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"Your father was furious and kept scolding the prince."

Because the case of Shen Furen took too long to be discussed, today's morning court session was delayed by a few quarters of an hour compared to usual.

When he left the throne, Emperor Xingwu was still thinking about state affairs. When his daughter's figure came into his sight on the imperial road, Emperor Xingwu was suddenly startled, fearing that his daughter had been hungry for so long in vain.

But his daughter's eyes were sparkling, without a trace of complaint, full of admiration, even more sincere and pure than the admiring looks the ministers gave him when he returned to the capital after personally conquering the south and unifying the country.

Emperor Xingwu touched his daughter's head and asked in a low voice as they walked forward, "Are you hungry?"

Qingyang: "A little bit, but father is really amazing!"

Emperor Xingwu knew his strengths and deliberately asked, "Why do you think so?"

Qingyang noticed the smile in his father's eyes, took two steps, and said simply, "It's legitimate, killing two birds with one stone."

My father has already decided to eliminate the malpractices left over from the previous dynasty. The problem is how to do it.

To directly propose without any warning to exempt officials and gentry from the land tax preferential treatment granted by the court would inevitably arouse strong opposition from these people.

Therefore, my father deliberately picked out a corrupt official who had levied land on the people, and posted a notice to tell the local people that if the official was found guilty, the levied land under the official's name would be confiscated, forcing the people to go to the government to make trouble, and then naturally bring the case to the court, and put the malpractice of land tax left over from the previous dynasty in front of the civil and military officials.

The civil officials knew very well that the court's exemption of their land taxes was a preferential treatment, but they were greedy and evil if they cooperated with the people to evade taxes. However, they did not openly violate the law, so the court had no reason to punish them for this matter. Now, nearly a thousand people have surrounded the county government office because of their land. If they are not careful, it will trigger an uprising. Then the emperor has reason to be angry and has reason to take action to deal with it!

This was the legitimate reason for ordering officials to collect land taxes together with the people.

In addition, abolishing the malpractice of hanging land also infringes upon the interests of the people. At least, we can only see that this is what the people in front of us think. When the interests of the people are damaged, they will resent the court and the emperor. The Great Qi has just been established for eleven years, and the emperor is trying to continue to stabilize the people's hearts. How can he go against it?

It is just right to make a fuss about Shen Furen's case. Shen Furen colluded with wealthy businessmen and powerful people to oppress the people. He is a recognized corrupt official. It is right for the court to raid his house, and it is also right for the emperor to eliminate this harm for the people. Then the people who are going to lose their land because of this case have no reason to insult the court and the emperor. They will only hate the corrupt officials for harming them and regret that they should not have taken advantage of the situation. At this time, the emperor will ask the government to return their land, and the people who have recovered their land will be even more grateful to the emperor and praise him as a wise ruler.

This is a warning to the people not to take advantage of the situation to justify hanging fields.

How wise and intelligent her father was to use a case to silence the officials' opposition while maintaining the support of the people!

Every word the little princess said touched Emperor Xingwu's heart. At that moment, Emperor Xingwu suddenly understood why he liked to talk about political affairs with his daughter. Because his daughter was very talented, she could think of it, and she could understand what he wanted to teach her at once. And what he did without explanation, his daughter also understood him, no need to say more!

Perhaps there are other people as intelligent as his daughter inside and outside the palace, but those people are separated from him by one or several levels. There are some things he is willing to tell his daughter but not to outsiders. There are some things that except his daughter, no one else is smart enough, courageous or fair-minded enough to speak to him directly.

"My dear Lin'er, my dear Lin'er."

.

After having breakfast with her father, the emperor was about to continue his morning work. Qingyang thought for a moment and sent a eunuch from Qianyuan Palace to Chongwen Pavilion to ask for a day's leave from Mr. Guo on her behalf, and then sent Jie Yu to Jiuhua Palace to get her golden waist badge.

After Jie Yu came back, Qingyang touched the golden waist badge that had been with her for seven years, and felt reluctant to part with it. Mid-Autumn Festival was in two months, and there was no need for her father to take back the waist badge after Mid-Autumn Festival. Just looking at the expiration date on it, the guards of the previous dynasty would no longer allow her to enter and leave freely.

