Chang'an City.
In recent days, there have been rumors that the war situation in the northwest is tense and there is not enough food and grass to use. However, the DPRK and China have not collected taxes from the people in advance.
After hearing that His Majesty took the lead, the queen and concubines in the harem could only eat one meal a day. Even the Supreme Emperor began to reduce the expenses in the palace, reclaimed the imperial garden into fertile land, and began to grow food. M.biQuge.biZ
Li Shimin decreed that no official in the court should be extravagant and wasteful, and anyone found to be wasteful would be severely punished.
In Tai Chi Palace.
Li Shimin has received an urgent request from the King of Shu for six roads and eight hundred miles. The content is just one: the northwest is in urgent need of men, horses, and food.
This morning at court, he had to take it out and let the courtiers discuss and decide together.
"My Tang Dynasty is not short of soldiers, but it is short of food and grass. Can the Minister of the Ministry of Households gather enough food and grass for half a year for an army of 160,000?"
Liu Zhenghui, the Minister of Household Affairs, immediately bowed out and reported: "Your Majesty, I am incompetent."
"Your Majesty also knows that I have prepared food and grass for three months, which is already the limit. Now that the autumn harvest has just begun, taxes have not yet been handed over to the treasury, and the treasury is full of rats. Even if you kill me, I will not be able to get a single cent. Grains of grain and grass come, let alone half a year's grain for 160,000 horses."
Li Shimin immediately became angry: "Incompetent, extremely incompetent, is this the answer you gave me?"
Liu Zhenghui took off his official hat and said, "Then please kill me!"
"Come here and put him in jail. Do you think I dare not kill you?"
The ministers were suddenly shocked. They didn't expect that His Majesty wanted to kill Liu Zhenghui just because he couldn't get enough food and food. But no matter who was the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, he couldn't get enough money and food.
The national conditions of the Tang Dynasty were such that it was difficult for a clever woman to make a meal without rice.
Wei Zheng immediately stood up and turned on the trolling mode: "Your Majesty, under the laws of the country, Liu Shangshu cannot collect the food and grass. This cannot be blamed on Liu Shangshu. The national conditions are such that the three months of food and grass preparations have already been misappropriated from other expenses."
"Your Majesty, as a wise king, you should consider the difficulties of your subjects."
"Liu Shangshu is guilty, but he will not be imprisoned. Please take back his sentence."
Li Shimin suddenly stood up: "The war situation in the northwest is tense and there is a shortage of food and grass. Every one of my soldiers is my people. Are they allowed to bleed and shed tears?"
"They are fighting bravely on the front line, for no one else, but for the people of this world."
"I will never watch them starve to death on the front line instead of being killed by the enemy's sword."
Everyone was silent.
Fang Xuanling came out and said, "Your Majesty, how about we collect food from the people?"
Changsun Wuji also stood up, bowed and said: "Your Majesty, this method of servant shooting can be used. You can borrow grain from the people and offset it with taxes after the autumn harvest."
Wei Zheng stood up and objected again: "Your Majesty, the people have already eaten their last meal, so where can they borrow food?"
Wei Ting, the imperial censor, stood up and said: "Your Majesty, it is true that the people have no food, but noble families and local gentry have food, and you can borrow food from them."
Li Shimin's violent temper finally calmed down.
Pointing to Liu Zhenghui, the Minister of Household Affairs, he said, "Did you hear that? You can borrow grain from noble families and local gentry."
"I...I obey."
Liu Zhenghui felt extremely aggrieved. This money bag was really difficult to manage. He was being offended by both the top and the bottom.
Fang Xuanling immediately stood up and set the tone: "Each noble gentry must lend three thousand catties of grain to each household. Anyone who is considered a wealthy family must lend five thousand catties of grain and grass."
"This matter is a hard target and must be completed."
"Now I will arrange a task. Everyone has a share. It must be completed within the specified time."
"Changsun Sikong, you oversee Chang'an and Wannian counties."
"Shizhong Wei, you supervise Henan Road."
"Wen Zhongshu ordered you to supervise Hebei Province."
"I supervise Jiangnan Road..."
At this moment, a young eunuch from outside hurriedly came in, holding a copy of the Eight Hundred Mile Express in both hands, and stepped forward and said: "Your Majesty, the Eight Hundred Mile Express is coming from the northwest."
"Bring it to me quickly..."
Wang De quickly opened it and handed it to Li Shimin. Li Shimin glanced through it quickly, his face was still pale, and he said lightly: "Li Aiqing came eight hundred miles to rush, and the northwest is urgent. Continue to provide food, grass, and military assistance."
"Report..."
