Chapter 176: The bloody fifteenth day and the spring Lantern Festival!

"Haha, Li Chunfeng once said something like this, when I last saw him..."

Yuan Tiangang's voice was surprisingly emotional. In his life, there were only a few people who could be considered his friends, and his only confidant was Li Chunfeng.

Yuan Tiangang seemed to see his old friend again:
Li Chunfeng, who refused to take the immortality elixir, patted Yuan Tiangang on the shoulder and said with a smile: "You are enough for all the pitiful people in this world..."

the last time……

Li Xingyun was stunned. What Yuan Tiangang was talking about should be the last period of Wu Zetian's reign. After Yuan Tiangang resigned from his official position, he went to find Li Chunfeng. He didn't expect that this would be the last time they met. Li Chunfeng, who did not take the elixir of immortality, was about to die. After the two of them drank for a while, Yuan Tiangang sent Li Chunfeng on his last journey. Even the ashes were scattered by Yuan Tiangang on behalf of Li Chunfeng.

The two were silent for a long time. Li Xingyun didn't know how to start. He personally sent his good friend and confidant on their journey. No one except Yuan Tiangang could understand this sadness.

"I have also heard about the strategy that Your Highness implemented after returning to Guanzhong."

Yuan Tiangang stood at the top of the mountain, and the two of them returned to standing side by side as before.

"What does the Marshal think?" Li Xingyun was a little curious. Yuan Tiangang would never bring up this matter for no reason.

"Work-for-relief is a good option, and it is enough to solve the problems Chang'an is facing now. But Your Highness, are you sure you want to implement the equal-field system?" Yuan Tiangang said in a flat voice. He knew very well that the "equal" in equal-field system was difficult to achieve in the current world.

Li Xingyun nodded seriously and said, "I know this is a difficult path to take, but now is the best time. If we miss it, it will be difficult to take action when the situation stabilizes."

Now is the time for all forces to reshuffle, and the shackles between different classes have been broken by force. This is exactly the chaotic state that Li Xingyun wants. If he waits until the Tang Dynasty is restored and the world becomes stable, then if Li Xingyun wants to do anything, there will be too many constraints.

Yuan Tiangang nodded gently and said, "In this case, Your Highness should be prepared for the operation. If you are going to do it, you must not be soft-handed, otherwise, the hidden dangers left behind will become the source of trouble in the future."

"What the Marshal means is that even if we only implement the equal-field system in Guanzhong area now, there will still be considerable resistance?" Li Xingyun frowned slightly.

Yuan Tiangang turned his head and looked at Li Xingyun and smiled faintly: "Where there are people, there will be rivers and lakes. Where there are rivers and lakes, there will be social classes. You can't kill them all, but you can kill a group and support a group, and use them for your own benefit."

Li Xingyun nodded, and finally asked, "What about you, Marshal? What are your plans next?"

Yuan Tiangang stood with his hands behind his back and said calmly, "Retreat! When Your Highness ascends the throne, it will be the time for me to resolve my inner demons!"

Li Xingyun's eyes narrowed slightly, but he did not ask any more questions. Yuan Tiangang's cultivation level was not something he could reach at his current level. As for what level Yuan Tiangang could eventually reach after this breakthrough, Li Xingyun did not know either.

However, it is not an exaggeration to say that Yuan Tiangang at that time was a land immortal in this world!
……

Li Xingyun left, and Yuan Tiangang also attacked his biggest inner demon. The figure on the top of the mountain slowly took off his mask, and flesh and blood seemed to be gradually growing on his rotten cheeks...

……

Three days later, Chang'an City.

"Let Lu Linxuan, Ji Ruxue, and Zhang He come to see me." Li Xingyun paced back and forth in the study. After the news from Taiyuan came, he was about to set off. Before that, he had to implement the equal-field system first.

"Brother."

"Your Highness."

"Your Highness."

The three of them stood with their hands clasped.

Li Xingyun nodded slightly and asked, "Are there any obstacles in the land survey?"

The three of them looked at each other, and finally Ji Ruxue spoke up, "There were no obstacles in the early days, but now, we seem to have touched the interests of some new powerful people in Guanzhong. Although they don't hinder us directly, they always make trouble in secret. These local tyrants are very familiar with the local people. With them hindering us, our equal-field system is difficult to implement."

Li Xingyun raised his eyebrows slightly and said, "Local tyrants? Guanzhong was massacred by the old villain Huang Chao. The tyrants nowadays are probably just guards and generals and ruffians who suddenly became rich."

Lu Linxuan curled his lips and said, "Brother, you don't know that these people are difficult to deal with. They instigate ordinary people to cause trouble, hoping that we will buy their land at a high price. After we pay a high price to buy their land, they coerce and lure ordinary people to buy the land at a low price. In this way, they own a large piece of land again and make a lot of money from it."

