Tibet

These two days, the whole Chang'an has been full of news that the states of Bashu collectively boycotted the abolition order and slave tax of the court. Not only did the people boycott, but many states also issued statements that the abolition order and slave tax were invalid in their states, openly confronting the court.

Bashu maintained stability and peace during the An-Shi Rebellion, but unexpectedly, a serious political crisis occurred more than ten years after the An-Shi Rebellion.

For three consecutive days, the streets and alleys of Chang'an were talking about this matter, and the officials in the court were even more excited.

At noon that day, the Danfeng Restaurant was full of officials who came to eat lunch, and the political crisis of Bashu was naturally the focus of the restaurant.

As the saying goes, laymen watch the excitement, and experts watch the doorway. The people of Chang'an talked about the abolition order, but the court officials saw it more deeply.

Several officials from the Ministry of Revenue sat together and chatted. Sun Shaokan, a member of the Ministry of Revenue, said worriedly: "There are rumors that the court sent Taichang Qing Tian Shengong to Bashu for negotiations. I wonder if it is true or not?"

A Ministry of Revenue official snorted, "You are mistaken! Tian Shengong went to Nanzhao to attend the coronation of their new king. How can he negotiate with Bashu?"

"Why not?"

Sun Shaokan said angrily: "Nominally going to Nanzhao to attend the coronation ceremony, but actually going to negotiate. Isn't this rare?"

"Then who do you say to negotiate with? Negotiating with a court official and a local official? It's ridiculous!"

"Of course, it's to negotiate with Guo Xiang, the governor of Hezhou. He is the initiator of the declaration of the states of Bashu. His background is well known. Who doesn't know? "

Liu Jianning, a doctor of the Ministry of Revenue, picked up his teacup and sneered: "Brother Shaokan, you are really wrong this time. This time, the boycott of the abolition order is a continuation of the last salt tax case. The key is that the court finally compromised in the last salt tax case. They thought the court would continue to compromise. You will see! This time the court will definitely settle accounts thoroughly. "

Another assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue also laughed: "It is estimated that the nobles in Bashu thought that they could reach a compromise with the court by symbolically releasing a few old and weak slaves. It can only be said that they did not realize the seriousness of the problem. The court previously sent 30,000 troops to the Jiannan Governor's Office and appointed Li Sheng as the Jiannan Governor. It was obvious that they were going to settle accounts. How could they not know it?"

Sun Shaokan slapped the table, "Brother Liu, let me make a bet with you. What if we compromise this time?"

Liu Jianning smiled slightly, "Let's bet ten strings of money! If I lose, the ten strings of money you owe me will be written off. If you lose, you have to pay me twenty strings of money. What do you think? Do you dare to bet?"

Sun Shaokan gritted his teeth, "Let's bet, everyone can testify!"

"What are you betting on?"

Liu Yan, the Minister of Revenue, suddenly appeared in front of everyone and said angrily, "How dare you use lunch time to gamble?"

Everyone stood up in fear. Liu Jianning smiled and saluted, "Reporting to the Prime Minister, we are betting. Will the court compromise with the local forces of Bashu like the last time it compromised with the salt tax?"

Liu Yan snorted, "The last compromise was Because the war in Hebei has not been settled, will they compromise again this time? "

"We know!"

Liu Yan glanced at the wine pot and glared, "Don't you know that you are not allowed to drink at noon?"

"Prime Minister, this is not wine, it is tea, we just put it in the wine pot for show."

Liu Yan snorted, "Hurry up and finish your meal and go back to the court room. The report for the first half of the year has not been summarized yet. The right prime minister is urging me!"

"We will go back immediately and complete the summary today."

Liu Yan turned and left. Everyone wiped the sweat from their foreheads. Liu Jianning smiled again and said, "Brother Shaokan, do you want to continue the bet?"

Sun Shaokan said with a gloomy face, "This. Let me think about it again!"

Everyone laughed.

In the imperial study, Li Ye slowly said to Wei Jiansu and Zhang Li: "I have always regretted the concession on salt tax. This time I decided to use the abolition order to start with Bashu. Immediately notify Wang Wei to withdraw his men from all over the country back to Chengdu. The Ministry of Personnel should also be prepared to send a large number of officials to take over Bashu. It is best to wait in Hanzhong first and enter Shu at any time."

"Your Majesty has decided to clean up the officialdom of Bashu on a large scale?" Wei Jiansu asked.

"Of course!"

