In the blink of an eye, ten days have passed, and the wedding day of Princess Changle is getting closer and closer.
The entire palace became busy.
It’s been more than half a year since the last time we were busy about Princess Changle’s wedding. This time it was decidedly busier.
Everyone hopes to be safe this time. Don't be like last time!
Li Lizhi is happy every day. He also tried to find Xue Rengui from time to time. But they were all rejected.
In stark contrast to her excitement, Li Shimin had troubles to deal with.
If this matter is not dealt with, he will not be happy about the upcoming wedding.
At this time, in Tai Chi Palace, Li Shimin frowned.
Below are the civil and military officials.
Hou Jun collected a memorial.
Li Shimin was shocked when he saw it.
He is holding a fold in his hand. This fold is made of paper supplied by Shengtang Group.
"Concerning the large number of ownerless skulls unearthed around Chang'an, do you have any solution?"
he asks.
In recent years, people have been murdered near Chang'an every day, and these murdered people have been buried around Chang'an.
However, after several censuses, it was not found that there were not many people in Chang'an City. On the contrary, a large number of people were born every year.
This is obviously inconsistent. It is unbelievable that this kind of thing happened under my own rule. It also reflects the shortcomings of their system.
This point gave Li Shimin a headache.
The so-called killing requires a life, but you don’t know who died, and you can’t find any information about them! I don’t even know who killed the person, so how can I pay for it? Who should I ask for compensation?
In fact, there has been no way to solve this matter from the beginning to now.
It didn't attract any attention.
As time went by, no one dealt with this matter, and no one dared to report it.
This time Hou Junji took the initiative to report.
It seems that it attaches great importance to the development of Datang.
In fact, only he himself knows. The specific situation is why!
Li Shimin saw that the civil and military officials could not come up with a perfect solution. No one even said a word.
I couldn't help but get furious.
"What are you all doing? I ask you, are you mute? Huh?"
Everyone still didn't say anything. Hou Junji smiled and said: "Your Majesty, this matter has to be handled by the Ministry of Revenue! They are duty-bound!"
Hube?
What's going on with the Sekitoku Department?
Li Shimin was completely puzzled.
"My dear, tell me, why?"
Hou Junji continued: "The source of this matter is the household registration relationship. All this is the negligence of the Ministry of Household Affairs. They cannot come up with a better plan to count the population of the Tang Dynasty, so that some people cannot be counted. Even if they are They can't immediately find out the missing persons. Those people are outside the household registration and cannot be traced. Therefore, the Ministry of Household Affairs must take responsibility this time!"
At this time, Dai Zhou, who was the Minister of the Ministry of Finance at the time, became extremely unhappy. Why do you deny yourself the responsibility? This is a system issue. If they want to change it, they have to have the emperor’s approval. Moreover, this is a system left over from the previous dynasty, and they have not carried out any major reforms!
Dai Zhou first served as an official in the Sui Dynasty. He became an official in the Ming Dynasty. He became a Yunqiwei in the Ministry of Civil Affairs and moved to his family to record affairs. He opposed the usurpation of the throne by King Zheng and Wang Shichong and left Hulao Pass. He surrendered to King Li Shimin of Qin, was awarded the title of Cao to join the army, and moved to the Ministry of War as a doctor and a male from Wuchang County. After Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty came to the throne, he moved to Dali Shaoqing and Prince Zuo Shuzi. He was loyal and upright by nature, and he was forthright in admonition when he violated the rules. He was moved to Zuocheng, the Minister of Finance. In the third year of Zhenguan (629), he acted as the Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs and presided over the selection of officials. He was transferred to the Secretary of the Ministry of Household Affairs and the Duke of Wuchang County, participated in the government affairs, and became the prime minister.
This person has quite the ability to govern, so he can be appointed as the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, but this time it looks bad.
