"Here we are the three masters, who discuss the Tao and govern the country, and regulate Yin and Yang. Officials are not necessary, only their people." [Shang Shu·Zhou Guan]
Weiyang Palace, Xuanshi Palace.
Sikong and Lu Shangshu Zhao Wen were looking down at the lacquer bowl in front of them. The vermilion lacquer tea bowl contained light yellow tea soup. A few tea leaves were slowly stretching and turning in the tea soup. The aroma of tea almost overflowed the room. Before he drank,
Sight and smell first provide people with intuitive enjoyment.
He watched quietly until the emperor came back from changing clothes in the back room. Seeing him like this, he couldn't help but ask aloud: "Mr. Zhao also likes to drink tea?"
"This thing has been popular in Guanzhong for a long time, and all powerful noble families have taken it as a fashion." Zhao Wen quickly raised his head and glanced at the emperor, cupped his hands and said, "I thought it would not take a few years to spread throughout the world."
"The Imperial Medical Office said it can relieve fatigue and clear away heat. For the Hu people outside the Great Wall, they eat meat all year round, which can relieve their fatigue. Tea is easier to store than fruits and vegetables. There are many Xianbei people in Bingzhou, and the Wuhuan people have tasted the benefits of tea.
There are many tribes among the people who want to buy tea." The emperor changed into a dark court uniform, walked over from a distance with relaxed steps, and raised his hand to stop Zhao Wen from saluting.
"I think that in a few years, tea will be compared to salt, iron will be turned into an official camp, and tea will be exchanged for cattle and horses outside the Great Wall, which will bring great benefits to the court." The emperor sat down opposite Zhao Wen and fiddled with his sleeves.
"But now many people have opened tea gardens and planted tea trees. If they want to specialize in tea in a few years, I'm afraid... there will be criticism." Zhao Wen frowned slightly. Tea trees often take several years to grow. From being put into operation to
It only takes a few years to finally make a profit.
The emperor had already planned this, but he punished them without telling them. It was obvious that he wanted those people to lose their money. When the time comes, he will issue an edict from the tea tree, and all the mature tea trees will be transferred to the government at a low price. Those wealthy merchants worked hard to count them.
In 2008, Ping Bai made a wedding dress for the imperial court. How could the sky not be boiling but filled with joy?
"We have taken back the salt and iron, let alone building a new teapot?" The emperor casually flicked his sleeves and said in an unquestionable tone: "This thing will be of great use to the court, it can create new sources of revenue, and it can also control the barbarians.
.The imperial court must hold it in its hands and cannot pretend to be in the hands of outsiders."
"As long as it is beneficial to the court and the people, the wealthy businessmen will take away the benefits." Zhao Wen nodded in agreement, and suddenly said: "The wine connoisseur..."
"The world is at peace, and the grain reserves in the government treasury are insufficient. How can we waste more grain to make wine?" The emperor reached for a bowl of tea and drank it carefully. Soon he would go to the Chengming Palace for a meeting with Huang Wan and others. Here,
Before that, he had to reach a consensus with Zhao Wen on certain matters: "However, the people cannot live without wine during weddings, funerals, and ancestor worship. Therefore, the imperial court exclusively specializes in wine and only uses it for the people to use when they have something to do. It can save food and
It can also open up money, and drunkenness can easily cause trouble, so there will be fewer people who are brave and aggressive."
"I think that as soon as the 'franchise' comes out, many people will fight for it. Officials should not compete with the people for profit. There are too many people who oppose it. If there is another way, for example, heavy taxation on liquor sales...
" Zhao Wen suggested.
The emperor immediately shook his head and rejected the suggestion: "If you add a tax of ten yuan, the price of wine will increase by ten yuan. Wine is a loss, so how can we stabilize it?"
"I remember that when there were drought locusts in Sanfu, there were unscrupulous wealthy merchants in Guanzhong who were hoarding food and driving up the price of grain. After your Majesty severely punished the bad merchants, the bad merchants disappeared. Moreover, the method of setting prices was based on the standard and was subject to supervision." Zhao Wen still did not give up.
His suggestion was: "For example, set a maximum selling price for wine. If someone exceeds this price, the government will punish him. The tax on wine is increased, and it is not allowed to raise the price. Merchants will not be able to profit from it, so who is willing to sell wine?"
"That's a very good thing to say." The emperor praised him, stroking his hands. He knew how to use government policies for macro-control. This was Zhao Wen's great talent that was far superior to others: "It seems that in terms of Guan Zhong's 'lightness and severity', Duke Zhao also has a lot of talent."
It's just that, firstly, such a system has not yet been extended to the whole country, and there may be difficulties in its implementation; secondly, this method can only ban alcohol, but it cannot open up financial resources for the court... Mr. Zhao, you also know that now the imperial government
The treasury is empty and money is urgently needed everywhere, so I have to do the same."
Zhao Wen silently agreed with the emperor's view.
The emperor then put the tea bowl on the table with a smile and said: "Salt, iron, grain and tea are related to the national economy and people's livelihood, so the imperial court specializes or sets prices to prevent cunning and harming the people. But wine is not the same. Now the world is in urgent need of recovery and must not
It is a waste of food and grain, so it is temporarily banned by the imperial court. After the people's livelihood is restored in the future, according to the standards, all losses will be discussed, and it will not be too late to lift the ban."
