Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 470 Confiscating Property and Eliminating Violence (A Long Chapter of 10,000 Words)
"Crackling..."

At dawn, as the frost and mist of the Luo River drifted into Luoyang, the bronze bells on the eaves of the Ziwei City also rang out in the morning breeze.

The entire city of Luoyang gradually awoke to the sound of firecrackers during the Spring Festival, signifying that the Xiantong era had passed and the world was entering the Qianfu era.

The Han army had only been in Luoyang for a month, but in that month, the city had completely changed.

The once low and dilapidated southern city has now been transformed into countless brand-new houses, painted white, roofed, and covered with thick thatch.

All of this was thanks to Liu Jilong's allocation of 50,000 shi of grain, which he used to hire people to repair their own houses.

With only 50,000 shi of grain, the people spontaneously built houses for themselves according to the standards set by the officials within a month.

The southern part of the city is no longer dirty and chaotic; the neighborhoods are well-organized. The only drawback is that most of the people in the streets and alleys are still dressed in tattered clothes and look malnourished.

"Dang, Dang, Dang..."

At dawn, when the morning bell tolled in Ziwei City, all the officials walked along both sides of the bluestone imperial road into the palace and hurried towards the Qianyuan Hall.

Before long, officials of the fifth rank and above stood in front of the Qian Yuan Hall with their lips tightly pressed together, while officials of the fifth rank and below stood on both sides of the imperial road in front of the Qian Yuan Hall according to their rank.

Inside and outside the Qianyuan Hall, Han soldiers, now dressed in the armor of the six armies including the Yulin, Shenwu, and Longwu, were standing.

Everyone was fully armed and on high alert, their eyes constantly scanning back and forth among the hundreds of officials outside the Qianyuan Hall.

As they moved about, the rustling sound of their armor plates caused many officials with weaker mental fortitude to break out in a sweat, the sweat seemingly seeping into every inch of the scepter's surface.

Because it was a grand court assembly, the officials, who usually only wore round-necked robes, dressed in the robes prescribed in the Tang Dynasty Statutes.

First-rank officials wore the imperial robe and crown, second-rank officials wore the pheasant-shaped crown, third-rank officials wore the feathered crown, fourth-rank officials wore the fine-lined crown, and fifth-rank officials wore the black crown. Officials of the sixth rank and below mostly wore court robes without a crown.

While the officials waited, a commotion began to rise in the square outside the Qian Yuan Hall. The officials outside the Qian Yuan Hall looked over and saw Liu Jilong leading Husi Guang, Zhang Ying and others into the square along the imperial road and heading towards the Qian Yuan Hall.

When Liu Jilong approached, everyone saw that he was wearing a nine-tassel crown, which was second only to the twelve-tassel crown of the emperor, and dressed in a black robe and a red skirt, embroidered with nine-symbol patterns, which were second only to the twelve-symbol patterns of the emperor.

In addition, he wore almost everything a prince should have, such as a wide belt, knee-covering, jade pendant, and red shoes.

Through the crown, people could vaguely see Liu Jilong's appearance and eyes, but they dared not look too closely.

Upon seeing Liu Jilong arrive, the officials organizing the grand court assembly immediately began chanting, "Enter the ranks!"

In an instant, all the doors and windows of Qianyuan Hall were opened. Liu Jilong looked up and stepped into the hall first. He saw Han soldiers dressed in the uniforms of the Six Armies on both sides of the hall, which made him feel slightly relieved.

After Liu Jilong entered the hall, the other ministers followed in turn.

"Sing!"

"Long live Your Majesty..."

After the officials entered the hall, Li Yi, wearing a twelve-tassel crown, carefully walked up the golden platform accompanied by Yang Gongqing and sat down amidst the shouts of "Long live the Emperor!" from the assembled officials.

Seeing Li Yi sit down, Xiao Gou, the Minister of Rites, stood up, took out the congratulatory letter, and began to read it aloud:
"Your Majesty, we humbly report: Your Majesty, having ascended the throne and held the mirror of the throne, has ushered in a new era of prosperity and good fortune. The sun and moon shine brightly, and heaven and earth are in harmony. All officials rejoice, and all nations come to pay homage... We are overjoyed and respectfully submit this memorial to offer our congratulations."

Xiao Gou unrolled the scroll and recited the congratulatory message, his voice trembling slightly, as if afraid of missing even a single word.

Fortunately, the entire congratulatory memorial was read aloud within a quarter of an hour. At this point, Emperor Li Yi was supposed to say something to encourage the officials and the people, but before he could speak, more than ten officials of the fourth or fifth rank stepped forward in turn, bowing and saying:
"Your Majesty, your humble servant, Zhao Tingjia, the Grand Counselor, has impeached Lu Luzhan, the Chancellor, for selling official positions and titles, forming cliques for personal gain, accumulating mountains of bribes, and embezzling millions of taels of silver from the court!"

