The Tang Dynasty: Wu Zetian made me her imperial tutor

Changan.

Hundreds of houses resemble a game of Go, and twelve streets are like vegetable plots.

Fourteen east-west streets and eleven north-south streets divided the city into square blocks. During the reign of Emperor Wen of Sui, these were called "fang" (坊), and during the reign of Emperor Yang of Sui, they were called "li" (里). During the Tang Dynasty, they were renamed "huifang" (回坊).

To the west of the East Market are Pingkangfang and Xuanyangfang. At the southeast corner of Xuanyangfang is the location of the Wannian County Government.

At this moment, in the Household Affairs Hall of the East Courtyard, Liu Fang, the County Magistrate of Wannian County, and Wang Fu, the County Magistrate of Chang'an County, were discussing behind closed doors:

"Brother Liu, have you received the news? An imperial censor is coming to deal with the issue of the false emperor. Do you have any plans on how to resolve this?"

"I've heard that Imperial Censor Lu is truly remarkable. He discovered tens of thousands of cases in just seven days. He's a rare and capable official..."

"Is he the top scholar in the imperial examination who co-authored the 'Classic of Tea' with the Empress Dowager and is known as the Sage of Tea?"

"Hmm, such a high-ranking official's performance evaluation is unprecedented in decades. To be promoted to Censor in just two months is unheard of!"

"Wasn't it him who recommended that the court register his works? He has some influence among scholars, so why would he target us gentry?"

"Relying on the Empress Dowager's favor, they want to continue rising in rank, and they're using the Guanzhong gentry as stepping stones!"

When the two mentioned Lu Jun, they initially showed some admiration, but as they talked, they gradually became indignant.

They exchanged a few words of insult, accusing him of being greedy for credit and going astray, before returning to the main topic.

"Brother Liu, I've thought about it, and I realize we need to update the records of meritorious officials, otherwise the court will definitely punish us."

"This is difficult. The Ministry of War has records of awarding honors, and the Ministry of Personnel has records for verification. A false honor is a false honor; it can't be changed..."

"Just say the county's roster is wrong, how about that?"

"How could you get this wrong?"

"Over the years, many soldiers have been awarded medals and died in battle. We can just say that we are indignant at the loss of the martyrs and tacitly allow their relatives to occupy the property, and make them pay the rent, labor service and tax."

"That makes sense. It's not easy to check household registrations anyway; we can't possibly check every family genealogy..."

"We're not afraid of them checking the genealogy. Before the censors arrive, let them change the genealogy, and we'll affix our seals as proof!"

Both men came from prominent families. Liu Fang was from the Liu clan of Hedong, which was also a clan in Guanzhong, and their interests were closely intertwined.

Wang Fu was from the Wang clan of Taiyuan. Although he was not from Guanzhong, many of his aunts and uncles were from Yongzhou.

After some deliberation, a solution was quickly devised.

Impersonating relatives of martyrs.

As long as everyone follows this line of reasoning and actively pays back taxes and corvée labor, if the imperial court insists on pursuing the matter, then there will be trouble!

"The matter of making up the debt must be done quickly. Forging an official title is ultimately against the law. If the court takes it seriously, he will be exiled anyway."

"Yes, we need to make up for more than just last year's payments; we need to make up for at least three to five years' worth before the imperial court can justify it."

"But there's a problem. Wannian County alone has over two thousand people, and Chang'an County has over three thousand, totaling more than six thousand. We can't possibly notify them all in such a hurry, can we?"

"We can just inform our relatives and friends. If others want to avoid punishment, they'll have to put in some effort themselves, cough cough..."

"Haha, I understand now. We'll go find the wealthy merchants on the list first; they'll definitely be willing..."

This is a good deal.

To avoid punishment, one always has to spend money. Of the tens of thousands of false officials in Chang'an, 60% were imposters. Each of them paid 1,000 coins, which is 6,000 strings of cash. That's enough for Liu Fang and Wang Fu to each buy a large mansion.

But the two immediately realized that they couldn't keep the money for themselves; there were still the county magistrate and the chief administrator of Yongzhou above them.

"Your Excellency is from the Li family of Zhao County. You dare not offend the local powerful clans, and you are also afraid that the future search will affect your own family. You will support us."

"The Prefect of Yongzhou is from the Yang family of Hongnong, which is also a prominent family in Guanzhong. He will certainly not sit idly by."

"Brother Wang, I received a letter from the capital saying that the Empress Dowager is taking the search of escaped households very seriously. Will she take drastic measures?"

"She's just a woman, don't overestimate her!"

"Aren't you afraid she'll send cruel officials over?"

"She used cruel officials because she was afraid the Li family would rebel; she didn't dare offend too many people, otherwise Guanzhong would rise up in rebellion and become a separatist regime!"

"Moreover, Vice Minister Zhou and Imperial Censor Lai are both from Chang'an and are on our side. Which cruel official can she rely on?"

"Yes, yes, are we suggesting we ask Master Xue to step in and use his robust physique to suppress us?"

Hahaha--

A burst of laughter erupted from the Household Affairs Office.

Wannian County Office was built by Yuwen Kai of the former Sui Dynasty. It was a grand building, and Li Lingyue and Xue Shao held their wedding banquet here.

The county had six county constables, each in charge of one of the six departments: merit, household, granary, military, law, and civil service. Each had its own independent hall, so they were not afraid of being overheard by others.

