Tang Dynasty, my wife Wu Zetian

Chapter 117 Concubine Xu pays respects
The clouds have cleared and the sun is shining, without any cloud.

Outside the Penglai Palace, the eunuchs and palace servants were busy setting up tables and mats in the courtyard outside the palace, and then moving books out of the palace and placing them in the courtyard to dry in the sun.

Xu Jin loved reading. Although there were not many artifacts in the palace, the collection of books was extremely rich.

Every spring, she would take out the books to warm them up in the sun to kill bookworms.

Princess Yi Yang and Princess Gao An were also helping. They found it fun and lively, and were jumping around with books in their hands.

Princess Gao'an wanted to toss the book like a ball, but was stopped by Princess Yiyang.

After a while, all the books were taken out and placed on display. Xu Jin sat on a chair, facing the sun, enjoying the warm sunshine.

Suddenly, a eunuch came running over from a distance, came to Xu Jin, and whispered, "This servant pays homage to Xu Chongrong."

Xu Jin looked up at him and said, "You are the eunuch of Lizheng Palace, right? But was the Queen sent you here?"

The eunuch smiled and said, "Replying to Chongrong, Her Royal Highness the Queen asked me to give this to you." He handed over a scroll.

Yuzhu stepped forward to take it. The eunuch bowed again and then took his leave.

Yuzhu unfolded it and took a look, then said with a smile, "My lady, it looks like a piece of calligraphy. It must have been sent by the Queen for your appreciation."

Xu Jin and Wu Meiniang were the two most talented women in the palace. They often gave each other calligraphy and poetry and appreciated each other's works.

Xu Jin smiled and said, "Let me take a look." He reached out to take it.

After reading it, he couldn't help but frown and look thoughtful.

Princess Yi Yang had been paying attention to this side. When she saw Xu Jin holding something and looking at it for a while, her originally happy face suddenly frowned.

She was very young, but because her mother had suffered a tragedy, she was more mature than other children and ran over quickly.

"Aunt, what's wrong with you? Are you unhappy?" she asked with her little face raised.

Xu Jin glanced at her, smiled slightly, and said, "How could that be? Thank you and Gao An for helping me move the books. I'm going to sit in the plum garden. You guys can have fun by yourselves."

He turned and left Penglai Palace, heading towards the plum garden in the east.

Entering the pavilion in the garden, Xu Jin sat on a stone bench, staring at the white clouds in the sky, speechless.

Die'er beside her asked curiously, "My lady, what did Her Majesty the Queen write for you? Was it not well written?"

Xu Jin sighed and said, "She wrote me a calligraphy piece, Wang Yan's 'Letter to Your Madam'. It's very well written, but..."

"Just what?"

Xu Jin asked in return, "Do you know who Wang Yan is?"

Dier shook her head.

Xu Jin said, "He was a prime minister in the late Western Jin Dynasty. He never considered the country, only knowing how to protect himself. In the end, he couldn't protect himself and was killed."

Die'er laughed and said, "So he's a treacherous minister. Are you unhappy because you think of Wang Yan?"

Xu Jin shook his head and said, "When the Queen chooses calligraphy, she only chooses works by ancient masters and would never copy the works of someone like Wang Yan."

Die'er was slightly surprised and asked, "Then why did she suddenly use Wang Yan's work?"

Xu Jin said slowly, "She's reminding me..." Shaking her head, she said, "No, she's reminding my father and the Qingliu officials, hoping they'll be more responsible in the court."

Die'er was puzzled and asked, "How did it become related to Minister Xu and the ministers in the court?"

Xu Jin whispered, "Recently, Prime Minister Liu was ordered to investigate the Ministry of Revenue, but my father and his men retreated to the background, allowing Di Renjie to take the lead in dealing with the aristocratic factions. This has caused quite a bit of controversy within the court."

