While Li Hao was looking at this prosperous scene, the guard who followed Li Hao suddenly leaned against the carriage window.
Said: "Sir, there are people behind us who have been following us since we left the house. Do you want me to lead someone to capture them?"
Li Hao opened the car curtain, glanced in the direction pointed by the guard, then shook his head and said, "No, just let them follow."
After hearing this, the guard advised: "But we don't know what their intentions are. We are just worried that they will do harm to the adults."
Li Hao replied: "Don't worry, this is Yingtian Mansion, not some remote place where the sky is high and the emperor is far away. No one dares to risk the disapproval of the world.
The people behind him are most likely people sent by Ying Tianfu Yin, so there is no need to worry about them. "
After saying that, he put down the door curtain and sat back in the car.
The guards were not completely relieved. Although they had no intention of arresting anyone, they still ordered the two of them to leave the group while there were many people in the market.
He hid in the dark and monitored the people who were following him, so that he could promptly report the news.
However, Li Hao and his party arrived at the Imperial College smoothly without any disturbance.
Then it was difficult for this large group of people to go in directly. After all, the Nanjing Imperial College was the highest academic institution in the Northern Song Dynasty, along with the Imperial College in Tokyo and Xijing.
Moreover, it is the only one that has been upgraded from an academy to an Imperial College, and this is the only one in the world.
Among them, Fan Zhongyan's contribution was very large. After all, this upgrade was completed in Fan Zhongyan's Qingli New Deal.
Fan Zhongyan had hosted this place when he was at Yingtian Academy. In addition, Fu Bi, Ouyang Xiu and others also had close relations with this place.
Naturally, Li Hao would not neglect here. He immediately asked the servants of Ouyang Xiu's family to bring the things through the back door and deliver them directly to Ouyang Yi's residence.
He walked in from the main entrance with a few guards, intending to enjoy the scenery of Nanjing Imperial College along the way.
Of course, Li Hao also asked people to use his post to go to the Supervisor of Xiajing Guozi. Anyway, he came and burned the incense that needed to be burned.
Speaking of which, apart from the time when he was studying in Yangzhou, Li Hao had never visited any other academies. He had never even been to the Imperial Academy in Bianjing.
If compared with Qingtan Academy, Nanjing Imperial College looks much taller.
Looking around, there are many houses, the size and quantity of which are far beyond those of Qingtan Academy.
Although it lacks the lush vegetation of mountains and forests, it may be because it is located in a busy city.
Being in it, there is a sense of tranquility amidst the hustle and bustle, as if you have entered a paradise after stepping through the gate of the academy.
When Li Hao walked to Chongsheng Temple, Cui Chong, the current supervisor of Banguozi, also rushed here.
He said: "I came here without knowing what I was planning. I'm sorry that I missed you from afar. I hope you will forgive me."
Seeing that it was Cui Chong who came here, Li Hao didn't pay much attention. He just said politely: "Don't blame me if you don't know. It's because I didn't say hello in advance, but I'm tired of you running this trip."
In fact, compared to Cui Chong, Li Hao hoped that Hu Yuan, another Supervisor of Pian Guozi, would come over because of Hu Yuan's special status.
Hu Yuan was a great Confucian in China and a recognized leader in the literary world. He was followed by Fan Zhongyan as "the mantle of Confucius and Mencius, the leader of Suhu", and he was a true master of the generation.
On the other hand, Cui Chong may have some knowledge in his heart, but he is still more of an official than a scholar.
In terms of official positions, although the rank of a state supervisor is not low, it is not enough to impress Li Hao.
Faced with Li Hao's words, Cui Chong replied: "You're welcome, sir. I don't know why the prime minister is here this time, but I have something to give you."
Li Hao replied: "I have to come to Yingtian Mansion to handle some official business, and then I will send some things over for others, and take a look around the Imperial College by the way.
However, do you have any difficulties here that need to be solved by the court? "
After listening to Li Hao's words, Cui Chong could naturally think of whose family's children could work for Li Hao to deliver things.
Although Li Hao said he was on his way, as the current Prime Minister, I am afraid there are not many people who can help him.
And power alone is not enough, it is possible only if you have a good personal relationship. Otherwise, if Li Hao really doesn't want to, even the two prime ministers may not be able to force Li Hao.
Cui Chong was thinking at this time that he must treat Ouyang Yi better in the future. After all, even if he could survive Ouyang Xiu, he could not survive Li Hao.