There were slight sounds outside the hall, which lasted only a moment before stopping.

The two listened intently for a moment, assuming it was just the wind rustling the leaves, and paid no attention.

We took a sip of tea, and the aroma filled our mouths.

The topic shifted to the Empress Dowager's personnel selection...

"That Lu Jun does have some remarkable qualities. This tea is quite good; it's both delicious and elegant, reflecting the refined taste of a scholar. I've also heard that he's offered many insightful observations..."

"ambitious but incompetent! Searching for escaped households is a dead end, not a good strategy at all."

"What do you mean?"

"He appeared to have uncovered 10,000 fraudulent individuals in seven days, but in reality, they were just a small fraction of the escaped households!"

"The two counties of Chang'an have a total of 80,000 households and hundreds of thousands of people. Many of them evade taxes and corvée labor, not even counting those who are not registered in the household register. How many have he even investigated?"

"If he dares to investigate the tenant farmers and retainers taken in by those powerful clans, even the Imperial Guards might not be able to protect him!"

"Many people claim kinship with princes and nobles, whose influence in the court is extremely deep. Can he possibly touch them?"

"The most difficult thing is that nowadays many people buy ordination certificates and register their faith with Buddhist temples, but how many of them dare to investigate the temples?"

"And those who fled to other places are even less of a concern. There's simply no land to grant in Guanzhong, so what's the point of bringing them back?"

Since the founding of the Tang Dynasty, the methods of evading taxes and corvée labor have become increasingly cunning.

During the Zhenguan era, the people were simple and honest, and the common method was to sever their tendons and tendons... to mutilate their limbs.

After registering as disabled, one is no longer required to pay taxes or perform corvée labor or military service; one is only required to perform corvée labor.

Later, the practice of bestowing honorary titles and rewards became rampant, and forging official titles and engaging in sexual labor became a convenient method; as the number of officials increased, it also became common for them to register their household registration with officials or nobles.

There is an even better way now—

He bought a certificate of ordination from the government and became a monk.

The temples were willing to accept donations and take them in, and the local officials, knowing that the Empress Dowager was a Buddhist, turned a blind eye.

These fake monks, who were exempt from paying taxes and performing corvée labor, thus became fugitives.

Once and for all.

Searching for fugitives is a complicated and difficult task. As they talked about this, Liu Fang and Wang Fu became more confident and even more disdainful of Lu Jun.

"The Empress Dowager is a devout Buddhist. No matter how favored Lu Jun is, it's impossible for her to thoroughly investigate Buddhist temples and force monks to return to secular life!"

"He probably knew it would be difficult, so he traveled extremely slowly, only making it to two stations a day."

"Haha, so Brother Liu also sent people to keep an eye on things. No wonder he wasn't worried; turns out he was too afraid to come!"

"That young man is dashing and romantic, always accompanied by beautiful maids. He stops frequently to admire the scenery outside the palace. His advisors are also renowned poets and writers, composing poems and essays along the way. The Imperial Guards can only proceed slowly, and it might take them seventeen or eighteen days to reach Chang'an!"

"This is not how you do things!"

"Maybe they took a different approach, secretly using the Empress Dowager's connections, just to get some credit and leave?"

"Haha, finding another way, using connections privately... Brother Wang's words are extremely apt, I admire them greatly!"

His tone gradually became frivolous, and the topic began to extend to male concubines and romantic affairs.

suddenly……

The hall doors swung open with a whoosh!

A tall, handsome young man stood at the front, wearing a dark blue silk robe and holding several rolls of yellow paper.

Behind him stood two scholars in green robes, one in his twenties and the other in his forties, both suppressing their smiles.

There were more than twenty strong men standing in the courtyard, each carrying a bow and arrows on their back and a sword at their waist. They were full of energy, with bright eyes and smiles on their lips.

The first boy sighed, "It's very unpleasant to hear you talk like that."

"Weren't we having a good chat just now?"

"I really can't stand listening to this nonsense."

"Since you like talking so much, why don't you write it down? I'll send it to Shangyang Palace for the Empress Dowager to see."

Seeing so many people listening, Liu Fang and Wang Fu's faces turned pale instantly, their hands loosened, and the teacups fell to the ground.

Judging from the tone of the young man in front of him, and from his clothes and appearance, he seemed to be the person he was talking about.

The strange noises in the courtyard earlier weren't the wind; someone had quietly sneaked in without them noticing.

Liu Fang asked timidly, "Are you... Imperial Censor Lu? Aren't you still on your way?"

Lu Jun, Zhang Shuo, and Du Shenyan exchanged a smile: "Who said I was on the road? I've been riding at breakneck speed all the way, I'm almost falling apart. You're saying I'm sightseeing?"

His eyes suddenly lit up as he unfurled a roll of yellow paper.

"Imperial Edict: Liu Fang, the magistrate of Wannian County, and Wang Fu, the magistrate of Chang'an County, are officials who are close to the people and whose duties include checking and investigating."

"But they forged official titles and falsely claimed to perform corvée labor, resulting in the concealment of laborers, the deficit of taxes and corvée labor, the shortage of soldiers, and the neglect of military preparedness."

"Judging from his actions, he has indeed violated the laws and regulations; upon closer examination of his true intentions, he cannot escape the allure of bribery."

"Liu Fang and Wang Fuli shall be stripped of their titles and honors in order to punish traitors. The Supervising Censor Lu Jun shall be ordered to conduct an investigation and submit a written report!"