Emperor Sui Yang

Taking advantage of turning around, Pei Ju quickly gave Yang Hao a wink, meaning you don't want to make trouble.

Yang Hao also received it, but he didn't understand the taste all at once, Mr. Pei, your eyes are too complicated.

Ning Changzhen still held the wine glass in his hand, when he heard the words, he stood up and said, "May I ask you who you are?"

Pei Ju smiled and introduced: "This is His Royal Highness King Liang, His Majesty's nephew, and the prince's cousin."

Oh. This status is awesome. Ning Changzhen also saw that the other party was not kind, so he took the initiative to please:
"Lingnan Ning Changzhen, I have met His Highness King Liang, and His Highness is extraordinary, which is rare in my life."

Yang Hao saw that the other party was upset, and originally wanted to be sarcastic, but he found that other people were also giving him winks. The other party's small mouth was quite sweet, so he could only say in a normal manner:

"Well, sit down."

After saying this, Yang Hao ran to Yang Ming and whispered. Seeing this, the others continued to chat.

"Are you being too polite to him? Right now, the capital is scolding this bastard," Yang Hao grumbled.

Yang Ming frowned and said, "You don't know a shit, let you learn from Yang Xiong. You haven't learned anything. In the future, use your brain first when you encounter problems, and come without opening your mouth."

"I know, you want me to be more prudent," Yang Hao said with a smile, "I'm also really angry, after all, this old thing is not doing human affairs."

Yang Ming knew that it was unrealistic to want to change Yang Hao. His temperament had already been fixed. He had suffered so much in the past, but he didn't make him change. How could he change him?

"Speak less and do more," Yang Ming said in a deep voice.

Yang Hao nodded quickly: "Understood."

That night, Feng An and Ning Changzhen were settled in Jinyang Tower, which sounded inappropriate. It seemed inappropriate for such a high-level feudal official to live in that place.

In fact, it doesn't matter, Jinyang Tower is already the highest-grade restaurant in the entire capital, you can think of it as a five-star restaurant in the Sui Dynasty, and it is the most suitable for reception.

On the next day, Xuangan will bring them into the palace, and slap him in the face, just once, don't do it a second time, unless you want to kill him.

Even if Yang Guang really wanted to kill Ning Changzhen, he would definitely not want to kill Feng An, at least not right now.

Yang Ming sent someone to Prince Yuande's mansion that night to make an appointment with Wei Ying for the next meeting. He was more interested in knowing what secret Wei Ying was hiding.

On the second day of the court meeting, Yang Guang did not summon Feng An and the others in the Daxing Hall, but hosted a banquet in the palace after the court meeting, and entertained them alone.

The participants were still those ten or twenty bigwigs.

It was the first time for Ning Changzhen to meet Yang Guang. Although he had heard a lot about Yang Guang when he was in Jiangdu, this meeting broke the image of the emperor in his mind.

The tiger father has no dogs and sons, and the prince is enough to have a city, and the current emperor is even more extraordinary.

"I heard about you when I was in Jiangdu, and Mrs. Changcheng often mentioned you to me. I heard that you have a good relationship?" Yang Guang laughed.

Ning Changzhen nodded: "The minister and Mrs. Changcheng are childhood friends, and they are brothers and sisters."

Yang Guang said again: "During the Kaihuang period, you and the imperial court had to surpass others. I'm afraid it's not just a simple brother-sister relationship?"

Feng An moved his body and wanted to interrupt, but Yang Guang raised his arm: "I didn't ask you."

Ning Changzhen smiled: "Don't dare to lie to Your Majesty. When I was young, I admired my sister-in-law and intended to marry her as my wife. It's just that the world is unpredictable and there are mistakes."

"That's right, I only listen to the truth here," Yang Guang laughed.

Ning Changzhen took the opportunity to say: "This time I am in Beijing, I wonder if I will have a chance to see Mrs. Changcheng again?"

He said that on purpose so that the emperor would feel that he was more affectionate.

"Chen Shubao's widow, it's better not to see you. I pay attention to etiquette in the Sui Dynasty, and the customs in Lingnan must be changed in the future." What does a widow do?
As everyone knows, Yang Guang often plays chess with this widow.

There is a reason why Yang Guang did not summon Feng and Ning in Daxing Hall today.

Because the imperial court was going to have a showdown with Lingnan, and Feng and Ning actually came to negotiate terms with the imperial court.

Negotiation, don't be in a place like the court.

What Su Wei said is actually the beginning. You Lingnan has been attached to the Sui Dynasty for more than 30 years, but the policies of the imperial court and the etiquette of the Central Plains cannot be promoted on your side. This is not possible.

Of course Feng An heard it, and said: "In the land of Lingnan, the people's conditions are complicated. The aborigines still mainly live in mixed tribes, respecting the chieftains of various tribes as their leaders, and each tribe has its own beliefs and customs. As a basis, although some migrants improved the local water conservancy and farmland, and spread the etiquette of the Central Plains, the results were minimal, and it was not a one-day effort for Lingnan to integrate into the Central Plains."

What he said was actually pertinent. In Lingnan during this period, the tribes were the basic administrative units, and the chieftain was called the Tusi, which was the same thing within the tribe.

Countless tribes and various ethnic groups gather together, and there must be many conflicts, and the three major tribes have played a role in balancing Lingnan.

The imperial court has always adopted the policy of confinement towards Lingnan, that is, barbarians are used to control barbarians, and their customs are used to rule their customs. Feng An and the others treat other tribes in the same way. I respect your culture and will help you and not interfere with yours. Internal matters, but you stand with me.

