Chapter 376: The Domineering Decision
Liu Xiu did not give in to the rebellion of the aristocratic families. He adopted military suppression against the rebels and relocated the rebellious aristocratic families to their homeland.

However, the powerful families made great contributions to the founding of the Eastern Han Dynasty, and Liu Xiu's suppression of the families could not be carried out completely. The land measurement only achieved a success in maintaining face.

Historically, the reason why Tang Dezong's implementation of the Two-Tax System did not trigger a large-scale armed riot was because he did not re-check the land and population. Many aristocratic families protected their interests by concealing and lying about their land and population.

The reason why Emperor Dezong of Tang did not conduct an investigation was, on the one hand, that he was compromising with the aristocratic families, and on the other hand, his original intention in implementing the Two Tax System was not to redistribute benefits but to make money.

Emperor Dezong of Tang had no choice. In order to quell the An-Shi Rebellion, Li Heng and Li Yu had collected taxes from the Jianghuai region. After the Huang Chao Uprising, the people became poor and there was no more money to be made from them.

But Li Heng was not just looking for money. He wanted to solve the distribution problem and had to re-check the land and population.

Of course, in order to stabilize the basic situation, he was not in a hurry to check the four towns in Longyou Road.

Diwu Qi has been in charge of verification at the local level for more than a year.

The investigation of land and population and the promulgation of the Two Tax Law caused unrest, which was also expected.

Li Heng pondered for a moment and said to Wei Jiansu, "What do you think the Left Prime Minister should do?"

Wei Jiansu said: "We should stop implementing the two-tax system and continue to use the rent, labor and tax system."

Li Heng was not angry either, and said calmly: "If we stop implementing the two-tax system, who will the court collect taxes from? From the refugees? Or from the poor who trade their children for food?"

Wei Jiansu stood there in a daze, speechless.

At this time, Wei Fangjin, who had long been disgusted with Li Ying, stood up and said, "Your Majesty thinks highly of yourself and refuses to listen to the advice of loyal ministers. All major events in the world are decided by your Majesty alone. Your Majesty is trying to win the hearts of the people with the heart of one person."

When Wei Fangjin said this, all the officials present were stunned.

The government hall suddenly became quiet, so silent that you could hear a pin drop.

Li Ying looked at Wei Fangjin and paused for a long while before saying, "If you have anything else to say, say it all at once."

Wei Fangjin said: "According to the convention, the imperial edicts are drafted by the Zhongshu Province, reviewed by the Menxia Province, and executed by the Shangshu Province. The imperial edicts issued by your majesty are not considered official edicts without the Zhongshu Ling's seal. During the reign of Emperor Zhongzong, Emperor Zhongzong was able to issue imperial edicts on his own, and he even used oblique seals on the edicts. However, your majesty does not have a Zhongshu Ling, and all imperial edicts are implemented as official edicts."

The obliquely sealed imperial edict mentioned by Wei Fangjin also has a history.

According to the normal process, all imperial edicts had to go through the Zhongshu Menxia Province, but in order to appoint people he liked, Li Xian did not go through the Zhongshu Menxia Province for appointments. However, he was not Li Shimin after all, and he felt a little guilty about doing so. Therefore, the envelope containing the imperial edict was not sealed straight, but slanted, and the word "edict" was written with an ink pen instead of a red pen. This is the so-called slanted sealed ink edict.

Now Li Heng has passed through the Zhongshu Neixia Province, but the Zhongshu Province does not have a Zhongshu Ling, and Wei Jiansu, the Shizhong of the Menxia Province, has been constantly criticized.

Li Heng knew that this approach was not in compliance with regulations, but given the current situation in the Tang Dynasty, he would not be able to implement his decrees without being strong enough.

Li Yan asked, "Who do you think is suitable to be the Minister of the Central Secretariat?"

Wei Fangjin said: "I recommend you, the left prime minister."

Li Heng turned to ask Wei Jiansu, "What does the Left Prime Minister think?"

Wei Jiansu hurriedly said, "I dare not. Your Majesty is wise and wise. It is up to Your Majesty to decide who is suitable to be the right prime minister."

Li Ying then asked the others, "What do you think?"

When Li Ying asked this question, some people answered in a scattered manner. Some recommended Gao Xianzhi, some recommended Feng Changqing, some recommended Liu Yan, and some recommended Guo Ziyi.

Li Heng waited for everyone to finish speaking, then said, "You all have different opinions, and I am in a very difficult situation and cannot make up my mind. But without the Minister of the Central Secretariat, the imperial edict will not be issued? The rebellion will not be quelled? And I won't have to eat?"

Li Heng fixed his eyes on Wei Fangjin and said, "Without the Minister of the Central Secretariat, I wonder if you will eat or not. Come, throw Minister Wei into jail. I wonder how long Minister Wei can starve!"

