Chapter 268 Changping New Law, Tianbao Reform

The purpose of establishing the prime minister, in addition to assisting the country in military and political affairs, is to reduce the emperor's mistakes and persuade the emperor at critical moments.

A sage ruler and wise ministers have always been the primary conditions for achieving the ideal of peace and prosperity in Confucianism.

Li Longji held all the power, but in order to maintain his image as a wise ruler, he would not risk opposition from his ministers to do something.

Moreover, it is something that has never been implemented.

When the sound of beating the hu stopped, the Minister of Rites Da Xixun bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I feel that the new Changping law is a little ill-considered. The people in the countryside lack education, and the court has lent out the grain from the Changping granary and cannot take it back. What should we do? You must know the role of the Changping granary! If the Changping grain is insufficient, it will inevitably bring greater disasters when there is a famine in the future!"

"Minister Da Xi is right..."

"That's the truth..."

"New laws must be used with caution..."

When Da Xixun finished speaking, he won the approval of some officials.

In addition to regulating grain prices, the Changping Granary also serves as a granary for storing grain in preparation for famine.

If the granary in Changping is empty, it is very likely that a greater disaster will occur when disasters such as drought, flood, locust plague, and earthquake occur.

"Minister Da Xi, natural disasters are unpredictable, and why have the people fallen to the point of having to borrow food from the imperial court? What's the reason?"

Li Xuan knew that the new Changping system was not so easy to implement. As soon as Da Xixun finished speaking, Li Xuan immediately asked Da Xixun back.

"It could be that the old food has been eaten up and the new food has not yet been replenished, or it could be some other reason."

Da Xixun answered cautiously, for he was afraid of falling into Li Xuan's verbal trap, like his colleague Li Yan had done before.

"Every household will always encounter various dangers due to various things, no matter what! When the people encounter difficulties, will the court just ignore them? Minister Da Xi must know what the people will do when they are desperate, right?"

"At that time, the powerful families would openly buy the people's land with a small amount of money or grain. Or they would lend the people grain at high interest and let them use their land as collateral. In this case, the people would not be able to pay back the debt and would sooner or later become tenants or even serfs."

"These people cultivate the same land, but the crops they grow no longer belong to them. Their hoes, plows, and oxen are all borrowed from the powerful families. They will become good citizens and gradually disappear from the household register."

"In the fourth year of Tianbao, the tyrants in Xiping County wanted to ambush me when I came back from Hexi. Those who followed the tyrants, except for slaves, were mostly tenant farmers. They knew nothing because they ate and wore the tyrants' clothes. Not to mention asking them to kill me, even if they were asked to rebel, the tenant farmers would follow them."

"This is more harmful to the country than a natural disaster... As a minister, how could you not even understand this..."

Sure enough, after Li Xuan’s explanation, he immediately started to criticize Da Xixun.

His words were sharp and to the point, revealing everything that the ministers dared not say.

Da Xixun didn't know what to say in response for a moment.

"Your Majesty, all the ministers, the prosperity of our Tang Dynasty is unprecedented in history. But this does not mean that the Tang Dynasty is perfect. There are always some people who dig up the foundation of the Tang Dynasty for their own interests. These people are very stupid. They only look at the present and not the future. Their vision is extremely short-sighted."

"The grain in the granaries of the counties and prefectures can be loaned to the people. Even if nine out of ten are taken back, it will not be a loss. However, the potential benefits are endless, because the court has prevented countless households from becoming tenants and thousands of acres of fertile land from being annexed. This is the foundation of the country. And I believe that as long as the local authorities handle it well, the people will return the grain. If they really cannot return it, they can postpone it after investigation to help the people get through the difficult times."

"How can the people not be grateful to the court? How can they not admire your majesty's kindness?"

"As ministers, we should eat the emperor's salary and share his worries. Isn't it our duty to do so? Even if one family is cold or hungry, it is the fault of the local officials."

After Li Xuan bowed to Li Longji and all the civil and military officials, he continued.

Only when farmers have land can the country be established and the country can receive taxes.

If a large number of farmers become tenants or even hidden away by powerful people as serfs, the country will be eroded.

The number of Censors and Assistant Censors combined was just over twenty.

There are more than 10,000 townships across the country.

Even in Hexi and Longyou, where Li Xuan had once governed, there were still powerful people bullying the people in remote areas.

As long as the local officials do something wrong, these high-ranking officials will be blindfolded and their ears covered.

Some of those censors went to local areas for supervision and lost themselves in beauties and money.

