The harem draft has come to an end for the time being, and Liu Jian and the others have new worries.

Since becoming emperor, Liu Jian has never slept peacefully, not because he was afraid of someone assassinating the king.

It was a pile of trivial matters that made him breathless. Taken together, he just had no money.

Military supplies cost money, local security maintenance cost money, disaster relief cost money, large and small officials and employees cost money, water conservancy repairs cost money, city wall repairs cost money, and festivals cost money. Emperor Liu Jian looked like a stingy local rich man.

The court discussed it several times, saying that we should increase revenue and reduce expenditures, but those who wanted to reduce expenditures made a lot of talk, and those who talked about reducing expenditures were all empty talk, about spreading benevolent government, about opening up business, about His Majesty setting an example by his own example, etc.

Chen Hongyi and others are more than capable in martial arts, but not enough in governing the country, and the people in the academy are talking about holy words but keeping silent about ancient precepts. In short, taxation cannot be increased, but the country must be well-funded.

Liu Jian couldn't bear it any longer and summoned Xiang Xiaoyu privately: "Why is the annual revenue of the national treasury so low?"

"Does Your Majesty know that a few years ago, major aristocratic families donated money, cloth, silk, gold and silver to the imperial court?"

"I was present at the time, and of course I knew that Emperor Ming had nothing after he succeeded to the throne. In order to maintain the operation of the court, he had to ask for money from the major families. But I am not Emperor Ming, and now there are only two major families, Cui and Chen!"

"Your Majesty is wise and will never directly reach out to the Cui and Chen families to ask for money. It's just that our territory today is less than half of what it used to be. The big families are gone, but the land they used to have is occupied by some local big families. The big families are now all

It’s local officials in various places. According to the ancestral system of this dynasty, if you become an official, you will not pay taxes! If you want to collect taxes, you can only collect taxes from ordinary people, and then merchants!"

"I kind of understand what you are saying. You are saying that the officials in the world occupy countless lands but do not pay taxes to the court. I think this ancestral system should be changed!"

"If Your Majesty wants to reorganize the system at this time, he must be prepared to deal with local rebellions! They will not spit out the meat in their mouths!" Xiang Xiaoyu became worried.

Liu Jian also pondered for a while: "It seems that this matter has to be convened to discuss the matter! Either don't do it, or do it absolutely!"

"Your Majesty, I believe that the interests of most of the important ministers in the court are also involved. If it is implemented suddenly, they will be opposed. Your Majesty must send people to try it out in several counties and gradually promote it nationwide!"

"Well, I understand what you mean. In this court, General Chen comes from an aristocratic family. Although he will not oppose me, he will not fully support me. The people in the academy have already become the largest clan group in Jingxiang area.

, At the moment, only Li Xiaofei has the troops and horses of Linjiang Kingdom and is the Prime Minister of the country, so only his Linjiang Kingdom can give it a try first!"

But it was said that after Li Xiaofei took office in Linjiang Kingdom, he also took over his two masters, Hong Rui and Murong Qing.

Hong Rui took the little Linjiang County Prince Liu Fu'an with her to learn how to read and write, while Murong Qing taught Li Xiaofei sword skills from time to time, or took his thirty maids out of the city to hunt.

Li Xiaofei ostensibly became the leader of the Linjiang Kingdom. He relied on him to train soldiers and horses, maintain law and order in Jiangling City, and collect taxes all in his name.

According to the old rules of Daliang, the prime minister of a feudal state had no personnel power, which meant that he could not appoint officials in the feudal state.

However, the prefect Sima and others in Jiangling City took orders directly from the imperial court and did not pay attention to the orders of the feudal minister.

After Li Xiaofei received the imperial edict from the court, he opened it and saw that the content of the edict was very broad and long. In fact, there were only two things. One was to collect taxes, regardless of gender, age or family background, everyone had to pay taxes. The other was to train soldiers, which lasted for half a year.

It is necessary to train three thousand new troops who can fight against the Ghost Sheep Cavalry.

Li Xiaofei could only shake his head secretly and tried to implement the new policy. If the personnel power was not granted, it would basically be impossible to implement it.

Moreover, if we want to train troops, we may have no hope unless we borrow the eight hundred ghost sheep cavalry that have returned to Tuyuhun.

Li Xiaofei has no one under his command!

