Tang Dynasty Little Godfather

Chapter 277 The plan cannot keep up with the changes

At present, Madam Zixia only has suspicions.

There is no evidence to suggest that this is a trap.

The only thing that made Lady Zixia uneasy was the contract with the Ministry of Works. In fact, she felt that the contract was very strange at the time, but it seemed quite reasonable given Wang Maozhong's current policies.

Furthermore, she thought the incident with the Beauty Wine was over and that her relationship with Wang Xi was gradually improving, so she didn't pay much attention to it.

As a result of the Linghu family's affair, she vaguely felt that it was a trap.

Whether it was true or not, she quickly tried to find a way to remedy the situation.

Otherwise, if the coal mine were seized by the Nameless Academy or taken over by the Linghu family, the financial loss would be a minor issue; the key problem would be the impact on her prestige.

If you keep messing things up, who will still believe her?

But this matter can only be handled by Zhang Shuo, because it is a contract signed with the Ministry of Works, and she is not very familiar with Wang Maozhong, so she can only rely on Zhang Shuo's connections.

The Yuan family also realized the importance of this matter. If the Linghu family succeeded, it would be a huge blow to the Yuan family. Once the team was scattered, it would be difficult to lead them.

Upon returning, he immediately informed Zhang of the matter.

Although Zhang said that he was not as morally upright as Song Jing, he was definitely a very responsible prime minister who knew what was important and what was not.

Even though he knew the reason for Linghu Xiaozhe's promotion, he did not stop it or immediately retaliate.

Because the most important thing right now is Li Longji's grand ambitions and hegemony, engaging in private feuds at this time would only distract him.

It's not too late to deal with the Linghu family after the military and political reforms are completed.

This debt will be recorded; it's like meat on the chopping board—there's no escaping it.

The Yuan family certainly understood this as well.

She couldn't let Zhang Shuo take the lead for the Yuan family; her husband was destined for great things, so she had to be careful about how to collect the mining tax.

So after some discussion, it was decided that the Yuan family would first arrange for some people near the coal mine to cause trouble at the mine, either to claim that they were polluting the environment or that they were disrupting the feng shui.

And there's a reason for that, because their expanded coal mining does have some impact on the surrounding area.

The matter quickly reached the Ministry of Works.

The Ministry of Works is in charge of this matter.

But this wasn't really a big deal, so why did it reach the Ministry of Works so quickly?

The reason is simple: the court officials are very happy to participate in any excitement related to Wang Maozhong.

They looked down on Wang Maozhong from the bottom of their hearts. How could a servant and groom like you sit in the position of Minister?

Is it all based on the merit of raising horses?
There's no such saying!

However, given that Li Longji had shown great favoritism towards Wang Maozhong in the past, they did not submit a memorial to impeach him this time, lest they invite trouble upon themselves. Instead, they discussed it in court every day.

The ministers were all discussing it, and since it concerned the people, Li Longji was also worried that Wang Maozhong might cause trouble, so he took the initiative to come out and ask what exactly was going on.

This question played right into the hands of the court officials, who then launched a barrage of attacks.

Both sides have their own version of events.

Wang Maozhong then listed the benefits of coal mining, which are good for the country and its people.

However, the ministers argued that if it were all beneficial, why would the people cause trouble?
Moreover, the Tang Dynasty had regulations prohibiting the destruction of local feng shui or the impact on the surrounding environment for the purpose of coal mining.

However, Wang Maozhong believes that those coal mines existed before, and no one had caused trouble before.

However, the minister believed that it was your expansion of coal mining that had disrupted the feng shui.

The two sides argued heatedly, their faces turning red.

Li Longji didn't know the specifics either. The key point was that he hadn't yet realized the importance of coal mines to the economy and wasn't that concerned about them.

He secretly gave Zhang Shuo and Yuan Qianyao a wink.

Resolve it quickly.

Don't make a fuss over this.

Zhang Shuo was waiting right there; at the emperor's prompting, he immediately stepped forward to say something "fair."

First of all, he agreed with both sides, saying that what you said made a lot of sense.

The benefits of coal mining are obvious, but it does indeed affect ordinary people.

Secondly, he put forward his own opinion, which is to collect a small amount of mining tax every year, but this money should not go into the national treasury, but should be used to benefit the local people, including repairing roads, water conservancy and so on.

Li Longji thought this was a good idea, as it could not only quell public grievances but also alleviate the burden on the court.

Not only him, but Wang Maozhong also thought it was a good thing, because he was currently undertaking a large-scale water conservancy project, which was a considerable subsidy.

On the contrary, those officials who had previously criticized Wang Maozhong felt that this was wrong and strongly opposed it.

They believe this is competing with the people for profit, and it will also breed corruption, giving officials the power to exploit the people.

Since the reign of Emperor Taizong, our dynasty has consistently discouraged the collection of these mining taxes.

From the Zhenguan to the Kaiyuan eras, the Tang Dynasty had a solid foundation, so it was very lenient in all aspects and did not levy any taxes. It was not until the mid-Tang period that it had no choice but to start levying these taxes.

