Emperor Que Shaohua

In the next few days, things happened one after another, making Luo Pingyuan very busy.

Several of his followers usually live in a small courtyard on the west side of the front garden, separated from Lianhu by a hill, and will not set foot in Lancangju and Hanxiaozhai behind.So in this unsurveilled, free-living mansion, he would sometimes move his business affairs to Prince Jing's study for the convenience of discussion or resolution of doubts.Sometimes he would laugh at himself and think that his "surveillance" is really incisive and vivid, but he doesn't talk about it to others.

In Yuzhou, there were quite a few people who were bullied and suppressed by Liu Kedu in terms of business and money. It was not difficult to find a few people to come forward and sue, so Jing Yuwei entered the stage of auditing the accounts smoothly.The books of gambling houses and banks are limited, and most of the pages are clean, especially the ink, which looks like newly made fake accounts.

Ning Wangdao: "It's good to reconcile the accounts. As long as you see any mistakes and contradictions, you can trace them down and find out the ins and outs."

Here in Los Angeles, Liu Kedu was interrogated twice more, and after receiving [-] boards, he finally admitted that he had robbed a civilian girl, abused her so much that she committed suicide, and beat the girl's brother to death.

During the period of seven or eight days, Wang An held a small banquet in the mansion. Now he has a little understanding of Luo Pingyuan's preferences. Zhou Yuyang and Qian Zhan, a talented young man in his early teens, also came, and Luo Pingyuan also saw Song Xuhuai, the son of Song Taifu.

During the banquet, many fresh melons and fruits from the Western Regions, especially one of the honeydew melons, were sweet, fragrant and crisp, and everyone praised them.King An laughed and said, "This was brought back by a caravan going to the Western Regions. We got ten baskets in total. Six baskets were sent to the palace, and the rest are just for everyone to try."

When Luo Pingyuan heard the word "Western Region", his heart moved slightly, and his eyes turned from King An to the prince unconsciously.Luo Wenxiao noticed it, and said with a smile: "I heard that my fifth brother has been busy with affairs recently, and the case has continued. I don't know if it is going well? If there is anything that brother can help, feel free to ask."

"It's okay," Luo Pingyuan replied with a faint smile, "I wonder if the second brother has heard about the case of the Liu family in Yuzhou. He managed to catch two assassins before, but in the end they were all full of nonsense and killed themselves when asked again. So I’m ashamed to say it, but I’ve been busy for nothing.”

The prince pondered and said: "Since the assassin has a confession, the fifth younger brother may be able to find clues and pursue them."

Luo Pingyuan shook his head slightly: "This kind of desperadoes know that they have no way out. They are either lying or framing, and the second brother will listen to what they say." He looked indifferent, "This case should be almost over, then Liu Ke Du has already confessed to his actions in the evil village, and someone from the Ministry of Punishment has come to inquire, and I plan to transfer the criminal to the Ministry of Punishment in a few days, which can be regarded as a conclusion."

The prince only felt that there was something hidden in his words, and he thought that the younger brother of the fifth emperor had learned to play tricks not long after he took office.

King Ning may have doubts, but he made it clear that he would not investigate further, probably because he didn't want to confront him and cause trouble, so he sold a vague favor by the way.That's good, Zhuang Shijing thinks that if Liu Kedu is forced to commit suicide, the other party may become ruthless and confess everything he shouldn't have said, so he sent someone to send a message during the escort, so that he can't survive the trial, and only confessed to robbery The girl of the people denied all the others, and took out the poison pill as a form of suicide, so that Jing Yuwei would not be too persuasive, and if she got a confession that could be handed over to the higher authorities, it would be very likely to transfer this hot potato to the Ministry of Punishment.When Emperor Tianyi no longer paid attention to this matter, with the power of the crown prince in the Ministry of Punishment, it would be easy to save his life.

Now that things are progressing as expected, Luo Wenxiao is more or less relieved.Naturally, he couldn't show anything, and just smiled casually: "It's okay, Jing Yuwei has a lot of affairs, and since it has been found out, there is no need to delay it."

King An interrupted and said, "Recently it has been a troubled time. I heard that just a few days before we went to the Wulan paddock, a burglar appeared in the middle of the capital, who went to steal valuables from rich families. Several households in the middle of the court have been arrested , does fifth brother know about this?"