"Your Majesty, your subject Liu Yu, Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, impeaches Wei Baoheng, the Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, for selling official positions and engaging in corruption, colluding with Lu Luzhan, and forming cliques for personal gain!"

"Your Majesty, I impeach Cao Que, the Governor of Henan..."

"Your Majesty, I impeach Bian Xian, the magistrate of Luoyang County..."

"His Majesty……"

In an instant, the grand court assembly, which should have been a non-political event to celebrate the New Year, suddenly became as turbulent as a boiling pot on a hot fire.

Lu Yan, who had been calm and collected, suddenly widened his eyes and looked behind him.

Not only him, but dozens of impeached officials all looked at them and began to angrily curse.

"Outrageous! To act perversely during the grand assembly and frame others!"

"Your Majesty, I request that Zhao Tingjia and the other seventeen others be punished for disrupting the grand court assembly!"

"Your Majesty, this is a malicious frame-up. I beg Your Majesty to have these people punished!"

"His Majesty!"

Suddenly, more than a hundred officials of the fifth rank and above from among the more than three hundred officials in the Qian Yuan Hall stepped forward, leaving onlookers speechless.

The mere impeachment of Lu Yan has implicated hundreds of people; even if one were to say it wasn't a case of forming cliques for personal gain, no one would believe it.

Lu Yan's face was grim. He cursed these idiots in his heart, and at the same time regretted that he should not have promoted so many fools for money and jewelry.

"This this……"

Li Yi had never seen such a situation before and was at a loss for what to do. It was Yang Gongqing who raised his voice: "Disturbing the imperial court, what are you trying to do?!"

"Where are the six armies? Bring out all those who have disturbed the court!"

Yang Gongqing's first statement wasn't particularly noteworthy, but his second statement clearly showed bias.

Even if the other officials in the hall were confused, they immediately realized who had orchestrated this scene.

In an instant, countless eyes turned to Liu Jilong's back, but Liu Jilong remained calm and composed.

Upon seeing this, Lu Yan broke out in a cold sweat. He stepped forward, looked at Liu Jilong with a fawning smile, and bowed to Li Yi on the golden platform, saying, "Your Majesty, the innocent are innocent. I request the court to send officials to investigate this matter!"

Lu Yan's plan was excellent. He would first try to curry favor with Liu Jilong, then appease the emperor, and afterwards go to Liu Jilong to pledge his loyalty. This should be enough to suppress the matter.

However, he seemed to have overestimated himself and underestimated his "value" in Liu Jilong's eyes.

Liu Jilong remained unmoved. At this moment, Zhao Tingjia also quickly took out a memorial, held it high, and said loudly, "Your Majesty, all the crimes committed by Lu Luzhan are in my hands, and all the people he bribed are also in my hands and are listed in the memorial!"

"Present it quickly!" Yang Gongqing urged, and immediately soldiers from the Six Armies stepped forward to take the memorial and hurried to the front of the Golden Platform.

Yang Gongqing stepped down from the golden platform, took the memorial, and presented it to Li Yi, who had no choice but to accept it reluctantly.

At the same time, more than two hundred Han soldiers inside the hall were escorting Lu Yan and his faction of impeached officials out of the Qian Yuan Hall.

As they walked out, Han soldiers outside the palace continued to pour in, taking all the troublemaking officials away.

Liu Jilong glanced at the situation inside the hall and couldn't help but scoff inwardly.

A bunch of clueless fools are still playing dirty tricks and spreading rumors. Once I put them all in jail, let's see what other tricks they have up their sleeves.

If it weren't for the powerful families in Kanto and the fact that the young men being trained in Kansai hadn't graduated yet, Liu Jilong would have wanted to simply raise his sword and eliminate them all.

"Your Highness, the Prince of Han..."

Lu Yan gritted his teeth, but still managed a smile as he fawned over Liu Jilong.

Anyone could see that Lu Yan had truly given in.

"Your Majesty, is the content of the memorial true?"

Liu Jilong did not respond to Lu Yan, but instead directly questioned Li Yi. Li Yi, seeing this, was somewhat at a loss: "This, I, I think..."

"It is all true!" Yang Gongqing raised his voice, not giving Li Yi a chance to speak, and then said to the Han army commander in the hall: "Take down Lu Yan and the others, and send them all to the Censorate prison!"

Now that Yang Gongqing has pledged allegiance to Liu Jilong, he naturally needs to make a good impression.

He knew very well what kind of people these officials in Luoyang were; to say they were richer than a country would be an understatement.

If they can be implicated, they could even affect two or three years' worth of tax revenue for the Tang Dynasty.

