Tang Dynasty Xie Lu Lang

Chapter 355 Serving the country and expanding its influence, who else but me?

"This humble official greets Minister Yuwen!"

After being led into the hall, Li Linfu bowed deeply to Yuwen Rong. Seeing the pile of documents on Yuwen Rong's desk, he exclaimed, "Your Excellency serves the emperor tirelessly, from dawn till dusk, without ever leaving your seat. You are truly a model for us ministers!"

Yuwen Rong ignored the flattery, simply tossing the blood-stained letter that Li Linfu had just had someone deliver into the hall onto the floor, while coldly saying, "I haven't seen you for several days, and Li Shi has already entered the central government. If things don't go your way, it will be a waste of time and energy."

Hearing the sarcasm mixed with anger in Yuwen Rong's tone, Li Linfu immediately bowed even lower and hurriedly said, "With Vice Minister Yuwen Rong here, I dare not be presumptuous. In fact, I have recently encountered many difficulties and have nowhere to turn, so I came to see you, hoping to receive your guidance. You are very busy with your affairs, and I have been waiting outside for a long time. I overheard my colleagues whispering and came up with a humble suggestion to present to you."

Knowing that he was in a completely disadvantaged position, he dared not adopt the posture of a mentor, and his demeanor and tone were extremely humble.

Upon hearing this, Yuwen Rong merely snorted coldly, rose, and walked out of the main hall. He went to a secluded side room, sat down, and had someone serve him a cup of tea to sip and refresh himself. Then, he looked at Li Linfu, who was respectfully following him in, and said, "What plan do you have? Come quickly. If it's not relevant, leave immediately!"

"Thank you for taking the time to listen to my report, Vice Minister. I will certainly speak my mind without reservation!"

Li Linfu quickly bowed again and said, "I have heard from my subordinates what they have said. It seems that they are busy with the reorganization of the Buddhist and Taoist temples' ancestral lands? I remember that this was proposed several years ago, but it was not carried out at that time because of many obstacles and the fear of being hindered by controversy and criticism. Why are you forcing it to be done now?"

Upon hearing this, Yuwen Rong was immediately enraged. He pointed at Li Linfu and shouted angrily, "Isn't it all because of your insatiable greed and theft of official property that Lord Yuan was demoted and sent to a post outside the capital!"

"I am truly guilty, and I deeply regret my actions and feel immense remorse. If I could atone for my sins with my death and restore order to the situation, I would never refuse! However, my own life is a small matter compared to the matter of Minister Yuwen, so I have forced myself to suppress my shame and remorse and come to plead my case for Minister Yuwen!"

Li Linfu knew that he would inevitably be scolded if he brought up this topic, so he quickly lowered his head and admitted his mistake. Then he continued, "The Vice Minister has a grand plan in mind and is focused on his work. He relies on Lord Yuan to coordinate and manage relationships in the court."

Now that Lord Yuan has suddenly been demoted, not only have he alienated people, but even Vice Minister Yuwen's reputation has suffered. To reverse this disadvantage and demonstrate his financial acumen, Vice Minister, I urgently need this plan. May I ask, Vice Minister, is my assessment accurate?

Upon hearing this, Yuwen Rong snorted coldly, which was taken as an admission that this was indeed the case.

"In my humble opinion, the Vice Minister's actions will not only be of no use, but will also greatly hinder his future!"

Li Linfu mustered his courage and directly denied Yuwen Rong's actions.

Upon hearing this, Yuwen Rong was furious. He immediately slammed his fist on the table and shouted, "What did you say?!"

"Please calm down, Your Excellency, and allow me to explain my plan in detail!"

Li Linfu was startled by Yuwen Rong's strong reaction. He immediately knelt down in front of Yuwen Rong's desk and said urgently, "What I mean is that Vice Minister Yuwen's financial and economic abilities are unparalleled and have long been proven. His great talent and strategy are known throughout the world. There is really no need for further verification!"
Now, to reorganize the monastic and Taoist temple lands is merely a lingering effect of previous actions, offering no real benefit to the already illustrious reputation of the Vice Minister. If things proceed smoothly and achieve remarkable results, it will simply be a reflection of the Vice Minister's abilities, and no one will praise him for it. But if things encounter obstacles and do not go as expected..."

At this point, he secretly glanced at Yuwen Rong's expression. Upon hearing this, Yuwen Rong's brows furrowed again, but he didn't rebuke Li Linfu. Instead, he said in a deep voice, "Continue!"

Upon hearing this, Li Linfu was secretly pleased, realizing that Yuwen Rong had taken his words to heart. He then leaned down and continued, "If this matter fails and all our efforts are in vain, not only will it severely damage your reputation, but many wicked people will also seize the opportunity to launch attacks against you, making it difficult for you to carry out your grand plan and causing you to miss a crucial opportunity. After careful consideration, it is truly a losing proposition!"

"I am currently burdened by other matters and urgently need to rejuvenate, which is why I have resorted to this plan. If you think this plan is inadequate, what other plan do you have to offer?"

Yuwen Rong was actually hesitant about reorganizing the sacred fields of Buddhist temples and monasteries. His previous plan to rebuild the Wangmang River had failed, which left him feeling frustrated and prompting him to reflect on himself. However, at the moment, he couldn't find any other better ideas or methods.

"Minister Yuwen's dedication to state affairs and his eagerness to improve the nation are truly admirable. However, the current situation in the country is tense and power struggles are frequent. Your repeated grand plans at this time only provide ammunition for others. Even if your plans are thorough, not everyone in the government is capable, and oversights are inevitable. At this time, the more you do, the more mistakes you make!"

