Chapter 386 Results
"I don't know the specific situation." Wei Xianyi replied ignorantly, "It seems that the people from the Ministry of Internal Affairs went out to buy things and had a conflict with the people."

Wei Xianyi couldn't explain it clearly, but Li Heng could probably guess it and said, "Then let the Queen speak later."

"Okay." Wei Xianyi nodded.

Not long after, Yang Yuhuan came to the edge of Tianchi Lake and sat down next to Li Heng. She said, "As you expected, the people from the Ministry of Internal Affairs have indeed made a mistake."

Li Ying asked: "What exactly happened?"

Yang Yuhuan said, "The purchasing eunuchs from the Ministry of Internal Affairs went to buy pork. They only paid two cents for a pig from the common people. Not only that, they also forcibly took away other people's donkeys, saying that without donkeys, the pork could not be brought back."

Li Ying said: "It's really hard to change one's nature."

Yang Yuhuan said: "If something like this happens, you can hand over the purchasing power back to the officials."

According to the law, eunuchs did not have the right to purchase before Emperor Dezong of Tang established the palace market. This has to do with the supply of materials to the Tang Dynasty court.

The material supply of the Tang Dynasty court mainly came from taxes, tributes, self-sufficiency, and purchases.

Among them, taxes were the main supply. Before the implementation of the Two Tax System, there were taxes such as rent, labor service, household tax, land tax, capital tax, and extortion. After the implementation of the Two Tax System, taxes could only be drawn from the two taxes.

The materials used to supply the palace with taxes were mainly managed by the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Agriculture.

Tribute includes local tributes in addition to local taxes, tributes from officials, and tributes from vassal states.
Local tributes from various places were mainly submitted to the Imperial Household Department, while tributes from officials were placed in the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

When vassal states paid tribute, they had to be reviewed by the Honglu Temple, checked by the Shaofujian, and priced by the Shisi, and then summarized by the Zhongshu Province, which would decide how to distribute them to the supply departments. For example, the good horses would be sent to the Dianzhongjian, and the inferior horses would be sent to the Taifu Temple. If they were offering medicines, they would need to be jointly inspected by the Shaofujian, the Imperial Medical Bureau, the Shangyaoju, etc., and only after they were confirmed to be correct could they be put into storage.

Self-sufficient supply includes military farms, mining, palace gardens, registered fields, etc., each of which is very complicated.

Finally, it’s procurement.

Various supplies cannot meet the material needs of the court, so procurement is also a top priority.

According to the law, different things are purchased by different departments. For example, grain is purchased by the Sinong Temple, fish is purchased by the Dushuijian, and meals are purchased by the Guanglu Temple. When it comes to the emperor's meals or banquets, they are also managed by different departments...

In a word, the procedure is complex and large-scale, but well organized.

However, even with such a complex and huge scale, it still could not meet the needs of the court.

Although these things are rich and diverse, they are all managed by the formal institutions of the court. Every penny must be recorded, and procedures must be followed. They must be approved by the Secretariat, reviewed by the Ministry of Personnel, and finally approved at the year-end financial meeting.

If Li Linfu or Yang Guozhong were the right prime minister, they would just be careless in order to please Li Longji. But people like Yao Chong and Zhang Jiuling would not be careless. When the palace expenses were too high, they would push back the approval process. When the finances were tight, tribute was not allowed to enter the inner court and was directly used for public purposes.

In the early period of Li Longji's reign, he advocated frugality. In the palace, he issued an edict that "pearls, jade, silk and satin are all treasures. I have always thought about the cost of a hundred gold coins and always cherish the production of ten families. Therefore, the clothes we wear are not silk and satin; the crowns we wear are not pearls and jade. As for the clothes made of Yi silk and coarse silk, although we have declined the virtues of the ancients, we have not forgotten the frugality of the ancient philosophers..." He actively rectified the consumption habits of the palace and promulgated the "Ordinance on Prohibition of Brocade, Embroidery, Pearls and Jade" to restrict the consumption of princes and ministers.