He stepped forward and said: "Your Majesty, this household registration has been implemented for a long time. In the early years, there was nothing wrong with it. This kind of problem is not something we want to see happen this time. Why should the Ministry of Household Affairs be responsible for it?" Responsibility? I also raised it at that time, but no one resolved it. I also asked for a memorial at the beginning, but in the end it was nothing. Why is it that I, the Ministry of Revenue, are asked to take this responsibility today? "
Dai Zhou is also a brave man.
Faced with some groundless accusations, he stood up.
Yes, why.
Some things cannot be solved just by asking the Ministry of Accounts to solve them.
Li Shimin had to agree.
However, neither Li Shimin nor the civil and military officials proposed a solution.
They can only use their previous household registration.
Fang Xuanling came out and said: "Your Majesty, this matter is not trivial. If you want to change it, you must change it thoroughly. It cannot be done by just one household department!"
Cheng Yaojin said: "Wouldn't it be better to ask the Sixth Prince about all this? He has been able to keep us safe several times, and this time it must be possible. If you ask him anything, he will definitely be able to find a solution!"
Nowadays, everyone has the habit of asking Li Min whenever there is a problem that cannot be solved.
It seems that only he can solve it perfectly.
Hou Junji actually said at this time:
"I think this method is feasible! Ask the Sixth Prince!"
This made Li Shimin and everyone a little puzzled.
Doesn’t this person have a bad relationship with Li Min?
Why should Li Min help solve it?
Doesn't that make another contribution to Li Min?
However, Li Shimin felt relieved. People should discuss matters as they are, and it is not good to always target others.
But he was still angry.
"You guys, when necessary, all of you can't do it. What use do I need from you?!"
In fact, this is not impossible. Everyone has proposed a solution. But with the thinking of the ancients, how could it be possible to come up with the best solution?
Moreover, this household registration involves a wide range of aspects.
But Li Shimin felt that if he didn't deal with it, it would affect the future.
Because, that's scary.
So many people died, but no one could find out who killed them or why.
These are all laborers. If Datang wants to develop, it will have to rely on the efforts of these people.
The civil and military officials lowered their heads and did not dare to speak.
"You bastard! Back off, everyone! Let me handle it!"
Li Shimin said suddenly.
All civil and military officials had no choice but to retreat.
"Dai Zhou, stay!"
Li Shimin said suddenly.
Everyone was confused as to why Dai Zhou should be allowed to stay.
But I didn't dare to ask more. If I asked more, I would be scolded.
"Yes! Your Majesty!"
After everyone has left.
Li Shimin walked up to Dai Zhou.
"How many people are there in Datang now?"
Dai Zhou was shocked, why did he ask about this?
"About 30 million people!"
At its peak in the former Sui Dynasty, there were more than 8.9 million households and a population of more than 46 million.
However, the birth of a prodigal son like Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty in the Sui Dynasty caused the population to decrease sharply. By the Wude period, there were only more than two million households. Even including private households with a hidden population, there were still around 20 million people. This number is basically close to the number in the early Western Han Dynasty and the early Western Jin Dynasty.
During Li Yuan's reign, the population did not increase much, and even in the first two or three years of Zhenguan, there was not much improvement.
In the end, thanks to Li Shimin's efforts in the past few years, the population slowly increased.
In addition, in the past six months, some medicines from Shengtang Group have been released and saved many people.
But there should be more than this number, there are still some people who are not included in the statistics!
"Is this data true?"
"Your Majesty, this data minister only dares to say that it includes registered people, but some untouchables cannot be included."
Regarding household registration, Li Shimin did not dare to make major changes and did not know how to change it.
Otherwise it would have been changed long ago.
Suddenly, he said something.
"Dai Zhou, please accompany me to the Shengtang Group!"
Dai Zhou was shocked when he heard this.
"Your Majesty, do you want to come too?"
"I'll go there in disguise. I want to hear what that traitor has to say. I want to hear it with my own ears!"
"But I don't have much to do with it!"
"Then when the money was approved for Shengtang Group, wasn't it a matter for your household department? If you didn't nod, who could get the money?"
