Tang Dynasty, my wife Wu Zetian

Chapter 223 The person in charge is the princess?

It was rainy in mid-May.

In the early morning, Li Zhi stood at the door of the tent with his hands behind his back. He saw raindrops falling on the ground, forming small puddles outside the tent.

This is the territory of Shanzhou, and it is also the last place Li Zhi visited during his tour.

After Wu Meiniang returned, he planned to return to Chang'an.

During these two months of inspection, he not only examined the effects of the land system reform, but also saw many things that he had not seen before.

If he was just an ordinary Shanzhou citizen, let alone getting rich, it would be extremely difficult for him to even go to Chang'an City.

The travel system in the Tang Dynasty was extremely strict. If you wanted to travel far away, you needed to find an excellent reason and apply for public verification from the village head.

The village head then applies to the county government, and the process goes through several levels, and it takes several months just to go through the process.

If the reasons are not sufficient, the application will be rejected and you will have to reapply.

Some people have applied for a year or two but are still unable to leave their state or county.

Even if the application is successful, a travel time will be stipulated and the applicant must return within two or three months. Otherwise, the applicant will be detained by the government due to delays in public inspection.

Because of this, it was very difficult to be a businessman during this period. Without some connections, the public inspection alone would be enough to get you stuck.

This is a system inherited from the Sui Dynasty, and the reason for this phenomenon is also very cruel.

Before the Sui and Tang dynasties, the world had been in chaos for hundreds of years. During that period, surviving was a luxury, let alone farming in peace.

Therefore, after the Sui and Tang Dynasties, a strict travel system was established to maintain local stability and prevent people from gathering to rebel.

For the people who have experienced war, being able to live in peace and stability is enough, and they can also accept this travel system that is suffocating for Li Zhi.

At least after Wu Meiniang's visits, the people seemed to be very satisfied with their current lives.

While Li Zhi was expressing his feelings, he also understood a truth: people's sense of happiness requires a reference.

The people of this period had experienced the cruelty of war, and with this as a reference, they would be satisfied as long as they lived a peaceful life.

On the contrary, if a person's reference standards are too high, he will feel dissatisfied even if he has no worries about food and clothing and is free to travel.

Just as he was thinking about life, Wu Meiniang came over not far away, surrounded by a group of people, and Zhang Dahai was holding an umbrella for her.

The ground was covered with mud and water stains, Wu Meiniang's skirt was covered with mud, and there were many rain stains on her clothes.

"Mei Niang, thank you for your hard work." Li Zhi reached out and held her hand.

Wu Meiniang let Li Zhi pull her into the tent and said with a smile, "Your Majesty, I have been searching for this for the past few days and I feel quite refreshed. I don't feel tired at all."

Li Zhi pulled her into the tent and sat her down. He asked her, "Did you gain anything today?"

Wu Meiniang took off her cloak, handed it to Zhang Duohai, and said with a smile: "Half and half."

Li Zhi asked curiously, "What do you mean?"

Wu Meiniang said, "According to what I have learned, there have been many cases of land annexation in Shanzhou, especially in the westernmost part of Shanzhou. Most of the farmland has been bought by a certain noble family."

"Oh, which clan?"

Wu Meiniang smiled and said, "It's a surname that Your Majesty is very familiar with."

Li Zhi squeezed her hand and said, "Don't keep me in suspense. Tell me!"

Wu Meiniang said, "The Changsun family."

Li Zhi's heart trembled.

Although Changsun Wuji was demoted to a commoner and his Duke's Mansion was taken back, his property was not confiscated and he still had many properties.

Now Changsun Wuji has been punished to guard Zhaoling Mausoleum, and Changsun Chong has been demoted to a local area. It is unknown who will manage their family business.

"Mei Niang, will the Changsun clan cooperate with the land system reform? Or will they also resort to trickery like the Liu clan?"

Wu Meiniang said, "That's why I said half and half. They were indeed annexing the land before, but in the first few days after Your Majesty implemented the land system reform, the Changsun clan returned all the land to the people of Shanzhou."

Li Zhi was stunned and asked, "Return it?"

"Yes."

Li Zhi nodded and said, "They are so cooperative. Who is the head of the Changsun family now? Changsun Chong?"

Wu Meiniang said, "Before Zhangsun Wuji went to Zhaoling, he convened a clan meeting for the Zhangsun clan and passed the position of clan leader to Zhangsun Quan."

"No wonder then." Li Zhi nodded, then paused for a moment before saying, "Wait a minute, isn't Changsun Quan in Hebei? How come he's moving so quickly?"

Wu Meiniang stared at him and said, "Your Majesty, Zhangsun Quan has entrusted all clan affairs to his wife."

"Isn't that the new city?" Li Zhi asked in surprise.

Wu Meiniang smiled and said, "It is the new city. It was she who made the decision to return all the lands of the Changsun clan to the people." "Will the Changsun clan listen to her?"