At this time, Yao Chong and Zhang Jiuling's control over court expenses was in line with his thinking.

But in his later years, Li Longji became corrupt.

It is said that the court has no affairs and the country is at peace. All officials take holidays every ten days and do not need to work personally. They just enjoy pursuing victories.

At this time, Li Longji didn't want anyone to stop him from enjoying himself. In addition, Gao Lishi was extremely powerful and the eunuchs were getting more powerful. The Ministry of Internal Affairs became increasingly important in the supply of palace materials. The Internal Affairs Bureau began to purchase things, and the palace market had taken shape.

However, when people in later generations mentioned the palace market, the first person they thought of was Emperor Dezong of Tang. There are two main reasons for this.

First, Emperor Dezong of Tang institutionalized the palace market.

Second, "The Charcoal Seller" written by Bai Juyi had a huge influence and received a lot of publicity.

Li Heng was well aware of these things, so he always wanted to return the right to supply materials to the palace to the formal government agencies.

However, a corrupt atmosphere had already formed, and it would be difficult to seize power from the eunuchs without an excuse.

He has been waiting for this opportunity.

Li Heng asked, "How will you deal with the man from the Ministry of Internal Affairs?"

Yang Yuhuan said, "If we want to make a big deal out of this, we can't solve it in the Ministry of Internal Affairs. I'll hand him over to the Censorate. The officials in the Censorate have long been fed up with the Ministry of Internal Affairs buying what the court needs, but they're worried that you'll be like the retired emperor, being open in front and dark in the back, and they're afraid of your authority and don't dare to write to the emperor. Now I'll give you the Ministry of Internal Affairs, they should know what to do."

Li Heng smiled and said, "Let the people from the Imperial Censorate write a letter to force the Ministry of Internal Affairs to hand over the purchasing rights. This way, the people from the Ministry of Internal Affairs can't blame us."

Yang Yuhuan said: "The eunuchs are close servants after all, so we need to be careful with them, using both kindness and severity. Otherwise, they will be disrespectful if they are close to us, and resentful if they are far away, which will be disadvantageous to us."

Li Ying said: "You have done a great job. I feel much more relieved now that you are in charge of the inner palace."

Yang Yuhuan said: "My dear husband, you care about the world. I am very happy that I can help you."

Li Heng was worried about his change of mind. After hearing what Yang Yuhuan said, he asked in confusion, "Do you think I will be like the emperor, who was bright at first but dark later?"

"Of course not." Yang Yuhuan said firmly, and then explained: "Although you were born a prince, you have suffered a lot in the past ten years, and you know the suffering of the people. You have a compassionate heart that other princes and nobles do not have. Such a person will not be bright at first and dark later."

Li Heng was touched to see that Yang Yuhuan believed in him more than he did, and said, "Yes, as an emperor, I am responsible for thousands of people. It's a pity that I have only one piece of clothing on my body, and I am worried about the cheap coal and wish for cold weather. I don't want this to happen, at least not everywhere."

Yang Yuhuan said: "I believe you can do it."

Li Ying looked at Yang Yuhuan and suddenly understood something.

He is now paying more and more attention to groups rather than individuals because the policies he promotes are not centered on a particular individual but on groups.

Paying attention to individuals is based on emotion, while paying attention to groups needs to be based on rationality. Only by integrating individuals and groups can we be people-oriented while not acting on impulse.

Seeing that Li Heng seemed to be thinking about something, Yang Yuhuan asked curiously, "What are you thinking about, my dear?"

Li Ying said: "Many times, you are more determined than me, and you always make me understand what I should do."

Yang Yuhuan said, "How can I be so capable? It's because my husband is just that kind of person. The pressure he faces is unimaginable. He has to deal with so many more things than I do, and he is more tired than me. I am not afraid of talking, so I appear firm. If I had to face what my husband has to face, I would have given up long ago."

