As Jing Wen expected, just a few days later, Jing Wen received an order from the eunuch in the palace to let Jing Wen meet the emperor. And this eunuch's tone was very bad, and it was obvious that the emperor was very angry. And Jingwen of course knows that he came up with that legal means of tax avoidance, so it's no wonder that the emperor is not angry! However, Jingwen was already prepared, and he knew how to deal with this crisis. Jingwen did not regard this as a danger at all, but as an opportunity, an opportunity to make his accounting firm famous all over the world.

As for the emperor being angry, Jingwen was not afraid. Because what Li Shimin wants to be a bright monarch, not a faint monarch. If Li Shimin was a faint king, then Jingwen would not play this method. It is precisely because Li Shimin is a Ming Jun that he is easy to bully. Since ancient times, only gentlemen are the best to bully. Although Li Shimin is not a gentleman, he is a hypocrite, and he has to endure being bullied.

"Your Majesty, what's the point of calling your ministers?" Jingwen asked unhurriedly.

Li Shimin didn't even look back, and asked coldly: "Are you guilty?" ”

"The minister doesn't know what he has done, please make it clear to the emperor!" Jingwen said.

"Today, the city supervisor of Chang'an West City played Shangshu Province, explaining that there are merchants who barter and trade with silver when trading. The copper coin was only a small part, and at this time, the city supervisor of the West Market wanted to collect taxes, but the merchant refused to pay them on the grounds that there was no basis for the law of the Tang Dynasty. And the officials of the West City also reported to Shangshu Province, and later Shangshu Province also reported to me and asked me to decide. However, I temporarily looked at the laws and regulations of the Tang Dynasty on the tax system, and there was indeed no provision on how to collect taxes by bartering. And since ancient times, there have not been many provisions on barter. And I have investigated, and it was you who gave the merchants the idea. Do you have anything to say? Do you know? After you do this, will it bring much loss to Datang? You don't look like the kind of person who is greedy for a small gain and does this kind of thing that is not beneficial to the country. Say it, say whatever you want, and if you can't be ugly, don't blame me for your crimes! Li Shimin asked coldly.

Jingwen asked unhurriedly: "Your Majesty, what do you think is the role of a lawyer?" ”

"Lawyer? What are you doing with these bastards? Li Shimin asked.

The lawyer said that in ancient times, those who received money to fight lawsuits on behalf of others specialized in exploiting loopholes in the law and fighting lawsuits for others. And some lawyers, who are lawyers, are dedicated to oppressing the people on behalf of those who have money. When the rich have sinned, they can get away with it by bringing in a well-spoken lawyer. And the ancient laws are full of loopholes, which are easy to drill.

However, some lawyers instead help the poor people to fight against those local tyrants who are not benevolent to the rich. They call on the poor to uphold justice, to avenge the people's grievances, and to clear the grievances of the wronged. And these people are the embodiment of justice, praised by the people. And because of these two different images, the people hate and love lawyers, so it is difficult to judge the profession of lawyers in ancient times.

But in the eyes of government officials, the ancient lawyer was a kind of villain. They specialize in exploiting the loopholes of the law to make those officials helpless. Ancient laws were designed for the stability of the ruling class, and these litigators were always able to exploit loopholes, which disgusted the officials. Because when they want to punish the good people with the law, the lawyer will come out to help take advantage of the loopholes. And when those kind officials want to help the people, there are always some litigants to help those local tyrants who have committed crimes to get rid of their crimes. Therefore, whether it is a good official or a bad official, he does not like lawyers. Even Li Shimin doesn't like litigators very much, because they all take advantage of legal loopholes, and the emperor is the one who formulates the law, which is equivalent to a bit of face-saving for the emperor.

"Your Majesty, the lawyers are also exploiting the loopholes of the law, so what is the difference between what the ministers do and them? They took advantage of the law, but how did they break the law? Since they did not break the law, the laws of the imperial court could not punish them. The minister wanted to ask the emperor, did the minister's behavior break the law? Is there anything that doesn't conform to the laws of the imperial court? Your Majesty, could you please clearly point out which of the ministers has violated the law? Jingwen asked.

"This ......" Li Shimin couldn't say.

Although Jingwen took advantage of the loopholes in the law, there was no clear provision saying that he had violated the law. And there is no provision in the law that cannot take advantage of the loopholes in the law, and even if there is, it may not be effective. Because the act of exploiting loopholes is obviously a very big word, and it is impossible to explain it clearly. If you make a law today, I'm afraid someone will figure out how to crack it tomorrow. Strictly speaking, Jingwen has not clearly violated the law now, so Li Shimin cannot punish him.

"Your Majesty, since the minister has not broken the law, what is the minister's crime? Does the emperor think that the laws of the Tang Dynasty are a dead letter? As long as the emperor dares to say this, the minister will immediately be willing to crash to death in this manna hall. Jingwen said loudly.

Li Shimin sighed, because he didn't dare to say it, of course he didn't dare to say that the Datang law was a dead letter. Even the most mediocre emperor would never dare to say that the laws of his country were a dead letter. And if Li Shimin dares to say this, I am afraid that he will be pulled off the throne in less than three years. There are some things that can be done, but not said. Since there is such a thing as a law, although those in power often ignore the law, they cannot say it explicitly. The emperor, in particular, could not explicitly say that the law was useless. If you dare to say this, then all officials in the world will clearly follow suit, and then the country will be finished.

"Your Majesty, the commercial tax revenue of my Tang Dynasty accounts for less than half of the total tax revenue of the imperial court, and the agricultural tax accounts for ninety percent and five. Therefore, this commercial tax is actually chicken ribs, and it is a pity to abandon it without meat. And what really matters is not these commercial taxes, but the rats in the imperial court! Jingwen said.

When Li Shimin heard this, he immediately turned around and asked sternly: "My great Tang Lang Lang Qiankun, where did the big rat come from?" Don't talk nonsense. ”

Jingwen said with certainty: "Your Majesty, the minister dares to vouch with his head, the court is definitely full of rats, believe it or not, as long as the minister checks it." As long as the emperor dares to let those account offices go to the six departments, nine temples and five prisons to check the accounts, he will definitely be able to catch a large number of rats out. ”

Li Shimin's eyes looked at Jing Wen like an eagle, and Jing Wen looked at each other without fear at all, obviously he was confident in his words.

After a long time, Li Shimin didn't say a word, but just came to the front of the imperial case and wrote a holy decree.