Zhao Wen knew that this was another plan of the emperor. If the resistance of Jiu Ke was too great, he made a delaying tactic and proposed to lift the ban when the time came. As long as Jiu Ke, a franchise other than salt and iron, could be implemented, it would set a precedent for future implementation.
Tea cakes will not be without examples.
"Your Majesty," Zhao Wen promised, but he was thinking about his hometown in Yizhou. The mountains in the west are mostly inhabited by the Qingqiang and other ethnic groups. The high mountains and plateaus are not suitable for farming, and the Qiang and Di people rarely eat vegetarian food.
Therefore, the profit from selling tea around Yizhou is also very considerable. As early as the rise of tea, the Zhao family in Shu County discovered business opportunities from the emperor's casual remarks. Now that he was ready to give up, Zhao Wen couldn't help but
Measured.
"Is all the salt in Hedong sold by the government?" The emperor knew the details of Zhao Wen and what he was worried about, so he asked: "Some of it is also sold to merchants to be sold everywhere. After tea,
In the same way, a specific system will be established to achieve both ends. After all, businessmen are also my fellow citizens, and there is no reason to blindly belittle exploitation."
Zhao Wen said "Ah" and said with a look of shame on his face: "I am stupid, but after all, I am not as wise as your Majesty. I am really ashamed."
Everyone has selfish motives. The most important thing for the emperor is to distribute the benefits well. As long as he holds the knife that cuts the cake tightly, the emperor will always be invincible.
"Your Majesty, it's almost time." Mu Shun reminded from the side.
The emperor casually asked Mu Shun to prepare the car, while he stood up and walked out one after another with Zhao Wen. As he walked, he said, "In the end, there is no news about the bus of Guan Ning, Wang Lie and others?"
"Wei." Zhao Wen slowly frowned, seeming to feel a little troublesome: "Not to mention the imperial carriage, I used the government to levy the car, and they were unwilling to accept it. It can be seen that they are attached to the mountains and forests."
The emperor wanted to bring peace to the world, and it was necessary for all the people to return home and wipe out all the talented people in the world, so as not to leave any pearls in the ocean. So he sent out buses one after another to recruit famous people and talented people, such as Zhang Zhao, Zhang Hong, Song Zhong, Huang Chengyan and others.
Everyone pays homage to a doctor, no matter how many doctors he has, so that people can use their talents and weaken the place.
Most of the famous scholars who were conquered had been in exile for a long time. Seeing the rejuvenation of the imperial court, they were eager to join the court and make a difference, so they readily accepted it. However, not everyone gave the court face, and some scholars were unwilling to accept the imperial conquest. For example,
Guan Ning and Wang Lie, who came back from Liaodong, and Xu Jing, who took refuge in Jiaozhou, all rejected the conquest.
The emperor originally thought that they were pretending to be noble, but once he found out why Guan Ning, who had originally accepted the imperial conscription, suddenly changed his mind and refused to serve as official due to illness, he immediately became angry.
"Why do you place your love on the mountains and forests?" The emperor sneered and went out, looking down at the cars arranged underneath: "It's just an excuse to not see Dong Cheng occupying the official position, and there is a prestige and reputation."
"The three princes have returned with a vision. Since the ZTE, it is possible that they have been appointed as famous scholars." Zhao Wen said: "The scholarly conduct is like this. Your Majesty must not be angry. If it hurts the hearts of the scholars, it will be too late to regret."
"Does this mean that I am no longer a human being?" The emperor just stepped down the steps and stood still before asking.
"I don't mean that." Zhao Wen stood beside the emperor and bowed slightly to him.
"Then that's what they mean!" the emperor suddenly said angrily.
For example, Guan Ning was recruited by the imperial court when he was in Liaodong. He took a bus back to the Central Plains. He originally wanted to take advantage of the restoration of the Qingming Dynasty and become an official. Unexpectedly, someone mentioned to him in private that one of the three noblemen of the imperial court was Dong Chengzhi.
The fish’s eyes are mixed with pearls,
"The officials of the Three Dukes are created by the Holy King. If they are not moral and lofty, they will not occupy their positions." Guan Ning got off the car halfway and said to the person who retained him: "Who is Dong Cheng? Dare to steal the official position? How can I?
For this reason, if there are no wise men in the temple, it is better to hide in the mountains and forests."
Others such as Wang Lie and Xu Jing had the same reaction. They all deliberately inquired about who the three princes were. When they heard that the Taiwei was Dong Cheng, they laughed again and again and refused to conquer. However, they were not as straightforward as Guan Ning.
, so offending people.
In Zhao Wen's view, this cannot be said to be deliberately targeting Dong Cheng, but rather based on the Han family system, especially after the Guangwu Zhongxing, most of the three princes in the past dynasties came from domestic celebrities or aristocratic families. In ancient times,
The Three Gongs sit and discuss the Tao, and make up for the mistakes with their words. From the astrological point of view, the Three Gongs correspond to the auxiliary stars beside the emperor. It should be a person with a high moral level as a model for scholars, regardless of whether this person has real talents or matching power.
