Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 319: The Afterglow of the Past

"Crackling..."

Amid the blast of firecrackers, the Tang Dynasty entered the fourth year of Xiantong.

When the outside world was welcoming the new year, Wang Xianzhi, the general of the Tianping Army, brought together Song Wei, the general of the Pinglu Army, and went to find Li Hongyuan, the governor who was working in the Yongzhou government office.

"Sir, this is not our idea, but the brothers below are all making noises, and we really can't suppress it!"

"That's right, Envoy..."

In the main hall of the government office, Li Hongyuan, the governor of Lingxi who was in his forties, frowned, while Wang Xianzhi and Song Wei in front of him were complaining.

In front of him, it was not only the two of them who were complaining, but also the generals of the six towns including Xuanwu, Yicheng, and Zhongwu.

There is no way. The environment in Lingxi is indeed not something that the soldiers from the Central Plains can endure.

Perhaps too many people had approached Li Hongyuan, so in the face of their complaints, Li Hongyuan could only speak to comfort them:

"How about this, in the future, Tianzhou, Yongzhou, Longzhou and other three states will not send garrison troops to patrol the border. I will order each county to recruit 100 state soldiers to patrol the border."

"Thank you for your understanding, sir!!"

Wang Xianzhi and Song Wei hurriedly thanked him upon hearing this, while Li Hongyuan waved his hand and said, "Since there is nothing else, you can leave."

"Yes……"

The two men retreated obediently and left the yamen soon.

After they left, a man in a light crimson official robe walked out from the side room.

"These garrison troops are useless. I'm afraid you'll have to ask the court to transfer troops from other places..."

"Indeed..." Li Hongyuan sighed. Although the garrison troops of the eight towns ensured the safety of Lingxi, they had too much to do.

Compared with the garrison troops in the eight towns in the Central Plains, he prefers the garrison troops in the Western and Eastern Routes of Jiangnan.

Thinking of this, Li Hongyuan stood up and walked towards the study, and soon he had written a memorial.

He handed the memorial to the official and said solemnly, "Send a fast horse to deliver the memorial to Chang'an. Now that the New Year's Day has passed, the court can't get things done quickly. We must ask the court to dispatch garrison troops to Lingxi in advance."

"Don't worry, sir. I will take care of it right away."

The official in red robe agreed and then sent someone to deliver the memorial to Chang'an.

The speed of the fast horses was not slow, but due to the insufficient financial resources of the imperial court, many post stations were short of riding horses. Li Hongyuan's memorial was not delivered to Chang'an until early February.

In response to Lingxi's memorial, Pei Xiu, Jiang Shen and Bi Zhen once again approached Li Yan.

Li Yi was still listening to the music as usual, so the three of them waited outside the palace for a long time before the music in Xianning Palace gradually subsided.

"Three gentlemen, please come in..."

The eunuch Tian Yun bowed respectfully, and Pei Xiu and the other two returned the greeting and walked into the hall.

At this time, the actors and musicians all hid in the side hall, and Li Yi was the only one in the main hall.

Li Yi was sitting on the golden platform. When he saw Pei Xiu and the other two coming, he immediately nodded and asked, "Why are you three here?"

"Tens of millions of years old..."

The three of them were not in a hurry. They just saluted Li Yi first, and then Pei Xiu stood up and reported:

"Your Majesty, Li Hongyuan, the governor of Lingxi, reported that the garrison period of the eight garrisons has expired, and requested that the court transfer soldiers from Jiangxi and Jiangdong to garrison the border."

In response to Pei Xiu's words, Li Yi frowned slightly: "This is only the third year, why did Li Hongyuan submit a memorial so early?"

In Li Yan's opinion, Li Hongyuan was somewhat looking for trouble, but Bi Zhen explained for Li Hongyuan:
"Your Majesty, even with a fast horse, it will take nearly a month to reach Chang'an from Lingxi. If the court mobilizes troops, it will probably delay it for quite some time."

"Li Jinglue probably did this out of sympathy for the court's difficulties, so he wanted to finalize the matter in advance."

After Bi Zhen finished speaking, Li Yan's expression slightly improved, and he asked:

"Are there any extra soldiers from Jiangnan West Road and Jiangnan East Road who can be transferred to Lingxi?"

"No, if we need to deploy garrison troops, we can only recruit them temporarily."

Jiang Shen answered respectfully, but Li Yi pressed on, "If you want to recruit soldiers temporarily, why not recruit them directly in Lingxi?"

Pei Xiu had no choice but to step forward and say, "Your Majesty, the people of Tianzhou, Longzhou, and Yongzhou have all been plundered by the southern barbarians. Although there are eleven states in Lingxi, after losing the population of three states, the number of people is less than 100,000, and it is difficult to recruit 8,000 soldiers..."

