Zhurou

Chapter 239 Reason

Zhao Mingzhi naturally didn't know that her actions were judged in this way by Zhang Yi. Even if she knew, she wouldn't care at all.

After urging many times, she finally got the reward memorials drafted by the two governments and read them carefully at her desk.

Before Zhao Mingzhi could say anything, Zhao Hong, who was also holding a memorial and sitting on another high chair at the desk next to her, had already dropped his face.

Since returning to the capital, Zhao Mingzhi had consciously let her brother participate in important state affairs, and she would consult his opinions on almost all major events. Even though Zhao Hong sometimes thought too naively, always had unrealistic fantasies, and often saw things in black and white, she did not correct him, but only asked him to write down his thoughts on a separate piece of paper, attach it to the end of the memorial, and file it together with the final disposal for future comparison.

Zhao Hong did not slack off at all. He wrote down his ideas carefully every day and compared them carefully with the final files.

Seeing his younger brother so serious, Zhao Mingzhi was naturally pleased.

She knew that she was just an ordinary person with above-average talent and no special abilities. It was a bit of a stretch for her to teach her younger brother to be a vassal king who maintained peace and stability, let alone teach the emperor. After much thought, she simply ordered people to move out many of the emperor's annotations in the storehouse.

It was also because the fire prevention measures in the inner court archive warehouse were good, and these things were really not worth much money. Although the Di people entered the capital twice, entered the palace to loot, burn and kill, and set several fires, most of the most carefully preserved archives were still preserved. In addition to the documents of the current dynasty, there were also many documents from the previous dynasty.

She did not comment on it, but only selected more than ten emperors' comments and copied them down on separate pages of paper. The method was very simple, but also the most intuitive. Each separate page began with the dynasty and the emperor's name, followed by the document itself, and then the emperor's comments. The content of each page dealt with similar things or problems.

When more than a dozen cases were neatly arranged, it took three long tables put together to put them all down.

When Zhao Hong entered the hall and saw such a table, he was surprised at first, but when he saw the words on it clearly, he understood its meaning without even Zhao Mingzhi's detailed explanation.

Even though he knew that his elder sister was interested in him, Zhao Hong was still almost stunned.

And when he slowly read those annotations of the former emperors for the first time and compared them again and again, he felt that the twelve hours in a day were not enough, and he felt more secure than ever before.

He really didn't know how to be an emperor.

As the new emperor who hastily ascended the throne and fled in panic, Zhao Hong attended imperial lectures almost every day. The lecturers were either great scholars of the time or important officials of the two governments. All of them were knowledgeable and well-informed, but everyone had his or her own thoughts.

Zhao Hong was not stupid, so how could he not see that others had their own plans? So, naturally he had reservations about the so-called "way of being a king" taught by others.

Besides, no matter how others teach or how talented they are, they are not the "king" after all. They are in different positions and have completely different issues to consider.

All the ministers had been sent away for many years. They were skilled in governing, had a deep understanding of people's hearts, and were also well versed in reason. Their knowledge and abilities were much deeper and broader than those of ordinary emperors, especially those after two or three generations of founding a dynasty, who might not even be able to leave the imperial city.

But what they think and worry about are, after all, just those of ministers. How can they know what the emperor fears, what he is afraid of, what he thinks and what he wants?

But these annotations are different.

The ink settles on the paper, even after ten or a hundred years, people can get a glimpse of the past through the pages. Those emperors who were either ambitious and talented, or were restrained by their relatives, or bound by eunuchs, or indulged in pleasure and finally lost their country, all left marks of their thoughts on these papers.

  Even though times have changed, is there anything truly new in the world?

Zhao Hong flipped through the sheets one by one, studying them one by one. He had never written down his thoughts and feelings so seriously before. He wrote thirteen full pages in one breath that night, but still felt a little unsatisfied.

From then on, he learned this method. Whenever he saw important political affairs, he would look through the old files to find the similarities and differences. Even if he could not fully understand them, he would often write down the parts he did not understand. There would always be a sudden flash of inspiration and he would recall the days again.

Zhao Hong made rapid progress, to the point where, when he received the memorials from the two governments, he had already found out and understood the reward practices of the current and previous dynasties.

Because he had done some research beforehand, he immediately spotted the problem. He had originally been holding a cinnabar pen, ready to happily leave his own comments on the copy, but now he was holding the pen, wishing he could scribble on the words right then and there so that this nonsense wouldn't pollute his eyes anymore.

