Chapter 69: Gaoling Has No Income

“The second matter is the future direction of the Department of Music!” Li Tai said.

“Liu Shenwei, along with several students from the Department of Music, discovered that melodies can soothe the mind and help wounded soldiers fall asleep. Therefore, in the future, apart from moving towards enhancing collective organizational strength, the department can also develop in the direction of comforting people’s hearts. Once Shenwei returns, you can discuss this thoroughly with him and jointly explore a path.”

“That’s easy enough!” Upon hearing Li Tai’s words, Lü Cai nodded and said, “I understand the Prince of Yue’s intention.”

Lü Cai understood that Li Tai’s comprehension of music differed somewhat from conventional musical understanding. To standard musicians, music pursued the refinement of character and the cleansing of the soul—it was an elegant art. However, Li Tai’s pursuit of music was much more utilitarian; he hoped music could yield more direct and practical effects. It could not be said that Li Tai was wrong; rather, it was simply a difference in musical philosophy.

Nevertheless, Li Tai’s personal musical attainments were truly mediocre, so Lü Cai felt it was best to simply agree. After all, as long as even one percent of the melodies he composed achieved the desired effect, he could not be accused of deceiving the Prince of Yue. Moreover, with Li Tai’s level of musical expertise, it was impossible for him to detect the subtle nuances within the core of musical theory.

To be frank, Lü Cai felt that the direction Li Tai proposed—combining ritual music with agriculture—was correct. It was just that Li Tai’s claim of wanting to directly use music to increase crop yields was simply too far-fetched. Having experimented with it for a year, Lü Cai could only guarantee that it prevented crop reduction. He felt that the true utility of ritual music lay in regulating agricultural seasons and enhancing the collective organizational strength of the common people during farming.

However, this kind of ritual music conflicted somewhat with the current equal-field system. Since labor was organized primarily around individual households, music meant to boost collective organization struggled to manifest its utility.

Consequently, Lü Cai harbored a certain doubt and wished to first compile a Twenty-Four Solar Terms Song, weaving the farming tasks of each solar term into melodies. Lü Cai vaguely sensed that the impact of this endeavor might be profound, and therefore approached it with extreme caution. Just like Sun Simiao compiling the *Supplement to Important Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Gold*, their talents allowed them to accomplish such a feat, but their moral integrity and prudence prevented them from rushing into it carelessly, forcing them to write and revise simultaneously. The only difference was that because Li Tai was somewhat impatient for success in music, Lü Cai simply hadn't mentioned this to him yet.

“As for the third matter… this is indeed something that requires long-term execution!” Li Tai began.

“Please give your instructions, Prince of Yue!” Hearing this, Lü Cai immediately focused his attention.

Li Tai asked him in return, “You have already completed the household registration of the commoners in Gaoling, haven’t you?”

Lü Cai nodded and replied, “Most of it is complete. However, tenant farmers and laborers enter Gaoling every year, so the population increases annually, requiring continuous updates.”

“That’s fine!” Li Tai waved his hand and calmly said, “Just keep doing it. I want you to pay attention to another matter: apart from the migration of these tenant farmers and laborers into Gaoling, you must also record the number of naturally born infants, their survival rate, as well as the ages and basic circumstances of their parents.”

“Prince of Yue, what do you mean?” Lü Cai asked, feeling somewhat confused and puzzled by Li Tai’s words.

“Data is the foundation of governance; without data, all administration is like duckweed without roots!” Li Tai smiled. “After this year’s autumn harvest, you can have the students familiarize themselves with this. Remember to make them wear their school uniforms, and have Wei Xu protect them well!”

“I understand. Once the wheat is harvested, I will arrange for this matter to be carried out!” Lü Cai promised.

As the Agricultural Academy got onto the right track, many matters simply needed to be executed step-by-step. Coupled with the fact that Lü Cai’s own talent was by no means inferior, Li Tai only needed to discuss extra arrangements with him. For routine operations, there was truly no need for Li Tai to give repeated reminders.

After meeting with Lü Cai, Li Tai sought out Ma Zhou.

Since the year-end was fast approaching, even Ma Zhou—a fellow who usually enjoyed frequenting brothels and taverns—was now obediently sitting inside the county yamen reviewing documents. How diligent he was!

“Prince of Yue, do you still remember that you are the Magistrate of Gaoling? Do you finally remember to come back?!” Ma Zhou looked at Li Tai, filled with palpable grievance.

“Am I the Magistrate of Gaoling?” The thought silently flashed through Li Tai’s mind, but it was immediately erased.

A broad smile plastered across Li Tai’s face, he said, “You are here, aren’t you? Just handle the document reviews yourself. I create the plans, and you execute them—we agreed on this long ago!”

“Yes, yes, yes!” Hearing Li Tai shirk all the work so cleanly, Ma Zhou was once again filled with resentment.

Yet Ma Zhou pressed on, “However, you ought to at least know how much population, revenue, and tax burden Gaoling has this year!”

