It seems that these people really think of themselves as drunkards and women, and they don't think about it. If they were really such people, how could they have conquered such a large territory? During this period, some civil officials wanted to write to Li Xiang, hoping that Li Xiang would be strict with himself, but they were all scolded back by Su Dingfang.
Su Dingfang knew Li Xiang's character well. How could a man like him, who cared so much about the empire, turn himself into a drunkard and a womanizer? "You civil officials know nothing, yet you try to flaunt yourselves at every opportunity. Who else should I blame but you?"
"Greetings to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."
Some Fusang clothes are no longer allowed to be worn. Now all officials wear Tang Dynasty clothes, which, after being improved by Li Xiang, look very good.
However, Li Xiang did not allow the Fuso people to be treated as the Tang Dynasty. Their bloodline must be strictly controlled, so every Fuso person was registered and intermarriage between the two sides was not allowed.
Even if the two sides intermarry, the children born must be recorded. Although this makes it difficult for the Fuso people to integrate into the Tang Dynasty, Li Xiang has already planned that no matter whether they are Koreans or Fuso, these people cannot be integrated into the Tang Dynasty. They must serve the Tang Dynasty for generations and become the lower class in the Tang Dynasty.
"Speak what you want to say. There's no need to perform such grand ceremonies in the future. The most important thing is to work for the king, not these tedious rituals. Even if you perform ceremonies ten times a day, but in the end you can't get any work done, you should be dismissed."
Li Xiang stretched his body. It was not good to stay in the house all the time. It had been quite a while, and it was time to end these days of indulgence.
However, a person needs to relax occasionally. If the nerves in the body are always tense, then no matter what you do next, you will feel tired. In this case, you will not be able to exert your full efficiency.
"Your Highness is right. I am here to report to you. Of the over 190 local officials in Fusang, over 180 have already sent in replies. The rest are probably on their way and will all come to congratulate Your Highness on the New Year."
Li Xiang already knew what he was talking about. After the last war, these people all changed. Unless they had a problem with their brains, they would not challenge Li Xiang's authority on this matter.
"While the celebrations are certainly important, what's even more important is the year-end tax payment. Based on the local tax rates, how many people are prepared to send this tax to the capital?"
Li Xiang and his men had not occupied many areas before. Even if the territories of the Ito family and the Fukuda family were included, it only accounted for about 35% to 45% of the entire Fuso. Therefore, there were still vast areas in the hands of these local officials, and one of the symbols of power was taxes.
"In reply to Your Highness, currently only fifteen local officials have expressed their willingness to pay the taxes due to the court when they return to pay their respects."
Suzuki Nakatasu came to ask for a reward. He thought what he did was very good, but Li Xiang quickly got to the point. It didn't matter whether you came to congratulate or not. As long as you handed over the money, it meant that you were truly surrendered.
There were only fifteen local officials at the moment, and the rest had not expressed their opinions yet. The smile on Li Xiang's face immediately disappeared. It seemed that not enough people had been killed before. These people simply treated themselves as children, or perhaps it was the same drama as before when they congratulated the Tang Dynasty.
In the past, the Tang Dynasty was also visited by many nations, but the problem was that those people sent some insignificant local specialties, and some even took away a lot of good things from the Tang Dynasty court. In the end, it was still these people who benefited, and the Tang Dynasty court continued to do so for the so-called face.
This time, the Fuso officials thought it was the same again, so they only wanted to bring some useless things. Regarding the most important issue of taxes, many local officials did not even mention it.
"What is Okawa Genzaburo doing?"
When Suzuki Nakatasu heard Li Xiang mention this name, he knew what was going to happen next. Before the court celebration, Li Xiang wanted to make an example of someone to scare the monkeys.
"General Da Heyuan is currently training his army. In the past month, General Da Heyuan has recruited 11,000 new soldiers, who are currently undergoing training in the military camp southwest of the capital."
Among the generals in charge of the troops, Lingmu Zhongtai still hopes to help Daheyuan rise up, after all, they had a friendship in the past.
"I remember that when Ito Taro started his rebellion, the daimyo of Ueno Prefecture gifted him a hundred war horses. Is that true?"
Li Xiang has an extraordinary memory. He remembered this incident before, but he forgot it later. It’s okay to use it as an excuse now. After all, you once funded the rebels. Don’t think that we have no memory.
"Your Highness, this is indeed the case."
Suzuki Nakatasu said with a wry smile that there are so many people who do not pay taxes now, which means that these people have something to hide, and they are not truly submissive to Li Xiang, so another wave of people must be killed. This Ueno Daimyo is really unlucky.
"Then send a message to Okawa Genzaburo to go to Ueno to collect the tax. If he pays it readily, he will still be an official of the new Fuso imperial court. But if he shirks his responsibilities, his entire family will be executed."
If it were on the land of the Tang Dynasty, Li Xiang would definitely not issue such a harsh order, but now he is standing on the land of Fusang. In Li Xiang's eyes, you people are only slightly better than animals, so you don't have to care about the lives of your entire family. What kind of local official are you if you don't pay taxes? What's the point of having a local official like you?
"I obey your command."
After leaving Li Xiang's residence, Suzuki Nakatasu also wiped his sweat. He originally wanted to ask for a reward here, but who knew that Li Xiang saw through his tricks and didn't listen to him at all. It's useless to have so many people coming. When the time comes, he won't be able to collect a penny. Does he want me to spend money on it?
Li Xiang's primary concern was practical benefits. Lord Suzuki had understood this before, but after such a long period of peace, he had become somewhat arrogant. After this negotiation with Li Xiang, he finally understood that he must not act in this way in the future. Otherwise, he would die without knowing how...
We still have to be fully prepared and serve His Highness.