Some people have been in charge of a certain area, impeaching illegalities, redressing unjust cases, and leaving a strong mark in history books.

But that’s all.

Because in the places they go, even if they inspect them for a year, not even one percent of them have been visited.

Even in the places he inspected, there were still local officials and local tyrants who wanted the censors to see them.

For example, Li Xuan’s trip to Hedong!
"Prime Minister Li, I cannot agree with you. The world is peaceful now, and the people are living and working in peace. There is no need to enforce new laws!"

Seeing that he couldn't win the argument with Li Xuan, Da Xixun could only try to smooth things over.

Praise the prosperous times, but do not seek change.

"Minister Da Xi was once a local official, how can he say such things? Can't Minister Da Xi see the hardships of the people?"

After questioning Da Xixun, Li Xuan added: "Although I am at the frontier, I have personally cultivated the land and know the difficulties of farming and why the people lack food."

"I have two poems to give to you to express my determination to use the new Changping Law to change the living conditions of the people. Both poems are titled "Mercy for the Peasants" and were written by me this spring when I was farming in Longyou."

“One grain of millet is planted in spring and ten thousand grains are harvested in autumn. There is no idle land in the world, and farmers still starve to death!”

"When I hoe the field at noon, my sweat drips down to the ground. Who knows that every grain of rice on the plate is the result of hard work?"

Li Xuan recited the two poems in the court, word by word.

The first poem expresses the seriousness of land annexation. Farmers plant a grain of food in the spring and can harvest many seeds in the autumn.

Throughout the world, wastelands were turned into arable land, but people still starved to death.

"Song of Pity the Peasants" is very negative and does not represent the tone of the heyday of the Tang Dynasty.

But playing it at this time was just right for his new Changping method.

Even if Li Longji thought that this poem was exaggerated, he would never blame Li Xuan.

"The Second Praise of Pity the Peasants" is slightly better. It warns the powerful ministers about the difficulties faced by farmers and tells them not to eat the food that is the result of farmers' blood and sweat without fighting for their interests.

Li Xuan had his own plans for the publication of these two poems.

It allows the court and the public, and even some educated and decent people, to see Li Xuan's love for the people.

The expressions of the civil and military officials in the court varied, even Li Longji looked serious.

Although it is a five-character quatrain, I have never seen such a poem written for poor people.

In other words, it was Li Xuan who wrote such a poem, otherwise whether it could be spread is another matter.

Because many officials resisted and even disagreed with Li Xuan's poems.

These are the two worst poems of Li Xuan, without any artistic value.

But for a strong person, even if he whispers casually, it will be regarded as a true insight; while a weak person’s loud shouting will seem so silent.

Those who believed in Li Xuan felt that Li Xuan's new Changping law must be implemented.

Let the people get rid of the powerful families!
Everyone knew that the Changping New Law was a policy that benefited the country and the people, but it violated the interests of the big families and the powerful.

The powerful families could no longer continue to annex land.

The common people who originally cultivated the land owned by the powerful might give up farming, causing the powerful families to continue to suffer losses.

"Clap clap clap..."

Amidst the crowd's exclamations, Xi Yu, the Minister of Rites and a poet, clapped his hands with his tablet.

He admired the diverse style of Li Xuan's poetry and prose.

He saw Li Xuan's good intentions.

Serve the country and the people without any selfish motives.

Xi Yu was famous in the court, and even Li Linfu did not dare to harm him.

As an official, he was always honest and upright, had no extravagant desires, and was not swayed by power in what he did.

He was also cautious by nature and never wrote in cursive when writing letters to his children or subordinates.

Some people say, "This is a small matter, why pay so much attention to it?"

Xi Yu replied, "If you are not careful with small things, how can you be cautious with big things?"

At this critical moment, Xi Yu was able to speak up for Li Xuan, which shows that Xi Yu was attracted by Li Xuan's noble character.

With Xi Yu's welcome, many poets in the court applauded to express their support for Li Xuan's new Changping law.

However, without the approval of the left and right ministers, the new law is still difficult to implement.

All the civil and military officials looked at the left and right prime ministers.

Even Li Longji was waiting for Li Linfu's nod of agreement.

Although Li Linfu could guess the emperor's mind, he understood that he had to recruit some ministers who opposed Li Xuan's new laws.

Now was the time, and if he backed down, he might lose his chance forever.

