Datang: Rebirth of Li Chengqian, the beginning of the treason interrogation

Chapter 49 The rich and powerful family stinks of wine and meat, and their bones are frozen to death

The sun in June is extremely scorching, baking the earth. The scorching breath makes people very irritable and unbearable.

Li Chengqian also returned to Chang'an, but at this time he was on his way to the palace.

As for Sun Simiao and his companions, they were left in the post station. The thing that the Tang Dynasty had the most was post stations. In the city of Chang'an, there were many post stations for receiving envoys.

"Cheng Qian is here!"

In the Liangyi Hall, Li Shimin raised his eyes, with a hint of joy in his eyes. After all, Li Chengqian was going to the epidemic area, so how could he not worry.

"Father, I'm back." Li Chengqian walked into the hall quickly, walking as fast as a dragon or a tiger.

"Cheng Qian...you, your foot disease is healed!" Li Shimin stood up, very surprised.

"Well, during this trip to Xuzhou, I happened to meet the miracle doctor Sun Simiao." Li Chengqian replied.

"Good! Good! Cheng Qian, you are so lucky to have met Divine Doctor Sun. It's all my fault that I didn't think of asking Divine Doctor Sun to treat your leg disease."

Now, who can criticize their own prince? He is a perfect crown prince.

"Cheng Qian, what do you feel about this folk experience?" Li Shimin asked again.

In the 12th year of Zhenguan, he ordered Li Chengqian to go down to the people and understand their sentiments, but Li Chengqian turned a deaf ear to him.

Li Chengqian said sternly: "The rich are feasting and drinking, while the poor are freezing to death on the streets."

"what?"

Li Shimin was shocked. This was a prosperous era, how could such a thing happen? It was unimaginable.

"Impossible. I have worked hard to govern the country, and the Tang Dynasty is extremely prosperous. The barbarians are all submissive, the crops are abundant, and the treasury is extremely full."

Li Shimin shook his head. Isn’t this sentence the biggest denial of his achievements?
"Your Majesty also knows that there are still beggars in the Tang Dynasty. Why aren't there people who are freezing to death or starving to death?"

Li Chengqian asked in return, it is true that the Tang Dynasty was prosperous, but only that group of people were wealthy, while the people at the bottom of the food chain still had a hard life, except that fewer people starved to death.

What he saw is still vivid in his mind now: the nobles reveling every night while the common people are suffering.

When it prospers, the people suffer; when it dies, the people suffer.

The Tang Dynasty had been at war for years, and most of the deaths were the sons of the common people. The poor remained as poor as before, while the rich, under the governance of Li Shimin, the nobles became increasingly wealthy.

The victims of plunder should never harbor illusions about the plunderer, imagining that he will show mercy.

"But the treasury is well-stocked and there is an endless supply of money and grain. How could this happen?"

Li Shimin shook his head, very puzzled.

"Dragon Guards, Dragon Guards!" Li Shimin roared.

"Is what the prince said true? Are there still people dying of starvation and freezing in our Tang Dynasty?"

"Yes, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is right. According to rough statistics from the Bad People, nearly a thousand people starve to death every year." The leader of the Dragon Guards said with his head down.

"Then why didn't you report it to me?" Li Shimin was stunned. This was really beyond his expectations.

Even during the heyday of the Tang Dynasty, it still failed to ensure that all residents of the world could live and work in peace and contentment.

"Father, this is already very good. If it were in a turbulent time, more people would die." Li Chengqian said.

In the Tang Dynasty, the wealthy were the clan nobles, while the common people at the bottom still lived a precarious life.

The land that was allocated to them has also been coveted. "Why is this happening? The world is rich in resources, so this shouldn't be happening?"

Li Shimin really couldn't understand why there were still people starving to death when there was surplus food in every state.

"This is due to uneven distribution. Some people can't finish the food, but some people have nothing to eat."

"Most of the resources are in the hands of the clan nobles, and the people at the bottom have not changed. The policies made by my father to benefit the people at the bottom have not been implemented."

This time when he went to Xuzhou, he did see the prosperous side of the Tang Dynasty, but he also saw the true portrayal of the lives of the common people at the bottom.

"My father once said that water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it. With such bloated prosperity, how long can the Tang Dynasty last?"

This is a social phenomenon. This is a feudal era. If society does not change, it will remain the same.

For these rulers, this is a prosperous era, and they can exploit at will, both externally and internally.

"Is my prosperous era a fake?" A look of panic flashed in Li Shimin's eyes.

"No, it depends on what your father wants to achieve. Now, in the eyes of many people, it is already a prosperous age. The people no longer have to worry about foreign invasions, and all nations come to pay tribute. If the prosperous age your father wants to see is a peaceful and prosperous sea with no one starving to death, then it is not yet."

Which dynasty has truly achieved an era where no one starves to death?
Natural disasters! Man-made disasters!
"With the current national strength of the Tang Dynasty, it is not impossible to do it, but the wealth is unevenly distributed and is concentrated in the hands of the big families."

Li Shimin was very clear about this and he had also tried to reform the land system, but the effect does not seem to be that great now.

To a certain extent, it solved the clan monopoly, but it could not solve the exploitation of the lower class by the upper class.

The nobles were still powerful people, and they could seize the land allocated by the country by force.

The Tang Dynasty was a typical example of uneven distribution and polarization.

"Is there any solution?" Li Shimin couldn't help but have hope for Li Chengqian.

"The clans monopolized the vast majority of materials, which not only constrained the imperial power, but also caused uneven distribution and endless public anger."

The fall of a dynasty is often the result of clan fighting.

Anyway, they can find reasons on both sides, either the people are rebelling or the monarch is tyrannical.

"Dismantling the clans?" Li Shimin couldn't help but smile bitterly. If he could restrain one or two clans in the court, it would be possible, but to disintegrate them, that would be too difficult, almost impossible.

The origins of the Five Hopes and Seven Hopes can be traced back to the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. They have witnessed the rise and fall of many dynasties. Dynasties have perished, but they are still able to thrive, which is enough to prove their strength.

Their clan members have infiltrated every secret place in the country, and it is impossible to eradicate them.

As soon as you raised your knife, you triggered a riot, and within a few days, the dynasty changed.

"Cheng Qian, don't be impulsive?" Li Shimin shook his head. His Li family was just the Guanlong Li family, one of the five surnames and seven families.

And it was Li Shimin who forced his way in.

The important positions in the Menxia Province, Zhongshu Province and Shangshu Province of the current dynasty were all held by people from the five surnames and seven families.

"Your son, I am just telling you the reason!" Li Chengqian smiled calmly.

Li Shimin could not think of a solution and did not dare to push these clans too hard.

However, the existence of this kind of social contradiction caused instability, so much so that the extremely prosperous Tang Empire was shattered with just one poke.

"In addition, I have already overcome many objections and let Xu Jingzong take up the post of Zuo Pushe, but you must also know when to stop." Li Shimin could not help but change the subject, while also warning Li Chengqian.

(End of this chapter)