Li Zhi, don't be a coward

The hostility of the Jiangnan noble families towards Li Qinzai was not only due to the original conflict in Chang'an City, but more importantly, the stance of both parties.

The position of the noble family is the interests of the family, but Li Qinzai represents the interests of the emperor and the country.

The two are not incompatible, but in recent years Li Zhi and Empress Wu have frequently suppressed the aristocratic families, and the general direction of the court's decrees has gradually developed in a trend that is not conducive to the aristocratic families.

The benefits that could be obtained as a matter of course in the past are now gradually discovered by the aristocratic families that it takes a lot of effort to obtain them, or they are not obtained at all.

For example, aristocratic families recommended officials to the court. In the past, most of the officials in the court came from aristocratic families. Later, with the vigorous promotion of the imperial examination system, the shadow of children from poor families unknowingly appeared in the court.

The emperor and the officials were gradually unmoved by the officials recommended by the aristocratic families, or rejected them outright. The current trend is that if the children of the aristocratic families want to be officials, they have to take the scientific examination, and use the results to determine whether they can become officials.

Officials recommended by the aristocratic family were not accepted, which affected the interests of the aristocratic family, and conflicts arose from then on.

Not only is the official recommendation system declining, but many contradictions are becoming increasingly acute.

For example, taxes, the corvee system, competition for land, payment ratios for minerals in various lands, etc...

These are real interests. The Tianjia does not compete with its people for profit, but it is not lenient at all to the aristocratic families. If the Tianjia and the aristocratic families are compared to a long-lasting invisible war, the Tianjia’s step by step is tight. Under pressure, the family has been forced to take a strategic defensive.

Therefore, most of the prominent families in the south of the Yangtze River were hostile to the arrival of Li Qinzai, the imperial envoy.

Because Li Qinzai represents the emperor, I don’t know what he will do when he goes to the south of the Yangtze River, and how much benefits he will lose to the famous families in the south of the Yangtze River.

Including the Lu family of Wu County who had expressed their loyalty to Li Qinzai. Judging from their behavior, they had moved closer to the imperial court. However, the deeper purpose behind this behavior was actually just to hope to lose less benefits.

…………

Outside Jiangzhou City, the Li family tribe camped.

Li Qinzai did not stay at the Governor's Mansion and left the city after the banquet.

Only in the camp where his troops are guarding can he sleep soundly.Who knows if he will be assassinated if he sleeps in the Governor's Mansion. The eight prominent families in the south of the Yangtze River are intertwined with each other, and each other is as full of loopholes as a sieve. How could Li Qinzai sleep in such an environment.

After sleeping until noon, Li Qinzai yawned and shook his head vigorously.

I tried my best to control my drinking last night, but I still drank a little too much without realizing it. When I woke up, I had a headache. The drinking these days is really... hard to describe.

He wanted to make high-distilled liquor, but Li Qinzai had no interest in high-strength liquor in his previous life. Since he didn’t like drinking it, he shouldn’t make it. Why should he let others enjoy something he didn’t like? Of course he got caught in the rain. Ask others to accompany you in the rain.

After getting up, Li Qinzai was in a daze for a while, then slowly dressed and washed.

Just after finishing the meal, Song Sen came.

Lao Song was indeed very efficient in doing things. He agreed to produce a list of the family's relationships with officials in various states and counties within three days, and he brought it out the next day.

Li Qinzai was sitting in the camp, flipping through a thick stack of lists handed over by Song Sen. The listings on it were very detailed, ranging from the county captain's book of a certain county government to the governor of a state, Bie Jia Sima. Their origins and the forces behind them are all listed on the list.

The forces behind all the officials in Jiangnan could not all be from aristocratic families. Some of them came from poor families. After becoming Jinshi in the scientific examination, they were transferred to local officials by the Ministry of Personnel.

There are also some who are from landlords, not from well-known families. They are small and medium-sized landlords from local or foreign places. Their families are well-off and they have no one in the officialdom. They have climbed to positions step by step by relying on their good conduct and social skills.These are considered to have relatively clean backgrounds. As for a large part of them, they are indeed backed by the famous families in Jiangnan. Some are directly members of the famous families, while others are affiliated with the famous families, or were once the disciples and staff of the famous families. wait.

The structure of Jiangnan's officialdom is roughly like this.

Li Qinzai read it for a long time and gained a deeper understanding of the power of Jiangnan's prominent families.

Li Qinzai's eyes fell on a certain line on the list, and the corner of his mouth curled up slightly.

"Song Jinshan, a native of Yuezhou, is currently the governor of Jiangzhou. From the 19th year of Zhenguan to the fourth year of Yonghui, he was a staff member of the Lu family in Wu County. He was later recommended as an official by the Lu family and was promoted to the position of governor of Jiangzhou within ten years."

It was not easy for a member of a prominent family to work as a staff member for more than ten years before he gradually became prominent.

At yesterday's banquet, Song Jinshan's unabashed interaction with Lu Yun was obviously a hint for the Lu family to surrender to the court. They clearly told the court that Song Jinshan was indeed backed by the Lu family's influence. In this calm way, the Lu family indirectly expressed Be loyal.

Although this kind of relationship between officials and aristocratic families is not a secret that is difficult to investigate, and Baiqisi can find it out within a day, but what others find out is completely different from what he himself said.

"The Lu family of Wu County is quite sincere..." Li Qinzai murmured.

Putting the list away, Li Qinzai stuffed it into his arms. This list was very important. With this list on his trip to Jiangnan, Li Qinzai would get twice the result with half the effort, which was equivalent to having a Xinhua dictionary for a primary school student.

Turning to look at Song Sen, Li Qinzai showed a warm and appreciative smile and patted Song Sen on the shoulder.

"My young comrade is very good. This matter was handled smoothly. When I return to Chang'an, I will ask the Emperor for credit and ask the Emperor to give me gold, copper coins and silk to make you happy."

Song Sen was so happy that he couldn't even see his face. He was about to say thank you, but he smacked his lips and suddenly felt something was wrong.

"Wait a minute, Duke Li just said that the official's affairs were done well, but later he asked the emperor to give you money and gifts?"

Li Qinzai made a serious face: "You did a good job. In the final analysis, it was only under my wise leadership that you achieved this. If the emperor doesn't reward me, how can he reward you?"

Song Sen was shocked and said: "I did it, shouldn't I be rewarded?"

"You little comrade, you've just given me a few compliments and you've already lost your temper. Stay away from arrogance and impetuosity and keep working hard."

Seeing Song Sen's expression of constipation, Li Qinzai laughed, patted him on the shoulder and said, "Okay, I'm just kidding you. But Old Song, please think clearly. It's okay for me to ask for credit for you. If the emperor feels that you have indeed established Gong, I want to give you a promotion, will you agree or not?"

"What do you mean?"

"Now you are the head of Baiqisi Yongzhou. If you are promoted, you may be the second or third person in Baiqisi. But in this case, the specific duties of Baiqisi will not be your turn. In the future, You are no longer the one working for the emperor."

"Now you can go to the Taiji Palace when you have something to do and report it in front of the emperor. After you get promoted, you will not be the one to report the matter in front of the emperor. Over time, maybe the emperor will forget you, and your official career, In this life, only Baiqisi will be ranked second or third."

Song Sen was startled, and then looked thoughtful.

Li Qinzai smiled meaningfully and said: "The emperor is close to his ministers. If you are close, you will be close, and if you are far, you will be distant. You should think about this principle more. If I were you, I would rather not be promoted in my life. The power is not determined by the official position, but between you and the emperor. distance."