Outlaws of the Marsh

Chapter 493 Raw Rice Has Been Cooked (Subscribe!)

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Song Guo has no money again?

Hmm... not at all.

But the designation is not enough to support the war with the Liao Kingdom. After all, the money in the pile closure bank is also limited, and the cost of a full-scale war with the Beiliao Kingdom must be indispensable.

Moreover, the last time troops were sent to the north, more than half of the money in the pile-sealed treasury had been spent.

Some people may say: What, this is just a battle, and more than half of the famous pile closures are gone?

Indeed.

Speaking of which, I have to go back to Zheng Tianhu, Wang Qing, and Fang La.

At the beginning, Zhao Ji borrowed 5000 million Guan from Li Yan to Zheng Tianhu, Wang Qing, and Fang La, which was actually enough.

But it took more than half of the military expenses owed to the Western Army in the past.

The rest, Zhao Ji's monarch and ministers used it all over the place, and it will soon be used up.

This is also something that can't be helped, who let Zhao Ji and his ministers spend a lot of money, and caught up with this troubled time again, so how can this little money be enough?

This led to the fact that Zheng Tianhu, Wang Qing, and Fang La's army had no place to pay for their rewards after they made meritorious service.

Not only that, Zhao Ji couldn't even pay for the military expenses of the army that conquered Tianhu, Wang Qing, and Fang La. At the same time, there are also 1000 million guan.

In desperation, Tong Guan and others could only acquiesce that Zheng Tianhu, Wang Qing, and Fang La's army burned, killed, looted and harmed the people in the Jiangnan area, leaving countless hidden dangers for the Song Dynasty.

Drawing on the experience of the Jiangnan area, the last time he went north, Zhao Ji activated the pile locker, made up all the money and rewards he owed in the past, and asked the army to bring a lot of gold, silver, jewellery, silk and satin, and prepared to go back to Yanjing. Reward the soldiers, lest they burn, kill and loot in Yanjing like they did in Jiangnan, and then do bad things.

It can be said that Zhao Ji considered very comprehensively when he went north last time.

The only thing Zhao Ji didn't expect was that when the army was defeated for hundreds of miles, many of the gold, silver, jewelry, silk and satin brought with them were captured by Beiliao.

Therefore, if the Song army wanted to go north again, it would have to get some more money. After learning from the experience of the previous failure, Zhao Ji, Wang Fu and others agreed that it was unlikely that they would recover Yanjing without a fight. To fight a war, there must be enough money to support it.

Zhao Ji didn't tell anyone that unlike the last time he didn't want to fight, this time he actually hoped that the Song army would fight a few battles so that Li Yan and the Jin people could see the powerful force of Zhao Ji's army to frighten the frontier.

Wang Fu is very good at figuring out Zhao Ji's thoughts, and besides, Liang Shicheng acts as Wang Fu's eyes and ears, so Wang Fu knows very well that at this critical moment, as Zhao Ji's prime minister, he must find money for Zhao Ji, otherwise, it won't be long. He will lose this aspect.

But the key is, where does the money come from?

In the afternoon of this day, the distraught Wang Fu quietly walked out of the imperial city and came to the Daxiong Hall of Xiangguo Temple. On the one hand, he was going to offer a few sticks of incense to Li Chuwen and his son to express his condolences to them.On the other hand, he wanted to pray for the Song Dynasty in the wind and rain, and bless the prosperity of the Song Dynasty.

Today is not an open day, so the temple is very quiet.

The flowers and plants are secluded, the ancient trees are solemn, and in the main hall, the Buddha sits there motionless, with a solemn face and a shining Buddha light.

On the two corridors of the main hall, there are famous poems and calligraphy of famous princes in the past dynasties.

Wang Fu has been here many times, and he has to appreciate these calligraphy treasures every time.

Inadvertently, Wang Fu came across a poem written by Cai Jingti here:

All things are born between the heaven and the earth, and the ups and downs are grand.The luck of the four seasons is endless, and the meaning of the world's articles comes first.

Cai Jing's calligraphy is very distinctive, with charming brushwork and powerful characters, but what attracts Wang Fu is not the artistry of Cai Jing's calligraphy, nor the artistic conception of this poem, but Cai Jing's inscription: Sikong Kaifuyi Tong Sansizhong Taiyi Palace made Shangshu Zuo Pushe Taiwei Taishi led Cai Jing, the Duke of Lu in the three provinces.

