Fengxiang, the seat of government is Tianxing.
The Governor's Mansion was the residence of the Jiedushi Li Changfu.
Li Changfu is Li Changyan's younger brother.
When Huang Chao occupied Chang'an, Zhu Li, Zheng Ting, Li Sigong, Li Xiaochang and Wang Chongying were confronting Zhu Wen. At this time, Li Changyan, the marching Sima of Fengxiang Army, instigated the soldiers to mutiny, sidelined Zheng Ting and seized the post of Fengxiang Jiedushi.
Unfortunately, Li Changyan was a short-lived man and died at the beginning of the year, leaving the position of Fengxiang Jiedushi to his younger brother Li Changfu.
One morning in early spring, a young eunuch with a white face and no beard, who looked like a eunuch, came to visit Li Changfu in a sneaky manner.
Li Changfu did not dare to neglect him. The visitor was a close confidant of the powerful eunuch Tian Lingzi. In the past, his elder brother Li Changyan had been bewitched by Tian Lingzi and framed Zheng Ting. It could be said that Tian Lingzi was the supporter of their brothers in the court. How could he dare to neglect him
Li Changfu invited the eunuch into the mansion. The eunuch signaled Li Changfu to dismiss everyone. When they were the only two left in the huge guest room, the sinister man opened his duck-like voice and said, "General Li, Master Tian sent me here this time to ask for your help on an important matter."
When Li Changfu heard this, he raised his eyebrows and said modestly: "Everyone's business is Li's business. We just need to send someone to deliver a message immediately. Why should we let the father-in-law make a trip?"
"Haha, the governor is really an instant hit. I will report the governor's loyalty to everyone so that everyone can say a few good words about the governor in front of His Majesty." Li Changfu's words made the eunuch feel proud and happy.
The eunuch made a promise and continued, "The governor should know Puzhou. Last year, this place was the territory of Li Keyong, the governor of Hedong. Li Keyong was concentrating on attacking Meng Fangli and had no time to take care of other things. Wang Zhongrong took the opportunity to seize Puzhou."
As the governor of Hezhong, Wang Chongrong occupied the place that originally belonged to him. Outsiders could not find any excuse to attack him. Therefore, when the eunuch in front of him mentioned that Wang Chongrong had occupied Puzhou, Li Changfu looked calm and as if it was a matter of course.
When his controlled land was occupied by others, it only showed his incompetence. When Wang Chongrong took back the controlled land, others could only say that he was ambitious and courageous. Even the Tang court could not say anything.
"Since Puzhou belongs to Hezhong Prefecture, there should be nothing wrong with Wang Chongrong regaining the territory under his control. Why did you bring this up, my father-in-law?" Li Changfu frowned.
The eunuch, who was ordered by Tian Lingzi to ask Li Changfu for help, saw Li Changfu's puzzled face and was afraid of causing misunderstanding, so he quickly explained: "According to common sense, there is really nothing wrong with this."
"However, Governor, do you know that there is Anyi in Puzhou? When you mention Anyi, don't you think of anything?" the eunuch reminded eagerly.
"Anyi?" Li Changfu frowned even deeper. What's so special about Anyi? In the Tang Dynasty, Anyi was most famous for its salt, because Anyi Pond was the largest salt pond in Hedong.
Li Changfu's eyes lit up as he suddenly realized something. He said excitedly, "Could it be that the eunuch is talking about the salt pond?"
"Haha, the governor is wise. It is the Anyi Salt Pond. There are eighteen salt ponds in the Tang Dynasty, and in Hedong there are the Big Salt Pond, the Female Salt Pond and six small ponds. The Anyi Salt Pond is the Big Salt Pond."
"Do you know how much profit the Hedong Salt Lake alone can make by paying taxes to the imperial court every year?" The eunuch was also excited. When he mentioned the salt lake, he seemed to see a lot of silver. Not only did his eyes light up, but he also
There was a faint glow of greed flickering in the air.
During the Tang Dynasty, the Hedong Salt Lake was directly managed by the Tang court.
From production to sales, two methods have been implemented successively: one is private production, government collection, transportation, and sales; the other is private production, government collection, commercial transportation, and commercial sales.
Therefore, for a local governor, few people know how much the salt lake's income is, but this young eunuch, who is an inner eunuch, knows it very well, because the emperor does not care about things, and these details are usually handled by eunuchs.
"How much?" Li Changfu asked curiously. In his eyes, salt was silver. How could he not be curious
"Almost 1.5 million strings of cash!" said the eunuch proudly.
"One million and five hundred thousand coins?" Li Changfu was stunned.
One xian is one thousand wen, which is one guan, or one tael of silver. One million and five hundred thousand xian is one million and five hundred thousand taels of silver.
Don't underestimate one tael of silver in the Tang Dynasty. The purchasing power of one tael of silver in the Tang Dynasty was equivalent to about four thousand yuan in later generations.
Li Changfu was jealous of this income, so he looked straight at the eunuch and said, "Could it be that Wang Zhongrong occupied the Anyi Salt Lake and didn't pay taxes to the court?"
At this time, he became smarter.
Since Wang Chongrong reached a reconciliation with Hetao, he wielded his sword towards Puzhou, captured Puzhou in one fell swoop, and occupied the salt lake. With this income, he now feels confident no matter what he does.
Tian Lingzi now wants to ask Wang Chongrong for the income from the salt pond, but Wang Chongrong will of course ignore him. It is no exaggeration to say that Wang Chongrong, who has the salt pond, is more comfortable than Zhu Li with the silver mine.
