Back to the prosperous Tang Dynasty to be the emperor

Chapter 175
"Qi Zou Your Majesty, the old minister thinks that His Royal Highness King Zhou is quite reasonable, but today is different. The old minister has just received an urgent letter from the capital, saying that more than forty prefectures such as Yong, Hua, Pu, etc. have experienced a severe drought this autumn and the disaster situation in various places. Seriously, the imperial court’s food reserves are no longer enough, if we resort to weapons at this time, we will inevitably be suspected of resorting to military action, I beg your majesty to show us this.” After a period of unbearable silence, Li Jingxuan, the servant of the West Terrace, took the lead in standing up against Li Xian’s proposal impatiently.

"What? How did I not know when the news came?"

If you don't count Jimi Prefecture (a small country attached to Datang), there are only 360 states in Datang. This guy has more than [-] states affected by the disaster, which is more than one-ninth. Its scale is not bad Little, let alone these prefectures and counties are mostly concentrated in the Guanzhong area with the highest population density. How could Gaozong not be shocked? As soon as Li Jingxuan's words fell, Gaozong immediately jumped up like an electric shock and roared angrily. voice.

"Your Majesty, please calm down. The old minister also just received an urgent message before coming here, so I dare not hide it."

When Gaozong became anxious, Li Jingxuan's face immediately turned pale, and he felt so wronged—it wasn't that Li Jingxuan concealed it, it was because the news of the army's disastrous defeat was too shocking, and Gaozong was furious at that time. Even if Li Jingxuan was given two more guts, he didn't dare to report the bad news directly. He planned to wait for Gaozong's anger to subside before bringing it up tactfully, so as to have a buffer, but he didn't expect Li Xian to be a guy. Proposing to send troops again, Li Jingxuan was worried that Gaozong had approved Li Xian's performance under unknown circumstances, so he had to report the disaster information. After this report, it was obvious that Li Jingxuan had to become a lamb for others Yes, it really made him suffer so much that he couldn't tell.

"Bastard, why didn't you report such an important matter earlier, hum!"

Sure enough, when Gao Zong heard Li Jingxuan's explanation, not only did he not calm down, but he became even more angry, and scolded Li Jingxuan without giving Li Jingxuan any face.

"thump!"

As soon as Gaozong's words came out, Li Jingxuan couldn't bear it any longer. As soon as his knees softened, he knelt down on the ground with his head lowered, and he didn't dare to speak out to defend himself at all——Gaozong's character It is cowardly flaws. Normally, you seldom get angry, but if you really get angry, it is not a trivial matter. If you make trouble, you will lose your head. Everyone in the palace has been serving for many years. Knowing the stakes involved, all the people looked at Li Jingxuan with a hint of pity and sympathy.

"Father, please calm down. I have noticed this matter a little bit when I was in Beijing. The long drought without rain is really a natural disaster, not a human disaster. As long as we can work together as one, it will not be difficult to eliminate it..."

Gaozong hid in the deep palace, so it was impossible to know the situation outside, but Li Xian knew it very well. This drought had long been expected by Li Xian, but out of various considerations, Li Xian did not reveal the secret, but It was to wait and see the development of the situation. At this moment, seeing Gaozong was furious and the officials were silent, Li Xian sighed inwardly, stood up from the side, and persuaded with gentle words.

"It's not difficult, it's not difficult, tell me, how is it not difficult, huh?"

Under the impact of two consecutive bad news, Gaozong's heart was too angry. Not only did he not give face to the officials, but even Li Xian didn't give face, and he didn't wait for Li Xian to finish speaking. , and he scolded angrily.

"Father calm down, my son has several strategies that may solve this problem."

Li Xian dared to stand up at this time, so he had the corresponding assurance. Facing Gaozong's anger, Li Xian bowed his body calmly, and replied in a calm tone.

"Huh?" Although Gao Zong was very angry, his face softened a lot when he heard Li Xian said that the matter could be resolved, but he didn't ask questions immediately, but looked at Li Xian suspiciously for a while, He waved his hand hesitantly and said: "Xian'er has some good ideas, let me tell you."

"Father Emperor Mingjian, today my Tang Dynasty has 360 states, 510 million households, and a total population of about 800 million. Considering the average state, the value does not seem to be large, but this is not the case. The number of households in my dynasty It is generally concentrated in Guannei Road, Henan, and Hebei, especially in the Guannei prefectures. Today, the number of households in Guanzhong prefectures has exceeded one million, and the population has reached nearly [-] million. Nearly [-]% of the population is in Guanzhong , The land has been insufficient for a long time. Fortunately, the weather has been good and the weather has been good over the years, and no major disasters have occurred. Coupled with the grain transported by water, Guanzhong can barely be stable. Now that the drought is coming together, the disaster will be serious. If you want to eliminate the future troubles forever, you must start from the root In order to change this status quo, I think that immigration is an urgent matter. Jing, Xiang and other southern states are vast and sparsely populated, but the land is fertile and well-managed. They will become the granary of our Tang Dynasty. Moving to Jianghuai, Sichuan and other places can fundamentally solve the disasters of the Guanzhong states. Many people should be encouraged to donate money and materials to help each other in difficulties. Third, after several years of hard work, water transport has been smoothed out. After opening warehouses to release grain, merchants can be encouraged to transport grain northward and use some salt profits as a lure. , Followers must be like clouds, there are these three things, why worry about this misfortune, this is my foolish opinion, I implore my father to investigate carefully." The most fundamental core of Li Xian's refusal to reveal the secret of the drought is to Taking advantage of the disaster situation to emigrate, of course, in order to deal with the disaster situation, Li Xian has already made a lot of relevant arrangements in private, especially the food reserves are sufficient, which can be used to relieve the victims at any time. At this time, Gaozong answered His questioning was very methodical and full of confidence.

