The prince is more stable

Chapter 492: Request for Enclosure
Han Wei was a Jinshi in the fourth year of Yuanfeng, and he also participated in the struggle between the new and old parties that year.

This person is a bit like the current Minister of Revenue Cai Jing. His position has nothing to do with ideals, but is only related to interests and power. He is a typical political speculator.

When the New Party came to power, Han Wei indeed joined the New Party camp. During the Yuanyou period, the New Party was purged and the Old Party came to power again, so Han Wei indeed switched to the Old Party camp.

In the Shaosheng period, the New Party gained power again, and Han Wei became a staunch member of the New Party.

This guy kept jumping back and forth between the old and new parties. As to why no one from either the old or new party dealt with him, but instead allowed him to be promoted all the way to the capital transport envoy, there are many reasons.

It is rumored that he has a strong backing. Over the years, he has bribed people lavishly, and sent his own daughter to a big boss as a concubine, etc. He has tried all kinds of means. It is rumored that several of his backers even have offices in the government hall of Bian Jing, which shows that this man is indeed very powerful.

As for the other Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, Wang Yuan,... he was just an ordinary Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, and his family background was unknown.

Zhao Xiaoqian walked into the main hall, exchanged a few words with Han Wei and Wang Yuan with a smile on his face, and then ordered the banquet to begin.

Exquisite dishes were brought up by the maids. Not only that, in order to show respect for the distinguished guests, Li Qingchen even arranged singing and dancing, and he invited a singing and dancing troupe from an unknown brothel in the city.

When the host and the guests toasted each other, string music sounded, and the dancers came in gracefully and performed a heart-stirring dance.

Li Qingchen arranged it so grandly, probably because he had heard of Han Wei's importance in the court and had to treat it with caution.

Zhao Xiaoqian was a little disapproving at first. With his status, no one was qualified to receive him with such grand hospitality unless it was the emperor Zhao Xu himself.

However, since Li Qingchen had already made the arrangements, Zhao Xiaoqian was not in a position to refuse his respect. After all, the entertainment expenses were paid from the public account of the Zhending government office. He could enjoy the singing and dancing for free, so what was there to be dissatisfied about?

Drinking with officials was not a big deal, unlike the Western Xia envoy Li Jinzhen, who would pick up his glass and sing at every turn, and he would sing an extra-long version that would not stop for a long time.

Except for the Han people, other ethnic groups sing and dance when drinking, but the Han people only know how to brag and show all kinds of extremely false brotherhood when drinking.

At a banquet, when the topic is just the mutual flattery between the host and the guests, it means that the banquet has just begun to warm up.

When the topic turns to romance, women's looks, figures and skills, it means the wine has become somewhat enjoyable.

When the topic starts to talk about the international and domestic political and military situation, as well as various suggestions for state affairs and "If I were the boss, I would do this and that", it means that they have drunk enough.

Of course, if no one says a word at the banquet, everyone has empty eyes and a dazed expression, it means that the banquet is almost over.

At this moment, the topics discussed in the main hall of the Prince's Mansion were still limited to the stage of mutual flattery, which was just a warm-up in the secular sense.

It mainly refers to Han Wei and Wang Yuan's flattery of Zhao Xiaoqian.

People in official circles are very particular about the words they choose when they flatter and it is by no means mindless praise.

In particular, Zhao Xiaoqian's achievements are indeed worthy of praise. Han Wei can list them one by one, from the Song-Xia War in the past to the two defeats of the Liao army today, the annihilation of more than 70,000 to 80,000 enemies, the expansion of the territory for the Song Dynasty, the change of the offensive and defensive situation between the Song and Liao, and so on.

Han Wei described everything as if he had seen it with his own eyes, leaving Zhao Xiaoqian a little confused. Could it be that this guy was hiding in some corner and peeping at me while I was doing these things? Otherwise, why could he be so precise?
Wang Yuan, who was standing by, sang in a flattering tone, complementing Han Wei and filling in the gaps.

No one can resist flattery, and Zhao Xiaoqian is no exception. The more he listened, the more delighted he became, and he felt that the banquet and singing and dancing were not in vain.

They are so sensible and know how to provide emotional value to their owners. Even the male models in a certain horse club may not have this ethics.

The banquet was getting more and more intense, and everyone finally got down to business while they were still drunk.

Han Wei told Zhao Xiaoqian that there were not only him and Wang Yuan, but in fact many other people coming to Zhending Prefecture this time, including officials from the Ministry of Revenue, Ministry of Personnel, and Ministry of Works, totaling more than a hundred officials.

After all, for a country to absorb more than 400 miles of land, it cannot be accomplished by a few officials. It is a huge project and it will take a long time.

Measuring arable land, dividing towns and villages, establishing new counties, building cities and forts, etc., are simply impossible to accomplish by Han Wei and Wang Yuan alone. This task requires the cooperation of the emperor and his ministers in Bian Jing, the Council of State, and the six ministries, and the mobilization of a large amount of resources and manpower.

According to the court's forecast, one-third of the more than 400 miles of land is arable, and it is estimated that about 300,000 farmers will have to be relocated to develop the arable land.

The imperial court would relocate some of these 300,000 farmers from the east and west of Hebei, but more would be used to resettle refugees from the Song Dynasty.

Settling these refugees and allocating land to them is undoubtedly a good thing for the rule of the Song Dynasty. After all, it can eliminate the instability factors of the refugee group.

Zhao Xiaoqian listened very carefully and interrupted to ask a few questions from time to time.

After all, it was the land he conquered, so he had to ask how the court would deal with it. Besides, he was also the governor and pacification commissioner of the western route of Hebei, so these more than 400 miles of land would be under his jurisdiction in the future.