Xu Jin originally did not pay attention to court affairs, but Xu Xiaode was cautious by nature, and sent people to tell Xu Jin every detail of the decisions and goals of the Qingliu faction.

Xu Jin is in the harem and knows the emperor's thoughts best. In this way, if the Qingliu faction takes a wrong step, Xu Jin can remind them.

Therefore, Xu Jin was very clear about the Ministry of Revenue case.

Die'er was slightly surprised and asked, "My lady, is the Queen dissatisfied with what Minister Xu and his men have done?"

Xu Jin pondered for a moment and said, "The Queen no longer interferes in court affairs like she used to, so she probably won't express her opinion."

Die'er asked, "Then why did she send this invitation?"

Xu Jin was silent for a long time, then said, "I figured she must be very curious about this matter, but it's not easy to send someone to investigate directly, so she wants to know the answer from me."

Die'er sighed, "Luckily, you're smart enough to understand the Queen's intentions. If it were someone like Liu Chong'e, she'd probably have thought the Queen wrote this for her to appreciate."

Xu Jin glanced at her and said, "Don't talk nonsense."

Die'er smiled and said, "Are you going to see the Queen now?"

Xu Jin nodded and said, "It's been a few days since I last paid my respects, so I'll go and pay my respects." He returned to Penglai Palace, changed his clothes, and headed towards Lizheng Palace.

Arriving at the rear bedroom of Lizheng Hall, after exchanging greetings, Empress Wu smiled and said, "Sister Xu is here. Please take a seat. Someone, bring tea."

Xu Jin sat down on a chair at the bottom and asked a few questions about the fetus. After the tea was served, she took a sip and started to get down to business.

"Thank you, Your Highness, for the invitation."

Wu Meiniang said with a half-smile, "Sister Xu, what do you think of my post?"

Xu Jin said, "Your Highness's writing is elegant and graceful, like a clear spring in the mountains, fresh and natural. It is refreshing to savor it carefully."

Wu Meiniang smiled and said, "I heard your father's calligraphy is also very good. I wonder what style it is." Xu Jin said, "My father's calligraphy is simple and honest, and can only be considered top-notch. However, the calligraphy of my father's friend, Liu Xianggong, is quite commendable."

She shifted the topic to Liu Rengui, obviously telling Empress Wu that everything concerning Di Renjie was decided by Liu Rengui and had nothing to do with Xu Xiaode.

Empress Wu smiled and said, "I have long heard that Prime Minister Liu is a man of profound learning. Back then, he served as an aide to Ren Gui, the pacification commissioner of Henan Province. He revised a few sentences in one of Ren Gui's manuscripts and was appreciated by him, which led to his entry into the government."

Xu Jin smiled and said, "Although Liu Xianggong is a scholar, he has some military manners. When he was the lieutenant of Chencang County, he beat a lieutenant to death with a cane for breaking the law, which caused a sensation in the court."

Wu Meiniang's eyes flickered as she said, "I've heard about this as well. It's truly astonishing."

Xu Jin said softly, "My father once told me that Mr. Liu has a very upright character. He only cares about what is right and wrong when doing things. He doesn't care about personal relationships or other people's opinions. That's why he has been in the Ministry for more than ten years without being promoted."

Wu Meiniang's heart moved.

Xu Jin was obviously saying that Liu Rengui had no selfish motives in the case of Changsun Yang. He only gave the case to Di Renjie because Di Renjie had the ability to handle the case, and he had no other ideas.

Wu Mei Niang's doubts were resolved and she stopped nagging. She sighed and said, "I feel at ease knowing that there are people like Liu Xianggong helping Your Majesty in the court."

When Xu Jin heard her say this, he felt relieved. He chatted with her for a few more words and then said goodbye and left.

……

Liu Rengui stood quietly outside the Lizheng Hall, holding two memorials in his hands.

Soon, Wang Fusheng came out and said with a bow, "Your Majesty, please summon Lord Liu into the palace."

