Tang army tent.

"How did the Shangshu Ling say it?"

Asanami looked at Qibi Heli with a serious expression.

Qi Bi Heli put down his letter, breathed a sigh of relief, and said with a smile: "The Shangshu Ling strictly prohibits us from killing, but instead uses the method of trial to punish those who collude with Tubo."

Asanami Shoo was relieved and said, "I feel relieved, in fact, many of the people there are our families, and I really can't attack them."

Qibing Heli smiled bitterly and said, "I am even more so. The front is my hometown. How could I rush in with a knife? I think this war should end here. We still send people to tell them to surrender unconditionally. Although the Shangshu Ling said that all those who took the lead would be sentenced to death, doing so would at least ensure that most people's lives would not be threatened."

Asanami nodded.

Just then, a young general walked in and said, "Report to the General, General Gao and General Dugu Wuyue are leading the Taiyuan Army and Navy troops out of Taiyuan and coming here."

Qi Bi Heli was stunned when he heard this and sighed: "It seems that even the time to persuade the surrender is limited!"

.

Tingzhou.

"It's unreasonable, it's unreasonable. When Tiele's men attacked our Tingzhou, they killed so many of us and robbed us. It was us who helped them resist Tiele's attack, which ensured that the Central Plains was not eroded by the war. Now when the counterattack, we won't bring us. They are clearly killing the donkey!"

"Who doesn't know what Cherheli is thinking? Natiel's base camp is his hometown. He clearly wants to maintain their Cherhe family."

"Brother Wu Kelie, why should we listen to them? We have suffered such a great loss. How can we do it if we don't grab something? Let's just rush forward. If they dare to stop them, they will go to war with them."

.

The merchants in the northwest were deeply angry at Qibian Heli's orders. Their northwest was full of devastation and broken walls. The hatred in their hearts can be imagined, but Qibian Heli asked them to station in Tingzhou without taking them to counterattack. This really made no sense. In fact, they didn't want to start a big killing. After all, they and Tiele were family, and they actually wanted to grab something.

And everyone understands that Qibian Heli wants to protect their family. The largest families of the Tiel tribe are the Qibian family and the Asina family. They are not convinced by the overall situation.

Wu Kelie also frowned.

Just then, a man walked in from outside and whispered a few words in Wukelie's ear.

Wu Kelie was stunned when he heard this and said, "Take it seriously?"

The man nodded.

Wu Kelie pondered for a moment, and suddenly said, "Everyone, the Qibian Heli can only protect the enemy for a while. It is impossible not to give us an explanation. Moreover, the Tielle was at the end of his life. What can we grab if we go?"

"That's better than nothing!"

"But that little thing is just a drop in the bucket for us."

Wu Kelie said: "Only the wealth of the Central Plains can help us overcome this difficulty, and this war involves a lot. Tuyuhun and Liuzhao were all beaten in rags. Now the war is about to end, and all parts of the world are waiting for the Central Plains to help them. But in my opinion, the Central Plains may not have so much money to help us. Brother Han said it well, only children who cry can have milk. We should not have this unnecessary argument with Qi Bi Heli and the others. We should quickly write to the court and ask the court to allocate money to us. If Tuyuhun and the others take the lead, we will not get much. We will lose the most in this war and should get more support."

"Brother Wu Kelie said, we have to ask the court to allocate money to us immediately."

"Shouldn't we look for Brother Han?"

Wu Kelie's eyes flashed a few times and said, "Brother Han is now in Tubo, so how can he care about so many things? If you look for him, you will probably have to go through more trouble. It is faster to write a letter to the court."

"Okay, we all listen to you."

After these people left, Yigu suddenly stepped forward and asked, "Brother, what's going on? That person seemed to be."

Wu Kelie nodded and said, "You guessed it right. It was Brother Han who sent me a message to ask me to do this."

Yi Gu frowned and said, "But Brother Han should be able to make the decision on this kind of thing. He just needs to allocate the food to us!"

Wu Kelie shook his head and said, "I don't know this either. Something may have happened in the court."

.

Tuyuhun!

"Everyone, Tubo has surrendered now. As far as I know, the Shangshu Ling will directly incorporate Tubo into the territory of the Tang Dynasty, implement the prefecture and county system locally, and connect it with the Central Plains."

Queen Yan said as she glanced at the ministers sitting in the hall and said, "In other words, in the near future, we will become the country of the Tang Dynasty."

When the ministers in Tuyuhun heard this, they looked at each other.

An old minister asked, "I wonder what the queen is planning?"

