Tang Dynasty, my wife Wu Zetian

Chapter 111 The Emperor’s Personal Trial
Changsun Quan pushed open the palace door and entered Ganlu Palace.

Li Zhi was the only one in the hall. He sat behind the dragon table. There was a chair about ten feet in front of the table.

Changsun Quan was slightly surprised.

When he went to Luoyang to withdraw the public funds embezzled by Zhang Sunyang, he was caught on the spot by Di Renjie.

After Di Renjie brought him back to Chang'an, he did not take him to Dali Prison, but directly brought him to the palace.

He originally thought that the emperor allowed him into the palace to severely reprimand him and sentence him to death.

But I didn't expect it to be such a scene.

"I, the guilty minister Changsun Quan, pay my respects to Your Majesty." He knelt down and kowtowed.

Li Zhi looked up and said, "Get up, sit down and talk."

Changsun Quan said, "My crimes are unforgivable. I only ask for a quick death. Your Majesty, please order my execution. However, this was my own doing and has nothing to do with the princess."

Li Zhi said in a deep voice: "I ask you to sit down."

Changsun Quan was slightly stunned, and finally stood up and walked to the chair and sat down.

Li Zhi said slowly: "I have something I want to ask you."

Chang Sunquan whispered, "Your Majesty, please ask."

Li Zhi said, "Have you been to Hebei Province?"

Zhang Sunquan was slightly stunned, then nodded and said, "Yes, I have been there."

Li Zhi said, "Can you tell me about the situation in Hebei?"

During the early Tang Dynasty, Hebei was the most densely populated area in the Tang Dynasty and also the area with the best economy.

During this period, although Jiangnan was also developing rapidly, the population had not yet migrated south on a large scale, and its development was not as good as that of Hebei.

Taxes in the Tang Dynasty were calculated based on households. Where there were more people, there would be more taxes.

Therefore, Hebei region collects the most taxes.

However, Li Zhi still didn't understand why a single tax levy could cause the people of Hebei to be displaced.

Are the living conditions of the people in Hebei really so bad?

He couldn't go to Hebei in person, so he needed to find someone who was willing to tell the truth, and that person was Changsun Quan.

Zhang Sunquan was silent for a moment, then said, "Your Majesty, do you really want to know?"

Li Zhi said: "Speak!"

Chang Sunquan stared at him and said, "Your Majesty, I do know the living conditions of the people in Hebei, but I am afraid that speaking frankly would be disrespectful to the late emperor."

Li Zhi waved his hand and said, "It's okay. As long as what you said is true, I believe the late emperor will not blame you."

Chang Sunquan took a breath and said, "According to what I have seen and heard in Hebei, the people's livelihood in Hebei began to deteriorate in the 19th year of the Zhenguan period."

Li Zhi murmured, "The nineteenth year of the Zhenguan era was the year the late emperor personally led an expedition against Goguryeo?"

Changsun Quan said, "That's right. The late emperor personally led the expedition, and most of the imperial court followed him. They arrived in Youzhou in February and returned to the capital in September."

Li Zhi finally understood.

Li Shimin's personal expedition this time lasted for more than half a year, and it was equivalent to bringing most of the court to Hebei.

The people of Hebei not only had to supply the troops on the front line, but also had to provide food, clothing and other daily necessities for the civil and military officials in the court.

You can imagine how heavy the burden is.

The most important thing is that this battle has not yet destroyed Goguryeo.

After this year, the imperial court often went to war with Goguryeo.

The people of Hebei have been unable to recover, and their savings accumulated over the years may have been completely depleted.

In his later years, Li Shimin exempted local taxes several times, but they were all targeted at the Guanzhong region and did not benefit Hebei.

After Li Zhi ascended the throne, Hebei finally had a few years to recuperate, but people's livelihood was once again disrupted due to the rescue of Silla.

Li Zhi said, "In your opinion, what is the first priority to improve the livelihood of the people in Hebei? Is it to reduce taxes?"

Zhang Sunquan was stunned for a moment and asked, "Your Majesty, do you really intend to improve the livelihood of the people in Hebei?"

Li Zhi said in a deep voice: "Of course."

Changsun Quan nodded and said, "In my opinion, the greatest difficulty facing the people of Hebei is not taxes, but corvee labor."

Li Zhi frowned and said, "Corvée?"

"Yes, although Hebei has a large population, there are very few Zhechoufu, and the people are burdened with very heavy corvee labor."

The Tang Dynasty implemented the system of rent, labor and tax. Rent was the rent for land, tax was silk and cloth, and labor was labor service, also known as corvee labor.

Everyone must serve twenty days a year. This is regular service. Of course, you can pay to be exempted from service, which is what the rich do.

However, in addition to regular labor, there were also miscellaneous labor and sexual labor.

Especially the miscellaneous duties, which were all temporarily recruited and needed to be dispatched to build city walls, dredge rivers and canals, repair dams, and transport food for the army.

Because Hebei Province had been at war with Goguryeo for a long time, the people had the heaviest labor. Some people spent half of the year in military service and suffered terribly.

The Tang Dynasty's military service system had a special feature: as long as the soldiers performed military service, their family members could be exempted from labor service.

Because of this, the people of the Tang Dynasty were not resistant to joining the army, and even competed to join.

