It was the eighth day of March in the third year of Guangwu's reign. It was an ordinary day.
The temperature is still very low, and the spring that should be full of life has only stopped snowing not long ago.
Winter is getting longer, resulting in reduced food production, which is a very dangerous situation.
But God insists on this, but it cannot be shaken by human beings, and we can only find ways to remedy it.
How to remedy this? Naturally, we need to cultivate more land so that people can get more food. In areas with serious food shortages, the government will provide relief.
And these two methods involve the two most important things, which are land area determination and taxation.
In particular, the determination of land acres is an extremely complicated project. In the first year of Guangwu, two cabinet ministers took the lead and started the inventory in two lines: north and south.
After more than two years of investigation, the verification was finally completed in March this year, and two cabinet ministers have submitted summaries respectively.
The memorial was sent out, but Zhao Yanxun was not in the capital. He went to Xiafu County for inspection, so the two cabinet ministers were never summoned.
But today, Zhao Yanxun returned to Beijing.
When he returned to Beijing and saw the memorial written by two cabinet ministers, Zhao Yanxun was very satisfied, so he issued an order to summon these two veterans.
Due to their old age and the exhaustion of their efforts in the past two years, the two cabinet ministers are resting at home, and it will take some time to enter the palace after receiving the imperial edict.
By coincidence, the two met outside the Huangji Gate.
"Brother Wang, you're here too!" Xie Xiaofang said, cupping his fists.
Wang Tinghe also returned the greeting and said: "Your Majesty summons you, how dare you not come!"
In the Tai'an and Jingping dynasties, the two of them were mortal enemies, but now they are brothers.
But this is not surprising. We are both from the same place in the world, so we can naturally laugh and forget our grudges.
Checking the land is a hard job. In the past two years, the two of them have offended many people while checking the land.
The scholar-bureaucrats and landowners did not dare to slander the king and father, so their anger was naturally directed at them.
Nowadays, there are rumors that describe the two as the most treacherous ministers in history, and they are tied for the first place.
Under the dual physical and mental pressure, it is normal for the two of them to age quickly.
Looking at each other and smiling, Wang Tinghe said immediately: "Let's go, let's go, His Majesty is already waiting at Qian'an Palace, let's not lose time!"
"Yeah, let's go!"
After passing Huangji Gate and Chongzheng Gate, the two of them stayed outside Qian'an Gate and waited for the eunuch to pass the instructions before they could enter.
After a while, the eunuch Huo An was seen walking out of the palace gate.
"Two pavilion elders, please come in quickly. The emperor has been waiting for you for a long time!" Huo An moved to one side of the palace gate.
"Please, father-in-law!" Xie Xiaofang said with a smile.
Although Huo An was only an eunuch, he was deeply trusted by Zhao Yanxun. Even though the two cabinet ministers had merit, they did not dare to look down upon him.
As a central cabinet minister, although he had worked under Zhao Yanxun for three years, the two of them did not meet in person many times because they were away most of the time.
The closer they got to the palace gate in front, the more nervous they became, completely unlike the old people who had been in officialdom for decades.
But this is not shameful, Zhao Yanxun has accumulated great power, and all the senior officials in the central government were like this when they met.
"You two, please..."
After entering the palace gate, the two cabinet ministers were led to the Ernuan Pavilion in the east. At this moment, there were two people waiting inside.
They are Lu Chaowen, Grand Scholar of Tiyuan Hall, and Cheng Wenguang, Grand Bachelor of Hongren Hall.
And sitting on the throne is Emperor Guangwu, Zhao Yanxun, who has been on the throne for three years.
Wearing an ocher-yellow dragon robe, Zhao Yanxun was looking through the memorials and only raised his head when he saw two cabinet ministers arriving.
Three years have passed, and Zhao Yanxun's temperament has changed a lot.
In the past, he was a spear, poking the sky, the earth, and the air. Now, he is a sheathed sword, calm on the outside but sharp on the inside.
"The humble minister Wang Tinghe (Xie Xiaofang) wishes to greet His Majesty!"
