Tang Dynasty, my wife Wu Zetian

Chapter 212 Princess Gao An's Request

Xunfeng Hall has an excellent geographical location.

There is a rockery on the north side, which blocks the cold north wind in winter. There is an osmanthus forest on the south side. In spring and autumn, the fragrance of osmanthus wafts into the hall, making people intoxicated and happy.

Now is the time when winter and spring change.

After Li Zhi had breakfast in Xunfeng Hall, he passed by the osmanthus forest and saw that the osmanthus flowers had sprouted. In more than a month, he would be able to smell the delicate and silky fragrance of osmanthus.

At the end of January, the Taiji Palace was not so cold anymore. Li Zhi walked a few steps, felt a little hot, and took off his cloak.

After returning to Ganlu Palace, he began to deal with the memorials on the table.

A eunuch quietly entered Ganlu Hall and whispered a few words in Wang Fusheng's ear.

Wang Fusheng nodded, and while Li Zhi was finishing a memorial, he whispered, "Your Majesty, the King of Wu requests permission to enter the palace."

Li Zhi was slightly startled, then looked up and said, "Doesn't he have the authority to enter the palace? Why is he asking for permission?"

"Your Majesty, the King of Wu is requesting permission on behalf of Helan Minzhi."

When he heard Helan Minzhi's name, Li Zhi frowned subconsciously.

"Why did the King of Wu ask for permission on behalf of Helan Minzhi?"

"I don't know either."

Li Zhi waved his hand and said, "Summon the King of Wu to an audience."

Less than half an hour later, just as Li Zhi finished processing the last memorial, Prince Wu Li Ji arrived at Ganlu Palace.

After the greetings, Li Zhi asked him, "Xiao Ji, have you been close to Helan Minzhi recently?"

Li Ji hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, I have very little contact with him. It was just that he came to my house a few days ago to apologize to me, and we exchanged a few words."

"Apologize?"

Wang Fusheng reminded him, “Your Majesty, when Helan Minzhi entered the palace, he had a conflict with the King of Wu. He should apologize for what happened back then.”

Li Zhi nodded. After what happened that year, he issued an order not to allow Helan Minzhi to enter the palace.

It seems that this kid is a few years older now and has learned some etiquette. He knows how to apologize for what happened that year.

"Since we only exchanged a few words, why did you ask for his approval?" Li Zhi still had a very bad impression of Helan Minzhi.

Li Ji hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, he came to my residence yesterday and said he wanted to go to the palace to apologize to Princess Gao An. I saw that he was quite sincere, so I agreed to help him ask for permission to enter the palace."

Li Zhi touched his chin and thought, "Perhaps it was Mei Niang who asked Helan Minzhi to ask for permission. Since she intends to ease the relationship with Gao An, it's not a bad thing."

"Well, then let him into the palace. You must keep a close eye on him and don't let him be alone with Gao An."

"I obey your order." Li Ji bowed and took his leave.

Li Zhi left the outer hall and returned to the bedroom to rest. After a while, Sun Simiao and Zhen Guangxiou came together.

After Sun Simiao entered the palace, he helped Li Zhi add a new acupuncture and medicine therapy, which was to first take medicine and then receive acupuncture, once every five days.

Although Sun Simiao was the King of Medicine, his acupuncture skills were slightly inferior to Zhen Guangxiao's ancestral skills, so he worked together with Sun Simiao.

After Li Zhi received treatment from the two men, it was almost noon. When he was about to serve the meal, the Minister of War Xiao Siye asked for a meeting and said that he had military intelligence from the Yanran Protectorate.

The Protector General of Yanran Protectorate was still Xue Rengui, but he also served as the Governor of Songzhou. He was transferred to Jiannan Road by Li Zhi and was actively training troops, ready to attack Tubo at any time.

Today, the Yanran Protectorate is led by Deputy Protector Zhou Zhidu.

Li Zhi thought that maybe the Tiele people were causing trouble again, so he waved his hand and said, "Let him wait in the side hall."

He stood up and went to the outer hall, summoning Xiao Siye to the audience.

Xiao Siye quickly entered the hall and saluted Li Zhi.

"Your Majesty, your servant Xiao Siye pays respects to you."

"No need to be so polite, but what happened at the Yanran Protectorate?"

Xiao Siye hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, there is no incident at the Yanran Protectorate, but many tribes have requested to relocate to Mobei."

"Migrate? Submit the memorial and let us see it."

Wang Fusheng took the memorial and handed it to Li Zhi.

After reading it, Li Zhi fell into deep thought.

It turned out that since Xue Rengui defeated the Tiele, most of the Tiele tribes had migrated westward, leaving only a few small tribes.

