sometimes he says good things and asks for help, sometimes his tone is very hard, as if there is something wrong with him. Reliance. At present, Yuzhou is still investigating, and may be able to find a few sufferers, and send them to Luo City to report him." He was somewhat cautious: "Your Highness, do you want to use punishment?"

Luo Pingyuan pondered for a moment, he is still most concerned about confirming the connection between the Liu family and the East Palace, so he said: "There is no need to torture him, let him be tortured with the previous method, not allowed to sleep, no matter what is recruited, immediately remember Come down and make a bet."

The intensive interrogation of Liu Kedu lasted for three days.

On the first day, Shen Ling said: "He refused to confess, and yelled again, insisting that he was not guilty. If His Highness wants money from his family, he will give it all to pay for his life." He said: "Continue."

On the second day, Shen Ling said: "He started begging for mercy, but he still said that he didn't know what to do. As long as he was spared, he could say whatever he wanted." King Ning thought that this person was indeed a scoundrel, and said, "Go ahead and ask , Let him say it is useful. Also, be on guard, don’t let him commit suicide like the assassin last time.”

On the third day, Shen Ling came to report: "Fortunately, Your Highness has the foresight. Liu Kedu couldn't survive this. He really took out a poison pill from his shoe and wanted to commit suicide. After the subordinates stopped him, they cried loudly and only admitted that it was true." The business of that family was destroyed, and his daughter was robbed by duress. He insisted that the girl hanged herself because she couldn't think about it. The one who was beaten to death, he will not say anything else. He didn’t recognize a word about the assassination of Colonel Chu. Your Highness, do you want to continue?”

Seeing that there was unfinished business in his expression, Luo Pingyuan asked, "How does Deputy Commander Shen feel about this matter? But it's okay to say."

"This subordinate wants to find out the truth." Shen Ling bowed and said, "I, Jing Yuwei, was ordered by the emperor to investigate the case, and some people dared to intercept and kill it in the street. If such a thing cannot be found out, how can we proceed?" He slightly lowered his voice, "Your Highness, in the past few days, someone from the Liu family has brought money to Luocheng, and they have come several times to visit. My subordinates have noticed that the carriage that brought them over has the mark of the Liang Mansion."

"Liang Mansion?" Luo Pingyuan had a quick reaction, and he understood that it was the mansion of Liang Chendong, who was recently appointed General of Hanguan, and the natal family of Princess An.He glanced at Shen Ling. Shen Ling had also read the assassin's confession before committing suicide. He understood that the deputy commander had also become suspicious of the East Palace.It is impossible for the two vice-commanders of Jing Yuwei to belong to the prince, otherwise, after Wu Tingzhou died, the prince would only need to support one of them, and there would be no need to recommend Ji Tinghui at all.So at this moment, Shen Ling was waiting for his own reaction, whether he would let the Liu family go because of the favor or pressure of the East Palace.He also thought of Wang An's heart-to-heart gesture when he was in the Wulan paddock. How could the carriage of Liang's mansion not be a kind of temptation by Luo Junping?

"Let's stop first, put him back in prison, and let him go for a few days." He said lightly.

Shen Ling agreed, and as expected, Luo Pingyuan saw an imperceptible trace of disappointment on his face.

He stopped Shen Ling who was about to turn around, and asked, "Deputy Commander Shen, I remember you entered Jingyu Guard four years ago, but Commander Wu asked you to come here?"

Shen Ling was stunned, and then replied: "As Your Highness said, this subordinate and Commander Wu met in Jianghu. Commander Wu's martial arts is superb, and he handles things benevolently and righteously, which is very convincing. At that time, my subordinate was still a member of the Cao Gang. After taking over the Jingyu Guard, Commander Wu asked his subordinates if they would like to deal with foreign barbarians and do some business with him, so they came to the capital."

When Luo Pingyuan first came to Jingyuwei, although Shen Ling was respectful and thoughtful, he never talked about the past.He vaguely understood that after passing through Chu Huan Qipan Street Yefu, all his subordinates had already had some expectations for him.He asked again: "After coming here, will things go well with Commander Wu?"

