I clearly wanted to be a tyrant, but how did I become the greatest emperor of all time?

"If anyone dares to disobey the one holding the sword, he is disobeying me!"

"Also, didn't Rand leave some soldiers in Yuhang?"

Little Weizi nodded repeatedly: "After suppressing the Huaihe River Rebellion, the General of the Canal Transport converted some soldiers into coastal defense troops and stationed them at the mouth of the Huajiang River."

Li Tian immediately said: "Pass on my order, from now on, the Coast Guard Commander will obey Lu Weibin's orders!"

"If there are any disobedience, we can send troops to suppress them!"

"As you command, Your Majesty!"

The two imperial edicts were like a stone that caused a thousand ripples.

The cabinet quickly sent His Majesty's edict to Huajiang Prefecture.

In the cabinet, Tang Xiaoren and Jia Renyi sat opposite each other.

This was originally a friction and clash between the former Prime Minister and the local prefect, but now it has become a major event affecting the court.

As the chief and second assistant ministers of the cabinet, of course we have to guess His Majesty's intentions.

Tang Xiaoren sighed and said, "Your Majesty still wants to settle accounts with Gao Yao."

Jia Renyi nodded: "This Lu Weibin has obviously been supported by His Majesty for a long time."

Tang Xiaoren nodded and said, "Young people are formidable. I never expected that his first target would be the former Prime Minister."

Jia Renyi asked doubtfully, "But why is your majesty doing this? Do you want to settle accounts with Gao Yao?"

"Gao Yao's influence in the court has long been cleared out."

Jia Renyi didn't understand.

The turmoil at the Censorate had already eliminated all of Gao Yao's subordinates.

The court is now firmly under the control of Your Majesty.

Gao Yao has clearly retired and returned home, so why is Your Majesty still pursuing him so relentlessly?

Tang Xiaoren said: "Your Majesty is not targeting Gao Yao alone."

Jia Renyi asked, "Master Tang, what do you mean?"

Tang Xiaoren said: "Your Majesty wants to suppress local tyrants and rectify land annexation!"

At this point, Jia Renyi suddenly realized.

As expected, when it comes to understanding His Majesty's thoughts, I am still too naive.

Land annexation was one of the chronic diseases of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

The Great Zhou currently mainly collects head tax and land tax.

The poll tax is also called the Ding tax.

The land in the world has always been limited, but the dynasty's expenses have been increasing.

Moreover, when it came to Li Tian, the land tax collected was even less than that of the previous emperor's dynasty.

In fact, the reason is very simple. The landlords do not pay taxes, the poor cannot afford to pay taxes, and the amount of land that can pay taxes is becoming increasingly smaller.

Rich families and officials all have ways to avoid taxes. For example, Gao Yao has hundreds of hectares of land, and he just pays a little land tax every year to get away with it.

Some ordinary landowners would even transfer their land to the names of masters and scholars who were eligible for tax exemption.

This kind of thing is very common in Yuhang and is called "offering".

Since the land tax cannot be collected, the only option is to increase the intensity of collecting head tax.

In order to complete the task assigned by the Ministry of Revenue, local county magistrates were very strict in collecting the head tax.

Those people who no longer had any land were also dragged into collecting taxes.

This led to the bankruptcy of many poor farmers.

Then Da Zhou also appeared:

"The rich have fields stretching across the country, but few are required to work as laborers, while the poor peasants have no land to stand on, but are required to perform heavy labor service."

Apparently the cabinet has also noticed this situation.

For example, Jia Renyi levied commercial taxes on the border in order to increase the court's revenue.

It turns out that Your Majesty wants to solve the land problem.

Jia Renyi said seriously:

"Restraining the powerful and controlling annexation are important matters for the imperial court."

"Can I let Lu Weibin handle it?"

Tang Xiaoren stroked his beard and said:

"Of course it won't work if it's just Lu Weibin, but with the support of His Majesty, this will definitely work!"

Jia Renyi said longingly: "If it can really be done, it will add to the country's fortune for future generations!"

"That's exactly what you said!"

The imperial edict was sent to Huajiang Prefecture without delay.

At this time, Gao Yao was already hosting a banquet for the local wealthy families in Huajiang to celebrate the victory of this battle.

The trend of impeaching Lu Weibin has already started.

In the entire Yuhang, except for the governor who did not get involved, almost all other officials, both big and small, submitted a petition to impeach Lu Weibin.

Plus, there are already many retired bigwigs in Yuhang.

These memorials can bury Lu Weibin!

In recent days, Lu Weibin has been hiding in the yamen.

This proves that he is afraid!

As long as the final result comes out, Lu Weibin will definitely be transferred out of Huajiang Prefecture.

By then, Huajiang Prefecture will be under their control again.

Gao Yao's son attended social events and drank on Gao Yao's behalf.

The entire Gao family was in a festive mood.

"This time, it's all thanks to Mr. Gao. If it weren't for Mr. Gao, we silk reeling shops would have to pay taxes!"

A local tycoon complimented.

Nowadays, all the wealthy people in Huajiang Prefecture have established silk reeling workshops.

Every day there are ships arriving from Japan and Goryeo at the mouth of the Huajiang River.

All these ships came to Yuhang to buy silk.

Gao Yao smiled and said, "Everyone, work harder tomorrow and close a few more workshops."

"Drive all those peasants who can't afford to eat to the government office!"

"Let them beg for food from the prefect, hahahaha!"

Gao Yao laughed loudly, and all the wealthy people present also laughed.

This time he was sure of victory. As a former prime minister, how could he not be able to deal with a kid who had just won the top spot in the imperial examination?

This caused a mutiny and he was impeached by the whole Yuhang.

Even if the Yuhang governor supported him, it would be difficult for Lu Weibin to turn things around!

At this time, Lu Weibin was also in the room, thinking about how to turn the situation around.

It was obvious that he knew who the enemy was.

This hostile force is extremely powerful, and Lu Weibin did not expect their methods to be so fierce.

Don't have any chance of luck against your enemies anymore.

Lu Weibin summed up his experience, but he still had no idea how to break the impasse.

Could it be that I was really wrong?

At this moment, the imperial edict from Kyoto finally arrived!

"Sir, the imperial edict from Kyoto has arrived!" the lawyer said hurriedly.

"Go and receive the order."

Lu Weibin straightened his official robe.

At worst, I won’t wear this dress!

When the eunuch who delivered the imperial edict saw Lu Weibin, he smiled flatteringly.

Eunuch Wei had already given instructions before leaving the palace.

This Lord Lu is the person Your Majesty wrote on the screen.

If nothing unexpected happens, he will become a prime minister and an important official!

Must be respected!

The young eunuch read out in a respectful voice: "The Emperor, in compliance with the Will of Heaven, proclaims..."

After hearing the imperial edict, Lu Weibin was stunned.

what?

Your Majesty, are you fully supporting me?

The young eunuch respectfully took out a sword.

"Lord Lu, this is the jade sword bestowed by the emperor!"

"The emperor said that seeing this sword is like seeing your majesty in person!"

"This is the imperial seal granted by His Majesty. If you encounter anyone who disobeys, you have the right to execute them first and report later. Just write your name on the seal!"

"Lord Lu, the Huhaifu stationed at the mouth of the Huajiang River is General Rand's old team that pacified the Huaihe River."

"His Majesty has also handed over the command of the Sea Guard House to you."

"The captain of the Guarding Sea Office will report to you shortly."

"Lord Lu is busy with official business, so I'll take my leave now!"

The young eunuch did not even take the usual reward for delivering the imperial edict and left in a hurry.

The master said excitedly: "Mr. Prefect, Your Majesty is so gracious!"