"Sister!" He almost shouted, "I said before that I would give you a lot of rewards. Who in the court didn't hear about it? But the Privy Council gave you this kind of reward? Is this how they obey orders?"

There are only two kinds of rewards: gold and silver wealth, and promotion and title.

However, the gold, silver, and other items and official positions proposed in this memorial were not even ordinary. They were so shabby that they were beyond description even with the word shame.

Especially since Zhao Hong had the rewards that Emperor Taizu, Emperor Yingzong and Emperor Shenzong had given to the victorious three armies. At that time, the contributions of those people were not as great as those of the soldiers in the north, but the rewards they received were more than several times more.

  The three armies are fighting for their lives to defend the country and the land. Is this the attitude of the court?

When Zhao Hong thought that someone might compare his reward with that of others in the future, he couldn't even sit still.

  In the court, everyone will naturally look at the faces of the two governments, but when it comes to the three armies, on the battlefield, and even among the common people, who would know so much?

Everyone thought he was the emperor, so naturally the emperor had the final say in rewarding people.

  The one who was accused of being stingy and mean was the two governments, not me!

Zhao Mingzhi was also reading the report, so he simply asked the eunuch to come over, pointed out the names of several people, and finally said, "Please come over and have a chat, gentlemen."

The offices of the East and West Prefectures were originally located in the inner court, and the summoned people arrived quickly.

After a short pause, Zhao Hong gradually controlled his outward anger. He held the memorial in his hand, holding it tightly. Without waiting for Zhao Mingzhi to speak, he asked the man opposite him, "You have killed the enemy general, beheaded the Northern Dynasty emperor, expelled the Di people, and killed countless enemies. In the eyes of the nobles, is this the only reward you deserve for such a great achievement?"

This time, Zhang Yi didn't need to speak up, someone else stood up and said, "Your Majesty, it's not that the court treats meritorious officials badly, but in this difficult situation, even the best cook can't cook without rice."

As he spoke, he reported the amounts of gold, silver, silk, and other materials left in the inner treasury that had been counted at the end of the previous month, as well as the amounts of supplies stored in the Changping Warehouse and other places.

He was obviously well prepared and did not stutter at all. After he finished speaking, he took out a memorial from his sleeve and presented it to Zhao Hong, saying, "From last month to now, many transfers have been made. With today's number, I am afraid that only two thirds of what was reported in the memorial will be insufficient. I am afraid that if we have to raise funds in a hurry, I am afraid that we will not be able to raise even half of the amount for the rewards to the front-line troops this time - otherwise it will be difficult to maintain the operation of the court - you must know that since the month I went to Caizhou, the salaries of officials and clerks in the court have not been paid in full..." Of course, the court has always been stretched to the limit.

After these years of fighting, an astonishing amount of annual tribute had been sent to Xingqing Prefecture year after year. Not only was the country in ruins, but even the inner treasury had long been unable to make ends meet.

Especially during the six months that the bandits have been fighting southward, they have occupied almost all of the land north of the capital. Not only have the people been displaced, but the spring ploughing in half of the country has also been abandoned. Even if the Jin Dynasty wins now, the weather will not come again, so how can we go back to spring to plant the grain? Of course, we can't just take care of the present, we also have to prepare for the future - we don't know where the food for so many people will go in the future.

Crying about being poor was the truth, so the emperor who had just asked the question aggressively naturally had nothing to say.

Zhao Mingzhi turned around to look, but saw that although the anger on his brother's face had not dissipated, he looked even more worried. He couldn't help but shake his head secretly.

There are ways to deal with money, and there are ways to deal with being poor.

Without grain, would people stop eating? They would eat wild vegetables on the ground, catch birds in the mountains, and fish in the river. If they were very hungry, they would even eat grass roots and tree bark. As long as they could eat a bite of food, they would have a better chance of survival.

  If there is no money, will there be no reward?

Just raise money!

She asked, "Let's put the generals aside. We must not be negligent in rewarding the troops. Soldiers are fighting on the front lines. If they don't even get the usual rewards, who will be responsible if there's a mutiny?"

Just as she finished speaking, the man responded with a groan, then showed an awkward look again, and finally said: "I'm afraid we need to give it a little more time..."

Zhao Mingzhi didn't waste his words and said directly, "When the Di people asked for the annual tribute in the past, did they have money in the inner treasury and grain in the granary? They were able to raise the annual tribute back then, but can't raise the reward now?"

