Traveling through Du He, Li Chengqian's rebellion begins

Du He, who was originally watching the show, suddenly heard Li Shimin asking him to answer, and the smile on his face froze.

He thought he would see Cheng Yaojin, a tough guy, causing chaos in the Taiji Hall, but now there was no fun to watch.

All the civil and military officials turned their eyes to Du He. They were very confused at the moment and didn't know why His Majesty asked Du He to answer this question.

Because this was a conflict between the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Palace Affairs, and had nothing to do with Du He, the Minister of Works.

"Is it Duhoti's idea to increase the pension for soldiers?"

This thought popped up in the minds of all officials at the same time.

If it were not for this reason, His Majesty would not have let Du He get involved. After all, such an important decree has nothing to do with him.

Du He stood up and said loudly: "Your Majesty, I agree with the Minister of Revenue and Duke Lu that we should give more pensions to the soldiers."

"Because most soldiers come from poor families and are the main labor force in their families, their death in battle will make it difficult for their families to make ends meet!"

as predicted!

When the civil and military officials saw Du He's attitude, all of them showed a look of sudden enlightenment on their faces.

At this moment they were firmly convinced that the crooked idea of increasing the pension was proposed by Du He to His Majesty.

Chu Suiliang asked in a deep voice: "Minister Du, I just mentioned the disadvantages of increasing the pension. What do you think of it?"

Du He turned his head and glanced at him, then spread his hands and said.

"What else can I do? Look at it from the side."

What?

Seeing Du He's rogue look, Chu Suiliang, who had a serious expression on his face, choked and his face instantly turned the color of liver.

He immediately scolded, "Du Shangshu, Taiji Hall is a majestic place, why are you so frivolous?"

"Besides, you are the Minister of Industry, you should set an example. How can you be so frivolous when discussing national affairs?"

As the Minister of Rites and Counselor, Chu Suiliang had the power to impeach all officials, so his scolding of Du He in public was in line with the etiquette of the Tang Dynasty.

Although Chu Suiliang was extremely angry, Cheng Yaojin, Hou Junji, Li Jing and other generals all had faint smiles on their faces.

It had been a long time since they had seen Du He acting like a rogue in the Taiji Hall.

"Cough cough~"

Li Shimin coughed heavily twice, then spoke with a deliberately stern face.

"Du He, be serious!"

Although Li Shimin looked like he was scolding Du He, the expression on his face and the tone of his voice did not sound like he was scolding someone.

"promise!"

Du He saluted Li Shimin with a smile on his face.

He then turned around, his face became serious, and he stared straight at Chu Suiliang and spoke.

"Minister Chu, what do you think the money in the national treasury is used for?"

Hearing Du He's question, not only Chu Suiliang, but also Li Shimin, Li Chengqian, Zhangsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling and others began to frown and think seriously.

There was silence for a moment.

Chu Suiliang answered loudly: "Of course it is to benefit the people."

Everyone in the hall nodded in agreement with Chu Suiliang's answer.

Whether it is building roads, bridges, dams, disaster prevention and other measures, they are all based on people's livelihood, so Chu Suiliang's answer is not wrong.

Du He also agreed: "Minister Chu is right. Benefiting the people is the ultimate destination of this money."

Then Du He changed the subject and spoke in a louder voice.

"Now the families of the fallen soldiers have difficulty farming due to a severe lack of labor, and even making a living is a big problem."

"Minister Chu, do you think the court should use more money from the national treasury to benefit them?"

“Is this method the simplest and most direct?”

Good guy!

Everyone was completely shocked by Du He's words.

Because according to Du He's logic, the most direct way for the court to benefit the people is to give more pensions to soldiers.

But Chu Suiliang was not a pushover. After thinking for a moment, he immediately counterattacked.

"Minister Du, it is better to teach a man to fish than to give him a fish. The pension given by the court will eventually run out."

"And the best way to benefit the people is for the court to permanently exempt the land tax for the families of seriously injured and deceased soldiers!"

"I think it would be beneficial to all the people if the court used this money to build bridges, dig new canals, and construct reservoirs."

As a literary master who was well-versed in history books, Chu Suiliang made a very thorough study of the decrees issued by the powerful Qin and Han dynasties.

He believes that many of the decrees currently promulgated by the court are benevolent policies unprecedented in all previous dynasties.

If the laws are too generous, they will be counterproductive and will not only fail to please the people, but will also cause unnecessary trouble and unrest.

In the eyes of these people who came from aristocratic families, as long as the people did not starve to death, they would not cause trouble or rebel.

Therefore, monarchs and important officials of all dynasties were more harsh on the people when formulating laws.

Du He shook his head and said, "Minister Chu, do you know the current situation of the people of our Tang Dynasty?"

"Not only do the common people lack oxen for farming, many of them don't even have iron hoes!"

"In the absence of labor, do you think that one or two women and children can cultivate their poor and inferior fields?"

"Although the court exempted the people from land tax, their lives are still very miserable. Without more pensions, they will have trouble even getting enough food."

"We can't let the lowest-ranking soldiers bleed and sacrifice their lives, and let their families starve!"

Currently, the most fertile land and the land closest to water sources in the Tang Dynasty are all in the hands of the royal family, aristocratic families and court officials.

The fields allocated to most of the people were of low-quality, far away from water sources and with poor soil.

Even if some common people obtained superior land because of their meritorious service on the battlefield, in the end, the land would be snatched away by the local officials and gods at a low price through trickery.

"this..."

Seeing that Du He brought the topic to the people's fields, Chu Suiliang, who had originally had a tough attitude, suddenly did not dare to continue speaking.

He was afraid that Du He, due to his youthful vigor, would say many things that he shouldn't say in the Taiji Hall.

In particular, the fact that the permanent land owned by the people was of lower grade could not be discussed in the court.

Otherwise, if the matter gets out of hand, a large number of officials might be implicated.

Just when Chu Suiliang was stunned, an official with some white hair on his temples stood up and tried to smooth things over.

"I think what Minister Du said makes sense. The court should treat the soldiers who died in battle better!"

"Besides, your majesty and the ministers have already discussed it, and we, as subordinates, just need to follow their orders."

This old official in lavender official robe is the newly appointed Minister of the Imperial Household Yang Hongli.

He also has another identity, that is, the nephew of Yang Su, the former prime minister of the Sui Dynasty, and a member of a powerful family in Guanlong.

Soon after, other civil officials and military generals also stood up and spoke out in support of the implementation of this decree.

Du He complained in his heart: "It would have been better if it had been done earlier, why did you have to be so stingy."