Coming to Jiangguo

In the past month, except for the Jiangling County Sheriff who hosted him three times, almost no one came to pay homage to the Prime Minister.

During this month, the Sima, Duwei, Shaofu, Changshi, Junjun, Gongcao, Cangcao, and Jicao appointed by the imperial court to Linjiang Kingdom have successively arrived.

Half of these people were from the academy, and the other half were newcomers selected by Liu Jian from among the people.

Fifty-six Linjiang state officials were the officials that Li Xiaofei could reluctantly mobilize, but these same people could not reach out to the palace or the prime minister's palace.

In Li Xiaofei's view, with this team, it is enough to discuss the new policy with Jiangling County Sheriff.

Li Xiaofei specially asked Chief Shi Sima Ke to tell all the officials about the new policy that the imperial court was preparing to implement, as well as the next plan.

Everyone agreed and expressed that they would work with the Prime Minister to implement the new policy of the imperial court in Linjiang Kingdom.

"May I ask the Prime Minister, should we first write out the specific strategy of the New Deal and send it to the county governor's office so that they can implement it?" asked Cao Wuxin, the young master.

"We need a strategy, but we have to talk to them first. We need to get the household registration files of Linjiang Country and measure the acres of land and forests in Linjiang Country! Otherwise, how can we implement the new policy?"

"This matter can be solved if I go to the county governor's house and copy these data back?" Merit Master Shi Sang Qingyang thought this matter was very simple.

"If it's so easy, why do fifty-seven of us come to Linjiang Country? The archives of the Sheriff's Mansion can only be used as a reference. If you take it seriously, I'm afraid we will only be able to drink from the northwest wind in the future!"

Li Xiaofei was troubled by people like this who came from the academy, but he couldn't scold him. Now was the time to employ people, and even nerds had to be used first.

Li Xiaofei looked at Cancao again: "Liu Zhengqing, tell me, how much supplies are left in our Linjiang Kingdom's treasury?"

Liu Zhengqing took out a list and looked at everyone calmly: "The imperial court allocated 30,000 stones of corn and 10,000 bolts of cloth. By the end of this year, I am afraid that all of you will not have enough salary! Repair the palace of the prince, the palace of the prime minister, and various officials.

I still owe three thousand guanzhi for my residence!"

As soon as I heard that I might not be able to pay out my salary, I immediately became upset.

"Hurry up and collect taxes! Prime Minister!"

"I am willing to go with the Prime Minister to talk to the county governor about implementing the new tax system!"

"We can't delay it any longer. I have long said that the New Deal must be implemented quickly!"

Li Xiaofei glanced at everyone: "Okay, I'm very happy that you can think so. Without further ado, let's go and think about how to discuss tax collection!"

Before leaving, Li Xiaofei had already sent someone to pass the news.

The county governor Wang Qingzhi originally wanted to avoid seeing him, but he had already found a reason. Sima Luoan persuaded him to stay and meet Li Xiaofei. After all, Li Xiaofei was also a confidant of the emperor.

Wang Qingzhi had no choice but to lead his staff to greet Li Xiaofei outside the mansion. He showed great respect and everyone was surprised. Wang Qingzhi had always looked down on people like Li Xiaofei who were from untouchable backgrounds, but today he showed extremely thorough etiquette.

Seeing Wang Qingzhi's courtesy, all the officials in the Prime Minister's Office relaxed. The Prime Minister thought very badly of the governor.

After some pleasantries between host and guest, Li Xiaofei got straight to the point.

"Your Excellency, the Sheriff, I have been entrusted by the imperial court to try out the new policy in Linjiang Kingdom. I hope that the Sheriff will give you your full support. Today I have come to discuss with you to recheck the number of acres of land, mountains, forests and population in Linjiang Kingdom!"

"Mr. Wang naturally supports the new policy of the imperial court. However, in recent years of war, Jiangling County's population has been dispersed in large numbers and the land is deserted. It is also very difficult to verify. The original owners of many acres of mountains and forests are still away from home to seek refuge, but these acres are

Someone is farming. What Mr. Li doesn’t know is that every day here at Wang’s place there are reports of murder cases caused by fighting over land. It’s really tricky.”

Li Xiaofei's eyebrows moved. It seemed that Wang Qingzhi did not support the New Deal at all. It seemed that what he said was reasonable, but in fact it was contradictory. Since it was a massive population exodus,

The land is scattered and barren, so why are we fighting for acres of land?