Queen Yan sighed and said, "I have been thinking about this all these days. Now our Tuyuhun is at the end of our lives and must rely on the assistance of the Tang Dynasty. But now we are vassal states, Tubo, northwest, and Liuzhao are all the territory of the Tang Dynasty. If this continues, I am afraid that the Tang Dynasty will support them first and finally support us. Moreover, now that things have come, do you think the Tang Dynasty will allow us to exist? Instead of waiting for the Tang Dynasty to send troops to come, we should take the initiative to merge into the Tang Dynasty, so that we can gain more benefits for us."

The old minister worriedly: "But after the incorporation into the Tang Dynasty, where should we go?"

The others were also worried that they would merge into the Tang Dynasty, and the officials here were all assigned by the court, which harmed their interests.

Queen Yan said: "I will discuss this with Shangshu Ling. Please rest assured that we have always been loyal to the Tang Dynasty and believe that the Tang Dynasty will not treat us badly."

One person suddenly stood up and said, "Queen, I think the most important thing at the moment is to send someone to Chang'an quickly, hoping that the Tang Dynasty can provide us with support. I heard that people have been sent in the northwest."

Queen Yan frowned and thought for a while, and nodded gently

.

.

Ministry of Revenue!

"Oh! Shizhong Zhang, where can I go to find money for you now!"

Zhang Daxiang's tears were already spinning in his eyes. He took the letter from Tuyuhun and handed it to Zhang Wenguan opposite him. Shangguan Yi said in a crying tone: "Please look, this is the letter of help from the northwest. Tuyuhun just sent someone to send him. Now they are fighting over and over, and many people are facing hunger. They hope that the court can help them with some food, but the treasury has almost been consumed."

As he said that, he pointed to Zheng Shanxing beside him and said, "We are still discussing this matter with Minister Zheng just now, and see if we can gather food to help them."

Shangguan Yi waved his hand and said, "That's just a trivial matter, and it's in the northwest. How can it be compared with the affairs of Your Majesty and the Prince? Your Ministry of Revenue will also be prioritized."

When Zheng Shanxing heard this, he frowned and retorted: "You can't say that. If those things are not handled properly, the consequences can be big or small."

Zhang Wenguan immediately said: "No matter how big the matter is, it is no greater than the funeral of Your Majesty and the ascension of the prince! These two things cannot be delayed!" As a minister, loyalty is the first, and this is not a joke.

Zhang Daxiang said with a sad face: "Even if you ignore that, the treasury will not be able to come up with so much money for the time being."

Zhang Wenguan and Shangguan Yi looked at each other, and Shangguan Yi said, "If you don't like this, you will collect taxes from the people, and each person will not need to pay much money."

Zheng Shanxingdao immediately said: "This is not possible. When it was so difficult, he didn't think that the people would collect taxes. It was precisely because of this that the whole country could unite and achieve this decisive victory. Now that the war has not yet ended, the court immediately collects taxes from the people. No matter how reasonable the court has, the people will think that our court is killing donkeys, and I will never agree with doing this."

Zhang Wenguan pondered for a moment and said, "It is indeed inappropriate to collect taxes from the people. Let's collect taxes from merchants."

Zheng Shanxing was stunned. Although he opposed it in his heart, it was difficult to refute it because he was also a wealthy businessman.

Zhang Daxiang said carefully: "In fact, the merchants have also donated a lot of money to the court."

Zhang Wenguan said: "The court did not want to collect taxes from them for no reason. These two matters are top priorities and must be done quickly. Otherwise, if the superiors blame them, who will bear it? Those merchants didn't think about it. If the merchants had not had His Majesty's support for them, how could they have the same business as today? Now they asked them to pay some money for His Majesty. If they were unwilling, they would be ungrateful. I don't think they would be unwilling to do so. This matter would be decided."

Because the country had previously resolutely refused to impose taxes on the people, the treasury was already very weak. Even the money from the Shaofu was used to fight, which was really at the end of the journey, so that the emperor could not afford any funds for the emperor's funeral and the prince ascended the throne.

Of course, this is not a small amount of money. The emperor's funeral is the most expensive. Just the palace maids and eunuchs have to kill a group of people to be buried with them. In ancient times, they attached great importance to their affairs after their death. This matter must not be careless and must be generous. Now the court does not enlist labor, so it requires more and more money. Not to mention the prince's ascension to the throne, this is the biggest thing in the world.

