Chapter Thirty-fifth Meeting Generals to Solidify the Foundation
"Ganfu was created in the Han Dynasty and is still used for national purposes." [Qingbo Magazine·Volume 6]
"The army has been booming for many years, the imperial court has been running out of warehouses, and the country's supplies are insufficient." The emperor stood up from the banquet, holding the table, walked aimlessly, and said: "I will also issue an edict to the young master next year about money. The chief minister and relevant people will come together to discuss it. It is not convenient to discuss it here. There is only one point..."
He stopped, happened to walk near Zhao Wen, and said: "Jiu Ke has been around since Emperor Xiaowu. At that time, to use troops against the Xiongnu, it was necessary to expand financial resources. Now the treasury is empty. If there is a drought or flood, the court will be unable to do so. Relief. In the future, whether it is building post roads or running water conservancy projects, money will be needed. You must not think that so-called recuperation means having nothing to do."
"Wei Wei." Yang Qi first responded to the previous sentence, and then answered the next sentence: "Since Emperor Guangwu's resurgence, he has abolished the wine shop established by Wang Mang and levied a tax on wine. It has continued to this day without any change. It is inevitable that it will be implemented today. There will be criticism. If your majesty wants to increase revenue, you might as well impose a heavy tax on wine. Under heavy taxation, merchants will not be able to make a profit, and naturally there will be fewer winemakers."
"The government has enacted heavy taxes and prices have increased sharply. These taxes will naturally fall on the people." Huang Wan said calmly: "It is better to ban wine making directly. In two or three years, people's livelihood will be restored and the warehouses will be plentiful, and then the ban will be lifted."
"Where does that wealth come from?" Wu Shuo asked: "I visited Taicang the day before yesterday, and there was not much grain in it. Nowadays, private grain prices are higher than before. Aren't these things that need money to stabilize?"
There is a lot of story behind the issue of excessively high food prices. The emperor hesitated to speak, but still had no way to change the subject.
Huang Wan seemed to be quite puzzled and said: "When the imperial court implemented the salt and iron monopoly, it was only for Sili, Bing, Liang, and Yizhou, and the wealth gained was enough to support the army. Now that the world has been established, the salt and iron monopoly has spread widely Therefore, the wealth earned in a year is not as good as before?"
"What we need now is not only to increase annual revenue to meet the country's insufficient needs, but also to save grain. The price of grain among the people has been very high in recent years. Many merchants are still using it to make wine. What do the common people eat?" Zhao Wenxiao He said in a loud voice and turned to look at Huang Wan: "But wine has rituals and is used for drinking in the countryside. It cannot be banned. Therefore, it must be specially managed by the imperial court and supplied as needed."
"Huang Gong." Zhao Wen said specifically: "Jiuwan is not just a matter of wealth."
Huang Wan came back to his senses. Since Zhao Wen said so, there was no need for him to continue to stand on the opposite side. When the emperor forced the salt and iron monopoly, the opposition was not small, but what was the result? Now he is just a drunkard. After all, although he has violated the interests of many powerful people, Huang Wan, who suffered a loss in Luoyang, will not be able to stand out in the near future.
"How can the wealth of a wine rack in one year be better than that of salt and iron? If the salt and iron are not enough in the next year, what will the wine rack make?" Yang Qi said firmly: "As soon as the wine rack is opened, it will become a success. System, what if the officials at the bottom sell liquor privately at high prices and harm the people? We might as well ban alcohol first and wait until the court gets through the difficulties before easing the problem."
Among these people, Huang Wan chose a compromise and proposed heavy taxes; Wu Shuo and Zhao Wen followed the emperor's lead and wanted to promote wine tasting; Yang Qi insisted on dissent and suggested a temporary ban on alcohol until food was available. The ban will be lifted after the price falls back.
Everyone in the Chengming Palace more or less expressed their opinions. Even Dong Cheng knew that he agreed with the emperor on this matter. Only Xun You, the minister in charge, sat down and said nothing, keeping a low profile. Like a puppet sitting with you.
Everyone in the court knew that Xun You was a man of few words and kept his thoughts to himself, rarely expressing his opinions publicly. However, since he was one of the emperor's closest advisers, he naturally could not escape the attention of others.
"Gongda." Yang Qi was Xun You's elder. Seeing that he had no external support, and even Huang Wan did not support him, he had no choice but to look at Xun You: "You are also a 'Ping Shangshu', so you should have some suggestions!"
Having said this, everyone looked at Xun You.
The emperor raised his eyebrows, but at this moment he turned around and walked back to his couch with confidence.
"Wine is related to all kinds of gifts and is indispensable. Once the ban is abolished, wine will continue to be sold privately, which will make trouble more likely." Under the watch of everyone, Xun You calmly opened his mouth: "Therefore, wine cannot be banned, but it cannot be sold privately.
, or impose heavy taxes.”
