Chapter 289: Powerful and Full of Gold, Silver and Jewels
The powerful people suddenly realized that Li Xuan's power had reached such a level.

From Jingzhao Prefecture to Dali Temple, all law enforcement departments were controlled by Li Xuan.

The Censorate must accept Li Xuan's will.

The Ministry of Justice was controlled by Pei Kuan, the Prime Minister and Minister of Justice.

Pei Kuan originally trusted Xiao Yinzhi, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, and is now eliminating Xiao Yinzhi's influence.

The Ministry of Justice was once controlled by Li Shizhi, so Li Xuan could also influence the Ministry of Justice.

With such management, Li Xuan was able to directly launch a severe crackdown.

The new law uses severe punishment!
Li Xuan had long guessed that places like brothels would not comply with the new law.

Because what Li Xuan instructed Han Chaozong and Yang Yan was not only to extend the law against marriages in brothels, but also to take the opportunity to thoroughly investigate incidents of forcing women of good families into prostitution.

In addition to Lingcuilou, the highest-class brothel that was directly connected to the Jiaofang, there was no shortage of brothels in Chang'an that forced women of good families into prostitution.

The person in charge of this kind of brothel will be arrested directly. Once verified, regardless of gender, he will be executed in Xishi!
The forced prostitution of women in Chang'an was not like plunder in the counties, but was similar to land annexation.

Seeing that the farmer's daughter was beautiful and had potential, he used all kinds of means, including coercion and inducement, to make the farmer lose all his wealth.

Then had to sell her daughter.

After entering a brothel, most women would bow to their fate.

A very small number of people with strong personalities will become dried bones under the willow trees in the backyard of a brothel.

In the afternoon, the Jinwu Guards also participated in the siege of the Chang'an brothel.

Of course, there were more brothels in Chang'an than just Pingkangfang.

Amidst fear and discussion, the sun set.

After the prime minister finished handling the day's government affairs, they walked out of the Zhongshumenxiatang, which symbolized the core of power of the Tang Dynasty.

On the blue brick avenue leading to Xingqing Gate, Li Xuan and Pei Kuan were chatting and laughing.

Although Li Linfu was traveling side by side, he seemed to be a lonely person.

Li Xuan respected Pei Kuan very much and would discuss many things with him.

If there are differences of opinion, Li Xuan will try his best to persuade them.

When Li Longji was away, they attacked Li Linfu together, curbed Li Linfu's power and prevented his voice from reaching the counties.

"Right Prime Minister!"

As soon as he walked out of Xingqing Gate, Li Linfu's servant came forward shouting.

"Why are you in such a hurry?"

Li Linfu said in a deep voice.

"Balang and Shijiulang were dragged away by the Dali Temple. They were beaten until they were covered in blood and their faces were unrecognizable. Their lives are in danger! Dalang is heading to the Dali Temple to rescue them..."

The servant did not pay attention to Li Linfu's tone and spoke hastily.

"What? Why is it so? Is Yang Yan really that bold?"

Li Linfu's eyes widened.

The next moment, he looked at Li Xuan.

He was very smart and instantly thought of the fact that Yang Yan and Han Chaozong were summoned to the lower hall of the Zhongshu Gate by Li Xuan at noon.

Yang Yan must have been instructed by Li Xuan to deal with his son.

Just like dealing with An Lushan’s personal guards!
This is Li Xuan's revenge on him!
"They said that Hachiro and Jujiulang had called prostitutes under the age of 18 in the brothel and flogged them on the spot!"

The servant replied to Li Linfu.

Li Linfu remembered that the marriage law stipulated that brothels were not allowed to allow girls under the age of eighteen to enter.

Even the brothels didn’t take it seriously, and the dignitaries didn’t take it seriously at all.

Li Linfu naturally did not use this to restrain his many sons.

"Prime Minister Li, everyone says that you are a very generous person. You impeached your cousin in the early morning, but you couldn't even wait until dusk. Are you still a gentleman?"

Li Linfu broke through the defense and pointed at Li Xuan and cursed him in front of the Xingqing Gate.

"If ministers question me in the court, I will refute them; if scholars humiliate me, I can endure it; if the people point fingers at me and scold me, I need to think; as long as they do not commit a crime, even if they offend me, I will forgive them..."