Even if Liu Jilong didn't get involved, he would still have been able to collect taxes for more than half a year.

Thinking of this, he kept urging him on, while Lu Yan stared wide-eyed, clearly not expecting Yang Gongqing to be in such a hurry.

"Yang Zhaojue, how could you do this!"

Lu Yan was furious and prepared to step forward, but was grabbed by two soldiers who arrived and dragged away.

Xiao Gou, Liu Zhan, and the others remained silent, their faces grim, not daring to utter a word, let alone the other officials in the hall.

If Liu Jilong is angered, it could lead to another major upheaval.

Thinking this, all the officials fell silent, and the hall became completely quiet as more and more officials were taken away by the soldiers of the six armies.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, more than a hundred officials were led away from the Qianyuan Hall, and Liu Jilong, seeing this, bowed to Li Yi and said:
"Your Majesty, this matter should be jointly tried by the Court of Judicial Review, the Ministry of Justice, and the Censorate."

"In addition, to celebrate the New Year and to inform the people, I believe that the people of the eight prefectures of Chen, Tang, Xu, Ru, Cai, Zheng, Ying, and Hua should be exempted from taxes this year."

After a two-week hiatus, with the arrival of Guanzhong officials in Luoyang, Liu Jilong turned his attention to the unclaimed town of Yicheng.

Seeing this, Li Yi could only nod reluctantly: "As the King of Han says."

Seeing that Liu Jilong was about to seize Yicheng, the courtiers in the hall felt extremely aggrieved.

Despite feeling aggrieved, no one dared to stand up and criticize Liu Jilong.

The scene of the Sixth Army's mass arrest of officials was still fresh in their minds, and they naturally did not want to follow in their footsteps.

"Your Majesty is wise..."

Liu Jilong bowed and continued, "Yesterday, news came from Chang'an that the late emperor's coffin has been transported to Fuping County in the capital region, and construction on Jianling Mausoleum has been underway for more than half a month."

"Although the national treasury is currently empty, I believe that the late emperor's mausoleum should not be hastily constructed. We can first allocate 300,000 strings of cash and recruit 15,000 workers to build the mausoleum. It should be completed around April."

A mausoleum costing 300,000 strings of cash is considered an extremely meager investment among the emperors of the Tang Dynasty.

Putting aside other matters, the amount of money and grain spent on Li Cui's inspection tour immediately after his ascension to the throne was no less than this.

Although the officials all felt that the amount was too small, the various garrisons could not afford to transport money and grain, and the imperial court had no money at all, so it could only rely on Liu Jilong.

Liu Jilong's willingness to allocate 300,000 strings of cash to build the imperial mausoleum was already quite generous.

"If that's the case, then let the King of Han handle this matter."

Li Yi spoke without any opinion, and Liu Jilong nodded in agreement. He then continued, "This morning, Zhu Quanzhong, the military governor of Yanhai, submitted a memorial to the throne, reporting the defeat of the Huang rebels and the recovery of the three prefectures of Cao, Pu, and Hua."

"The bandits Huang are now heading south to Xuzhou. I have ordered Zhu Quanzhong to go south to pursue them. The court can take this opportunity to send a large army east to Xuanwu to manage the grain transport."

Seeing that Liu Jilong had just said he wanted to take down Yicheng, and now he was extending his reach to Xuanwu, Liu Zhan had no choice but to bite the bullet and step forward to bow.

"Your Majesty, I believe the situation in Xuanwu Town is still favorable, and there is no need for a major military campaign..."

Liu Jilong was not angry when he saw Liu Zhan causing trouble. He simply stated the facts: "I do not agree with what Prime Minister Liu said."

“Since the twelfth lunar month, the country has been somewhat at peace, but the towns have not been able to resume operations.”

"I believe that Chen Jingchong, the military governor of Shannan West Circuit, should be appointed as the military governor of Zhongwu, Yicheng and Xuanwu, leading 20,000 troops to Xuanwu. At the same time, the Grand Canal should be dredged to urge the towns to transport autumn and summer grain."

"If all the towns refuse to transport supplies, how will the people of the world view His Majesty? How will they view the court?"

"How can a court that can't even collect taxes gain the trust of the local warlords and the people?"

Liu Jilong started with a grand statement before getting down to the practicalities.

"Leaving aside how the people trust us, the officials in the capital and the imperial treasury alone have spent no less than 1.5 million strings of cash. However, from September of last year until now, apart from Hedong, Hezhong, Shaanxi, Guo, Heyang, Dongji, and Jiangling, no money or grain has been transported from the rest of the towns."

"The taxes collected by the court, after being converted into cash, amount to less than two million strings of cash. If I do not take action, I am afraid that the officials in the capital and Your Majesty will have to tighten their belts and accumulate arrears in their salaries this year."

