Da Tang: Father, can I resign?

Chapter 151 Open the door! Equal field system!
“The land and property attached to my Hao family were all earned by my ancestors through their own abilities.

"The farmers in the countryside are lazy and gluttonous, so they entrusted their land to me. I took them in out of kindness. What's wrong with that?
"Why should we pay taxes for them? Those landless refugees are exempt from taxation, so why should we pay taxes?"

Facing Li Ming, who came to "talk" in person, Hao Shao, the patriarch of the Hao family in Liucheng County, showed considerable hostility.

Well, in Yingzhou, not everyone warmly welcomes the arrival of this living Bodhisattva.

The lesson of the Murong family is there.

In the eyes of the local tyrants like the Hao family, this was the arrival of a living devil.

Li Ming patiently talked to Hao Shao about the truth:
"According to the laws of the Tang Dynasty, every male adult can be allocated 80 mu of household land and 20 mu of permanent land.

"Your family has taken up so much extra land, what will others do?"

Hao Shao had a teasing expression on his face:

“Even among the common people in Guanzhong, which is located at the foot of the imperial city, not everyone can get enough land according to the Equal Land Distribution Order.

"Your Highness is from Guanzhong, you don't know this common sense, right?"

A rogue expression on his face that said, "This is what I am like, what can you do to me?"

He is also confident.

The Yingzhou Governor's Office is still there, and Yingzhou still has the dual backing of local gentry and the imperial court.

It's not like Pingzhou where there's no law and order.

Even if Longzi comes, you should at least follow some "rules" even if you don't have to coil up, right?

Li Ming was not angry at all when he was mocked. His expression did not even fluctuate at all and he kept smiling the whole time:

"But if you annex land and conceal your population like this, the government won't be able to collect taxes, so how can we train an army to protect your property?"

Hao Shao sneered:
"Your Highness, there is no need to worry. The bandits in Yingzhou cannot climb over the wall of my Hao Family Manor."

There was something sharp in his words, and they clearly had a hidden meaning.

Behind him, the servants were aggressive.

Outside the main hall, Haojiazhuang is heavily fortified, with the sentry tower and high walls forming an integrated whole.

The situation on the border is complicated, and this large mansion was built according to the standard of resisting barbarian invasions.

Rather than being a house, it is more like an airtight military bunker.

Li Ming nodded, turned around and left without saying anything more.

"In the summer of the tenth year of Zhenguan, Hao Shao tore open the embankment of the Bailang River, drowned and forced to death hundreds of people, and robbed their land.

"Is this true?"

he asked.

The accompanying Chang Sunyan nodded:

"It's absolutely true. Everyone in Liucheng County knows about this."

Li Ming nodded:
"Then let him."

…………

On the evening of the fourth day, flames shot up into the sky in Haojiazhuang outside Liucheng County.

A group of strange bandits appeared like a drop from the sky and easily destroyed the fortress-like Haojiazhuang. They did not rob property but only killed people and wiped out the entire Hao family.

The body of clan leader Hao Shao was burned to charcoal and hung by his neck at the gate of the house. It was not discovered until the next day when he was discovered by a vegetable seller.

A powerful family that had occupied Yingzhou for many years completely disappeared from history.

"You evaded taxes, which caused the government to be short of funds and lacked sufficient law enforcement capabilities, which led to this tragedy."

Li Ming made use of the waste and "expropriated" the Hao family's villa in Liucheng County as the temporary location of the Yingzhou provincial government.

He sat in the main seat in the main hall, leisurely drinking tea and speaking the Kharkiv language.

In front of him, all the local tyrants and evil gentry in Yingzhou who were listed were pale and their knees were trembling.

“So, taxes must be paid.

"And the land and property must also be handed over. They are all external things. If you own something that does not belong to you and are targeted by bandits, it will be a loss if you lose your life. That would be a loss."

Li Ming covered the tea bowl and sent the guest away.

Commander-in-Chief Zhang Jian, who accompanied him throughout the entire process, had an extremely complicated expression on his face.

On the one hand, he had long been annoyed with these Pi Xiu that only ate and did not poop.

Yingzhou is located in a remote area and the supply lines are too long, which limits the size of the permanent troops stationed here.

If we could obtain enough food and fodder locally in Yingzhou, it would greatly alleviate the logistical pressure.

It can also expand the size of the permanent army to be enough to withstand the full-scale attack of Goguryeo!
However, because of the existence of this group of Pixiu, the Governor's Office was unable to collect much tax locally and was heavily dependent on the logistics of the imperial court.

This triggered a series of chain reactions, which eventually led to the Goguryeo army forcing them to stay in the city and not dare to fight, which was a complete loss of face!
But on the other hand, His Highness Li Ming is going too far.

Murder, arson, and extortion.