"It's true," Luo Pingyuan said, "The thief seems to be very clever at light work. It's not easy for Jing Zhaoyin to catch him. Recently, he has sought help from Jing Yuwei. But the thief appeared without warning, and came and went without a trace. There is no leakage of the treasures taken, and it is really not easy to find clues at the moment."

Luo Junping said: "I saw Uncle Duanhuang the day before yesterday, and a purple gold crown with eight treasures that had been treasured in his mansion for many years was also stolen. .”

Prince Duan is open-minded and good at talking, and he is very popular with others. Luo Pingyuan has seen him talking to Prince Jing several times, nodded and said: "The purple gold crown is Uncle Duan's favorite. I will try my best to find people to help find it and try to get it back. .”

After the banquet, King An invited everyone to play Shuanglu. Luo Pingyuan still learned from Lin Chen. His skills can only be described as mediocre, but after a few hits, he was very lucky and won three times in a row.He felt that the prince should relax his guard for a while after the entertainment, so he got up to leave.

Wang An smiled and said: "Wait a minute, today Shuanglu is the winner, and the Fifth Emperor just won the first prize, so it should be yours."

He sent King Ning outside, and asked someone to bring a high-headed horse with black hair and snow-white hooves.

"This horse has just been brought back from the Western Regions. It is a good horse from Dawan. Regardless of its height and long legs, it is only three years old this year." Luo Junping laughed. Picking one out of a thousand, traveling six or seven hundred miles a day is not a problem. I think the fifth younger brother got a pure Jun sword, and then what he needs most is a good horse." He consciously grasped Luo Pingyuan's temperament, not good Female sex, but it should be irresistible to famous swords and horses.

Luo Pingyuan frowned in his heart, and said bluntly: "It's just a Shuanglu, how can it be such a generous gift, a good horse is rare, Brother Sanhuang still keeps it for himself to ride." Thinking on his knees, he knew that Shuanglu was just a pretext , Wang An should express his favor specially.

"I have my own mount," An Wang said, "it's nothing more than a horse. It's just a congratulations to you for taking over Jingyu Guard for the first time. If the fifth brother refuses, he will look down on my elder brother."

Luo Pingyuan listened to what he said, if he refused again, he would break up unhappily, and said: "Then thank Brother Sanhuang for his kindness, I will make a note of it, and I will definitely not disappoint this good horse." He thought to himself that he would just give Wang An a gift some other day.

As expected, the Shaoan tax has attracted a great deal of controversy among the ruling and opposition parties, and the debate in the Zichen Palace has been raging for a few days.Adding gifts is related to the foundation of the country. Yu Zhou has been very cautious about this since the establishment of the dynasty. The last time adding gifts was in Tianyi five years.

Min, the servant of the household department, is well versed in the stationery book, and listed the military expenditures in the northern border over the years, plus the military pay and food for the troops stationed on the nine borders. The amount is huge and complicated.There are also some courtiers who seriously oppose it, such as Zhong Lin, the Minister of Industry, and Gu Hongsheng, the dean of the Imperial Academy, who think that since the Ministry of Household Affairs has not yet reached the point where it cannot raise food and salaries in Shao'an, it should not talk about it lightly, and needs to be aware of the people's sentiments. Think long term.Both sides have a reason.

The assistant governor, Xue Songnian, was no longer silent this time, and expressed his support for the addition of taxes.

In order to facilitate the Shaoan tax, Luo Wenxiao made a lot of arrangements in advance, and he must implement the proposal.Seeing that the situation in the DPRK and China is gradually leaning towards his side, he wants to strike while the iron is hot.Unexpectedly, Zhong Lin's fighting power was quite strong in a small sixth-rank incident. He united with several spokespersons to refute the various expenses proposed by the Ministry of Accounting one by one, and demanded more comprehensive and tenable evidence. It's a trick to drag the word.

Emperor Tianyi was a little moved. He hoped that the more taxes he would collect, the better. However, even if it was for war, he, the emperor, would bear the decision and responsibility. Not to mention anything else, the historian would immediately write down: In the 21st year of Tianyi, the border war was not peaceful, and the emperor issued a decree to increase the tax in Shao'an.This is not the first of Yu and Zhou, but it is not without complaints from the people.

