Chapter 414: State Administration of Taxation! Zhang Liao and Lu Bu!

Jizhou, Yecheng.

The news that Lu Lingqi gave birth to a princess has spread throughout the government and the public, and many people are relieved.

You must know that Lu Bu was originally Wen Gong, the only one with a noble title. His reputation in the military was at its peak, and he was deeply trusted by the emperor. His honor had reached an unparalleled level.

Even the position of general is within easy reach for him.

If her daughter gives birth to a prince again, it is very likely that this child will be established as the crown prince, and the Lu family will have another queen surnamed Lu.

Although Lu Lingqi is not Lu Pheasant, the word "Queen Lu" alone is enough to make all officials feel intimidated.

So after learning that Lu Lingqi gave birth to a princess, all the officials in the court celebrated in private, and even the restaurants in Ye City were full that night.

The reactions of all the officials were reported to Liu Xie in detail by the messenger of embroidered clothes, but Liu Xie didn't care about it. What he really cared about was Lu Bu.

"How has Mr. Wen reacted in the past few days?"

Liu Xie was walking in the imperial garden and asked casually, while gently touching a peony that had just bloomed with his hand.

Early spring has arrived, and the weather is gradually warming up.

The flowers in the imperial garden are also in bloom.

Jia Xu thought about it for a moment, and then replied: "After the birth of the eldest princess, Duke Wen was very happy. He had held banquets at his house for several days."

"Just the day before yesterday, Duke Wen invited me to a banquet."

Hearing Jia Xu's words, Liu Xie nodded slightly, and the last worry in his heart dissipated.

Then he went on to ask: "This morning hundreds of officials pleaded for mercy for the Zhen family again. Wen He, do you think I should take this opportunity to pardon the Zhen family?"

A few days ago, several elders of the Zhen clan committed suicide in prison and left blood letters confessing their crimes. This incident caused a considerable impact.

Although he had the idea of ​​going down this step to pardon Zhen, he felt that letting Zhen go was a bit too hasty, so he was always hesitant.

Jia Xu replied: "Whether Zhen will be pardoned or killed depends on His Majesty's decision... However, I think that Zhen Guizhen is pregnant with a dragon heir after all, so it would be unlucky to see too much blood."

"Besides, if the Zhen family is willing to hand over the financial power, it would be fine for His Majesty to pardon the whole family on the grounds of the birth of the eldest princess. All that is required is to kill those who participated in the murder of the imperial envoy as a warning to others, and the rest will be treated as corrupt."

"Of course, this is my humble opinion. It is up to Your Majesty to decide how to deal with the Zhen family."

After hearing this, Liu Xie thought for a moment and felt that Jia Xu's suggestion was indeed good.

Because usually when a prince or princess is born, or on the emperor's birthday, etc., a general amnesty will be given. Taking this as an opportunity to pardon the Zhen family is considered a legitimate reason.

But in the final analysis, it was because he didn't really kill Zhen's heart, and Zhen's crimes were not serious enough to warrant the annihilation of the clan.

"I don't intend to let the Zhen family completely withdraw from all industries. They are still better at doing business. It would not be a good thing if the imperial court takes over completely."

"So I plan to continue to use people from the Zhen family to run the industry, but I will set up another agency to supervise them... let's call it the State Administration of Taxation."

"From now on, all commercial affairs, salt, iron, trade and other matters will be managed by the State Administration of Taxation. What do you think of Wen He?"

Liu Xie put forward another idea he had during this period.

The Zhen family's industry is too huge. If it were all nationalized, the imperial court might not be able to manage it better than the Zhen family.

Therefore, the best choice is to continue to use people from the Zhen family to run these industries. They can get a certain share of profits from it, but the majority will be taken by the court.

The purpose of establishing a supervisory agency is to prevent the Zhen family from controlling financial power from happening again.

"Taxation Administration?"

Jia Xu was shocked when he heard this.

His political sense is very sensitive. Just from Liu Xie's description of the functions of the State Administration of Taxation, he realized that this was probably an existence no less than the Smelting Bureau.

The future status and role of the State Administration of Taxation may not be trivial.

But putting this aside, Jia Xu fully agreed with Liu Xie's statement of continuing to use Zhen's people to run various industries.

Zhen's business ability is obvious to all. Being able to develop such a huge industry is naturally unique.

The imperial court seized all the property in one fell swoop, which was undoubtedly killing the goose to lay eggs and depleting the lake to fish; but if the people of the Zhen family were continued to be used to run the business and a certain profit share was given, a lot of trouble could be avoided.

"Your Majesty has an excellent idea. If you can act like this, it will definitely increase the imperial court's financial revenue greatly."

Jia Xu spoke in support without hesitation.