Shen Ling smiled and said: "I have been in the rivers and lakes for a long time, so I didn't know the rules at first. Fortunately, Commander Wu took good care of him. As long as he is loyal to the emperor and serves the country, he will come to any difficulties. The subordinates have a stable family in recent years. Back then, the few brothers They died young, and the subordinates still have enough energy to take care of their families, and I am truly grateful for His Majesty's grace."

In terms of Shen Ling's official position, such an answer can be said to be very frank. Luo Pingyuan said: "Even if Liu Kedu is forced to confess now, the evidence is insufficient based on oral confession alone. Others will only say that it was torture. If something happens in the city, what he can confess is probably limited."

Shen Ling said: "Your Highness also feels that there is something different about Commander Wu?"

Luo Pingyuan nodded slightly: "How did Commander Wu be killed suddenly, how did the Liao people know his whereabouts, and set up an ambush attack? We need to find out carefully. To avenge him requires a long-term plan. Deputy Commander Shen, can you believe it?" I?"

Shen Ling couldn't help being moved. He has been an official for several years and is familiar with the routines of the officialdom. Although he was suspicious and knew that the matter was uncertain, but after getting in touch with King Ning who was born in the martial arts for a while, he had some hopes for him, and immediately said: " Not only my subordinates, but all of us are very convinced of His Highness, and will definitely not tolerate the culprit." He added: "Your Highness, I don't know, these days, we have not been able to avenge Commander Wu, and we can't lift our heads when we go out, for fear of being ridiculed by our colleagues , Your Highness is the one to decide this matter."

The meaning of the two people has been explained, tacit understanding.

Luo Pingyuan said: "Although Liu Kedu will be interrogated for a while, it is not to be ignored. In the past few days, pay attention to the movement in the guard, see if anyone is entrusted to intervene, or send him a letter, and then pay attention to check. But someone leaked the news to the outside, and we also need to rectify it internally." He continued, "There should be more than one family in Yuzhou who has been harmed by him, try to find as many sufferers as possible to sue him, especially The family property and money were occupied by him.”

After Shen Ling left, King Ning sat by the desk and began to think about revising the Jingyu Guard's regulations one by one. He wanted to clean it up. If there were many flaws in his own duties, what else would he talk about.

Jing Wang once analyzed him in this way: "Jing Yuwei relies on the trust of the father and the strict rules. The advantage is that you don't have to look at the faces of other ministries. The disadvantage is that if you make a mistake, you will immediately go straight to heaven , everyone knows. Therefore, in addition to acting cautiously and carefully, there must also be strict and complete regulations. Those who have martial arts are mostly unruly and loyal, and often do not want to be restrained, so they must work hard to establish rules and grasp them well. Proper, let your father see that you are dedicated to your duties and do not seek personal gain, and your subordinates feel that you are clear about rewards and punishments, and that you handle things fairly, and you will gradually build up your prestige by handling a few things like this."

Speaking of the matter of the Liu family, Luo Yuhua thought that it should not be delayed for too long: "Father waits to see the result, the crown prince can't be shaken by oral confession alone. Let's think about it, what Liu Kedu can do for the crown prince is worth doing. Are you going to keep him?"

Luo Pingyuan thought for a while and said: "The bank, the gambling house. But this case has dragged on for several months, I'm afraid not much can be found."

"Liu Kedu stayed in Yuzhou and didn't escape. It should be handled properly." King Jing said, "Does Jing Yuwei have a useful accounting office? Find a reason to check his accounts."

Luo Pingyuan responded: "Alright, I will conduct a thorough investigation and try to get the facts."

"It doesn't matter." Prince Jing smiled faintly, "It's better for the prince to think that you are just doing a routine job. It's better to be sympathetic. This time, as long as you find out some clues and leave some doubts in the father's heart, you will achieve your goal."

Speaking of this, he smiled: "Ping Yuan, in fact, you have been doing very well, and you have a keen sense, and you will gradually understand the key to it. You just need to remember that although the father loves talents, he is also jealous. The most important thing in front of him is loyalty, but sometimes talents need to be hidden. So even if something happens, the emperor will protect you, so that you can stand in a safe place."

