ATPnovel Chapter 2127 Summoning Tribal Leaders
Chapter 2127 Summoning Tribal Leaders
There are about 100,000 to 200,000 residents here, governed by more than 20 tribal leaders.
In fact, it’s almost the same as a county magistrate.
The prefect Qu Zhiping was in charge of the overall management.
The imperial court only wanted these remnants to live in peace and had no other requirements.
When Qu Zhiping entered the big tent with more than twenty people, he saw Li Shen sitting there with various meals placed in front of him.
"See His Highness Prince Ji." Everyone saluted.
"Well, no need to be polite. Have you had your meal?" Li Shen waved his hand while biting a steamed bun.
"Thank you, Your Highness Prince Ji. We have already had our meal." Qu Zhiping stood up and replied with a smile.
"Oh, then everyone please sit down." Li Shen agreed.
Qu Zhiping immediately led everyone to sit on the carpet nearby.
At this time everyone began to observe King Ji. Some people here had seen King Ji a few years ago, and some were new leaders who saw Li Shen for the first time.
This legendary prince of the Tang Dynasty is very famous among them.
“Everyone, I believe that Governor Qu has already told you the purpose of my coming here, so I will not elaborate further.
This time, I am here representing the imperial court.
Maybe something unpleasant happened before. I have already explained it clearly to Governor Qu. If you have any questions, you can ask Governor Qu.
This time I summoned you because I have something to discuss with you."
Li Shen drank his porridge and spoke slowly to everyone.
"Your Highness Prince Ji, please give me instructions if you have anything to say." Qu Zhiping was the first to speak out.
"Yes, His Royal Highness Prince Ji is so kind to us. Just tell us what you want." Qu Baochang immediately agreed. Yesterday, Prince Ji promised to rescue his people.
Qu Baochang's attitude changed 180 degrees and he thought Prince Ji was a good man.
Li Shen was very satisfied after hearing this. He ate the last piece of steamed bun in his hand, then put down his chopsticks, took the wet handkerchief handed to him by Chunxiang and wiped his mouth and hands.
He came before the crowd and said:
"Everyone, it's too formal to give you orders. I am just discussing some things with you.
To be honest, the main purpose of my visit this time is about your cotton.
I am deeply sorry for what happened to Wang Wencheng. It was all because of my negligence that this evil man was allowed to do evil here for many years and persecute many people.
It also damaged the reputation of my Ji Palace, and I was almost killed by the villain.
But they have already been punished and destroyed by this king.
Right now, we still have to consider the livelihood of the people. When I came here, I said that I wanted to make your people live a better life.
If we grow food, you all should be aware of the environment here. It is difficult to guarantee food supply for all of you.
Therefore, we still have to focus on cotton, as the surplus from one acre of cotton land is several times greater than that from one acre of grain.”
"Your Majesty, do you want us to continue growing cotton?" asked a tribal leader.
"Yes, that's what I meant. Wang Wencheng's incident was just an accident. I won't let another Wang Wencheng appear.
For this reason, the Ji Wang Mansion has made some adjustments and will send people to check and visit secretly every year. You can rest assured about this."
Li Shen nodded. He had asked Wang Xuance to set up a newspaper in Anxi to collect intelligence here.
There are people from Prince Ji's Mansion staying here, both openly and secretly.
"Your Highness Prince Ji, needless to say, we have already planted cotton this year."
Someone said immediately.
“I know this. Governor Qu told me yesterday that the amount of cotton you planted this year has decreased.
The imperial court encourages the people to open up wasteland, especially here, the taxes paid for opening up wasteland are particularly low. Do you know why?"
Shitou brought over a chair, and Li Shen sat down and looked around.
Everyone looked at each other.
"Isn't this a gift from the court to us?" Ma Wenlin asked, his tone full of doubt.
Isn't it the court's decision to reduce their taxes?
Perhaps it is because they have just surrendered that they are treated so well.
Li Shen stretched out his finger and shook it, a smile appeared on his face:
“You are right, this is indeed the imperial decree, but I fought for it for you.
It was because I pleaded for you in front of His Majesty and gave up some of my interests that His Majesty agreed to reduce your taxes.
In other words, the part of the tax you exempted was actually paid by me on your behalf."
"Is it really like this?"
"I didn't expect that it was His Royal Highness Prince Ji who fought for it for us."
"His Royal Highness Prince Ji actually paid most of our taxes!"
After hearing this, everyone started whispering to each other. They had not expected that such a great favor would come from King Ji, who used his own money to pay most of their taxes.
No wonder the imperial court collected so little tax from them.
"Thank you for your grace, Your Highness Prince Ji. We will never forget your kindness to us."
Qu Zhiping stood up and bowed deeply to Li Shen.
"Thank you, Your Highness Prince Ji, for your grace."
The others also stood up and saluted.
"Haha, you don't have to be polite, everyone. Please sit down." Seeing this, Li Shen smiled happily.
He said this not for any other reason but to make them feel grateful to him and to prepare for the next step.
It was indeed Li Shen who proposed to his father to reduce taxes for the survivors of Gaochang, but his purpose was not so simple.
If the Tang Dynasty's tax collection system was followed and rent and commissions were implemented, the lives of the Gaochang survivors would not be so good.
It also affected Li Shen's plan to make money.
If they were conscripted for labor, who would be willing to grow cotton and work in a workshop?
For this reason, Li Shencai appealed to his father's emotions and reasoned with him. The rent and rent adjustment in this place were not suitable, and there was no way to hand over silk, hemp, and thick materials.
And what is planted is not food.
Li Shen told Li Shimin that he wanted to integrate the Gaochang survivors into the Tang Dynasty and make them Tang people, but he had to let them get some benefits first.
Finally, Li Shimin agreed to implement only the policy of 40% tax, and the others could be ignored.
One pound out of forty pounds of cotton was handed over, and the Prince Ji's Palace collected it and turned it over to the national treasury.
Li Shen then had a large amount of labor to make money for his Ji Wang Mansion.
However, Li Shen naturally could not tell anyone about these shameful things. Putting aside the facts, Li Shen did strive to reduce their taxes.
"Everyone, there is no need to express gratitude. I just hope that you can live a better life.
But I have something to discuss with you."
After expressing his gratitude, Li Shen began to talk about his purpose.
"Your Highness Prince Ji, please give me instructions if you have anything to say." Qu Zhiping immediately took the lead and replied.
“It’s not a big deal. I just hope that you can continue to cooperate with me and sell all your cotton this year to Prince Ji’s Mansion.
But don't worry, the price will be according to the price I set before, and I will never exploit you again.
What do you think? "