Emperor Sui Yang

Chapter 758 Clearing the Portal
February has passed, and it’s time to settle the accounts. Last year’s taxes and this year’s budget are reported below.

Yang Ming was very busy, and the largest spring outing blind date party since the founding of the Sui Dynasty also began.

The location this time is Luoyang Xiyuan Royal Garden, a land of beautiful mountains and rivers with a total area of ​​[-] square kilometers, stretching from Mang Mountain to the north and Yique to the south.

Yang Ming set a precedent and allowed boys and girls from aristocratic families to go to Xiyuan for spring outings.

The original name of Xiyuan was Huitongyuan, which was given by Yang Guang, but Yang Ming changed it to Shanglinyuan. It suddenly felt high-end and classy.

In fact, this approach is just for the officials to see, implying that they should not expect the emperor to come back. From now on, I have the final say, so you can just do as I want in peace of mind.

Then there is another name that needs to be changed, which is more involved and has many opponents, and that is the change of Daxing back to Chang'an.

It was not convenient for Yang Ming to speak up, so he asked Wei Zheng to propose it at the court meeting. Everyone in the clan objected and it was not passed.

Daxing was Yang Jian's title in the Northern Zhou Dynasty, and he was the Duke of Daxing County. Therefore, the clan did not agree to change it to Chang'an, but others could say that their stance was vacillating.

Don’t rush this, you can take your time.

Cui Mintao was recalled from the capital. Everyone guessed that this person was going to be put into a more important position. His father was still ill, so the prince sent him here, which meant that he had important things entrusted to him.

"There are acres of land in the world. The rich are in the street, the poor have no place to stand on. The strong and the weak are competing against each other and taking advantage of their power. Land expropriation documents have not been completed for 30 years. Mergers and seizures are not eliminated. The world is uneasy. Since the Wei and Jin Dynasties, although there has been a system, it will not be long before The consequences are many, and there are so many people who violate the law, and they are unable to practice it throughout the country, and they will not be able to practice it for a long time. The matter of land and acres is actually the most difficult thing in the world."

Cui Mintao is indeed the person who inherited Cui Zhongfang's mantle. His remarks were shocking and pointed at land annexation.

Yang Ming's eyes lit up. What I want is someone like you who comes from a noble family but knows the shortcomings of the family. Although he also knows that Cui Mintao's words are fair and honest. If he is really allowed to do it, he won't do it. .

Again, saying and doing are two different things.

In the court, everyone was also thinking deeply. Last year's taxation was outrageous. Everyone knew that the court would definitely issue a new policy this year to reverse this unfavorable situation.

"The annexation of land is not uncommon. Although we have strict laws in the Sui Dynasty, there are not many people who break the law. This shows that it is a stubborn disease," Pei Ju said.

What he means is that there are many people who do this, but few are actually sentenced. The law is ineffective in this regard. In fact, it is still a metaphor for Yang Xuangan.

Pei Yun hurriedly said: "It is indeed a stubborn disease. This disease has been around for hundreds of years. It is extremely difficult to get rid of it all at once."

"No matter how difficult it is, we must change it," Yang Ming said solemnly:

"If people don't have land, they can't make a living. Those who lose their land are prone to dangers and are of no benefit to the country. The fifteen supervisors can't be delayed any longer. If this year's candidates are not elected, they will use the previous year's compensation, which will be taxed." In this situation, the state treasury has no income, and the officials below are still complaining to the court. The Ministry of Civil Affairs issued a document asking them to find a way to rob, and rob me of the money. Whoever exploits the common people, I will have his head , hanging at his yamen door."

The country has no money, which is a very terrible thing. It means that the operation of the entire country will have problems, or it must find ways to find money as soon as possible.

But the local officials below are all complaining, saying that the chaos is brewing and it is difficult to collect taxes.

This is the truth, but the court cannot recognize this truth, so it must force the local officials to find ways to make money. Once the local officials think of ways to make money, they will first target the civilians. That is why there are fifteen supervisory envoys, as well as Yang Ming's That harsh word.

In fact, he was hinting to the local officials to take action against the local aristocratic families.

There are only two ways to get money, one is from common people, and the other is from aristocratic families. When the world is in chaos, people feel at ease. At this time, aristocratic families must choose to lose money and avoid disasters, rather than challenge the court.

"The fifteen candidates need to be decided as soon as possible," Yang Gongren nodded: "In April, they have to be sent to the local areas to review the situation of the land and the phenomenon of annexation. Now it is necessary to deal with some people again."

If the country is good, then the family members are good, so the interests of the family members are consistent with Yang Ming's. The lands they annexed cannot be spit out. If I don't spit it out, someone has to spit it out. Otherwise, the country will have no money, so the small aristocratic families in those places cannot spit it out. , will become the object of rectification.

Under this kind of pressure, small aristocratic families will seek a way out. Schools and imperial examinations are their best opportunities. When these people come up, they will form a confrontation with the current aristocratic group, and Yang Ming can have the opportunity to use the aristocratic family to resist Family.

