Great Song Super Scholar

Chapter 567

Before dawn the next day, Fan Ning went to court, and today he attended the court meeting.

The content of today's court meeting is to cut down the court ladies, which is actually quite normal. Once the emperor has a courtier, the emperor also has a court lady.

In this regard, the Song Dynasty did a better job than the Tang Dynasty. It would release court ladies on a regular basis, so that a large number of young court ladies could return to their hometowns and marry in time.

It is rare to see the scene of "the white-headed palace lady is here, sitting idle and talking about Xuanzong".

Finally, with the approval of Empress Dowager Cao, 430 three court ladies were cut, even though they were released and returned to their hometowns.

At this time, Chen Shengzhi, the deputy envoy of the Privy Council, came out and said: "Your Majesty, Queen Mother, I have this performance!"

Empress Dowager Cao said slowly: "Vice Envoy Chen, please speak!"

"My minister believes that since there are so many overseas lands that the imperial court can't fully use, they can be sold to the people, and the people's wealth can be gathered to open up rice fields, and the grain and minerals can be returned to the court. It is beneficial to the country and the people. I think that there is no need, as long as the laws are orderly and the system is strict, the disadvantages can be avoided, I implore the court to plan this matter as soon as possible, and don't ignore it because of fear of difficulties."

Wang Gui, governor of Kaifeng Prefecture, also came out and said: "Recently, public opinion has been boiling over overseas land matters. Kaifeng Prefecture accepts various inquiries every day. I also hope that Zhizhengtang will come up with a charter as soon as possible to calm public opinion."

Li Weizhen of Zhijianyuan also came out and said: "In the past few days, Jianyuan has collected hundreds of letters from the people every day, all of which are pleading with the imperial court to release the ban on overseas land and allow the people to go overseas to buy land and properties."

Fan Ning didn't say much, he knew that all the bigwigs were pushing this matter behind his back, and Han Qi, who opposed the most fiercely, also remained silent, which showed that he was under great pressure, and he no longer explicitly opposed it, but kicked the ball to Empress Dowager Cao.

After a while, Empress Dowager Cao asked Emperor Zhao Xu, "What do the officials think?"

Zhao Xu pondered for a while and said: "It can be discussed!"

Empress Dowager Cao nodded and said loudly, "Where is Mr. Han?"

Han Qi hastily stepped out, "My minister is here!"

The Empress Dowager Cao said indifferently: "Since the people expect it, Zhizhengtang should also formulate rules and regulations as soon as possible. The laws and regulations should be added as soon as possible, and qualifications should be considered as soon as possible. In short, Zhizhengtang must do this as soon as possible. If not, Then there must be a definite reason and basis.”

"My minister obeys the Queen Mother's order!"

Empress Dowager Cao nodded, "If there is nothing else, let's leave the court!"

After all the officials dispersed, Han Jiang walked quickly to Fan Ning, and said with a smile, "Do you have time to go to the Zhizheng Hall?"

Fan Ning nodded, "It's afternoon! It's already scheduled to see the official in the morning."

"Okay, see you this afternoon!"

Han Jiang cupped her hands and walked away quickly.

At this time, an eunuch stepped forward to salute and said: "The official family is waiting for the envoy in the inner palace, please follow me!"

At present, Zhao Xu has not yet independently governed, and his main energy is still studying and studying. The place where he studied is the Quanxue Hall in the Inner Palace, which is the former inner study room of Emperor Renzong, the Qilin Hall where his mother Gao Taotao received ministers, and Empress Dowager Dong. Changed to meet the ministers in Ci'an hall, Qilin hall was renamed Quanxue hall, and Zhao Xu studied there.

Fan Ning came to the Qilin Hall and saw Zhao Xu who was reviewing the memorial in the study. The memorial he reviewed was only a part selectively transferred to him by the Empress Dowager Cao. He had the right to observe and make suggestions on many court affairs, but not the right to make decisions.

His instructions on major court affairs are not counted, and they can only be implemented after the instructions of the Empress Dowager Cao.

But Zhao Xu didn't complain, he was patiently waiting for his 20th birthday.

At this time, Zhao Xu was not as sad as he was a few days ago. He came out of the grief of his mother's death, but he seemed calmer than before.

Fan Ning bowed and saluted, "My humble minister, Fan Ning, sees Your Majesty!"

"Fan Aiqing, please sit down!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Fan Ning sat down under Zhao Xu, and a court lady served them tea.

Zhao Xu said worriedly: "A few days ago, the king of heaven Anshi asked to try out the Qingmiao Law and the Baojia Law in ten counties. I approved it, and the emperor's grandmother also agreed, but the Zhizheng Hall voted against it. Only Cai Xiang agreed. It was beyond my expectation, what does Fan Aiqing think?"

Fan Ning pondered for a while and said, "Your Majesty, Wang Anshi once implemented the Green Crop Law and the Baojia Law in Yingtian Mansion. At that time, the minister was the magistrate, so the minister had a say in this matter. The original intention of Wang Anshi's implementation of the reform was to equalize the rich and the poor. To help the poor, use the Baojia Law to tie the rich and the poor together, and promote the green crop money, so that the rich can guarantee the poor. The contradiction of the displacement of the poor brought about by the land annexation actually handed over the responsibility that should be borne by the imperial court to the rich, can your Majesty understand this?"

Zhao Xu nodded, "Wang Anshi also told me that the rich should not be unkind for the sake of being rich, and should help the poor appropriately."

