Demoness, where are you Fleeing to?
Chapter 685 - 564

Chapter 685: 564

The visitor from the Jinque Palace this time was not the previous Lord of Xuanwu Palace, Lianling Immortal, but the ’Lord of Qinglong Palace, Si Shenhua’, a middle-aged man with a clear and refined appearance and a temperament of an immortal cultivator.

When this man visited the Marquis of Guanjun’s mansion, Li Xuan was at a nearby tavern, hosting a banquet for the Langzhong Ma Chenghua of the Wuxuan Division of the Ministry of War, the Langzhong Li Yuan of the Qingli Division of Shanxi from the Ministry of Revenue, and the current Xunjian Yushi of Shandong, Zhang Tian.

Therefore, when Li Xuan learned of the visit of the Lord of Qinglong Palace, Si Shenhua, he did not pay much attention to it, only letting Dalu take good care of him.

He couldn’t just abandon these important guests and rush back to meet Si Shenhua. What was the point of rushing to flatter him, was there?

Li Xuan knew that in the eyes of many people in the Jinque Palace, he was the source of chaos in the heavenly mechanism, so he had made his position clear early on and classified the Jinque Palace as an enemy.

There was no need to show a good face to such an enemy.

Therefore, Li Xuan valued the three guests in front of him far more than Qinglong Palace Lord.

Despite these three not being high-ranking officials, just ranking fourth or fifth, they all held significant power in the court.

The Wuxuan Division of the Ministry of War, of course, needed no introduction, as it was the body that managed the ’selection, appointment, and examination’ of the Weisuo army.

The Dudu’s office also controlled the appointments, promotions, and transfers of military officials worldwide, but it needed the endorsement of the Wuxuan Division of the Ministry of War to take effect.

Langzhong of Shanxi Qingli Division controlled the taxes and finances of Shanxi province, its power far exceeding that of the modern State Taxation Administration.

As for the Xunjian Yushi of Shandong, it was one of the most influential and most profitable positions in the Inspectorate.

But Si Shenhua did not wait at his Marquis of Guanjun’s mansion; Instead, he ran directly over.

Li Xuan didn’t care one way or the other about this; if the Lord of Qinglong Palace wanted to wait outside the tavern, then he might as well let him wait.

What he was discussing with these three was not suitable for the others to listen in on.

"So, The Marquis of Guanjun’s intention is to scrutinize the salt permits issued in recent years and then revoke them?"

Xunjian Yushi Zhang Tian frowned slightly at this point: "But this is not easy to deal with, it will offend a lot of people."

But Li Xuan just laughed and respectfully poured a glass of wine: "It will offend some people, but aren’t they mostly behind bars? Many salt merchants in the north of Zhili and Shandong regions are imprisoned because of the Xia Guangwei Imperial Censor’s exoneration.

Zhang, you’re well aware of the salt policy chaos in recent years. The issuance of those salt permits was largely the result of private corruption. Nowadays, all the regular salt merchants in the world are hoping for someone from the court to redress the chaos, should you be the one to stand up and do justice.

If sir can clean up these salt permits from the past few years and reissue them, I believe many people will show their gratitude, and this will also benefit the common people who have been suffering from the chaotic salt policy."

Upon hearing this, Xunjian Yushi Zhang Tian was slightly moved; he understood Li Xuan’s meaning.

If these salt permits could be revoked and redistributed, it would be like dividing the cake all over again.

This would undoubtedly be a good thing for the court, for the common people, for the salt merchants, for all those in power, and even for him himself.

As the newly appointed Xunjian Yushi, he was in need of political achievements to consolidate his position.

But Zhang Tian was still a little hesitant: "I have indeed been thinking along the same lines, but the problem is General Liang Heng. As far as I know, a large part of the salt permits issued in recent years have fallen into the hands of Liang Heng and those close to him——"

His voice abruptly stopped at this point, as Xunjian Yushi Zhang Tian was reminded of the recent grudge between Li Xuan and Liang Heng.

This Marquis of Guanjun did not care about the former General Zhenshuo.

Zhang Tian even began to speculate in his heart whether Li Xuan’s suggestion for him to clean up the salt policy was specifically meant as a move against Liang Heng?

"Even the great general has to obey the laws of the court!"

With a wine cup in his hand, Li Xuan said with a cold smile, "Master Zhang, if this great general dares to do anything, I, Li, will definitely not stand idly by."

Zhang Tian immediately weighed it in his heart, thinking to himself that he was indeed taking a shot at Liang Heng.

After some contemplation, he bowed his hand and said, "The Marquis of Guanjun’s words are reasonable, but this matter is of great concern, please allow Zhang to think more carefully."

In his heart, he was already leaning towards Li Xuan, after all, this Marquis of Guanjun, whether in terms of his authority in court, prestige, or the number of heavenly level elders he could mobilize, was superior in all respects.

Being the protector of Neo-Confucianism and having shocked the world with his two works "Recognizing Things" and "The Original Tao", Zhang Tian, as a Confucian scholar, naturally felt a closeness to Li Xuan.

If Li Xuan were a little older, had a little higher cultivation, and wrote some more classics, he might well become a Sub-Sage of Confucianism.

The key point was that what he was asking for was righteous, involved no loss of private virtue, and was of great benefit to the common people. It could effectively suppress the price of salt.

But after all, this matter concerned his own future, wealth, and life. Zhang Tian couldn’t help but act cautiously.

Li Xuan then turned to Langzhong Li Yuan of Shanxi Qingli Division of the Ministry of Revenue: "I heard that the Hengliang Escort Agency of Liang Heng’s clan is doing big business in Shanxi, and they have a finger in almost all pies?"

After listening, Li Yuen couldn’t help but smile to himself, knowing it was his turn.