After discussing with King Jing, Luo Pingyuan also made some preparations, and played in the court: "Father, in the fifth year of Tianyi, the price of grain in various places was about one or two yuan per stone. One tael, two cents and seven cents. It can be seen that except for the increase to two twenty five cents during the severe drought three years ago, the price of grain has not increased significantly in the past 15 years. This is due to the wise administration of the father. , For poor peasant households, it is really a heavy burden to increase the tax by two coins per mu." He told his experience at the foot of Cuiping Mountain, and said: "I have taxed more than 5000 million taels, and I think, if If it is reduced by one or two elsewhere, new taxes will not be raised for the 800 million taels of silver in the northern border war, and the people of the world will definitely feel the holiness of the father."

These words come from the heart, so they are very sincere.He followed up and said: "The great families have fame and fame, and they can accept as much good land as possible without paying taxes. As Xue Fuzheng and Min Shilang said, the expulsion of foreign captives is related to the stability of Yu and Zhou. The affairs of the world are the responsibility of the people. The people of the country should be responsible, so why all the new taxes fall on the poor people, and the gentry have rich families, but they don’t need to bear it? The sons and ministers are stupid, and I really don’t understand it.”

He didn't quote the scriptures in his words, but the key point of what he said was that the civil servants who had read poetry and books couldn't resist for a while.

Min Wenwen's family is a wealthy family in the south of the Yangtze River, with a lot of fertile land. He blushed when he heard the words and said, "His Royal Highness Ning's words are wrong. It takes ten years of hard work to study hard, and I don't know how much food, rice, and money will be spent on the family. Therefore, according to the law of our dynasty, the reduction of family land tax for those who obtain fame and fame is justified and based, and it is not groundless."

Luo Pingyuan said indifferently: "If the foreign captives invaded, would they only let the scholars go when they burned, killed and looted?"

Emperor Tianyi said in his heart, if he continued like this, the extra gifts would be added to the courtiers, and he said: "I don't need to say any more, you know that the suffering of the people is very rare, but you also need to learn to take care of the overall situation." .”

On the afternoon of the second day, King Ning entered the palace alone to ask Emperor Tianyi to see him. The case of the Liu family in Yuzhou had been in his hands for more than a month.

The emperor was reviewing the memorial in the imperial study, and Wu Yong led Ning Wang in to salute.Luo Pingyuan saw the piles of memorials on the desk like hills, and he couldn't help but said: "The state affairs are complicated, and the emperor is working so hard, and he wants to take care of his health, which is the blessing of the people in the world."

Emperor Tianyi was in the middle of handling government affairs, and wanted to take a break, he casually pointed to piles of memorials: "Your Majesty, you know, half of them are about the Shao'an tax, but what you said in the court yesterday was somewhat You are reckless. You must know that to obtain fame, that is, to exempt the family's land tax, was originally a rule passed down from generation to generation, to encourage scholars all over the world to study diligently, to understand the principles of sages and philosophers, and to know the way to govern the country and stabilize the country.

"Thank you for your teaching, my son, I will keep it in mind," Luo Pingyuan said, "My son really has little knowledge. After listening to the court discussion for a few days, thinking about the Shao'an tax, I always feel that there is one thing I can't figure out clearly, like a bone stuck in my throat. Only then will he rashly speak out in the court, hoping that his father and emperor will report."

He had been thinking about it for a few days, and at this time he expressed his and King Jing's worries about Bingtian one by one, and finally said: "My son is just worried, if the Shao'an tax is increased, after a few years, will there be any problems?" A large number of acres are owned by the gentry, and they don’t have to pay taxes. Isn’t it true that the fields that can be taxed in the world are decreasing day by day, and more people will be impoverished and displaced.”

"You don't need to say any more." Emperor Tianyi's eyes turned deep. These words touched his heart disease recently. Even an ordinary gentry like the Liu family in Yuzhou can become a local tyrant. However, to what extent will the power of the famous gentry in the family expand?If it is allowed to grow and develop, will the local government and people still take the majesty of the court seriously?

Luo Pingyuan was able to think so thoroughly in less than two months after entering the court, so he couldn't help being surprised.He didn't pay much attention to Luo Pingyuan back then. He was young and from a low background. He was a lively and beautiful child in his memory, but he didn't feel anything else.However, in the past few days, Yicheng's fifth prince who returned to Beijing did show extraordinary abilities and insight, which surprised him many times.The emperor felt that the most rare thing was that after living in the Hanshan School for many years, Luo Pingyuan had a talent like a jade in the rough.

He said meaningfully to the fifth prince: "Pingyuan, you are still doing things safely after Jingyu Guard. I can see that you want to do some practical things for the country and the people. You have the talent, what you lack is experience. The government and the public are involved in a lot, and if I have a chance in the future, I will send you to the Ministry of Household Affairs to do some errands, and you will gradually understand."