Yang Qi glanced at Xun You in surprise, as if about to speak, but saw Xun You continue: "The imperial court has innovated the method of monopolizing salt and iron. For several years, the price of salt among the people has remained the same, and there has been no such thing as bullying the people. Today's wine discussion, if or
It is a good thing to do this by specializing in salt and iron, so that the people can have wine, the court can increase its wealth, and the people can have endless grain."
"There is no beginning, and there is an end." Yang Qi snorted, but his attitude still did not change: "Those little officials are cautious at first, but if they relax in the future, their methods will be ruined."
He has always been so ruthless in his words. There is indeed no long-term effective system in the world. The emperor also admits this, but if he abandons it completely because he sees his negative side, it will be a bit of a waste of time.
"This is why officials should not forget a day of governance." The emperor sat back on the couch, picked up the edict on the table and looked at it again, and said: "The method of wine tasting is different from that of salt and iron. In the next few years, it will be exclusively used by the imperial court.
.After a few years, when the people's power is restored, the ban can be relaxed, and the government will sell the wine and use the certificates for private private use. However, the wine business cannot be abolished, it is just allowed to be operated by the private sector."
Liquor wine is different from salt and iron. It has nothing to do with the national economy and people's livelihood. If one company remains dominant, corruption and other problems will inevitably arise. Only by introducing market competition can state-owned wine be competitive.
When Yang Qi heard this, he was speechless.
A series of systems, such as the establishment of local schools and the restoration of wine tasting, were all aspects of the general direction. The emperor and others negotiated on key and controversial areas, and after varying degrees of compromise, consensus was finally reached one by one.
However, these discussions are not written word for word in the imperial edict concerning state affairs. The content of the edict is a general summary and does not specifically propose a certain policy that the court will implement. People who are interested can only say what seems to be the case.
Only by constantly thinking about what, in fact, does not say anything in official language can we find the path to power and wealth promotion.
Looking at the content of the edict in general, the emperor did not find much that could be revised. The plan for the next few years was briefly described as follows: 'Focus on agriculture and mulberry trees, build schools, build embankments, and be frugal. Inspect officials and eliminate bad policies...
Let all the prefectures and counties in the world do not have urgent affairs.'
These short ten figures illustrate the key points that the court will carry out in the next few years, which can be extended to many aspects, such as establishing schools in various places, providing promotion levels for humble families, and opening up circulation channels for the upper and lower classes. For example, salt
The iron monopoly was promoted nationwide, and official offices were set up in key salt-producing and iron-producing places such as Jizhou, Yangzhou, Yizhou, and Jiaozhou.
"Don't all the counties and counties in the world have urgent affairs?" The emperor pointed out a sentence and said with disapproval: "What is an urgent matter and what is not an urgent matter? Does it all depend on what they say?"
The edict is only so long, so we can't list all the urgent matters in it. We can only make it brief and leave it to people's discretion.
Huang Wan thought for a while and said: "In the current situation, natural mulberry farming, the establishment of schools, and other special orders are urgent matters. The rest are not urgent matters for the time being. If they can be postponed, they will be put on hold."
The emperor said "hmm" without comment. This sentence was actually the final word on "recuperate and rest" and "the world is less troublesome". The emperor couldn't make any changes for a while, so he had to acquiesce to this sentence with great freedom. In the end, he
Then he said: "The word '寅' is not good. It is too arbitrary. I have to change it to another word."
"How about changing it to the word 'province'?" Wu Shuo interjected.
The word 'province' has a simplified meaning, and the degree is much lighter than the word 'stop', so it naturally got the emperor's consent.
"Edicts are like laws and regulations. Once issued, they will set an example for all agencies to act. Therefore, every word and sentence must be carefully considered and cannot be ignored." The emperor glanced at Wu Shuo thoughtfully and simply said: "Zhongtai governs with pen, and this is subtle.
Wherever you go, be more careful.”
"I promise." Wu Shuo bowed down happily.
"Generally speaking, I will follow the words above and let the Chancellor's Desk polish it again. It will be read out at the court tomorrow." The emperor picked up a pen and circled the parts of the edict that needed to be revised. After giving instructions, he ordered someone to take it to Wu Shuo.
.
Dong Cheng looked at Wu Shuo who seemed to have received a reward, and suddenly felt a little uncomfortable. In fact, he had felt Wu Shuo's attitude toward him had changed slightly a long time ago. For example, sometimes he would wave his subordinates to discuss matters in his house, and Wu Shuo would often make excuses.
No; perhaps when discussing politics in Chengming Hall, the other party often caters to the superior's wishes, or puts forward other suggestions that are different from mine...
These behaviors were revealed in ordinary trivial matters. Dong Cheng didn't pay much attention to them at first, but now when he counted them in detail, he couldn't help but break into a cold sweat behind his back.
"What on earth do you want to do now?" Afterwards, Dong Cheng stopped Wu Shuo in the duty hut outside Chengming Hall.