As soon as Li Heng finished speaking, two Jinyiwei came in and pulled Wei Fangjin out.

"Although the position of Zhongshuling is vacant, all the imperial edicts I issued were issued by Zhongshusheng and were stamped with Zhongshusheng's seal. Didn't the Tang Dynasty not have a permanent Shangshuling since Emperor Taizong?" Li Heng explained, and then said, "The implementation of any new system will encounter resistance. If you retreat when you encounter resistance, how can you succeed? The Two Tax Law must be implemented. From today on, anyone who dares to say that the new system is not feasible will be treated as a criminal!"

As Li Ying spoke, he drew out his sword and cut off a corner of the dragon table.

The ministers were shocked and lowered their heads, not daring to look at Li Heng. Li Heng continued, "Bozhou Governor Helan Jinming has been wavering since the An Lushan Rebellion. There are remnants of An Lushan's rebellion in Bianzhou and Chenliu, and Li Lu's rebellion party in Xiangzhou and Jingzhou. Qizhou is inside the pass and has not been affected by the rebellion, but corruption is rampant. At a time when the country is in turmoil, the local tyrants do not know how to repay the grace of heaven and govern the people. Instead, they hide the population and land and hide the wealth for themselves. When I asked them to pay some money, they colluded with the rebels and caused trouble. Such an act of abandoning the country and the family, I want to tolerate it, but heaven will not tolerate it!"

Feng Changqing stood up and said, "Your Majesty, what you said makes sense. How can the Tang Dynasty compromise with rebellion? We should send troops to suppress the rebellion immediately."

As soon as Feng Changqing took the lead, Li Heng's direct descendants followed suit.

Li Heng then made arrangements, saying, "Let Ma Lin and Li Sheng suppress the rebellion in Beihai, let Lai Zhen suppress Xiangzhou and Jingzhou, let Gao Xianzhi suppress Bianzhou and Chenliu, and let Li Siye go to Qizhou."

After listening to Li Heng's arrangements, Feng Changqing immediately understood why Li Heng wanted to keep the Helong soldiers in these places in the first place.

It turned out that Li Heng had been preparing for a rainy day and had long been prepared for the possibility of rebellion when he implemented the new policy.

The ministers could only obey orders.

Li Heng gave instructions for other matters and the meeting was adjourned.

……

Chengxiang Hall.

Yang Yuhuan brought tea to Li Heng and said tentatively, "I heard that Minister Wei was very treasonous today and contradicted you, my lord. Please don't get so angry that you get sick."

Li Ying said: "I am not that narrow-minded."

Yang Yuhuan said: "This Minister Wei really deserves to die. I am just afraid that he will starve to death. People who don't know the truth will say that you can't stand words that go against your ears."

Li Ying understood the implication of Yang Yuhuan's words and couldn't help laughing.

Yang Yuhuan hurriedly said, "I know I was wrong and shouldn't have discussed state affairs. Please punish me, my lord."

"I'm arrogant, what you said..." Li Heng originally wanted to say that the queen was powerful, but then he thought of Yang Yuhuan's restraint, so he changed his words and said, "You have a big heart. It's easy to kill someone when you're an emperor, but it's easy to kill someone but hard to regain your heart. Don't worry, I won't really let Wei Fangjin starve to death. I want him to see that I was right to implement the two-tax system by taking the lead."

"My dear, you are as wise as Yao, Shun, Yu and Tang." Yang Yuhuan said with a smile.

Li Ying asked, "When did you learn these flattering words?"

Before Yang Yuhuan could answer, Aqisi came in and said, "Your Majesty is originally a bird sashimi fish soup."

Li Heng looked at Aqisi and said with a smile: "It's been so many years, and you still can't pronounce clearly?"

Aqisi asked, "Am I wrong?"

Li Heng smiled and said, "I am considering whether to set up a Mandarin level test?"

"What kind of Mandarin test is this?" Aqisi wondered.

Li Ying said, "Even if it is set, you won't pass the test. Forget it, we'll talk about it later."

Aqisi probably understood what Li Ying meant and said, "Every profession has its own specialty. If I want to take the exam, I will take the exam for the top martial arts champion."

Li Ying said, "When you go to take the martial arts test, who dares to touch you?"

"That's right." Aqisi suddenly felt that it was meaningless.

Li Heng changed the topic and said, "What about Xianyi? This time she was able to persuade the Wei family to cooperate in implementing the new policy, which saved me a lot of trouble. She has done a great job."

Yang Yuhuan said: "She went back to her parents' home to report her achievements. Her husband felt that she had saved him trouble, but she felt that she had saved the Wei family from disaster."

Li Ying smiled upon hearing this and said, "That's the right way to understand it."

(End of this chapter)