"The governor is wise." The young eunuch praised Li Changfu again, and then gnashed his teeth and said with an expression that he wanted to eat Wang Chongrong: "Wang Chongrong occupied the salt pond and did not contribute a single cent of his income to the court. That's why we hope that you, the governor, can defeat this traitor and help us regain control of the salt pond."
Tian Lingzi seized the salt lake because, firstly, the Hedong Salt Lake should have been under the control of the imperial court; secondly, if this income was incorporated into the imperial court, these eunuchs would be able to make some money, so how could these eunuchs not unite against the enemy
Li Changfu was tempted, but he was not reckless. He said worriedly, "I dare not refuse your orders, but if I attack Wang Zhongrong recklessly, won't the people of the world regard me as a traitor?"
These military governors had all heard of Zhu Li's previous experience. Zhu Li was able to clear his name in the end thanks to his countless loyal subordinates in Heshuo.
Although Li Changfu was confident that he was popular among the people, he did not dare to say that if he became a rebel, his former subordinates would still support him loyally.
By then, if he fails to catch the fox, he will only get into trouble and even his life may be in danger. How can he not be cautious
The eunuch could understand Li Changfu's worries and comforted him: "The governor is working for everyone now. If the governor is in trouble, will you just stand by and help him?"
"Whether or not the case is rehabilitated afterwards is just a matter of everyone's words, isn't it?" The eunuch was very confident about this. This confidence was developed from having played around with the Emperor for a long time. He spoke with confidence and as if it was natural.
After the eunuch said this, Li Changfu was completely relieved. It was no longer a secret that eunuchs were in charge of dethroning and enthroning people in the late Tang Dynasty.
"Okay, I'll follow your instructions." Li Changfu finally gritted his teeth and agreed.
Chang'an, the Imperial Palace, and the Privy Council.
The hall still looked very gloomy.
In the hall, there stood several figures with swords on their shoulders.
Zhou Chenghui, who had once assassinated Zhu Li, was also among them.
A big man with round eyes and a lion beard bowed his hands towards the dark place and said respectfully: "Everyone, I have received news that Tian Lingzi wants to raise military funds for his brother and has set his sights on the Hedong Salt Lake."
Following this person's report, a surge of chill suddenly surged out of the darkness, and a hoarse, treacherous, and exasperated voice suddenly rang out: "You bastard, a useless eunuch, the building is about to collapse, and the eggs will not be able to survive when the nest is overturned. At this time, you are still pursuing personal gain, you deserve to be killed, you deserve to die."
The chilly atmosphere instantly filled the entire hall. The midwinter had just passed, but everyone in the hall once again felt the biting cold winter atmosphere, and no one dared to say a word.
An old eunuch who was about to die, ignored the anger of the people in the dark, and immediately stepped out and bowed, saying: "Everyone, there is still no news about the annual tribute from Jianghuai this year."
“In addition, I have also discovered that Liu Hanhong of Zhejiang, Han Zhi of Xuzhou, Yang Xingmi of Huainan and others led their troops to attack other vassal states wantonly, without taking the imperial court into consideration at all.
The old eunuch's words undoubtedly added fuel to the fire and made things worse.
"Bastards, all of them are bastards, these pieces of shit, all deserve to die, all deserve to die." The man in the dark seemed to be very angry when he heard this, and even through the darkness, one could seem to feel the man's heavy breathing like a bellows.
People in the hall dared not persuade this great man of his temper and could only stand in silence.
After a long time, the man in the dark seemed to calm down and sighed: "In life, one must always experience laughter, pain, and wailing before one can strive forward. If one does not perish in striving, one will rise in striving."
“And most societies also have to go through a process of prosperity, decline, conquest, and finally revival. If they don’t sink during revival, they will rise during revival.”
"Tian Lingzi's attempt to seize the Hedong Salt Lake will inevitably cause chaos, Zhou Chenghui."
"I'm here." Zhou Chenghui hadn't said anything, but he didn't expect that the person in the dark would call his name.
"You go and inform Zhu Mei. If the time is right, let him enter Chang'an and protect Li." The voice in the dark came out coldly, but it said something unbelievable and treasonous.
Since Li Xuan is still alive, this person would support and protect Li. The meaning is self-evident.
Just this one remark was enough to constitute regicide and treason, but in the entire Privy Council Hall, everyone who heard it seemed to take it for granted and were not moved at all.
Since this gentleman wants to support Li, they will just do as he says. After all, even the current emperor Li Xuan ascended the throne at the instruction of this gentleman.
"Huang Puyong, Zhu Mei is not strong enough and he doesn't have any outstanding generals. You go to Zhou to lend him a helping hand." The person in the dark seemed to be worried that Zhu Mei was not strong enough, so he immediately arranged for people to go to Zhou for support.
"Yes," the big man with round eyes and lion beard said with a solemn expression and bowed his hands.
After a while, the hoarse voice in the dark said again: "Since the eastern vassal states do not want to pay tribute, we cannot let them sit idle. Tell Tian Lingzi to confer the title of Pei Jun Wang on Zhu Quanzhong, Huainan Wang on Liu Hanhong, Julu Wang on Han Zhi, Jianxiu Taiwei Wang on Wang Jingwu, and Runan Wang on Yang Xingmi. Humph, since they all want to be kings and dominate, let them kill each other."