Pei Xiu felt that he had explained it clearly enough, and Li Yi roughly understood it, but he did not want to recruit new soldiers.

"Is there any way to avoid recruiting new soldiers?" Li Yi asked the three people. The three looked at each other, and finally Pei Xiu said:
"If we don't send more soldiers to the garrison, we can only send them from other places."

"There are no extra soldiers in Jiangnan West Road and Jiangnan East Road, and there is no way to dispatch soldiers in East and West Sichuan. The soldiers in Shannan Road are not enough. We can only transfer troops from the Central Plains..."

Li Yi felt a little annoyed, and then interrupted, "Since we have to transfer troops from the Central Plains, isn't that a waste of effort?"

"In that case, why not extend the garrison period to six years?"

"This..." Pei Xiu and the other two looked at each other, but they all knew that this was the cheapest way.

After all, sending the soldiers from the Eight Garrisons back home is an expense, transferring more troops from the Central Plains is another expense, and the soldiers from the Central Plains also have to pay their salaries while they are guarding the border in western Lingnan.

After taking all these factors into account, it would be more practical to extend the garrison period of the soldiers.

After all, after the extension, it would be enough to reward the garrison soldiers and pay their salaries normally, eliminating the problem of food for the soldiers while they are returning home.

"This is settled. Where is Wang Shi? When will those arrogant soldiers and generals in Xuzhou be defeated?!"

Li Yi decided the matter of Lingxi and then asked about Wang Shi's matter.

Pei Xiu bowed and said, "Your Majesty, Wang Shi has led his chief Shandu to Ezhou and will enter Huainan Road soon."

"However, Changshan has only a thousand men, while Xuzhou has several thousand men. Should we send more troops to prevent the Tongji Canal from being lost?"

"Hmm..." Li Yi thought about it for a while and indeed felt that it was somewhat dangerous for Wang Shi to lead only a thousand men into Xuzhou.

After all, even Tian Hongzheng's son Tian Mou had to be forced to hold banquets every day by the Silver Knife Army and other guards when he went to Xuzhou. Who knows if they would attack Wang Shi halfway?

Thinking of this, Li Yi said slowly: "Zhongwu and Huainan will each send a thousand soldiers to gather in Guangzhou before March 15th. Order Wang Shi to go to Guangzhou to command them and then enter Xuzhou."

"But this decree must be written more beautifully, so that Xuzhou will not know the court's intentions."

"I accept your order..." Pei Xiu responded calmly, but at this moment Li Yi suddenly said:

"Except for the sacrifices to my ancestors in the first year of Xiantong, I have been in Chang'an the rest of the time. I have not sacrificed to my ancestors' mausoleums for two years."

"Now that the war has subsided, I would like to offer sacrifices to my ancestors during the Qingming Festival. What do you think, gentlemen?"

Li Yi was too depressed in the past, but now that he has become the emperor, he naturally cannot endure being trapped in Chang'an all year round.

However, he also knew the priorities, so when the war between the Tang Dynasty and the Dali was fierce in the past two years, he was able to stay in the palace obediently.

However, with Gao Pian's defeat of You Shilong at Niutou Gorge, the war between the Tang Dynasty and Dali came to an end, and military expenditure was no longer tight.

Because of this, Li Yi wanted to go on a tour for a few months under the pretext of worshiping his ancestors in order to release his emotions.

"This..." Pei Xiu was stunned, then bowed and said: "Your Majesty, let's put this matter on hold..."

"I second the motion. This matter should be postponed..." Jiang Shen also stepped forward to second the motion, and did not support the emperor's tour.

"His Majesty!"

Suddenly, Bi Zhen raised his voice, knitted his brows and bowed, saying:

"Your Majesty, you have not attended a regular court meeting for more than a month since the New Year's Day meeting, and each regular meeting lasted less than three quarters of an hour."

"Your Majesty, I dare to ask, do you know the current financial situation of the court?!"

If Pei Xiu and Jiang Shen still had some regard for the emperor's face and spoke more tactfully, then Bi Zhen could be said to have hit the nail on the head and showed no mercy.

Although Li Yi is good at listening to advice, it does not mean that he has no temper.

Facing Bi Zhen's questioning, Li Yi also lost his temper: "What Bi Xiang means is... Is it wrong for me to offer sacrifices to my ancestors?"

"That's right, but it's inappropriate!" Bi Zhen said calmly:

"Now Henan, Huainan and other places are full of refugees, and countless people have become bandits."

"Although we have won a great victory on the front line, the imperial court is still short of funds and is even in arrears."

"In this situation, Your Majesty should judge the situation and wait until the court is stable before offering sacrifices to the ancestors, instead of adding fuel to the fire when the court is in financial difficulty!"

This sentence added fuel to the fire, and the anger in Li Yi's heart was completely ignited.