“Just tell me the population figures,” Li Tai waved his hand and said. “As for the tax revenues collected this year, convert all of them into Kaiyuan Tongbao coins!”

“Do you have any idea how much revenue Gaoling has generated this year? Convert all of it into Kaiyuan Tongbao!” Ma Zhou was utterly stunned by Li Tai’s words.

“Not much, is it?” Li Tai stretched out his hand to calculate and said, “Gaoling’s tax revenues should primarily consist of the *zu-yong-diao* system. Since we don’t need to pay taxes to the imperial court this year, I temporarily reallocated the farmland tax to cover part of the corvée labor expenses in Gaoling. If we do the bookkeeping, Gaoling can easily be balanced out to show zero revenue, because Gaoling’s tax revenues were spent on comforting the disaster-stricken populace.”

“…” Ma Zhou stared at Li Tai. He had seen shameless people before, but never anyone quite this shameless.

Ma Zhou flipped through the data and had to admit that under Li Tai’s method of calculating taxes, the imperial court really wouldn't be able to collect much of anything. The most crucial reason was that in the early Tang dynasty, aside from the *zu-yong-diao* tax system, there were virtually no harsh or miscellaneous taxes. The academy, the grand market, the docks, and the coal industry—unless they directly involved arable land—theoretically had no way of yielding a single coin in taxes, which was terribly headache-inducing.

What made it especially difficult was that Li Tai had not invoked any of his imperial prince privileges; rather, the imperial court simply had no idea how to levy fees on such enterprises.

Ma Zhou stated, “Prince of Yue, the importance of Gaoling will only become more prominent as Chang’an develops. This place is practically the center of the entire Guanzhong region. Even for someone like you, this territory is not something you can monopolize alone!”

Ma Zhou was acutely aware that if this place remained undeveloped, nobody would care. But once developed, not to mention noble clans, the imperial court alone would never stand by and watch this immensely wealthy treasure basin remain firmly gripped in Li Tai’s hands.

Even using his toes to think, Ma Zhou could immediately devise suitable countermeasures. Three years from now, when Li Tai was reassigned and no longer governed Gaoling, who would have the final say here was anyone's guess, even if Li Tai retained some lingering influence. By then, if Li Tai still refused to surrender control of the docks, Li Tai himself might remain unharmed, but his power would inevitably be eroded. After all, the longer time dragged on and the older the Crown Prince grew, the more the officials would suppress the Prince of Yue.

Regardless of how well Li Tai had proven his capabilities now, as long as the Crown Prince remained, a faction naturally loyal to Li Chengqian would exist at court. Especially since the head of this faction was Li Shimin himself, if Li Tai failed to hand over the docks, he would undoubtedly face severe suppression when the time came.

“Binwang, I understand what you mean!” Li Tai nodded at Ma Zhou. “However, the docks are currently an asset under the name of the Prince of Yue’s Mansion. Therefore, how taxes should be levied on the docks is not something I should propose; it is something you and Chu Ke should bring up. Regardless of which of you proposes it, establishing a new tax category is necessary—not just to tax these docks, but to tax all river navigation throughout the realm!”

Ma Zhou was slightly startled by Li Tai’s words, not expecting Li Tai to extrapolate the matter to such an extent starting from the docks.

Li Tai continued, “The imperial court is neither a noble family nor a powerful clan. It shouldn't be the case that whenever something becomes popular and profitable, they rush to buy shares and thereby embezzle profits from themselves. How laughable is that!

“My first year as the Magistrate of Gaoling was spent creating wealth. Now that this wealth-generating channel has stabilized, many naturally want to come and take a slice of the pie. Therefore, what must be done next is the distribution of wealth, which is the court’s affair and the court’s responsibility.

“As for me, the ones wanting a share at this moment—whether they are the supreme Son of Heaven looking down upon all living beings, or covetous noble families—the former may not care, while the latter lack the capability. What truly proves difficult for me to withstand is the imperial administrative system itself, and the only thing capable of dealing with the imperial system is the imperial system itself.

“As for noble families, what do they even count for in the eyes of Li Tai? I am the number one noble family in the realm, and the number one clan under heaven! As long as I do my work honestly and do not incur my father’s disappointment, as long as my father lives, those noble clans are nothing more than a joke!”

Listening to Li Tai’s analysis, Ma Zhou quietly closed his mouth. To be honest, Ma Zhou had originally intended to persuade Li Tai to rope in the Five Surnames and Seven Clans or influential ministers, so that even if Li Tai left, he could still control Gaoling through an alliance of mutual defense and offense.

After all, given Li Tai’s current posture, Ma Zhou was certain he intended to contend for the succession. Since almost every step of his own career originated from the Prince of Yue’s Mansion, he would undoubtedly belong to the Prince of Yue’s faction unless he died early.

Now, hearing the Prince of Yue’s words, Ma Zhou realized that Li Tai’s vision was far grander than his own!