Liu Xie nodded and said, "I will discuss this matter with Kong Ming and the others later. If they have no objections, the State Administration of Taxation can start establishing it."

He has already decided who will be in charge of coordinating the State Administration of Taxation, and that is Fazheng.

Fazheng is also a talented person who is good at internal affairs. This time he almost lost his life trying to audit the accounts. Of course, he deserves credit for his achievements.

And the key is that there is still a conflict between him and the Zhen family. If he is allowed to manage the State Administration of Taxation, there will be no favoritism.

In addition, letting Mr. Zhen continue to manage the industry is only a temporary expedient. He will use the bidding method to find someone to take over in the future, which is the safest way.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Jia Xu responded respectfully, and then asked carefully: "Is the Zhen family going to..."

"No hurry, lock them up for a while longer."

Liu Xie waved his hand and said that although he planned to pardon the Zhen family, he would have to make them suffer more and spend more time in prison.

Otherwise, it would seem that his forgiveness was too cheap.

Just as Liu Xie and Jia Xu were chatting, Gao Lan walked into the Imperial Garden and reported to him: "Your Majesty, General Zhang Liao is seeking an audience outside the palace."

"Is Wenyuan back?"

Liu Xie's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he asked Gao Lan: "Did General Zhang seek an audience alone? Did he bring anyone else with him?"

Gao Lan said: "He also brought an old man who claimed to be Zhang Zhongjing."

"Take him to Xuanshi quickly!"

Liu Xie was overjoyed and ordered immediately. Zhang Liao did not disappoint his expectations and successfully brought Zhang Zhongjing back!

After Gao Lan left, Liu Xie hurried to Xuanshi.

Not long after, Zhang Liao came over under the leadership of Gao Lan, and with him came an old man in a linen robe.

"I am Zhang Liao, your majesty!"

Zhang Liao bowed his head to Liu Xie and continued, "Chang'an is far from Yecheng, and Mr. Zhang is old, so I slowed down my pace. Please forgive me, your majesty."

Zhang Zhongjing was old, so he didn't dare to travel too fast, so it took him a long time to come back, otherwise he would have arrived in Yecheng long ago.

"No problem, General Zhang, please stand up."

Liu Xie raised his hand slightly to Zhang Liao, then cast his eyes on the old man beside him and asked, "Sir, are you the miracle doctor Zhang Zhongjing?"

Zhang Zhongjing bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I am Zhang Zhongjing, but I dare not take the title of miracle doctor."

"Sir, you are too modest."

When Liu Xie heard that the other party was Zhang Zhongjing, he felt relieved immediately, and then smiled and said, "Dr. Hua recommended you to me, and said that your medical skills are far better than his, and you are the best in the world."

"And you once served as the governor of Changsha. The name of Zhang Changsha is well-known, and I have heard of your reputation for a long time."

Zhang Zhongjing's reputation is actually greater than Hua Tuo. He came from a good family and once served as the governor of Changsha.

Moreover, he did not stop practicing medicine after becoming the governor, because there was a rule that officials could not enter private houses or approach the people at will, so he chose to open the government office on the first and fifteenth day of each month, not asking about government affairs, and let the sick people come in. He sat upright in the lobby and carefully treated the people one by one.

This move also made Zhang Zhongjing famous. He was known as "Zhang Changsha", "Divine Doctor" and "Bian Que", and was deeply loved and respected by the people.

Hearing that the emperor actually knew his name, Zhang Zhongjing was flattered and bowed repeatedly, saying: "I am terrified."

At this moment, he was particularly moved.

His father and many of his clansmen spent their entire lives studying official careers but could not achieve Jian in the emperor's heart, but he did it with his medical attainments and reputation.

It can only be said that fate plays tricks on people.

After a few simple greetings, Liu Xie asked: "Concubine Zhen is now suffering from lung disease. I heard that you are good at treating typhoid fever and lung disease. I wonder if you can cure Concubine Zhen?"

Read the error-free version! 6=9+Shu_bar first published this novel.

Zhang Zhongjing said: "I haven't treated Concubine Zhen yet, so it's hard to judge at the moment, but I will do my best."

"Thank you, sir."

Liu Xie nodded, then sighed: "Concubine Zhen is pregnant with a dragon heir. If you can keep her and the dragon heir safe, I will definitely reward you."

After that, Liu Xie asked Queen Guo, who was accompanying her, to take Zhang Zhongjing to see Hua Tuo, so that they could treat Zhen Mi together.

Then he asked Zhang Liao: "Wenyuan, what is Ma Chao's current whereabouts? Have you found his trace?"

After Ma Chao was defeated, he fled to the Qiang people's territory. The court has never given up the search for Ma Chao. If this guy is not eliminated, it will always be a big worry.

