In the past days, I looked at the mountains and rivers on the bronze map with Gao Yue, discussed the organization of the imperial camp, discussed the military routes, and negotiated the candidates for prefectures and county governors and county magistrates. What a heavy and pure joy! It is precisely because of this joy that I can feel at ease to let you join the Secretary of the Central Secretariat.

But why did things turn out like this when you enter the Political Affairs Hall?

The emperor was still a little unwilling to give up, so he tentatively consulted Gao Yue, "Zhang Pang, who judged the salt and iron, said that he hoped that the ruling governor could review the actual income of Southeast salt profits and loosen the original quota of 6 million trump cards every year, but he didn't know..."

But Gao Yue quickly turned against the emperor coldly. He held up the tablet: "Your Majesty, the Ministry of Revenue, and the Chiefs of the Third Department of Salt and Iron are all court entrusted to the emperor to manage taxes and taxes from all directions. The power is already very important, so there is no need to pretend to be a Taisi government under the Secretary of the Secretariat. The Secretary of the Secretariat is the place where the three ministers discuss the truth, and it is really inappropriate to mix salt affairs. When Dou Shen was in charge of Guojun, he took the pleasure of personally taking charge of money and grain, and eventually lost. It is not far from the knowledge. Therefore, if Zhang Pang wanted to lower the quota on salt profit, how much is reduced, and how to reduce it, let him write a consultation letter and submit it to him, the emperor can decide with us and the ruling ministers again, and we don't need to go to the examination books and calculate the money and silk."

"Your meaning..." The emperor was already very depressed at this time.

"The prime minister is to govern Li Yuan, to pacify the four barbarians, to pacify the country and to pacify the country. He should sit and discuss the truth, not be in charge of ordinary affairs." Gao Yue defined it very simply.

I am a decision-maker, not a government official, thank you.

Not to mention Jia Dan and Du Huangshang, even Lu Zhi was shocked.

Yes, the original role of the prime minister was to rule the matter, and to participate in political affairs. However, after Kaiyuan Tianbao, he became increasingly involved in trivial matters such as salt profit, administration, military and political affairs, which was indeed contrary to the prime minister's original concept!

In the end, the helpless emperor could only agree to the three things presented by the prime ministers.

When Gao Yue and others said goodbye, the emperor looked at the sun shadows that had moved into the hall. He remembered that the prime ministers had not had a meal yet, so he said, "Thank you all, I will ask the inner court to send delicious food to the kitchen courtyard of the Zhengshi Hall for you to eat."

In the middle of the day, in the canteen facing the south of the Zhengshi Hall, there are two doors and four windows, with flying eaves, and all the components are pine, cypress and nanmu. It can be said that it is not cold in winter and not burning in summer. After Gao Yue and the other three prime ministers came in, they bowed to each other and sat down.

As the Minister of the Secretariat, Gao Yue's bed was fixed.

But when he saw this couch, he almost vomited out the meal he had last night. He saw that the couch and under his feet were covered with filth and greasy, which made people frightened.

When he was just a tyrant student, he heard Dou Xique and Yuan Ji brag together in Pingkangfang, saying that eating dine-in is a great honor, and there are many noble taboos. Could it be that sitting on a bed is also a taboo?

"It is said that as the chief prime minister, the Secretariat, the seat of the Secretariat, must not move, nor can they clean it. If they move around casually, the Prime Minister will be worried about defeat." At this time, Jia Dan, who was well versed in art, saw Gao Yue's face full of confusion, smiled and explained.

"Then how many years have you not moved this couch?"

"Nearly forty years."

Forty years... Even if I was beaten to death, I would not eat on this couch!

Gao Yue shook his head and said, "Forty years, there have been more than ten and twenty prime ministers in the court. Some are virtuous, some are stupid, some are loyal, and some are treacherous. Most of the history books have public opinion. What does it have to do with this bed? In my opinion, most of them are the predecessors' love for the heart, which is constrained by some absurd rumors. This is a place where the ruling ministers can eat and discuss the truth. How can these filth be piled up like a mountain!"

After saying that, Gao Yue asked the officials on duty to come and move the bed away. He swept the dirty dustpans under it. Then the bed was already decayed, so he dragged it to the backyard to burn it and change it to a new one.

When Gao Yue sat on the brand new couch, he exhaled a long sigh, and felt indescribable refreshment.

When the prime ministers of the Tang Dynasty dine-in between diners and no outsiders are allowed to disturb them, so this is often a good time for the prime ministers to secretly trade affairs.

The two taxes will soon come to meet the canal transportation, and the matters of conquering Mingzhou will be put on the agenda, but Lu Zhi was worried. He put down his chopsticks, "The emperor once promised me that after the revival of Helong, he would discuss the matter of abolishing Daying Qionglin, but now there is no return. The judge Pei Yanling was ignorant and could only make some false things to deceive the court, secretly migrating the money and goods of the national treasury to the emperor's inner treasury, so as to strengthen his favor. Now that the military expenditure is conquered, the national treasury is no longer able to bear, and can only rely on the subsidies of the inner treasury. Yisong, you said before that the prime minister would sit and discuss the truth, but what I am afraid of is that the prime minister can only discuss the truth."

"In the treasury of the emperor, in addition to the fixed amount of money allocated to the treasury every year, His Majesty also sent a central official to various places to obtain income, books, seals and keys, all in the hands of the archer (Huo Zhongtang). The imperial court could not control this amount of money at all." Du Huangshang also sighed.

"Lu Jiu, let's ask yourself, can you let Your Majesty stop the treasury?" At this time, Gao Yue also put down his chopsticks and asked.

Lu Zhi remained silent.

"Lu Jiu, you should also know that your Majesty needs, relying on the royal family's income in various places, plus the treasury allocated, was enough. When Liu Yan was still in charge of the world's interests, he did not enter the treasury every year, but directly used it as an entreasury to fill it into the treasury of Emperor Daizong's inner treasury and used it as an envy. When Yang Yan practiced the two tax laws, he told Your Majesty that he would allocate 300,000 pieces of cloth for His Majesty's court's use every year, and all the others were included in the treasury. At that time, Your Majesty not only said anything, but also agreed readily. But you have also seen the final outcome. Using the treasury to quell the Heshuo rebellion, and it was completely gone in less than a year. Before Your Majesty could figure out what was going on, the Changwu Army had not yet understood what was going on.

The reward changed, and Your Majesty moved to Fengtian. The national treasury was gone and the inner treasury was gone. There was no food in the city. Then if it were not for Liu Yan, Han Huan and others who turned the tide and transported the wealth, money and silk along Shangjin Road to Fengtian City. In the end, he was afraid that His Majesty's imperial guards would rebel and flee. That is, since then, whenever there were offerings in various places, Your Majesty would store it in the corridor in Fengtian City, carefully guarding it, and hang the plaques of "Daying" and "Qionglin". There was no other reason." Speaking of this, Gao Yue pointed to his heart, "Because Your Majesty's heart was shocked by all kinds of tragedies. I really couldn't believe the national treasury, and I was really afraid of poverty..."

"But Yisong." Lu Zhi said that I understand what you said, but I can't just let the inner treasury expand to the point where it completely overwhelms the national treasury. That would be an overcorrection.

"Actually, wouldn't it be better to clearly divide the income and use of the national treasury and internal treasury?" Gao Yue said loudly.
Chapter completed!