"Let's talk about it, can Xian'er's three methods work?"

After listening to Li Xian's long speech, Emperor Gaozong did not express his opinion in a hurry, but frowned and thought for a while, then looked around at everyone, and asked in a slightly slower tone.

"Your Majesty, the old minister has three questions, and I would like to ask His Royal Highness King Zhou. First, the emigration costs a lot, how to raise it? Second, although private recruitment is a good way, how much can be obtained, I don't know what His Royal Highness thinks." Are there any? Thirdly, salt and iron are the most important interests of the country, if they are released easily, they will be difficult to collect, do you have any countermeasures?" As a prime minister, Hao Chujun has strict considerations, and it is obvious to Li Xian's three strategies He held reserved opinions, and when he saw Gaozong asking a question, he immediately stood up and raised three questions in a loud voice.

"Hao Xiang is very worried, but Xiao Wang thinks that these three questions can be solved. The total population of the more than 200 states affected by the disaster this time is about [-] million. If [-] million can be diverted, the disaster will be eased. So The need for property seems to be a lot, but it is not. Nowadays, the victims of disasters are frequently in desperate situations, but there is a way to survive, and they must follow them. What the court needs is nothing more than food and fodder along the way. Calculated according to the itinerary, the food and fodder for more than two months is [-] shi That's enough, although this amount is quite a lot, it can be solved from three parts. First, [-]% of the grain stored by the imperial court can be used, and [-]% can be raised by the people. The rest can be collected by merchants by exchanging grain for salt. Well, Xiao Wang thinks that the imperial court might as well exchange a vain title for donations. He clearly stated that this title cannot be inherited, but only honored. The status of Jia is low and rich, but he can use this to change his status. Few people are unwilling. Third, The benefit of salt and iron is the most important thing for the country, so it should not be taken lightly. However, you can use salt to lure it, that is, once you lure it, it can only be used once, and it will be invalid later. It should be said that there will be no future troubles. These three strategies can solve the people's misfortune. , and benefit the country, why don’t you do it?” Li Xian came prepared, and since he wouldn’t be baffled by Hao Chujun’s three questions, he calmly analyzed them one by one.

"His Royal Highness, the old minister has been educated."

Hao Chujun is an orthodox Confucian student, and he is upright. He still has reservations about Li Xian's apparently merchant-like approach. It was really impossible to find any flaws in Li Xian's words. After pondering for a while, he had to express his agreement against his will, with a hint of reluctance in his tone.

"Do you have any questions?"

Seeing that Hao Chujun had been persuaded by Li Xian, Gaozong's eyes fell on Li Jingxuan who was kneeling on the ground and Jiang Ke who was silent.

"Respectfully, Your Majesty's Holy Judgment."

Li Jingxuan had just taken the lead, and now he is still kneeling on the ground, so he dared to speak casually, and Jiang Ke was originally a frontier general, good at military affairs, although he was quite proficient in civil affairs, but after all, he had just entered the court as a prime minister, They are still familiar with the affairs of the court, and they have always been cautious in their words and deeds, so they don't want to say anything more about this matter. After hearing Gaozong's question, the two almost handed over the decision-making power to Gaozong hands.

"Meiniang, do you think this is feasible?"

For this sake, Gaozong had already made up his mind, but he still didn't have enough confidence in his heart, so he looked sideways at Empress Wu who had been silent all along, and asked tentatively.

"Your Majesty, Xian'er can care about the country and care about the affairs of the state at all times, and it is a blessing for the court. I will congratulate Your Majesty. If this matter can be accomplished, Xian'er will be the first to do it. Now the people of the forty states are suffering, and the concubine is waiting. To do my best, all the needs of the harem will be halved, and the remaining money and goods can be used for relief, which can be regarded as a response to Xianer's proposal."

Empress Wu did not object to Li Xian's proposal, but there was a different kind of intention hidden in the words, and the meaning of provocation was very strong. When these words came out, the faces of Hao Chujun and other important officials could not help but change, but no one dared to say more What's more, they can only pretend to be deaf and dumb, pretending to be wood carvings and clay sculptures.

"Well, okay, that's it for the matter. Xian'er will come back and write a detailed chapter later. I want to live it up again."

At this moment, Gaozong was happy that the disaster could be resolved, but he didn't notice the subtext in Empress Wu's words, stroked his long beard on his chest, and agreed to Li Xian's proposal with a smile.

Always concerned about court affairs?Shi Shi is your size, this thief woman is really vicious!Li Xian is such a shrewd person, how could he not hear the insinuations in Empress Wu's words, he was so tired of it in his heart, but when he said it, there was no room for Li Xian to get angry, he could only be secretly in his heart He cursed, but he replied with a look of sincerity and fear on his face: "Father is wise, I should try my best to think so, but I still have one thing to say, that is, the war mentioned above cannot be delayed. Holy break!"

The crowd obviously didn't expect that Li Xian would turn the topic back to the war, and they were all stunned for a while, and the atmosphere in the hall immediately became a little weird...

(End of this chapter)