Seeing Liu Jilong threaten them with their salaries, many officials could only shut their mouths. Although Liu Zhan still wanted to speak, he knew he was in the wrong.

Although he could use the taxes levied on the Guanzhong region as an argument, Liu Jilong could also use the salaries and military pay of Guanzhong officials and soldiers as an argument.

At that point, Liu Jilong will probably demand more than just Xuanwu and Yicheng towns.

"It was an oversight on my part..."

Liu Zhan could only suppress his temper and retreat, while Liu Jilong, after seeing him leave, turned his gaze to Li Yi.

Seeing Liu Zhan retreat, Li Yi could only nod with a forced smile: "In that case, we will do as the Prince of Han says. However, after Chen Jingchong is transferred to the position of military governor of Zhongwu, Xuanwu, and Yicheng, what about the Shannan West Circuit..."

Seeing this, Liu Jilong continued to bow and said, "Shannan West Circuit is located in the interior, so there is no need to worry about its safety. You can appoint Jiujuyan as the Inspector General, and reduce the number of troops to 15,000."

After Liu Jilong's deployment, the troops in various circuits and towns were adjusted, but the total number remained at around 280,000.

With 280,000 troops, Liu Jilong already had enough to unify the country; now, the only thing limiting him was supplies.

Although there are canals to replenish supplies, conquering cities and seizing territory will definitely require staying away from the canals.

The towns of Zhongwu, Xuanwu, and Yicheng were impoverished, their granaries were empty, and their land was abandoned. Only after these problems were initially resolved could they serve as outposts for the army and support its eastward and northward campaigns.

Chen Jingchong was quite capable in governance, and Liu Jilong trusted him greatly.

"If that's the case, then let the King of Han handle the arrangements."

Li Yi did not want to continue the grand court assembly, but he dared not express it and could only suppress his anger.

"Your subject obeys the decree." Seeing that his goal had been achieved, Liu Jilong immediately bowed in return and said no more.

Seeing that Liu Jilong was no longer speaking, Yang Gongqing immediately looked at the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial.

Upon seeing this, the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies said some words of praise for Li Yi, and then announced the end of the court session.

After the court session ended, Li Yi stood up angrily, expressing all his emotions on his face, and walked down the golden platform with his head down.

Feeling Li Yi's frustration, the courtiers clenched their tablets tightly.

In response, Liu Jilong calmly walked out of the Qianyuan Hall, and soon after, he left the Ziwei City and got into a carriage.

On his way back to the Prince of Han's residence, he could see dozens or even hundreds of soldiers of the Six Armies hurrying along every street in Luoyang.

In a short time, the residences of officials imprisoned in the Censorate were surrounded and placed under house arrest. Many officials from Guanzhong who had just been transferred to Luoyang also took up their posts in the Censorate, the Court of Judicial Review, and the Ministry of Justice, forming the Three Offices to search for evidence in the residences of these officials.

Not long after Liu Jilong returned to the Prince of Han's residence, Luo Yin and the others followed him back.

After they sat down in the main hall, Liu Jilong once again pulled out Zhu Wen's memorial and chuckled:

"This fellow has a good plan. He has Zhang Sitai blocking his way. Zhang Sitai has recovered Caozhou and Puzhou, and he still has to be grateful to him."

Upon hearing Liu Jilong's comments, Luo Yin, who had just sat down, quickly bowed and said, "Your Highness, Zhu Quanzhong has come and gone repeatedly. If he has such methods, he should be dealt with as soon as possible."

“Naturally, we should settle this as soon as possible.” Liu Jilong nodded.

If Liu Jilong didn't understand Zhu Wen's methods, he would be wary of him, but wouldn't pay much attention to him.

However, Liu Jilong knew everything about Zhu Wen, so naturally he wouldn't let him develop his power.

Zhu Wen's desire to retreat to Yanhai must have stemmed from his intention to either annex the Pinglu Army or reform the Ganhua Army.

If Zhu Wen were to annex the Ganhua Army and the Pinglu Army, his population would be at least two million. Meanwhile, the three towns of Zhongwu, Yicheng, and Xuanwu would have been reduced to barren lands, unable to supply the army with enough laborers. This would undoubtedly make the Han army's eastern expedition more difficult.

That's why I can't give Zhu Wen too much time to develop, and that's why I need to urge him to go south to pursue Huang Chao.

Of course, Zhu Wen might not choose to pursue, but if he didn't, it would be disobeying the imperial decree, and I would have a reason to punish him.

When the money and grain from Guanzhong arrive in Luoyang, Chen Jingchong will only need to sort out the three towns of Xuanwu before he can lead his army eastward and recover the entire territory of Henan.

Given the Han army's ever-improving firearms technology, five-foot cannons could be developed within the next two years, at which point no city in the Central Plains would be able to hinder the Han army's advance.