"We can't attack the people, but they hide behind us and use the people as a shield." Zhang He said indignantly, "These local tyrants are very cunning."

Li Xingyun smiled and said calmly, "It's simple. Just kill them."

Lu Linxuan said with a sad face: "But brother, there must be a reason to kill people, right? They never do things themselves, and we can't find a reason to kill them."

"Reason? Does hiding the armor count as a reason?"

Li Xingyun sneered, put his hands behind his back and said, "Is raising assassins to rebel a reason?"

"This……"

The three of them were stunned on the spot. Li Xingyun continued with murderous intent, "They must have some bad hands. Once we check their accounts, everything will be clear. Let's kill those troublemakers first to scare those scoundrels. Otherwise, they will really think that I, Li Xingyun, am easy to mess with and are trying to fool people."

"Yes, senior brother. We will do it right away." Lu Linxuan cupped his hands. With Li Xingyun's approval, they could go ahead and do it.

As soon as the three of them left, a figure appeared outside the imperial study.

"Your Highness, Taiyuan has received the letter!"

Li Xingyun took the secret letter from the bad commander and frowned after a while. "Li Ying arrived in Taiyuan, and Li Keyong even received him personally."

However, when Li Xingyun saw how Mirror Heart Demon responded, he breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile, "As expected of Mirror Heart Demon, his ability to deceive people is truly extraordinary."

At this time, the bad guy at the door bowed and said, "Your Highness, should I convey this message to Lord Jing Xin Mo?"

"Of course." Li Xingyun smiled and said, "Tell Jing Xinmo to reveal some information to Li Ying appropriately, so that he can gain more trust from Li Ying. It's not easy for him to be a triple spy, so tell him to be more careful."

"I understand!" The bad guy jumped away, and Li Xingyun used the true energy in his hands to burn the secret letter.

The reason why Jing Xin Mo was able to gain Li Ying's trust was that Li Ying believed that Yuan Tiangang was dead. This information gap was the key to Jing Xin Mo's ability to become a triple spy.

The curtain opened, and Li Xingyun stretched his arms vigorously. The rescue of Zhang Zifan involved many people, and many forces competed in it. Even Li Xingyun felt the long-lost excitement, "I wonder what the old guy Li Keyong is like."

……

The first day of December, Chen's family in Qian County.

"Who are you?" Chen Qian looked at the soldiers rushing in and the heroic figure with horror, feeling a little at a loss.

Lu Linxuan raised his sword and shouted, "Chen Qian, hide ten sets of armor and raise a hundred death warriors. According to the law, you should be beheaded! Kill!" There was no foreplay or preparation. In this chaotic world, having soldiers is the kingly way. Obviously, Li Xingyun's previous series of conciliatory policies gave these powerful people an illusion that they had met a benevolent monarch...

"Damn it, who betrayed me? Let's go, let's go!"

Chen Qian's words startled Lu Linxuan. She then looked at Zhang He and said, "Didn't you say that this reason was just made up?"

Zhang He smiled and said, "When a bad person does something, he should have a reason and basis. Your Highness said so, but we, the subordinates, should still follow the rules when doing things."

Lu Linxuan suddenly realized that she had thought her senior brother was just killing a chicken to scare the monkeys, but it seemed that she had underestimated the Bad Guys.

On the second day of December, the proclamation of work-for-relief began to take effect, and refugees gradually poured into Chang'an. Li Xingyun opened the granaries and released grain in the name of the descendants of Li Tang, registered the refugees' identities, issued household registrations, and promised that after Chang'an was rebuilt, these refugees would be divided up into land according to the number of people in each household. At this point, the streets of Chang'an were empty, and the people knelt down to pay homage to him as the Son of Heaven!
On the third day of December, the Wang family of Fengxiang, with the help of the equal-field system, enclosed land for their own greed and implicated Gao Feng, the Lieutenant General of the Qi Army. The empress, in the interests of justice, sent Ji Ruxue and Fan Yintian to lead troops to wipe out the Wang family.

The empress said domineeringly: "Since the officials from Fengxiang are unable to be compassionate to the people and be honest and upright, they should return their lives to Fengxiang!"

On the third day of December, the Qian family in Wugong County was wiped out by Ji Ruxue. In this battle, Ji Ruxue killed dozens of enemies, her clothes were stained with blood, and she looked like a Shura.

……

On December 15th, the Wu family in Chang'an City was wiped out by troops led by Miao Chengtian and Xuan Jingtian.

After the bloody fifteen days, the powerful families dismissed their "house slaves" and handed over their land, and the equal-field system was promoted without any resistance in Guanzhong!
……

Lantern Festival, Chang'an.

Since Huang Chao conquered Chang'an, the smiles of the people and the lights of thousands of homes once again appeared in this ancient city.