Luo Pingyuan hurriedly thanked him, Emperor Tianyi waved his hand and said: "Aren't you going to say that the Liu family committed crimes, what did you find out?"

King Ning presented the prepared document and briefly explained it.

Emperor Tianyi flipped through it briefly, and there were two lives that Liu Kedu had confessed to, but what he cared about was that this person could become a tyrant in the state capital, and even the Jingyu Guards dared to attack him. , The assassin you set up an ambush and caught that day did not confess to the chief envoy?"

Luo Pingyuan said: "When I came back, the two assassins had already committed suicide, and my desire to die was very firm. I felt like a trained dead soldier. Before they committed suicide, they talked nonsense, which is not believable. Later, I used some quack methods to interrogate Liu Kedu. He even confessed to such serious crimes as killing people, but he seemed to be ignorant of the assassination. I thought that even though he could be lawless in Yuzhou, he would not It seems to be able to mobilize the dead to assassinate in Luocheng, and it must be someone else who arranged to attack Jing Yuwei."

Emperor Tianyi pondered for a while, and asked, "You said the assassin was talking nonsense, what did you say?"

Luo Pingyuan hesitated for a moment before saying: "I dare not hide anything, but I only know that an assassin once shouted that they acted under the orders of today's Zhengshuo, and they are not traitors."

"Forget it, it's not easy to find out so much." Emperor Tianyi knew that he had no evidence to speak out, so he stopped asking, "I see you mentioned that you want to return the Liu family's possession of other people's property to the sufferer?"

"Father's lesson," Luo Pingyuan replied with a bow, "I have sent people to check Liu Kedu's business accounts. It is true that he has robbed other people's wealth. In addition, he has made a lot of false accounts. There are also huge amounts of silver in and out of the gambling house from time to time, which is very strange, and it must have come from a wrong path. Therefore, my son wanted to hand over the punishment department to raid the Liu family. Except for part of it returned to the original owner, the rest was confiscated into the national treasury. I wonder if the emperor thinks it is good? "

"The way is not right," Emperor Tianyi's eyes were clouded with deep thought, but at the end he smiled a little: "Yes, there is no need to let the Ministry of Punishments come forward, let Jing Yuwei handle it. Since the investigation has been done in Yuzhou After a few days, just finish it well, and you can handle it yourself, and the treasury won’t point to the stolen money.”

King Jing also went to court twice recently, he didn't speak, just quietly listened to the arguments of the courtiers about the Shao'an tax.

After Luo Pingyuan returned to the mansion, he narrated the process of meeting Emperor Tianyi, King Jing said: "Since I have said everything that should be said, the emperor does not want you to speak on the matter of adding gifts, which means that I have listened to it. One country The taxation of the government does involve a lot, and he must have to weigh it."

Luo Pingyuan saw that the emperor brother also said the same, so he had to give up for the time being, and said: "Father asked Jing Yuwei to take charge of confiscating the Liu family, I always feel that there is something in what he said."

Luo Yanhua smiled and said: "Father's meaning is actually very clear. Jing Yuwei handles the handling, tacitly allowing you to benefit from it, it can be said that it is his trust and reward for you."

King Ning couldn't help being dumbfounded: "Although I don't know how much property Liu Kedu has now, I am not short of money. How can I have such a reward from my father?" Emperor Tianyi gave him a lot of gold and silver, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs regularly sent An example of money for the prince.After he was in charge of Jingyu Guard, many people came to the door to give gifts and respects, King Jing even asked Yang Yue and the accountant in the mansion to count and keep accounts for him.Luo Pingyuan didn't bother to look at it on weekdays, but asked the accountant for money when he needed money or tipped his subordinates.

"His Highness King Ning's silver is used for human relations, and it is enough to rejoice in festivals." Luo Yanhua said, "But if you want to establish rules among the Jingyu Guards, you must be punished for your mistakes, and you must be rewarded for your merits. , Rewards also need to have a regulation. It is inconvenient for you to take out the money, since the emperor has this intention, you might as well use part of the proceeds from the house raids to supplement Jing Yuwei's needs."

He thought for a while, and then said: "Although this matter is not serious, you'd better go to Yuzhou yourself to settle the matter cleanly and beautifully. reputation is good too."