For such a long inscription by Cai Jing, Wang Fu was deeply envious—the longer the inscription, the older the seniority and the higher the position.

No one knows that what Wang Fu admires the most in his life is Cai Jing, who once supported him. It can even be said that Cai Jing is his role model, and he is committed to the goal of surpassing in his life.

How easy is it to surpass Cai Jing?
Cai Jing served as prime minister three times, and his martial arts and martial arts have reached a rare height.

(Let’s put it this way, if Cai Jing does not serve as prime minister for the third and fourth time (even if it is only a year later), if the Northern Song Dynasty dies after Cai Jing’s death, then Cai Jing is definitely a famous prime minister.)
Ok!

Wang Fu still had the opportunity to regain Yanjing.

Back then, Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin left his ancestral precepts to regain Yanyun King.

If he, Wang Fu, can recover Yanjing, even if he cannot become king, he will not be much worse than Cai Jing.

Therefore, Wang Fu made up his mind: "We must find a way to make money for the officials, so that the Northern Expedition can continue!"

Wang Fu had an aide named Zhang Shili, who was from the same town as Wang Fu, both from Kaifeng. He was ten years older than Wang Fu, and he was one of Wang Fu's most effective staff.

Seeing that Wang Fu was unhappy, Zhang Shili asked, "Is there something on your mind?"

Wang Fu casually told Zhang Shili that the imperial court was unable to go north to recover Yanjing because of its current financial difficulties.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Shili smiled and said, "What's so difficult about this?"

Wang Fu was overjoyed and said, "Do you have a solution?"

Zhang Shili said: "The recovery of Yanjing is a major event for the whole country of the Song Dynasty. All the people of the Song Dynasty should contribute. If they can't contribute, they should contribute money. The imperial court can collect husband-free money according to the head of the country from the whole country. That's it?"

Wang Fu is so smart, after a little taste, he said: "That's right, if the imperial court can take back Yanjing, everyone will benefit, so they should all contribute. If they don't want to contribute, then they can contribute money."

Wang Fu immediately went to the palace to ask Zhao Ji for instructions.

After hearing this, Zhao Ji said, "Isn't this just fundraising?"

Wang Fu said: "This is different from fundraising, but somewhat similar to tax collection. Besides, the officials you took back Yanjing are not trying to create a peaceful and prosperous world for them. Is it unreasonable for them to contribute some financial resources?"

Zhao Ji felt that what Wang Fu said was reasonable, but he was still a little undecided. After all, since the Song Dynasty, he had never asked poor people for money.

Seeing Zhao Ji's hesitation, how could Wang Fu not know what Zhao Ji was thinking, so he said: "There are priorities, if Li Yan escapes from Yundi, then our Song Dynasty will be in danger."

Hearing what Wang Fu said, Zhao Ji immediately stopped hesitating and said, "Okay, I will follow Aiqing's suggestion!"

Wang Fu took the opportunity and said again: "In order to ensure that the special funds are used exclusively, I suggest that a special agency be set up in the three provinces, called the Jingfufang, to deal with the military expenses needed to recover Yanjing with full authority, without the involvement of the Privy Council, and to be controlled by the minister himself to ensure that All expenses for the Northern Expedition will be paid in time."

The so-called three provinces are Zhongshu Province, Menxia Province and Shangshu Province.

As central government agencies, the three provinces were born in different historical periods, and their organizational forms and scope of power also evolved in the process of development.

Shangshusheng was born in the Eastern Han Dynasty and was called Shangshutai at that time.

Zhongshu Province and Menxia Province were formed during the Three Kingdoms period.

It was not until the Sui Dynasty that the three provinces were combined to form a whole, constituting the highest authority of the central government.

The three provinces were further perfected and developed in the Tang Dynasty.

To put it simply, the Zhongshu Province is the decision-making body.

There are six departments under the Shangshu Province: Li, Hu, Li, Bing, Punishment, and Gong, and the six ministers are all called Shangshu.

The system of three provinces and six ministries is a well-organized central government system.

However, the regime system in the early Northern Song Dynasty was somewhat different from that in the Sui and Tang Dynasties—the three provinces existed in name but died in reality.

Before Song Shenzong Yuanfeng reformed the system, the Northern Song Dynasty implemented the two-mansion and three-division system.

