You have truly caused me great suffering!

Chapter 38 Debate (Two Chapters Combined)

As Lunar New Year's Eve approaches, the streets of Bianliang are filled with joy, peace, and lively activity.

The winter chill did nothing to dampen their celebration.

In the Song Dynasty, if you were fortunate enough to be born in Bianliang, then congratulations! No matter what your family background was, you were much happier than people from other places.

This city is too wealthy, and its people are too carefree.

All the wealth in the world is used to support this one place.

Even for those common people who toiled away doing menial tasks to make a living, when the snow blocked their doors and rice and firewood were scarce, the government would still distribute their daily rations of rice, firewood, salt, and vegetables to each household.

I guarantee you won't starve.

For thousands of years, no dynasty had ever had such a rule.

For them, being at the heart of the most prosperous and affluent civilization of this era, many things were taken for granted.

Those born in Bianliang did not have a deep understanding of this.

They have no idea how precious everything they have is.

They had no idea how much the Song Dynasty border soldiers, who guarded them from the enslavement and slaughter of the Qiang people in the Northwest, had sacrificed to protect their wealth under the oppression of civil officials devaluing military officers for over a century.

As in history, when the Song Dynasty lost its last bit of self-defense force under the pressure of various forces, how heavy and suffocating was the darkness that lasted for more than a hundred years, even until the Battle of Yamen!

At Cai Jing's residence in Bianliang.

Chen Shao and his trusted lieutenants also came and waited in the outer hall.

Among a group of guards, Chen Shao was quite quiet, sitting in a chair with his eyes closed, resting.

He knew Tong Guan's purpose in coming here. Although Cai Jing had been dismissed from his post as prime minister, he was still an indispensable minister in the emperor's heart.

No other minister could consistently provide him with enough money to squander like Cai Jing.

Moreover, although Cai Jing was dismissed from his post as prime minister, his protégés and former officials still held sway over those important government offices.

If Tong Guan could gain Cai Jing's support, the campaign against Liao would be much easier.

Chen Shao himself didn't care much about these things. The Song Dynasty had reached a point where its problems were too deep to be reversed, just like an old man who was terminally ill.

Inside the hall, a three-legged gilded bronze incense burner emitted wisps of incense smoke.

Tong Guan and Cai Jing sat opposite each other.

These two brothers have known each other since they were young and rose to prominence together, but both of them are extremely power-hungry.

Once you reach a high enough position, it's inevitable that some unpleasant things will happen because of power.

Gradually, their relationship cooled, and when Tong Guan joined forces with Wang Fu to force Cai Jing to retreat during the campaign against Liao, their relationship officially broke down.

Looking at Tong Guan, who had come to visit, Cai Jing was somewhat dazed.

He was well-versed in history and had spent decades navigating the treacherous waters of officialdom, which honed his keen insight.

He could keenly perceive even the slightest hint of something that ordinary people couldn't see.

The last few years of every dynasty are accompanied by the gradual collapse of various ancestral systems.

The same applies to the Song Dynasty.

Cai Jing was somewhat apprehensive and helpless, but he couldn't deceive himself.

The Song Dynasty was already showing signs of its impending doom.

As a traditional Song Dynasty scholar-official, Cai Jing once highly appreciated the Song Dynasty's relatively restrained and profound scholarly atmosphere.

At heart, he was a traditional Song Dynasty scholar-official.

After more than two hundred years of affluent urban life, the prevailing social atmosphere now leans towards indulgence, debauchery, and hedonism compared to the early days of the nation.

Not to mention how extravagant and dissolute they were in secret, even their outward appearance, manners, and behavior were completely different.

Having served three emperors, Cai Jing couldn't help but recall the appearances of those officials and the captivating prime ministers.

The current emperor's father and brothers were all legitimate emperors of the Song Dynasty, and they possessed the qualities of Song Dynasty emperors.

Cautious, pragmatic, and culturally refined, he is willing to humbly accept the corrections and opinions of civil servants.

The current emperor is nothing like his father and brothers.

Looking at the people around him, they were all Liang Shicheng, Tong Guan, and Wang Fu.
After entering officialdom, Cai Jing worked under various prominent and ruthless officials, including Wang Anshi, Sima Guang, Lü Gongzhu, and Zhang Dun.

Including himself, he actually did some things that benefited the country and the people. Now that he has been dismissed from his post as prime minister, Wang Fu is the prime minister in the court. This is the Song Dynasty.
"You can't see the true face of Mount Lu because you're in the mountain." Ordinary people, caught in the torrent of history, can hardly expect to see things clearly.

However, Cai Jing, with his learning and insight, had already seen the signs of national ruin in this extravagant and prosperous world.

What will ultimately lead to the downfall of the nation is very likely their very desire to launch an alliance with the Jin to attack the Liao.

The Song Dynasty could no longer afford to fight such a war.