Li Ye said coldly: "The twelve governors of Shannan East Road declared that they do not recognize the abolition order, and the seven states of Jiannan Road do not recognize the abolition order. The abolition order was signed by me personally. If they do not recognize it, doesn't it mean they do not recognize me? I have sent 5,000 internal guards into Bashu to completely clean up these bastards, and the Guo and Jia families will exterminate their entire clans."

Wei Jiansu and Zhang Li knew that the emperor was really angry and dared not persuade him anymore.

Wei Jiansu sighed and said, "I just hope that the war will be resolved quickly and that innocent people will not die in the war."

Li Ye nodded, "Li Sheng knows what's going on, he won't kill people!"

Li Ye waved his hand again, "What's the situation in Jingxiang?"

"Reporting to your majesty, the Huang family has converted all slaves into civilians during the rectification period, and the state government has also reviewed it. There is no problem with the Huang family. Now there is a one-month gap between their conversion and the issuance of the slave tax. The state government asked whether they should make up for this month's slave tax?"

Li Ye asked with a smile "What is the opinion of the Political Affairs Hall?"

"We suggest that it should be reasonable and legal. The Political Affairs Hall suggests that the time when the local slave tax is promulgated is used as the basis. Tax exemption is allowed within ten days, and the part exceeding ten days must be taxed."

Li Ye nodded, "This plan is good, I approve it."

Zhang Li said again: "I heard that the Du family was in a more miserable situation. They hid 3,200 slaves. When they were found out, they had to pay a fine of 70,000 strings of money. The head of the family, Du Youguang, could not bear the pressure and hanged himself. I heard that the inner guards still went in and confiscated the Du family's property."

Li Ye snorted, "If I had known this would happen, I would have done it in the first place."

Li Ye pondered for a moment and said to Wei Jiansu, "Let the weekly magazine publish the details of the Du family's affairs. No need to cover up, publish it directly with real names and send it to all parts of the world."

"I understand that the Du family is the best example, and it is worth the vigilance of all the wealthy families in the world."

Seeing Wei Gao appear at the door, Li Ye said to the two of them, "The two prime ministers go first! If there is any situation, contact me immediately!"

"We're leaving!"

The two bowed and left Wei Gao reported: "Your Majesty, Liu Wutong wants to see you!"

"Let him in!"

After a while, Liu Wutong hurried in and bowed, "Your Majesty!"

"Go ahead! What's the matter?"

"Reporting to your majesty, we have found Guo Kun. He is in Xianyang County and is under strict surveillance. He can be arrested at any time."

Guo Kun is Guo Huaiyan's second son. He is studying at the Imperial College. The inner guards went to arrest him, but he escaped. Li Ye thought he had fled back to Shuzhong, but he was hiding in Xianyang County.

Li Ye nodded, "Arrest him immediately!"

There is a small house covering an area of ​​three acres near the west gate of Xianyang County. It looks no different from an ordinary family. The house was also purchased legally and was bought three years ago.

Guo Huaiyan's second son Guo Kun is studying at the Imperial College. He received an urgent notice from his father two days ago, asking him to hide immediately.

Guo Kun didn't know the reason, but he immediately took two of his men to hide in Xianyang County, just avoiding the arrest of the inner guards.

If he had stayed hidden, the inner guards would not have been able to catch him, but the problem was that he did not know why his father asked him to hide, so he did not know the seriousness of the matter.

He left in a hurry and did not have time to go to the mule and horse shop to get his beloved horse, so he asked one of his men to go to the mule and horse shop to get the horse.

Unexpectedly, the mule and horse shop had been targeted by the inner guards. This morning, when Guo Kun's men went to the mule and horse shop to get the horse, the inner guards targeted him and followed him all the way to Xianyang County, only then did they find the small house.

The inner guards stood on the west wall and used their clairvoyance to observe, and indeed found a young man suspected of being Guo Kun in the small house.

As night fell, Liu Wutong personally led a hundred inner guards to surround the small house in Xianyang. Liu Wutong waved his hand, and more than twenty inner guards immediately climbed over the wall and went in.

After a while, there was a fierce fight in the house, but it soon quieted down.

Not long after, the door opened, and a young man in gorgeous clothes was tied up and taken out, his mouth blocked, and his face full of horror.

Liu Wutong took a look at him. He was in his early twenties, of medium build, with delicate skin and fair skin. He looked pretty good.

"Is it him?"

A classmate who was brought in for identification took a closer look and nodded, "Yes, it's him!"

Liu Wutong waved his hand, "Take him away!"

The soldier immediately covered Guo Kun's head with a black bag and put him on a carriage. A dozen internal guards escorted the carriage and left quickly.