In front of Zhao Yanxun, these two people did not even dare to call themselves "veteran ministers", which shows the depth of Zhao Yanxun's majesty.
With a slight smile, Zhao Yanxun put down the memorial in his hand and said: "I'm sorry... the two pavilion elders please rise!"
With the help of the eunuch, the two cabinet ministers stood up slowly, with extremely respectful expressions on their faces.
"Huo An, give the two pavilion elders a seat!"
"Your Majesty, how dare you..."
Seeing that these two people were about to bow down again, Zhao Yanxun said quickly: "This is my will. Do you want to resist it?"
With these words, the two cabinet ministers did not kneel down, but still bowed to thank Zhao Yanxun.
Cheng Wenguang, who was listening to the side, said: "Your Majesty is benevolent and treats the old ministers with courtesy. Why should the two elders refuse?"
In the past three years, Cheng Wenguang has presided over many major political affairs and has stabilized his position in the court. His strength is not weaker than that of his three predecessors.
Of course, Cheng Wenguang's success was also because of the emperor's support.
The eunuch moved the stools, and after Wang Tinghe and Wang Tinghe sat down, they heard Zhao Yanxun say: "I have read the memorials of the two pavilion elders..."
"In three years, the two pavilion elders worked hard, coordinated with officials from various counties, went deep into the countryside to measure the acres of land, and registered and compiled the records. Only then did they achieve this success!"
"You two pavilion elders have made great contributions to the country!"
These words are a summary of the work of the past three years, and they are also a high praise for Wang Tinghe.
In the past three years, they have been questioned, slandered, impeached, violated, pointed at and scolded, and misunderstood by their family members. Scenes of them emerged before their eyes.
But under the affirmation of His Majesty the Emperor's words, they both felt that all the grievances they had endured before were no longer burdened in their hearts.
"Your Majesty's words make me and others panic. All the merits are attributed to Your Majesty. How dare you take credit!"
Although they felt in their hearts that the emperor was right, these two old foxes still stayed true to their duties as ministers.
Seeing these two people with tears in their eyes and not forgetting to praise the emperor's meritorious service, Cheng Wenguang admired him very much and felt that he still had a lot to learn.
"You two pavilion elders don't need to be too modest!"
Not wanting to delve deeper into this issue, Zhao Yanxun went on to say: "The investigation of the land this time is a complicated matter. Although the Ministry of Household Affairs has submitted submissions many times, the ministers have also submitted memorials to Chen many times..."
"It's really hard to get a full picture from the text alone. I still need two pavilion elders to explain it to me!"
Anticipating that these things would happen, Wang Tinghe and Wang Tinghe had already prepared their plans, so they were not panicked at all.
"Two pavilion elders, let's talk about the tea situation!"
To talk about the inspection situation, I want to discuss it as a whole. Only those who are in charge of the errand are qualified.
Of course, Wang Tinghe was the first to talk about seniority.
As Zhao Yanxun said, the memorial is dry and without warmth, and it needs to be spoken in a more three-dimensional way from people's mouths.
During Wang Tinghe's explanation, Zhao Yanxun also asked questions from time to time, allowing him to have a more comprehensive grasp of the situation.
Wang Xie and Wang Xie exchanged their opinions, and an hour passed quickly before they managed to explain the investigation clearly.
"As the two cabinet ministers said, even if all prefecture and county officials do their best to carry out investigations, there will still be fish that slip through the net?"
Hearing this, the two cabinet ministers were extremely helpless. There was really nothing they could do about it.
In fact, it’s not their fault. Even if Zhao Yanxun’s technology was advanced in his previous life, there were still situations where big data couldn’t be mastered.
In today's world, information transmission is extremely limited. It is really strange for someone to hide their land.
"I am incompetent and unable to achieve perfection..."
Before Wang Tinghe could finish his confession, Zhao Yanxun interrupted: "This person is within his own power, so you don't have to blame yourself!"
"But we have to be on guard against subtle changes. How can we clean out these treacherous people?"