King Donghai carefully read the memorial of Liu Zeqin, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, but did not see the trick. "Your Majesty suspects that he has colluded with wealthy businessmen in Luoyang and has given them too many benefits?"

"I don't know, I just feel..." Han Ruzi couldn't say that feeling, so he asked Donghai and others to retreat first, and he wanted to meet with the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue alone. {[(([([([[({[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[

Liu Zeqin was ordered to preside over the daily court meeting, but she was responsible and fell as she passed on, holding a stack of documents in her hand. It was a detailed record of the court meeting, which could make the absent emperor in the scene.

Han Ruzi flipped through a few pages and didn't look closely, "Mr. Liu, I have something to ask you, I hope you can say something."

"Your Majesty, I must not hide anything." Liu Zeqin stood respectfully in front of the emperor.

Han Ruzi pondered for a moment, "I have read the memorial. Is there anything I need to do?"

Liu Zeqin looked up at the emperor, looked surprised, and immediately lowered her head, "I am not considering it carefully, there must be some omissions. Please postpone it for an hour or two. I will go and modify it now, but... Please give me a brief point of a few..."

Liu Zeqin thought the emperor was not satisfied with his memorials.

Han Ruzi shook her head, "Mr. Liu misunderstood. The memorial is fine. I think some things may not be easy to write in the memorial. You can tell me directly."

Liu Zeqin was even more surprised, "No, Luoyang officials' privately allocated food is a great thing that benefits the country and the people. Everything is in the memorial, and I dare not hide it at all."

Liu Zeqin is the real court minister. Han Ruzi looked at him like a wall, only hearing the sound, not seeing the person, no eyes, and talking to each other.

"It's so good." Han Ruzi smiled, expressing satisfaction, but he knew in his heart that his questioning method was wrong and he could only get nothing.

He then summoned Qu Zixi, a doctor of the Imperial College.

Qu Zixi also served as the censor of Henan County and was very serious. He had already gone out of the city for a while and happened to see the emperor to report the situation.

"It's really rare. Luoyang officials and merchants have always been famous for their treacherous and sloppy. I thought they were going to deceive the superiors again this time, but they were wronged. I saw outside the city that the grain was released in an orderly manner, with the grain shed stretching for more than ten miles and there were dedicated people to take care of it. The refugees first registered their hometowns, received grain from the platoon, collected more than fifty people, selected one of the heads, paid enough grain and government certificates, and allowed them to return to their original homeland."

Qu Zixi was very satisfied with the performance of Luoyang officials and civilians, "Your Majesty will definitely achieve twice the result with half the effort."

After reading Liu Zeqin's memorial, Qu Zixi didn't think there was any problem. "These compensation is not much, and the Luoyang merchants are really impressive this time. I want to apologize for my previous words. At that time, I thought Luoyang was a greedy place, which gave Your Majesty a preconceived view."

"Mr. Qu is in Luoyang for a few more days and will start and end well."

"I have no choice."

Han Ruzi didn't get help from Qu Zixi, but he still didn't give up and always felt that things were not that simple.

He discussed with Donghai King again, "Think more about the emperor's skills you have learned."

"What kind of emperor's technique is that? It's just a sub-scheming of people's hearts." Donghai King refused to admit it again, but he picked up the memorial and read it again. After a long time, he said: "There is a way to find flaws."

"Speak and listen."

"It's the routine."

"Convention?" Han Ruzi didn't like convention very much. Many times, convention was the wall between him and the ministers.

"Yes, I forgot who told me that I really couldn't find the flaws in the suggestions made by the minister, so I asked him what the practice was. I had to have a reason to do this. See if this reason still exists and how much is left, maybe I can find some clues."

Han Ruzi suddenly realized, "That's right, at least we have to figure out why the Kanto merchants had to impose heavy taxes and limit the number of entry times. Who should we ask? Liu Zeqin would definitely shirk his feelings and say he didn't understand."

"I don't know this. Your Majesty should have stayed in the capital. The entire court is around you. If you have any doubts, ask the Prime Minister. Even if the Prime Minister doesn't know, he has to recommend an insider. This is his duty. Now Your Majesty is in Luoyang and there are not many people around, especially the Prime Minister is not there. Who should I ask?"

Han Ruzi had consultants around him, and ten scholars were here as they were passed down, but their strength was to quote scriptures and reward the soldiers of the Southern and Northern Army who had made great contributions, and to rebuke Yang Feng. They could do it quickly. Every word was powerful and every sentence was used to make the rewarded people grateful and make the mistakes ashamed. However, when it comes to the business of Luoyang, no one remembered the original regulations.

"It should not be a big deal, otherwise it would definitely be recorded in the history of the country." A scholar speculated.

Ten consultants withdrew, and King Donghai came up with another idea, "Scholars are not good, Your Majesty should find those veteran officials who are familiar with the documents."

Han Ruzi really remembered one of them, called Liu Jie, the chief supervisor, and asked, "Who puts the copy of the memorials in the capital on the table every day?"

"It's me." Liu Jie replied.

"Who gave it to you?"

"Official of the Secretariat."

"The same order is true in the capital?"

"Yes, the book will be handed over to the emperor by someone in the palace, usually the chief secretary, and His Majesty can also refer to others."

"It's great for Mr. Liu to do this. He called the officials of the Secretariat who were accompanying him."

The person arrived soon, "I am the minister of the Secretariat, Zhao Ruosu, pays homage to Your Majesty." This is a middle-aged man in his thirties, who looks a bit premature. He looks like a man who has been writing for a long time.

