Chapter 157: He will be a good minister in the future and also serve as two envoys

Li Xuan had a pleasant conversation with Yan Zhenqing and Li Ju. After four cups of tea, Li Ju said to Li Xuan: "Qingchen has always wanted to serve the country in the army, but he has no way to do it. I wonder if Qilang's shogunate is short of subordinates. If so, you can test Qingchen to see if he is qualified."

Qingchen is Yan Zhenqing's courtesy name.

"My shogunate was newly established not long ago, and we are in need of talented people. Please ask County Magistrate Yan to write a battle report for me to see..."

Li Xuan said, simulating a war and asking him to write down the environment, geography, and battle situation.

As for the brilliant ideas and suggestions, most of them were improvised, and Li Xuan never tested them.

What's more, Li Xuan knew Yan Zhenqing quite well. After all, Yan Zhenqing was the first to advocate Dashun during the An-Shi Rebellion. He led his soldiers to gather for resistance, ignited the morale of Hebei, and made An Lushan very uncomfortable in Hebei.

In terms of military talent, Yan Zhenqing was quite good.

Yan Zhenqing was also good at governing counties and prefectures, and his integrity was rare among civil officials.

If Yan Zhenqing really wanted to join his court, Li Xuan would certainly not grant him an ordinary small position.

He will regulate the staff positions, and Li Xuan and He Long will also have two positions as Du Yu Hou.

Li Xuan promoted Li Guangchen to the position of Du Yuhou, and concurrently as the deputy envoy of the expedition, and appointed Yan Zhenqing as the judge of the Hexi army.

The most important thing for a military judge is to master the ability to write battle reports. As for arranging logistics and pacifying soldiers, these can only be done through field investigation.

About half an hour later, Yan Zhenqing finished writing the battle report and handed it to Li Xuan.

The main reason I asked Yan Zhenqing to write the battle report was that I wanted to appreciate his normal running script again.

Yan Zhenqing's writing is normal and still vigorous and majestic.

Reading the contents of the book, Li Xuan nodded frequently.

"Law Magistrate Yan has great talent. If you don't mind, you can come to Hexi and serve as a military judge. I will recommend a seventh-rank official to Magistrate Yan."

After Li Xuan finished admiring it, he slowly spoke to Yan Zhenqing.

"Yan Zhenqing pays respect to General Li!"

Yan Zhenqing was excited and thanked Li Xuan.

The judge was the most important subordinate of the Jiedushi and had exceeded his expectations.

Yan Zhenqing had no idea about his future life. He worked as the Liquan Wei for several years, feeling frustrated.

His good friend was familiar with General Li, so he began to think about joining the army.

It can be seen from his poems that he admired the generals of his time very much.

"County Magistrate Yan can submit his resignation to the court immediately, and then we will go to Helong together."

Li Xuan smiled and said to Yan Zhenqing: "When I have time, I will ask County Magistrate Yan for advice on calligraphy."

"Liquan is fine. I will submit my resignation within ten days. As long as General Li asks me to do so, I will do it!"

Yan Zhenqing treated his subordinates as he valued this hard-won opportunity and was determined to find the right time to offer suggestions and make achievements.

"It's Li Da who's here! Who is this?"

Li Shizhi learned that Li Xuan was entertaining guests in the front hall, so he came to take a look.

"This is Yan Zhenqing, the Liquan officer, the new magistrate of Hexi that I have appointed."

After Yan Zhenqing and Li Ju stood up to greet Li Shi, Li Xuan introduced them to Li Shizhi.

“That must be a great talent.”

When Li Shizhi heard that Li Xuan was the new judge, he immediately looked at Yan Zhenqing. He knew that Li Xuan's vision was not wrong.

"Yan Qingchen is not only talented, but also can write the best calligraphy in the world, even better than Wang Wei."

Li Xuan praised and handed the two pieces of Yan Zhenqing's calligraphy to Li Shizhi to look at.

