Tang Dynasty, my wife Wu Zetian

Chapter 214 Let the princes make trouble!

In Lizheng Hall, Wu Shun and Helan Minzhi were having dinner with Wu Meiniang, Li Xian and Li Xian.

Wu Meiniang liked to be quiet when she ate. Except when Li Zhi was around, no one else dared to speak easily when dining with her.

Helan Minzhi had no rules when eating at home. He would have all the dishes he liked brought to him and say whatever he wanted.

At this moment, he was extremely honest, sitting properly, picking up food very carefully, and even not daring to make too much noise when chewing.

At this time, he noticed an interesting phenomenon.

Wu Meiniang picked up a piece of Chinese chrysanthemum for Li Xian. Li Xian frowned and seemed reluctant to eat it.

Not to mention Li Xian, when Helan Minzhi was at home, the thing he hated eating the most was Chinese cabbage.

Although this dish is very precious and ordinary people cannot eat it, and is even called "Emperor's Dish", it is not delicious.

Because of Helan Minzhi, this dish is almost not available in Wu Mansion.

It was different in Lizheng Hall. Wu Meiniang had been preparing medicinal meals for Li Zhi for a long time, so she was very clear about the nutritional value of some dishes.

Chinese cabbage has the effects of clearing blood and nourishing the heart, moistening the lungs and eliminating phlegm. It was recorded by Sun Simiao in Qianjin Yaofang and listed as a top-grade food ingredient.

Therefore, Wu Meiniang would always have Chinese spinach in her three meals.

Li Xian hesitated for a long time, and finally, under Wu Meiniang's sharp gaze, he stuffed the Chinese spinach into his mouth and chewed it with a painful look on his face.

Helan Minzhi felt very sympathetic towards his little cousin, but he could do nothing to help.

In order to please Wu Meiniang, he also picked up some Chinese chrysanthemum and stuffed it into his mouth. When Wu Shun saw this, he was both angry and amused.

Li Xian did not have this worry. He was still young and did not need to eat adults' food. He had his own tutor who prepared meals specifically for him.

The meal was finished quietly.

Wu Meiniang asked her tutor to take Li Xian and Li Xian away. She rinsed her mouth with tea and said to Wu Shun, "You came into the palace so late. Is there something you want to see me about?"

Wu Shun smiled and said, "There is indeed something I want to tell you, sister. You don't know that our family almost suffered a great loss this time. Fortunately, Minzhi was smart and was able to remedy the situation in time."

Helan Minzhi puffed out his chest and looked closely at Wu Meiniang, hoping that she would praise him.

It was a pity that Wu Meiniang did not express any opinion. She took another cup of hot tea from the maid and asked calmly, "What's wrong?"

Wu Shun said, "Your Majesty recently issued an edict to revise the land system. You should be aware of this, right?"

Wu Meiniang finally showed some interest and raised her eyes and asked, "Of course, is this matter related to the land system?"

Wu Shun said, "Well, of course it's related. You didn't tell us earlier, and we almost suffered a big loss."

Wu Meiniang frowned and asked, "What's going on?"

Wu Shun said, "It's those Guanzhong nobles. They got the news in advance and wanted to sell the white fields they had, but the price was very low."

When the government distributed land, it would be stamped with a red seal, and these fields were called "red fields" by the people.

Those fields that were traded privately without the knowledge of the government used a white deed without the government seal, so they were called white fields.

Wu Meiniang knew her eldest sister's tendency to be greedy for small profits best, so she said calmly, "So you're going to buy it?"

Wu Shun blushed slightly and said, "It wasn't me who wanted to buy it, it was Wu Sansi and Wu Chengsi who wanted to buy it. At that time, I didn't know that Your Majesty was going to change the land system. Seeing that it was sold at a low price, I thought about buying two or three thousand acres."

Wu Meiniang glanced at her and said, "You're quite generous, buying so much at once. Why are you still crying poor to me at the beginning of the year?"

Wu Shun's face turned even redder, and he smiled and said, "I don't have that much money. I was planning to borrow some money from others to buy it. Alas, it's a good thing Minzhi reminded us, otherwise we would have suffered a great loss."

Wu Meiniang finally glanced at Helan Minzhi and asked, "How did you remind your mother?"

Helan Minzhi's spirits lifted, and he bowed to Wu Meiniang and said, "Aunt, I feel that there is no such thing as a free lunch in the world, and I suspect something fishy is going on. So I asked a few friends about it, and that's how I found out about the land system reform."

Wu Meiniang hummed, and said, "You have made some progress."

Helan Minzhi was immediately overjoyed and continued, "My nephew later negotiated with the Liu family and deliberately kept lowering the price. They actually agreed, which further proved that something was fishy, ​​so he persuaded mother not to buy it."

Wu Meiniang nodded and said, "I'm just wondering why those Guanzhong nobles are so honest. It seems they sold all their land in advance."

Helan Minzhi smiled and said, "They don't sell much. We all live in Chang'an, so who doesn't have a couple of well-informed acquaintances?"

After hearing this, Wu Meiniang frowned slightly.

Helan Minzhi hurriedly asked: "Aunt, what's wrong?"

Wu Meiniang said, "If these people can't sell the land, I'm afraid they will cause trouble for Your Majesty."

……

It was already past the hour of Xu and curfew had arrived.

Liu Rui rode his horse on the dark streets of Chang'an City. Whenever the patrolling Jinwu Guards passed by, his heart would beat fast with fear.

He had no choice but to be afraid, because his own brother was shot to death by the hateful Yuchi Gong for breaking curfew at night.

Since then, the noble families in the capital did not dare to move around during the curfew.