The Secretariat of the Central Secretariat was not qualified to attend the court meeting. Han Ruzi had only a vague impression of Zhao Ruosu. He was always mixed in a large number of entourages, very close to the emperor, but there were many obstacles in the middle. If the emperor had not summoned him, he would never have the chance to talk directly with the emperor.

Han Ruzi was a little hesitant. This person didn't look like a person who spoke out loud and dared to advise him. He knew nothing about him. After thinking about it, he asked: "You are a Zhongshu Sheren, can you see the official documents from the past?"

"Yes, your Majesty."

“How long ago was it?”

"Every ten years, the Secretariat and the Secretariat together copy copies of official documents from previous years. The Wei-Minist has been fortunate to participate once and have seen all the official documents since Taizu set up the tripod."

Han Ruzi was shocked, and Donghai King didn't believe it either, "All of them? They are stacked together higher than a mountain, can you finish watching it?"

"Wei ministers are good at identifying wrong words, and are responsible for the first proofreading and re-copied official documents. Wei ministers must take a look at them."

"This is not called reading. At most, you can just scan. You didn't even know what was written in the official document at that time, right?"

"Most of them don't know, some still remember."

Donghai Wang sneered, but still didn't believe it.

Han Ruzi didn't want to worry about trivial matters, so he asked directly: "I ask you, when is it stipulated for the levy and limiting the number of entry times for Kanto merchants? Do you have any impression?"

"Yes, these two are the rules set by Taizu in the first year of ascending the throne."

Han Ruzi and King Donghai looked at each other, but they didn't expect that this inconspicuous Zhongshu Sheshou actually remembered the official documents from more than a hundred years ago.

"Why did Taizu set such a high tax?" Han Ruzi asked.

Zhao Ruosu thought for a while and replied: "A memorial at that time said that the people of Kanto were rich, and people's hearts were still on Zhao and Qi. He must impose heavy taxes to cut off the rebellion."

When Taizu decided to set up the tripod, the power of Zhao and Qi had not been completely eliminated, and it was not limited to Zhao and Qi today, which was much larger in area, so Taizu intends to suppress Guandong.

"The Great Chu has been going on for many years. The Zhao and Qi countries were long forgotten by the people. Why did the heavy taxes not be reduced?"

"I don't know that this matter has never been mentioned in the official documents I have seen."

At this time, Donghai Wang's reaction was quick and he smiled and said, "What's the difficult explanation for this? Kanto merchants can afford it. Haven't they become richer and richer over the years? As for the capital, they are used to using this income suddenly, but they are not adapted to it, so they keep it. The reason for the public is to say that this is the rule set by Taizu and cannot be changed."

"Can the rules set by Taizu really not be changed?" Han Ruzi felt that heavy taxes could be reduced a little.

King Donghai curled his lips and did not answer. Zhao Ruosu said: "No one has ever said no, but the Ministry of Rites may object."

"Ministry of Rites?" Han Ruzi didn't understand what this had to do with the Ministry of Rites.

"Every twelfth lunar month, the Ministry of Rites will worship ancestors in the Taimiao. One of the rituals is to report His Majesty what he has done over the past year. The Ministry of Rites may say that changing the old rules will anger Taizu's spirit in heaven."

Han Ruzi was so surprised that she couldn't speak. After thinking about it carefully, this was indeed something that the Ministry of Rites would do.

"What about the limit on the number of entry times? What is the reason?"

"The reason was very simple at that time. The old ministers of Zhao and Qi had not given up. They once tried to assassinate Taizu and the generals of the court. The merchants who entered the pass brought many people and goods, and it was easy for the assassins to get involved in it."

"According to the Ministry of Rites' ideas, this old rule cannot be changed?"

Zhao Ruosu thought for a while, "This may not be necessary. Taxation is a major event. Taizu issued an imperial edict at the beginning, which is well documented. The limit on the number of entry to the pass was a suggestion put forward by the general guarding the pass. Taizu allowed it, but did not issue the edict specifically. Therefore, in the view of the Ministry of Rites, this may not be considered a change of Taizu's old rules."

"If you have time, Zhao Sheren will answer your questions, I understand, you should step down."

Zhao Ruosu quit the tent.

"This is a talent," said Han Ruzi.

"Hey, just have a better memory. Such people are caught in the major departments." Donghai King didn't care much, "Liu Zeqin is so brave. He must have known that tax cuts are not feasible, but he deliberately wrote them in the memorial. When the Ministry of Rites rejected it, His Majesty would be furious. He stolen the ground and apologized, and he forgot about entering the customs after going back and forth."

"What Luoyang merchants really want is to increase the number of entry times? They won't rebel, they just want to do more business, right?"

"Liu Zeqin made a mistake. It was a very simple thing, but he insisted on concealing it. Your Majesty must be careful."

Han Ruzi pondered and said nothing. He would go to war early tomorrow morning, and there was only one night left. He had no other evidence except some speculations, so he really didn't know what to do.

Liu Jie reported to the account and Wang Jianhuo asked for a visit.

The Chou King also went to the outside of Luoyang City for a while. What he saw and heard was the same as Qu Zixi, but the conclusions he came to were different. "According to what Cao people saw, many of the vagrants outside the city were fake, and the real refugees were not relieved. Cao people were willing to be officials, but they would rather offend thousands of people than save more people." (To be continued.)8
Chapter completed!