Li Shimin asked back.
"Okay...then! When do we set off?"
"Now!"
"ah!"
Dai Zhou didn't understand why Li Shimin was so anxious.
Could it be that he saw some points that he couldn't see?
Must this major issue of household registration be resolved?
"I'll go change my clothes and we'll set off!"
Li Shimin changed into clothes in a hurry.
This leads to the Shengtang Group.
This time I went with Dai Zhou.
They entered the Shengtang Group very smoothly.
Led by Zhu Shan, they headed towards the Tanglou.
The two were walking on the road, looking at the surrounding environment. It was very beautiful. Li Shimin had not been here for a while. The last time I came here was at night.
He didn't dare to show his identity every time he came.
Because of face issues.
But I also want to come here to meet someone. The one person he likes!
And I want to know how Li Min will deal with this matter.
So here he is again.
He murmured: "I can't believe how long it has been, and there have been earth-shaking changes here. It's really shocking."
In Li Shimin's eyes, everything in front of him was new.
The last time he came here, there was construction everywhere.
But this time, the construction was completed.
There are beautiful views everywhere.
He raised it and looked at the tenement building.
That tall building.
I thought of my own palace again, Daming Palace.
Due to the weather, the construction of his Daming Palace was stopped for a period of time.
In Yan Lide's words, it will not be completed until February next year.
And it needs to be renovated, so it may take May or June before we can move in.
In comparison, Li Min's Tanglou was much faster.
Construction was completed in just over three months.
In this regard, he is inferior to Li Min.
Sometimes, he thought about it and realized that such a streamlined look was not impossible.
But I want to come back. As the emperor's office, there are no carvings and no gold. That doesn't make sense, right?
Although Yan Lide mentioned building one in the style of a Tanglou at that time.
But he still rejected it. It'll be late, it doesn't matter!
"There is a water ladder ahead, Dai Shangshu, please slow down!"
Zhu Shandao.
This led Dai Zhou into the water ladder.
Dai Zhou climbed up the water ladder very carefully.
As for Li Shimin, he was watching from behind.
Forgot to come in.
"Who is it? Come on, stop looking around. Mr. Zili won't have time to meet you soon!"
Li Shimin:...
Dai Zhou:......
Is Li Min so busy now?
Meeting people takes time.
"Mr. Zili is very busy?"
Dai Zhou asked.
"Dai Shangshu may not know that Mr. Zili has always been very busy. Now he has to take care of the livelihood of 60,000 people and cannot slack off at all. He said that if he stops, some people will not be able to eat. So, if you have anything to say later, you can say it directly, save some time, and don’t miss the livelihood of 60,000 people.”
"Sixty thousand people..."
Dai Zhou took a breath of air.
Li Shimin was also quite shocked.
He didn't pay attention to what Li Min was doing recently.
According to the last time he came here, there were no more than ten thousand people. In just a short time, the number reached sixty thousand.
"No, this number is going to rise! I heard it will be raised to 100,000 people. By then, it will definitely improve people's lives. These people are high-income people!"
Zhu Shan said quite proudly.
Yes, Shengtang Group created many jobs in Chang'an City.
The income of these people is very high.
With Shengtang Group as the center, radiating outward, hundreds of thousands or even millions of people will be affected. Many people rely on Shengtang Group for their livelihood, especially some scholars. I often heard that poor scholars Poor scholars are different now. Scholars in Chang'an City are worth a lot of money.
Dai Zhou asked one more question.
"I wonder if Mr. Zili is still recruiting people?"
"Recruit, why not recruit? Yuan Tiangang recruits more than a thousand people every day, but now the recruitment is very strict. Some disloyal people will not be recruited no matter how good they are. This is Mr. Zili The principle of recruiting people is also the bottom line!”
Zhu Shan said hello.
The two of them couldn't help but nod their heads.
It seems that Li Min is very clever.
Li Shimin fell into deep thought.