Too much banditry...

"Your Highness, what you are doing... may not be legal?" Zhang Jian hesitated to speak.

Li Ming blinked his innocent eyes:

"How is it illegal? Those who violated the law are the local tyrants. I did everything according to the Equal Land Distribution Order.

“They illegally occupied the farmers’ land, so I returned the land to the farmers according to the Equal Land Distribution Order.

"How am I illegal? I am the number one law-abiding citizen of the Tang Dynasty."

Oh, really?... Zhang Jian didn’t say much.

It's good to have a leader who can handle things and is willing to take the blame.

Anyway, His Highness Li Ming will deal with the court, so he and the Yingzhou Military Governor's Office only need to reap the benefits and concentrate on border defense.

…………

Soon, the first decree of the Liaodong Military Town Yingzhou Prefecture was officially issued:
Re-examine the importance and seriousness of the "Equal Field Order", safeguard the authority of the basic law of the Tang Dynasty, and start the equal field distribution in Yingzhou.

In fact, it was still the "state-owned farm +" that Li Ming had set up in Pingzhou, but it was just covered with a layer of equal land distribution order, pretending to abide by the laws of the Tang Dynasty.

The situation in Yingzhou is different from that in Pingzhou, which was completely destroyed and rebuilt, so the strategies are still different.

Pingzhou is naked, while Yingzhou is more or less covered by a leaf called "Tang Dynasty Law".

In terms of specific implementation, the registered population will be re-counted, and whoever has a household registration will have land.

As for the barbarians who were originally from foreign countries, as long as you are willing to submit to China and farm the land with peace of mind, you will be given a household registration and everyone will be your good friend.

As for the landlords whose land exceeds the standard, Li Ming is not a devil after all, and he will compensate them according to the market price.

Well, before receiving the compensation, landlords, please first pay off the rent, labor service and taxes owed in previous years, as well as the late payment fees incurred.

Everything strictly complies with the Zhenguan Law.

Even His Highness Li Ming showed special mercy and exempted me from punishments such as "fifty strokes of the cane and exile five hundred miles away". He just wanted your land, no thanks required.

As soon as the decree was issued, Yingzhou was in an uproar.

The common people naturally welcomed the elegant policies of the old dynasty and firmly supported the "Equal Field System" which was born in the Northern Wei Dynasty. They enthusiastically reported their household registration, and there was no need for clerks to count them, which saved a lot of manpower and material resources.

The landlords also welcomed the elegant policy and enthusiastically handed over their land.

They had to be enthusiastic, because Hao Shao’s charred body was still hanging in front of the gate, watching them!
…………

Yingzhou wine shop.

The two looked at each other, nodded, and walked into the door.

The tavern was bustling with people coming and going.

Ever since His Highness Li Ming took over Yingzhou, the tavern business has improved visibly.

On the one hand, people who couldn’t afford to drink alcohol before can now afford it.

On the other hand, those who could afford to drink in the past and had someone to serve them, without having to condescend to mingle with the crowd, can now only drown their sorrows in alcohol in taverns.

Therefore, this has become the most convenient channel for spreading news.

The two of them took the money and came here to stir up trouble.

"Ahem." One of them cleared his throat and said loudly:

"As soon as the Jiedushi arrived, Yingzhou was in chaos!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the busy tavern immediately became quiet and everyone looked at the person who was speaking.

When it comes to spreading rumors, traffic is the key.

Seeing that they had successfully attracted everyone's attention, the two of them were excited and interrupted without losing any time:
"Brother, what do you mean? Aren't all Jiedushi living Buddhas? Once the Jiedushi arrives, will Yingzhou be peaceful?"

"Bullshit!" The speaker waved his hands exaggeratedly, as if to shoo away a fly:
"It's all rumors. What ability does that kid have? Isn't it just the same as the bandits dividing the spoils?"

"That's right, brother. As soon as the Jiedushi came, my roosters stopped laying eggs and my hens stopped crowing."

"This is the resonance between heaven and man, it has caused the wrath of heaven and the resentment of man!"

"Alas, it seems that the Jiedushi is not a good person either."

"Yes, the people in the court are unreliable. To govern Yingzhou well, we have to rely on the elders of the clan."

The two of them performed the Liaodong-style Errenzhuan, and the drinkers watched silently.

At the end, the shopkeeper came out and patted the two men on the shoulders.

Faced with the two confused people, the shopkeeper said nothing, but unfolded a piece of paper in front of them.

This piece of paper was very strange. Its title was "Yingzhou Evening News" and it was filled with articles that looked like tofu.

They didn't understand what the "evening paper" was, but they understood the most eye-catching line below the title:

"Twelve Characteristics of Landlords' Lackeys Spreading Rumors".

The two looked at each other.

Ah this...

