Chapter 327 Hurt your mother’s head!
Li Xiang still has great confidence in Li Chengqian's abilities.

After all, although this father had played with flowers in the past, he was still not lacking in the ability to handle government affairs.

Li Shimin asked him to be regent several times, and Li Chengqian completed the task successfully every time. Of course, he had the assistance of important officials such as Fang Xuanling, but it would not have worked if Li Chengqian himself did not have the ability.

However, before Li Chengqian could speak, Su Yi's voice came from behind.

"Da Lang, Da Lang."

Li Xiang looked in the direction of the voice and quickly stood up and saluted.

"Auntie."

"It's Xiang'er." Su Yi smiled and nodded to Li Xiang, "Since you are discussing government affairs, I will come over later."

"No problem." Li Chengqian stopped Su Yi who was about to leave and said to her, "Xiang'er and I were just chatting about some family matters. Qingmei, if you have anything to say, just tell me."

"Hmm." Seeing Li Chengqian say this, Su Yi said, "There is nothing else. After all, Daming Palace is the palace where the emperor lives. Now there are only two palaces in the harem, which seems a bit shabby."

"Now, Dalang, you only have one concubine besides me. You will have to take a concubine in the future. This is different from when you were in the East Palace. As an emperor, you must pay attention to your face." Su Yi said again, "Even if you don't need it, when Xiang'er succeeds to become emperor in the future, there won't be enough in this palace for Xueqing and the others to allocate."

Li Chengqian thought about it and realized that this was indeed the truth.

Moreover, Su Yi gave him a reason that he could not refuse - even if he could not use it, his children would be able to use it in the future.

Thinking of this kid Li Xiang, who had four wives at such a young age, Li Chengqian couldn't help but complain in his heart.

Damn it, your father has only had four women, including your mother who passed away early, but you have four now, just like me, your father.

Li Xiang just didn't know what he was thinking, otherwise he would definitely complain -

Although you have the same number of women as me, you have more men than me.

Yes, Li Chengqian also has a little boy whom he likes.

"Yes," Li Chengqian nodded and said, "Sister Qing is right."

Su Yi smiled gently and said to Li Xiang, "If Xiang'er is free, he can often bring Doudou to Daming Palace to sit. Xixi is always talking about her little niece."

"This..." Li Xiang opened his mouth and told the truth: "Mother, you know that my grandfather has abdicated and likes to tease his granddaughter and great-granddaughter. Plus, my aunt doesn't have any children and dotes on Doudou the most. Even my sister and I find it difficult to snatch Doudou away from them..."

Su Yi nodded in understanding, and smiled, "That's true. Sizi became an aunt at such a young age, so she really has to pamper her little niece."

She did know about the children. Li Shimin was a slave to his granddaughter and great-granddaughter, and he played with the two children every day.

But Li Mingda is different. After all, she can't always take her niece with her.

But she has a very good relationship with Li Xiang, so there is nothing wrong with her treating the Eastern Palace as her own home. She does not consider herself an outsider at all and can kidnap Li Wushuang just by saying so.

After chatting for a few more words, Su Yi left the Xuan Zheng Hall.

After Su Yi left, Li Chengqian looked at Li Xiang.

"Xiang'er, what your mother said does make sense--" Li Chengqian actually felt that the harem in Daming Palace was too shabby. Su Yi's coming in to talk about this matter just now was also arranged by him in advance.

"What's the reason?" Li Xiang decided to play dumb.

"Of course it's about building a palace." Li Chengqian tapped the table with his fingers. "There are only two palaces in the harem of Daming Palace now. One is where your mother and I live, and the other is where your aunt lives. What will happen if I take in a new concubine?"

This is not because Li Chengqian wants to live a life of luxury and debauchery. After all, the Daming Palace at this time is not yet...complete.

"But, Lord, there is no money in the treasury now." Li Xiang spread his hands helplessly. He did not lie, there was really not much money in the treasury.

"Then... squeeze in from somewhere else?" Li Chengqian said here, looked around, and whispered to Li Xiang: "I was also confused at the time, so I believed your grandfather's words and did not refuse to come to Daming Palace. Now that I live here, I realize that there are so few palaces here..."

Li Xiang thought, can there be a lot? In history, my uncle moved in several years later.

This is several years late, so of course it is not built comprehensively.

Not to mention anything else, just take the Linde Hall, which is particularly famous in later generations, as an example. It is still just an embryonic-level product.