"Wonderful! You will surely become a great scholar like Ouyang Xun and Chu Suiliang in the future!"

After reading it, Li Shizhi praised it highly and gave it a very high evaluation.

Afterwards, Li Xuan and his son invited Yan Zhenqing and Li Ju to have dinner at the Duke of Song's mansion, and served them wine and meat.

Li Xuan also took out watermelons sent from the palace as treats, which surprised Yan Zhenqing and Li Ju.

It was not until dusk that we saw them off.

Before leaving, Li Shizhi asked Yan Zhenqing to write a painting of "Helong Qu" so that he could appreciate it slowly.

Li Xuan did not rest too early at night. He wrote down some financial management methods that he thought were helpful and presented them to Li Longji.

Although Wang Yu was a cunning and ruthless robber, he actually earned a lot of money for Li Longji, allowing Li Longji to reward him with silk as if it were dirt.

Although the Longsha River gold mine is huge, it only produces a few dozen kilograms each year. Even if the gold and silver mines in other places are added, it is far from enough for Li Longji to squander.

Don't blame Li Longji in your heart for not having enough money.

Li Xuan needs to sort out some real financial management methods to enrich the national treasury without harming the interests of the people.

I have almost finished writing it in the past few days and should be able to finish it tonight.

This kind of thing is not suitable to be said in the court. After the court tomorrow, Li Xuan will go to Xingqing Palace to pay a visit to Li Longji.

The next day.

Recently in the court, Li Linfu has been much more low-key, looking smiling and more amiable than before.

It is also said that Li Linfu was more serious in handling government affairs and returned to the Right Prime Minister's Mansion at midnight for several days in a row.

Li Xuan thought that Li Linfu had started to be patient again and was ready to find an opportunity to show his fangs.

Next time I take action, I will learn from my lesson and act quickly, accurately and ruthlessly without dragging my feet.

When the two met in the court, they still just nodded.

The ministers all felt that Li Xuan had great potential.

It stands to reason that someone like Li Xuan would be more likely to be appointed as prime minister. But what happened during the hunting trip, I wonder how the prince felt?

……

Xingqing Palace.

When Li Xuan was paying a visit to Li Longji, a man appeared in the palace.

He is tall, with a white face and a thick beard.

Li Longji was playing Chupu with the sisters Yang Yuhuan and Yang Yuyao.

The man stood by with the scorebook in his hand, very respectful.

"This is Yang Zhao, Yuhuan's distant cousin!"

Li Longji pointed at Yang Zhao and said.

Since Yang Yuyao brought Yang Zhao to see him personally, Li Longji arbitrarily appointed Yang Zhao as Cao Canjun of the Right Jinwu Guard.

After all, she was too distantly related to Madam Yuhuan, so the reward was given for Yang Yuyao's sake.

"Greetings, General Li. I once served in the army in Jiannan and have heard of your great name. The Tibetans are terrified of you."

Yang Zhao smiled and bowed to Li Xuan.

He knew that the man in front of him was extraordinary. He was the only minister in Chang'an who could stand up to Li Linfu and was the person he planned to please.

"Why do you need to bow to me in front of a saint?"

Li Xuan declined Yang Zhao's greeting.

This guy finally came to Chang'an.

Although Yang Zhao rose to prominence by relying on his connections with Yang Yuhuan, he was very good at getting along with everyone.

Otherwise, he would not have become the famous "Yang Guozhong".

Yang Yuhuan played a certain role in Yang Zhao's rapid rise to prominence, but it was not the main factor. For example, Yang Yuhuan's uncle's sons, such as Yang Qi and Yang Jian, were far from reaching Yang Zhao's level.

"Excuse me, I am so happy to see the legendary General Li."

Yang Zhao quickly bowed to Li Longji, showing his high emotional intelligence.

"It's out of the way!"

Li Longji did not blame Li Xuan for this trivial matter and summoned him to Chupu.