But Li Xiaofei couldn't expose it directly: "So that's it, thank you for your hard work, Lord County Sheriff! In this case, our Prime Minister's Office is willing to help you share your worries. Li's idea is to take the files of Renhe and County Sheriff's Office and go from county to village to village.

Let's go to each pavilion to reconcile. What do you think, the governor?"

Wang Qingzhi smiled slightly: "Master Li and you are all distinguished guests from the capital. We are not familiar with the situation in Jiangling. The local folk customs are fierce. If any of you make a mistake, how will Wang explain to the court? In this matter of mediating the civil struggle for land and mountains, I and I

County officials just need to spend more time!”

"Master Wang, it is precisely because I have been waiting in the capital for a long time that I have to go to various counties and villages to practice and practice. Since eating the emperor's salary naturally requires loyalty to the emperor, even if the sword is thrown at you, you cannot shrink back!" Chief Shi Sima Ke said

Yes, he also saw that Wang Qingzhi no longer wanted to support the New Deal.

"Unfortunately, my lords, the officials of Jiangling County and other counties are now urging farmers. If the farming season is delayed because of the New Deal, and famine and civil commotion occur, even Wang's ten heads will not be enough to chop him off! Of course, the New Deal

It must be implemented, but things have to be prioritized. Food is the most important thing for the people. What do you think?"

Wang Qing was worthy of being a veteran for many years. What he said in this interview was all about caring about the country and the people. He rejected Li Xiaofei and the others with a high-sounding tone.

"Encouraging farmers and mulberry farmers to teach is a national policy of our dynasty. Mr. Li and everyone must support it. This matter is indeed the first priority. Since Mr. Wang and the county officials are too busy to do anything, why not lend us the household registration, land, and forest files?

Wait for your own inventory and accounting!" Li Xiaofei didn't want to make any detours with him, and directly said what he was thinking, since you Jiangling County officials are unwilling to cooperate, then our Prime Minister's Office will do it alone!

"Well, these files are inaccurate due to years of war. If they are lent to Mr. Li, they will mislead Mr. Li. If the New Deal is not implemented effectively or even fails, wouldn't Wang be the number one sinner?"

Wang Qingzhi’s meaning is very clear. People will not cooperate and files will not be given to them. If you want to do it, just go ahead and do it.

Li Xiaofei was a little angry, "Even if it's not accurate, it's still better than nothing, and we can also update all the files in Jiangling County. This is also a great achievement for Mr. Wang! Is Mr. Wang really going to reject our request from Linjiang Country?"

"?" Li Xiaofei stared at Wang Qingzhi fiercely.

Wang Qingzhi smiled: "Master Li, don't be angry! You can borrow this file, but you have to send someone to copy it. This file cannot be taken out of the county governor's house. If it is lost, I cannot bear the responsibility!"

"I'm willing to come and copy it!" Sang Qingyang came out.

Sima Ke on the side had no time to stop him, so he could only sigh: "The files of this county are filled up in two rooms. Mr. Sang, please take care of yourself!"

Wang Qingzhi laughed sarcastically: "The Prime Minister's Office is really full of talents. Well, then the matter is settled. Master Li can just send someone to copy it, and the food, drinks, accommodation and transportation will be taken care of by Wang!"

Li Xiaofei laughed helplessly: "Thank you Mr. Wang. When the new deal is successfully implemented, Mr. Wang will be the number one contributor!"

On the way back to the Prime Minister's Mansion, everyone complained that Sang Qingyang was ignorant, but Li Xiaofei persuaded everyone: "It is not easy for Mr. Sang to stand up despite his young age. Everyone, we must work together! Since they are willing to copy for us

If we have the opportunity, we will send someone to copy it. This matter must be handled by a serious person like Mr. Sang! We hit a snag today, which is a good thing. At least we know that we can’t count on the county officials for this matter!"

"I once worked in the county government. Many of the contents of those files are from decades ago, and they are actually of little use. Since we want to implement the New Deal, we should start from scratch! In my opinion, this copying can be done

No need!" Liu Zhengqing suggested to Li Xiaofei not to send people to the county magistrate's house to copy files.

"Master Liu is well-informed and hits the mark. However, copying is still necessary, at least to distract their energy. In my opinion, the biggest resistance to this new policy is none other than the officials in various counties and counties.
Chapter completed!