However, he was not upset at all, on the contrary, he was rather delighted.

He did not have a deep background in the Court, having reached his position through diligent work and the favor of his superior, Xiao Ci.

However, Li Yuen did not belong to Xiao Ci’s faction, he was unwilling to get involved with the deposed emperor and the wasteful crown prince.

Xiao Ci only relied on Li Yuen’s financial skills and budgeting abilities to put him in charge of the Shanxi Qingli Division.

But as the Court’s inheritance dispute grew more intense, Li Yuen began to feel more and more pressure from his superior.

Li Yuen attached great importance to this opportunity to make good relations with the Marquis of Guanjun: "Hengliang Escort Agency is indeed dominant. Nowadays, all merchant teams in Shanxi as well as cargo transportation must be escorted by members from Hengliang. Otherwise, there would definitely be trouble.

Even the Court’s grain carts need to be guarded by escorts from Hengliang. The key point is that Hengliang has a strong foothold in Shanxi, with over nine thousand porters and over three thousand escorts, many of them are experts. Additionally, they also have three thousand elite servants from General Liang Heng’s house as a backup.

Therefore, Hengliang Escort Agency is not only dominant in Shanxi, but also well-known in the frontier region, Guanzhong, Henan and Hebei. No one dares to bother them anywhere."

"Three thousand escorts? Nine thousand porters? Isn’t this akin to a private army?"

Li Xuan calmly asked, "Do you think it’s good to monopolize the transportation of a province in one family’s hands?"

"From the perspective of the Court and the common people, this is indeed as bad as it can be. It’s said that the larger the business, the bigger the bully. The cost of transportation in Shanxi is the highest in the world, three times more expensive than in North Zhili."

Langzhong Li Yuen of the Shanxi Qingli Division under the Ministry of Revenue shook his head, saying solemnly, "This also leads to soaring prices in Shanxi. Though the Court is lenient in its levies, the people of Shanxi are still finding life hard."

Li Xuan nodded slightly: "I have already discussed this with the Anchashi of Shanxi, asking him to strictly inspect Hengliang’s road permits. But this alone is not enough, I hope from today on, all transport matters in Shanxi under the Ministry of Revenue will be done without the Hengliang Escort Agency."

In the Jin Dynasty, road permits were very important. Ordinary people could not leave their local region without the government-issued road permits.

Even the literati who had official titles needed to notify the government when they were going out of town.

The Hengliang Escort Agency has more than ten thousand people, not all of them can possibly have a road permit.

"To be frank with the Marquis of Guanjun, I hope to remove this tumor from Shanxi." Li Yuen said solemnly, "The Ministry of Revenue also hopes not to spend this unwarranted amount of money, but I’m worried about the safety of the grains and supplies, fearing potential problems.

To my knowledge, at least three bandit groups in Shanxi are connected with Liang’s mansion. They have nearly a thousand riders, and sometimes even Liang’s servants join them."

Upon hearing this, Li Xuan raised the corner of his lips slightly: "So, we still have to spend this money. Until things settle down, I will have the Shenqi Union take over the transportation of the Court’s grains, until Shanxi is safe."

Langzhong Li Yuen of the Shanxi Qingli Division under the Ministry of Revenue had no more hesitation: "It’s decided! I will issue the documents to all the storehouses as soon as I return!"

At this point, Langzhong Ma Chenghua of the Wuxuan Division under the Ministry of War, who had been silent all along, suddenly asked: "As far as I know, the three thousand house troops of General Liang Heng are all supported by the profits from his salt and the Hengliang Escort Agency.

Does the Marquis of Guanjun intend to disband this, once highly meritorious, army under General Zhenshuo, by cutting off his two major sources of income?"

He was less polite to Li Xuan than the other two, as recent clashes between Li Xuan’s Dudu’s Mansion in the Central Army and their Ministry of War had been happening more than once.

However, the two sides were gentlement fighting, which is why Ma Chenghua had agreed to come to the banquet.

Li Xuan asked sharply, "Do Langzhong Ma think, is it good or bad for the Court to have three thousand house troops under General Zhenshuo now?

Is it a great risk to let the major generals run the salt business and the escort agency? Does your Ministry of War intend to sit and watch?"

He knew that the reason why General Zhenshuo, Liang Heng, could have such success in the salt business and the escort agency, was also due to the Court’s consent.

At the beginning of the Jingtai era, the Court had no grain or salary, and the troops of Weisuo were not up to the fight. The Jintai Emperor and Yu Jie could only turn a blind eye to Liang Heng’s fundraising for his private troops by scraping money.

After all, both salt distribution and escorting are legitimate businesses.

But Li Xuan believed, it was time to restore order and solve this historical issue.

Ma Chenghua couldn’t help but be astonished, he thought that this, of course, was not right.

The tragedies of the local landlords in the Tang Dynasty were caused by the military gaining control of financial power.

Although it was normal for military generals in the Jin Dynasty to keep domestic servants since the Zhengtong era, no one had scaled it to the extent Liang Heng had.

Ma Chenghua then said with a bitter smile, "What the Marquis Guanjun said is reasonable, but I cannot help in any of these two matters?"

Li Xuan responded with a smile, "You can! Doesn’t Langzhong Ma feel that it would be terrifying if these three thousand house troops were let loose and uncontrolled?

I know the Jin Dynasty is planning to train 20,000 troops in Yunnan to cope with the Lu Chuan Tu Division, can the Court recruit some of them? Besides, Liang Heng’s nephew, Liang Biao, is a brave warrior. It would be a pity not to utilize him. Couldn’t he be sent to Yunnan to take up a practical post? This will be just right to counter the changes in Lu Chuan."

Hearing this, Ma Chenghua realized that this man was indeed ruthless and sinister as rumored, yet wholly dignified and upright.