Then, Li Linfu stepped out and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, I dare not agree with Prime Minister Li. This new Changping system may seem good, but in practice, it is full of drawbacks. In order to achieve political achievements, local officials force people to borrow money regardless of whether they need it or not, causing people to be forced to borrow money even if they don't want to. People's resentment is gradually rising. Moreover, although the interest rate is not high, it is a heavy burden when combined with many miscellaneous expenses. The people are suffering."

Unlike Da Xixun, Li Linfu did not start from superficial issues.

Da Xixun was too obvious, everyone knew that Da Xixun spoke for the big family.

In fact, not only did Da Xixun's daughter marry into a prominent family, but Da Xixun's son also married the daughter of a prominent family in Luoyang. Li Linfu used this to further harm Li Longji and let him know that there was a huge difference between the promulgation and implementation of the law.

However, what Li Linfu did not know was that when Li Xuan proposed the new Changping Law, he had already told Li Longji what kind of harm the new Changping Law would cause.

Li Longji already knew the general meaning of Li Linfu's words.

So after Li Linfu said this, Li Longji was quite disappointed with Li Linfu.

Li Longji's decision not to answer Li Linfu's words represented his attitude towards Li Linfu.

Li Xuan would of course take this opportunity to speak for Li Longji: "What the Right Prime Minister said is extremely absurd! If the new Changping Law is not implemented, then every time there is a famine, the people will have nowhere to turn to and can only sell their fields, land, children and daughters to the rich and powerful. In this way, land annexation will become more serious, the poor will become poorer, and the rich will become richer. How can the country be safe? Although there will be some minor obstacles to the implementation of the new Changping Law, we only need to strictly enforce the law. Once local officials obstruct it, even if they are prefects, chief historians, or envoys, they will be executed directly after the investigation is completed. There will be no leniency!"

"The governor is a high-ranking official in a county. If he is killed for a minor crime, will the world accept it? Doesn't Prime Minister Li think it is too cruel?"

Li Linfu questioned Li Xuan.

"May I ask the Right Prime Minister, if it is done under ideal conditions, can the Changping New Law benefit the country and the people?"

Li Xuan in turn asked Li Linfu.

This old villain eliminated dissidents and killed governors without blinking an eye. All the charges were trumped up, but now he is trying to justify them.

"can."

Li Linfu had no way to refute this point.

Because of the starting point of the new Changping Law, Li Linfu could not forcibly deny it and could only veto it from other aspects.

"In this case, how could the Right Prime Minister think this is a minor crime? If such a national policy is destroyed, the person should be punished with capital punishment to serve as a warning to officials all over the world. Moreover, knowing the law and breaking it is an even more serious crime!"

Li Xuan said seriously, his voice as cold as this winter.

"That being said, it is impossible to completely eradicate the practice of officials deceiving their superiors and subordinates. It is also impossible for the censors to visit every county."

Li Linfu insisted on his point of view.

"Your Majesty, I think we should establish new Changping armies in all the counties."

"The main responsibility of the Changping New Army is to investigate the people who borrowed grain and did not return it, so as to prevent local officials from taking extreme actions. At the same time, the Changping New Army can monitor local officials and report those who deceived Your Majesty and colluded with the powerful."

Li Xuan took the opportunity to talk about the formation of the new Changping Army.

"The new Changping system already carries the risk of losses. I don't know how much money and grain it will cost to set up a new Changping army. What's the point?"

Li Linfu seized on this point and questioned Li Xuan's Changping New Army.

"Your Majesty, I think we should lay off a group of county soldiers and let them return to the farmland. I found that even if half of the county soldiers and county soldiers are missing, it is enough to catch thieves! What's more, the Changping New Army can help the counties at a critical moment."

Li Xuan certainly has his own methods.

Reduce the number of county soldiers and recruit new troops for the Changping Army.

When Li Xuan was in Linhai, he knew that the county soldiers had almost become useless.

There is no point in setting up this kind of county soldiers. When a rebellion occurs, can we still rely on these county soldiers?

"The establishment of the Changping New Army is very good. Prime Minister Li will prepare the Changping New Army, and then inform me of the number of Changping New Army to be established in the prefectures, counties, and districts."

Li Longji continued Li Xuan's words, showing his support for Li Xuan in every way.

The new Changping Army was directly controlled by the imperial court, which could avoid many dangers.

"According to the order!"

Li Xuan bowed to Li Longji and accepted the order.

"Your Majesty, the new Changping Law is not suitable for promulgation at this time. Please think twice."

Li Linfu is still working hard.

