The Prodigal Son of Zhenguan

"They are asking about you? Why, are they curious about what you are doing in Huizhou?" Li Yuan asked.

"Who knows? Anyway, I heard from my second brother that they found out about it in a few days." Li Fu said, "My nephew only holds a nominal position in the court and has no power. They are really curious about my nephew."

"Fortunately, my second brother has been keeping it a secret for my nephew, otherwise, I am afraid that the trip to Huizhou would not be so smooth."

"That's not necessarily true. You also said that you are just a casual official now. Why are they targeting you?" Li Yuan said.

He didn't think that dealing with Li Fu, a powerless and idle prince, would have any effect. If he really didn't want the court to reduce the reward, he could use the energy to fight against the emperor. What can an idle prince decide?

"That's not necessarily true. They dare not do anything to your Majesty, but they dare to embarrass your Majesty with my nephew. It's a threat, openly or covertly." Li Fu said, "Otherwise, how could Luo Yi arrange people in Chang'an City to specifically target my nephew when he rebelled? After that incident, people may think that my nephew is easy to control."

"Why, did you encounter such a thing in Huizhou?" Li Yuan asked.

"No, but someone went to my nephew. When I went up the mountain to suppress the bandits, someone went up the mountain and wanted to unite with the bandits to attack my nephew, but they misjudged the bandits. The bandits didn't have much courage and didn't dare to do what they said. In addition, my nephew's timing to send troops was too late, and he didn't give them much time, so they were blocked on the mountain." Li Fu said.

"Oh? Who sent them? Did you find out clearly?"

Li Yuan's expression also became nervous.

"It's hard to investigate. No one is left alive. When they attacked the mountain stronghold, someone sneaked in and killed them. You said it was a trick. If you say there is no one behind it, who would believe it?" Li Fuyi spread his hands with a helpless expression.

"It's really too rampant. If I were to say, the defenders of Huizhou should be punished. They actually let people kill people right under their noses. What do they do for a living?" Li Yuan said indignantly.

"This matter, the law cannot punish everyone, so it can only be left unresolved." Li Fu sighed and said, "However, it can be seen from this that some people are dissatisfied with the court's laws and regulations, and they may become so crazy in the future. Anyway, I think that if I only offended someone and they targeted me, then I have nothing to say.

But if they do things in private because of the court affairs, it is not kind. There is no bottom line in this matter. In the future, they may even do things that endanger the country of the Tang Dynasty."

"Have you told Erlang about this?" Li Yuan asked.

"My nephew is in Huizhou, and he has the power to command troops. He must have sent information to the court in every detail." Li Fu said, "So my second brother knows."

"Then he didn't check it?" Li Yuan asked again.

"Investigate, but that's a local matter, so far from Chang'an, it's not easy to investigate, and who knows who will be found in the end." Li Fu said: "You know the situation in the court. At present, the second brother dare not be too radical. Feng Deyi just died not long ago. Although he died of illness, we can't let people say that our Li family is unkind and ungrateful. Therefore, many things have been put on hold."

Li Yuan nodded.

"Alas, when Erlang really sits in this position, he will know how difficult it was for me at the beginning." Li Yuan sighed helplessly.

Who wants to take out his own pocket to give to others?

Isn't there anything we can do?

In terms of this, this one has merits, that one has merits, and when he started the army, they all came to help him, so it's difficult for him to be the emperor.

It's true that we can't let people say that the Li family begged others when they were fighting for the world, and then they crossed the river and demolished the bridge when they were in power.

There has been a lot of turmoil in the court recently, and Li Yuan even wants to close the gate of Da'an Palace.

There are more and more people coming to him, which makes people feel uneasy.

Li Yuan knows what they are thinking.

More and more old ministers are unsure. They are dissatisfied with Erlang's new policy and want to come to him to seek justice.

When necessary, he will help him to ascend the throne again.

However, they don't know Erlang.

How can things be so easy? Do you really think that Da'an Palace is a paradise? No matter what you do here, the palace will not care.

In fact, whenever a foreign minister comes to Da'an Palace, the Liangyi Hall will know the news within a quarter of an hour.

Nothing that happens in this palace can't be leaked.

Since he was the emperor,At that time, the palace was already leaking everywhere.

"Yes, it's difficult. It's indeed a friendship for people to lend a hand in times of difficulty." Li Fu also agreed with Li Yuan's words: "But the Tang Dynasty is different now. If generations of people remember the merits of the past and continue to support those meritorious officials, even the descendants of meritorious officials, it will not be a good thing for the country."

"The country's finances can't support it."

Let's not talk about meritorious officials, let's talk about royal relatives.

The Ming Dynasty is a good example.

If the title of king is not reduced, and the meritorious officials are not reduced, let alone hereditary succession, even if three generations of grandparents and grandchildren rely on merit to eat, it is a terrible thing for the treasury.

Moreover, they also compete with the court for profit.

There are two types of people in the Tang Dynasty.

"Tax households" and "tax-free households".

Nowadays, the Tang Dynasty implements "rent and labor service", and the court allocates land to the people. Because there are fewer people and more land now, the land "rented" to each citizen is more.

Tax households are ordinary people who have to work and pay taxes if they cultivate state land.

Tax-exempt households own large tracts of land. For example, nobles with titles or officials above the fifth rank can be allocated 5 to 100 hectares of permanent farmland.

Soldiers with military merit can be allocated 60 to 30 hectares of permanent farmland according to their ranks. The key is that they do not have to pay taxes.

In addition to nobles and officials who do not have to pay taxes, there is another neglected tax evader.

Temples.

Monks and nuns in temples do not have to pay taxes, and they also have a lot of land under their names.

Some people who want to avoid taxes will register their land under the name of temples or local gentry.

Once the court has too many titles and does not take them back, then the accumulated ones that need to be supported and do not pay taxes will be a huge sum of money, even enough to rival more than half of the court's tax revenue.

This money is what the court loses.