"Mr. Bi, are you treating me as a lesson for your children and grandchildren?!"

Li Yi stood up, clenched his fists, and showed undisguised anger in his eyes.

But in the face of his anger, Bi Zhen remained calm and composed: "Your Majesty, I often read history books. In the past, Emperor Taizong once discussed with Duke Wenzhen of Wei what the emperor did."

"Duke Wenzhen of Wei once said that a ruler who listens to both sides will be wise, but one who only listens to one side will be foolish."

"Taizong was deeply touched after hearing this and said that the king must make good use of his ears and improve his "ear skills" in order to contribute to the people."

"Now I am just talking about the problems we are facing in the current situation, but you think I am mocking you."

"If this matter gets out, who among the loyal ministers in the world will dare to advise you?"

Bi Zhen's words were particularly serious. Li Yi was so angry that he trembled after hearing them: "If I don't listen to you, then I will be a tyrant?" "Based on the situation that Your Majesty has ruled the world for three years, it is indeed so!"

Bi Zhen was firm in his attitude. Li Yan's eyes widened. He didn't expect that Bi Zhen would actually dare to say that he was a tyrant.

He thought that he had not done anything to harm the country and the people. He just didn't like to hold regular court sessions and liked to listen to music, read books and have fun.

Even when he was out for fun, he never neglected the memorials submitted to the court. How could he be considered a despotic ruler?

"Where am I stupid?!"

Li Yi could not help but question him, but Bi Zhen held his tablet, straightened his back, and answered without hesitation:

"When your majesty first ascended the throne, he issued an edict to all states, opening the door for frank criticism and indicating that those who made comments were not guilty."

"At that time, people all over the country told each other that the noble families and commoners attached great importance to the imperial examination, hoping that after passing the examination, they could assist Your Majesty in creating a peaceful and prosperous era."

"However, His Majesty rarely attends court, and even when he handles memorials in the palace, he does not adopt their suggestions."

"These loyal ministers who offer advice and suggestions grovel in the court, but they can hardly even see His Majesty!"

"Old officials valued their positions and dared not speak out, but now new officials have come to speak out, but you ignore them."

"Your Majesty, may I ask if your actions can be considered foolish?!"

Every word Bi Zhen said hit the nail on the head, making Li Yi look unhappy. However, Li Yi knew he was not in the right, so he could only keep a cold face and not respond.

Seeing that Li Yi remained silent, Bi Zhen thought that he had made the emperor reflect, so his words became even more radical.

"Your Majesty, the current situation is like this. If you don't change, I really don't know how many more years the Tang Dynasty can last..."

"Bi Cunzhi! How dare you!!"

Li Yi's angry shouts echoed throughout the Xianning Palace. Pei Xiu, Jiang Shen and all the eunuchs and maids in the palace knelt down one after another. Only Bi Zhen frowned and held the tablet without bending down.

At this moment, Li Yi's chest was heaving as he stared at Bi Zhen.

He could allow Bi Zhen to say that he was stupid, because he felt that he was not stupid, but just a little playful.

But he would not allow anyone to discuss the destiny of the Tang Dynasty, let alone a pessimistic discussion like Bi Zhen's.

Ever since he learned about the corruption of the Shen Ce Army, he has been worried about the destiny of the Tang Dynasty.

But he knew very well that he could not change anything because there were too many problems in the Tang Dynasty.

He was unable to solve the problem of the Shence Army's vacant personnel, and he even dared not to face it, let alone other things?

For some things, knowing or not is one thing, whether you can do it after knowing is another thing, and whether you can succeed after doing it is another thing.

Li Yi knew his own strengths and weaknesses. Even if he knew about the affairs of the Shence Army, he did not dare to solve it because he had no confidence in himself and did not know whether he could solve it successfully.

If he fails, what will he face?
Is it another Ganlu change, or an uncontrollable situation?
After much thought, Li Yi could only deceive himself, ignore these fatal problems, and focus on solving some minor problems.

"As long as the world does not fall into my hands, as long as I can hand over the world to my successor in a stable manner, that is enough..."

These are the words that Li Yi often used to comfort himself in his letters.

But he couldn't tell Bi Zhen, nor could he tell anyone else.

"Go back all!"

Li Yi turned around and no longer looked at Bi Zhen, but he did not punish Bi Zhen either.

"I'll take my leave..."

Pei Xiu and Jiang Shen were worried that Bi Zhen would say something shocking again, so they quickly asked to leave.

Bi Zhen finally left Xianning Palace after being persuaded by the two, and Li Yan also looked at Tian Yun after they left.

"Bring all the expenditure reports from the Ministry of Revenue here!"

"This slave takes orders..."

Li Yi's oral instructions made Tian Yun unsure of what he was thinking.

Half an hour later, dozens of memorials were placed on Li Yi's desk, and he sat back in his seat, quietly flipping through them.

