The princess is soft!The sick villain is crazy

Li Mingji also dug out that set of storybooks that had almost been burnt out - "The Chaos of the Red Dust".

The story in this script is about his and Shu Yao's past lives.To be precise, it focuses on the perspective of Shu Yao and Xie Yanzhou, and narrates the events of the previous life.Since he is not the protagonist, he does not appear in the script.

Li Mingji realized that he might not be the only one who knew the development of his previous life.

Shu Ningyou who had read the script, Xie Yanzhou who behaved strangely, and... Shu Yao who had nightmares repeatedly.

Following this clue, Li Mingji sent someone to find the second-hand bookstore, and found that the second-hand bookstore was empty.This is the junction point where the Tatars are stationed in the capital, and the second-hand bookstore is just a cover. They have been paying attention to the movements of the capital and sending secret letters to the grassland.

However, the script uses Chinese characters from the Central Plains, so no matter how you look at it, it has nothing to do with the Tatars.

"Li Qing."

The letter was placed heavily on the table, and Emperor Yong called Li Mingji's name lightly.

Li Mingji raised his eyes, "The minister is here."

"A letter from your father."

His "father"... Li Jin who was sent to the west of Beijing to serve as the general judge of Xuzhou.

Jingxi Road is the fiefdom of Qinyanghou and Changpinghou.That unlucky Changping Hou Shizi is still in prison.

Changping Hou Shizi disregarded human life and despised the throne. Li Jin suggested to Emperor Yong that the problem might be in the fief first, so he asked himself to be sent to the fief to investigate.

Emperor Yong wanted to use this as an opportunity to confront the aristocratic family, but Xie Hong and Zheng Lian could not hold back and rebelled, provoking a conflict between the aristocratic family and the imperial power.Now that most of the aristocratic family has gone, it is only a matter of time to clean up the remnants, and Li Jin's investigation is not so important.

In the first half of the letter, Li Jin listed the Zhao family's crimes in the fief, which was not much different from Emperor Yong's guess.Convicting the Zhao family is a sure thing, but there is no suitable reason.What really attracted Emperor Yong's attention was another matter mentioned in Li Jinxin.

Li Jin went to Xuzhou as a two-way transfer envoy.The real function of the transfer envoy is to manage finances and transfer local wealth to the central government.However, after Li Jin investigated Xuzhou's account books, he found that in addition to the general land tax and tax, these local officials also collected some commercial taxes, called "cao fees".

In order to promote economic exchanges between the north and the south, the previous dynasty dug the Grand Canal and established a complete canal system on the vast land of the Central Plains.Rice, tea, and silk from the south of the Yangtze River were continuously transported to the capital through the Grand Canal. The water fee was the toll paid by the caravans on the canal to officials.

However, the laws of the Yong Dynasty clearly stipulated that the commercial tax of the government is only collected in two forms, one is "transit tax" and the other is "transaction tax", which is uniformly handed over to the central government, and the commission is very low.And if the goods being transshipped are grains, they can even be exempted from taxes. Where does the trend of transport fees come from?

The business of the Yong Dynasty was developed, and the annual business tax accounted for more than half of the total fiscal revenue.Xuzhou is not yet a major canal city, and local officials can already earn a lot of money from the increased business tax. For example, the feudal land of Changping Hou Zhao's house on Jingxi Road can consume thousands of dollars for a banquet. If those real canals What about the city?
Most of the aristocratic families in the capital fell, but the wealth they left behind, like moths, eroded the land of the Yong Dynasty.If we don't get rid of this kind of atmosphere, it won't be long before a new family will rise.

"Li Qing," facing Li Mingji's downcast eyes, Emperor Yong said in a deep voice, "Tell me, if I want to strictly investigate the canal toll, which city should I start from?"

More than [-] miles of canals spanned from north to south, and cities of all sizes prospered from the canals, which almost strangled the economic lifeline of the Yong Dynasty.If you pursue them one by one, it will be as difficult as going to heaven if you change blood like dealing with the court.

Unexpectedly, no answer was heard, Emperor Yong sighed, a trace of fatigue rarely appeared on his face.

He wants to be a wise king, not a benevolent one.

When benevolence is easy, you only need to be compassionate and generous to others.But to be a wise king, you have to face challenges from many aspects.

But I heard Li Mingji ask: "Your Majesty, do you still remember when the canal of the Yong Dynasty opened?"

The canal was opened hundreds of years ago, but before the founding of the Yong Dynasty, in troubled times, the waterway was cut off by officers and soldiers, and it was abandoned for a while. As for the latest repair...

"In the first year of Xing'an," Emperor Yong said resolutely, "after the flood in the six southern roads, I ordered people to dredge the canals, dig diversions, and rebuild many canals."

That was the first major reshuffle of local administration since Emperor Yong ascended the throne.The flood took the lives of many officials and exposed the capabilities of a group of officials.Therefore, after the flood, Emperor Yong recruited a group of officials from various places to serve in various places in the south.

Emperor Yong's thoughts became clearer, and he raised his voice and said, "Yin Fu, call the officials from Zhongshu Sheren, the Ministry of Household Affairs, and the Ministry of Industry to discuss matters in the Political Affairs Hall."

……

A menstrual event consumed a lot of Shu Yao's energy. She lay in the mansion for several days before she regained her strength, and secretly swore in her heart that she would never be greedy for cold again, not in any season.

Princess Jiayi and Wei Shen came to visit, and seeing her looking sleepy, Princess Jiayi gave a "Yo" and said ambiguously, "What's wrong with you, have you been stalked by a monster?"

There is nothing wrong with saying that, after all, there is a guard in the mansion who is more and more like the reincarnation of a vixen.

Shu Yao waved her hands feebly, expressing that she doesn't want to quarrel with Princess Jiayi now.

Wei Shen did bring a lot of gifts, including cordyceps that can replenish qi and blood, and even a herbal bag that can generate heat, saying that it can warm up the body, seeing Princess Jiayi's eyes widened, "Second brother, no wonder After you left Beijing, there are still so many little ladies who will never forget you."

Wei Shen raised his eyebrows, his peach eyes sparkled, "Can your fiancé have the emperor's brother? And Yaoyao, who can't meet the standard of cousin, who doesn't agree to this marriage."

Shu Yao thought about it for a while, and felt that Li Mingji, who can warm her bed and is good at kissing, should be much better than her second cousin.

People who grew up in the palace have somewhat of an ability to perceive words and emotions.Seeing Shu Yao's expression, Wei Shen guessed that she didn't take her words to heart, so he changed the subject: "Yaoyao, Ayuan, I heard some rumors in the early morning yesterday that Father seems to be planning a southern tour. "

Emperor Yong had just issued a batch of reform decrees, and it was time for the court to employ people, so it was inseparable from his control.Then the matter of the southern tour fell to the officials below.

"I heard that those officials had been arguing for a whole day, but they didn't decide on a candidate for the southern tour. However, as far as I can see, no matter who is the imperial envoy, Emperor Father will arrange for Li Mingji and Zhou Rong to accompany him."

Especially Li Mingji.

Only relying on the favor of the princess, he has made his way to the top in the court. These newly appointed officials are dissatisfied with him. If he can't show his actual skills, Emperor Yong will be the next to be impeached.