He was thinking about how to follow Li Min's approach in the future.
"I've told you too much, so who are you? Can't you make it? If not, I'm going to close the door!"
Seeing that Li Shimin hadn't come up yet, Zhu Shan asked again.
"Up, up, up!"
Li Shimin hurriedly climbed up the water ladder.
This water ladder is actually made of glass on three sides. When it rises slowly, you can see the surrounding scenery.
Especially the scenery in the distance is particularly beautiful.
Not only the scenery, every time they go up to a floor, they will see that floor is full of people. These people perform their own duties and have many types of work.
Li Shimin was shocked when he saw it.
It's like a small country here.
It's just business-oriented, not politics.
Zhu Shan talked a lot today.
Continuously introducing everything.
The group of three quickly reached the top floor.
The scenery here is better.
In front of them was a huge floor-to-ceiling window, inside which they could see Li Min studying.
And beside him were four beauties, walking around him.
Li Shimin saw Ji Ruxue at a glance, and seeing Li Min's full love at this moment made people envious.
"You only have half a stick of incense, so make good use of the time and don't exceed it too much. Although Mr. Zili is willing to meet you, if you waste too much time, it will have an impact on his research and will only make him Sleeping late.”
"clear!"
Dai Zhou expressed.
And he glanced at Li Shimin again.
Li Shimin had no special expression.
The two then entered the room.
Li Min then put down what he was doing.
Welcoming him very warmly.
"It's Shangshu Dai! Please sit down quickly!"
he gestured.
Then he sat down on a sofa.
This sofa is very soft.
Dai Zhou was shocked as soon as he sat down.
"What is this? Why is it so comfortable to sit on?"
"The sofa is made of real leather with stuffing inside!"
Everything here in Li Min is full of wonderful things.
Take the sofa as an example. It was indeed different from the current chairs. After Dai Zhou sat down, he never wanted to get up again.
Li Shimin just stood on the side. He also wanted to sit, but his current status prevented him from sitting.
At this time, Ji Ruxue presented milk tea and other items.
When she walked past Li Shimin, she couldn't help but frown, as if she recognized Li Shimin.
Li Shimin was so frightened that he turned his face away.
"Tea please!"
Ji Ruxue was suspicious and left without thinking too much.
Li Min glanced at the two of them and did not notice Li Shimin's presence.
"Dai Shangshu, I don't know why you came here, why?"
He said straight to the point.
Dai Zhou then said what he had just said.
Li Min smiled and said: "This is not simple, directly reform the household registration system! All problems are solved directly."
He saw the crux of the problem at a glance.
"So, what do you think?"
The household registration system of the Tang Dynasty had two most important functions: first, to ensure taxation and levy, and second, to achieve social control.
After successive dynasties established their governments, one of the first things they had to do was to count and register the national population. The household registration system of the Tang Dynasty formed two unequal classes: "registered households" and "non-registered households". Registered households were good citizens (free citizens), while non-registered households were untouchables (non-free citizens).
In other words, the country's household registration program only covers some people - good citizens. The other group of people are untouchables and are not eligible for household registration and can only be attached to the main family. The untouchables in the Tang Dynasty mainly included official untouchables who served the government, such as workers, music households, and miscellaneous households; as well as private untouchables who were attached to aristocratic families, namely tribes and slaves. They were private property and could be treated like goods and livestock. trade.
"First of all, only rural household registration and urban household registration are divided, and these two types of people are managed separately. At the same time, there is no longer any hierarchy, the distinction between good and bad is abolished, and the social status of untouchables such as craftsmen is improved! Let slaves also have their own household registration! Everyone They are all independent individuals and should have household registration..."
Li Min synthesized the future household registration system together with the existing system.
This sounds a bit contrary to the family. If it is really done, it must be a big cake that has influenced the family.
Because slaves and maidservants are no longer their property, it is equivalent to liberating them.
This will inevitably cause a huge shock.
Li Min's reforms this time can be said to be very big.