Liu Rengui strode into the hall, bowed to Li Zhi, and said, "Your Majesty, I have something to report."

Li Zhi had just returned from the hot spring palace and was still steaming all over.

He wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "What do you want to report, Mr. Liu?"

Liu Rengui raised his hand and said, "These are two memorials submitted by the Ministry of War. I believe the matter is of great importance, so I have come to discuss it with Your Majesty."

Li Zhi ordered Wang Fusheng to bring up the two memorials and open them to read.

After watching it, I was slightly moved.

The two memorials were written by different people, but their contents were surprisingly consistent.

These two men were both Turks, one was called Ashina Buzhen and the other was called Ashina Mishe. Both were Tang people of Turkic descent and were ranked among the Twelve Generals of the Guards.

Both of them were members of the Western Turkic royal family. They successively surrendered to the Tang Dynasty and were the two highest-ranking Turks in the Tang Dynasty court.

After they learned that the Tang army had defeated Helu, they all asked to go to the front line to recruit the ten tribes under Helu.

Li Zhi knew that if history continued, these two men would indeed surrender all the Western Turkic tribes.

The ten-surname tribes were divided into five Dulu tribes and five Nushibi tribes. In the end, the two men recruited half of them each and were named Khan by Emperor Gaozong of Tang.

However, the two men were enemies.

A few years later, Bu Zhen framed Mishe and killed him, and the Western Turks immediately rebelled, causing the Western Regions to fall into chaos again.

Li Zhi looked up and asked, "Does Lord Liu think these two people's proposals are feasible?"

Liu Rengui said sternly: "Absolutely not acceptable!"

Li Zhi asked, "Why?"

Liu Rengui said, "Your Majesty, although General Su Dingfang broke through the royal tent, he did not damage the Turkic people's vitality. If they surrender now, they will not be truly loyal and will surely rebel in the future!"

Li Zhi's eyes lit up and he asked, "What does Mr. Liu think about how we should deal with the current situation?"

Liu Rengui said, "I have discussed this with Duke Ying. The Eastern Turks surrendered because Duke Ying and Duke Weiguo inflicted heavy losses on them, causing their population to plummet. Since then, they have been devastated and fearful of the Tang."

"We can now imitate what happened back then and have General Su strike hard at the Western Turks, hurting them enough to force them to send someone to surrender."

Li Zhi said happily, "Well said. I will order Su Dingfang to follow Liu Qing's plan."

Seeing that the emperor had adopted his idea, Liu Rengui was heartened and said, "Your Majesty, I have already completed the tax collection task you instructed me to do."

Li Zhi hurriedly asked, "How is it? Will exempting Hebei from taxes for three years be a heavy burden on the court?"

Liu Rengui bowed and said, "The imperial court's annual tax revenue is over 64 million dan of rice of various types, with over 6.4 million dan purchased and over 54 million dan spent, leaving a surplus of 16 million dan in the treasury. Hebei Province's annual tax revenue is over 18 million dan."

"If Hebei Province were exempt from taxation, the national treasury would receive two million dan of grain annually. The imperial granaries across the country have over 48 million dan of grain in storage, enough to last for twenty years. Your Majesty, there is no need to worry."

After hearing this, Li Zhi finally felt relieved.

Although there was a food shortage in the Guanzhong region of the Tang Dynasty, it was different in other places, where there was a large surplus in fiscal revenue every year.

In addition to the Chang'an granary, most granaries in various places were also full, the national treasury was overflowing, and the foundation was extremely strong.

Whatever Li Zhi wanted to do was very convenient.

"Prime Minister Liu, do you think my decision to exempt Hebei from taxes for three years is correct?"

Liu Rengui said solemnly, "Although there may be some short-term obstacles, in the long run, it will be quite beneficial to the country. I support your majesty's decision."

Li Zhi said happily, "Very good. Then let's send an order to the Secretariat and have them draft the imperial edict."

(End of this chapter)