Chapter 265: Utilization

Although the sneak attack was fierce, the attackers were obviously a group of mobs. Raindrop-like arrows shot the swimmers into the river, and wailing sounds were everywhere. Even the wind contained bloody aura. The iron chains across the river gradually relaxed and finally sank completely into the river.

"Governor, this is a bit loud and thunderous, right?"

Li Fei Shouyu, who had been in practice for a long time, frowning in a frown, "If this is the case, it will be over. Wouldn't the person who attacked the enemy be too stupid? He reminded the enemy in vain. Do they still want to take action in the future? No! It shouldn't be like this, they should have a back seat."

"Shouyu, do you still remember the assassination in Yangzhou?"

Li Qing smiled and reminded Li Fei Shouyu: "The two assassins seem to be coming in full force, but in fact they have no effect. The real killer is still that woman. This time it should be the same. The person they are going to kill is me. Will I die if I burn the boat? So if I guess correctly, this fire attack is just a trick. The real assassin may be nearby, or he may have already boarded the boat."

"Are you on board?"

Li Fei Shouyu suddenly turned around and carefully searched for the suspicious place. The boat was messy, with more than 200 soldiers shuttled back and forth, some carrying wood, and some shooting arrows on the side of the boat, roaring and scolding.

"No, how can you let the wolf lie by your side!" Li Fei Shouyu took the bow and arrow and was about to search, but Li Qing grabbed him, winked at him, and smiled and said, "Just say it, why take it seriously."

Li Fei Shouyu woke up and slowly withdrew his bow and arrows to guard Li Qing. After a while, almost all the people in the river were shot and killed. The person who accidentally escaped was scared to death. He lay on the shore and did not dare to move. Dozens of fire boats were burned to ashes and sank into the river. A farce-like sneak attack gradually ended. The big ship turned around and continued to sail to the southeast.

The black river surface was shining with light, looking extremely quiet, as if nothing had happened. The soldiers returned to the cabin, leaving only a team of soldiers patrolling the night to check back and forth on the ship.

The night was as dark as ink, and the deserted moonlight appeared and disappeared in the thick clouds. Most of the soldiers were already asleep. Suddenly, two black shadows appeared quietly on the deck. They were moving like ghosts, sometimes hiding, sometimes swiftly, slowly approaching Li Qing's cockpit. Most people were often the most tired and lazy after the fierce battle. They wanted to take advantage of this opportunity, but "the mantis stalked the cicada, and the oriole was behind." In a dark cabin, there were sharp eyes staring at the two ghosts, and from time to time, whispering orders backward, setting something.

Li Qing's cockpit was covered with personal soldiers, two black shadows were hidden on the mast, and the falling sails cleverly blocked their figures. They were waiting for the opportunity from a high point. The orange-red light shone a few shaking figures on the window paper, unable to tell which one was their target.

At this time, the big ship suddenly slowed down, a small boat slowly approached the big ship, and then climbed up from the small boat, both wearing black clothes and covering their faces with black scarves. Li Qing's personal soldiers quickly brought them to the cockpit and reported outside: "Governor, His Highness Yong's special envoy has arrived."

The voice was low, but the two on the mast could hear it clearly. When they looked at each other, their eyes were full of horror. Li Qing had a secret relationship with King Yong. In other words, King Yong probably had received the support of the Zhang Qiu Party. This was definitely an extremely important intelligence, no less than assassination of Li Qing.

There was no need for words, the two exchanged a glance with each other and nodded. Just as the man in black was taken into the cabin, one of them slid down the mast silently, sank into the river water along the wall of the ship like a gecko, disappearing into the rippling waves. The other person was still hiding on the mast, staring at the black shadows in the cabin every move. Soon, King Yong's special envoy walked out of the cabin and was taken to another cabin to rest.

After about a quarter of an hour, the lights in the cabin went out. "Li Qing" walked out under the escort of dozens of personal soldiers. Just as he walked under the mast, the opportunity finally came. The black shadow flew down like a bat foraging in a summer night, and the long sword rushed straight to "Li Qing" like lightning. But at this moment, "Li Qing" flashed and raised his head and smiled slightly. Under the dim moonlight, the assassin found that he had a long face like an eggplant, which was not Li Qing at all.