At this point, Yang Yuhuan took Li Ying's hand and continued, "No one is born brave or wise. The one who can keep moving forward in the face of hesitation and keep his original intention after hesitation is the real hero."

Li Ying was quite touched and said with a smile: "You look like my master now."

Yang Yuhuan said, "I am too talkative, please punish me, my lord."

Li Ying said, "Then I'll punish you by making you dance."

"Okay." Yang Yuhuan smiled knowingly, "I'll go change my clothes."

"Aim." Li Ying said.

Yang Yuhuan stood up, bowed to Li Heng, and went back to change her clothes.

Wei Xianyi listened silently at the side, and after Yang Yuhuan left, she said, "Sister Queen is so smart. I will never be able to say what she said, nor do what she did."

Li Ying said: "Everyone has his or her own strengths. You don't have to compare your weaknesses with others' strengths. You have your own strengths." "That's right." Wei Xianyi was very open-minded and smiled: "Even if I am useless, I can still applaud others for their goodness. This is also a happy thing."

Li Heng nodded.

After a while, Yang Yuhuan changed into a white dress and came, dancing gracefully in the sunset beside the Tianchi Lake.

Li Ying and Wei Xianyi just sat on the ground and watched.

Wei Xianyi looked at Yang Yuhuan's dancing with amazement in her eyes. When Yang Yuhuan finished dancing, Wei Xianyi clapped her hands happily and praised, "Sister Queen is really like a fairy!"

Upon hearing this, Li Ying turned around and glanced at Wei Xianyi.

Wei Xianyi did not fawn on Yang Yuhuan, did not envy, and did not waste her energy on her beautiful dancing. She was really just appreciating Yang Yuhuan's beauty.

From beginning to end, Wei Xianyi was like a curious child, sincerely applauding others' excellence.

Li Ying couldn't help but smile, cheered up, stood up and went back to the house with Yang Yuhuan and Wei Xianyi.

……

The next day.

An Zhongzhang and An Baozhen, who were stationed in Weizhou and Mingzhou, returned to Beijing to report on their work.

Because of An Lushan's rebellion, the two men did not want to use the surname An anymore, and asked Li Heng to change their names to their surnames.

Li Ying did not shirk his responsibility and changed An Zhongzhang's name to Li Baoyu and An Baozhen's name to Li Baozhen.

The two got new names and went happily.

When Liu Yan entered the palace and met the two men, he asked curiously, "Why are the two generals so happy?"

Li Baoyu smiled and said, "From now on, please call me Li Baoyu, and call me Li Baozhen."

Liu Yan said: "Congratulations to both of you."

Li Baoyu and Li Baoyu laughed and bowed, saying, "I will invite the Right Prime Minister to have a drink tomorrow. Please do me a favor."

Liu Yan said: "Of course, of course."

Li Baoyu and Li Baozhen bowed to Liu Yan and left.

As they walked along the road, Li Baozhen asked, "Brother, Liu Yan has never fought in a war, or even led an army, so how come he became the right prime minister?"

"Be careful with your words." Li Baoyu lowered his voice. "Liu Yan has been with Your Majesty for a long time. He has farmed in Anxi and managed business. Your Majesty's logistics have always been managed by him. Without him to manage finances, how can the soldiers on the front line fight? General Gao respects him, and Li Siye obeys him. It is expected that he will be the right prime minister."

Li Baozhen asked: "Will he become the second Li Linfu?"

"You..." Li Baoyu looked around and saw that no one was eavesdropping on their conversation. He whispered, "If Your Majesty is like the Emperor, Liu Yan might become the second Li Linfu. Okay, stop talking about this."

"Yes." Li Baozhen nodded, and they left the palace together.

Liu Yan went to pay a visit to Li Heng.

In the Purple Palace.

Liu Yan spoke first, "Your Majesty, I just ran into An Zhongzhang and An Baoyu, and they invited me to a banquet tomorrow."