In the records of later generations, a series of major events occurred in the 21st year of Tianyi, including the return of King Ning and the return of King Jing. One of them is worth mentioning, that is, at the end of June, the Ministry of Households went to the book. , The national treasury was depleted, so it was proposed to levy additional taxes, called the Shaoan tax.

Luo Pingyuan returned home from Jingyu Guards, and walked towards Lancangju, but King Jing was not in the room, and Gu Yu said that the Lord was watering the vegetable fields.When Luo Pingyuan turned to the back garden, he saw King Jing was holding a gourd ladle, scooping water carefully to irrigate the puddles.

"Brother Huang, you can't stay in the sun too long, be careful that you get dizzy." King Ning stepped forward and was about to reach out to take the water ladle, "Let me do it."

"I have to move around, I always rest, and I'm about to rust." Luo Yanhua said, seeing his firm attitude, he had to pass half a gourd over, and said: "Less corn, more sunflowers, and half a gourd for cotton." Dry and half wet, be careful not to step on the melon vines over there."

"I'll just keep an eye on it." Luo Pingyuan said, he had observed King Jing's five-cent vegetable field, it was very interesting, as long as the seasons allowed, he could plant anything, and several fences were covered with bean vines and cucumber seedlings, which was very interesting. There are two rows of chili peppers on one side, three green sunflowers on the other side, peanuts are also planted on the top of the row, pumpkin seedlings are crawling all over the ground, and green vegetables grow neatly among the rows of eggplants. He does not recognize the seedlings next to them. The ones that come here are called sweet potatoes, other than cotton and corn, and there is also a small green field, which is said to be fodder for horses.

His Royal Highness Ning Wang thought that if he couldn't even pour water well, he would be laughed at for many years without knowing his sufferings.It was the first time for him to deal with so many kinds of vegetables, so he cheered up and poured them line by line under the guidance of King Jing. In order to spread them evenly, he even used his internal strength.When the two buckets of water were used up, he went to the well under the tree to win another two buckets.After all, it was summer, and after all the watering was finished, there was thin sweat on his forehead, and a few spots of mud splashed on his clothes. Looking at King Jing, he had only watered half of the land just now, but he kept his green clothes clean and tidy. Can not help but feel a little depressed.

"I'm just used to it." King Jing laughed, "Ping Yuan will follow me back to eat melons."

"Brother Huang's front garden is elegant, but the trees and water lilies in the back garden are a bit deserted. Fortunately, this vegetable field is lively. How could I even think of growing cotton," Luo Pingyuan said, "I will ask someone to build a stone garden someday. How about planting a wisteria?"

Jing Wang glanced at him silently, always felt that these words seemed to come from Yang Yue, no matter planting melons, beans or cultivating flowers and trees, they could indeed nourish his mind, as long as Luo Pingyuan's mood could recover a little bit.He nodded and said: "As long as you like it, I heard that in recent years, mulberry, hemp, cotton, and cotton have been planted more than rice in the south of the Yangtze River, because the local merchants are prosperous, growing cotton and spinning yarn, and earning more income than growing grain, so I want to see how cotton is doing. method."

After hearing this, Luo Pingyuan always felt that it was inappropriate to plant less rice in the south of the Yangtze River. Grain is the foundation of the country. He said, "It shouldn't matter. I heard that the world's granary is in the Huguang area, and grain and rice can be supplied to the north and south." He thought of today Hearing the news, I immediately remembered my original intention of coming to find King Jing: "Brother Huang, have you heard about the request for an inscription from the Ministry of Households?"

"I saw the palace report from the imperial court this morning," King Jing said, "we want to raise the current five qian per mu to seven qian, and the two qian from multiple sources are called the Shao'an tax."

While the two were talking, they had already walked back to Lancang Residence.Qingming took out a big watermelon that was icy cold by the well water, King Jing said with a smile: "We will do it ourselves, you all go down to eat the melon."

"Thank you, Lord." Qingming glanced at King Ning and ran out happily.