"I will tell His Majesty two things. After I finish speaking, Your Majesty will probably understand where the problem lies?"

"Fan Aiqing, please tell me!"

"Let me talk about something that happened more than ten years ago. At that time, Weichen was still studying in the county school, and Wang Anshi was the county magistrate in Yin County. At the invitation of Wang Anshi, I took a group of juniors to Yin County for a study tour. It was March in Yangchun, which was spring plowing. At that time, it was also the third year that Wang Anshi implemented the Young Crop Law in Yin County."

Fan Ning told what happened in Yin County that year. Zhao Xu was surprised to hear it. It was like a legendary story. Fan Ning smiled slightly: "This is the first time that the Green Crop Law is implemented. What lessons does Your Majesty think should be learned?" ?”

"I think it's better for the government to implement the Green Crop Law, instead of handing it over to private money shops."

"Then I will tell your Majesty the second matter. Your Majesty has also participated in this matter. A few years ago, I served as the magistrate in Yingtian Mansion. Your Majesty presided over the military reform in Yingtian Mansion. At that time, Your Majesty supported Wang Anshi to implement the Baojia Law in Yingtian Mansion. One time, Weichen came back from Yunzhou and passed by Yucheng County, Yingtianfu. He was found in a tea shed by the roadside and an officer was arrested. He was Du Baozheng. Each household received a consistent amount of money, so I asked him, why did he collect money from the common people? He said that the government had to pay for it.”

"What Baoya?"

Zhao Xu interrupted Fan Ning's narration, and asked in surprise: "There is no Baojia law to set up any Baoya!"

"It's the government office they set up by themselves, which is equivalent to the former Lizheng. If they want to do things for the government, they need to recruit people, especially some scoundrels who are afraid of the people. If they recruit people, they must have a place and naturally have to spend. , logically, these expenses should be borne by the county government, but the county government has no money and refuses to bear it. Let them find a way by themselves. They can only apportion it to the people, and the Baoya appears. For investigation, as long as there is a Dubaozheng, there is a Baoya, and they all distribute money and food to the people, without exception."

"Then why did the government arrest him?"

"Your Majesty, let's guess the reason. Everyone has shared the money and food. Why are you keeping everything else upright and refusing to arrest him?"

Zhao Xu shook his head, "I can't guess!"

"Originally, I couldn't guess it, but this Luo Yuanwai was released later. After careful interrogation, I found out, because other security officials have to pay [-]% of the money and food to the county government, but this Luo Yuanwai gave the apportioned three hundred guan. He swallowed the money himself, which made the county government furious, so he was arrested."

Zhao Xu was dumbfounded when he heard that, "How could this be?"

Fan Ning said earnestly: "Your Majesty, since the founding of the Song Dynasty, all county government offices have been dilapidated, because the county government has no money to repair, the daily expenses of the county government offices and the salaries of the county officials are allocated by the imperial court, and the county magistrates are generally relatively poor. After a hundred years of continuous improvement, the system of the Song Dynasty has been very strict, and it is difficult to take advantage of the loopholes. The imperial court is also sympathetic to the poverty of the county government, so the counties can get some subsidies from the lease of official land and official houses, so that the county magistrate can also support them. It is a bit of a waste of money to start a staff member, but once the law is reformed, it means that the century-old system will be broken, and the Baojia Law will become a means for the county government to exploit the people through the local government. But it's just a drizzle, and it's really nothing compared to the young crop method?"

"How does the Green Crop Law exploit the people?" Zhao Xu asked.

"Your Majesty, the Baojia Law is to exploit the people at the bottom, but the Qingmiao Law is to exploit the rich. The government lends at usury, and the rich guarantee the poor. Also, the rich households have become fat sheep, which are slaughtered by the government. For the county government who have nowhere to find money, this is the system that makes them rich. Will they be merciful?
Your Majesty, this is the reason why the Zhizhengtang resolutely opposes the Young Crop Law. Everyone has been a county magistrate in the local area and has a deep experience. They can all see this loophole. , who will buy it?The dignitaries who invested in the big workshops will also go bankrupt one after another. Your Majesty, this is a major event that shakes the foundation of the country! "

Zhao Xu's face was stern. After all, he was a genius. He grew up in a greenhouse, so he couldn't see through the darkness of human nature and the huge risks hidden in it, but he was extremely smart. Once Fan Ning explained it, he immediately came to his senses.

He walked a few steps with his hands behind his back and said, "But Wang Anshi's experiments in various places have been relatively successful."

"Your Majesty, here is the problem. Everyone has a different position. Wang Anshi implements it as a county magistrate or magistrate. He is not greedy, does not want to make money, and does not want to harm the interests of wealthy households. Then there will be no problems with the Green Crop Law. More than 600 state capitals, thousands of counties, is every official Wang Anshi?"

Zhao Xu sighed, "Then the reform is meaningless?"

"I don't understand, why does Your Majesty want to change the law? The imperial court's finances have continued to improve, and it has been in surplus for five consecutive years. There is no shortage of money at all. The food is rich, and the land income is greatly reduced. The rich and powerful are busy building industries, and their interest in land has weakened. Land mergers It has been eased, the promotion of corn, the promotion of pumpkins, the people at the bottom can afford food, it is easy to find something to do, Wei Chen believes that the overseas expansion has greatly eased the contradictions of the Song Dynasty, and the basis for implementing reforms no longer exists.”

Zhao Xu nodded silently, he could understand Fan Ning's objection.

(End of this chapter)