The nation's finances, military strength, and the people's resources were insufficient to wage such a war.

"Dauf, are you really determined to attack Liao this time?"

Tong Guan smiled and said, "My lord, do you really not want to see me achieve the victory in the conquest of Liao?"

Cai Jing shook his head with a wry smile.

How could these people think of national affairs so simply?

Is war really just about marching north and fighting on the battlefield?
He was about to give a reprimand, but remembering his position, he slowly sat back down, counting on his fingers, and recounted each and every incident in detail.

Despite his advanced age, his memory was as sharp as a young man's, and he was extremely organized, explaining the chaotic state of the imperial court's finances with remarkable clarity.

Cai Jing spoke to Tong Guan for a long time, explaining that at this time, the annual fiscal revenue of the Song Dynasty was less than 100 million guan, while the normal salaries of officials, the funds for raising the army, and various normal administrative expenses already amounted to more than 120 million guan.

This doesn't even include the money transferred to the inner treasury for expenses. Zhao Ji himself squandered a large portion on eating, drinking, and having fun. There were also some essential matters such as river works, transportation, relief, and rewards.

Every year, even if everything is as usual, there is a steady deficit of thirty to forty million strings of cash. This deficit is made up by issuing currency.

Cai Jing always manages to find new sources of tax revenue to support these extra banknotes.

They've managed to get by for years, and although they're leaky all over, they're still barely standing.

Now that Wang Fu has come to power, he can't wait to abolish Cai Jing's decrees one by one.

He abolished the land survey system, destroyed the Imperial Academy, the medical academy, and the mathematics academy, merged the various institutions that compiled the Compilation of Essentials and the Six Codes, halved the salaries of officials in remote prefectures and those in the horizontal ranks, stopped comparing the tea, salt, and paper money systems, and abolished all taxation and suppression of wealthy households.

In the short term, these wealthy and powerful families naturally sang his praises, but what about in the future?
All the hard work he put in, offending so many people, and all the patches he made for the empire, he tore off and ripped apart in one fell swoop.

He has received some praise now, but what about in the future?
A war like the campaign to conquer Liaodong and restore Yan would certainly be protracted, and money would be spent like water.

Cai Jing was well aware of Liang Shicheng and Wang Fu's abilities; besides relentlessly increasing taxes and exploiting them to the point of exhaustion, they also engaged in the excessive issuance of paper currency.

But do they know how to maintain that extremely delicate balance?
Tong Guan was somewhat annoyed. "How can we disregard the late emperor's edict?!" Hearing Tong Guan's voice suddenly rise, everyone else remained seated, not daring to move.

Chen Shao suddenly stood up, strode to the door, lifted the curtain and revealed half of his head.

His rude behavior startled everyone, who rushed forward to pull him away.

Tong Guan shouted, "Get out of the way!"

"Here!"

Chen Shao, who had been so aggressive, awkwardly clasped his hands in a fist and withdrew dejectedly.

After returning to his seat, Chen Shao continued to focus on his inner peace and began to meditate.

Everyone around him looked at him as if he were an idiot, for daring to offend even Cai Jing.

But thinking about it carefully, as long as Tong Xuanshuai protects them, it seems that Cai Jing has no way to deal with them.

The atmosphere between the two in the inner hall was slightly eased by Chen Shao's 'reckless' behavior.

Tong Guan explained, "This man is an orphan from a military household in the Northwest. His father and brothers died in battle for the country, and he has no one to teach him manners. Please do not blame him, Your Excellency."

Although he had managed to drive Chen Shao away with his words, he was actually quite satisfied.

Cai Jing did not pursue the matter further. He continued, "Daofu, look at the Northwest. Just by fighting against a small Western Xia, many people have already lost their homes, and widows, orphans, and the lonely are everywhere. The Liao Dynasty's national strength is ten times that of Western Xia. Why do you underestimate it so much?"

"Even if we take a step back and assume you actually conquer the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun, you'll need to establish towns in Yan and Hedong. Once those towns are established, you'll be spending a lot of money. Where will you find that money?"

"Take this year for example, the national treasury is short of 30 million. Even if nothing new is done, we still have to rely on cash to make up for it, but the credit of cash has fallen to an unprecedented low."

Even before the new bills were issued, it was already said that they could only be valued at 30% of their face value. These bills were to be distributed to hundreds of thousands of officials nationwide, to more than a million soldiers on the national military register, and to the laborers who volunteered to repair roads, manage river works, and participate in various transportation matters.

Even with this 30% discount on the money, it wasn't enough to support his family, or even feed himself. What would happen if things went wrong?

Tong Guan remained silent for a long time before slowly speaking, "Prime Minister, these are all minor ailments. As long as Youyun is conquered, everything will be alright. The people and officials will surely understand the court's good intentions and will be willing to grit their teeth and help the country overcome this difficult time."