Luo Pingyuan felt that it was not an illusion. After returning from Wulan, the servants in the mansion seemed to be more friendly to him.He cut the watermelon in half and asked, "Brother Huang, do you think the national treasury is really beyond its means and needs to be increased?" It was a prosperous scene, the furnishings in the Chonghua Palace were luxurious, and the expenses were extravagant, no matter how you looked at it, it didn't look like you were short of money.

"It's not easy to maintain a war. The military expenditure at the border has indeed increased in the past few years, but judging from the revenue and expenditure of the treasury in the past three years, it has not yet reached the level that needs to be increased." King Jing said, "Taxation is a national policy and is related to the livelihood of the people. , the people’s hearts are against each other, how can we lightly increase the increase, and can’t wait to announce it in the mansion newspaper.” He thought about it and said: “The annual tax revenue is 5000 million taels, and Shao’an’s military expenditure is 800 million. Even if it is really in shortfall, it is because of improper allocation from other places, not for military expenses in Shao'an. Therefore, this is just a name for adding gifts. Ping Yuan, what do you think?"

Luo Pingyuan had already put half of a melon in front of the emperor, and he pointed at the other half. The sweet taste can not only relieve the heat, but also calm the fire. He said: "I sometimes went to the foot of Cuiping Mountain as a teacher I remember a year of natural disasters, the crops of the farmers there failed, and several families could not pay the land tax, so they had to sell the land to rich families. They have no land, and they can only sell their sons and daughters when they encounter disasters. I just think that if the tax is suddenly raised by two dollars, more people will sell their land and flee.”

"Li Shu's people's livelihood is so difficult. Whenever there are natural disasters and man-made disasters, they are the first to suffer." Jing Wang said leisurely, "When the tax increases, many farmers in Yuzhou have to sell their fields and land. Who can they sell to? Except for the wealthy households in the countryside, they are gentry. According to the laws of Yu and Zhou, as long as you are a scholar, you can exempt your family from paying taxes on [-] acres of land. The imperial court's imposition of property has no effect on them. It is only seen in the south of the Yangtze River. Many noble families sit on thousands of fertile lands and do not pay half of the tax. , if there are more Shaoan taxes, how many acres will fall into the hands of the gentry in a few years?"

There was a touch of coldness in his voice: "Is it really possible to enrich the treasury by relying on increasing taxes to increase the annual tax and compete for profits with the people? In my opinion, this is just making things worse. Drinking poison to quench thirst. Those who are notorious, but It is the Shao'an army fighting on the border, especially Linpian."

Thousands of grain trucks left Beijing in a mighty manner, taking away a large amount of grain, grass and silver, and the Ministry of Household Affairs went to the bank immediately, which made people naturally attribute the increase of taxes to the reason of the war.

Luo Pingyuan could only hear a shudder in his heart: In the long run, wouldn't such an increase in taxes reduce the world's available taxes day by day, leaving the common people with no livelihood, and only the gentry and gentry benefiting?

He immediately said: "I'm going to speak to my father, this matter must be stopped."

"It can be proposed at the court meeting depending on the situation," King Jing said. The watermelon in front of him hadn't moved yet, so he unconsciously picked up a spoon while speaking, scooped out a round piece from the center, and put it on Luo Pingyuan's side, "Father The emperor may not agree, and maybe the court will reprimand you, but it doesn't mean he didn't listen. He wants to win the hearts of scholars, but it doesn't mean he can tolerate them getting bigger and bigger in the local area. Take advantage of the interests and authority of the imperial court. You have expressed your position, and the gentry in the court may be afraid of you, but there will also be courtiers who have the same position and therefore come close to you."

"Then the emperor thinks that the father will reject the proposal from the Ministry of Households because of this?" Luo Pingyuan looked at the round red watermelon. When he was a child, he liked to hold half a watermelon and eat it happily, especially the one in the middle. piece.In recent days, he found that King Jing sometimes took care of him inadvertently, just like his habit at the beginning, was it because he was unhappy when he saw him?

"It's not that simple. Adding gifts has many immediate benefits, and officials at all levels will also get more fire and benefits, so there will be many people in the court supporting them, and the father may be tempted." King Jing smiled slightly, "But It doesn't matter, such a major national issue will not be resolved in a short while, let's see how the Ministry of Households plays its cards, and then try to figure it out."

