Chapter 36 Entering Beijing
Caozhou, Jiyin Palace.

"That Cui Yu is indeed quite capable. I only gave him a few simple clues and he actually found a hidden stake in Tongwenguan. However, the gains were not much. I heard from the captives that their leaders had already withdrawn to the north."

In the hall, as Liu Cheng spoke, the scar on his face trembled hideously.

He couldn't bear it any longer and tore off several scars with great pain.

In this way, the sunken skin on his face began to slowly return to its original shape.

Fu An, who was sitting opposite him, was so anxious that he stopped making tea and said, "Why did you tear it off? I worked so hard to make it look so realistic."

"It's so uncomfortable. I feel like my face doesn't look like my own anymore."

Liu Cheng smiled apologetically, rubbing his face with his hands, and said, "Besides, Cui Yu and the others have returned to Bianliang, so there is nothing to be afraid of. You can wear a mask when you go out, so there is no need."

Fu Anqi said: "Be cautious in everything."

"I have been acting cautiously these days."

The two argued for a few words, and in the end Liu Cheng was defeated.

Seeing the relaxed atmosphere, Xiao Yan did not interrupt the two of them. He said, "It is necessary to remove the secret agents of the Tongwen Pavilion. If we want to truly take root in the future, we must eliminate all spies from other forces. The eyes in the dark can only be our people."

"Captain, what you said makes sense."

After a pause, Liu Cheng continued, "This time, Cui Yu noticed that Zhu Hanbin was trying to win over the people of Xuanming Sect, so he no longer trusted him, and he seemed to be somewhat wary of me."

"It's okay. I have carefully checked this person's resume in the past few days. I heard that he had joined the Xuanming Sect when Zhu Wen was the governor of Xuanwu. He was highly valued by Zhu Wen, but in the Xuanming Sect, he has been almost idled by the Underworld Emperor. For the time being, he has no influence on the position of King Yan."

Xiao Yan said: "Once you go to the Xuanming Sect's headquarters, your identity as Lord Yan will be confirmed."

Fu An was a little worried and interrupted, "Old Liu's trip should be simple, but you, Captain, have to go to Bianliang on behalf of the King of Jiyin. What if Zhu Wen really wants Zhu Hanbin to kill the king in Bianliang?"

Liu Cheng also fell silent. According to the original plan, even if Zhu Wen wanted to execute the Prince of Jiyin, he should have done it in Caozhou. But if he was in Bianliang, he would have lost his home ground. How could he fish in troubled waters?

He hesitated for a moment and suggested: "Captain, why don't we just give up? Now that we have rescued the emperor, the worst that can happen is that we abandon everything and continue to lie dormant. It should be fine..."

Fu An's eyes widened, but after thinking about it carefully, he felt that it was feasible.

Although the captain had led them to accomplish a lot in the past month, it was a bit hard to bear to abandon them, but it was better than letting Xiao Yan take the risk.

At that time, the worst that could happen is that they could just walk away and let Zhu Hanbin get beheaded, which would not be a loss at all.

Unexpectedly, Xiao Yan's expression darkened, and he said, "If we continue to lie dormant like this, when will the Great Tang be restored? Are the people who have died in our Bad People's time going to die in vain?"

"Now that we have rescued the emperor, Captain..."

"The emperor cannot represent the Tang Dynasty!" Xiao Yan said in a deep voice: "All the bad people are not afraid of death, am I the only one who is afraid of death?"

The two men stood up in a hurry and said, "That's not what I meant. We are just worried that the captain is in trouble and everyone will be leaderless again..."

"Don't say that again."

Xiao Yan waved his hand, "You can't get a tiger cub without risking it. If you want to achieve great things, how can you be so timid?"

The two felt a little ashamed. The boy in front of them was almost a generation younger than them, yet he was so courageous.

After saying that, Xiao Yan stopped talking about the matter and asked someone to call in Zhu Hanbin's staff.

"Captain."

The aide bent his waist, his face wrinkled with smile, and looked extremely respectful.

"Thank you for your hard work these past few days, Mr. Qiu."

The staff member named Qiu was flattered and said, "It's all thanks to the captain for making all the plans. I don't find my job hard at all."

Fu An and Liu Cheng stood on the left and right of him in the hall, gazing at him with their arms folded.

"In the past two days, under the order of the lieutenant, I have counted the household registers, finances, and treasury balances of Caozhou..."