The selection of soldiers for the prefecture was also very strict. The selection method was to select those with equal wealth, those with equal strength, and those with more men. Many families, to reduce the burden on the family, would specifically raise a strong son to serve as a soldier.

In this way, one person serves and the whole family is at ease.

Hebei is a special place.

Because Dou Jiande and Liu Heita resolutely resisted the Tang Dynasty, many Tang soldiers were buried in Hebei.

The Tang Dynasty government was very wary of Hebei.

Hebei has a population of over one million households, more than twice that of the Guanzhong region.

However, there are 300 Zhechoufu in the Guanzhong area, but only more than 50 Zhechoufu in Hebei.

It is obvious that the Tang court did not trust the people of Hebei and was worried that too many of them would join the army and rebel again.

Most of the people in Hebei were unable to join the army, so adult men had to perform corvee labor and miscellaneous duties, and they were the main force of the Tang Dynasty's corvee army.

In addition to Li Shimin's personal expedition, hundreds of thousands of people in Hebei were conscripted to do menial labor.

Corvée labor was compulsory and, unlike military service, came with no reward.

Therefore, the people of Hebei have fertile land but no time to cultivate it; they have a large population but the economy is difficult to take off, and they have to bear extremely heavy taxes.

The corvée labor in Hebei, Hedong, Shandong, Guanzhong and other regions was often undertaken by the people of Hebei.

Although the people of Hebei can eat enough, their lives are indeed not very good.

After listening to this, Li Zhi was silent for a long time and asked, "The people of Hebei are suffering so much, why has no one submitted a memorial?"

Changsun Quan remained silent.

Li Zhi said, "You don't want to tell me?"

Chang Sunquan lowered his head and sighed, "The reason lies with my cousin, Chang Sun Wuji."

Li Zhi nodded, he had actually guessed it.

Zhangsun Wuji was a minister during the reign of Emperor Taizong. He personally participated in the war at the end of the Sui Dynasty and was very wary of the people of Hebei.

Changsun Quan said, "When I was traveling around Hebei, I met a man from Hebei. He was extremely learned and insightful. We drank and talked freely, and many of his views still shock me to this day."

Li Zhi asked curiously, "What did he say?"

Chang Sunquan said, "He said that the world's general situation is constantly changing, and people's changes often cannot keep up with the changes in the world. If a country wants to remain strong, the officials who govern the country must also change."

Li Zhi laughed and said, "This guy has a big mouth."

Changsun Quan said, "He said that my eldest cousin was originally a capable minister who could govern the country, but as he grew older, he couldn't keep up with the changing world. He still regarded the policies of the previous emperor as infallible and refused to change them."

That's the thing about old people; they cling to the same beliefs as they did when they were younger.

Changsun Wuji highly praised the Zhenguan Administration and Li Shimin, and was unwilling to easily change the policies of the Taizong period.

Zhangsun Wuji controlled the government for five years. Under his long-term suppression, Hebei officials naturally did not dare to mention this matter.

Li Zhi asked, "Prince Consort, what's the name of the man you're talking about?"

Chang Sunquan whispered, "His last name is Dou."

Li Zhi said, "He was the one who recruited you into the Yanshan Society, wasn't he?"

Chang Sunquan said, "Yes."

Since April last year, in order to relieve the court's worries, he discussed with Princess Xincheng and took the initiative to propose that the court collect taxes from the people in the princess's mansion.

However, at the beginning of this year, several elders from the fiefdom came to Chang'an and told Changsun Quan that the amount of tax collected by the court was twice what Changsun Quan had told them.

Many feudal lords were overwhelmed and filled with resentment. They were unwilling to be feudal lords of the princess's mansion anymore and became refugees.

Changsun Quan did not tell Princess Xincheng about this matter and went to Hebei alone. He was deeply shocked to see that many of his fiefdom subjects had been separated from their wives and children and their families were broken up.

It took Changsun Quan more than a month of traveling in Hebei before he finally understood how difficult the lives of the people in Hebei were.

I also understand why a single additional tax would be unbearable for them.

Changsun Quan wanted to improve this situation.

However, the more I understand it, the more I realize that I cannot change it by my own ability.

It was at that time that he met a man named Dou.

The other party told him that the Tang Dynasty court would never treat the people of Hebei well, so he established the Yanshan Society just to help the poor people of Hebei.

"Your Majesty, I just want to atone my sins to the people of Hebei. I have no intention of treason. Please understand your Majesty." Changsun Quan said.

Li Zhi said: "You don't have it, but the Yanshan Society does."

Chang Sunquan was stunned and said, "They just want to get back the money that Chang Sunyang embezzled and return it to the people of Hebei. They don't intend to rebel."

Li Zhi asked in a serious tone, "Then did you know that they sent people to contact Yingzhou Governor Cheng Mingzhen, hoping to incite him to declare independence?"

Chang Sunquan's face turned pale, he was stunned for a while, lowered his head, and stopped defending himself.

Li Zhi said sternly, "Zhang Sun Quan, listen to my orders."

Chang Sunquan knelt on the ground and kowtowed, saying, "I am the guilty one."

Li Zhi said, "Although you have committed a grave offense, I consider your original intention to serve the country and your compassion for the people. I will pardon your death sentence and demote you to Hebei Province as a lieutenant in a lower prefecture. Do you have any complaints?"

Chang Sunquan was stunned for a moment, then bowed his head heavily and said, "I thank Your Majesty for your grace!"

(End of this chapter)