Han Wei spoke in great detail, and when he had almost finished, he suddenly paused, quickly glanced at Zhao Xiaoqian's expression, and carefully changed the subject.

"There is one more matter that I must report to His Royal Highness the Prince..."

Zhao Xiaoqian raised his cup and said with a smile, "You say."

Han Wei pondered for a moment and whispered, "The land is used to resettle refugees, but part of it...may have to be distributed."

Zhao Xiaoqian was stunned. "What do you mean by 'sharing profits'?" Han Wei smiled and said, "Over four hundred li of land is enough to accommodate hundreds of thousands of refugees. Besides, there are many relatives, dignitaries and officials in Bianjing who might also be interested in this piece of land..."

Zhao Xiaoqian suddenly realized that he understood.

Those who are most obsessed with land are not ordinary people, but emperors and powerful landlords.

Their desire for land is simply crazy, their demands are insatiable, their greed is inherent and they are never satisfied.

In the agricultural era, the most valuable thing was land. As long as there was land, you could grow food. Food was hard currency equivalent to gold and silver, so land meant profit.

A realistic problem that cannot be avoided in all dynasties is land annexation.

As the dynasty lasted longer, land became increasingly concentrated in the hands of a few people, resulting in more and more farmers losing their land and increasingly acute class contradictions.

Eventually, their livelihoods were cut off, officials forced the people to rebel, and after the change of dynasties, the land was redistributed, and then slowly eroded and annexed by powerful landlords, and the fate of the dynasty repeated itself...

Zhao Xiaoqian naturally understood what Han Wei said.

Some people in Bian Jing had their eyes on this 400-li land and wanted to occupy a part of it.

There was too much land that was conquered, and there should be many people who were interested in it. Zhao Xiaoqian even knew that those who were qualified to covet this land were of high status. Maybe the prime minister of the time had even secretly set his sights on it.

Han Wei's words were probably a kind of situation report. He told Zhao Xiaoqian frankly in person, asking him to do him a favor and not to obstruct him or cause trouble for the bigwigs in Bianliang.

What can Zhao Xiaoqian do?
He was stubborn enough, but not so stubborn as to dare to go against the civil and military officials in the court.

To seize someone's money is like killing their parents. Zhao Xiaoqian understood this truth very well. Land is the money of powerful officials.

His mind was working rapidly, and Zhao Xiaoqian now understood why Han Wei and Wang Yuan came to visit him today. This was probably their main purpose.

Seeing Zhao Xiaoqian remained silent, Han Wei smiled and said, "Your Highness is also an official, highly regarded by the government, and has made great contributions to the Song Dynasty. The officials in the court are not ignorant people. I will present the proper gift with both hands. I only ask Your Highness to do me a favor..."

Zhao Xiaoqian knew what he meant by "give me a favor", which was to pretend to be deaf and dumb, not to say a word, let alone to stop it, and to condone the enclosure behavior of the clan members and dignitaries in Bianliang.

Of course, there will be benefits for him as well. Part of this land will soon become his private property as the Prince of Hejian.

Zhao Xiaoqian fell into deep thought.

This matter is a bit complicated and is different from the nature of occupying the land of farmers in the Song Dynasty. After all, this is a piece of unowned land. Whoever gets it owns it. There is no squeezing the living space of farmers in the Song Dynasty.

Therefore, it is hard to say whether this matter is right or wrong. Those who are unwilling to lay their hands on this land are naturally gentlemen, but those who lay their hands on this land are not necessarily bad people.

After hesitating for a long time, Zhao Xiaoqian frowned and slowly asked, "Can the land of the relocated farmers and refugees be guaranteed?"

Han Wei hurriedly said: "It can be guaranteed. The Political Affairs Hall is making plans and expects to relocate about 300,000 farmers. The court encourages farmers to open up wasteland, grants tax exemptions, and provides grain seeds and farm tools, etc."

Zhao Xiaoqian sighed and said, "Since we can guarantee the land for farmers and refugees, if there is still any surplus after the distribution..."

The words stopped abruptly here, but the meaning left unsaid was very clear.

What I mean is, if there is any surplus land, I will play dumb and let you take over some of it.

There is no way, ordinary people cannot escape the ways of the world.

Zhao Xiaoqian was no exception. After he conquered the land, he had to repay the favors he owed.

Han Wei and Wang Yuan were overjoyed when they heard this. Of course they understood what Zhao Xiaoqian had not finished saying, so they hurriedly stood up and bowed.

"Thank you, Your Highness, for facilitating this matter. I will report this truthfully to the dignitaries of Bianjing, and ask them to remember this favor."

Zhao Xiaoqian hummed and said with a dull look, "You guys can take your land, so you don't have to leave any for me. I'm not interested in land."

Han Wei was stunned, then carefully pondered the meaning of Zhao Xiaoqian's words.

What does it mean to refuse land? Is there anyone in this world who would refuse land that is offered to them for free?

If Zhao Xiaoqian doesn't occupy the land, others will feel uneasy if they occupy it. Could it be that His Royal Highness the Prince has other plans?

The two were a little at a loss for a moment, and kept thinking about Zhao Xiaoqian's thoughts.

Zhao Xiaoqian sneered, "Don't misunderstand me, I don't mean any harm. I have tens of thousands of men under my command. If they want land, they can get it anytime. This time, there's no need to fight with the big guys in the capital."

Zhao Xiaoqian's expression gradually grew serious as he spoke, and he slowly said, "The prerequisite is that you must ensure that 300,000 farmers and refugees receive land. If you fail to do so, don't blame me for turning hostile."

(End of this chapter)