After a burst of shrill screams and the sound of fists hitting flesh, two things like torn sacks flew out from the back door of the tavern.

…………

"You are still too naive to engage in a public opinion war with me."

Li Ming was listening to Yuchi Xunyu's report on public security.

Similar fights occurred throughout the city in taverns, markets and other crowded areas, and all ended with the rumor spreaders being punished by enthusiastic citizens.

Regardless of His Highness Li Ming's increasingly famous reputation, the Equal Field System he promoted was a cakewalk for the vast majority of people and could even be said to be the only way out for many poor families.

If you dare to interfere with other people's lives, who else should we punish if not you?

Li Ming also took advantage of the situation and found out the mastermind behind the incident through the rumor spreader, and doubled the tax arrears fee for them.

You have money to hire internet trolls but no money to pay taxes?

“If we solve the land problem, we have solved most of the problems.”

Li Ming stood in front of the wall next to the shelf with his hands behind his back, feeling quite accomplished.

On the first day he came here, he hung a map of the Tang Dynasty on the wall. As the sun set, his shadow was cast on the map.

“How to build next?

"Build bridges and roads? Develop water conservancy projects? Mining and smelting? Develop education?

"My Liaodong is thriving! With a series of peaceful evolution measures, we can overthrow Goguryeo and take it into our possession..."

Li Ming's shadow grew longer and longer, gradually engulfing the area north of Liaodong.

In his mind, the vast land of Northeast China has long been dyed with his color.

Meow hahaha, so cool!
I laugh at Cheng Qian's lack of strategy and Qingque's lack of wisdom.

All he does is stay in his small little corner of Taiji Palace all day, playing those bullshit palace fights.

Wouldn't they spend their time and energy on the motherland and on the general public, seeking welfare for the people, expanding territory for China, giving up the weak life in the palace, and enjoying the exciting and thrilling development of the Northeast?

Meow hahahaha!

"Ming..." Chang Sun Yan came to Li Ming with a stack of information.

But when he saw Li Ming's expression standing in front of the map, he was suddenly frightened and the information fell to the ground.

"what happened to you?"

Li Ming's expression returned to normal.

Chang Sunyan closed his eyes.

Well, it’s still Brother Ming who I spend every day with…

"I...we may be a little tired." Chang Sun Yan's voice was a little weak.

Li Ming immediately asked with concern:

"Do you need me to assign you an assistant?"

"The problem is the assistant."

Zhang Sunyan took a few deep breaths and finally calmed down:

“Yingzhou has many businesses waiting to be developed, and the affairs are extremely complicated.

“We are short of manpower and can only rely on the existing bureaucrats and clerks in Yingzhou.

"But they... have their good and bad sides, it's hard to describe them in a few words."

It is a problem of adjustment between the new team and the old system. For example, it is definitely not suitable to install Yadi's battery on BYD.

When ruling a place, people come first.

Bureaucracy is easy to solve. Just use garbage to fill the numbers.

The key is the clerks.

In order to take on the responsibility of actually governing the local area, Yingzhou's clerk system must also undergo a thorough reform like Pingzhou.

Only in this way can we adapt to the new situation, meet new requirements, gain mutual trust with Li Ming, and be formally incorporated into the "old bottle, new wine" system.

The situation in Yingzhou is different from that in Pingzhou. The social order has not experienced collapse and reorganization.

This is both an asset and a burden.

This large number of existing clerks cannot be simply dismissed.

Otherwise, Yingzhou will be paralyzed in minutes.

Moreover, if among these dismissed clerks there is a guardhouse chief, a postman or a librarian, it would be troublesome.

However, before arriving in Zhongshi Yingzhou, Li Ming had already thought about this issue and made corresponding arrangements.

"Hold on for a few days." Li Ming comforted:

"I have asked Li Shiji to send a message to Chang'an to call someone over for me.

“He can crack this situation.”

Really? ... Chang Sunyan didn't quite believe it.

But he was not in the mood to dwell on this issue now. He and Li Ming picked up the documents on the floor and left in a hurry.

After walking out of Li Ming's study, he couldn't help but squat on the ground exhausted, gasping for breath and covered in cold sweat.

What did he vaguely see when he just walked in?
Li Ming's shadow seemed to turn into a dragon!

A greedy evil dragon is lurking in the northeast of the upper right corner of the map, spitting poisonous tongue towards the entire Tang Dynasty!
"I'm really tired. When will Chang'an's magical helper come?"

Chang Sun Yan rubbed his swollen temples and quickly put this little matter out of his mind.

…………

Changan.

After Chang Sun Yan broke into the Taiji Palace and conveyed the true situation in Pingzhou, the criticism of Li Ming in the Taiji Palace tacitly died down.

