Taiping Inn

The next morning, it was the first day of the new year. Others were fine, but Li Xuandu had already gotten up at yin hour, and then people came to pay New Year's greetings around mao hour. Most of them were Li family members, and there were also other gentry figures in the city.

The elders of the "Dao" generation did not need to mobilize so many people, and could wait for the younger generations to come to pay New Year's greetings at home.

Li Xuandu had to receive the people who came to pay New Year's greetings at the Li family's ancestral home, so he could not go out to pay New Year's greetings, so Li Taiyi came forward for him. Fortunately, the "Ru" generation was also considered a senior generation, and only a few "Dao" generations needed to pay New Year's greetings, which was not a big deal. However, Li Xuandu was afraid that his rebellious character would cause trouble again, so he explained it again. The relationship between family members was different from the underworld. It was not about fighting and killing, but about human relationships.

Li Taiyi is unruly but not without brains. When facing his master Li Daoxu, he was submissive when he should be. Now that his senior brother has given him such advice, he will naturally not disobey his senior brother.

This New Year's Day is really tiring. Li Xuandu receives people who come to pay New Year's greetings at the ancestral home. Although there are no elders of the "Dao" generation, the children of the "Chang" generation who did not show up during the ancestral worship have become the main force.

Li Xuandu looks at these grandchildren. The younger ones are still in their cradles, which is fine. The older ones have already reached adulthood and even got married, but they have to respectfully call him uncle, which makes him feel a little funny.

Seriously speaking, this is Li Daoxu's fault. In terms of age, Li Xuandu should be the grandson of Li Daoxu, but he was accepted as a disciple and adopted son by Li Daoxu. Zhang Haishi, who should be the father of Li Xuandu, became his fellow apprentice. Even Li Xuandu was of the same generation as his father-in-law Qin Qing. If they were talking about each other, it would really be that you call me your brother and I call you your father-in-law.

If Zhang Haishi were here, this uncle would not be abrupt at all. But then again, in a big family, it is not uncommon for a white-haired old man to talk about brothers with a baby in swaddling clothes.

These young people of the "elder" generation, while respectful, are also secretly looking at this equally young uncle. As a child of the Li family, they are not the kind of people who sit in a well and watch the world. They have heard about various major events. As for this uncle, it can be said that they have known about it for a long time. I won't talk about his experience as a Purple Mansion Sword Immortal in his early years. In recent years, he first took over the position of the leader of the Taiping Sect, and then inherited the inheritance of the Earth Master, participated in the integration of the Taoist sect, defeated the "Demon Knife" Song Zheng in the Yuxu Sword Fight and won a key round, defeated the Saint Lord Tan Taiyun in the Great Wilderness North Palace, and forcibly killed Zhang Jingchen in the Great Zhenren Mansion, and finally took over the Qingwei Sect from the old leader in the Imperial Capital City.

This experience is so legendary that these young people have ignored the real age of this great-uncle. After all, there are many people who have the ability to keep their youth. For example, the great-grandaunt looks like she is only in her thirties. Standing with the great-granduncle with white hair and beard, they don't look like a couple, but two generations of grandparents. In addition, Li Xuandu has been stained with a lot of old age in recent years. He is in a high position, in power, and his majesty is getting heavier. Therefore, many young people of the "Chang" generation have regarded Li Xuandu as an old man with the ability to keep his youth, which Li Xuandu did not expect.

This New Year's greeting lasted from the hour of Mao to the hour of noon. Li Xuandu finally had some free time. In the afternoon, he put on his regular clothes and took Li Taiyi, who had returned from the New Year's greeting, to the street. Women like Lu Yanbing and Qin Su had other things to do and were not with Li Xuandu and others.

According to the story in the novel, there should be some stories of playboys molesting women on the street at this time, but it was the New Year's Day, so no such thing happened.

As for the frozen bones on the road, it was not that serious. When Li Jinxuan was alive, he built more than a dozen Pujitangs in the city to take in lonely elderly people and abandoned babies. The people employed were all poor people in the city, and the direct disciples of the Li family were in charge. Although Li Daoxu later denied most of the decisions of his adoptive father and master, this item was still retained. For the Li family, it did not cost much silver, and the annual expenditure was not even worth a ship of goods. On the contrary, because Li Xuandu attached great importance to the law, he severely investigated and punished several managers who embezzled money. Not only did they confiscate their property, but they were also exiled to a remote desert island to do hard labor.

However, Li Daoxu was not interested in promoting this kind of good deeds. It is better to teach people how to fish than to give them fish. It is better to help people in emergencies than to help the poor. The problem must be solved fundamentally. Li Daoxu had considered this in his early years. In his later years, Li Xuandu, because of his world-weariness, had completely slacked off. These things became everything according to the old rules, and the development of Qingwei Sect also fell into stagnation. So these things fell on the head of Li Xuandu, who came later.

This reminded Li Xuandu of a joke. A great philanthropist said: "I can't control other places, but there can be no poor people within a radius of 20 miles from my residence." Then he sent people to drive away all the poor people nearby, because the great philanthropist was kind-hearted and couldn't stand the poor.

