Hearing this again, Liu E immediately understood that Li Shiheng was determined to become an official.
In fact, Liu E could also continue to play emotional cards, saying something about remembrance of the late emperor, and now she is suspicious of the young country and continues to retain Li Shiheng.
But after thinking about it for a while, Liu E felt that it was not necessary.
"That being the case, I'm sure."
"Thank you, empress!"
Even though he was mentally prepared, Li Shiheng still felt a little disappointed at this time.
The Third Secretary, also known as the Prime Minister, can be compared with the Prime Minister and the Privy Council in the court, so I just let it go, feeling a little disappointed.
However, Li Shiheng quickly adjusted his mood.
Anyway, these three envoys are not doing well, so instead of continuing to occupy them, it is better to get out of the business and go home to entertain their grandchildren and take care of themselves.
Liu E sighed slightly and walked back to the imperial platform. After a while, she asked.
"I summoned you to the palace today because I wanted to discuss the tea law with you. Do you have any advice on this matter?"
Li Shiheng pondered for a moment: "This may be something that can be done."
Although the issue of the Changyi Tea Law was first proposed by Ding Wei and his party members, and Li Shiheng had a very bad impression of Ding Wei and his party members.
But the tea method was really frustrated, and it was time to change.
"Why?"
Since the Taizu period, the terms of office of the three ministers have usually been very short, with the shortest term recorded being only one month.
A three-year envoy like Li Shiheng has served for four years, which is already considered a very long term.
Therefore, Li Shiheng was very familiar with the internal affairs of the Third Division.
The method of entering China requires merchants to travel far to the border areas. The transportation cycle can often take several months, and the losses along the way are also considerable.
Obviously, this is hard work, and the risks are not small.
If you want to mobilize the enthusiasm of businessmen, you can only induce them to make profits.
During the specific implementation process, the imperial court will increase the pricing of goods transported to border areas, and the price increase can be roughly divided into two items.
One is false valuation, that is, the purchase price is increased, and the other is increase, that is, depending on the distance, additional subsidies are given.
Before Lint improved the tea method, the false estimation ratio was once between 1:5 and 1:10. 1:5, that is, buying a penny of goods for five cents.
With such a high false estimate, the enthusiasm of businessmen was indeed mobilized, but the official interests were greatly damaged.
Therefore, improving tea methods has become an urgent matter.
(Although the ratio of 1:5 and 1:10 is exaggerated, off-site factors must be taken into consideration. If there is a war in the border areas, the court will continue to supply grain and grass. This is a rigid need. For businessmen, transporting grain to the border areas is definitely a high-risk business.
.
That’s why there are such exaggerated proportions.)
Lin Te's reform of the tea law coincided with the good relations between Song and Xia and the alliance between Song and Liao. At that time, the crisis in the border areas had abated slightly, and the court's demand for military supplies was not as urgent as during the war.
Therefore, the Linte tea method reduces false estimates on a large scale, and the ratio is approximately controlled at about 1:2.
The false estimate was reduced, and the interests of the imperial court were indeed protected, but the enthusiasm of businessmen was greatly reduced.
As we all know, it is easy to go from frugality to luxury, but it is difficult to go from luxury to frugality.
The tea merchant group, which had tasted high returns, naturally lost interest in joining the business when they saw the current returns were so low.
After a while, Li Shiheng said bluntly.
"Nowadays, the merchants are selling millet to the border areas. The money for tea is more than three times the false estimate. The money paid is thirty cents, and the three ministers have one hundred cents."
Liu E was immediately shocked when he heard this number.
three times?
Isn’t it limited to twice the overestimation?
"How could this be?"
After being surprised, Liu E immediately felt a surge of anger in her heart.
The double loss was all her money, no, it was the money of the dynasty!
"Does your Majesty know the Jiaoyin Shop?"
Li Shiheng is about to retire from office, and before resigning, he plans to give some people a hard blow.
Who made this group of people disgusted with him for so long!
Jiaoyinpu?
Liu E recited it silently in her heart, of course she knew this.
Liu Mei once told her about this when she was still alive. At that time, Liu Mei planned to invest in a trading company called Tongli.
In an instant, Liu E understood the trick.
Then, she lost her previous thoughts.
There must not be a big fight over this matter. After all, money and silk touch people's hearts. Who knows how many ministers are involved?
First of all, it is certain that the Liu family must be one of them.
Check yourself?
How could Liu E do such a thing?
She can be sure that once she reveals the news that she wants to investigate this matter, the ministers will probably lead the matter to the Liu family.
Who made her the heroine in power?
She knew very well that even though many courtiers thought they were hers, in fact she was not of the same mind as them.
Just like a ferry, when the weather is calm, many people will choose to get on the boat halfway, but when there are rough waves, I am afraid there will be an endless stream of people getting off the boat.
"I understand. This matter should be discussed by the court."
After saying this, Liu E nodded slightly, and then changed the subject.
"The responsibilities of the Third Division are very heavy. Can you recommend someone?"
Hearing this, Li Shiheng couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.
What a pity, the Queen retreated.
However, it is normal to think about it. After all, the Queen Mother's relatives are also involved and occupy a large share.
This matter is not a secret in certain circles.
Now it seems that the Queen Mother should have known about it. Even if she didn't know, she would have acquiesced.
After a while, Li Shiheng came up with a candidate.
"Zhang Shixun, deputy envoy to the Privy Council, is the oldest in Shouchun Mansion, and he has the virtue of Chunyi, so he may be useful."
In the first month of the ninth year of Dazhong Xiangfu (1016), Prince Shouchun (Renzong) came out to join forces. Zhenzong ordered Zhongshu to select officials with high moral integrity and good conduct as the staff of Prince Shouchun.
Then, Zhang Shixun was selected and became the Prince's Friend of Shouchun County.
After counting the foreign dynasties and talking about the closeness between officials and officials, Zhang Shixun decided to outrank the foreign dynasties because Cui Zundu, who was the friend of the king of Shouchun County at the same time as Zhang Shixun, is now dead.
Among the old officials who visited the court several times, Zhang Shixun was the oldest.
Of course, there is another reason why Li Shiheng recommended Zhang Shixun. During the Dazhong Xiangfu period, he and Zhang Shixun were both transport envoys to Hebei.
The two have been colleagues for several years and have formed a very deep friendship.
On the other side, after hearing the candidate recommended by Li Shiheng, Liu E's face showed no joy or sadness, neither expressing rejection nor affirmation.
As Zhang Shixun was an important official in the imperial court, Liu E naturally knew his resume well.
The person who initially recommended Zhang Shixun was Yang Yi. Not only that, Yang Yi also recommended Zhang Shixun to Wang Dan, and Zhang Shixun and Kou Zhun also had a personal relationship.
At first glance, Zhang Shixun looks like someone from Kou Zhun's side.
However, the actual situation is not like this.
This person is quite smooth in dealing with things. To be precise, he neither antagonizes any faction nor is he too close to any faction.
The only thing that worried Liu E was actually another thing. Zhang Shixun had known the official family for the first time. At the critical moment, would Zhang Shixun turn to the official family?
After pondering for a long time, Liu E decided to hand over the matter to the court for discussion.