“Perhaps only imperial education can cultivate someone with such an extraordinary perspective like the Prince of Yue!” Ma Zhou sighed inwardly with emotion.

Ma Zhou asked Li Tai, “Then, Prince of Yue, what are your instructions?”

Li Tai proceeded, “The principle of governance lies primarily in establishing laws to regulate the people. The imperial court should collect taxes openly and utilize them with absolute integrity. First, given the current number of imperial officials, it is impossible to manage down to the grassroots level; therefore, taxation on people should target the large rather than the small! For instance, since the docks are currently under the name of the Prince of Yue’s Mansion, the tax collection should target me directly!

“Secondly, the imperial court needs a concrete standard for levying navigation taxes, whether based on volume or weight, which must be unified. However, measurements vary slightly across different regions, making unified metering difficult. I can take this opportunity to recommend Gaoling’s measurement units to the court, and then standardize shipping fees based on this fixed volume or weight.

“I suggest setting the rate relatively low, but collecting a fee every time a vessel docks, which will also facilitate management. Of course, the government can also construct storage warehouses to provide storage for passing cargo ships, and subsequently charge warehousing fees. Over time, this will also become a substantial sum of revenue and a basis for taxation.

“In short, the court must not invent arbitrary fees that force shipping vessels to rely on noble families for tax exemption merely to survive. Instead, after collecting taxes, the court must establish a comprehensive system to protect the interests of ordinary citizens while securing tax revenue from the populace.”

“The Prince of Yue’s insight is profound and gives one a sense of sudden enlightenment!” Ma Zhou breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing Li Tai’s words.

Smiling, Li Tai rubbed his nose and said, “The idea is mine, but the actual work must still be carried out by you. Once the imperial court levies reasonable navigation taxes, and I, as an imperial prince, pay those taxes, the work of rolling out nationwide navigation taxation can proceed smoothly.”

“Zhou thanks the Prince of Yue for holding the world in his heart and understanding the greater righteousness!” Ma Zhou bowed to Li Tai.

“The prosperity of the Tang is the prosperity of Li Tai! The fortune of the Tang is the fortune of Li Tai!” Li Tai declared proudly. “Execute this matter well. If you manage to collect this tax revenue, a seat in the Ministry of Revenue should be yours in the future!”

“Zhou thanks the Prince of Yue for his auspicious words!” Ma Zhou expressed his gratitude.

Li Tai continued, “Once this taxation matter comes to a close, you should hand over the coal industry operations in your hands to Kongque. From then on, you must focus entirely on your official career and walk that path steadily! Hailing from my mansion will inevitably affect you; the least I can do is minimize the negative impact my influence might have on you within this court.”

“Zhou understands, but the fact that I was able to ascend to the imperial court was entirely due to the recommendation of the Prince of Yue; how could I ever try to distance myself?” Ma Zhou said to Li Tai with quiet confidence, though his tone shifted quickly. “However, as the Prince of Yue said, as the coal industry grows increasingly massive, it truly requires someone dedicated to managing it, and Kongque is indeed suitable.”

Since Li Tai stated he wanted to hand this enterprise over to Kongque, then Kongque it would be. Ma Zhou did not care about this at all, because even though the coal industry was expanding exponentially, the direct profits Li Tai reaped from coal were not actually that high. When compared purely by direct profits, it couldn't even match down jackets, let alone the docks.

Comparatively speaking, the institutions Li Tai created functioned differently: the academy was a bottomless pit that only consumed funds without returning profits, so nobody had any interest in meddling with it. The breeding farm was a golden-egg-laying chicken personally bestowed by Li Shimin, which nobody dared to touch. While the grand market and coal mines were profitable, they paled in comparison to the cash-printing machine that was the docks; they were merely hard-earned money.

However, the docks connected the Wei River, which ran straight through the entire Guanzhong region. Except during the freezing winter months, it was an immensely eye-catching enterprise. Under such circumstances, even if Li Tai wanted to conceal it, he couldn't. Just as he could theoretically manipulate the account books to show a deficit for the docks, did he really take everyone else for blind?

Could people not see the constant stream of incoming and outgoing vessels and fail to notice the wealth here? Keeping false accounts for this place was utterly meaningless. Therefore, a share of it had to be partitioned out. The imperial court would take a portion, and even though other noble clans might turn green with envy, there was little they could do. After all, this was built single-handedly by Li Tai.

Li Tai was not an ordinary commoner; he was the second legitimate son of Li Shimin. By virtue of this identity alone, the Prince of Yue was a banner in his own right. Thus, aside from Li Shimin and the imperial court itself, Li Tai had no need to share the profits of these docks with anyone else.

Yet Li Tai could turn these docks into a trump card to cooperate with other factions. Occupying Gaoling and leveraging the Wei River allowed Li Tai to effortlessly vitalize the entire Guanzhong economy and politically influence the whole of Guanzhong through economic means!