Of course, this process is very long, and it will take at least ten years before there are initial changes, and only those children from poor families have the opportunity to stand out.

Yang Ming is 31 this year, so he can still wait for more than ten or twenty years.

"The land system is not something that can be accomplished overnight. The current national situation is so difficult. Is there any way to replenish the national treasury as soon as possible?" Yang Ming looked around at the ministers.

Cui Mintao stood up again and said: "I have a way, which is to change some orders every day, which can easily cause some people to be dissatisfied with the court."

Yang Xuangan frowned and said, "Then you'd better stop talking. It's unacceptable to break one's trust in the morning and evening."

Pei Ju looked at Cui Mintao with a smile and said, "Boying (Cui Mintao's courtesy name) might as well talk about it first."

Cui Mintao nodded and said: "Buddhism and Taoism are prosperous. There are millions of Taoist priests, nuns, monks and nuns, occupying tens of millions of hectares of anointed fields. The number is considerable. With the number of monks and Taoists like this, are they becoming monks for their faith? Nineteen non- Also, because the monks were exempted from school service, they flocked to them under the guise of a pretext. Among the nobles, there were many people who had left the family. They used it to protect their family property and insinuate that they could take over everything. They even bought ultimatums at high prices from top to bottom, and there was a bustling crowd. Incessantly."

Then, Cui Mintao continued: "My intention is that the imperial court will sell the ultimatum, collect a sum of money, and then return it to the monks and nuns, and dismantle the temple's assets, so that the national treasury can be quickly enriched."

Yang Ming couldn't help but look at his old uncle Xiao Yu, and then at Yang Yuanqing.

Yang Yuanqing originally fell in love with his uncle's eldest daughter, Xiao Ruyuan, the Master Fa Le of Ganye Temple. He must have an ultimatum, and she is a Master.

After Yang Yuanqing married home, Xiao Yu's second daughter also became a monk in Ganye Temple.

You are not a believer in Buddhism. Are you hiding money?Using Ganye Temple to hide the fields?

As soon as Cui Mintao said this, many people opposed it. Their slogans were all "weiguangzheng". First, the court must not break its promise, and second, it must not insult religion.

"Are you also in the Buddhist temple and Taoist temple, hiding the land?" Yang Ming said with a gloomy face.

"No, no," many officials denied.

Yang Ming could tell that this was probably the case.

His sources of information mainly come from the clan and his own female relatives. The clan does not need to be affiliated with Buddhist temples and Taoist temples. His female relatives are all the daughters of ministers. The annexation of land and acres at home is done openly, so there is no need to do so.

So Yang Ming didn't know what the people below were doing. After Cui Mintao said this, he instantly realized what he was doing.

No wonder the world is in chaos. Most of the Buddhist temples and Taoist temples are intact after such a fight. First of all, they are an armed force themselves. Secondly, they have money and can dispatch the rebels. Also, they have a civilian base and there are too many believers, so the rebels dare not destroy them. The dojo of Buddha and Taoist ancestors.

Regarding this issue, there was a lot of discussion in the court.

Yang Ming simply didn't say anything. He was determined to get money, otherwise even the little money in the treasury would not be able to support this year's budget.But he can't express his position, and he can't say anything that offends religion. It depends on who can see through his mind.

Yang Rui didn't understand yet, but he guessed that his father had this idea, and was about to speak, but Yang Xuangan below coughed dryly and gave Yang Rui a look, and Yang Rui fell silent.

Xuangan knew Yang Ming very well, and he knew that the prince could do it, but he couldn't tell it, so naturally Yang Rui couldn't tell it either.

After all, this is so annoying.

He was not the only one who knew that this matter was offensive, everyone knew it, so after a long discussion, no one dared to stand up and say it. After all, it was not a human being who was offended, but a god.

Yang Ming is not superstitious, but everyone is.

"Let's discuss this later," Yang Ming sighed inwardly and changed the subject.

In fact, he can understand that whoever dares to stand up will be stained and will be detrimental to future generations. If word spreads, the people will poke your spine.

Therefore, to clean up the monks' way, it has to be a monk's way, just to be justified.

So Yang Ming sent people to the capital to invite the current master Jiaxiang of Zhaoxuantong and Dawei of the Taoist sect, Lou Guantai Qihui to the capital.

These two Buddhist and Taoist leaders are no longer the same as they were during the Kaihuang years.

The previous Master Lingzang was a close friend of Yang Jian. The current Master Jiaxiang is a friend of Yang Guang. His common surname is An, one of the nine Zhaowu surnames. He fled to Lingnan in his early years and became a monk in Lingnan. Later he went to Jiankang, where Yang Guang sat When I was in Zhenjiangdu, I got to know him. He was the founder and master of the Three Treatises School of Chinese Buddhism, and he had a very high reputation.

As for Daomen Qihui, this is Yang Ming's old friend.

