Three whips break the father-son relationship, please call me prince

Chapter 255: Grand Court Meeting, Li Chengqian personally came forward to make plans
At the end of the 19th year of Zhenguan.

The grand court meeting came as scheduled.

All the officials walked into the Taiji Hall one by one, found their seats, and stood there first.

Fang Xuanling and Changsun Wuji looked at each other, then looked away.

Originally, this year, Changsun Wuji wanted to continue giving the work report of the Secretariat.

We must regain all the face we lost last year at once.

It’s a pity that the emperor and the crown prince are both here this year, so it’s not his turn to speak.

This year's grand court meeting is of great importance, not to mention.

"His Royal Highness is here!"

The ceremonial officer sang loudly.

All the officials looked at the gate of Taiji Palace and saw a prince in a royal robe and a sword hanging at his waist walking slowly into the palace.

"Your Highness, I pay my respects to you and ask you about your health!"

There were shouts of worship in the hall.

Li Chengqian looked straight ahead, his face calm, and said as he walked:

"Guan!"

"No need to bow, gentlemen!"

The ministers shouted again: "Thank you, Your Highness the Crown Prince!"

However, everyone still maintained the posture of bowing and saluting, and only after the Crown Prince stood in place did they stop and stand still, waiting for the arrival of the Holy Emperor.

"His Majesty is here!"

"Shanhu!"

"Your Majesty, I respectfully pay my respects to you!"

Li Shimin walked steadily, neither fast nor slow, with a majestic and powerful demeanor. Amid the cheers of the crown prince and all the officials, he came to the emperor's throne.

"I'm in peace!"

Li Shimin said: "Gentlemen, please don't be polite."

"Take a seat."

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace. Long live Your Majesty and long live the Tang Dynasty!"

There was a loud crash.

After expressing their gratitude, all the officials knelt down in unison, each holding a tablet in both hands, with their heads held high and their chests puffed out.

"Your Majesty has ordered the Right Minister of the Secretariat, Duke of Zhao, Changsun Wuji, to preside over the grand court meeting."

Changsun Wuji stood up holding the hu tablet, clasped his hands and said, "I obey your order!"

Immediately, he took two steps forward, facing all the officials, and shouted loudly: "Please ask the Minister of the Left, Duke Liang, to give a report on the work of the Ministry of the Secretariat in the 19th year of Zhenguan!"

clap clap clap!
All the officials clapped their hands on their tablets, and Fang Xuanling stood up and walked towards the seat that had been prepared long ago.

He bowed to the Emperor and the Crown Prince, then sat down calmly, placed the prepared report on the table and unfolded it one by one.

"Your Majesty, Your Highness the Crown Prince, and all my colleagues."

"As the left servant of the Shangshu Province, I am honored to sit here and give a work report on the Shangshu Province."

"Please everyone..."

While Fang Xuanling was speaking, eunuchs bowed their heads and walked among the officials.

There is a desk placed in front of all officials.

The eunuchs handed out work reports from the Secretariat to all officials one by one so that they could keep up with Fang Xuanling's reporting rhythm.

It really all depends on Fang Xuanling's report. After he finished talking about the previous point, the next point came right after. How many people can remember it?

"The 19th year of Zhenguan was an extremely wonderful and praiseworthy year."

"All aspects of the year have improved overall, with great achievements in taxation, economy, military, people's livelihood and other fields."

"First, in terms of taxation, the total tax revenue for the whole year successfully exceeded 100 million guan, reaching 121.3 million guan."

"The proportion of taxes has been decreasing year by year, and this year it is less than 50%. Taxes in other areas have been increasing year by year..."

Li Chengqian listened calmly, but all the officials were obviously very surprised.

Even though Li Shimin had known about it before and had read the report, he still couldn't help but be amazed.

The proportion of taxes in taxation has dropped to less than 50%.

What is this concept?

It is equivalent to the income of the national treasury, no longer relying on taxes from the people. The income of the court from other aspects can exceed the taxes from the people.

In previous years, taxes paid by the people were the absolute majority of the treasury's revenue. If there was a natural disaster in a year, not only would the treasury's revenue decrease, but it would also incur losses.

Now that has changed.

Even if the people faced natural disasters, the court did not have to worry too much about its income, and there would be more money for disaster relief.

Li Chengqian understood that the structural changes in taxation were changes brought about in many areas in recent years.

At that time, just from the perspective of tax reduction, it seemed that the taxes were low, but in fact it was not.

With the continuous reclamation of wasteland year after year, the amount of arable land has increased.

Taxes have not decreased, but have gradually increased. However, compared with other sources of income, taxes are less.

But if you knew that the tax amount was more than 50 million, you would know how exaggerated it is.

Taxes are still the biggest part, but they are no longer absolute.

"Economically..."

"Bank savings and loans have hit new highs, providing great convenience for commodity bulk transactions, promoting economic development, and boosting private consumption."

"Military..."

Fang Xuanling talked about them one by one. In terms of military affairs, everyone knew everything. They destroyed Goguryeo and conquered the three kingdoms on the peninsula.

This is an achievement that inspires people and greatly increases the prestige of the Tang Dynasty.

This point cannot actually be felt, but it does affect all walks of life in the Tang Dynasty.

A strong dynasty is the guarantee and confidence that can bring peace and stability to countless people.