"Among them, there are a total of 13,225 civilian households and more than 4,000 hectares of cultivated land. The government treasury has a surplus of more than 22,000 bushels of millet, more than 9,000 pieces of silk, more than 3,000 strings of coins, and 743 pieces of iron armor, some leather armor, and 10,000 pieces of weapons..."

The staff member took out a small booklet from his bosom and stood there reading it for a long time, finally letting Xiao Yan know the details of the huge Caozhou. In the entire Caozhou, there are three large and small iron mines, and more than ten blacksmith shops in Zuocheng...

"Is the money and food too little?"

Xiao Yan pondered and said, "More than 10,000 households, that means nearly 100,000 people, right? How do you collect taxes?"

The staff member's face turned pale, and he hurriedly explained: "Captain, you don't know that your majesty has already issued an imperial decree that only two taxes are levied in Daliang, namely land tax and household tax. Under the Daliang system, each household in Caozhou should pay an average of three hu of millet, four pieces of silk, and three hundred coins per year. But after the autumn harvest every year, 50% of it must be taken to Bianliang to provide for the central government..."

Then, he added: "There is more than this amount of money in the provincial treasury, but the governor has to give rewards to the soldiers in the state during festivals. This happens every year, so it is not easy for the treasury to have this much money..."

Xiao Yan understood.

Zhu Wen had the idea of ​​reducing the power of the feudal lords. At that time in the Tang Dynasty, the feudal lords were strong in military power, so the border towns were strong and the central government was weak. Now, all the money and food were sent to the capital, which was enough for him to support the Bianliang Imperial Army, which was capable of defeating all the feudal lords.

It is very expensive to maintain an imperial guard.

Although this tax seems to be a lot, it is actually different for each household. And the most important point is that compared with other princes in the world, especially compared with Li Keyong in the north, Zhu Wen is a rare person who loves his people like his own children.

The taxes collected by other princes were high, but they could not match the large population of the Central Plains. When all the taxes were collected in Bianliang, they amounted to an extremely large sum of money.

In Xiao Yan's memory, the Later Tang and Later Zhou dynasties relied on this system to gain control of the Central Plains. Even after Zhao Kuangyin inherited the excellent imperial army of the Later Zhou, he was able to unify the country. In the Song Dynasty, this "entry system" was formally established.

"Now I understand. Mr. Qiu did a good job." Xiao Yan comforted him, "Otherwise, I'm afraid I would still be blind to Caozhou."

The staff bowed respectfully and said, "It's all thanks to the prestige of the lieutenant. Without it, the governor would not have allowed me to come into contact with these things..."

Xiao Yan waved his hand and asked, "Besides that, do you know how many oxen there are in the state? How many horses are there? What about the water canals and other public facilities?"

"This……"

"Mr. Qiu needs to be busy for the next two months. You need to plan and record all these things for me. Is that okay?"

The staff wiped the sweat off his face and said respectfully, "Since this is what the captain needs, I will do it even if it costs me my life..."

Xiao Yan nodded and asked Fu An beside him, "I remember the Caozhou Sima was a man with the surname 'Tong', right?"

"Captain, that is indeed the case."

"Send someone to tell Zhu Hanbin that before going to Bianliang, Mr. Qiu should be appointed as the Sima of Caozhou."

"Follow the order."

The aide was instantly delighted and bowed deeply, saying, "I will serve you wholeheartedly until my death!"

Xiao Yan smiled, encouraged him a few words, and let him leave.

Fu An then asked, "Captain, this man betrayed his master and sought glory. Aren't we over-employing him?"

"It's very convenient to use. If someone else uses it, they won't be able to achieve the same effect."

"Do we need to send our family members..."

"I will not doubt those who trust me. This man is not stupid. He has followed Zhu Hanbin for many years and knows a lot of Zhu's secrets. He knew Zhu Hanbin didn't want to use him before, and he knew he would die, so he surrendered to us. Now that he is willing to work for us, we will use him first."

Xiao Yan pondered for a moment and said, "This time Liu Cheng and I will go to Bianliang. Caozhou will be handed over to you. Keep an eye on this person and make sure nothing goes wrong."

Fu An sighed, clasped his fists and bowed his head.

"Order!"

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On the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month, the carriages and horses left Caozhou and headed east.

At the city gate, Qiu Sima and a group of Xuanming Sect members saw them off from afar.

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(End of this chapter)