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Chapter 1123: The Fall of Ji County
The land issue was the reason why the Tang Dynasty, which was extremely powerful, suddenly collapsed at its peak. The three emperors, Li Shimin, Li Zhi, and Wu Zetian, had always suppressed the aristocracy and even expanded the imperial examination system to dilute the power of aristocratic officials in the court.

But in the end, the problem was not solved from the root of the land, and the prosperity on the surface could not conceal the rot at its core.

Li Longji was not a foolish man. The Tang Dynasty went from its peak to its decline very abruptly. In the eyes of the world, the two states should have been separated by hundreds of years, at least several generations of kings, but they happened to the same person.

The fundamental reason is that the imperial examination system only treats the symptoms and not the root cause.

Why were the emperors of these three dynasties able to conduct the imperial examinations without any hesitation?

Because the imperial examination was only a formality and the land was the foundation, and the core interests of the aristocratic families were not affected, they were happy to see the emperor jumping around. As the three emperors successively promoted the imperial examination and more and more sons of poor families took the stage in the court, the land was flowing into the hands of a few people at an accelerated rate.

The aristocratic families had many talented people. After the Yang Guang period, they had completely understood the imperial examination and were no longer so afraid of the role it could play. So they took a step back and gave the imperial examination, a position with limited effectiveness, to the royal family.

They only seize land. As long as they have land in their hands, they will have endless financial resources and population, and naturally they can support countless violent machines. The major families will become a country within a country with reality but no name.

As a result, the Tang Dynasty experienced a strange period of prosperity.

Under the abnormal prosperity of the upper class, a large number of self-cultivating farmers went bankrupt, and their land was constantly decreasing. Without land, the court could not maintain the military system, let alone collect taxes, so the emperor had no choice but to entrust the responsibility of local defense to the generals.

Thus, the Jiedushi who combined military and political power came into being. Over time, the military governors became more powerful and the seemingly powerful country collapsed in an instant.

Ultimately, the land issue still needs to be resolved.

If you want to explain this problem, you can't get around the local aristocratic families who have been encroaching on the land. This is something that the Tang Dynasty itself cannot solve. If the emperor dares to take action on the land, he is seeking death; if he doesn't take action on the land, he is waiting for death.

The lesser of two evils was chosen, so Li Longji, a wise ruler who had emerged from hardship, began to give up. At this time, he must have understood the fundamental core of this society and knew that no matter how hard he worked or how he indulged himself, his influence on the Tang Dynasty would be limited.

The true lifeline of the Tang Dynasty was not in his hands. The prosperity was not due to him, and the decline and fall would not be due to him. No matter how much Li Longji struggled, he could not compare to Yang Guang. At most, he enjoyed women and favored treacherous men. What was that?
Throughout history, there have been few monarchs who have not done such things, but who would lose their country because of such a small matter?

Li Shimin killed his brothers and forced his father to abdicate; Li Zhi married his father's talented woman as his queen and let women rule the country; Wu Zetian was like a hen that crows at dawn, changed the Tang Dynasty to the Zhou Dynasty, ascended the throne and called the regent, and appointed a large number of cruel officials and treacherous ministers. Did the Tang Dynasty perish?
The core reason for the Tang Dynasty's downfall was still the land issue. The degree of land annexation determined the rise and fall, honor and disgrace of the dynasty.

Throughout the dynasties, if such problems were not solved when conquering the world, there would be basically no possibility of solving them.

Like the tax rate based on land, the fire consumption tax being publicly paid, and the officials and gentry paying taxes together, do you really think that people in ancient times were so stupid that they couldn't think of this?
Not to mention the elites in high positions, even ordinary people, or any normal person, know that those who have money and land should pay more, those who have less money and less land should pay less, and those who have no money and no land should not pay.

All the elites in the court turned a blind eye to it, perhaps it was because of their own interests.

Li Shimin was already a leader among feudal emperors, but even with his power as the Khan, he was unable to solve the land problem. He couldn't even collect more taxes, let alone redistribute the land. This was a fundamental problem that could only be solved by powerful external violence.

Shi Luodie looked at the fierce siege battle in the distance, but his mind was no longer on it.

The Tang Dynasty's heavy troops were all in the border cities. Although there were many cities in Hebei, there were no heavy troops defending them. Under the attack of nearly 300,000 Turkic cavalry, they would be crushed like a dead tree or rotten wood. It was certain that they would be captured. It was only a matter of time.

Temporary sacrifices were inevitable. Shi Luodie looked indifferently at the city opposite, where Tang soldiers kept dying and civilians who were guarding the city were constantly shot by arrows. The Turks wielded scimitars and rushed up the ladders to the towers, hacking and killing, and human lives were lost like grass.

Shi Luodie was under the guard of a group of beasts, his face was gloomy and his heart was as hard as iron.

Of course, he knew how much damage these 300,000 Turkic cavalry would bring to the Tang Dynasty, how many innocent people would die in the war, and how many families would be torn apart. But there was no other way to cut the flesh and remove the sore.

The old order cannot be broken up without a devastating reshuffle, and the problem of aristocratic families cannot be solved without the death of the previous generation.