"Is it the same as how we dealt with Sheng Ruhong last time?" Luo Pingyuan laughed, his mood became inexplicably lighter, as if King Jing said that he would find a way and the matter would be resolved, and there was a bit of a joke in his tone.

"I thought Fifth Brother wouldn't ask anymore," King Jing didn't expect him to bring up this matter instead, "Actually, I didn't want to hide it from you, but there were some inconveniences at the time. Besides, it was all a secret method after all, so I had to do it , is not the right way after all, so I don't want you to put too much thought on these things."

There was a trace of weariness in his calm expression: "Back then, the queen mother wanted to change the functions of Youming and stop letting them do things like sneak attacks and assassinations, because the universe has its own laws, and if you get used to everything If you use secret means to solve it, you will inevitably indulge in it, and your nature will deviate from the right path, which will cause great harm to the country and yourself. But Wei Wuze's thinking is completely opposite. He has been thinking and thinking for many years. After the accident, he once went to Changning Palace and told me that he hated the so-called upright morality and orthodoxy the most, and wanted to win with those heretical ways that were abandoned by others. No matter the right way or the evil way, winning is the reason."

The first time Luo Pingyuan heard him talk about his experience back then, his heart was shaken. Could this be the time when he saw Wei Wuze come out of Changning Palace.He asked in a low voice: "And then, Brother Huang, what did he do to you?"

"It's nothing," King Jing said, "I just told him that because he thinks like this, he must not win, so he left with a long smile, saying that in the court, I have lost forever, and I will wait until Langhuan is destroyed." He came to ask me, the former young master, who wins and who loses. I found out later that he had already voted for the Kunlun Mansion and was secretly training dead soldiers. I think the reason why he betrayed was because he hated his mother. Negating his creed, the second is for Qingluan."

Luo Pingyuan was silent, he almost regretted asking about this matter, he said softly: "Evil is invincible, and it is the same throughout the ages, what is wrong is wrong, how can it be changed because of Wei Wuze's disobedience. Brother, I understand your difficulty , as long as you promise me two conditions, I won't be mad at you for hiding it, how about it?"

"Let's hear it, what's the condition?" King Jing raised his eyebrows slightly. Although Luo Pingyuan didn't blow his hair anymore, it was still difficult to deal with.

"First, if I guess it myself and ask, Brother Huang must admit it honestly." Luo Pingyuan said, "The second..." A smile floated on his lips, "When it rains again, Brother Huang will play Give me a piano."

King Ning took the little fox back to Hanxiaozhai after dinner, Luo Yanhua watched him leave.Since Luo Pingyuan moved in, Prince Jing's Mansion has not become full of guests as he feared, and still maintains the tranquility far away from the hustle and bustle. However, his Lancang Residence has been constantly visited, if Luo Pingyuan hadn't gone out to do errands every day , I almost have no time to listen to Qin Shuang's report and meet with his subordinates.

Let it be, he thought quietly, when Prince Ning's Mansion is built, such days will end, this gathering is like some kind of compensation and joke from the heavens, there is no way to resist it, only to be indifferent.

He walked a few steps in the room alone, King Yun guarded the frontiers and fought, protected the environment and the people, and was admired by all the people in the world.However, once the Shaoan tax is released, the people's original love and admiration may turn into complaints or even blame, especially in the south far away from the northern border, many people do not feel the pain of war, let alone add heavy burdens to it.If the war is won, it's okay, but if it loses, the guilt and infamy that King Yun will bear will roll in.Just now, with the spread of tax proposals in the mansion newspaper, the hearts of the soldiers in the northern border have become more burdened and stressed.And he knew that Emperor Tianyi cared most about his own authority and reputation, and he was not afraid of King Yun's support and the elite soldiers and generals under his command. He could use the war as an excuse this time, so he might agree to it temptingly.

"What a Shao'an tax." He said lightly to himself.Making friends with the gentry, getting King Yun into a difficult situation, and more importantly, seeming to inadvertently provoke the Emperor's heart, faintly putting King Yun on the opposite side.In this way, it seems that the prince has really recruited a few capable people.