"Where are you going, Your Highness?" Jie Yu asked softly as he helped the little princess fasten her badge.

Qingyang looked towards the front court and said, "Political Affairs Hall."

My father asked the Secretariat to draft a reform measure, but for such a major matter, the two prime ministers must discuss it with the Censorate, the Supreme Court, and the heads of the six ministries.

Xie Yu looked worried: "Would it be inappropriate to go at this time?"

Because Prime Minister Yan and Doctor Nie strictly abided by the rules, the little princess usually carefully avoided them when she went to the Secretariat and the Censorate, but today they were both in the Government Affairs Hall.

Qingyang laughed and said, "I respect them, but I have never been afraid of them."

Government Affairs Hall.

As soon as Qingyang stepped into the courtyard, he heard the quarrel coming from inside. The words that the ministers dared not say in front of the angry emperor were now pouring out in waves.

"The fact that common people donate their land and are exempt from taxation is indeed exploiting a loophole in the court's laws. So why not write a law prohibiting common people from donating their land and officials and gentry from taking over land? This doesn't mean revoking the court's preferential treatment of literati and gentry. Wouldn't that chill the hearts of literati? Once that chills their hearts, how can we expect them to serve the court?"

"King Yong said, 'The devil is as high as a foot, but the way is ten feet higher.' As long as some people are exempt from taxes, they will always find other excuses to defraud the people's land, and the people will actively cooperate in tax evasion. Only when the government and the people are taxed according to the same tax law can this malpractice be completely eradicated."

"According to what Lord Nie meant, does that mean the land bestowed upon the royal family, meritorious officials, and nobles will also be taxed?"

"Yes, all under heaven belongs to the king. When the king bestows land upon his subjects, it is a favor from the king. The subjects who accept this favor pay a small portion of the land tax to support the court and relieve the emperor's worries. This is the duty of the subjects."

"Lord Nie makes it sound easy, but since this concerns the royal family, shouldn't we invite Prince Yong, Princess Yongkang, and the other dukes and marquises to come and discuss this together?"

"There's no rush. The Emperor has asked us to draft a charter. I'll start drafting it first, and then the Emperor will make the final decision."

"You are deliberately trying to embarrass the Emperor! Your Highness, the Emperor is angry and prone to acting impulsively. Please go and give him some advice to prevent someone from flattering him without considering the potential troubles he may incur."

Qingyang didn't hear his elder brother's voice. He didn't know whether his elder brother didn't speak or his voice was too soft and was covered by it.

Qingyang was standing under the eaves of the corridor. She could hear everything clearly from here. There were more officials inside than she had expected. Perhaps all the civil servants in Beijing above the fifth rank had been called here, so there was probably no place for her to sit.

I don't know how long the argument lasted, but there was a sudden silence inside, followed by a righteous voice: "Your Highness, please explain the pros and cons to the Emperor. We are waiting here respectfully."

Soon, two figures came out, one was her familiar elder brother, and the other was Yan Xizheng, whom she was also very familiar with.

"Why is the princess here?"

Seeing the little princess standing outside for who knows how long, Yan Xizheng asked with a frown.

Qingyang picked up the golden badge around his waist.

Yan Xizheng: “…”

A group of ministers were still waiting inside. Yan Xizheng had no time to pay attention to the little princess. He whispered to the prince, "The emperor is determined to reform. The land tax of officials and gentry must be collected. Your Highness only needs to ask the emperor whether to increase the land tax of the royal family and nobles. There is no need to say anything else."

Qin Hong: "But there are so many officials and students inside and outside the court. If they are all dissatisfied with the emperor's new decree..."

Yan Xizheng: "Anyone who is dissatisfied is trying to emulate Shen Furen. Such corrupt officials are better off being rejected."

Qin Hong was still wavering, but when he met Yan Xizheng's encouraging gaze, he had no choice but to go see his father first.

Yan Xizheng then asked the little princess: "Princess, how did you know that there was an important matter to be discussed in the government hall this morning?" In the past, the little princess only came to the front court in the afternoon.