[Yanzikushi Jiang Shen reported: The Ministry of Salt and Iron had arrears and should pay the Yanzikushi more than 3.69 million strings of money and silk before the fourth year of Xiantong.]

[The Ministry of Internal Revenue sent a total of 264,180 strings of cash every year, from the 12th year of Dazhong to the 4th year of Xiantong...]

Over a period of four hours, the contents of dozens of memorials concerning the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of Salt and Iron continued to pour into Li Yi's brain through his sight.

Although the Tang Dynasty seemed powerful on the surface, it had actually been experiencing a situation of tax arrears in many provinces since the seventh year of the Dazhong period.

As for why the debt was accumulated, Li Yi was also very clear.

It is simply because too much taxation caused the people to flee, or natural disasters, man-made disasters and corrupt officials forced the people to become starving.

There is a lot of land in the world, and when it becomes wasteland, no one cares about it.

But if refugees and hungry people go to reclaim them and turn them into cultivated land, the local officials, clerks and aristocratic families will swarm in like jackals and take over the wasteland reclaimed by the refugees and hungry people for themselves.

There are only four options open to the common people: to farm honestly in their hometowns, or to be exploited to death by various exorbitant taxes and corrupt officials.

Or they may become refugees, fleeing abroad, running to sparsely populated areas to open up wasteland, and then after the reclamation is completed, their land is taken away by corrupt officials and aristocratic families who have smelled the scent.

Of course, in addition to these two paths, they have two final paths. The former is to go to the mountains and become a bandit, and the latter is to starve to death in the countryside.

Although there are four paths, there is actually only one path, and this is one of the reasons why the paths are in arrears.

There were fewer and fewer registered citizens, and much land was left idle for lack of population. Production was disrupted, and taxes were reduced as a result, so naturally they could only accumulate.

Judging from these memorials, the financial situation of the Tang Dynasty was not optimistic.

Although taxes gradually increased, local government offices were increasingly in arrears and the income of the imperial treasury was decreasing.

Given the situation, it is no wonder that Bi Zhen was pessimistic about the future of the Tang Dynasty.

"But...what can I do?"

Faced with this mountain of problems, Li Yi unconsciously clenched his hands on the table, and a feeling of powerlessness arose in his heart.

The afterglow of the setting sun shines into the Xianning Palace, giving the solid wood palace an atmosphere of oldness and decay.

The dust was extremely obvious under the light, as if telling Li Yi that the so-called palace was also full of "filth".

He raised his hand and swept away the dust in the light, but the dust did not decrease. There was still the same amount, almost filling the space under the light.

If this is the case under the sun, what is it like where the sun doesn’t shine?

Li Yi looked over and saw that these places were clean and spotless...

"Ha ha……"

Li Yi chuckled, then raised his hand and pushed down the pile of memorials, stood up and said with a hearty laugh:

"Tian Yun, call out the musicians and actors!"

"This slave takes orders..."

Tian Yun didn't understand what the emperor did just now. He responded respectfully, then walked to the side hall and called out hundreds of actors and musicians.

Seeing the actors and musicians choosing their positions and placing their instruments, Tian Yun turned around and asked,

"Your Majesty, shall we play Qing Shang Music or San Yue Bai Xi?"

The "two" mentioned by Tian Yun do not refer to just two pieces of music, but to two styles of music.

The former is a general term for the old music of the Southern Dynasties, while the latter refers to folk dance and music.

Previously, Li Yan liked to listen to these two kinds of music the most, but when faced with Tian Yun's question, Li Yan smiled heartily and said:

"What's so good about such lascivious music?"

"I want to play music...play 'Breaking the Formation Music'!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Tian Yun and all the musicians and actors were stunned. After all, if "Pozhen Music" was used for performance, it should be performed according to the dance diagram, but this dance music was obviously not suitable for the current environment.

"Yes! Play the "Breaking Formation Music"!" Li Yi laughed heartily.

Upon seeing this, Tian Yun immediately signaled the actors and musicians to get ready.

Upon seeing this, the actors and musicians immediately began to prepare in a hurry, while Li Yi sat down again and looked at them with a beaming smile.

Soon, the musicians were ready on both sides of the hall, and 128 actors formed a dance team.

They were in a circle on the left and a square on the right, with a chariot-like shape in front and a team behind.

When the musicians played the music, the dance team's formation slowly unfolded with the music, like a winnowing basket with its wings extended, as if they were fighting against the enemy.

Li Yi watched the formation unfold, listened to "Pozhen Music", and unconsciously put his hands on his knees to beat the rhythm, and sang along.

"Accept the law and resign the head of state, and the prime minister will punish the rebellious ministers."

"Singing songs to break the enemy's formation, and enjoying the peace together..."

(End of this chapter)