Do you know: I am the crown prince

Chapter 477 Hidden dangers
After paying their respects, the ministers left the hall.

Han Zhang stayed.

"My Lord, is there anything else?" Zhao Xing asked calmly.

"His Majesty!"

Han Zhang bowed and said, "If money houses are set up in various prefectures, Your Majesty, will they be managed by officials sent by the court, or..."

"For now, there's no need for court officials to intervene."

Han Zhang did not continue speaking, but Zhao Xing already understood what Han Zhang meant.

"Your Majesty, this is inappropriate!"

Han Zhang said, "If we don't use officials, won't the bank become private property? Your Majesty doesn't want the imperial power to be restricted, but have you ever thought about the consequences of doing so?"

Zhao Xing had previously discussed with him the idea of ​​abolishing the prime minister system and establishing a cabinet.

Although Zhao Xing said afterwards that he was just chatting with him and had no plans to do so for the time being.

But Han Zhang knew clearly that Zhao Xing just felt that the timing was not right, and he had not given up the idea.

Once Zhao Xing does this in the future, the imperial power will be completely unrestricted. If the future emperor is greedy for enjoyment and uses the money of the bank privately, it will cause big problems.

This is also the reason why Han Zhang opposed the establishment of a money house.

Not only the money houses, but also the businesses that Zhao Xing had ordered people to run when he was still the crown prince, all have this huge hidden danger.

Although he disagreed with some of the things Zhao Xing did, Zhao Xing could not be considered stupid.

What about the emperor after that?
Although those who managed Zhao Xing's business did not hold official positions, they represented the government.

You can do business honestly now, but if someone changes your mind in the future, who can guarantee that they won’t rob and plunder?

When imperial power is limited, even if there are problems, at least there are certain limitations.

But if the imperial power were really unrestricted and the court were still able to run all kinds of industries, that would be a disaster.

"I just said that officials will not be allowed to manage it for the time being, I didn't say anything about the future!" Zhao Xing shook his head and said, "I know what the Grand Chancellor is worried about, and I will naturally make arrangements."

Zhao Xing had considered the issue that Han Zhang was worried about.

Ancient officials were very opposed to the imperial court competing with the people for profits. When salt, iron and tea were first taken over by the government, they encountered great resistance.

Even if it succeeded, it was only for a few things. The court did not interfere in the production and sale of most items.

Although Zhao Xing was dissatisfied with the officials' opposition to the court and their competition with the people for profit, most of them had selfish motives.

Take business for example. Other dynasties prohibited officials from engaging in business, and even prohibited the children of merchants from becoming officials.

What we are guarding against is collusion between officials and businessmen.

Although the Song Dynasty did not prohibit the descendants of merchants from taking the imperial examinations, there were still regulations that officials were not allowed to engage in business.

But in any dynasty, those aristocratic families always have members doing business.

The imperial court only restricted the parents and descendants of officials.

Officials opposed the court competing with the people for profit because they were the "people" and the court was competing for their profit.

But in ancient times, the imperial court's interference in business did more harm than good.

When the imperial court intervened in business, the officials in charge could use their status to rob, plunder, or even monopolize to seek benefits for themselves.

Take the salt business for example, isn’t it already in a state of rottenness?
As a person from later generations, Zhao Xing knew very well how serious the consequences would be.

Why did ancient thought become more and more feudal? Isn’t it because Confucianism was the only school of thought that was respected, and there was less collision of ideas?

In terms of ideology, the Song Dynasty at this time could not even compare with the pre-Qin period, and it would only become more closed as time went on.

This is the consequence of monopoly.

The same is true in business.

Advances in manufacturing processes and technology are all profitable.

Once officials use their status to monopolize an industry, that industry will never progress.

Because without competition, there is no vitality. "Then I wonder what your majesty's plan is?" Han Zhang asked.

He saw that Zhao Xing's arrangement of people to do business would lead to hidden dangers in the future, but he did not persuade him to stop it because it was temporarily beneficial to the court.

Apart from anything else, most of the expenses for the construction of the Northern Great Wall were directly provided by Zhao Xing.

Otherwise, given the current financial situation of the Song Dynasty, the Song Dynasty would be almost unable to make ends meet, let alone build the Great Wall.

But hidden dangers are hidden dangers after all, and drinking poison to quench thirst is only temporary.

Now that things have come to this, Han Zhang wants to get the point across this time.

"I will shut down the Chamber of Commerce in the future, but not now. And the people who manage the money house are these people." Zhao Xing said lightly.

He thought about establishing state-owned enterprises similar to those in later generations. Although the departments that managed the salt, iron and tea businesses in ancient times were actually somewhat similar to the state-owned enterprises in later generations, they could not be considered state-owned enterprises.

These people are actually still officials. As long as their rank is high enough, they can influence the local areas and have a say in the court.

Unlike the state-owned enterprises and officials of later generations, which are completely two systems.

However, it was extremely difficult to achieve this in ancient times, almost impossible.

Therefore, a one-size-fits-all approach is best.

According to Zhao Xing's idea, the initial establishment of the money house would be left to Sheng Wei.

First, transfer some people from the trading companies to establish money houses in some important cities of the Song Dynasty.

Then he will slowly radiate to the surrounding areas. When he has built the general system, the Liao Kingdom and Western Xia will have been almost resolved.

Zhao Xing stopped the business, retained the elites and merged them into money houses, and the rest had to be dismissed.

Money houses also need to formulate detailed laws and regulations to prevent major problems.

However, Zhao Xing has not thought it through yet. After all, the situation in later generations is different from that in ancient times and cannot be copied directly.

He also needs to see what problems will arise after the money house is established.

After listening to Zhao Xing's detailed plan, Han Zhang was silent for a while and said, "Since Your Majesty has considered it carefully, I am relieved."

…………

In the wilderness, a team of less than a thousand cavalrymen were galloping on horseback.

This team of cavalry looked extremely embarrassed and their spirits were low.

Among the cavalry, Empress Dowager Xiao was dressed in tight clothes, riding a horse, and occasionally looked down at her son with worry.

"Brother, we can't go on like this. Jun'er can't bear this bumpy ride." Empress Dowager Xiao said anxiously.

"Stop and take a rest first!" Xiao Asu ordered loudly.

The soldiers, who had already been exhausted, stopped immediately after receiving the order.

After Xiao Asu made an inspection to calm the troops' morale, he came to the simple camp that had been built.

"How is your Majesty?"

Empress Dowager Xiao, who was wiping her son's face, wiped her tears, stood up and said, "Brother, we can't go on like this. Jun'er is sick. If the ride continues like this, he will die."

In order to break out of the siege, Empress Dowager Xiao personally took her son on a horse.

Her son was only six or seven years old. He was frightened when he rushed out of the city and fell ill after leaving.

However, there were pursuers behind them, so they didn't dare to stop. Only when their horses could no longer hold on did they stop to rest for a while, let alone find a doctor.

Over the past few days, my son's condition has become increasingly serious.

"Just hold on a little longer. At the current speed, we should be able to enter Hehuang by tomorrow night." Xiao Asu gritted his teeth.

After fleeing for several days, he felt a little exhausted, let alone a sick child.

But I can't stop now, and I dare not stop.

Although he had made arrangements in advance and set up several ambushes to intercept Yelu Yixin's pursuit, who knew how long he could delay the attack?

(End of this chapter)