Zhang Liao looked ashamed and replied, "Your Majesty, the territory of the Qiang people is too large, and Ma Chao's whereabouts are unknown after entering it."

"I have not been able to find any trace of him."

Liu Xie frowned when he heard this. Ma Chao had a good reputation among the Qiang people. This time he took tens of thousands of remnants of the Xiliang Army to escape. He might make a comeback in the future.

However, the internal troubles have not been eliminated yet. It is not a wise choice to gather a large army to attack the Qiang people just for Ma Chao.

"Forget it, spare his life for now, and send troops to attack this villain when there is a chance in the future."

Liu Xie finally gave up the idea of ​​sending troops and said to Zhang Liao, "General Zhang, you have worked hard all the way, and you can retreat and rest."

He had to go to the bedroom to see Zhen Mi's condition first. He didn't know whether Zhang Zhongjing could cure Zhen Mi's illness.

Zhang Liao also retreated immediately, but not long after he walked out of the palace gate, someone suddenly pushed him hard on the back.

He was pushed unexpectedly and staggered, almost falling flat on his face. He finally managed to stand up.

"Thief Lu Bu! Are you sick?"

Zhang Liao cursed directly. Even if he didn't see the face of the person who pushed him, he knew who it was.

And his guess was indeed correct.

At this time, Lu Bu was standing behind Zhang Liao with his hands on his waist. Looking at his embarrassed appearance, he laughed and said, "Your vigilance is really too poor!"

"Get out!"

Zhang Liao said unhappily.

Lu Bu was unhappy when he heard this, and glared at him, "You are a good Zhang Wenyuan. I learned that you returned to Yecheng and waited for you outside the palace to invite you to have a drink. Is this how you treat me?"

"Forget it, it seems that you don't have the blessing to drink the imperial wine rewarded by His Majesty. I'll go find Zilong to drink."

Lu Bu turned around and left with a curse.

Zhang Liao stood there with his arms folded, watching Lu Bu leave with a sneer, as if he didn't care at all.

After walking for a while, Lu Bu saw that Zhang Liao did not come to chase him, so he had to turn back and snorted: "Forget it, I am a magnanimous man and I won't bother with you."

"Come on!"

Zhang Liao rolled his eyes and said: "Don't you just want to show off to me that you are a grandfather? How can I not know your thoughts?"

"Having a granddaughter is not the same as having a grandson. Look how proud you are."

Zhang Liao and Lu Bu have known each other for so many years. It can be said that when Lu Bu sticks his butt out, he knows what kind of shit this guy is going to do.

Lu Bu waited for him outside the palace to treat him to a drink. This was obviously to show off to him. How could he not understand?

"What's wrong with a granddaughter? My granddaughter is the eldest princess of the Han Dynasty? Do you have any objection?"

Lu Bu looked up at Zhang Liao.

"You are already in your thirties. When will you be able to hold your grandchildren? I am still waiting to drink your wine."

Looking at Lu Bu's smug face, Zhang Liao's eyes twitched, and he had the urge to rush forward and pin this guy to the ground and beat him up.

But seeing Lu Bu's fist that was a circle bigger than his, he calmed down, snorted coldly, and rode away.

"Are you really angry?"

Lv Bu was stunned by this, and quickly jumped on his horse and chased after him, "I was just joking with you, are you so petty?"

"I really invite you to drink this time, you can't not give me this face, I have set up the banquet."

Zhang Liao glanced at him and said lightly: "What's there to be happy about if it's not a prince, haven't you always wanted to hold your grandson?"

"Now that she gave birth to a princess, you can forget about the position of crown prince; if Concubine Zhen gave birth to a prince, your daughter's position as queen would probably be in jeopardy."

"Who can we old brothers rely on in the future? You have already stood so high, you have to think about your future."

"It won't take long to unify the world."

As a general of Lu Bu's faction, he hopes to see Lu Lingqi become the queen, and even more hopes that Lu Bu's grandson can become the crown prince.

Because this is the best way to ensure that their group of meritorious generals will not be liquidated after the world is unified.

As the saying goes, when the rabbit dies, the running dog is cooked, and when the birds are gone, the good bow is hidden. The fate of the Zhen family is a good example.

Although the Zhen family is to blame for their own mistakes, who can guarantee that the emperor will not take this opportunity to suppress the Zhen family?

Zhang Liao believes in the emperor, but he can't help but feel worried.

"Wenyuan."

Hearing this, Lu Bu reined in his horse and stopped, squinting at Zhang Liao, the smile on his face disappeared, and a dangerous light flashed in his eyes.

"It is your majesty's power to make someone the queen. I don't want to hear this again. You and I are just your majesty's subjects."

"Otherwise... don't blame me for turning my face and being ruthless."

After leaving this cold sentence, Lu Bu looked at Zhang Liao coldly and rode away.