It wasn't that he really wanted to persuade Li Longji, he just wanted the civil and military officials to see his attitude.

He was determined to fight against Li Xuan, so many officials must have come to join him.

Not to mention the officials in the court, even princes, princesses, their husbands, and Yang would suffer losses because of the new Changping Law.

"A good policy that benefits the country must always be tested. The right prime minister's words are not enough to prove the harm of the new Changping Law. Prime Minister Li has the world in his heart, this is the demeanor of a prime minister!"

Li Longji said to Li Linfu in a deep voice.

Especially the last sentence, which is very meaningful.

Li Xuan had already told Li Longji about the dangers of the new Changping Law, but Li Longji certainly would not buy Li Linfu's account.

Li Longji believed that anyone who prevented the implementation of the new law was trying to prevent him from becoming a sage monarch of all ages.

Li Linfu's heart skipped a beat. He could tell that the Saint was very angry. He also did not expect that the Saint would be so determined to implement the new Changping Law. Did Li Xuan drug the Saint?

"Left Prime Minister, what do you think of the new Changping Law? If you have any objections, please point out the bad parts."

Li Longji looked at Pei Kuan again.

This is forcing Pei Kuan to take sides.

Is the new Changping law bad?

What's wrong? Can you tell me?

Pei Kuan was depressed. What he wanted to say had already been said by Li Linfu, but it was refuted by Li Xuan.

He couldn't say that "the new Changping Law hindered the powerful and wealthy families from annexing land"?
Whoever dares to say this will be infamous for eternity.

After Pei Kuan thought carefully, he found that Li Xuan was really smart and everything was connected.

The Changping New Army will escort the Changping New Law!

What he was most worried about was that the powerful families would become unable to bear the pressure from Li Xuan and would gather together to rebel.

Or use this as a threat to make the process more intense.

"I think we can give it a try!"

Pei Kuan replied helplessly.

He could not give any reason to refute it, but he still refuted it forcefully. Li Longji might really be dismissed from his position as prime minister!

"The left prime minister also has the vision of a prime minister!"

Li Longji praised Pei Kuan, and then, without waiting for Li Linfu's agreement, he said: "Two prime ministers have already agreed to the new law. I think the new law can be implemented. Those who oppose the new Changping law and cannot give a reason have ulterior motives!"

Li Longji was certainly aware that the new Changping Law was intended to curb the increasingly serious land annexation.

He thought that with his power, the powerful families would make concessions to the common people, and everyone would be happy.

This is also the reason why Li Longji supported Li Xuan wholeheartedly.

It is easy to go from frugality to luxury, but it is difficult to go back from luxury to frugality.

Li Longji himself could not give up his extravagant life.

How can we expect the powerful families to return their profits?

Real change will inevitably be bloody.

The court officials looked at each other. They looked at Li Xuan who was in the center of the hall, as if he was ready to debate at any time.

Everyone knew that Li Xuan was eloquent and was afraid of bringing shame upon himself if he went up.

Li Linfu bowed and retreated, seeming to surrender.

Now he just needs to wait for the ministers to come to his house and then find Li Xuan's weakness.

As an experienced prime minister, he knew that if the new Changping law was to be implemented throughout the country, a large number of "disasters" would inevitably occur, even with the protection of the Changping New Army.

He wanted to disgrace Li Xuan and expel him from Chang'an.

After the court meeting ended, the new Changping Law was barely implemented with the full support of Li Longji.

But the implementation process is extremely difficult.

After the court session, all civil and military officials had their own thoughts.

Some did not leave the court. They stood outside the court. It seemed that the snow was getting heavier and heavier.

What is this a sign of?
Originally, I was shocked by Li Xuan's appointment as Prime Minister.
Now I am shocked by the new Changping Law.

It is conceivable that the moment the new Changping Law was announced to the world, it would cause an earth-shaking event.

After leaving court, Li Xuan stepped into the "Zhongshumenxiatang" for the first time, which is commonly known as the "Zhengshitang".

This is where the prime minister and the emperor discuss military affairs.

The government hall of Huaqing Palace is behind the court.

Li Longji had nothing to say. He asked Li Linfu and Pei Kuan to handle the affairs of the two provinces and national affairs, and to facilitate the implementation of Li Xuan's new laws.

Li Linfu and Pei Kuan could only nod.

Li Longji did not stay in the lower hall of Zhongshumen for long. After a quarter of an hour, he returned to the inner palace of Huaqing Palace.

(End of this chapter)