Now I think that simply giving money and grain is just a temporary solution, and it does not solve the problem. We should really make it like Liaodong, so that those who live have their own houses and those who farm have their own fields, and find a way for the people to make a living by themselves. This is the way to long-term peace and stability.

Liaodong is vast and sparsely populated, and there is plenty of land, so we can cultivate land on a large scale, but Qizhou is not like that. Qizhou has been developing for many years and there is no vacant land. So we should start with the big gentry, or find another way to increase revenue.

For this reason, when Li Xuandu went to see Qin Qing, the father-in-law and son-in-law had a secret talk, and finally they reached a consensus. To start with the wealthy gentry, it is not to directly wipe out these wealthy gentry and seize their land, but to make them pay taxes again according to the rules and laws, and pay the taxes owed for the past years of tax exemption. If they are unable to pay, the land under their name will be used to offset the arrears. In addition, the wealthy families must return the donated land, the concealed land, etc.

There are two situations for the so-called donated land. One is the forced annexation known to the world, and the other is to voluntarily donate it to the gentry and powerful, and they also change from ordinary people to tenants and slaves in order to avoid taxes and corvee labor from the court. The so-called return of land is to clear out these donated lands and return them to the original owners so that they can pay taxes again.

Therefore, the method of Li Xuandu and Qin Qing is also very simple. First, clear out the donated land, re-register it, and then let the gentry and wealthy families pay the taxes. The unpaid taxes can be offset with the land under their names. Then the remaining land is the legally owned land of the wealthy families, and they are given official certificates. From then on, they pay taxes according to the law and still remain rich.

If they do not obey, they will resist by various means, and then they will be suppressed by force, and all their property will be confiscated and put into the national treasury.

And everyone is equal. The Li family and the Qin family must also clear the land and pay the taxes, and play a leading role. For this reason, Li Xuandu also specifically asked Li Rushi. According to Li Rushi's answer, the Li family does not have much land and does not accept donations. As long as the taxes are paid, the small amount of taxes is a drop in the bucket for the Li family. Therefore, if Li Xuandu really wants to implement this policy, no one in the Li family will come out to oppose it, and they will only think that the patriarch is a new official.

The real big part of the Li family lies in maritime trade, which is the key. A single move can affect the whole body. It is not just the Li family, but the entire Qingwei Sect. This involves the issue of the sect, and even rises to the entire Taoist sect. Even Li Xuandu and Qin Qing dare not move lightly.

After all, the gentry and wealthy families rely on Confucianism. Without Confucianism, they are fish on the chopping board, at the mercy of others. But the Taoist sect is different. They support Li Xuandu and Qin Qing because the two led the Taoist sect to defeat the Confucian sect, which is in line with the interests of the Taoist sect. If the two betray the interests of the Taoist sect, they will inevitably be backlashed by the Taoist sect. The Taoist sect is not a group of gentry who are powerless. Rebellion has been passed down for many years. If they are really forced to the point of desperation, the emperor can kill them, and the immortals can also be killed.

In other words, the Taoist sect is the foundation of Li Xuandu. The stronger the foundation, the more difficult it is to shake, and at the same time, the more difficult it is to change. If Li Xuandu obeys the Dao, he will be regarded as the master of the Dao's revival and praised by the world. If Li Xuandu dares to disobey the Dao, he will lose his integrity in his later years, and his reputation will be mixed.

The Dao is not a certain person, or even the Supreme Dao Ancestor, but a group of people. These people may be Li Xuandu's friends, predecessors, juniors, subordinates, and allies. They have a thousand connections with Li Xuandu. Li Xuandu can succeed without their strong support.

Does Li Xuandu dare to disobey the Dao?

It's hard to say in the future, but at least he doesn't dare to do it now.

Although there are no frozen bones, there are still some beggars. However, Li Xuandu saw that these beggars had intact hands and feet and were in their prime, so he knew that they should be members of the Beggars' Gang, who specialize in doing things that the government is not willing to do, such as dredging ditches, guarding charity cemeteries, carrying corpses, etc., and occasionally doing some crying and fighting.

The beggars' gang cannot be eradicated in the imperial capital, nor in the capital of Beihai Prefecture. The leaders of the beggars' gang are like ordinary wealthy gentry, with maids and servants serving them, riding in sedan chairs and riding horses, wearing silk and satin, without the slightest trace of beggars.

The inaction of the government has allowed these people and gentry to grow and become local tyrants.

In the past, Emperor Taizu of the Wei Dynasty said that the Jin Dynasty and the Golden Tent were too lenient. This is not about lenient politics, but about the Jin Dynasty and the Golden Tent being too indulgent to local gentry. Now it seems that the Wei Dynasty has followed suit.

Many people have seen this, including but not limited to Zhang Suqing, Li Daoxu, Qin Qing, Xu Wugui, and Li Xuandu. It is precisely because Li Xuandu saw this and was determined to change that he also won the favor of Zhang, Li, Xu, and Qin. This is what is called "the same path can be used for conspiracy".

Li Taiyi's thoughts were not as complicated as Li Xuandu's. He still focused on his own realm cultivation. He was still like Li Xuandu back then, believing that force could solve all problems in the world. Little did he know that swords could kill enemies, but could they kill their own people?