However, one must be careful in everything. It is not only the Han army that is growing stronger, but also its opponents.

Gao Pian had previously used counterfeit firearms, which caused considerable trouble for the Han army.

Although the Han army had Liu Jilong's guidance and the skills of the imperial bell makers, they still had to be on guard.

Thinking of this, Liu Jilong said to Luo Yin, "You heard what was said in the imperial court just now. Later, go and urge the Southern Court to draft an imperial edict to urge Zhu Wen to continue his southward pursuit of Huang Chao."

"Yes!" Luo Yin replied without hesitation. Liu Jilong then looked at Lu Guimeng: "How long will it take for the two million shi of grain from Guanzhong to arrive?"

“It will take at least four more months,” Lu Guimeng replied without hesitation.

Hearing that it would take so long, Liu Jilong could only wait patiently, but in the meantime, he also had a lot to do.

"Order the three departments to use Lu Yan and his hundred-plus men as a starting point to implicate as many officials as possible."

"Of the millions of acres of arable land in Luoyang, the Northern Division can only occupy two or three tenths of it; the majority is still in the hands of this group of people."

"I have seen the farmland in Luoyang. As long as the land is taken back and distributed equally to the people for cultivation, and grain and farming tools are provided to them, this autumn harvest will be bountiful." As Liu Jilong said this, an official walked into the yamen.

The group looked around and saw Zhao Ying hurrying over, carrying a bag in her hand.

"Your Highness, locust eggs have been discovered on both banks of the Yellow River!"

After Zhao Ying entered the hall, his words caused everyone to stand up.

Liu Jilong even got up and stepped forward, opened the bag, and grabbed out clods of dirt.

But Liu Jilong frowned as he saw rows of insect eggs inside these clods of earth.

"Since the beginning of winter, there has been no snow in Guannei, Guanzhong, and Henan. It seems that the drought will continue."

"If drought and locust plague break out at the same time, our eastward advance will become a joke."

Liu Jilong took a deep breath and glanced at the group:

"By imperial decree, all prefectural and county governments are to mobilize the people and deploy troops to search the mudflats and burn the locust eggs, ensuring that the locust plague will never recur!"

"Yes, sir!" Zhao Ying and the others bowed and responded. The vast Han Prince's mansion quickly sprang into action at Liu Jilong's command.

The locust plague in Central China has lasted for two years, and this is the third year.

I thought the world was about to be at peace, but I never expected that this thing would be discovered in the third year.

In the face of natural disasters, human beings are extremely insignificant. Liu Jilong can only do what he can to minimize the impact.

As he thought this, the entire city of Luoyang was also bustling with activity because of his several decrees.

In an instant, the six armies surrounded the residences of various families, and the officials of the three departments kept searching for evidence, making all the officials feel insecure.

Among them, the brothers Li Changfu and Li Changyan, who lived not far from Lu Yan's residence, witnessed the three officials carrying out boxes of gold, silver and silk, which made them break out in a cold sweat.

"Damn it! Everyone says Liu Jilong is a man of his word. He shouldn't harm the two of us, right?"

Li Changfu was a little nervous, but Li Changyan reassured him, saying, "He didn't grant us official positions, only the title of Duke. We pose no threat to him, so why bother with us?"

Li Changyan's words calmed Li Changfu down a little.

After surrendering to Liu Jilong, the two were granted the titles of Duke of Qishan and Duke of Qiyang.

The Duke of a Prefecture was entitled to a fief of two thousand households, meaning that the taxes levied on the land owned by two thousand households belonged to him.

Because Liu Jilong abolished miscellaneous taxes and incorporated land tax into poll tax, the income of those who received fiefs mainly followed the taxes set by the imperial court.

The fiefdoms that Liu Jilong allocated to the two men were quite good. Both were medium to large households with more than 20 mu of land, guaranteeing each person an income of at least 12,000 shi per year.

These revenues were collected by the local county government, then converted into cash and delivered to them.

This was done primarily to prevent meritorious officials from harassing the common people. After all, for meritorious officials without official positions, even if they wanted to deal with some county officials, it wouldn't be so easy.

"Liu Jilong is a kind man. He gave you and me real fiefdoms, which is much better than the days when we were living on the edge."

Li Changyan sighed, saying that although it was comfortable to hold power, it was extremely uncomfortable when his opponent was someone like Liu Jilong.

Now that I can retire from military service and return to my hometown, I can say that I'm enjoying peace ahead of schedule.

There were quite a few people who thought like Li Changyan, including several warlords who had just been recovered.

Although positions such as Military Commissioner, General, and Commander-in-Chief were abolished, most of them received honorary titles such as Nobleman or Baron.