However, the ministers are still keeping a close eye on this. Zhang, being an experienced businessman, had anticipated this step and immediately backed down. In name, it wouldn't be a tax, but rather a form of compensation. The Ministry of Works would take the lead in having merchants sign contracts with surrounding villages, supervised by the wealthy households in each village. The Ministry of Works would then be required to use the money for nearby water conservancy and road construction. More importantly, this would be limited to the Guanzhong region.

Wang Maozhong immediately chimed in, "You just kept saying it was for the people, isn't that enough?"

Li Longji didn't care about this. He just wanted to get to the bottom of the matter as soon as possible. He deliberately looked at the court officials and thought, "I want to see who they are fighting for."
The court officials quickly agreed.

Wang Maozhong was overjoyed; this was truly a windfall, turning a bad thing into a good one.

The appointment of the Minister of Works, though seemingly fraught with difficulties and obstacles, was in fact a remarkably smooth process.

Am I the chosen one?

So after the court made its decision, he quickly summoned Lady Zixia and told her about it, explaining that they had to allocate some money to compensate the surrounding people.

"Minister Wang, please forgive me for not being able to agree." Madam Zixia resolutely refused.

Wang Maozhong asked angrily, "Why?"

Madam Zixia said, "It's not that I'm stingy with this little bit of tax money!"

"It's not tax money."

Wang Maozhong said, "You caused this trouble, so you should come up with some money to make up for it. That's only fair."

Lady Zixia nodded and said, "Even so, this is not the trouble we caused."

Wang Maozhong asked in bewilderment, "Why isn't it you?"

Madam Zixia said, "Because that coal mine does not belong to us. According to our contract with the Ministry of Works, we are only responsible for mining, and the Ministry of Works can transfer the mining rights at any time."

If, halfway through the year, the Ministry of Industry suddenly transfers the mining rights, and if we're the ones who paid for it, wouldn't it be a bad deal for us? If the other party pays, they'd also feel it's a bad deal.

Upon hearing this, Wang Maozhong felt it made a lot of sense. Originally, there was no taxation, so the court could do whatever it wanted. But now that money was required, it was natural to follow the rules.

Everything must be fair.

"Then what do you think we should do?" Wang Maozhong asked.

Madam Zixia said, "This junior does not intend to covet those coal mines, but at least we must specify the duration of our mining operations, and not say that we can move them at any time."

This condition is truly reasonable.

The reason why Lady Zixia said this was because she knew in her heart that even if she obtained permanent mining rights, it would be meaningless, because the imperial court was a rogue state. If they wanted to take it back, could you refuse?

But if you make this request, the other party will definitely make an exorbitant demand.

They'll only lose more.

Moreover, as long as she can ensure that the property will not be transferred within two or three years, she is not afraid of Wang Xi and his group causing trouble.

Wang Maozhong also felt that this request was not excessive at all. Moreover, they had been performing well recently. However, he still held hope for the Nameless Academy.

The reason he made Madam Zixia sign the contract in the first place was because the Nameless Academy was researching a better method.

Therefore, he did not immediately agree, but went back and told Wang Shuang the news.

Upon learning of this, Wang Shuang immediately became anxious and quickly sought out Wang Xi and the others to discuss countermeasures.

“Those coal mines have been there for a long time, so why are there suddenly people causing trouble?” Huangfu Sengnian said.

Li Jieman said, "That goes without saying, it must have been arranged by his aunt."

Wang Shuang said, "It is said that this suggestion was put forward by Minister Zhang."

Wang Xi frowned and sighed, "My aunt is quite resourceful. With this tactic, things can't possibly go as we planned."

Huangfu Sengnian said, "Although they pay a little more, it guarantees their profits from coal mining and ensures they won't end up benefiting us."

Wang Shuang said, "Then why don't we make a move right away and not give your aunt a chance? We still have a chance now."

"No."

Huangfu Sengnian shook his head and said, "Their alliance has not yet completely broken down. If we make a move now, it would be tantamount to dealing with everyone."

Their plan was to first divide them, and then, at a crucial moment, intercept them and severely damage Lady Zixia.

Wang Xi nodded and said, "Seng Nian is right. The time is not ripe yet. Besides, only my aunt suspects us. No one else does. And she has no evidence to prove it. If we make a move now, everyone will know that we are the ones playing tricks. I believe the Linghu family will not be happy to be played by a few kids."

Li Jie said, "If we do nothing, then we'll be doing all the work for your aunt."

There's nothing we can do about that.

Wang Xi shook his head and said, "We must be patient now. Our goal is to disrupt their cooperation, not to fight over those coal mines. Besides, there are more than just these few coal mines in Guanzhong. It's just that we were short of a weapon when we confronted them later."

Huangfu Sengnian said, "That's right. We still have to proceed according to the original plan. We should wait for his aunt to take revenge on the Linghu family before we come out to speak up for Sister Changge and the others, so as to unite Xue Jun and the others. Only when we are all united can we stand up against his aunt."

Li Jieman suddenly asked, "Now that her aunt suspects us, will you let the Linghu family off the hook?"

"will not!"

Wang Xi said, "She only suspects, without concrete evidence, so she can't convince the Yuan family or any other family. No one will believe that we are the ones who are up to something. Under these circumstances, how can she establish her authority if she doesn't retaliate against the Linghu family?"

She didn't want to, but she had to do it.

(End of this chapter)