Seeing Li Xuanneng dancing loudly with the Saint Concubine and behaving casually.

He could only use the Chupu notebook to record the points, feeling extremely envious.

When will I, Yang Guozhong, be able to do this?
However, it is said that Li Xuan is a bit eccentric and may leave Chang'an and go to the border at any time. His main concern is still on Li Linfu.

During this period, Yang Zhao discovered through careful observation that Li Linfu's power was not yet destroyed.

Everyone said that Li Linfu was arrogant, but in Yang Zhao's mind, Li Linfu committed such a mistake and was not punished by the saint. Isn't this a kind of favor?
When the game was over, Li Longji looked at the scorebook and saw that Yang Zhao was "gorgeous and precise" and couldn't help but praise him: "Good Duzhilang!"

Duzhilang was an official in the Ministry of Revenue who was responsible for calculating taxes. It was impossible for Li Longji to get Yang Guozhong to the Ministry of Revenue at this time. This was just a compliment to Yang Guozhong's calculation ability.

"Sir, I will make Yang Zhao the Minister of Finance in the future!"

Yang Yuyao seized the loophole in Li Longji's words and said to him.

"Haha... let's see how he performs."

Li Longji just laughed.

Yang Yuyao and others had not yet been conferred the title of "first-rank lady", and they had only known Li Longji for a short time, so they did not dare to be too presumptuous.

"Your Majesty, I came to disturb you today to give you some financial advice. These are just my humble opinions. I hope Your Majesty will not blame me if I am wrong." Only then did Li Xuan hand over the financial strategy he had prepared for a long time to Li Longji.

These reform bills, a total of seven in total, were all introduced by famous officials after the An-Shi Rebellion based on the shortcomings of the Kaiyuan and Tianbao policies. They achieved remarkable results and enriched the finances.

As soon as Li Longji heard about financial management, he became interested.

After Wang Yu was expelled, he urgently needed a financial expert who could help him manage a large amount of money without harming the interests of the people so that he could reward his ministers.

He felt that such rewards could reflect his majesty and face as a king.

Holding the reform plan written by Li Xuan, Li Longji frowned at the first item.

"Qilang, if you encourage private salt merchants, I'm afraid it will harm the interests of the country!"

Li Longji asked Li Xuan about his doubts.

"Your Majesty. Everyone knows that smuggling salt is a capital crime, but every year a large number of salt merchants still take the risk. We have only caught a small number of them. They smuggle salt through rivers and even over mountains. This phenomenon has never been eradicated, not only in our dynasty, but also since Sang Hongyang established the official salt and iron business in the Han Dynasty. Once the salt price fluctuates in a certain place, smuggling salt will continue despite repeated bans. So it is better to open it than to block it. I think..."

Li Xuan explained the suggestions to Li Longji.

Private salt and private salt merchants are not the same concept.

Since the ninth year of Kaiyuan in the Tang Dynasty, salt merchants could sell salt as long as they paid taxes.

But smuggling salt is secretly manufactured and sold, which is a serious crime.

But during the Tianbao period, due to deliberate manipulation by the government, private salt merchants often could not buy official salt.

In this way, merchants lost the power to sell official salt and took risks, allowing those who secretly produced private salt to profit.

Li Xuan reported to Li Longji that he would insist on the option of state-run salt production, but share the profits with private salt merchants.

In order to protect the profits of private merchants selling official salt, Li Xuan suggested that various provinces impose additional taxes on merchants' salt boats passing through the border and using weirs, and set up patrol offices in various provinces to strengthen the crackdown on illegal private salt.

In order to prevent merchants from monopolizing the salt industry due to commercial transportation and sales, Li Xuan also suggested setting up "Changping Salt Warehouses" in various places to store official salt.