"Your Highness!" the man said in a sad voice, "Although the people in the south have not suffered from the war, the taxes have been increased year after year. We can no longer oppress them!"

At this moment, seeing that Zhang Yi and the others were silent, Lu Xianzhang, who was standing at the back, could not help but stand up and said, "Your Highness, the taxes in the east and west of Jiangnan are too heavy, and many counties and towns have suffered from drought this year, and there have been few spring rains. If you force them, I'm afraid there will be chaos."

He has relatives and friends in Jiangdong, so he couldn't help but say a few words on behalf of the elders in his hometown.

Zhao Mingzhi only asked: "Is it only taxes that can be used?"

As she spoke, she looked at Zhang Yitong and Yang Ting who were standing in front of her, and said very gently: "The court is in a difficult situation, and the palace should be frugal. We should send palace maids out to reduce their food and clothing..."

After Zhao Mingzhi said this, several people standing at the steps kept their expressions unchanged, but sneered in their hearts.

  Especially since Zhang Yiben already disliked her very much, he couldn't help but think: How much money can I save? What is the real purpose of coming up with such a drop in the bucket, except for gaining fame for the princess herself?

However, before this thought flashed through his mind, he heard Zhao Mingzhi say: "From now on, I will save all my salary for this year and add it to the rewards for the three armies."

Hearing that she had thrown some extra treats into the reward, Zhang Yi couldn't help but become distracted.

The proposed rewards for the three armies this time were naturally a bit mean, but the court was really short of money, so even if it wanted to, it couldn't give much. The little emperor was obviously in a good mood, and in order to prevent him from acting like a child and being generous, the emperor first gave him a frugal plan to make him feel a little unhappy, but also to let him know the financial difficulties.

When things get too ugly, we will have to come up with a slightly more acceptable plan, and it will probably be pretty close by then.

He was still thinking about which place he could give up and which place he could not give up, when he suddenly seemed to hear his own name. He was dazed for a moment and couldn't help but raise his head, but he heard Zhao Mingzhi asking again from behind the screen opposite him: "What do you think, Privy Councilor?"

  How about what?

Zhang Yi was stunned for a moment. Seeing that everyone around him was looking at him, he couldn't help but show a stunned expression on his face.

Zhao Mingzhi continued patiently, "I heard that there are nephews and nephews in the Privy Council who are good at brewing wine. They are very famous in Hongzhou and Jianzhou. They have also come to Beijing to sell wine. They are quite wealthy and have countless fertile fields and many properties. But I don't know if I can ask the Privy Council to be a guarantor and borrow some money from him during this difficult time. The court will pay him back with three years of wine tax. After three years, I will repay him. What do you think?"

Such a question made Zhang Yi unable to answer for a moment.

There are stories about the imperial court asking its ministers to borrow money, but once it happens to you, you will realize how ridiculous it is.

Brewing wine is a privileged thing. Anyone who can buy and sell wine has his or her connections. The so-called nephews and nieces in the clan are naturally Zhang Yi's descendants.

  Three years of liquor tax, of course, seemed like a very generous sum to ordinary people, but for Zhang Yi, it was not a difficult thing to exchange for that much silver. What if he delayed paying it back and finally the money ended up in the inner treasury?

But if I were to refuse, it would be unreasonable to put forward such generous conditions.

"It's just like what the Privy Councilor said to me this morning. The country is in a difficult situation and we should all do our own thing. The Emperor should accept all advice and the ministers should do their best. Only then can we follow the will of Heaven. If the Privy Councilor can come forward, please do it!" Zhao Hong, who was listening carefully, interrupted loudly.

How could Zhang Yi refuse after hearing this? He could only bow vaguely and say, "I will do my best to persuade you."

As soon as he agreed, he heard Zhao Mingzhi above him say, "Central Minister Yang, I heard that you..."

As Zhao Mingzhi pointed out the names one by one, no one standing in the hall escaped, and almost everyone accepted a considerable sum of money. Even Lu Xianzhang took the initiative to donate the grain he had earned from his family's fields for three years.

As things developed, Zhang Yi stood there and saw several eunuchs holding paper and pen and copying down the numbers recognized by everyone. For a moment, he almost forgot the purpose of his visit.

  What on earth happened? How come in the blink of an eye, he just wanted to prevent the Western Army from gaining too much advantage, but in the end he took out a lot of advantages from his own pocket and fed them to Pei's stomach?

Regardless of the amount, where does this make sense? !