I can't afford to mess with the concubine doctor

Chapter 154 Raising Food and Grass
"If you have anything to say, just say it, what's the point?" The emperor has always been impatient with his courtiers, and now he is depressed, and he has no good tone.Being reprimanded by the emperor, Minister of the Household Department couldn't help but bury his head lower, and said in a low voice: "Your Majesty, it is no problem to support an army of 20 with the grain stored in the treasury, but the subsequent supply can only wait for this year." New tributes can only be handed in, and based on the current situation, the share of tributes this year should be increased appropriately."

The food in the Jiangling area was flooded, and there was no way to pay taxes if there was no harvest. Not only that, the treasury had to allocate appropriate food and seeds to ensure their survival and cultivation in the next year. Now there is a war again, so other people who have not been affected by the disaster Regions have to bear heavier taxes.

Over the years, in order to satisfy his selfish desire for pleasure, the emperor has extensively built palaces in various places, confiscated countless labors, and reduced the labor force to cultivate fertile fields, but the taxes that need to be paid have increased year by year. It is impossible to gather so many people in just two years. If taxes are increased again now, I am afraid that the people will not even have enough food for the winter.

Thinking like this, Leng Yuanxun blurted out almost instinctively: "Your Majesty, I think it's inappropriate." He couldn't just watch the common people being driven to a dead end.

Regarding the repeated tax increases in the past few years, the emperor was not at a loss. Hearing this, he turned his eyes to Leng Yuanxun and said lightly: "Yuanxun, what's your idea?"

The top priority now is to send troops to destroy the Red Lotus Sect. If there is no better way, even if it will arouse public resentment, they can only forcefully increase taxes, because in the eyes of the emperor, the lives of ordinary people are nothing at all.

Leng Yuanxun did not directly answer the emperor's words, but arched his hands, and said word by word: "Your majesty, as the saying goes, 'the people are the foundation of the country, and the foundation of the country is peaceful'. Only when the people's hearts are stable can the country be stable. This year is not a year of harvest. The people must not have too much food to hand over to the imperial court, if taxes are raised at this time, it will inevitably cause turmoil, if the Red Lotus Sect rebels take the opportunity to confuse people, I am afraid it will lead to disaster." So saying, Leng Yuanxun slightly After a pause, he continued: "There are many rich merchants in both the capital city and the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions. These wealthy merchants are rich, and each of them has hoarded a lot of money. They are blessed by the imperial court and they are today. Now that the country is in crisis, they should pay the money. Contribute, I believe that the government should come forward to collect food and cloth from them, and return it when the treasury is sufficient in the future."

I have to say that Leng Yuanxun's idea is really too bold. Both the emperor and Murong Jing's two brothers were shocked. From ancient times to the present, every wealthy family has an inseparable connection with the dignitaries in the court. Many people even secretly provide a large amount of money to the princes who are fighting for the reserve, for the purpose of training armaments or building relationships on a daily basis, so it seems simple, but it is actually complicated. What's more, businessmen put profit first, and if they lend money to the court, it is no different On the day when the meat bun beats the dog and there is no repayment, who would be willing to do such a business that guarantees no profit?

Therefore, as soon as Leng Yuanxun finished speaking, before the emperor could speak, Li Bin, who was standing beside Murong Li, cupped his hands first and said: "Your Majesty, I think this method of Prince Leng is very inappropriate. For one thing, he borrowed money from ordinary people It is detrimental to the dignity of my court, and secondly, although those rich merchants are rich in money, they are all obtained legally, and they pay tribute to the court on time every year, if they are forced to empty their families, it seems too ruthless."

Not to mention, many wealthy businessmen in the capital are inextricably linked with Li Bin, and they pay him a lot of respect on weekdays. If those personal interests are damaged, they will definitely come to seek his help. In the future, no one will be able to please anyone, so it is natural to find a way to stop it.

"I don't understand what Master Li said." Leng Yuanxun glanced at Li Bin expressionlessly, and when he was forced to bow his head guiltily, he continued unhurriedly: "In the past, Mrs. When the ancestor emperor first established the country, the common people did not even have the seeds to sow in spring due to years of wars, so the court mobilized rich merchants from all over the country to provide seeds for the people and repay them after the autumn harvest. The siege of spring plowing was solved, and a lot of food was accumulated for the national treasury." At this point, Leng Yuanxun paused for a while, seeing that Li Bin was still afraid to answer, he just continued with a half-smile: "Master Li said before, Do you think that Emperor Taizu's decision-making is problematic, or do you think my awareness of becoming a wealthy businessman is far worse than before?"

Leng Yuanxun is definitely not a person who is not thoughtful. Since he dared to make this suggestion, he was naturally fully prepared. How could he be afraid of someone's refutation? After a few words, let alone Li Bin, it was Murong Jing who also wanted to raise objections. Also being blocked, he could only swallow helplessly.