"That can't be helped, Aye." Li Xiang shook his head and sighed, "The Minister of Civil Affairs will not agree."

"I just want to build a few more houses..." Li Chengqian felt a little aggrieved: "Don't you think he will understand my feelings? Don't you see that I am the emperor, but there are only two palaces in the harem..."

Li Xiang took a deep breath and asked, "You also want to wear only eight sets of clothes for all four seasons?"
"Then let's put it another way—" Li Xiang looked up at Li Chengqian and asked with a smile, "Do you want to announce to the world and my father that the first thing you will do after you ascend the throne is to build a palace for yourself?"

Li Chengqian: No, hehe.

"Ah, this..." Li Chengqian felt a little numb.

You know, from this perspective, the idea of ​​building a palace is a bit unreliable.

Doesn't this clearly show that I am arrogant and extravagant...

At the same time, he thought of the past few years when he was forced into a corner by Zhang Xuansu just because he wanted to build a few houses. If Xiang'er had not drawn his sword, who knows what his fate would be now.

"You're right, Xiang'er." Li Chengqian instantly gave up the idea of ​​building several palaces.

Li Xiang looked at him and thought, is this really the reform you want to make?

That's a bit unreliable.

Thinking of this, he continued to ask: "Aye, where were we talking about?"

"Speaking of the reforms I have planned." Li Chengqian cleared his throat, reorganized his words, and then said, "Do you still remember the policy of your grandfather in the 21st year of Zhenguan?"

"What policy?" Li Xiang asked with raised eyebrows.

"It's... the land tax distribution." Li Chengqian said with a smile.

"Oh, I know." Li Xiang thought to himself, how can I say I remember it? This was almost something I participated in formulating.

"It's like this. I'm thinking about a question," Li Chengqian cleared his throat again and put on a serious expression. "The policy of equalizing the land tax is that local governments collect taxes based on the harvest of fields. I have also learned about this policy. It's nothing more than what you plant, you get what you harvest. For example, if you plant soybeans, you get soybeans, if you plant wheat, you get wheat, and if you plant cotton, you get cotton - right?"

"Yes, Aye." Li Xiang nodded with a smile and silently gave his father a thumbs up in his heart.

"I have read the relevant memorials and sent people to investigate. This method of collecting taxes is too troublesome to count, and it is also very inconvenient to store and transport." Li Chengqian said again.

"That's right." Li Xiang nodded again.

"So I was thinking, can the physical objects of tax be converted into money?" Li Chengqian got Li Xiang's affirmation and became more confident: "In this way, it will be convenient for tax collection and transportation, and it will be easier to escort the tax to various places - Xiang'er, what do you think?" What do I think?
Li Xiang curled the corner of his mouth. Isn't this just Dai Ming's Whip Technique?

My dear Aye, you are quite talented...

In the Tang Dynasty, how could one figure out a whip technique on his own?

Of course I feel that... it's not working.

First of all, the money shortage in the Tang Dynasty was very serious. China is not a copper-rich area. Copper resources have been extremely scarce since ancient times, and every dynasty has suffered from copper shortage.

Otherwise, Zhu Yuanzhang... Oh no, although it is pure nonsense that Zhu Yuanzhang created Baochao, the reason why the Song, Yuan and Ming dynasties created Baochao and Jiaozi was indeed because of the shortage of money.

Secondly, the Single Whip System is not suitable for all dynasties, nor is it a good reform policy.

Indeed, according to Li Chengqian's idea, if we compare millet and money, a copper coin worth a string of money is smaller and lighter than a millet worth a string of money.

Moreover, when collecting taxes in kind, there will inevitably be losses during the transportation process, such as the unavoidable shipwrecks, mold, and even the situation where inferior goods are forced to sink as good ones.

If a monetary tax is levied, it will indeed provide great convenience to the government.

But the problem is that, according to the situation in the Tang Dynasty, the government did have convenience, but the peasants were really unlucky.

In order to pay monetary taxes, farmers must first exchange their grain for currency in the market. In this process, they are first exploited by grain merchants when they sell their grain, and then again by the government when they pay taxes, facing double exploitation.

Whether it was the Single Whip System or the later Equalization of Land Tax, they did in fact increase the country's revenue, but the problem was that they also increased the burden on the people.

What? Am I going to let the people suffer and take the blame?

This kind of behavior only causes suffering to the common people, while the middlemen who benefit are the landlords.