Qingyang sighed, "The emperor is so angry that he can't eat breakfast. He Yuanjing asked me to come over and persuade the emperor. The left minister can go and do his work. I'm leaving now."

Leaving behind the left prime minister who was trying to determine the truth of his words, the little princess ran to catch up with her elder brother.

Qin Hong was upset and said to his sister, "I have a lot of things to do today. Let's go somewhere else."

Qingyang: "Brother, how are you going to start when you see the Emperor?"

This is what Qin Hong was annoyed about. Privately, he also thought that his father should just add a law to prohibit taking shortcuts in land allocation. This would not only deter the people but also maintain stability in the officialdom. However, Yan Xizheng and Nie Ao did not think so. He was even less clear about his father's thoughts and was afraid of being scolded if he gave the wrong advice.

Qingyang offered his eldest brother some advice: "When you meet the Emperor later, just tell him that the ministers in the Council of State are arguing with each other but reaching no conclusion. You're afraid that pointless bickering will waste time, so you're going to ask the Emperor to outline the scope of the reform. The Emperor will undoubtedly ask you about the ministers' arguments. Tell him the truth. If he asks you what you think, just say that you support major changes, but you're worried that too many opponents will cause unrest in the government. The Emperor will surely reassure you with this, and from then on, you'll just follow his instructions."

Qin Hong was surprised and asked, "Why do you agree to such a major change? Is this what the emperor wants?"

Qingyang couldn't reveal his father's secret directly, so he said, "The Left Prime Minister is the best at guessing what the emperor is thinking. He said that, so it must be true."

What Qin Hong was afraid of was that the Left Prime Minister's guess was correct, but his father made the wrong order out of momentary anger. At this time, someone should have dissuaded him.

After bidding farewell to his sister, Qin Hong went to see his father with an uneasy heart.

Qingyang did not follow him anymore. He went to the Ministry of Revenue in the outer court and took a walk around. He saw that Jia Fangping had changed into the official robe of the eighth rank and was busy adapting to the new job. Before the other party noticed him, Qingyang left.

Guessing that his elder brother should be back, Qingyang returned to the government hall, but it was so quiet that it seemed as if no one was there.

Qingyang was just curious when Yan Xizheng's voice came from inside: "Well, since the emperor means that everyone must be taxed like the common people, let's discuss the amount of land that can be exempted from tax by the royal family, nobles, and officials at all levels."

After another period of silence, the others began to discuss new issues in a low voice.

Qingyang once again felt that his father's words were of great importance.

Now that the reforms had been finalized, Qingyang no longer worried about the matter. She simply waited to accompany her father to review the final new policy document from the Secretariat. Unexpectedly, when she went to pay her respects to her mother the next day, her mother nervously pulled her into the inner chamber and asked, "Did the Crown Prince make another mistake? Last night, your father was furious and kept scolding you."

Qingyang: "...What did Father scold Big Brother for?"

Concubine Li's voice was even quieter: "Call him stupid."

The emperor asked her to come over for dinner, so Concubine Li went. The emperor seemed normal during the meal, but when he lay down on the bed, he began to toss and turn as if he was worried about something, which made Concubine Li unable to sleep well. She had no choice but to ask him carefully. As a result, the emperor seemed to have finally found the spout of a pot with a belly full of anger. He sat up and scolded the prince. There was no other words, he just kept calling the prince stupid and how could he have given birth to such a few terrible sons.

Concubine Li told this to her daughter in the hope that her daughter could speak up for the Crown Prince and coax the Emperor into submission, so that everyone's life would be better.

As for why she didn't persuade him herself, she didn't even know why the emperor was angry, and blindly persuading him would only add fuel to the fire.

Look, as soon as she finished speaking, her daughter seemed to understand everything.

Qingyang understood, but she couldn't persuade him on this matter. Her elder brother must have been frightened by the alarmist words of those civil officials who didn't want reform, and said things in front of the emperor that the emperor didn't want to hear.

【Author’s words】

Other people’s favorite concubines: taking advantage of their favor to become spoiled and domineering.

Qin's favorite concubine: Be cautious as if walking on thin ice.

Haha, 100 little red envelopes, see you tonight~