"The Chang'an Lantern Festival is so rare. We haven't seen it in decades." said a shrill voice.

"By the way, Shangguan, how old are you?" Li Xingyun, who was wearing a mask, asked curiously to Shangguan Yunque who was standing beside him.

"Hey, Your Highness, don't you know that you can't ask a man's age casually? I really don't care about you." Shangguan Yunque snorted, causing Li Xingyun to get goose bumps. He immediately kicked Shangguan Yunque's butt. Shangguan Yunque then smiled and said honestly: "Your Highness, calm down. I am already fifty-two years old this year."

"Not bad for a 52-year-old Great Heavenly Realm." Li Xingyun smiled and patted Shangguan Yunque on the shoulder.

Shangguan Yunque's mouth twitched, and he murmured, "I really don't know whether Your Highness is praising me or insulting me. Your Highness has already reached the Great Heavenly Realm at the age of nineteen."

"If you insist on competing with me, there's nothing I can do." Li Xingyun shrugged and said pretentiously with his hands behind his back.

"Xingyun, I want this! And this, and that! Go pay, go pay!" A beautiful figure ran over with a bunch of little things in her arms. Li Xingyun looked at the hairpins and bracelets in the empress's arms and said with a smile, "Why bother buying them yourself? Why not just have someone send them back to your house?"

"What do you care, huh!" The empress snorted arrogantly and piled all the jewelry in her arms into Li Xingyun's arms, completely returning to her little girl's demeanor. Today, the empress was dressed in red. Although she was not wearing any makeup, she still perfectly interpreted the words "beauty of a country and heaven". She handed over all the political affairs of Chang'an and Fengxiang to Li Xingyun, and experienced the ease and happiness she had never had in her life.

"What are you talking about? Those are my candied haws!" A small figure appeared in the crowd, while Chi Meng in front of her ran all the way. "Little sister, you have eaten all the candied haws on the stall, and I haven't tasted any yet!"

"No! That's already been paid for!" Sister shouted angrily, and Chi Meng ran towards Li Xingyun, "Little brother, stop her!"

Li Xingyun, who was holding a bunch of jewelry, looked a little dark. Stop him? Stop him, my ass.

Ajie's face was full of expressions. She stepped on the table in front of Li Xingyun and flew into the air, then grabbed Chi Meng's ankles.

Chi Meng's balance was instantly broken, and he fell forward, with the candied haws in his hand flying out.

"No..." Sister opened her mouth wide, the expression on her face changed from shock to anger, and then from anger to despair.

"No..." Chi Meng pouted, her eyes filled with desire for delicious food...

Snapped.

A slender and clean hand grabbed the candied haws. Ji Ruxue, who had her hair tied in a ponytail, looked at the two and asked, "Whose candied haws is this?"

"Oh!" said the elder sister with her teeth bared.

"My! Sister, I paid the final money!" Chi Meng pointed at the purse on the sister's waist and said, "Little sister, you clearly took my money!"

"That's not money for buying candied haws!"

"That is!"

The two women put their foreheads together, and both of them were big foodies, neither of them giving in to the other.

At this moment, a long leg stepped in front of the two of them. Ji Ruxue ate the candied haws and nodded slightly, saying, "It tastes good."

The two foodies looked up at the same time, their faces suddenly collapsed, "Ah!"

……

"Senior brother, what do you think? I have good taste, right?" Lu Linxuan pushed the empress's shoulder and showed off to Li Xingyun the new hairpin she had chosen for her. It was made of jade, and although it was not as gorgeous as gold and silver, it added an elegant beauty to the empress.

"Not bad, and she's a good match for Yun Ji." Li Xingyun, who was carrying a large package, nodded sincerely. Although shopping was more tiring than handling official duties, it was worth it to see everyone so happy.

The empress smiled slightly, waved her hand and said, "I also picked out a pair of hairpins for Luoyang's sister. Xingyun, remember to take them with you when you leave."

"Okay." Li Xingyun was slightly stunned, then smiled and said, "Yun Ji, you are thoughtful."

The empress looked at Li Xingyun with some resentment, but then she raised her chin slightly and said, "Humph, I'm glad to know."

……

On the stone bridge, everyone looked up at the Kongming lanterns flying in the sky. Li Xingyun suggested: "Let's make a few Kongming lanterns and write our wishes on them."

"Xingyun, what did you write on it?" The empress looked at Li Xingyun's red lantern curiously. Li Xingyun smiled and said, "May the world be united, the people live in peace, and the people we love live in peace and happiness."

The empress nodded slightly, then added a word on Li Xingyun's lantern, saying: "You are a playboy, this is the right way."

I saw that the Empress had added a crooked word "men" above the original "beloved"...

Li Xingyun's face turned red, but the empress suddenly whispered in his ear: "Remember, the person is me, and they are them."

(End of this chapter)