If it is really implemented, Datang's economy will improve again, and not only Li Min himself will benefit, but Li Shimin will also receive huge benefits.
As for those nameless corpses, that's it.
Since we can't find it anymore, we can just take care of future matters at this time.
Such words made Li Shimin on the side feel a chill down his back.
This is simply revolutionizing the family's life.
In the past, when Li Min fought against the aristocratic family, he mostly tried to make their business territory smaller.
But this time, their 'property' was directly wiped out.
Dai Zhou was a little weird.
If this kind of change is implemented, I am afraid it will cause a backlash!
"Mr. Zili, if you do this, I'm afraid it will cause a big shock! Especially if you don't distinguish between good and bad!"
"Dai Shangshu, the distinction between good and bad is not only a shackle for the people, but also a shackle for the development of the Tang Dynasty. Once it is broken, the opposition will be fierce, but for the Tang Dynasty, it will be of no harm. Just take one Obviously, in terms of taxation and levy, it can definitely be implemented very quickly. You probably know that there are not many people registered in Datang. What about taxes? Does it have to be collected from those who have registered residence? Conscription, what if people conscript soldiers? Isn’t that the same thing?
If there is no distinction between good and bad, I dare say that the population can be doubled directly, which can add a lot of tax revenue to the national treasury. For the soldiers guarding the border, they can recruit as many people as possible to defend the border! "
Li Min's words are very reasonable.
This made Dai Zhou ponder for a long time, and he subconsciously looked at Li Shimin behind him.
Li Shimin didn't dare to look at him at this time, maybe he was still imagining it.
"Dai Shangshu, this change will be unprecedented! In fact, the reason why I advocate reform is also a good thing for Shengtang Group. After all, if I want to expand, I will recruit a lot of people with household registration, but qualified There are not many of them, and some of them without household registration are firmly in the hands of aristocratic families, and we can't recruit them at all, so I hope it can be done quickly. Of course, if you encounter obstacles, you can always come to me."
Dai Zhou was a little moved.
"So, that's great! I'll talk to His Majesty about it now, and I hope he can pass it!"
"Him? That stubbornness, just saying it is useless!"
Li Min smiled.
This made Li Shimin very angry.
It would be hard for anyone to be scolded by Li Min in front of his face.
"Mr. Zili, this... you can't say this nonsense!"
"What are you afraid of? It's just you and me here. What I said is true. What else are you afraid of? If he wasn't stubborn and was afraid of finding me earlier, why did he wait until now to let you come?"
Li Min said that Dai Zhou was speechless.
It's not good to say yes, it's not good to say no.
He is now in a dilemma.
"Don't you think so?"
"this……"
"Forget it, I don't want to say any more. I can draft a document and leave it to him. If he doesn't want to implement it, then I have no choice."
"Good work!"
Dai Zhou wiped the sweat from his forehead.
There were only a few people in the entire Tang Dynasty who dared to scold him in front of Li Shimin, and he, Li Min, was definitely the first.
Moreover, he even scolded Li Shimin so much that he didn't even dare to fart.
At the same time, Dai Zhou was a little suspicious. Li Min had already known that Li Shimin was coming.
"By the way, Mr. Zili, why are you helping me?"
"Why?"
Li Min smiled.
"Two aspects. First, I think you are a good person. You are so humble, which makes people feel comfortable. Second, it is also because of the recruitment dilemma of our Shengtang Group."
In fact, he was infiltrating and allowing more officials to be beholden to him.
After allowing them to receive your favor, how dare they refuse to agree when asked to help?
"Okay, I won't say any more nonsense, just wait for me for a while!"
Then Li Min went to the desk.
He picked up the pen and started writing.
Dai Zhou naturally followed.
As soon as I passed by, I saw something remarkable.
This shocked him.
It turns out there is such a thing in the world.
So, he walked to Li Min.
"Mr. Zili, what is this?"
Not only him, Li Shimin was also shocked.