Liu Jilong moved this group of people to Luoyang and had them gathered in several neighborhoods for supervision.

Although the pay was high, their numbers were small, and the annual cost was only a few hundred thousand strings of cash, which was cheap compared to the cost of war.

Therefore, there were no problems in the process of Husiguang and An Pohu advancing into Yicheng and Zhongwu, as well as Chen Jingchong mobilizing troops to Xuanwu.

As Liu Jilong had predicted, Zhu Wen did not choose to lead his troops south after receiving the imperial decree, but instead remained in Yanzhou.

Half a month passed in the blink of an eye, and Liu Jilong finally met Wuzhen, who had come from afar, at the gate of the Han Prince's Mansion.

"Long live the King of Han..."

"Great virtue."

At the entrance of the Han Prince's Mansion, more than 300 monks from Shazhou, led by Wuzhen, were respectfully bowing to Liu Jilong.

Upon seeing this, Liu Jilong knew that having too many monks was not good for the court, but he needed these monks, so he respectfully returned the greeting.

After he got up, he instructed Zhang Yanhui beside him: "Arrange for all the virtuous monks to rest at Baima Temple."

"Yes!" Zhang Yanhui replied, and then led more than three hundred thin monks toward the White Horse Temple.

Wuzhen was kept behind, and Liu Jilong finally had time to take a closer look at Wuzhen.

Wuzhen, who was in his fifties, wore an ordinary gray monk's robe, had a two-foot-long beard, and thick eyebrows, which made Liu Jilong feel slightly unfamiliar with him.

As their eyes met, and he felt the other person's still kind gaze, he rediscovered the feeling from years past, and put on a smile: "It's been many years. I've invited you here today to spread the Dharma."

"To promote Buddhism?" Wuzhen nodded with a light laugh, his gaze sweeping over Liu Jilong.

Nearly twenty years have passed, and time seems to have only added a beard to Liu Jilong and made him less immature, but he still retains his charm.

"Your Highness, shall we enter the main hall first?"

Seeing Liu Jilong and Wuzhen standing at the entrance of the Prince's mansion talking like this, Luo Yin cautiously offered a reminder.

Liu Jilong was so happy that he forgot about this point, and quickly said with a smile, "I was so busy talking with you that I neglected you when I saw you again."

"It's alright. I've been sitting on Sanwei Mountain for so long these past few years, standing for a while is quite nice."

Wuzhen responded, but Liu Jilong grasped his hand and led him into the main hall of the Prince's Mansion.

The Han Prince's Mansion was formerly the Crown Prince's Mansion, so it was inevitably somewhat luxurious, which drew Wuzhen's constant sidelong glances.

Seeing this, Liu Jilong explained, "The predecessor of this Prince of Han's mansion was the former residence of the Crown Prince, hence its extravagance."

"I see..." Wuzhen breathed a sigh of relief. He had been worried that Liu Jilong would become arrogant and decadent after achieving great success and forget the grand ambitions he had made in the past.

Looking at it now, Liu Jilong is still the same Liu Jilong, only now he's more outgoing and unconventional than he used to be.

However, upon closer reflection, Liu Jilong had been under immense pressure. Any slight mistake could have led to the loss of Ganzhou by the Guiyi Army. The pressure was too great, so naturally he couldn't be happy.

Now that the general trend has taken hold, the people of Guanzhong are living in peace and contentment, and the Hu people of Hexi have been driven thousands of miles away, so Liu Jilong can naturally relax a bit.

As he was thinking this, Liu Jilong led him into the main hall and had him sit next to him. The two were only a table apart, and could touch each other with their outstretched hands.

"Your Highness speaks of propagating Buddhism; what is your intention?"

After Wuzhen sat down, he got straight to the point with Liu Jilong. Liu Jilong did not answer, but instead asked Wuzhen, "Does the Venerable Master think that the number of monks and nuns in Shazhou is large or small?"

Wuzhen frowned upon hearing this, but then gradually relaxed.

Although he did not know Liu Jilong's purpose, he did not want to cover it up, and nodded and said, "If it were Your Highness, this humble monk would say that there are too many monks in Shazhou."

"Today, the population of Hexi is only about 300,000, but there are as many as 6,000 monks."

"The monks' clothing, food, lodging and transportation all require donations from pilgrims and money and grain allocated by the government, costing the government nearly 10,000 taels of silver and silk every year."

"But the situation in Hexi is complicated, and it is not something I alone can get involved in."

Wuzhen felt a natural affinity for Liu Jilong, which is why she chose to tell him the truth.

Liu Jilong nodded after hearing this, but continued, "I plan to reform the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Officials to strictly control all monks and Taoists in the land."

"All monks and Taoists in the world must take the imperial examination again in order to obtain the ordination certificate issued by the court."