A large area of ​​water and grass has been cleared on the grassland. Normally, after a few decades, these small tribes will multiply into powerful tribes.

However, other tribes on the grassland have all set their sights on this lush and aquatic grass.

The Western Turks in the west, the Eastern Turks in the east, as well as the Khitan, Shiwei, Mohe, Oirat, Mongol, etc., all hoped to migrate to the northern desert to graze and expand their ethnic groups.

Mobei was under the jurisdiction of Yanran Protectorate. These tribes sent a large number of envoys with gifts to please Zhou Zhidu, hoping that Yanran Protectorate would allow them to migrate to Mobei.

Zhou Zhidu ignored it at first.

Later, as too many tribes requested help, he submitted a memorial to the court, explaining the situation.

Xiao Siye did not dare to make a decision on his own, so he came to see the emperor with the official documents.

Li Zhi clapped his hands together with the memorial and pondered in silence.

If they were not allowed to migrate, Mobei should be able to enjoy peace for several decades. However, after several decades, powerful tribes would surely emerge again.

This is just like the westward migration of the Xiongnu, the rise of the Xianbei, the Rouran Khanate after the Xianbei, and then the prosperity of the Turks. This cannot be interrupted.

The Tang people could go to the grassland to mine and do business, but it was impossible for them to really settle down. The climate there was not suitable for farming and it was difficult to govern.

Li Zhi looked up at Xiao Siye and asked, "What does Minister Xiao think of this?"

Xiao Siye said, "I believe that we should not relocate powerful tribes there, otherwise they will pose a threat to the Tang Dynasty in the future. We cannot ignore them either, otherwise, when the Tiele people become powerful, they will definitely rebel against the Tang Dynasty again."

Li Zhi said: "Go on."

Xiao Siye said, "I believe we can relocate the weaker Shiwei, Mohe, Oirat, and Mengwu tribes there, allowing them to check and balance the Tiele people. This way, we can prevent one group from becoming dominant and threatening the Tang Dynasty."

Li Zhi was silent for a moment, then said, "Xiao Qing, have you ever considered that if they all go there, there will be years of war?"

Xiao Siye was stunned and said, "Isn't this great?"

Li Zhi shook his head and said, "They have been fighting for years. Sooner or later, a powerful tribe will emerge and unify the northern desert. This enemy will be more powerful than the Turks and may even threaten the Tang Dynasty!"

Xiao Siye was slightly startled and said, "Your Majesty is right. I was not thoughtful enough."

Li Zhi thought for a moment and said, "Let the Tiele people stay in Mobei. Send an order to Zhou Zhidu to treat them well. Then, use the laws of the Tang Dynasty to control the grasslands, prohibit mutual conquest, and let the Tiele people enjoy a stable life."

Xiao Siye said: "Your Majesty treats them so well, the Tiele people will definitely be loyal to the Tang Dynasty in the future."

Li Zhi said, "If they can return, that would be the best. If they can't, that's fine too. We can use comfort to wear them down, and then they won't pose much of a threat to the Tang Dynasty." Xiao Siye smiled and said, "Your Majesty, I understand what you mean. I will convey it to General Zhou."

After entering February, Chang'an City became lively again because of the arrival of the imperial examination.

In previous years, the examination venues were temporarily borrowed from the buildings of the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Rites.

Li Zhi was preparing to increase the number of candidates for the imperial examination again, so he ordered the Ministry of Personnel to set up a regular examination hall in the imperial city, named "Gongyuan".

On the first and fifteenth day of the second lunar month, Li Zhi proposed to increase the number of people recruited for the imperial examination again.

This had become a common practice, and the number of new members was not large, so the ministers did not try to stop it.

At the same time, Li Zhi adjusted the structure of the imperial examination again. Originally, the first two lists of Jinshi were appointed as officials, and the last list was appointed as clerks. This time, only the first list of Jinshi were appointed as officials, and the last two lists were appointed as clerks.

The ministers also realized at this time that the emperor was more inclined to let the Jinshi start as clerks, accumulate experience, and then be promoted in the future.

At this time, the boundaries between officials almost did not exist, so the impact was actually not that great.

It is just equivalent to lowering the original starting point of Jinshi and placing more emphasis on their actual work ability.

For example, those who are good at speaking and can get good rankings in the imperial examinations can no longer easily obtain high positions.

Those who are honest, hardworking and down-to-earth are more likely to come out on top and be promoted to higher positions.

Of course, no matter what the situation, the path to officialdom through family connections was severely squeezed.

In addition to the imperial examinations, discussions on land system reform were also becoming more and more widespread.

Officials expressed their opinions and told the emperor their ideas, and many even mentioned tax reform.

This is normal. The land system and the tax system are linked. After the land system is modified, the tax system must naturally be changed as well.