The attitudes of the ministers who took the lead, such as Cen Wenben, immediately changed 180 degrees.

He seamlessly changed from demanding severe punishment for the traitor Li Ming to quickly providing support to the loyal Liaodong Jiedushi.

Anyway, it’s not difficult to talk.

Li Shimin did not hold these two-faced people accountable.

This is how the court works. Ministers must dare to make judgments and can come up with a lot of reasons regardless of whether they are positive or negative.

We cannot punish ministers just because they made one or two wrong judgments.

Otherwise, if you block the channels for speech, ministers will keep silent in the future. How can you govern the country?

Moreover, this time, Cen Wenben and the others did have sufficient reasons to doubt Li Ming.

On the one hand, Li Ming has been dragging his feet and not contacting us, obviously he has some ulterior motives.

On the other hand, the information provided by Zhang Liang was very misleading.

Even Li Shimin himself couldn't help but doubt his own son, so how could he resist the suspicion of the court officials?

"Zhang Liang, Zhang Liang..."

In the study room of Lizheng Hall, Li Shimin fell into deep thought.

The spy revealed that the prince was disloyal to him, and was suspected of colluding with the prince and passing misleading information.

He also accidentally killed an old minister who had done his duty.

If it were any other emperor, Zhang Liang's best outcome would be being torn into pieces by five horses.

But Li Shimin was different.

He really didn't want to kill these old friends who had been with him since the beginning.

Sometimes he even felt that even if Hou Junji and other old friends really rebelled, he might be willing to give them a way out.

However, I watched my old friends drift away from me one by one, some of them became disloyal, and some of them died suddenly.

Li Shimin felt endless sadness.

The emperor is really a lonely man...

"Well, I get old and sentimental."

Li Shimin smiled bitterly at himself, stood up and walked to the map, overlooking the land of the Tang Dynasty in the afterglow of the setting sun.

His eyes involuntarily lingered on the Liaodong area.

He suddenly envied Li Ming.

He has a group of close friends who are willing to go crazy with him and sacrifice their lives for him.

The passion of the start-up period is something you will savor for a lifetime.

"You must cherish this time..."

Li Shimin murmured, gazing at the distant Pingzhou for a long time.

"Your Majesty." Yang said softly:

"The East Palace sends its regards to you. I wonder if you are..."

"No, I'm not going." Li Shimin was a little irritable.

Yang looked worried and advised:
“Your Majesty, you and the prince have not spoken for a long time.

"There's only a wall between them. Is there any misunderstanding between father and son that can't be cleared up?"

Although she knew very well that the prince regarded her and her son as thorns in his side.

But considering the overall situation of the Tang Dynasty, the rift between the emperor and the prince is not a good sign for the country or the people.

"I... am not in the mood to see him until the Liaodong incident is resolved."

Li Shimin suppressed his anger and sighed.

It’s all his fault, it’s all because of Cheng Qian’s little tricks!

It was he who colluded with Zhang Liang, it was he who killed Wei Zheng, it was he who made Pingzhou isolated and helpless, and it was he who made Li Ming trapped in the siege of Goguryeo!
Why, why is Li Chengqian unwilling to let Li Ming go?

Just because of the groundless "suspicion"?
Li Ming saved Li Chengqian many times!
How could I have given birth to such an ungrateful son? How could the Tang Dynasty have such a mean and ungrateful crown prince!
"Liaodong..."

Yang was in a trance and her eyes suddenly turned red.

This period of time was the most painful for her.

His son's whereabouts were unknown and he was under great suspicion.

Now, the doubts have stopped and the whereabouts of my son have been confirmed.

But this whereabouts is not good -

Caught in the siege of 150,000 enemy troops!
One hundred and fifty thousand!
"Now is not the time to be anxious. There is no point in being anxious even though we are four thousand miles apart..."

Yang gathered her thoughts and continued to persuade:
"Then Your Majesty, you can at least send a message to the East Palace..."

"I'm not in the mood to deliver a message! My eunuchs are also very busy!" Li Shimin replied angrily.

At this moment, the eunuch came to report:
"Your Majesty, Li Shiji requests to see you."

"Who? Li Shiji?! Didn't he go to Liaodong to fight?"

Li Shimin almost jumped up on the spot, his astonishment was beyond words.

Changsun Yan, who urged Li Shiji to march quickly from Youzhou, had only been on the road for a few days.

Excluding the time spent on the road, Li Shiji only stayed in Pingzhou for a few days?!

He had fought in wars before, and facing 150,000 enemies, even if it was 150,000 pigs, it would be impossible to catch them all in a few days.

There is only one explanation...

"Could it be that our army was defeated?!"

Li Shimin's face changed and he looked at Yang subconsciously.

Yang's face was pale and she knelt on the ground weakly.

(End of this chapter)