In the past, Liu Yan could eat, drink and have fun with these generals, but now, he is the right prime minister. If he does not tell Li Heng in advance, he will be suspected of making friends with border generals.

Li Heng was not worried that Liu Yan would form a clique with the border generals, and said, "Since they have invited Shi'an, Shi'an should just go."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Liu Yan thanked him and presented a memorial, saying, "Your Majesty, this year's two taxes have been collected. Here are the figures. Please review them."

Li Heng took it and read it carefully.

Liu Yan then explained: "Converted into money, the two taxes are about 11.89 million strings of cash, and the salt tax is about 3 million strings of cash. Hebei is in the midst of a war. The two tax laws in Xiangzhou, Weizhou, Mingzhou, and Bozhou in southern Hebei are slow to be implemented, and their taxes are still rent, labor service, and tribute. Youzhou and Pinglu in northern Hebei are controlled by the rebels. Dingzhou, Jizhou, Cangzhou, Shenzhou, Zhaozhou, etc., are levied during the war, and their taxes are collected by the Hebei Interview Envoy and Transport Envoy to the front line."

Li Ying said: "During the Tianbao period, the fiscal revenue was 11 million guan. In the first year of the implementation of the new system, an additional 4 million guan was collected."

Liu Yan said: "If we only look at the data, it is indeed more than during the Tianbao period, but if we look at purchasing power, it is still a little worse."

Li Ying asked, "What do you mean?"

Liu Yan said: "Since the war started, prices have soared. During the Tianbao period, a stone of millet only cost 145 coins, but now it costs 165 coins. During the Tianbao period, a piece of silk cost 280 coins, but now it costs 400 coins. After the government monopolized the price of salt, it tripled."

What Liu Yan talked about was the problem of inflation.

Based on this, Li Heng recalled the historical data.

Historically, during the Guangde period of Emperor Dezong of the Tang Dynasty, the statistical population of the Tang Dynasty was only 16 million. After Emperor Dezong of the Tang Dynasty made money by squeezing the land, he managed to collect nearly 20 million strings of cash in taxes. During the Tianbao period, the statistical population was over 50 million, but only 11 million strings of cash in taxes were collected.

At first glance, this data will give people two illusions.

The First Anshi Rebellion was the war with the highest death toll in ancient Chinese history. After eight years of fighting, nearly two-thirds of the population died.

Second, Emperor Dezong of Tang's two-tax system and land exploitation made the Tang court richer than during the Tianbao period.

Actually it is not.

First, in terms of population. During the reign of Emperor Dezong, the Tang court was completely unable to count the population of the vassal states represented by the three towns of Heshuo. In addition, there were refugees and displaced persons everywhere, and the court could not count these people either. In addition, the population that had been abandoned on the land could not be completely counted as dead.

Therefore, although the Anshi Rebellion was extremely tragic, it definitely did not kill two-thirds of the people.

The second is taxation. Although Emperor Dezong of Tang collected nearly 20 million guan in taxes, due to inflation, in terms of purchasing power, it was only equivalent to 5 million guan during the Tianbao period.

So was the Two Tax Law useful? It was indeed useful, after all, it collected so much money.

Emperor Dezong of Tang was also very good at exploiting the land. After all, in order to make money, he institutionalized the palace market, forced purchases and sales, and even came up with such a shameless operation as the inter-city tax.

The tax on pillars and tripods was collected based on the number of pillars and tripods on a house. This measure was so notorious that when the Jingyuan Rebellion broke into Chang'an, the rebels shouted, "Don't run, we don't want to collect the tax on pillars and tripods!"

The implication is that we rebels are better than the imperial court.

However, although the Two-Tax System was effective and Emperor Dezong of Tang was also very good at squeezing land, due to inflation, we cannot simply assume that the court during Emperor Dezong's time was richer than during the Tianbao period.

Of course, if we only look at it from the perspective of the imperial court, it is not without merit that Dezong made so much money. After all, it was this money that laid the foundation for the Yuanhe Restoration.

(End of this chapter)