Seeing Li Xiang's troubled expression, Li Chengqian asked with concern: "Xiang'er, what's wrong with you? But Aye's policy is not good enough?"

Li Xiang took a deep breath. He wanted to speak directly, but was afraid that it would hurt him too much.

"It's not impossible..." Li Xiang said this because he was afraid of hurting Aye's self-esteem.

"So is it possible or not?" Li Chengqian asked with a raised eyebrow.

Li Xiang crossed his hands on the table and said, "Aye, if you really want me to say it, I can only say that, based on the current situation, looking at the overall situation, looking back to the past and present, considering the average level of local governments, and summarizing it, it may be considered that: In summary, in summary, you may find that - although it may not be pleasant to hear - in any case, I am afraid that the prospects are delicate... At this stage, we can only expect this."

Li Chengqian's eyes were clearly full of tears. It took him a long time to recover. He asked in confusion, "What?"

"It's impossible." Li Xiang said.

"So is it possible or not?" Li Chengqian took a deep breath.

"I think we should discuss this with the ministers," Li Xiang said. "After all, every tax reform is an increase in taxes for the people, placing a heavy burden on them."

Hearing this, Li Chengqian nodded in agreement: "Xiang'er, you are right. There is nothing trivial in the people's affairs. As the saying goes, water can carry a boat..."

"Can we also row?" Li Xiang raised his eyebrows and asked.

"It can also capsize the boat." Li Chengqian pounded the table, obviously very angry.

He stood up, paced back and forth in the hall, and then said to Li Xiang, "Xiang'er, don't tell your grandfather about what you and I discussed today."

"Don't worry, Aye. Don't you still believe me? I will definitely keep my mouth shut." Li Xiang patted his chest and guaranteed.

……

Lizheng Hall.

"...That's the basic thing." Li Xiang reached out and pushed his nose.

"Oh." After listening to Li Xiang's narration of the conversation between him and Li Chengqian in Xuanzheng Hall, Li Shimin gave an indifferent and unhurried "Oh".

"Is that so, Aye?" Li Xiang asked with some anguish, "The policy proposed by Aye is not suitable for the Tang Dynasty at all. This will be the beginning of the collapse of the tax law!"

"Yeah." Li Shimin hummed calmly, peeling the orange and feeding Li Wushuang patiently.

"Aunt, you don't care about it?" Li Xiang looked at the calm Li Shimin in disbelief, "This is your Tang Dynasty!"

Who knew that after hearing this, Li Shimin raised his head.

"The Tang Dynasty will be handed over to you in the future, not returned to me after your father abdicates. Why should I care so much? Do you think that after I die, the ministers of the future generations will go to the Zhaoling Mausoleum to cry about the emperor's misconduct?"

Li Xiang: …

Good man, Aong, you are a prophet, right?
In the later Tang Dynasty, there was actually a tradition called "Crying at Zhaoling Mausoleum".

The Tang Dynasty system stipulated that any ministers and common people who had grievances that had not been redressed had to go to the tomb of Emperor Taizong of Tang to cry out.

Li Dongyi once wrote a poem saying, "If justice is not served at this time, I will cry in Zhaoling for the rest of my life."

Throughout the Tang Dynasty, if the subjects had grievances, they would always go to Zhaoling Mausoleum to cry and complain. Even in the Song Dynasty, there were still people who went to Zhaoling Mausoleum to complain.

As the saying goes, when a child is in pain, he misses his mother, and when an adult is in pain, he misses him. Emperor Taizong Wen, Li Shimin, has always been the white moonlight of the entire Tang Dynasty.

Even after his death, his afterglow still protects the Tang Dynasty.

He shook his head and threw the story of crying at Zhaoling Mausoleum out of his mind.

I never expected that Aung would be so Buddhist and actually abdicated as he said?

In fact, Li Xiang did not expect that Li Shimin would retreat so completely.

"You are twenty years old this year, right?" Li Shimin asked again.

"Ah, I just turned twenty this year." Li Xiang nodded.

"You are so old now, don't be like a child and come to your grandfather to cry when you are not satisfied with something." Li Shimin said with disdain: "Your grandfather usually trusts you the most, don't you even have the ability to make him change his mind?"

Li Xiang said hesitantly: "My grandson is just afraid that if I say it directly, it might be too hurtful to Father..."

Li Shimin was so angry that he picked up a slice of orange and threw it at Li Xiang's forehead.

"Hurt your head!"

(End of this chapter)