The current rent and labor system is already too complicated. Many officials have noticed the drawbacks very early on, but because of their low status and influence, they dare not report it.

At this time, he took advantage of this momentum and submitted a memorial, hoping to gain the emperor's approval.

Li Zhi's plan was to take it step by step, and only proceed to the next step after each step was solid, so as to avoid causing chaos.

The most important thing at the moment is to promote the land system reform to the people so that the people can accept it.

There is no need to rush tax reform.

As officials continued to submit memorials, more and more reform methods were presented to Li Zhi.

There are all kinds of strange methods.

Each memorial is extremely detailed and comprehensive, and it is obvious that the officials have spent a lot of effort to come up with it, and they are all practical.

However, what Li Zhi liked most was the joint memorial submitted by the Minister of Revenue Lu Chengqing and the Vice Minister of Revenue Du Zhenglun.

The two were officials from the Ministry of Revenue, and the suggestions they put forward were very down-to-earth. In Li Zhi's view, they had a deep understanding of the needs of the people and were most practical.

Li Zhi strongly agreed with their first suggestion.

The equal-field system remains the equal-field system, and the name remains unchanged.

The reason is very simple. The word "rent" in the land rental system easily arouses resistance from the people.

Secondly, Li Zhi's original idea was to confiscate all the land deeds, nationalize them, and then redistribute them.

Their suggestion was not to confiscate the land deeds, but to let the people go to the government themselves to have them stamped.

Land deeds with seals will be protected by the government, and no one can forcibly purchase them.

This was used as publicity to encourage people to go to government offices to get their documents stamped.

Finally, they were warned that after the land deed was stamped, it could no longer be traded and violators would be severely punished. At the same time, they were told that this was done to protect their land from being encroached upon by others.

The third point is also the most important point.

When Lu Chengqing and others proposed to change the land system, they did so step by step, starting with the easiest Guanzhong area.

The people all have a herd mentality. When they see that all the people in Guanzhong have changed their land deeds and there are no major problems, their acceptance will increase significantly.

After Guanzhong are Henan, Hedong, Shannan and Huainan.

Next are Jiangnan, Jiannan, Longyou, and finally Hebei and Lingnan.

Two days later, at the regular court session, Li Zhi took this memorial as a basis and discussed some details with his ministers, and finally passed this land system reform.

Lu Chengqing and others were very excited to see that the emperor adopted their plan. After returning to the Ministry of Revenue, they held another small meeting.

At this time, the effect of the Ministry of Revenue's rectification of official administration was also evident.

Most of the officials who had been in office but doing nothing were removed. The current officials of the Ministry of Revenue are selected from the best and brightest among the household officials and the secretaries of household in various prefectures and counties. They are all capable people who want to make a difference.

Now that everything has been agreed upon, all that remains is implementation. Everyone should be focused and work diligently to advance this land system reform.

Li Zhi has been busy since the beginning of the year and can finally breathe a sigh of relief.

After leaving court, he wanted to close his eyes and rest for a while in his bedroom, but he fell asleep unknowingly.

In a daze, he felt a heaviness in his chest. When he opened his eyes, he saw a pair of big black eyes looking at him with a smile.

Only then did Li Zhi see clearly that it was Princess Gao An who was curled up on his chest, with her little head tilted back and looking at him.

Li Zhi was stunned and asked, "Gao An, what are you doing?"

Princess Gao An twisted her body and said with a smile, "Father, do you feel the heat has subsided?"

Li Zhi not only felt warm, but even sweated a lot. Princess Gao An was like a little fireball sticking to him.

"Uh, it's warm." He said helplessly: "Gao An, get up quickly."

Princess Gao An hurriedly got up and helped Li Zhi sit up, looking particularly attentive.

"Aunt Zheng always says that I am like a little stove, so I just lay on father and used him as a stove." She said with a flattering look on her face.

Li Zhi didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He patted her head and said, "Thank you very much."

Princess Gao An hugged his arm and said, "Father, can I ask you for a favor?"

Li Zhi knew she had something to ask for, so he said, "Go ahead."

Princess Gao An said, "You once told my sister and me that when we grow up, we can go see our mother. Now that we have grown up, can you let us see our mother?"

Li Zhi frowned and said nothing.
Princess Gao An's eyes turned red, and she shook his arm, saying, "Father, please."

Li Zhi was silent for a while, thinking that Concubine Xiao Shufei had reported the Xiao family's conspiracy to rebel, which was also a meritorious service, and he had indeed said that he wanted them to meet.

"Well then, I will allow you to leave the palace tomorrow and go meet your biological mother."

Princess Gao An was overjoyed and threw herself into Li Zhi's arms, choking with sobs, saying, "Thank you, father!"

(End of this chapter)