Later, when he heard Li Hao ask about difficulties, Cui Chong thought that Li Hao was just being polite and did not want to cause trouble to Li Hao or leave a bad impression.
Then he replied: "The imperial court has given great support to the Imperial College in recent years, so there is no difficulty at all. Thank you for your concern."
In fact, Li Hao really intends to help solve some practical problems. After all, people are here, so they have to do something.
Unexpectedly, Cui Chong didn't complain, so Li Haoquan thought it would save him trouble and said, "Yeah, that's good. In that case, let's take a walk in the Imperial College."
Cui Chong said: "Okay, then let me lead the way."
Li Hao did not refuse and continued to work in the Imperial College with Cui Chong.
On the way, Li Hao focused on the affairs of the Imperial College, which extended to the situation in Yingtian Mansion.
He also asked: "The development of Nanjing Imperial College is inseparable from the support of Yingtian Prefecture. The reason why the place is so good now is also due to the contributions of Yingtian Prefecture Yin of the past dynasties!"
Cui Chong answered: "It is true. For example, Grand Prime Minister Ouyang and Grand Prime Minister Fu both served as Yingtian Prefecture Yin, and they played a great role in the development of the Imperial College."
When Li Hao heard this, he smiled and said, "You can't just praise your predecessors. Isn't the current Lord Yin Tang of Kaifeng Prefecture not helpful to the Imperial College?"
Cui Chong hurriedly replied: "Sir, you are joking. Master Tang has naturally helped a lot to the Imperial College. Even the official land outside the city used to support the prison students was also settled with Master Tang's help."
"That's right, so you need to bring him with you when you praise someone." After that, Li Hao asked a lot of questions one after another, and then slowly directed the focus to Tang Jie, and asked Cui Chong to introduce him carefully. Tang Jie’s temperament.
After talking about it, Li Hao found that according to Cui Chong, there was nothing wrong with Tang Jie except that he was a little arrogant and unwilling to attend gatherings of colleagues.
Relatively speaking, Cui Chong's words are still more credible. After all, they are all things that happened around him.
Now that he understood almost everything he wanted to know and achieved his goal, Li Hao said goodbye to Cui Chong and returned home.
Early the next morning, Tang Jie came as invited with the post. Li Hao went out of the courtyard to greet him as a sign of friendship.
But obviously Tang Jie didn't seem to appreciate it very much, and he didn't even smile when facing Li Hao.
Of course, after listening to Cui Chong's introduction, Li Hao was mentally prepared at this time.
After the two of them sat down and the servants put away the tea, Li Hao asked all the servants to step back so that they could talk freely.
"Master Tang, I am here just to ask you why you want to stop the Third Division from acting. What are your reasons?"
Faced with Li Hao's direct response, Tang Jie also replied directly: "Since Mr. Li speaks frankly, I will also speak frankly.
I strongly disagree with the so-called commercial and tax reform. Local governments are already responsible for protecting the land and bringing peace to the people. On weekdays, they build bridges and pave roads, protect people's livelihood, and provide relief to the people in times of difficulty. None of this requires spending money.
Without monetary support, we and other local officials cannot be allowed to do things with just an official seal.
Your Third Division intends to seize all local property rights this time. If a disaster occurs in the future, we may have to wait until the disaster relief funds from Bianjing arrive before we go to rescue the people. "
Regarding this question, Li Hao replied: "Why does this sound like something wrong? Since the reign of Taizu, our court has set an iron law. In addition to leaving necessary funds, all state governments must keep all other financial resources." When sent to Beijing, no one may be detained without reason.
Today's commercial tax changes only transfer the power of tax collection from local government agencies to the three departments. As for the original interception part, now the local government agencies only need to report it to the three departments, and then the three departments will allocate it to the local government. , then the actual amount that should be left is not less. I don’t understand what’s the problem with this.
Moreover, this move is also for the sake of the people's livelihood. The three departments will collect taxes uniformly, which can avoid the layers of oppression by local governments, which is a good thing for the people. "
Tang Jie said: "It's easy to say this, but it's not easy to transfer the money that has gone into the treasury. And is it really possible to match all the amounts?"
Although Mr. Li has a good heart, he has no experience as a local official and does not understand how troublesome it would be to take that extra step in connecting with people.
Moreover, the Sansi Yamen is far away from the capital and is beyond the reach of local tax customs. How to supervise local tax customs and how to ensure that local tax customs can act in accordance with the law. "
Regarding this issue, Li Hao naturally had some ideas. Anyway, the problem of officials being overrepresented in the Song Dynasty was very serious. I don’t know how many officials stayed in Bianjing City only receiving salaries but without actual duties.
