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In early June of the 15th year of Xiantong, the northern summer harvest season came, but the fields had already been dry and cracked, and some of the cracks could sink their feet.// Free e-book download// The crops in the fields had already died of drought.

Chang'an Imperial City, Tai Chi Palace Tai Chi Hall.

The young emperor finally did not go to hit the ball or fight cocks today, but came to Tai Chi Hall to attend the grand ceremony. Although the emperor played with the law of the wasteland and had not been in court for a long time, the grand ceremony of the dynasty twice on the 15th day of each month did not dare to cancel it and remained.

"If you have something to say, you will leave the court!" A eunuch shouted in his sharp voice as soon as he came up.

The ministers below couldn't help but frowned slightly. There were many things in this dynasty meeting, and they often lasted for several hours. Although the emperor said that he would ignore political affairs and attend the dynasty meeting, he was just pretending to behave, but he still knew how to act. Now, as soon as he came in and sat down, he shouted that he would retreat.

Among the ministers below, Lu Xie first came out and held the ivory tablet and said, "Your Majesty is here for the first time to come to the great treasure. You should think deeply about Li Yuan. The country has people, like the grass and trees have roots. If it is irrigated in autumn and winter, it will flourish in spring and summer. I secretly saw that the drought in Guandong last year, from Guo to the sea, the wheat was only half harvested, the autumn crops were almost gone, the winter vegetables were at least, the poor people were armoured and filled with locust leaves for food. It may be even worse and worse, and it is difficult to pick them up. If they are not harvested all year round, they will scattered neighbors. Now they are all hungry and have no place to rely on, sit and guard the villages and wait for the ravines to be exhausted. Their remaining taxes are exempted.

There is really no way to charge. However, the prefectures and counties have higher tributes and three corps money, and the supervision is very urgent. The movement is like pounding and slaughtering. Although the house is removed and the wood is employed, the wife and children are hired to sell their children, and the amount of wine and food is not available to the treasury. In addition to rent and tax, there are also other labor services. If the court does not pay tribute, the people will have no livelihood. I beg the prefectures and counties to be owed to the remaining taxes and stop levying them to wait for silkworms and wheat. I will still be given relief. After late autumn, there are vegetables, leaves, wood, and mulberries, which can be eaten. In the past few months, it is particularly embarrassing and cannot be delayed."

But these words were extremely excited, but they were all the truth now.

Li Yan felt a little drowsy after hearing this long sentence. Last night, he played chess with the palace servants until midnight before going to bed. Now he got up before dawn, but sat here but listened to such a long passage. He yawned all the time. After Lu Xie finished speaking, he didn't hear clearly what he was saying.

He waved his hand and said, "What I am telling me!"

Tian Lingzi immediately said, "Your Majesty. Now the national treasury is empty and the southwest is constantly using troops. However, Wang Jingwu, the general of Ziqing Zhenzhen, rebelled. Song Wei's previous request for troops to pull out grain and transfer money has not been approved. Now he has to exempt the taxes owed and the summer grain. Although this is sympathetic to the people, it does not depend on the situation of the court. If all of them are exempted, then the salaries of the officials in Chang'an and the food and salary of the soldiers of the Shen Ce Army are nowhere to be taken."

At this time, Li Yan finally understood what the ministers were talking about. Lu Xie said that the people were famined and famine were sad. Tian Lingwei said that the court had insufficient financial resources. He couldn't help but say dissatisfied: "Prime Minister Lu said that there were half-marries in Henan and Shandong in autumn, but there was no summer harvest. But I know that Dengzhou where Li Jing is already belongs to Henan Road, Shandong, why could Li Jing contribute millions of guan to me before, and just escorted 100,000 stones of salt, 100,000 stones of grain and many other tributes worth millions. Could it be that Li Jing was not in Henan Road?"

Lu Xie was blocked there by the emperor and was about to speak, but the emperor said again: "I think it is still a question of whether the ministers below are loyal or not, rather than a question of whether they are famine or not."

Tian Lingzi immediately asked for a memorial and spoke, "Your Majesty is wise, and Li Jing does have the ability that others cannot do. The court is currently in a tight financial position, but the disasters are indeed serious in all parts of the world. I think that Your Majesty can temporarily exempt all disaster-stricken places from being temporarily exempted from two taxes, and the arrears can also be suspended first. In addition, the Yi Warehouse where each place is located should also be opened according to what Mr. Lu said, "

Li Yan said with some displeasure: "Disaster victims want to eat, should I just not eat, and should my officials and soldiers of the Imperial Guards not eat?"