Dong Cheng was neither a famous scholar nor a scholar. As a relative, he should have taken the path of a general. Now that he is a Taiwei, he has undoubtedly usurped the traditional position of a scholar. At that time, the emperor took advantage of the power of the scholars in the Guanzhong court.
After being weak, the various factions were defeated by natural disasters, and they forcibly supported Dong Cheng to occupy the post of Taiwei. As a result, the scholars lost a position of weight and influence like San Gong in the court.
As the number of scholars in the court increased, Dong Cheng did not know how to cultivate his reputation. His position as a Taiwei became more and more unfair in the eyes of traditional scholars, and it even affected the prestige of the court.
"Why do you think they did this?" Compared with the warm announcement room, the wind outside the palace was extremely cold. The emperor stood on the steps and his tone was colder than the north wind.
"The imperial court had a lot of discussions about this in the past..." Zhao Wen shrank his neck in the cold wind and said in a deep voice: "Now everyone is saying that Dong Cheng is difficult to satisfy the public and his virtue is not worthy of his position. They want to use this to force him to give up his talents.
, Your Majesty also asks your Majesty to appoint a famous person as a Taiwei, so that he can become an auxiliary star and Gongchen."
"What a great man to abdicate in favor of a worthy man." The emperor sneered, and then began to walk down: "Then, will the new captain still have to be a minister and enter the Chengming Palace?"
"This..." Zhao Wen hesitated for a moment and immediately replied: "His Majesty decides whether to punish Zang or not. I dare not make any rash comments, and no one can make rash comments."
The emperor's face looked better now, perhaps because he and Zhao Wen had already entered the warm carriage. Mu Shun called out from outside, and the captain of the carriage picked up his whip and drove slowly: "If it's true,
Guan Ning, Wang Lie and others caused a stir, so Duke Zhao thought, what should I do?"
"Your Majesty." Zhao Wen looked up at the emperor. He naturally knew what the emperor meant by "how", so he replied sincerely: "In terms of public and private matters, in my humble opinion, it is not a wise move to keep Dong Cheng."
Firstly, this person does not have the virtue to hold a public position; secondly, this person has a arrogant temperament, he is arrogant when he wins and gets angry when he encounters setbacks. His Majesty is not worthy of risking the disapproval of the world for him. Furthermore, to keep Dong Cheng
, it will not benefit your majesty or the court, but will bring disrepute to your majesty and the court... Guan Ning, Wang Lie is quite famous in the court and the public. His words can stir up people's hearts at will. The court will regain the world and have great power.
It’s not established yet, so don’t ignore it!”
Seeing that Zhao Wen was so sincere and put himself in his shoes, the emperor was very comforted. He said: "Mr. Zhao said 'disadvantages', what about 'advantages'?"
"Asking Dong Cheng to resign as Taiwei does not mean that he should be deposed, or that he could be appointed as a hussar general." Zhao Wen suggested eloquently: "Before he was appointed as Taiwei, he was a hussar, and now he has just returned to his original position."
"Huh." The emperor seemed to have remembered something and sneered: "He only wants to be a general."
"This man is arrogant and talented. When Han Sui gathered the Qiang to cause chaos, he always wanted to intervene in the military affairs in the court. Now your majesty can tell such a story and move him from the post of Taiwei to Hussar. Although the general of Hussar is the same as the Third Duke
, but he has neither military power nor specific duties to control, which can be used for relegation." Zhao Wen was stunned for a moment, his tone did not change, and continued: "This is beneficial. Secondly, Your Majesty complies with people's hearts and takes the initiative to correct it.
, which shows the magnanimity of his spirit.”
"Isn't this surrendering to them?" The emperor said with some displeasure: "It is in vain that people like Guan Ning have gained a reputation. After they taste the benefits, they will criticize national policies arbitrarily."
"It all depends on what Your Majesty thinks about it, whether to obey the weak or to seek advantage and avoid harm." Zhao Wen said in a low voice: "After deposing Dong Cheng, it is still up to Your Majesty who will be appointed as the Taiwei. If His Majesty does not want to let him participate in aircraft maintenance,
Just don't let it record the affairs of the minister... Since the resurgence of our dynasty, the power has been transferred to Taige; after your majesty took charge, he also established the system of Chengming Palace. The three princes only prepared the throne, which has a false reputation but no reality. What's the worry?
Of?"
In fact, Zhao Wen's analysis was very clear, and the emperor also saw clearly that in this opponent's preset position, the emperor could not fight for the sake of face and for a mere Dong Cheng, as this would only cause worse consequences.
Simply and generously making corrections not only appeased public opinion, but also enabled the emperor to correct his mistakes after he was aware of them. Cong Ruliu's magnanimity and courage in admonishing him, whether it was for subsequent governance, reform, or reshaping the image of Emperor Liu, were of great benefit.
can play a positive role.
Zhao Wen advised the emperor not to fall into the trap of false fame and face, but to focus on reality, which coincided with the emperor's.