‘I was fooled!’ As soon as his thoughts arose, more than a dozen thick nets covered his head and immediately threw him to the ground. The personal soldiers rushed forward, pressed him firmly, grabbed his sword, twisted off his chin, and tied him directly with the net rope to look like a plump meat dumpling.

"In the past, Jiang Gan was trapped in the heroes' meeting. Today, I must sing again. Thank you so much for your companion in such a cold river."

The envoy of Yong came out of the cabin. He took off his scarf, but Li Qing was smiling. He looked at the assassin with pity and smiled faintly: "I know you were sent by King Qing. As long as you tell the truth and tell me the details, I will not kill you. I will let you go, even if you are free from your old mother, wife and children, your destiny is in your own hands, but if you are very stubborn..."

He waved gently, and Li Fei Shouyu strode up, "Please give orders to the governor!"

Li Qing pointed to the assassin who was about to blast fire in his eyes, and smiled coldly, "I'll leave this person to you. No matter what method you use, I just want to hear his truth."

Four days later, the observation of Jiangnan East Road finally made the adult's ship pass through Taihu Lake and slowly sailed into Suzhou Panmen along Xushui. Since Wu Zixu built Gusu City in the late Spring and Autumn Period, Suzhou has maintained its original appearance. After several vicissitudes, the city has never fallen. Until 2,500 years later, her graceful charm still stands on the shore of Taihu Lake, deep alleys, old houses; small bridges, flowing water; mottled exterior walls, peeling gray walls, and dead leaves wrapped around the city walls. "You come to Gusu, everyone will sleep on the river." Small rivers flow through the city, and Wu Nong's soft voice sounds in his ears. This is Suzhou.

Since the Tang Dynasty moved to the southern migration of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Suzhou has always been an important town in Jiangnan. It is the economic center of Jiangnan with Yangzhou and Changzhou. It has been known as "Suhu is familiar with, and the world is full of people."

"Sir, please see, to the south is the Lanka Temple Pagoda of Shangfangshan, and to the north is the Yunyan Temple Pagoda of Huqiu. The south and north are legendary, one is Zhenyin and the other is Zhenyang. Yin and Yang are harmonious, and the spiritual energy of Suzhou is constantly exhausted. Therefore, many talents emerged here. Since ancient times, I have been a treasure land for raising old age. After I retired from office, I also planned to find a place to build a garden here to enjoy my old age."

The person who spoke was Cui Huan, the governor of Suzhou, who was also a famous family. The Cui family of the Tang Dynasty originated from two places, one was the Cui family of Boling, such as Cui Qiao and Cui Guangyuan; the other was the Cui family of Qinghe, which was the representative of it. He was about fifty years old, short and thin, with a bright and bright eyes, as if he could see through people's hearts at a glance. After the Anshi Rebellion, Cui Huan became the prime minister of the Tang Dynasty and made great contributions to the recovery of the Tang Dynasty's economy.

At this moment, Li Qing had already changed to a small boat, paddling the clear waves, and the boat was walking among the white walls and black tiles. Cui Huan stood beside him, and talked about the customs and customs of Suzhou with great interest. After a change of topic, he briefly introduced the current situation of Suzhou. "Suzhou currently has 76,000 households and a population of more than 630,000. It is under the jurisdiction of Wucheng, Kunshan, Jiaxing, Changshu, Changzhou, and Haiyan. The land is fertile, and it is actually my Tang Dynasty granary. Wu Ling here is also very famous. When the minister returns, he might as well bring some to his family."

Li Qing gently stroked his black beard and smiled and said, "Thank you, Governor Cui, for introducing it all the way. It's just that the emperor urged the cabinet shop. Please take me to the scene to watch it first."

Cui Huan glanced at the youngest senior official from the third rank of the Tang Dynasty. Seeing that he was humble and elegant in his conversation, he was very different from the legendary evil man who dared to kill Tubo Zanpu. He was also secretly surprised, but his surprise was not revealed. He raised his hand and pointed forward, and smiled and said, "The Minister is indeed dedicated. I admire him. The road we are going to now is the old place of the Guifang. Please look at the white stone bridge in the distance, called Jiangcun Bridge. The canal passes through the bridge. The Guifang is built on the edge of the bridge, which is a must-pass place for merchant ships to travel."