"Your Majesty, don't worry, there is a great plan to solve the urgent needs of the court."

"Please tell me if you are the Duke of Jin."

Tian Lingzi's mouth touched a few times and said with a smile: "Your Majesty said just now that other places in the world are in times of famine, but Li Jing can still take out millions of money and grain to pay tribute. This is the second time this year, a million tribute is paid tribute. It is really admirable that Li Jing has less than a state under his jurisdiction, but such output is really good. Now Li Jing has become the guru of Andong, and Song Wei, the general of Ziqingjie, was promoted to Li Jing to the governor of Dengzhou. I think that those with talent must add more burdens, which is also to make him loyal to His Majesty."

"I suggest that Li Jing be the Liaohai Salt and Iron Transportation Envoy. I heard that the salt that Li Jing paid tribute was all produced by himself. Although the salt was sea salt, it could support snow-white grains and dry, which was better than Huai salt, and even no worse than the green salt in the northwest. The court could hand over the position of the salt and iron transporter to Li Jing. In this way, Li Jing could produce salt and transport salt. As long as Li Jing could produce millions of stones of salt per year, the court would sell it for ten cents of salt and one hundred cents of money, and one stone could make a hundred cents of money, and one stone could make a profit of one million cents of money. If it produced two million stones of salt, it would be two million cents of money or three million cents of money, that would be three million cents of money... The court simply handed over the sale of salt to Li Jing, and asked Li Jing to submit it every year in the future, and it would be two million cents of money per year. In this way, the court would not have to worry about the financial resources of the court."

The ministers in the hall were shocked, thinking that Li Jing didn't know where he offended Tian Lingzi. Two million guan a year, although the salt profit was abundant, this was not a small number. Although the salt and iron envoy also had ore and tea, except for copper, iron, tin and lead, the Tang Dynasty's other minerals were prohibited from being mined by privately. The annual mineral tax in the Tang Dynasty was only more than 100,000 guan, while since the Middle Tang Dynasty, the tea tax increased, and the tea tax was half, and only only 2 million guan a year. But this is still the whole country, and Li Jing's current salt and iron transport envoy in the Liaohai Sea was just Li Jing's own territory. Except for Dengzhou, Liaodong is just a nominal territory.

Yu Cong knew in his heart that the last time the emperor wanted Li Jing to lead the Eastern Army in the capital stimulated the eunuch. At this time, he had to help Li Jing. He then made a speech: "I will report. Since the envoy of Tian Shumiyuan thought that Li Jing could relieve the worries of the court, why not add more burdens? I thought that the Liaohai salt and iron transport envoy should place the Liaodong under the jurisdiction of Ziqing Town and the Andong Protectorate under the jurisdiction of Li Jing. And according to customary envoys, the salt and iron transport envoys generally add coin coin, and the court could simply ask Li Jing to cast coins such as copper, tin, lead, and other mining coins in the territory."

"If it's correct, I will add Li Jing to the Liaohai salt and iron transport envoy and the minting envoy. Li Jing will send three million jin of coins to the court every year from now on!" Li Yan said immediately.

Tian Lingzi wanted to say that the money was too little, but when he saw that the emperor had already spoken, he had no choice but to do so.

After the meeting of the dynasty ended, the emperor issued an edict to all local governments to open charity warehouses to release grain to revive disasters, and suspended the collection of past taxes, and this year the summer tax was also stopped. In addition, eunuchs were sent to Dengzhou to announce the imperial edict to Li Jing, adding Li Jing's Liaohai salt and iron transport envoy and coin minting envoy.

After the emperor's decree was sent to the states, the people were very happy at first. But after a few days of happiness, they found that the government refused to open warehouses to recharge grain, and the summer grain was still being collected. Many people paid taxes in their families, and some who could not afford them began to flee the local area and joined the army of refugees.

Weicheng, Huazhou, Henan Road.

Weicheng is the county seat of Changyuan County, which is located at the junction of Pu, Hua and Cao. The Yellow River is in the north, the canal is in the south, the canal is in the west, and the Jushuze is in the east.