"Those without ordination certificates were all ordered to return to secular life, and local government offices were strictly prohibited from allocating funds and grain to repair temples."

Although less than thirty years have passed since Emperor Wuzong of Tang suppressed Buddhism, the number of monks, nuns and Taoist priests in the country is increasing due to the indulgence of Emperor Xuanzong and Emperor Yizong of Tang.

These people do not engage in production and enjoy the resources of the imperial court. They only need to enjoy the benefits without having to bear any responsibility.

Liu Jilong naturally wouldn't give these people a friendly look.

"How does Your Highness intend to rectify this?"

Wuzhen was somewhat puzzled, since Liu Jilong had previously told him that he wanted to promote Buddhism, but now it seemed more like he was suppressing Buddhism and Taoism.

In response, Liu Jilong looked at Luo Yin and said, "Bring me the map."

Luo Yin nodded, then took the map and hung it on the special map rack.

Liu Jilong stretched out his hand and pointed to the Tubo and Tuyuhun regions, saying, "On the plateau, the conflict between Buddhism and Bon continues, and many sects from India are also involved."

"I have already helped Lu Danzeng occupy the Tuyuhun region, and soon we will quell the rebellious Tibetan slaves."

"After the slaves are pacified, Mulu Danzeng will begin to challenge the Zanpu royal family and unify Tibet."

Liu Jilong's words caused Wuzhen's pupils to tremble, after all, the reason why the Guiyi Army was able to rise up was because of the internal strife in Tibet.

Now that Liu Jilong is helping Tibet reunify, he sees this as nothing short of madness.

Liu Jilong naturally knew what Wuzhen was thinking, so he explained, "Tibet will not be unified before I unify the world."

"Even if Tibet unifies, I still have ways to deal with them."

"We invite you, sir, not only to reorganize the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Imperial Sacrifices, but also to regulate the number of monks and Taoists in the world, and to establish regulations for the ordination examinations for monks and Taoists."

"From today onwards, the imperial court will issue 1,200 ordination certificates every year, and at the same time, it will hold Buddhist and Taoist examinations in various prefectures and cities, similar to the imperial examinations, with the questions set by eminent Buddhist and Taoist masters."

"After the imperial examination, only the top 1,200 people can obtain ordination certificates, while the rest of the monks and Taoists can only wait for the imperial examination the following year as lay people."

“If any monks or Taoists are unwilling to take the imperial examinations, they can go to Tibet, the Western Regions, and other places to spread the Dharma.”

“Monks and Taoists who choose to go to Tibet and the Western Regions to spread the Dharma can go to Lanzhou, Linzhou and other western prefectures to obtain ordination certificates, but they need to serve as monk officials for three years.”

“The monastic officials are ranked from lowest to highest as follows: Novice Monk, Bhikkhu, Zen Master, and Dharma King.”

"The ranks of Taoist officials, from lowest to highest, are: Taoist novices, Taoist priests, sorcerers, and True Men."

“Buddhist and Taoist practitioners who go to Tibet, the Western Regions and other places to spread the Dharma can receive money and food to build temples in Tibet, the Western Regions and other places. The imperial court will also provide money and food every year to maintain the temples.”

"For monks and Taoist officials to be promoted, they need to take the imperial examination and have the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Personnel personally visit the place where they spread the Dharma to assess the number of people they have spread the Dharma to determine whether they are promoted."

"The details still require you, Da De, to make specific arrangements."

"Furthermore, if one is promoted to Zen Master or Dharma Master, one can return to the Tang Dynasty."

"Upon returning, although they will not receive a salary, they may serve as abbots in local prefectures and counties of the Tang Dynasty."

Liu Jilong established a complex system of monks and Taoist officials in order to spread Buddhism in Tibet and make Tibet increasingly dependent on the Central Plains in terms of culture and economy.

Originally, I only wanted to establish a system of monk officials, but considering that if there was only a system of monk officials, a group of people would run off to become Taoist priests, so I decided to treat everyone equally.

Since these monks and Taoists want to enjoy tax exemption and preferential treatment from local government, they should demonstrate their true abilities by taking the imperial examinations.

The quota of 1,200 per year is definitely not low, and for monks and Taoists with genuine skills, there is no situation where they cannot pass the exam.

On the contrary, those monks and Taoists who were originally looking to avoid taxes and enjoy labor service could choose to go to the Tibetan region to spread the Dharma.

I fear that once they enjoy the power under the monastic official system, they will be reluctant to return to the Central Plains.

Many families in Northwest China during the Ming Dynasty sent their children to Tibet because of the monastic official system implemented by the Ming Dynasty in the Tibetan region. These children eventually became influential Dharma Kings in the area.

Among them, the Bao family of Minzhou is outstanding, having produced many Dharma Kings, Buddhist disciples, national teachers, and Zen masters.