If the transportation is inconvenient and the merchants are unwilling to go to a place, the government will transport the salt stored in the Changping Salt Warehouse to the local area for sale. When merchants in a certain county drive up the price of salt, the government will sell the Changping salt to stabilize the price of salt. When merchants compete to lower the price, the government will take the opportunity to purchase the salt stored in the Changping Warehouse and adjust the price of salt. In this way, the salt price can be controlled, the contradictions between the common people can be eased, and the government can gain both fame and fortune.

Salt is the foundation of the country. This reform of "profit sharing between officials and businessmen" was still in use even after the demise of the Tang Dynasty.

The prerequisite is that local officials are honest and don’t play any tricks.

Li Longji listened to Li Xuan's detailed explanation and then nodded slightly.

"Reforming the grain transport system is a good idea. We should raise the price of shipbuilding, organize grain transport troops, protect the Yellow River and its canal waterways, and restrict local officials from engaging in grain transport corruption... But could Qilang explain this reform of the Changping Law in detail?"

Li Xuan was very satisfied with the reform methods of the grain transport system. He knew that corruption was serious in the grain transport system. The grain transport soldiers could not only deter bandits, but also deter local officials and curb corruption.

Immediately afterwards, Li Xuan explained the reform of the Changping Law in detail to Li Longji.

Similar to Changping Salt Warehouse.

The areas such as Gyeonggi Province, Dugi Province, Henan Province, Huainan Province, Jiangnan East-West Province, and Shannan East-West Province were places where commodity trading was frequent during the prosperous Tang Dynasty.

In order to give full play to the profit-making efficiency of Changping, the court could make two improvements to the Changping Law promulgated during the Kaiyuan period.

First, the imperial court directly managed the Changping business. Since the Kaiyuan period, the Changping law has been run by the counties themselves. Due to the turbulent times and the lack of market information, the Changping profits of the counties were limited.

Li Xuan suggested that the court send a special official to manage the granaries in each county, and select a minister to give him power and unified command.

Under appropriate circumstances, some other forces can also be dispatched, which can reduce the intermediate links in Changping's business, speed up the turnover of Changping's goods, and increase the profits of Changping by timely grasping market intelligence.

The second is to expand the variety of Changping. The traditional Changping items are grain varieties such as rice, millet, and beans, which are stipulated by the Changping warehouse's role in regulating grain prices. If you want to play the role of Changping in making profits, you naturally have to expand the variety of Changping from grain to all kinds of grain, as much as possible, including all kinds of wine, tea, silk, porcelain, ironware, and daily necessities from all over the country.

If we can maintain a stable political situation, prosperity is inevitable.

Of course, given the officialdom during the Tianbao period, corruption was bound to occur in Changping Department Store.

It is necessary to kill one to warn the rest and deter corrupt officials in order to ensure that the court can make great profits.

“This is a big project!”

Li Longji's eyes lit up. If the task was not just about obtaining tax revenue, the Tang Dynasty would surely become more prosperous.

Then Li Longji looked at several other methods of financial management. Although Li Longji was not sure whether he could make money, he thought the ideas were good and they could be tried.

"Qi Lang is really talented! It's a pity that there are more important wars waiting for Qi Lang now. Otherwise, I would definitely add thirty financial management positions for Qi Lang to complete the reform!"

These financial management strategies were proposed by Li Xuan, but could not be implemented by Li Xuan, which Li Longji felt very sorry about.

In Li Longji's mind, nothing is more important than expanding territory.

"The left prime minister was once the Minister of Revenue and is proficient in financial management. In prosperous times, heroes admire the wisdom of saints, so the court is full of talented people. If we select virtuous people, we will definitely be able to accomplish it!"

Li Xuan said with a smile.

The main thing was to let Li Longji earn more money first, and then he would find a way to deal with it later.

In fact, Li Xuan has always criticized the "market system" and "curfew system", which is one of the factors hindering the prosperity of Chang'an and Luoyang.

Moreover, during this era, Chang'an suffered from a serious "overpopulation problem", and many hardships were passed on to the people in Guanzhong.