After more than half an hour, Fang Xuanling finished all the reports with a dry mouth.

Overall, as he said, everything is developing in a good direction.

The continuous growth of population is further confirmation of this.

Just when the officials were preparing to ask questions.

After Fang Xuanling finished his work report, he did not say anything else, but stood up and walked away. Changsun Wuji slapped his tablet, and all the officials followed suit in confusion.

I'm a bit confused.

According to the rules, don't we have to wait for everyone to speak, and then perform calculations and torture the people in each department?
Why did you leave?

"Your Highness, please come in!"

Changsun Wuji shouted.

All the officials were shocked and looked at the prince.

What is the prince going to do?
I haven't heard any news that the prince is going to do something.

But no matter what, the prince stood up and all the officials bowed slightly.

Li Chengqian didn't care about the looks of the officials. He stood up and walked leisurely to Fang Xuanling's seat. His eyes swept calmly over the officials and finally fell on the plan spread out on the table.

At this time, all the officials sat up straight and received the planning contents from the eunuchs.

"Ok?"

When everyone saw the title, they were shocked.

"Your Majesty, gentlemen!"

Li Chengqian spoke up, "Today, I am sitting here to announce an important plan for the court from the 20th year of Zhenguan to the 25th year of Zhenguan."

"This plan will be something that everyone, from His Majesty to the common people, will strive to achieve."

"The following will be the content of the plan."

After he finished his opening remarks, he said: "Under the spiritual leadership centered on the Holy Son of Heaven's thought, the Tang Dynasty is determined to create and realize an unprecedented prosperous era."

"In order to achieve this grand goal, I, together with the ministers and nobles of various ministries, have formulated the development direction and work priorities for the next five years with the approval of the Holy Emperor."

"One: Strengthen the overall capabilities of all officials in Datang, improve governance, correct ideological cognition, and strictly investigate corruption."

"We will start from all aspects of this. The Ministry of Personnel and the Censorate must be strict and conscientious, fulfill their loyalty and responsibilities, and perform their duties of election, supervision and inspection."

"Officials at all levels must deeply understand the 'Thoughts of the Holy Son of Heaven', implement them, comprehend and learn them..."

Li Chengqian looked up at the officials, then lowered his head and continued:
“Second: Promote economic prosperity, promote trade exchanges, enrich folk goods, and meet the daily needs of the people.”

"The growth of economic prosperity depends primarily on trade transactions, and both the court and local officials must recognize this importance."

"..."

"Third: Taxation is related to national development. It is fundamental and pillar of the government, and the lives of the people are closely related to it."

"In order to ensure the stability of taxation, increase the court's revenue, and expand the source of taxation, the court decided to establish a taxation department to be responsible for taxation."

"As long as the people's taxes remain unchanged, no more taxes shall be falsely increased or any taxes shall be created under false pretenses. Once discovered, they shall be dealt with severely and promptly, and no leniency shall be shown."

When Li Chengqian said this, he was filled with murderous intent.

The taxes paid by the people are already high, but in addition to the normal taxes they pay, they are often exploited by other corrupt officials, who further squeeze out the people's blood and sweat.

This is absolutely intolerable.

This must be curbed from a macro perspective.

"The collection of commercial taxes will be adjusted accordingly, from 30% to 5%, and some items will be subject to high consumption taxes, up to 5%."

As soon as these words came out.

All the officials were shocked.

This commercial tax affects countless wealthy families.

The imperial court quietly raised the commercial tax to 5%? And it could be as high as 5%?

That's okay.

It would cost everyone's life.

Except for some officials from humble backgrounds, all officials in the imperial court have complicated connections behind them.

“Your Highness…!”

Someone couldn't help but speak up. Li Chengqian ignored him, but Changsun Wuji shouted, "Shut up!"

"There is no room for you to speak."

"This was approved by His Majesty, and jointly decided by the Crown Prince and the ministers."

"You are just a little doctor, and you still want to give orders?"

"Sit down, sir!"

Changsun Wuji showed no mercy at all. The doctor's face turned pale and blue, and he was extremely embarrassed.

He is in a dilemma whether to sit or not.

Fang Xuanling said, "You interrupted the prince's speech and disturbed the court."

"I ask Your Majesty to hand it over to the officials for disposal."

"I second the proposal!"

When the doctor saw the ministers speaking out one after another, his face turned pale and he trembled with fear.

He didn't expect that he just said two words.

You will have to endure the malice of so many powerful people.

Looking around, one by one, they are all the heads of various departments and divisions.

All officials above the third rank agreed to deal with him.

Even the boss above him looked at him coldly, as if he was a dead man.

It’s over.

It is impossible for anyone to plead for him, and no one dares to.

All the officials looked at him with pity. It was obvious that the central government wanted to make an example of him.

The one who was killed was the doctor, and the purpose was to serve as a warning to those officials who were unaware of the inside story.

Every word and every sentence the prince said today was approved and agreed to by the central leaders.

Who dares to say no?

That will be the outcome...

shudder.

Fortunately, I did not act impulsively. Thanks to this righteous person who was eager to charge forward.

The doctor was dragged away. If he had a clean record, he would just be dismissed from office, but if he had a dirty record.

The people at that family will hate it to the core.

(End of this chapter)