What’s bad is that these two things have to be done together, but they cannot be delayed. Of course, it doesn’t matter in this peaceful and prosperous era, but it’s a fatal matter at this time. The treasury really cannot afford money. It’s not easy to issue national debts, so you can only use the traditional method, that is, taxes. If you don’t collect taxes from the people, you have to collect taxes from merchants. Anyway, you have to collect the money. Moreover, the traditional civil servants will never be ruthless in collecting taxes from merchants, because Confucianism excludes merchants. The core of the two ideas is opposite. Confucianism emphasizes righteousness and benevolence, and merchants are profit-oriented. Therefore, Zhang Wenguan does not agree with taxes from the people, but he absolutely has no objection to taxes from the merchants.

Zheng Shanxing frowned and said, "Our Ministry of Revenue only collects money and allocates money. This edict should be issued by the Secretariat, but we will not issue it." He was more concerned about the people and had no idea of ​​loyalty to the emperor. He definitely opposed taxation. He felt that money should be used for the people at this time, because there are many homeless people in the northwest waiting for their assistance. Their affairs after death can be simpler. Li Ji's affairs after death are relatively simple, but he doesn't like to fight with others and want to charge you to collect. I won't do this.

Shangguan Yi shouted angrily: "Mr. Zheng, are you going to disobey the order?"

Zhang Daxiang hurriedly said, "Shangguan Shishang, please calm down. This matter cannot be done by our Ministry of Revenue. When we borrowed money, our Ministry of Revenue came forward and our Ministry of Revenue made several promises to the merchants. If we collect taxes from them again, the merchants will definitely cause trouble. The Secretariat will issue an edict, and they will not make trouble."

Zhang Wenguan is not an unreasonable person, and said, "You are not unreasonable, so we will handle this matter by our Secretariat and your Ministry of Revenue will assist you."

If these old scholars could meet a wise king, they would be grateful to God. They felt that they had received the kindness of Li Zhi, so they must do their best to do their best in this matter. The ancients attached great importance to this funeral, and they really should not be careless. The same should be true for merchants. They believed that without Li Zhi, there would be no merchants today. Therefore, you will be able to repay kindness, no matter how hard or difficult you are, you will have to do this matter with glory. This is Confucian thought.

The Secretariat immediately issued an order to collect taxes and labor service, which was of course very touching. Li Zhi was kind to us as much as a mountain. He must let him go on this last journey. If the prince ascended the throne, he would definitely do it well. After all, he is the future master. Do you want to continue to hang out in the Tang Dynasty? I am for your own good.

But it immediately caused an uproar.

The merchants felt very wronged because the word "taxation" was so dazzling. If they changed the word, they would probably not have such a big mood. Because the imperial court had previously said that they would not collect taxes, and they had not collected taxes until now. The queens sold their property and were unwilling to collect taxes. They were very moved and spared no effort to support the front line. Not only did they pay money, they also recruited troops to fight. As a result, the war was not over yet, and you were going to start collecting taxes, and it was for us merchants. You are just using us!

But they just dared to be angry but didn't dare to speak out. They were used to being bullied, and the key was that they had no choice.

However, this is not absolute, and not every businessman dares to be angry but dares to speak out.

Yuanjiabao.

"No, uncle, doing this violates the ancestral teachings of our Yuan family!"

Yuan Mudan said excitedly.

"But one time, another time."

Yuan Xi said: "With our Yuan family's current financial resources, even if we want to hide, we can't hide anymore. We must walk out of this Yuan family for power and strive for the power corresponding to our wealth."

Yuanle swallowed and said, "Brother, are you really going to do this?"

Yuan Xi nodded and said, "This is an excellent opportunity. The court will only unite the merchants. However, since ancient times, this change of power has nothing to do with us merchants. It is precisely because of this that our merchants have always been suppressed. Now, as long as we support Empress Wu to continue to take power, as long as we succeed, we merchants will gain an unprecedented status."

Yuan Mudan said excitedly: "What if we fail?"

Yuan Xi was stunned for a moment, and then said firmly: "Then continue to fight. In short, we will never compromise this time. Our Yuan family will not give a penny to the court."

Yuan Mudan looked at Yuan Xi in shock and said, "Uncle, you have to consider Han Yi, it is directly related to the safety of your husband. Even if you want to do this, you have to wait until your husband comes back before discussing."

Yuan Xi said lightly: "No, because this is what your husband asked me to do."

Yuan Mudan opened her beautiful eyes and looked at Yuan Xi in surprise.

Yuan Xi took out a letter and handed it to Yuan Mudan, saying, "Han Yi didn't want to hide it from you, this is his letter to you."

Yuan Mudan quickly took it, opened it and looked at it.
Chapter completed!