Chapter 373 Discussion
Political Hall.

Lai Zhen took a sip of tea, tasted it carefully, and said to Feng Changqing: "Good tea, is this a reward from His Majesty to my second brother?"

Lai Chen and Feng Changqing are very familiar with each other and call each other brothers in private.

Feng Changqing put down the memorial and said, "This tea was given to Your Majesty by Li Tengkong, and Your Majesty gave me some."

Lai Zhen said: "I have never liked Li Linfu, but he is a very good tea brewer. Li Tengkong has learned about 70% from Li Linfu."

Feng Changqing said meticulously, "Let's not talk about tea for now. His Majesty asked you to come and discuss with me the matters of rewarding the soldiers who suppressed the rebellion and dealing with Li Lu and his followers. Tell me your thoughts first."

Lai Zhen said, "How could I understand these things? Second brother, just go ahead and propose them, and I will second them."

Feng Changqing sighed and said, "Now I really envy you for being able to ride a horse on the battlefield."

Lai Zhen said: "From being a general to being a prime minister, second brother and eldest brother have become role models for the brothers. We should envy you."

"But it's really tiring!" Feng Changqing sighed again and said, "Let's get down to business. Submit the list of meritorious service to me. I will review it and give it to His Majesty."

"Okay." Lai Zhen nodded and said with a smile: "I didn't accomplish much this time. Prince Ying escaped too quickly. If we were not used to marching thousands of miles in Anxi Beiting, I would not have been able to catch up with him."

Feng Changqing couldn't help laughing after hearing this.

At this time, Li Heng just walked out the door.

Li Heng also felt that Li Lu was a little outrageous, but when he remembered the historical facts that the Tang Dynasty's "capital was captured six times and the emperor moved nine times", he felt relieved.

Because this indirectly indicates that the Tang royal family may have strong escape genes and are natural long-distance runners.

Li Heng walked into the government hall, and Feng Changqing and Lai Zhen hurried over to greet him.

Li Heng greeted the two men, sat down and asked, "I heard that you have already started rewarding meritorious service. What do you plan to do with Prince Ying and his followers?"

Feng Changqing knew that Li Ying had already had an idea, so he said, "Your Majesty, please give me your instructions."

Li Heng said: "Prince Ying was demoted to a commoner, Feng Jikang was exiled, and Li Bai was coerced. I have pardoned him and made him a Hanlin scholar."

Feng Changqing said: "I understand. I will draw up two lists according to the crimes, one for exile and one for pardon."

"Then I'll have to trouble General Feng." Li Heng smiled slightly and turned to the eunuch Baifu and said, "Summon Liu Yan, Cen Shen, Wang Wei, Yuan Chao, and the ministers and vice ministers of various ministries to discuss the matter."

"Yes." Eunuch Baifu took the order and left.

Not long after, civil and military officials entered the Council of State Affairs Hall one after another.

Li Ying first asked Cen Shen, "Have you examined the Buddhist and Taoist temples for harboring traitors?"

Cen Shen replied: "It has been reviewed and the relevant personnel have been convicted. After the Censorate and the Dali Temple review it, it will be reported to Your Majesty."

Upon hearing this, Yuan Zai, the Minister of the Dali Temple, quickly submitted a memorial and said, "Your Majesty, the Dali Temple has completed its review."

Li Heng took a look at it, nodded, and said, "If even the Buddhist temples and Taoist temples in Chang'an dare to harbor rebels, will other places be even more rampant?"

Li Heng wanted to exaggerate the matter, and all the ministers were stunned.

Yuan Zai was the most clever and said quickly, "Your Majesty is wise. I think you should order all local officials to search for religious sites throughout the Tang Dynasty. If anyone is hiding, they should be exiled or ordered to return to secular life, and their property should be confiscated."

Wei Jiansu said: "This may cause a stir in the world. I hope Your Majesty will think twice about this matter."

Li Heng turned to the others and asked, "What do you think?"

Liu Yan knew that Li Heng wanted to bring the religious population and land under government management, but he was also worried that Li Heng's order would cause the people below to mess up, so he stood up and said, "I agree with Yuan Siqing's words, but I need to reiterate a law."

"What law?" Li Ying asked.

Liu Yan said: "Unless they are on the battlefield, no one is allowed to kill people at will. Those whose crimes are very serious must be reported to the emperor as before, and the officials will investigate strictly. The offenders will be charged with murder." According to Tang law, the civil and military officials below did not have the power of life and death, but as the military governors became more powerful and the Anshi Rebellion broke out, the power of life and death was decentralized, and officials in various places killed people at will. Liu Yan said this because he was afraid that the officials below would use the excuse of regulating religion to do evil and kill innocent people, and secondly, he wanted to reiterate the law and take back the power of life and death.

Li Heng had always only noticed Liu Yan's economic talents before, but he was secretly surprised that he also had some insights into criminal justice.

Li Ying said, "I approve it. Do you have any other suggestions?"

Zhang Hao stepped forward and said, "We can send imperial censors or Jinyiwei to inspect and supervise each province and assist local officials in hunting down the rebels."

Li Heng thought for a moment and said, "Approved."

After hearing what Liu Yan and Zhang Hao said, the other officials dared not raise any more objections, because they had already seen that Li Heng raised this matter not for them to refute, but to let them improve the specific approach.

Seeing that no one had any objections, Li Heng said, "Then this matter is settled. The imperial decree will be issued, and officials from all regions will be in charge. The Ministry of Justice, the Dali Temple, the Censorate, and the Jingzhao Prefecture will jointly review and approve it."

"Yes." The ministers accepted the order.

Li Ying turned to Wang Wei and asked, "Have the results of the imperial examination come out?"

Wang Wei said: "They are all out, but..."

"Just what?" Li Heng asked.

Wang Wei said: "In Hebei, only three people made the list in all categories combined."

Li Ying asked, "Is there any behavior of favoritism or fraud?"

Du Fu, who was standing by, said, "Wang Youcheng and his men reviewed the papers three times and found no signs of favoritism or corruption. The comments in all categories were reasonable."

Zhang Hao followed up and said, "I participated in the investigation and found nothing unusual."

The area of ​​Hebei had previously been alienated from the imperial court, and was now in the midst of war, so it was not surprising that three people were on the list.

Li Heng thought for a moment and said, "In this case, let's proceed as usual. After Hebei is stabilized, I will hold another imperial examination. At that time, I will select officials according to their local conditions."

"Yes." Wang Wei and Du Fu accepted the order.

Li Heng then asked Liu Yan, "How is the preparation for the two-tax system going?"

Liu Yan said: "The households have been divided and the land has been counted. I am just about to present the list and account book to Your Majesty."

Li Heng participated in the whole process and knew what was going on. He said, "After I review it, it can be implemented this year."

"Yes." Liu Yan accepted the order.

Li Yan asked Yuan Chao again, "Have you chosen all the people that Yuan Sicheng has selected?"

Yuan Chao said: "Your Majesty, the selection has been completed."

Li Ying said: "Since everything is ready, I will arrange for you to go three days later. You will lead the team to inspect Lingnan and Champa."

"Yes." Yuan Chao accepted the order.

Li Heng stood up and said, "Do you have anything else to report?"

The ministers looked at each other in silence.

Li Heng said, "Then I will make one last announcement. The names of counties in various places will be changed to state names. The left prime minister will lead the various departments to draw up a specific plan and submit it to me. Everyone please go back to your work."

"Yes." The ministers saluted Li Heng and withdrew.

In the government hall, only Liu Yan, Feng Changqing and Lai Chen were left.

(End of this chapter)