Luo Pingyuan hesitated in his heart. It would not be difficult to go to Yuzhou, but the trip would take ten days and a half months. For some reason, he was a little worried: "A Su is not here, and I am leaving again. Will the emperor be in the mansion?" Is something wrong?"

"What can I do?" King Jing said with a smile, "Yang Yue, Xiaoshuang, the servants of this mansion, do you think they are made of paper or mud? If they hear about it, they will definitely settle accounts with you , and there are hidden guards in the mansion."

As he spoke, he waved his hand out of the window: "Xiao Ling, come in and meet His Highness King Ning."

The shadow of the tree outside shook slightly, and a figure floated down, falling into the room like flying catkins, Luo Pingyuan was a little surprised, he had been in for a while, but he didn't realize that there was someone hiding nearby.At this time, there was a young man who was only sixteen or seventeen years old, with a fair and delicate face, and bright eyes. After entering the study, he did not speak, but only bowed to him.

When Qin Su came to the emperor's side at the beginning of the year, he seemed to be around the same age. Could this be considered a successor?He said: "You don't need to be too polite. At his age, this kind of light work is rare. What's your name?"

The young man lowered his head, not looking directly at King Ning, and replied, "Guan Ling."

"Xiao Ling is Guan He's younger brother, and he has been following me for a while now." Jing Wang said softly, "He is very talented in lightness kung fu and organs, and has a flexible mind, but he is a bit shy, and he refused to talk much when we first met. "

The boy paused for a moment, seeing that there was no other order, he turned around and flew out of the window to disappear.Luo Pingyuan watched his figure disappear among the luxuriant branches and leaves, and felt that maybe he was really worrying too much.It has been nearly two months since I lived here, and there has never been an accident in the mansion, not to mention that there are still some masters who have never seen before, who appear and disappear from time to time. He just saw the situation of King Jing and the malice of the prince after returning from Wulan. .

"Brother Huang," he changed his words, "I'm not worried about your safety. When will your friend with good medical skills arrive?"

"In another ten or 20 days." Luo Yanhua said casually, "Besides, this is an old problem of mine. Pingyuan, you don't need to worry about it. Why don't you think about how to arrange Jing Yuwei's affairs and Luocheng's affairs when you are away? entertainment. Since Father asked you to do it, it is better to leave earlier."

King Ning's thoughts were turned around, and he said: "It's okay to go away from Jing Yuwei for a while. As for the entertainment, in three days, there will be a summer banquet at the house of Minister Qian of the Household Department. It is said that Miss Bai will be invited to play the piano. I promised to go, but it seems that I have no choice but to give up."

Qian Zhan's father, Qian Chongyi, was the servant of the third-rank household department, and his official position in the court was not very high, but his father had served as the least official in the first emperor's court, and married the then eldest princess as his wife.With this kind of in-law relationship between the Qian family, the family will be more distinguished, and they will travel frequently with the clan.The Qian Mansion can be said to be a famous garden in Luo City, and the summer banquet held every year is even more famous for its elegance and taste. Just like Bai Ruohan was invited this year, the courtiers in Luo City often regard receiving invitations as a status symbol.

"I also received a post," Jing Wang said with a smile, "You can't go on the eighth day of the seventh month. I might go to see it then. I can revisit the garden of Qian Shilang's mansion and enjoy Ruohan's piano music."

Luo Pingyuan glanced at him, if King Jing wanted to listen to the piano, Bai Ruohan would come to play for the master at any time, why change his usual secluded life and go to Qian's mansion.In fact, he was also a little moved. It must be an interesting thing to listen to the piano with Brother Huang.But when he thought about the fact that the two of them had to be indifferent to each other in front of others, they lost interest.Said: "In this case, I will prepare tomorrow and leave for Yuzhou Mansion the day after tomorrow. I will go back early."

Luo Yanhua breathed a sigh of relief, King Ning returned just after the [-]th day of the seventh lunar month, so he didn't need to catch him falling ill with poison.Otherwise, with Luo Pingyuan's sensitivity, it will become increasingly difficult to conceal the truth.

He said: "One more thing, Senior Chai Ming sent someone to send a letter, asking you to go to him when you have time."

"Why is he looking for me?" Luo Pingyuan was a little in awe of this unpredictable master, "But you want to teach me the last offense?"

"Senior Chai's original words are," Jing Wang said with a smile, "he always keeps his word. Since he promised you a set of palm techniques, he won't pretend that he didn't say anything. If you don't go and learn by yourself, don't you want him to be an old man?" Come to teach?"