Cui Zhongfang said: "Lingnan is an important place in the south of our Great Sui Dynasty. There are some things that cannot be changed, and we will not change them, but some things that can be changed. We still need to change them now, such as tributes."

From the founding of the country to the present, the taxes that Lingnan has handed over to the imperial court are not called taxes, but local tributes. They are actually what you have and what you pay.

There are mainly three types, slaves (including eunuchs), gold and silver, and medicinal materials.

There is no food.

First of all, the grain production in Lingnan is limited, and there will not be much grain if it is handed over, and the distance is far away, and the transportation loss is too great, so the compromise is gold and silver.

Lingnan was a place rich in gold and silver in the Sui Dynasty. Historically, half of the total amount of gold and silver in the Tang Dynasty came from Lingnan as a tribute, and the gold and silver production areas were mostly concentrated in eastern Guangxi and western Guangdong.

Slaves, for a semi-civilized area, the status of the poor is very low, and it is normal to be used as slaves.

Feng An knew that today's test was the saddest in his life, so he replied cautiously:
"The three major tribes in the south of the Five Ridges are willing to do so, but the other tribes may have conflicts, and we can't control it."

Cui Zhongfang smiled and said, "I haven't said how to change it, so you just deny it?"

Feng Ang said with a bitter face: "I would like to hear the details."

Cui Zhongfang said: "In the past, the taxes in Lingnan were all tributes from you. Although the court clearly stipulated the amount of tribute, after so many years, the local officials who have been devolved still know a lot about the situation in Lingnan, and the court is also very familiar with it. Clearly, the country suffers too much if it is calculated by tribute."

Ning Changzhen frowned and said: "The amount of tribute is increasing year after year, and more is paid year by year. Lingnan has already tried its best. I don't know how Cui Gong wants to change it?"

Cui Zhongfang smiled and said: "Under the whole world, is it the land of the king, and in the Sui Dynasty we have the Great Industry Law and the Land Equalization System, and Lingnan is always outside the law, which is really inappropriate, but the imperial court is still lenient to you. Ding Ji, in the future, Lingnan can be calculated on a household basis. I have a land system in the Sui Dynasty. Ding Nan pays 3 shi for rent every year, and then converts it into "tune" cloth, plus two shi, which is five shi. Lingnan, please treat it with tolerance. One stone and two dou for the upper household, eight dou for the second household, and six dou for the lower household, if the barbarian households, all lose half of it, instead of accepting silk, they will turn it into gold and silver and hand it over to the imperial court."

Feng An and Ning Changzhen's faces turned livid.

It sounds like Cui Zhongfang's proposal is indeed very lenient. People in the Central Plains pay taxes on a head-by-head basis. Your side is complicated, so you should pay taxes on a household basis, and the tax paid by one household is not as good as that paid by a small man in the Central Plains. many.

But the actual situation is that the annual tribute in Lingnan is collected by the three major tribes for the imperial court, and the rest of the tribes don't pay taxes at all.

Why should I give you the grain grown from the land I planted?

This is where the conflict between the imperial court and Lingnan lies. The country will definitely not let Lingnan go on like this for a long time, but Lingnan people don't want to pay taxes.

This is not something Feng and Ning can decide, because it is not easy for the two of them to get food out of other people's mouths.

People depend on food, and food is their life.

"It is almost impossible to implement this policy in Lingnan," Feng An said, "Forcibly implementing it may cause chaos. I hope your majesty will learn from it."

Yang Guang didn't speak, but Pei Ju said:
"Twenty counties in Lingnan, will this go on forever? Your Majesty trusts you and entrusts Lingnan to you to manage. The policy of the imperial court depends on you to implement it. Temporary difficulties are better than eternal difficulties. Mingda should be considerate of the imperial court. Yes. You're relaxed enough."

Ning Changzhen's face was ugly, and he bowed his head in silence. He had already guessed that if he didn't agree, Lingnan would never want to go back.

Damn it, you are so courageous, you have been in Yangzhou for more than ten years, and you don't know what's going on in Lingnan, let us go down and carry it out?Wouldn't the Lingnan people want to pick off our skins?

Ning Changzhen is no longer thinking about policy issues, but about his own life. As a human being, he always puts his own life above everything else.

"As long as the court deploys it properly, the policy is perfect, and it can take into account the local situation in Lingnan, it can actually be implemented sequentially," Ning Changzhen said.

In a word, everyone here thinks that this person cannot be allowed to go back.

Why don't you bargain?Are you determined to play tricks?Now I promise verbally, and I will deny it completely when I let you go back?

Yang Guang looked at Feng An with a sneer: "What does Mingda think?"

Feng Ang put on a bitter face, and said: "It's too much to do, I don't have the ability, and if the Holy Mother is there, I can't do it. Your Majesty, should you think about it again?"

People's words are more honest and easy to trust.

Yang Guang smiled and said: "Of course it can be considered. The Ministry of Civil Affairs' method is just a plan, and the details can be discussed. I won't embarrass you, but you can't embarrass the court, understand?"

Feng An's face was ashen, and he nodded bravely.

Yang Guang said indifferently: "Okay, the Minister of Shangshu, Menxia Province, the Ministry of Internal History, and the Eleventh Temple, together with Feng An and Ning Changzhen, have drawn up a detailed plan for Lingnan's future policies and submitted it to me for preview. There is no deadline. , but we must take good care of it and make everyone happy, that is the result I want."

"Minister obeys the order," more than a dozen central bosses stood up one after another.

There is no time limit for one sentence. It is impossible for Ning Changzhen to go back in the short term. These four words are aimed at him.