Li Linfu first made a summary, and then said: "In fact, the solution to the current predicament is right in my words! The Vice Minister's talent is known throughout the land. At present, the country is facing frequent affairs and financial difficulties. Apart from the Vice Minister, who in the court dares to claim that they can make great financial plans for the country?"

"Indeed, to serve the country and make it widely available, who else but me!" Upon hearing this, Yuwen Rong felt a surge of pride. The shadows that had been lingering in his heart recently dissipated considerably, and his gaze towards Li Linfu softened: "Li Shi's advice has indeed relieved much of my worries. Although there is much strife in the court at present, who else but me can be the Minister of Finance!"

Seeing that Yuwen Rong was greatly moved by his words, Li Linfu was secretly pleased. He immediately pressed on, saying, "Minister Yuwen is skilled in finance and accounting, and now that the national treasury is insufficient, his position is as stable as a rock!"

The reason I suggested postponing the consolidation of the Buddhist and Taoist temples' lands is because I have some concerns. I previously said that if things don't go well, the more we do, the more mistakes we make. But even if things go smoothly, it may not necessarily be a good thing for you, Vice Minister.

The position of prime minister is reserved for exceptional talent, a central post under the watchful eyes of the people. The current position of vice minister is sufficient to ensure ample national revenue; why then should he be promoted to prime minister? However, the national budget is increasingly strained, and although the vice minister possesses abundant strategies, he is constrained by his current position and unable to implement them. For the sake of the nation's finances, promotion is imperative!

Yuwen Rong had already returned to his seat, but upon hearing this, he immediately stood up again, put his hands behind his back, and paced around the room in deep thought with a serious expression.

Li Linfu's logic, simply put, is that Yuwen Rong's core competencies have already been fully demonstrated and verified; at least in terms of financial management and revenue generation, no one in the country can match him now. This is also common knowledge in both the court and among the people, requiring no further proof.

If Yuwen Rong wants to advance further, the most important thing right now is not to continue showcasing his talents, but to highlight the importance of his abilities. In other words, with the nation's finances becoming increasingly strained, officials in charge of finances must be promoted to higher positions and given greater power in order to effectively solve the problems!

While Yuwen Rong was undoubtedly a man of exceptional talent, successfully and effectively carrying out the difficult and tedious task of reorganizing the imperial fields, and handling last year's urgent and complex disaster relief efforts very well, he was far inferior to Li Linfu when it came to opportunities for real personnel struggles.

When faced with difficulties, he only wanted to continue to work hard to demonstrate his talents, while Li Linfu focused on the overall personnel situation, using the environment to highlight a person's irreplaceability, and at the same time, he could turn crisis into opportunity and propose ideas for further advancement.

"Shiro is indeed talented. I've been troubled for days, but no one has offered me this advice."

After some thought and digestion, Yuwen Rong understood Li Linfu's meaning.

Instead of wasting effort on something thankless like consolidating temples and monasteries' land, it would be better to focus on making the current financial situation of the court even more difficult and dire, especially by increasing the expenditures and deficits on matters that are already outside the scope of the Ministry of Revenue's authority.

For example, last year Xiao Song proposed the matter of five rotations of long-term conscripts to various border areas. While this could directly reduce a considerable amount of border affairs expenses, these long-term conscripts who take turns resting are not simply disbanded on the spot in each border area and then go back to their respective homes.

The imperial court also needs to arrange for prefectures and counties to provide guidance and corresponding food and drink. Where will this expense come from? Can it be squeezed out from the current jurisdiction of the Ministry of Revenue?

Yuwen Rong himself rose to power through unplanned assignments, so it would be very easy for him to increase the proportion of expenses in this area and thus improve the overall expenditure.

It was difficult for the Ministry of Revenue to coordinate and allocate personnel. The only options were to build a more bloated and massive staff system or to promote Yuwen Rong, the head of the Ministry of Revenue and a financial expert, to a position where he could manage and coordinate these personnel matters.

When Li Linfu heard that Yuwen Rong had finally become friendly to him again, he immediately crawled to Yuwen Rong's feet, knelt down, and wept, saying, "I deeply regret what happened to Yuan Jiu, and I almost wanted to go to the execution ground with him!"
At this point, I absolutely dare not claim innocence. That scoundrel Zhang Dai provoked us because of the Pingkangfang residence. I advised Yuan Jiu to be cautious, but Yuan Jiu hated the man's cunning and vowed not to be extorted by him. He then considered settling the debt with land, only to fall right into the scoundrel's trap and be killed by him!
"In a moment of anger, I have brought this upon myself. Now I am dead, but the debt remains. If these scoundrels continue to harass Lord Yuan in the Eastern Capital because of this, would it not be a tragedy? Therefore, I have volunteered to take on this debt and will exhaust all my family's wealth to pay it to the government. This is the only thing I can do for Yuan Jiu now!"

"Not only you, but even I... Alas, I am ashamed to face Lord Gen!"

Upon hearing this, Yuwen Rong sighed deeply. He looked down and saw that Li Linfu was already in tears. He then said, "Having suffered this calamity, you must have been filled with worry and fear these days. It is rare that you have come to see me and advise me on the situation as soon as you have been released from prison. You should go home and rest for a few days before coming to my house to discuss the current situation. Now, go."

"Thank you for your understanding, Vice Minister Yuwen!"

Upon hearing this, Li Linfu was overjoyed and quickly kowtowed again.

He took on the Yuan family's debt not only to demonstrate loyalty, but also because, for him now, another 30,000 to 50,000 strings of cash in debt made no difference—he couldn't repay it anyway. His only hope was that Yuwen Rong would become prime minister within the year and then promote him to a prominent position, which would provide more ideas and methods for solving the problem.

(End of this chapter)