After commercial tax matters began to be promoted to all walks of life, Li Hao planned to establish a local inspection system and make use of these people.
At that time, it will not only target the three divisions, but also monitor local officials.
Of course, this inspection system will be very different from the current Taiwanese admonishment system. You must verify evidence before arresting someone. After all, the current Taiwanese admonishment method is really disgusting.
Li Hao's final idea was to use him to replace Tai Jian after the inspection system was perfected. Anyway, the reason why Tai Jian emerged in the Song Dynasty was to check and balance the power of the prime minister and strengthen the imperial power.
Li Hao thought that he would definitely have to be a prime minister in the future to avoid being disgusted by others, so he might as well find a way to deal with it in advance.
Of course, this is all a later story. Now faced with Tang Jie's problem, Li Hao actually disagreed, because the people in the third division would be corrupt and bribery, but local officials would not be the same.
To be honest, local officials and clerks have lived in the same place for a long time and have a better understanding of local conditions, so they act unscrupulously.
】
However, facing Tang Jie, Li Hao still explained his plans and told Tang Jie one by one, hoping to make Tang Jie understand that what he did was a good thing for the Song Dynasty.
But Tang Jie lacked trust in Li Hao and did not think that the reforms advocated by Li Hao were correct.
In the end, before leaving, Tang Jie said: "Concerning this matter, I will continue to write to the two prime ministers and officials, asking them to take back their orders.
So you don't need to persuade me anymore. As long as I am still in Yingtian Mansion, I will never allow such an arbitrary order to be executed. "
After Tang Jie left, Judge Han and others waiting outside the door also entered the room and said, "Sir, Magistrate Tang is so stubborn, what should we do next?"
Li Hao shook his head and said: "He is indeed stubborn, but the big waves are rolling and Tang Jie can't stop him.
You continue to wait at Yingtian Mansion. I will leave for Beijing tomorrow to arrange follow-up matters. The reform of Yingtian Mansion must be implemented. "
Everyone agreed and then retreated under Li Hao's order. Of course, Judge Han was left behind by Li Hao.
After there was no one around, Li Hao said: "Tang Jie, I will find a way to demote him and transfer him away, and the Kaifeng governor will replace him with someone who supports the New Deal.
This won't take long, so you need to prepare for me in advance.
In addition, the corruption problem mentioned by Tang Jie may indeed occur, so if you have the opportunity, you might as well kill the chicken to show the monkey and warn everyone.
As for who the monkey chooses, I believe you know how to choose.
In order to really have a warning effect, you can loosen his restraints appropriately so that he can cause more trouble, do you understand? "
Judge Han replied: "I understand, I will not let you down."
"I can rest assured that you are doing the work." After Li Hao said to Judge Han, he asked him to go down too.
On the way back this time, there were no cumbersome salutes, and the speed was obviously much faster. Li Hao entered the city before the city gate closed at dusk on the third day.
When they returned to the house, Zhang Guifen and the others were really curious about Li Hao's return so quickly, but they were put off by Li Hao's statement that it was business.
Early the next morning, Li Hao went directly to the Political Hall to find Ouyang Xiu.
Although Ouyang Xiu was a little surprised that Li Hao returned to Beijing so quickly.
But regarding the situation explained by Li Hao, Ouyang Xiu obviously had a plan.
He asked directly: "Then tell me how to deal with Tang Jie."
Li Hao thought about this on the way back, so when he heard Ouyang Xiu's question, he immediately replied: "Tang Jie may have good moral character, but judging from his words and deeds, I'm afraid he will not support the New Deal.
So don't let him go out to work anymore. You might as well transfer him to a noble place, which is the most worry-free.
But it cannot be a smooth transfer, and the official must be demoted two levels, otherwise he will establish his authority, otherwise everyone will imitate him, and this new deal will not be implemented. "
Ouyang Xiu smiled after hearing this and said, "You thought well. I originally thought you would let me remove him. After all, everything he did was not for selfish gain, nor was he corrupt or perverting the law. "
Li Hao replied: "In my uncle's heart, am I such a person who doesn't know how to adapt?
Although Tang Jie did not violate the national law, since he blocked the path of the New Deal, he could only be wronged.
Everything is for the Song Dynasty. I believe that when Tang Jie sees the results of the New Deal in the future, he will understand our good intentions. "