If there was an emergency, they could only ask a friend to get a letter of official business as a cover. Liu Rui had an official letter in his hand, which he obtained from a deputy minister of the Ministry of Justice. Only then did he dare to walk at night.

He headed all the way to Liu Mansion and was checked twice by the Jinwu Guards on the way, but he used official letters to get away with it both times.

After two quarters of an hour, he finally arrived at the neighborhood where Liu's residence was located. He ordered the gate to be opened, kicked his horse's belly to increase its speed, and soon returned to his own residence.

He ran through the outer hall and into the inner hall, where the head of the Liu family, Liu Yuanli, was sitting in the hall waiting for him.

"Rui'er, what's wrong?"

Liu Rui said with a bitter face: "It didn't work. The news of the land system reform has spread to Huainan, and the Liu family suddenly changed their attitude and are unwilling to buy our land."

Liu Yuanli remained silent.
Liu Rui asked, "Father, how is the Wu family doing?"

Liu Yuanli shook his head and said, "I didn't buy it either. In fact, even if I sold it to them, it might not be a good thing."

Liu Rui knew that Liu Yuanli was worried about Empress Wu, so he was hesitant.

"But if we don't sell them now, these fields will rot in our hands."

The Liu family was different from other families. They had very strict family traditions and did not allow their members to participate in business. Therefore, the family had no other industries and all the surplus money was used to buy land.

During the early Tang Dynasty, although the sale of land was prohibited, it was only prohibited in public. There were many people buying and selling land in secret. Even the Changsun family was doing it, so naturally others followed suit.

Now that the emperor suddenly reformed the land system, it was like a bolt from the blue for their families who had used all their money to accumulate land.

They were powerless to stop it, so they could only sell the land deeds as soon as they became waste paper, but unfortunately they were still a step too late.

Liu Yuanli said in a deep voice: "Don't panic, let's send someone to Jiangnan to ask, maybe we can still sell it."

Liu Rui said bitterly, "It's all that old bastard Lu Chengqing's fault. He made us Guanzhong the first to implement the land system reform, leaving us no time to respond."

Liu Yuanli said, "Alright, stop talking."

Liu Rui said angrily, "Why can't I say it? Lu Chengqing put Hebei at the end, isn't it just so that the Fanyang Lu family can sell all the white fields they have?"

Liu Yuanli slammed the table and said coldly, "What's the point of saying this? Lu Chengqing is now highly valued by the Saint, and Lu Zhaolin has been invited to the Xincheng Princess's residence many times and will soon become the consort of the Changshan Princess. Can we compete with the Lu family?"

Liu Rui gritted his teeth and said, "If only General Changsun were still here."

Liu Yuanli said coldly: "Alright, stop talking nonsense. Go and have a rest. You don't have to worry about the rest."

"Father……"

"go with!"

Liu Rui had no choice but to take his leave.

Liu Yuanli sat quietly in the hall with his eyes closed. After an unknown amount of time, a servant came into the room and whispered, "Alang, Su Xima is here."

Liu Yuanli's eyes lit up and he said, "Please come in." He personally came to the outside of the hall to greet him.

After a while, an old man about fifty years old entered the courtyard.

Liu Yuanli was very respectful to him, and bowed as he came down the stairs, saying, "Brother Su, you are finally here."

The man's name was Su Liangsi. He was born into the Su family, a family of military merit. He originally served as a Sima in Qinzhou. He was rated "above average" in the three years of evaluation and had a very good reputation among the people. He was transferred to Chang'an and served as the Prince's Groom in the Eastern Palace.

Su Liangsi followed Liu Yuanli into the hall, sighed, and said, "Brother Liu, I'm afraid you won't like the news I bring you."

Liu Yuanli's heart sank. He ordered tea to be served before saying, "It's okay. I'm mentally prepared."

Su Liangsi took a sip of tea and said, "Wei Hongji is claiming to be ill and won't see anyone. It seems he doesn't intend to take the lead in opposing Lu Chengqing."

Liu Yuanli sighed, "When he left Du Shi to die without helping her, I should have guessed that he was unreliable."

Su Liangsi was silent for a moment, then said, "Brother Liu, even if the Wei family is willing to take the lead and everyone impeaches Lu Chengqing, they won't be able to stop the land system reform."

Liu Yuanli smiled bitterly and said, "Are you trying to persuade me to give up? My Liu family is different from the Xiao family. Those fields were purchased with real money. Do I have to hand them over to the court as well?"

Su Liangsi said, "In the current situation, it is useless for you and me to fight. It is better to wait and see what happens."

Liu Yuanli asked, "What are you watching?"

Su Liangsi said slowly, "Will the land system reform only harm the interests of our noble families? Think about it carefully, isn't there a force that will oppose this?"

Liu Yuanli's heart moved, and he asked, "A prince from the royal family?"

All the princes of the Tang Dynasty lived a life of luxury. A mere fief of 800 households was not enough for their expenses.

It was a tacit understanding that most of the princes were secretly encroaching on land.

Su Liangsi said calmly, "Yes, they are not in the capital, so they can't object immediately. Once they know about it, do you think they will accept it obediently?"

Liu Yuanli narrowed his eyes and said, "Lu Chengqing, that old fox, deliberately implemented the land system reform in a regional manner. I'm afraid he was hoping to wait for these vassal kings to oppose it."

Su Liangsi said, "So just wait patiently. If even the princes of the imperial clan can't stop Your Majesty, then you and I will be like a mantis trying to stop a chariot."

Liu Yuanli took a deep breath and said, "Thank you for your guidance, Brother Su. I'll just wait a little longer."

(End of this chapter)