Yang Ming himself has a Dharma title, the Bodhisattva who protects the Zhengfa, but not as big as his father. Yang Guang is the Bodhisattva who always supports the Dharma. However, the Taoists did not find a true king for Yang Guang. This time, Qi Hui came. Just do this.

After both the Buddhist and Taoist families had their identities corrected, Yang Ming used Yang Guang's name to clean up the temples in the world. This is called cleaning up the family.

He has thought about the reasons: the more monks and Taoists evade their duties, the heavier the burden will be on the people. There are many stray people among them, most of whom are not devout believers. It is inevitable that they will not abide by the rules and steal property for personal gain. , now I have cleared the court and set up limits and ultimatums, in order to restore the clarity of the Buddha's way and to calm the hearts of all people.

Gao Yue was pregnant, and the entire East Palace paid great attention to it. Chen Shuyi simply moved in and lived with Gao Yue so that she could take care of her at any time.

Naturally, the Imperial Medical Office took good care of him and did not dare to neglect him at all.

As for Pei Shuying, she learned from her son Yang Jin that Cui Zhongfang's second daughter-in-law, Mrs. Gao, was actually the sister of the empress of the old Qi Dynasty. She thought that Gao Yue had been lonely these years and had no relatives around her, so she didn't say hello to Yang Ming. So he sent someone to invite Mr. Gao to enter the palace.

This kind of thing actually doesn't matter. Gao Yue can see the light now. After all, Yang Ming has the final say in the world.

If she really wants to give birth to an heir, after Yang Ming ascends the throne, he must be given a status, and his status will not be low.

"Didn't you know that Cui Mindi's first wife was your aunt before?" Pei Shuying said in surprise.

Gao Yue nodded: "I was still young at that time and had no impression of her. I only knew that she married into the Bolingcui family, but I didn't know which family it was. When I was in the capital before, I asked Mrs. Changsun to help find out if I was there. The daughter of the Gao family, but there is no result, which shows that my aunt, because of her special status, still behaves in a low-key manner. "

Not to mention that she wasn't familiar with her, neither was her father, Gao Wei, because Gao Wei was the second son and Cui Mindi's daughter-in-law was the youngest daughter, so they had different mothers.

In other words, although the Gao family was born as a concubine, she was also a princess in Old Qi after all. It would not be humiliating to marry Cui Zhongfang's second son.

Pei Shuying suddenly said: "I see, I have sent someone to invite him. This person is in Dongdu now. It is always a gratifying thing to reunite family members. You, please be happy in the future and don't be like before."

Gao Yue touched her belly that was not swollen with joy, nodded and smiled: "Of course you will be happy. Right now, I don't think about anything or do anything. I just want to take good care of the fetus."

Not long after, Mrs. Gao was brought into the palace, and her niece Cui Yi came with her.

Since he was called into the palace, it was still necessary to take this opportunity to show Cui Yi's face.

"I pay my respects to the crown prince's concubine," Mrs. Gao pulled Cui Yi and quickly saluted Pei Shuying, and then introduced: "This is the youngest daughter of the eldest brother Mintao, Cui Yi, whose nickname is Axiao."

Cui Yi hurriedly said: "A common girl has seen a noble man."

Pei Shuying looked at Cui Yi with interest for a while, then nodded and let the two of them get up.

Cui Yi couldn't help but glance at Pei Shuying, just once, and then quickly lowered his head.

The East Palace has already announced that it will soon enter into a marriage contract with their family. She is the royal concubine of the King of Wei, so the lady in front of her is her future mother-in-law, the only legitimate daughter of You Pushe.

Pei Shuying was looking at Cui Yi, while Gao and Gao Yue were looking at each other.

Gao Yue knew who the other party was, but Gao didn't know who Gao Yue was, but the moment she saw Gao Yue, she thought of someone.

She recognized the face.

Seeing this, Chen Shuyi said to Mrs. Gao: "I summoned you today to let you meet an old friend. The person on the bed now is a descendant of the prince. He has the same status as me and also has the surname Gao."

Mrs. Gao trembled all over and said dumbfounded: "Is she the daughter of my brother, Concubine Feng?"

Gao Yue was also extremely excited: "Hello aunt, it's my niece Gao Yue."

The two immediately covered their faces and cried.

If the family were normal, there would not be such a touching scene, and the aunt and niece might not be so close.

But right now, isn’t this the ruin of the country and the family?Both of them were princesses from the subjugated old Qi Dynasty. In the Sui Dynasty, they were both lonely and helpless, with no family to rely on.

This is different from Changsun Wuji's daughter-in-law, Gao, whose bloodline is a bit distant, so they are close relatives.

Pei Shuying gave Chen Shuyi a wink, and the two stood up and walked out to make it easier for them to reunite.

"Come out with me for a moment," Pei Shuying said calmly.

Cui Yi's shoulders trembled, and he followed out with his head drooped.

(End of this chapter)