Especially during times of drought or flood, people in the capital area would freeze to death on the roads.

Even after Guangyuntan was opened, Li Xuan still felt that it was not enough. Every day, official vehicles were constantly on the ancient road between the two capitals, transporting food and other items.

But Li Xuan cannot change these things for the time being.

"Do your best! Qilang will become a good minister in the future!"

Li Longji gradually discovered Li Xuan's talents beyond military affairs, and thought that when Li Linfu got old, there would be someone to succeed him.

After discussing the financial management strategy with Li Longji, he feasted with Li Longji in the afternoon.

Li Xuan stepped forward and played a piece of pipa music, which made Li Longji praise Li Xuan for her improved skills.

Yang Yuhuan also kept clapping and looked at Li Xuan with a special look in her eyes.

"Your Majesty, I have been back in Chang'an for more than a month. I hope to return to Helong as soon as possible to train the army and fight against Tubo."

After the banquet, Li Xuan made a request to Li Longji.

The operation is planned for September, so there is not much time left.

"In half a month, you will be allowed to go back."

Li Longji waved his hand and said to Li Xuan.

He also wanted Li Xuan to play with him for a few more days.

"The minister obeys the order!"

Li Xuan didn't say much, just wanted to go back as soon as possible.

In the morning courts of the next few days, everyone was discussing the several financial reforms proposed by Li Xuan!

The ministers vaguely discovered that these reforms contained many strategies to curb corrupt officials, but they did not matter to those who were not greedy.

But there were obviously quite a few corrupt officials in the Tang Dynasty, and how much they corrupted depended on how black their consciences were.

Although it harms the interests of corrupt officials, in theory it can indeed manage finances without harming the people.

After the financial management strategy was determined, Li Longji asked Li Xuan to serve part-time as the Salt and Iron Envoy of Hexi and the Salt and Iron Envoy of Longyou.

The officials who originally held these official positions were transferred back to Chang'an.

Two more envoys were added.

Moreover, these two envoys have real power and can have assistants.

It turned out that there would definitely be some missing subordinates in these official positions, so Li Xuan could appoint new judges and assistant officials.

To Li Xuan's disappointment, Li Longji still did not give him the power to serve as the envoy to Hexi and Longyou.

He remembered that in history, when Geshu Han became the governor of two towns, he immediately served as an envoy.

Li Xuan was not too discouraged. Now that he had the Zhidushi and Yantieshi, he could control many officials in Hexi and Longyou and cause trouble for them.

He understood that Li Longji added these two positions in order to test his reforms on salt and iron.

After a series of actions, ministers from both the court and the public once again looked at Li Xuan with admiration.

With the additional weight, they have become numb. When will this kind of dignity reach its limit?

Li Linfu remained silent.

He was also surprised to learn that those financial management strategies were proposed by Li Xuan alone.

It was common knowledge that the sage had been fond of ministers who could manage finances in recent years, and Li Xuan always catered to his needs just right.

Li Linfu is now facing Li Xuan, and he will not act rashly unless he has real evidence that can harm Li Xuan.

He still focused on dealing with the prince.

He felt that he could find some flaws in Wang Zhongsi, the governor of Shuofang and Hedong.

After all, Wang Zhongsi grew up with Crown Prince Li Heng and privately called the crown prince "brother".

Although Wang Zhongsi is loyal to the country, he needs the saint to have no doubts about him.

He would choose to take action when Li Xuan was not in Chang'an and the time was right, so as to prevent Li Xuan from ruining his plans.

Wang Zhongsi had the potential to become prime minister, so he must have done it before he became prime minister. It would be too late to take action after he became prime minister.

On May 10th, Li Xuan asked Li Longji for a few days' leave and went to Mount Zhongnan on the pretext of seeking the truth and praying for the saints.

Li Longji readily agreed.

Li Xuan was planning to visit his adviser Li Mi in Mount Zhongnan.

(End of this chapter)