Leng Yuanxun's indifferent eyes swept over the different faces of the people, looked up again, and said word by word: "Your Majesty, the taxes in various places are still being collected, even if there is a temporary increase, it will not happen in a while. If you don't come to the capital, and the army is about to go out in a few days, you must not delay it. What's more, any big family can survive without the blessing of the emperor. Now that the court is in trouble, if you want to be stingy with money, It's a big treason." Seeing the emperor's eyes flickering, he obviously listened to his words, Leng Yuanxun solemnly knelt down, and continued: "The Huaiyang Marquis is willing to donate five hundred dans of grain and 1 taels of silver for the army If necessary, please allow the emperor."

This time, Leng Yuanxun was included in the silver donation plan, not only rich households, but also court officials. Which of these officials did not steal a lot of silver in different ways, and few of them had clean hands. Just taking this opportunity to let them do bloodletting and save the poor people from the disaster of increasing taxes is a great merit.

What Leng Yuanxun did made the emperor extremely moved, he nodded repeatedly and said: "Good! Good! It is said that you can see people's hearts at critical moments, and the son of Leng is very concerned about the country and society. I am very pleased!"

If the emperor hesitated before, then at this moment, he completely agreed with Leng Yuanxun's proposal, but this matter is far from being as easy as it sounds, someone must come forward to persuade those wealthy households, So he continued: "Yuanxun, who do you think is more appropriate to entrust the matter of raising food and grass?"

Since Leng Yuanxun made a suggestion, he would not just sit idly by, and was about to take over the errand, but Murong Li, who had been silent all the time, spoke first: "Father, the matter of raising food and grass is of great importance. The situation can be stabilized only when members of the royal family are in charge, so it is most suitable for the prince to come forward, what do you think?"

When the army sets off, the food and grass go first. Whether the food and grass are sufficient is directly related to the success or failure of the war, and there is absolutely no room for loss. And such an errand that offends people should be entrusted to Prince Murong Jing. Wouldn't it be better?
Thinking that Murong Jing would offend a large number of people for this, Murong Li couldn't help but laugh out loud.

As early as when Murong Li had just opened his mouth, Murong Jing had talked about how the other party would turn the finger on him. Now that he heard this, he was so angry that he almost didn't jump up, but he had no way to refute it immediately, otherwise he would definitely leave the emperor. An impression of being timid and timid, if you really want to be like that, from today onwards, you will be the one who falls out of favor.

Just as he was feeling resentful, the emperor's questioning gaze fell on Murong Jing, "Jing'er, what do you think?"

Murong Li wanted to lead troops to go out, so he had to make various preparations these days. The matter of raising food and grass should not be left to the other party. It is indeed reasonable for Murong Jing to go.

how about?

Of course he doesn't want to go, a hundred of them don't want to!
If it wasn't in front of the emperor, Murong Jing would almost be cursing. He was tired of Leng Yuanxun who came up with such a bad idea, and wished that the other party would speak up quickly and take over this poor job. However, Leng Yuanxun seemed to have some kind of tacit understanding with Murong Li suddenly. Leng is how refused to speak.

……

There was really no other way, Murong Jing could only squeeze out a stiff smile that was not much better than crying, and said indifferently: "Returning to the emperor, as the prince, I have a duty to raise food and grass for the army, but...there are many rich merchants in Beijing, With my son's own strength, I am afraid that it is difficult to take care of it completely, so I ask my father to send more people to assist my son."

"It's natural." The emperor was quite satisfied with Murong Jing's answer, and said with a smile: "Since the solution was proposed by Yuan Xun, he naturally wants to participate, and I will entrust this matter to you two to be responsible. Let me handle it well, if those wealthy households dare not cooperate, you don't have to be polite."

As Leng Yuanxun said, the money earned by those individuals is all protected by the court. He can praise them, but if he wants to crush them, it will naturally be effortless!

"Sir, take orders."

"My son takes orders."

After Murong Jing and Leng Yuanxun both agreed, Murong Li said again: "Father, Prince Leng donated the private reserves of the mansion for use by the army. As the commander-in-chief of the three armies, my son can't just sit idly by and is willing to donate food from the private treasury of the king's mansion for six A hundred dan, and 2 taels of silver for military expenses."

After that, Murong Jing, Li Bin and others also expressed that they would donate food and money from the government. Of course, it is unknown who is willing and whose heart is bleeding silently.

Of course, among these few people, nothing is more comfortable than the emperor. In just one hour, not only the army, but also food and grass have been settled, so there is no need to worry about the future. Uprooted, no one can threaten his throne anymore!

The emperor only cared about dreaming of his own happy spring and autumn, but he didn't know that all this was just the beginning...

(End of this chapter)