"I will not kill, assassinate, or harm ministers who are hostile to me. The right prime minister violated the law, do you want to be different? Aren't there enough innocent souls in the world? Which is more important, the country or personal gain?"

"Even if a certain prime minister is executed a hundred times, his sins cannot be washed away. His innuendos, his sweet words and sharp tongue, and his arrogance will surely be paid for by his descendants in the future!"

Li Xuan responded without consideration and confronted Li Linfu head-on.

Dealing with Li Linfu's son was just a side issue.

Where is this?

In order to control the court alone, Li Linfu caused the destruction of so many families. Did he want everything to disappear after his death?

Cause and effect, cause and effect.

People like Li Linfu in history all had bad endings for their descendants.

He thought that if Jiang Yueyao married Li Xuan, she would be able to attack or defend.

How can anything be so cheap?
When it is time to take action, Li Xuan will take action.

Li Linfu was so fickle that he killed so many ministers, but he couldn't bear it when his own son suffered only a little physical pain.

Examples of people being beaten to death directly by flogging are still rare.

Li Linfu stayed where he was.

Because Li Xuan's words were very clear, he wanted to kill him.

It also alludes to the demise of his family.

He was fighting for power with Li Xuan and waiting for Li Xuan's reform to fail.

But Li Xuan could deal with it easily.

He momentarily suspected that if he lost power, Li Xuan would not necessarily let his descendants go just because of Jiang Yueyao.

Upon learning this, Li Linfu was very confused.

Pei Kuan, who was standing nearby, knew what had happened and was very happy.

Because his grandson Pei Huang was almost tortured to death by the cruel official Luo Xishi.

He didn't have the ability to take action against Li Linfu's family.

But Li Xuan can!

Given the favor that the current saint has for Li Xuan, he will most likely try to smooth things over as long as Li Linfu's son is not beaten to death.

I saw Li Xuan get into the car and drive away.

Li Linfu came to his senses. He was a determined and ruthless man. Now that things had come to this, he could only fight Li Xuangang to the end.

Even if it gets worse.

Li Linfu no longer considered the Crown Prince and other political enemies. He immediately ordered his servants to get on the carriage and head to the Dali Temple.

No one could stop him from entering the Dali Temple.

Yang Yun asked the doctor to apply medicine and bandage Li Linfu's sons, otherwise they might really die from the pain.

Although he had many sons, Li Linfu was extremely sad when he saw the miserable condition of Li Yi and Shijiulang, and felt even more insulted.

He ordered Yang Yan to release his son, but Yang Yan rejected Li Linfu's request in person, saying that if the prince broke the law, the common people would be guilty as well.

Li Linfu's son violated the new law and could not be pardoned.

Only the emperor can grant amnesty to prisoners. The prime minister must act in accordance with the law.

No matter what Li Linfu ordered, Yang Yan remained indifferent, like a dead pig that is not afraid of boiling water.

This almost made Li Linfu faint from anger.

Yang Yan had the support of Li Xuan and was not afraid of Li Linfu at this time.

Li Linfu had no choice but to return to the Right Prime Minister's Mansion with the help of his sons Li Xiu after confirming that Li Yi and Shijiulang were not in danger of their lives.

His Nineteenth and Eighth Sons are temporarily suffering in the Dali Temple.

"I am not a prime minister!"

In the Yanyue Hall, Li Linfu sat in front of the flowers and trees, his chest filled with resentment.

Today in the Dali Temple, he doesn't look like a prime minister at all. Even a Dali Temple Shaoqing can bully him.

During his more than ten years as prime minister, he went from having everything to losing it.

Yanyue Hall was originally a place where everything changed, but now people can only shed tears silently.

The lights in every house in the Right Prime Minister's Mansion were on, making it difficult to sleep all night.

In Jiayou Temple, Li Tengkong sat under the pear tree and the moonlight, sighing silently.

She knew that the suffering endured by the Right Prime Minister's Mansion was only one thousandth of the suffering that had been destroyed by her father.

The wheel of fate is already turning, and no one can escape...

Li Linfu attended the court meeting the next day with panda eyes.

Li Longji already knew about this matter and asked Li Xuan about it.