More than two hundred years ago, Weicheng had several famous figures, namely Zhai Rang, Shan Xiongxin and other peasant generals at the end of the Sui Dynasty. Wagang was not far southeast of Weicheng.

At this time, a lot of people gathered in a large manor outside Changyuan County. In the middle of the hall, there was a seven-foot man with a tiger's back and a bear's waist, bronze skin, and sharp eyes. At a glance, you can tell that he was a man with good martial arts skills.

This person is Wang Xianzhi, the most famous salt vendor in Puzhou. The ten great men sitting under him are the ten hall masters of his salt vendor group, known as the ten heroes.

Shang Junchang, Chai Cun, Bi Shiduo, Cao Shixiong, Liu Yanzhang, Liu Hanhong, Li Chongba, Cai Wenqiu, Chu Yanwei, and Wang Chongyin.

Each of them is a famous hero in Puzhou, and he is also Wang Xianzhi's brother. Among them, Shangli Shangjunchang is Wang Xianzhi's right-hand man, the second-rank among this group of people. Shangshang Rang heard that a new salt produced in Shamen Town, Dengzhou was of excellent quality. He rushed to Dengzhou and prepared to negotiate a deal with Li Jing. However, he never expected that Li Jing tied him up without saying a word. He first sent him to Dengzhou, then took him all the way to Qingzhou, and was sent back to Yanzhou, and finally returned to Puzhou, and his head was cut off. Fortunately, Wang Xianzhi and his brothers did not forget their friendship, and finally robbed the Puzhou court and rescued him.

However, after robbing the law, Puzhou could not stay there anymore. Everyone abandoned the Puzhou territory that they had been operating for many years and finally fled to Weicheng, Changyuan County, Huazhou. Over the past few months, they have been hiding here carefully. Although the news is getting smaller and smaller, they have escaped this disaster.

But everyone's life was not easy. Before the robbery of the law, Wang Xianzhi and others secretly transferred their families and property from Puzhou. However, they took their family with their children, and they all had a group of brothers under their command. They were now hiding in several manors in Changyuan County. They were free and easy on weekdays, but now they had to hide in small manors all day, and they couldn't live by them. Moreover, they could not bear it even if they were private salt vendors like Wang Xianzhi.

Shang Junchang took the lead and said, "If we continue like this, we will have no way to survive!"

Wang Xianzhi watched these men. They had been living and dying with him, drinking with big bowls and dividing gold and silver with big scales, but now they are hiding all day long, like a rat in a hole. Such a life is too much to hold back.

"Wang Jingwu of Qingzhou has rebelled. Now Ziqi is fighting every day. Hong Balang of Dizhou has been surrendered by Wang Jingwu and has already surrendered. Hong Balang has obtained the position of military envoy. Now he has followed Wang Jingwu to defeat Song Wei, the general of the Lu army, in a row. He is very powerful. Brother, why don't we turn against him, go and join Wang Jingwu." Bi Shiduo said.

Shang Jun shook his head and said, "Now there are many years of famine, and the people are not covered with food. Although the court issued an order to exempt taxes from taxes and open a charity warehouse to release grain. However, the governments in various places still force taxes and refuse to open a warehouse to release grain. Now the people in various places are fleeing one after another, which is a great opportunity. We are all heroes, so why should we defect to others? It is better to just raise our own robbery and take the flag and turn against his mother."

"The second brother is right. Isn't there any saying that the kings, princes, generals and ministers are still alive?" Chai Cun also said, "I can't stand it now if you hide in the manor every day."

"Damn it!" several people shouted loudly.

"Brother, just wait for you to say something. If you say you are against me, we will all follow you!" Bi Shiduo and others' meaning was very clear. If Wang Xianzhi refused to rebel, then they would rebel themselves.

Wang Xianzhi glanced at the brothers below. He knew that it was time for him to express his opinion, and he had to express his opinion at this time. Otherwise, even brothers who had been with him for many years would definitely not be willing to continue hiding like this.

"Rebel!" Wang Xianzhi first set the tone as soon as he spoke. After seeing everyone's satisfied expressions, he slowly said: "But we have to discuss carefully how to rebel, and then make sure to make a decision."
Chapter completed!