"Your Majesty, the people of the Changsun clan are not stupid. Although they suffer a loss now, it will be very profitable for them in the long run." Wu Meiniang said with a smile.

Li Zhi understood after thinking about it carefully.

Since Changsun Wuji was demoted, the status of the Changsun clan has continued to decline.

The higher you stand, the harder you fall.

Changsun Wuji used to be in a high position and had great power. He had offended countless people, and all of them were important figures, including many princes of the royal family.

Now that Changsun Wuji has fallen, will the powerful enemies of the Changsun clan let them go?

This is just like the downfall of the Du family. Because they offended too many people, the Du family was expelled from the aristocratic family in just a few months.

Changsun Wuji's opponents were all powerful and influential, and even Wu Meiniang in front of Li Zhi was one of them.

They don't even need to do it themselves. Just a word or an attitude and someone will help them take revenge on the Changsun family.

Changsun Quan is currently just a small county lieutenant. He can barely protect himself, let alone his clan members.

The only person he can rely on is Princess Xincheng.

So it was a brilliant move for him to hand over the clan affairs to Princess Xincheng.

As the emperor's favorite sister, Princess Xincheng is in charge of the affairs of the Changsun clan. Those who want to take revenge on the Changsun clan have to think twice.

It can be said that it was precisely because of the existence of Princess Xincheng, coupled with the secret protection of officials such as Xin Maojiang, that the Changsun clan did not follow in the footsteps of the Du family.

Before, Princess Xincheng was only entrusted by her husband to be in charge of clan affairs in name only, but she did not manage them directly.

Now, due to the land system reform, she has come forward in person, which also announces to the outside world that the affairs of the Changsun family are indeed managed by her, and others can only give up their illusions.

Li Zhi didn't know whether Changsun Quan's decision was instructed by Changsun Wuji.

For him, the most important thing is whether the land system reform goes smoothly.

Since the Changsun family was willing to follow Princess Xincheng's arrangements, he didn't bother to think about their motives.

"Forget it, since they are willing to let Xincheng be in charge, there is nothing wrong with it." Li Zhi waved his hand.

Wu Meiniang did not dwell on the matter and said softly, "Your Majesty, is it time to return to Chang'an?"

Li Zhi was about to reply when a eunuch suddenly came in from outside the door and whispered a few words to Wang Fusheng.

"Fu Sheng, what's wrong?" Li Zhi looked up and asked.

Wang Fusheng came over quickly and said, "Your Majesty, the locust plague in Lingzhou has been thoroughly investigated. It happened in the second year of the Yonghui reign. At that time, the plague was not limited to Lingzhou, but also affected five prefectures within the Guannei region."

Li Zhi asked, "What's the situation in the other four states?"

Wang Fusheng said, "Thanks to the aid from the imperial court, we all survived the locust plague."

Wu Meiniang was surprised and asked, "If that's the case, why isn't there enough food relief in Lingzhou?" Her eyes flickered as she asked, "Could it be that someone has embezzled the food?"

Wang Fusheng said, "Your Highness, the person in charge of disaster relief at the time was a Lingzhou official named Li Wencong, who later joined the Ministry of Revenue and served as a doctor in the Ministry of Granaries. Later, when Your Majesty was overseeing the Ministry of Revenue, he was dismissed from his post and exiled to Lingbiao."

A face vaguely emerged in Li Zhi's mind. He remembered that when he inquired about the situation in Chang'an Warehouse, he summoned this person to question him.

"So, this person is corrupt?"

Wang Fusheng whispered, "It should be."

Wu Meiniang said, "Your Majesty, it's very likely that the Liu family knew about this and that's why they purchased the land in Lingzhou."

Li Zhi nodded and said, "Fu Sheng, send someone to the Dali Temple to convey Di Renjie's order and ask him to investigate this matter thoroughly."

Wang Fusheng agreed and turned to leave the tent. Just as he reached the door, Wang Jishan passed him by and entered the tent.

"Your Majesty, there is the latest news from Subi."

Li Zhi said: "How is the situation?"

Wang Jishan said, "Lu Dongzan has escaped, but the Niangbo and Dabo tribes have discovered the Tibetan army and are preparing to engage them!"

Li Zhi said, "Very good. Pass the news to Xue Rengui and Su Dingfang, and then convey my order, allowing them to decide the timing of the attack on Tubo on their own. Also, if you have any news in the future, report it to them first, and then pass it back to Chang'an."

Wang Jishan reminded him, "Your Majesty, there are also Liuzhao and Tianzhu."

Li Zhi said, "As for the Six Kingdoms, let Xue Rengui coordinate the operations. As for the Indian Empire, send someone to convey a message to Wang Xuance, telling him that the Tang Dynasty is about to attack Tubo and that he should act accordingly."

Wang Jishan said, "I obey your order."

Li Zhi walked to the door of the tent, looked at the drizzle that was still falling outside, and said slowly: "Mei Niang, we can go back to Chang'an now."

(End of this chapter)