Li Zhi, don't be a coward

When solving land problems in the past dynasties, those who can achieve a good outcome must first be gentle and not radical.

Compromising in moderation and seeking change in compromise is certainly effective, but it has little effect. It can only temporarily delay the land annexation by powerful landlords, but cannot permanently solve it.

The only effective way is to permanently nationalize the land in the world.

This method can only be accomplished unless the leader has great courage and the court has extremely high and unquestionable prestige among the people.

Li Qinzai couldn't do it, and neither could the Tang Dynasty court.

He is also an ordinary person and does not have that kind of great courage.

The card he is playing now is also related to land. This card is as sensitive as land, and that is taxation.

You have occupied the land, and the court does not care about it.

But you concealed the number of acres of land from the court and evaded court taxes. You have to explain this matter, right?
The emperor's imperial envoy is not a local official. He represents the interests of the emperor. There is no sophistication in the world. To evade taxes is to steal the emperor's money. Even breaking a leg is not excessive.

The atmosphere in the tent suddenly became stagnant, and even Lu Songxi, who had surrendered to the imperial court, did not dare to speak.

Although the Lu family has a correct attitude, the Lu family's buttocks are also not clean. These days, if the land exceeds a certain number of acres, who will not conceal it?Who doesn’t evade taxes?
If you can pay less to the court, you will get more for yourself. The price you pay is nothing more than spending a very small amount of money to bribe local officials, and you can sit back and relax from now on.

Who would have thought that an emperor's imperial envoy came from Chang'an. This imperial envoy was so serious that he found out clearly the number of acres of land under each family's name.

Now all the family heads understand that Li Qinzai did not come to the south of the Yangtze River to plant sweet potatoes. He came to the land under the name of a famous family.

No wonder he led [-] troops to the south of the Yangtze River. It turned out that he also knew that if the core interests of a prominent family were touched, he might not be able to get out of the south of the Yangtze River alone.

Seeing that everyone in the tent was silent, Li Qinzai sighed and said: "You have hundreds of thousands of acres of land under your name, but the court has turned a blind eye over the years. Hundreds of thousands of farmers in Jiangnan states and counties have lost their jobs. The land has become a tenant of your family, and the court also turned a blind eye..."

"However, you concealed land and evaded taxes. The imperial court really can't close its eyes. If you don't speak out anymore, do you really think that the imperial court is blind and deaf?"

"You are poaching the imperial court and stealing the imperial treasury. The Tang Dynasty has to fight wars, build embankments, and provide disaster relief every year. It requires a huge amount of money and food..."

"Nowadays, you are getting richer and richer, but the national treasury is getting poorer and poorer. Without money and food, the court cannot do many things. You are harming the public and enriching yourself. How can you teach me?"

"Since all the heads of the seven famous families in Jiangnan are here today, and everyone is arranged neatly, I just want to make a request..."

"How much land is under each family's name? Taxes must be paid in full based on the actual acres of land. As for the taxes evaded in previous years, the court will not pursue it. It can be made up from this year. What do you think?"

Li Qinzai smiled gently and spoke in a gentle tone.

Matters that touch the core interests of a distinguished family can only be resolved with gentle means. If the imperial envoy is replaced by a more radical one, the method of killing people will eventually be counterproductive and easily cause huge trouble.

What about a distinguished family with hundreds of years of foundation?They are essentially the landlord class, and when they get anxious, they jump up and bite people, which only makes them more ferocious.

From this year onwards, all taxes will be paid, and the past will not be held accountable. This is the mildest condition that Li Qinzai can offer.

However, as soon as these words came out, the heads of the household in the tent remained silent. They all sat upright with expressionless faces. Some closed their eyes and smoothed their beards, while others lowered their heads and stared at the food and wine on the table.

Only Lu Songxi looked around and found that everyone was silent. It was related to the core interests of the family, and he did not dare to offend the public. He watched Li Qinzai hesitate to speak, but finally said nothing.

After a long time, someone finally broke the silence.The person who spoke was the head of the Gu family in Wu County.

"Mr. Li, this is a big matter. There are many children in the clan, and the land has been distributed to the clan members. I need to go back and count the actual acres of land of each family in the clan. I wonder if Duke Li will allow me to wait for a few days?"

The other family heads also agreed.

Li Qinzai smiled and said: "Of course there is no problem. I will wait for your answers in Gusu City. Although I am very young, I still have a lot of patience. Let's limit it to ten days. How about?"

"Within ten days, I hope I can hear a satisfactory answer. The famous families have become rich over the years, and it is time for the imperial court's treasury to be rich for a while. The soldiers of the Eastern Expedition have returned triumphantly, and the imperial court needs a lot of money to pay for the casualties and also to provide medical supplies." I hope you will not let the bloodshed and sacrifice of the soldiers at the front be chilled."

The banquet ends here.

It was not an unhappy breakup, of course, but there was no tense situation either. Everyone was in a stable mood. Li Qinzai personally sent everyone out of the camp with a smile on his face.

Before leaving, Li Qinzai suddenly glanced at Lu Songxi deeply.

Lu Songxi turned his head as if he didn't see it.

Returning to the commander's tent, Li Qinzai sat cross-legged, frowning and reviewing everything he had said during the banquet.

What we have to wait for now is the attitude of the seven prominent families.

It is reasonable and legal to make up the tax, but Li Qinzai doesn't think they will pay the tax honestly.

After all, each family is taxed on hundreds of thousands of acres of land, which is not a small amount. If they pay the tax honestly, it will be a consuming expense for each family.

Then it will be time for Li Qinzai to fight with the family heads.

As for giving the family heads a ten-day period, it was not because Li Qinzai was kind, but because he also had someone to wait for.

Ten days later, Xue Rengui's [-]-strong army arrived in Gusu, including a thousand Xuanjia heavy cavalry. With safety guaranteed, Li Qinzai had the confidence to show his middle finger to the seven prominent families.

Two hours later, Feng Su reported outside the tent that Lu Songxi, the head of the Lu family in Wu County, asked to see him outside the camp gate.

Lu Songxi came alone, without any entourage. Apparently, when Li Qinzai sent the family heads out of the camp, Lu Songxi still received Li Qinzai's meaningful look.

Buqu led Lu Songxi into the commander's tent, and Lu Songxi saluted as he entered.

Li Qinzai said with a smile: "The head of the Lu family is a smart man. I like talking to smart people, at least it doesn't take much effort."

Lu Songxi smiled bitterly and said: "Today, Duke Li gave our noble family a severe blow. Is Duke Li really determined to ask me to wait for the noble family to pay the taxes?"

Li Qinzai nodded: "There is no room for negotiation on this point. Taxation is the foundation of the court. No one can discount this matter."

Lu Songxi was stunned for a long time and sighed: "This is not a small amount. Can't Duke Li be so arrogant?"

Li Qinzai also sighed: "The Lu family leader made a serious statement. I am asking all the family heads to show their respect. In the past few years, the imperial court has been fighting for many years, and the national treasury is empty."

"The Eastern Expedition has been won, and the imperial court needs a lot of money and food. Now is the time when the country is in dire straits and the emperor is in trouble. You all say you are loyal to the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty. Now it's time to show some sincerity."