Li Xuan sued many brothels in Chang'an on the grounds of rectifying the brothels, believing that laws should be enforced.

Li Linfu's son knew the law but broke it, so he should be flogged.

This made Li Longji very unhappy because he married Jiang's daughter to Li Xuan in order to mediate the relationship between Li Xuan and Li Linfu.

It’s hard to recover now!

He blamed Li Xuan in his heart, and he disliked the conservative ministers headed by Li Linfu even more.

Li Longji believed that it was because of these princes and ministers that they had targeted Li Xuan's cousin, which led Li Xuan to look for the problem of Li Linfu's son.

Immediately, Li Longji ordered Yang Yan to carry Li Linfu's son back to the Right Prime Minister's Mansion.

Li Xuan didn't stop him either.

After this incident, Li Longji realized that there was constant fighting in the court and it would be difficult to control it, which made him very upset.

It was only after Yang Yuhuan's persuasion that the situation gradually calmed down.

Before the imperial examination, Li Xuan cracked down on brothels in Chang'an.

The brothel managers who forced women of good character into prostitution were all arrested, and witnesses and evidence were found.

Li Xuan asked Yang Yan to sentence them to death, as it was the season for dealing with death row prisoners.

Everyone in Chang'an was shocked.

Some people thought that Li Xuan's method was too harsh, but ordinary people naturally applauded.

As for other brothels, anyone who illegally allows prostitutes under the age of eighteen to perform will be fined heavily.

For example, Lingcui Tower will be fined two thousand taels of gold.

If you don't pay an equal amount of silk, money and jewelry, Mu Sanniang will be arrested.

Mu Sanniang wanted to ask the dignitaries in Chang'an to intercede for her, but she dared not meet them.

Even though Li Linfu wanted to oppose Li Xuan, he could not change Li Xuan's orders.

Mu Sanniang went to Tianshui Palace to ask for an audience with Changli to plead for mercy.

Changli met Mu Sanniang, but she only persuaded Mu Sanniang to pay the fine and get back on track, so as not to make her husband angry and lose everything.

Mu Sanniang cried out to the heavens and the earth, but no one answered her call. She could only resent in her heart, not daring to express it. She took out most of her life savings to pay the fine.

Fortunately, Lingcui Tower and its prostitutes are still there, so there is still a chance to make a comeback.

She had heard that some of her colleagues had been thrown into death row, their property confiscated, and they would be executed in the autumn.

Some even involved princes and nobles, because some brothels were originally opened by princes and nobles.

They were afraid of Li Xuan's power and had to spend money to avoid disaster.

After the crackdown ended, Li Xuan invited Li Longji to visit the national treasury.

In the left storage warehouse, the lazy Li Longji became refreshed when he saw the warehouse full of silk, gold and jewels.

A month ago, he visited Zuozangku and there were far fewer things there.

Brocade, silk and copper coins are piled up like mountains, and gold, silver and jewelry fill the shelves, as if they are inexhaustible.

The new law requires a large amount of money. The gold, silver, jewelry captured in the war and the tribute items have not yet been used up, and now a large number of them have been added to the national treasury.

"Qi Lang, these are what you got from punishing the brothel?"

Li Longji asked Li Xuan curiously.

"Your Majesty, that's exactly what happened. Every brothel has a treasure house. Although they pay heavy taxes, they can still maintain huge profits through various means. Especially for the Lingcui Building, they are connected with the Jiaofang, select prostitutes, and make a fortune every day."

Li Xuan replied to Li Longji.

In this era, brothels are the most profitable industry.

Princes and wealthy businessmen spend money like water to save their own face.

When Li Xuan dealt with some brothels that forced women of good character into prostitution and confiscated their assets, he felt that the fines imposed on Lingcuilou and other brothels were too light.

"If you don't obey the law, you should be punished!"

After Li Longji uttered these words and saw the gold, silver and jewelry that belonged to him, he felt much better.

"In a month, the envoys and tribute sent by the Tibetan great minister Maxiang Zhongbajie will arrive in Chang'an. By then, the national treasury will be enriched again."

Li Xuan said to Li Longji.

He knew Li Longji too well. As long as he could find gold, silver and jewelry for him to squander, Li Longji would forgive him no matter what happened.

(End of this chapter)