With a loud bang, the gate of Ji County collapsed under the continuous impact of the battering ram. The morale of the Turks was greatly shaken, and they rushed in like a torrent with their ghost weapons howling like wolves.

Although Ji County was taller and more tightly guarded than other cities, it was ultimately just an inland town, not a strong fortress like Juyong and Hulao. Facing the fierce attack of the Turkic army, it only held out for half a day before it fell.

"Great Khan, Ji County has been captured!" Several generals of the Ashina clan waved their arms excitedly.

"Pass on the Khan's order. The 50,000 front siege troops will enter the city, and the rest of the army will rest for three days."

Shi Luodie raised his whip and said calmly: "In addition, pass down another military order. The army entering the city can do whatever they want to the aristocratic families and gentry. Ordinary people are not allowed to kill and plunder at will. Anyone who dares to disobey the order will be executed!" The aristocratic families are like termites in a big tree. They unscrupulously invade the resources of the country and the people, but do not take the responsibility of defending against foreign enemies.

The people were suffering, the treasury was empty, and they, with only a small amount of resources, naturally had no ability to deploy a strong defense force. Now that foreign enemies were attacking, the nobles and wealthy families would have to pay a heavy price for their actions.

It's no use just being a bully in your own backyard. If you have the ability, you should be tough when facing the Turks.

"It's the Khan, huh?" The general beside him was Shiluode's cousin, Ashina Moduo, a middle-aged Turkic man with a strong build and broad waist.

When he was about to control the army, he was suddenly stunned, thinking that he had heard wrongly. He quickly pulled the reins of his horse and asked in surprise: "Khan, you are right, right? Why do you forbid the warriors to enjoy themselves wantonly? This will arouse the dissatisfaction of the people?"

"Humph!"

Shi Luodie said coldly: "Since this Khan has issued such an order, there must be a reason. You will understand it in three days. Now what you have to do is to restrain your soldiers and strictly obey this Khan's orders. Otherwise, don't blame this Khan for being ruthless under the sword."

"Yes, Khan!"

Although everyone was puzzled as to why Shi Luodie issued this order that was completely different from the previous ones, he was the Great Khan of the Turks, and he allowed the Ashina family to regain power. He was also able to lead everyone to fight here and capture countless cities and territories.

In addition, Shi Luodie was decisive in killing and had already accumulated enough prestige. In the hearts of the people, he was already much closer to Jie Li at that time.

Shi Luodie returned to the tall Khan tent built in the rear military camp. He knew that even if he issued a strict order, he could only stop most of the actions. In addition, there would still be countless burning, killing and looting. This is war.

He was unwilling to kill his own people for the sake of military discipline, which dampened his fighting spirit.

He also did not want to see the Turks slaughtering Han people at will, so he had to stay in the Khan's tent and wait quietly for the restoration of order.

On the morning of the next day, Ashina Moduo and the tribal leaders of the nine Tiele clans, Mohe, Shiwei, Khitan, and Jurchen gathered in the Khan's tent.

Fruit wood charcoal was lit on the ground in the middle of the big tent, making the whole tent steaming hot. On top of it were several pots of mare's milk that were bubbling and boiling. Many leaders were sitting on both sides, on a carpet covered with several layers of cow and sheep skins, and there were drinks on the small tables.

Ashina Moduo sat in the first seat on the left, holding the data he had just compiled and reporting: "Great Khan, Ji County is really powerful! There are nearly 80,000 people in this small county, including 3,000 regular Tang troops. In yesterday's battle, a total of 8,000 Tang troops and civilians were killed or wounded, and we also lost nearly 4,000 people."

“However, this is also a huge gain.”

Ashina Moduo said with unconcealed excitement on his face: "We searched dozens of wealthy households in the county and found a total of 100,000 taels of gold, 500,000 taels of silver, countless copper coins, as well as countless precious jade articles, calligraphy and paintings, and antiques, and 300,000 shi of grain and fodder."

"Total uh."

"These are the main things. I have collected them all. How do you think we should distribute them, Khan?"

As soon as Ashina Moduo finished speaking, many tribal leaders looked at Shiluodie with shining eyes and full of anticipation.

Shi Luodie smiled and said, "As usual, all the gold will be sent to Ben Khan's account, and the food and fodder will be used to supplement the army and distributed equally among the armies. The other property will be stored first and exchanged for money in the future. The silver and copper coins will be divided equally among the tribes that sent troops, and the others will be divided equally among the tribes."

Many other tribal leaders who had not made it to the siege also stood up quickly, touched their chests and said, "Thank you, Khan, for the reward."

"This is just one city. There are countless cities like this in Hebei. In the future, we must strive to be the first to gain more."

"Yes, Khan, we will obey your order!" Everyone had a share, and everyone returned to their seats with smiles on their faces.

Shiluodie was the Great Khan. Although the Ashina tribe to which he belonged was strong, they only fought with 20% of the 300,000-strong army. The rest were coalition forces composed of dozens of tribes. Naturally, they fought for benefits.

Before the march, Shi Luodi said that he represented the Khan tribe and only wanted gold, and the rest would be divided equally among the other tribes. Half would go to the troops that attacked the city, and the other half would go to the other tribes. The more you work, the more you get, the less you work, the less you get, and no work, no money.

(End of this chapter)