Wu Shuo was walking in a hurry when he was suddenly blocked by Dong Cheng. He stopped in his tracks. When he saw the other party, his shocked expression immediately turned enthusiastic: "Dong Gong, Dong Gong!"
He smiled and said: "I still have some unfinished business assigned by the state. This edict must be urgent, and I really can't take any time off for a moment. If Dong Gong has any instructions, why not wait until tomorrow after the Zhengdan Dynasty, I will come to your mansion in person to offer you the rituals.
Just in case you want to listen, how about that?”
"Don't do this." Dong Cheng ignored his flattery and said impatiently: "Tell me, what exactly are you going to do?"
"Didn't I tell you? Now we must go to the Chancellor's Desk as soon as possible and order the Master to draft an edict..."
"You!" Dong Cheng grabbed Wu Shuo's shoulders and said sternly: "Still pretending to be confused? I think you don't take me seriously now."
Dong Cheng was a military general and had served in the military in his early years. His strong hands were so strong that he immediately grabbed Wu Shuo's shoulder until it hurt. He gritted his teeth and took a breath and said, "Hey, what do you mean, Mr. Dong? Dong
The Duke is both the emperor's father-in-law and his maternal uncle. Among the three princes in the dynasty, who can be more powerful than Duke Dong? I also received this life from Duke Dong. How can I dare to look down on Duke Dong?"
"Huh." Dong Cheng then let go of Wu Shuo and put the hand that had often carried swords back into his sleeve: "Don't think that I don't know your nature. You served Dong Zhuo first, then Wang Yun, and now you serve again.
You have surrendered to my sect. You have turned your back on your master several times to ask for a living, which is not tolerated by the scholars... I am not Dong Zhuo or Wang Yun, so don't even think of having second thoughts!"
Wu Shuo's face turned green and red, and he was uncertain for a long time. Then he lowered his voice and said: "Dong Gong said that people like me are now ministers, in the Xun family, and Fu
Above the clan, in their eyes, my virtue is not worthy of my place. Besides Dong Gong, who else is worthy enough to rely on, and who can protect me?"
He smiled humbly, raised his hand to Dong Cheng a few more times, and said: "Mr. Dong, it's getting late. I really have to go to the Chancery. If I delay the affairs assigned by the country, I can't afford to suffer the consequences."
Dong Cheng had a sullen face, waved his sleeves at him impatiently, and let Wu Shuo go.
"Yonggu, just wait and see!" Dong Cheng looked at Wu Shuo's leaving figure and dropped these words viciously.
Wu Shuo's words just now deeply hurt him. What does "morality not match" mean? Wu Shuo does it, and so does Dong Cheng! The public opinion caused by Guan Ning and others has become more and more intense. In Wu Shuo's opinion, will the emperor
It is already a problem to keep Dong Cheng as a lieutenant under pressure.
If the emperor had not taken action to protect Dong Cheng, as he is now, he would have ignored public opinion and allowed it to ferment. Even if he only transferred Dong Chengping to General Hussar, even if he could still be appointed minister, it would mean that Dong Cheng was still under the emperor's control.
It's not that important in my heart.
Otherwise, if it were Wang Bin who was also a relative, would the emperor have such a turn-a-blind attitude?
Wu Shuo has served as three masters, and he can quickly change his family during every coup and gain the trust of those in power. When it comes to political sensitivity and the ability to escape at the right time, he has more experience than anyone else. He had the ability to gradually escape long ago.
Dong Cheng's idea of choosing another way out is just that Wang Bin is old and has no ambition for power; Zhao Wen has a large group of Shu scholars under his command, so naturally they cannot tolerate him; this is especially true for scholars who claim to be moral gentlemen...
It was not that he had never thought about committing himself directly to the emperor, but because he had no chance, he had to do his best and try his best to figure out the holy will, so that when the building was about to collapse, he would have the opportunity to jump to another stable ship.
Unknowingly, Wu Shuo had returned to the Shangshu table, and it was Shangshu Lang Feng Shuo who walked towards him.
Because of the taboo of the same name, Wu Shuo disliked the other party very much. When he saw the other party coming over, he said angrily: "Where did Xun Pu shoot?"
"Go back to Mr. Wu, Xun Pushe is inside." Feng Shuo bowed his head and saluted Shangguan, and replied politely.
Wu Shuo simply said "Hmm" and was about to walk inside when he suddenly stopped and said to Feng Shuo: "Tomorrow's Zhengdan Dynasty is the most important thing. The country may have inquiries at night, and there is Mr. Zhao in Chengming Hall.
, I will be in charge of the Shangshutai tonight, please tell the others to go back!"
"Jinnuo." Feng Shuo's voice was clear, neither humble nor arrogant, and had everyone's demeanor.
But in Wu Shuo's eyes, it was so awkward that he rolled down his sleeves and turned around to find the servant of the minister to shoot Xun Yu.