Li Qing put on the curtain and looked forward. At the end of the river, there was another big river. Sure enough, a white three-eyed arch bridge spanned the river. There were many ships by the river, most of which were flat-bottomed ships for cargo. However, at the end of the river, there were several black-peng ships, which forced only a narrow waterway.

Suddenly there was a noise coming from the front, and Li Qing's boat slowly slowed down and stopped. Cui Huan frowned and said angrily: "What happened ahead? Why did the boat block? "

A small boat leading the way forward came over, and a yamen runner on the boat bowed and reported: "Empress, a black-panned boat in front of him blocked the way across the river. We ordered them to move aside, but a scholar on the boat said, but said...." The yamen runner glanced at Li Qing, but did not dare to say the words behind him.

"What did he say, but it has something to do with me?"

Li Qing smiled and said, "You might as well say, I don't blame you."

The yamen runner took a deep breath and plucked up his courage and said, "He said that the salt thief who harmed the people came to Suzhou, so naturally he could not be allowed to dominate."

'Salt thief who harms the people?' Li Qing was stunned. Where did he say this? Before he could express his opinion, Cui Huan next to him could no longer bear the face. Li Qing was the inspector of Jiangnan East and had the right to directly remove him from his post. If he mistakenly thought that this was his own instructor, would he still want this official hat? Cui Huan was furious and said, "It's outrageous. He dared to insult the important officials of the court in the street, take this person and me, and send it to Wucheng County for punishment!"

Li Qing hurriedly raised his hand to stop him. He turned to Cui Huan and said, "Thank you, Governor Cui, for standing up for me, but I am the thief who harmed the people. I have this name for the first time. I want him to ask, where did I harm the people?"

After a moment, a Confucian scholar in a robe was dragged over. Li Qing looked at him and saw that he was about 30 years old, with a white face, slender eyebrows, and a slightly collapsed nose, making his lips look particularly thick.

"What's your name? Why do you insult me?"

The man glanced at Li Qing sideways and snorted coldly: "Hmph! Why do you insult you? I'll ask you, you are Li Qing who practices the salt method."

Cui Huan already understood what he wanted to say, and couldn't help but secretly admire his courage, but Li Qing couldn't ignore his face. His face darkened and he shouted: "Bold! Can you, a minority, call me the name of the Minister of Revenue? You still kneel down to answer."

"If you have a scholar's fame and honor, it can be seen that the official will not kneel."

The Confucian scholar politely politely to Cui Huan and said neither humble nor arrogantly: "Mr. Cui is a good official and has done a lot of good things for the people. The students are polite here, but Mr. Cui cannot be afraid of offending powerful ministers and ignore the facts and speak for the thieves who harm the people."

At this time, Li Qing next to him interrupted him and said coldly: "You claim that I am a salt thief. Is it because the salt price has risen that I say that I am harming the people? Is that true?"

"Yes!" The man thrust his waist and faced Li Qing's gaze without fear, and said toughly: "Before the salt method was implemented, the price of salt was only ten cents per dou, and the most expensive time was only thirty cents. However, the new salt method was implemented, and a somersault turned to sixty cents, and it rose year by year. This year it has reached eighty cents per dou. The salt itself is a cheap thing, but it is sold at such a high price. The difference between the price was stripped away by the court, making the people's lives difficult. Isn't this because of your new salt method? Aren't you a thief who harms the people?"

Cui Huan suddenly remained silent. He also wanted to hear how the Minister of Revenue, who held the financial power of the Tang Dynasty, answered this difficult question. The wind blew by and brushed Li Qing's clothes. He looked at the scholar with straight back. His age was similar to his own, but he was humble but dared to speak and act. He did not take his dignified observation into consideration with the governor of Yizhou. In contrast, he looked forward and was careful in everything. The glorious spirit of the past had long disappeared. He suddenly felt a sense of vicissitudes, as if a thousand-mile divine horse was kept in a small stable, and his heart was filled with emotion and expectation.

Time was not enough to think about it, and the scholar's aggressive aura made him face it. Li Qing shook his head gently and sighed: "A leaf blocked his eyes and did not know the world. Do you know the financial situation of the court at that time? Do you know the serious loss of salt tax? Do you know the millions of soldiers in the Tang Dynasty have no money to support. In this way, who will the Tang Dynasty guard the country? The skin is gone, and the hair will be attached to it. You only know how to make empty talk, but you don't know how to govern the country. Three years ago, I tried my best to promote the country's cabinet, but in the end I failed. Are the local interests heavy? Are the court's interests light?"