The two governments are Zhongshumenxia and the Privy Council, which are in charge of government affairs and military affairs respectively.

Zhongshumen are also called Zhengshitang and Dongfu. The chief said that Tongzhongshumen are in peace, that is, the prime minister.

The Privy Council is also called the West Mansion, and the chief is called the Privy Envoy, also known as the Privy Prime Minister.

The three divisions are the Household Department Division, Duzhi Division, and Yantie Division. The three divisions are known as Ji Gaoguan, and the third division envoy, also known as Ji Xiang, is in charge of the national finance.

In this way, the three powers of government, military, and finance are independent, and they are not subordinate to each other and check and balance each other. They are all directly responsible to the emperor.

If we say that the system of three provinces and six ministries weakens the power of the prime minister procedurally, then the system of two government offices and three divisions weakens the power of the prime minister substantively, and its purpose is to strengthen the imperial power.

In the fifth year of Yuanfeng, Song Shenzong personally presided over the reform of the official system, abolished the school of Zhongshu, restored the three provinces system in the early Tang Dynasty, and changed the imperial government system into a system of three provinces and one Privy Council.

Shangshu Zuopushe and Menxia Shilang are prime ministers, Shangshu Youpushe and Zhongshu Shilang are secondary prime ministers, Menxia Shilang, Zhongshu Shilang, Shangshu Zuocheng, and Shangshu Youcheng are deputy prime ministers.

The three provinces are in charge of both government affairs and finance, and the Privy Council is still in charge of military affairs.

During the Zhenghe period, Cai Jing served as the grand master and renamed the left and right servants of Shangshu as "Taizai" and "Shaozai". He himself created a precedent for the three provinces.

And now, Wang Fu is in charge of the three provinces.

After obtaining Zhao Ji's consent, Wang Fu immediately began to work—he quickly issued instructions to all prefectures across the country, requiring them to complete the collection of exempt money within a time limit, and sent supervisory officials to report on the work progress of each prefecture. The situation is strictly assessed, which is directly linked to the performance and promotion of officials.

Soon, the 200 million yuan was transferred to the Fufang one after another.

Li Xijing, a member of the Ministry of War, raised questions about Wang Fu's sole specialization in the Fufang. He said to Wang Fu: "The position that should be served is not for the prime minister. Both the minister and the privy have a military room, which is enough to govern the affairs of the border. Why?"

Wang Fu was very upset after hearing this, and Li Xijing was not promoted for four years because of this.

Cai Jing was also very dissatisfied with Wang Fu's establishment of the Jingfufang—although Cai Jing has retired, he still pays close attention to the important affairs of the court. It can also be said that although he is 75 years old, Cai Jing is still looking forward to a comeback.

When Cai Jing heard that in order to regain Yanjing, the imperial court would collect exempt money from the whole country on a head-by-head basis, he couldn't help weeping.

Both Wang Fu and Cai Jing were selected as prime ministers by Zhao Ji, who likes to spend money, because they are good at managing money. However, their financial management concepts and methods are quite different-Cai Jing mainly uses various means to get money from the rich and businessmen. Numerous and ingenious.Wang Fu, on the other hand, collects money from all members of society regardless of category, using simple and brutal means.

On this day, Cai Jing entered the palace and said to Zhao Ji: "The old minister heard that the three provinces have set up a Jingfu house, and everyone has to pay husband-free money to it. Is this true? Isn't this taking money from the people's rice bowls? This is an unrighteous way, and it will also damage your image as an official. The benevolence of the official family is universal, but some ministers of the dynasty did not think about you, the official family, nor for the sake of our country in the Song Dynasty. "

Cai Jing almost pointed at Zhao Ji's nose and said, "Wang Fu is cheating you!"

Zhao Ji was silent after hearing this.

In fact, Zhao Ji already knew that in some places, local officials forced the people to pay money in order to complete the tasks assigned by the Jingfufang and obtain political achievements, which caused public resentment.

In other words, Zhao Ji already knew that expropriating husband's money is a policy that harms the people.

But it's done, the raw rice has been cooked, and it's too late to correct it.

Zhao Ji quickly issued an imperial edict to Tong Guan and Cai You, ordering them not to return to Beijing as a teacher. The imperial court planned to send 20 troops to join forces in Sanguan, Hebei in September. This time, Yanjing must be taken!

……

(End of this chapter)