"If that's the case, I'm afraid Buddhism and Taoism in the Central Plains will be in decline..."

Wuzhen was somewhat worried about this, but Liu Jilong hoped that Buddhism and Taoism in the Central Plains would decline.

"Please rest assured, this is just a newly established system and will be improved in the future."

"As long as you have real skills, you don't have to worry about failing the imperial examination."

Liu Jilong's words left Wuzhen speechless, after all, he also knew that there were many charlatans among the monks and Taoists.

However, sending monks and Taoists to Tibet would probably not be easy.

"Would His Highness have received support without Lu Danzeng?"

Wuzhen asked him the question he cared about most, and Liu Jilong replied without hesitation, "If he wants to unify Tibet, he has no choice but to support me."

"That's good, but I need to go back and consider this carefully."

Wuzhen breathed a sigh of relief, and Liu Jilong, seeing this, got up to see him out.

The two did not discuss past events; clearly, the previous conversation had left Wuzhen somewhat confused, and he needed to clear his head before coming to Liu Jilong to catch up.

Liu Jilong then escorted him to the carriage, while Lu Guimeng had just arrived at the Prince of Han's residence and stepped down from another carriage.

Upon seeing Liu Jilong, he quickly stepped forward and bowed to him, saying, "Your Highness, the results of the joint trial by the three judicial departments are out."

"Let's go inside and talk." Liu Jilong gestured for him to follow, then led him and Luo Yin inside, and soon returned to the main hall.

Lu Guimeng presented a thick book, which Liu Jilong opened and flipped through repeatedly.

The document contained the confessions of each arrested official, as well as the fields, residences, money, grain, and silk found in their homes.

Since those arrested were mostly officials of the fifth rank or above, their wealth was still considerable.

The amount involved ranges from a few hundred acres of land and tens of strings of cash to several thousand acres of land and nearly ten thousand strings of cash.

Of course, what surprised Liu Jilong the most was Lu Yan, who served as prime minister for the longest period during the Xiantong era.

Although Lu Yan's confession was blank, the land deeds found by the three departments in Lu Yan's home covered hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland, from Chang'an to Luoyang, and even his hometown of Weizhou.

In addition, his home contained millions of coins and silk, more than two hundred chests of gold, silver and rare treasures, and more than three hundred bags of spices.

Lu Yan's mansion in Luoyang far exceeded the regulations of the imperial court, and he kept more than 300 servants, actors and concubines.

It's no wonder Lu Yan didn't give a confession; he probably felt that since he had already taken action against him, given his family's wealth, he would be prosecuted regardless of whether he was corrupt or not.

"Although Lu Yan did not confess, many people accused him of manipulating prisons, taking money to avoid punishment, and those who paid more were allowed to live while those who paid less were killed."

"In addition, the sale of official positions and titles is indeed true. Many local military governors and officials donated a lot of money and grain to him."

Seeing Liu Jilong stop at Lu Yan, Lu Guimeng quickly began to explain.

Upon hearing this, Liu Jilong couldn't help but gasp, and finally asked, "How many officials did they implicate?"

“No fewer than six hundred people!” Lu Guimeng quickly replied. Liu Jilong nodded in agreement: “Arrest them all in the Censorate prison. If they can’t be held there, imprison them in the Court of Judicial Review and the Ministry of Justice.”

"Make a copy of this document and send a copy to that person in the palace. Let him see whether it is I who ruined his ancestral Tang Dynasty, or these hypocritical officials!"

"Yes!" Lu Guimeng replied, and Luo Yin, seeing this, took the initiative to speak:

"Your Highness, the corruption of this group is true. Their entire property should be confiscated, and their money, silk, gold, and silver should be put into the national treasury to replenish the treasury in Luoyang."

"Your Highness, I second that opinion." Lu Guimeng quickly echoed, after all, the wealth of the powerful and wealthy in Luoyang was truly astonishing.

Even without considering farmland, Lu Yan's wealth alone was enough for Liu Jilong to support an army of 100,000.

"Confiscate their property, and while you're at it, have people publicize their evil deeds to the world, and send officials to spread the word about their crimes."

"Yes!"

Seeing that Liu Jilong agreed, Lu Guimeng and Luo Yin took the document from Liu Jilong and hurriedly turned around and walked away.

After they left, Zhao Ying entered the hall, her expression slightly changed, clearly not expecting Lu Yan and his group to be so greedy.

Faced with his emotional reaction, Liu Jilong gradually regained his composure.

After a long pause, Liu Jilong looked at him and asked, "Surprised?"

“Hmm…” Zhao Ying responded in a low voice, but Liu Jilong said:
"Don't be surprised, one of us will become the next Lu Yan in the future..."

(End of this chapter)