Later, Li Qing said that the target had already changed to Cui Huan, who was silent. Suzhou was one of the three places in the Guifang pilot project. It was the difficulty of the implementation here and the people's discooperation that the opposition in the court found an excuse. He agreed that this was a disturbing move and his plan to collect local financial power was frustrated. Li Qing also had to admire Li Linfu's foresight and chose Suzhou for the pilot project. The people here were stubborn and it was extremely difficult to accept new foreign things. He had always disdained the ban on the imperial court. It was Li Linfu's brilliant technical means that the Central Bank and the State Administration of Taxation finally left the function of a credit cooperative.

Li Qing's implication was Cui Huan. Three years ago, the implementation of the cabinet house was selected for Suzhou for a pilot, which made him sad for a long time. Strict implementation would inevitably offend most powerful people and be secretly blamed by other local officials. However, if it was treated negatively, it was impossible to explain to another faction of the court. Fortunately, the implementation of the new law was not compulsory. It was also possible to hand over the taxes to the government, but it was also possible to hand over to the cabinet house directly. He took advantage of this loophole and delayed it for nearly a year on the pretext that the implementation of the new law needed to promote it to the people. The next year, the emperor gradually faded the matter. Cui Huan no longer mentioned it. He only sent people to collect taxes every summer and autumn every year. The rent and tax payment were still the same. However, he handed over the commercial tax directly to the cabinet house, which was considered an explanation. But ten days ago, a fire burned the cabinet house, and 100,000 yuan of deposited silver flew away. This made him very afraid. If one of them was not dealt with properly, even if he was not punished, his future would be ruined.

At this moment, Li Qing did not dare not answer the indirect question, so he could only smile and said, "The cabinet is a new thing. It takes time for the people of Suzhou to accept it. The officials are afraid of arousing civil unrest, so they dare not use force, and they need to implement it slowly."

Li Qing only smiled faintly, "Mr. Cui is a good official, so the first thing he considers is the people, right! Don't mention this matter again."

The scholar did not understand what Li Qing said, thinking about the disadvantages of salt administration. He immediately retorted: "I am just promoting the people. I don't know the financial difficulties of the court. It is natural for the court to take taxes to the people, but it must also be a measure. The price of salt will increase by 2 or 30 cents, but now it has soared by 5 or 60 cents. Who can bear it? The country is based on the people. If the court does not consider the lives and death of the people and takes heavy tax exploitation, it will inevitably repeat the decline of the Han Dynasty and the fall of the Sui Dynasty. Although I am a little bit light, I am still worried about the country and the people. I hope the minister will listen to the rebellious words."

Perhaps he also felt that what Li Qing said had some truth. Unconsciously, the saying of "harm against the people and thieves" had disappeared from his mouth, and his attitude gradually became humble. Li Qing also felt the subtle changes in his attitude. He smiled gently and said, "I'll ask you, how long can a bucket of salt be eaten by a household of six? It will take at least half a year! Is it a heavy tax to pay more fifty cents in half a year? If that's the case, my Tang Dynasty would be too weak! The importance of salt tax is not its heavy taxes, but every household cannot do without salt, which can gather sand to form a tower and the tax source is stable. If I really want to exploit the people, I will issue big money directly, and a big money is used as fifty Kaiyuan Tongbao. It is quick and convenient to accumulate wealth, so why should I implement the new salt method?"

Seeing that he was speechless, Li Qing patted his shoulder and smiled: "You are good to worry about the country and the people, but some things are not as simple as you think. How many people were killed when the new salt law was implemented? Even the governor of Yangzhou was killed by a stick. This involved too many people's personal interests. I could just laugh it off, but you, a scholar, also called me to harm the thief, which really made it difficult for me to accept."

‘Issuing big money.’

The scholar sighed. He knew that what Li Qing said was true. He was indeed a bit too extreme. He couldn't help but bow to Li Qing and apologized: "The student blocked the waterway of the minister and apologized here."

"It's okay, what's your name? You don't look like a local from Suzhou when you say the accent."
Chapter completed!