Another 800-li urgent order was passed into the Taiji Hall, and everyone began to feel anxious. Since the founding of the Tang Dynasty, even when the Turks came to the city, they had never been so nervous.
On this day, three eight-hundred-mile express letters arrived one after another, and His Majesty said that he had received six eight-hundred-mile express letters from His Highness the King of Shu last night.
Now we have received an urgent request from Li Jing, the general manager of the Longyou Road March. Li Jing has always been known for his calmness. Unless there is an extremely dangerous matter, he will never ask for food from the court officials.
The only possibility is that the situation in the northwest war may be ruined.
Are all the vassal states in the entire northwest going to rebel?
"Your Majesty, the Duke of Qiao, Chai Shao, is urgent for eight hundred miles..."
The ministers were shocked. Didn't Chai Shao, Duke of Qiao, just lead 30,000 elite troops from Chang'an half a month ago?
According to the time, we have arrived at Liangzhou City. Unexpectedly, just as Qiao Guogong arrived in the northwest, there was an urgent call of 800 miles.
It seems that the situation in the northwest war cannot be described as corrupt.
"Everyone, the situation in the Northwest is corrupt."
"The most critical moment of the Tang Dynasty has arrived..."
Li Shimin sighed, his whole body seemed to be much older, he hunched over and left the hall.
Changsun Wuji glanced at everyone and said calmly: "Why are you still standing here?"
Fang Xuanling said angrily: "Everyone, it's time to show your loyalty to the country."
"Let's break up!"
All civil and military officials dispersed, but the 800-mile express from the northwest to Chang'an was still sent to Chang'an one by one and passed into the central government.
Even the Qianniu Guard and Jinwu Guard soldiers guarding the palace were panicked.
Throughout the day and night, no one knew how many 800-mile letters were sent from the northwest to Chang'an.
In Chang'an City, no matter whether they were civilians, nobles, or businessmen, they were all quiet, as if a war was about to come to them.
Today's Datang Daily has not published a report for a long time. Everyone is waiting anxiously, hoping to get the latest news from Datang Daily.
But until evening, Datang Daily still did not sell a single newspaper.
Some people asked people to go to the headquarters of Datang Daily to inquire. When they got the news, the Central Government issued an order. Datang Daily was suspended for one day today. Regarding the news about the northwest, they could only sell the latest news after the Central Government made a decision.
Everyone waited for a day, and in the early morning of the next day, Datang Daily finally sent it out.
However, Datang Daily reported good news instead of bad news, saying that the eight hundred miles of rush into the city yesterday were all news of a great victory in the first battle.
But no one believed it at all. If the first battle was a victory, the soldiers who were rushing eight hundred miles would be shouting to enter the city along the way.
However, nobles, wealthy businessmen, and aristocratic families have already learned everything about yesterday's meeting.
The war situation in the northwest was eroding. The King of Shu sent out twelve 800-mile emergency routes in one day. Li Jing, the general manager of the Longyou Road March, also sent countless secret letters asking for help. Even Chai Shao, who had just arrived in the northwest, also sent a letter asking for help. .
One can imagine how corrupt the war situation in the northwest has become.
However, before they could react, the officials who wanted to borrow food from them came to their door.
Honorable nobles, wealthy merchants, and some aristocratic families immediately discovered business opportunities. The price of food was going to increase, and it seemed that it was going to reach a sky-high price. In the war years, even gold was not as valuable as food. After the chaos in the late Sui Dynasty, they knew that food was importance.
So, on this day, the price of food in Chang'an City was three times a day. It was still fifty cents per stone in the morning, seventy cents per stone at noon, and had risen to eighty cents before the market closed in the evening.
For a time, the people in the city were panicked, and Datang Daily even added extra articles one after another, so that the people did not have to worry. There was food in the treasury, so there was no need to hoard food and grass. Anyone who hoarded it privately would be punished.
But the common people who experienced the great chaos at the end of the Sui Dynasty don't care whether you are punished or not. Those who have money work hard to collect grain, but those whose families have money are not ordinary people.
The wealthy merchants tried their best to stock up on grains and started buying them privately from grain stores without queuing up.
Li Shimin, who had not slept all night, stood in the main hall with red eyes, listening to the secret guards outside reporting everything inside and outside the city all the time.
The eyes of Changsun Wuji and Fang Xuanling were bloodshot. This was a big gamble. If the gamble won, the internal and external troubles of the Tang Dynasty would be solved at once. If the gamble failed, trouble would follow.
However, this depends on how much food your Majesty has prepared.
As long as there is enough food, this food war will be a sure win.
Even if people suffer losses, they are not ordinary people. Ordinary people don't have much money left at all.
Biquge