Cai Jing was speechless. He was stunned for a long time, and then he sneered inwardly.

understand?

With officials' incomes declining, they can only intensify their exploitation of the people. More people will be displaced, leading to even lower incomes next year. The money handed over will be worthless, necessitating further printing of currency, ultimately rendering it worthless. In this situation, a major popular uprising is inevitable sooner or later!
When people are starving, they don't care about hierarchy or social status.

Every dynasty in history has fallen in this way!
He never expected that these people would be so short-sighted, treating national affairs as child's play.

Cai Jing stated it very clearly: in this world today, there is no one else who can explain it so clearly and explicitly, even providing specific figures.

Unfortunately, these people are always willing to take risks and speculate, completely disregarding how terrible the consequences of such risks may be.

Ultimately, they are just a bunch of despicable people, utterly lacking in talent, who rose to power through flattery.

Having lost his way in the power struggles of officialdom for many years, Cai Jing suddenly felt a pang of nostalgia for the court of his past.

Back then, everyone was scheming against each other, but at least they all took the country seriously.

Of course, his regret was only momentary. If he had to choose again a hundred times, he would still choose this path.

The taste of power is intoxicating, and it's impossible to give it up.

Let them make a scene!
When things finally stop turning, the government will remember who was mending the treasury for them.

As an emperor, Zhao Ji can be said to have single-handedly destroyed the Song Dynasty.

Since ascending the throne, he has treated the country as his own paradise, indulging in unrestrained luxury and extravagance.

They also fathered so many princes and princesses, built so many palaces and temples, and undertook so much construction. This enormous sum, which accounted for nearly 10% of the national fiscal revenue each year, was quickly depleted. Even so, Emperor Huizong still felt it wasn't enough and needed the Southeast Bureau of Imperial Sacrifices to open up new sources of income for him.

In fact, if it weren't for Zhao Ji, there would have been no shortage of money to fight the Liao Kingdom.

The emperors of the Northern Song Dynasty all had the ambition to recover the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun, so from the beginning of the Song Dynasty, the Fengchun Treasury was specially set up for internal storage and emergency use.

Each Song emperor would set aside some money to store in the Fengchun Treasury. This was intended for future campaigns against the Liao dynasty to reclaim the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun, and it later became a fixed practice.

At its peak, all the provincial transport commissioners had their own "sealed chaff" system, which was the Song Dynasty's most valuable and secret stash of money.

Emperor Huizong's father and brothers were also determined to recover the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun.

When Zhao Ji ascended the throne, he spent all of this money in one go.

This person spends money irrationally, acting on a whim. The Genyue Garden and the imperial palace cost countless sums, and one could argue that the imperial palace was too cramped and needed new places for entertainment and banquets.

Even if he was incompetent and pleasure-seeking, at least he still came in handy.

But sometimes he built palaces and temples that cost a fortune, enshrining the Three Pure Ones with bodies wrapped in gold and jade. He also sent people to Mount Tai to build the Zhenwu Emperor Temple, which was also a vast and sprawling complex.

After its completion, a host of Taoist officials were employed, each enjoying generous salaries, and a massive amount of money was spent every year. Yet he never visited it even once, so all that money was wasted, and it also incurred enormous costs in corvée labor and labor.

Go ahead and cause trouble, go ahead and attack Liao, go ahead and take the lands of Youyan.

When things have calmed down, the emperor will naturally remember who is the prime minister who can govern the country for him.

To be granted imperial favor in the imperial court and to be appointed prime minister in the jade palace—what an honor!

What makes you, Wang Fu, so special?
Ultimately, Cai Jing's desire for power outweighed his sense of responsibility to the country.

At this point, he decided to let go completely and let them do whatever they wanted.

Then he would return to the scene and clean up the mess.

He believed in his own abilities, and deep down, he also harbored a slight contempt for the Liao Dynasty.

The mighty Liao Dynasty, with its vast territory spanning thousands of miles, was so utterly defeated by a small barbarian tribe.

Seeing that he wouldn't budge, Tong Guan offered many more conditions, but Cai Jing looked drowsy and stopped agreeing.

Tong Guan stood up in anger, turned and left!

The moment the curtain was lifted, all the trusted confidants in the outer hall stood up.

"go!"

Tong Guan snorted coldly and strode away.

The guards followed, all sharing a common hatred for the enemy. Although they didn't know what had happened, they all looked indignant.

Chen Shao mingled in the crowd, sneering inwardly.

While you guys are still fighting for power and profit, when the Jin army arrives, all your schemes, plots, and infighting will be nothing but a joke.

These upper-class figures, the powerful and bloodsucking class, will always cause trouble if they are not eliminated. Only figures like Huang Chao, the Jin army, and the Qing army can deal with them.

If given the opportunity, I would be happy to take action.

(End of this chapter)