White-robed Minister

Chapter 235 0233 [Things are constantly changing]

Liao Zhenggu, Ding Zhengchen, and Yu Shanyuan returned from Xihe with Xu Lai and are now waiting to take up their new posts after the spring.

Since their families were not around, Xu Lai invited everyone to celebrate the Winter Solstice together.

"Why doesn't Xingzhi have many servants at home?" Liao Zhenggu asked.

Xu Lai explained, "Besides the cook and all the other cooks, everyone else has been sent home for the holiday."

Liao Zhenggu asked, "Are those two able to handle it?"

"Today's fire-warming party." Xu Lai said with a smile.

Ding Zhengchen asked curiously, "What is a 'warm stove gathering'?"

Yu Shanyuan, however, knew this: "A pot is placed on the stove, and everyone gathers around it to eat. Whether it's meat or vegetables, it can be eaten once it's cooked. This way of eating is not common in Guangdong, but it is very common in the North."

"I see." Ding Zhengchen suddenly realized.

The "warm stove gathering" is a hot pot meal that existed as early as the Northern Song Dynasty and is also recorded in the "Dongjing Menghualu".

Su Shi also recorded a dish called "Gu Dong Geng," which is made by throwing all sorts of random ingredients into a pot and boiling them, making a bubbling sound when the water boils. It's also called "Gu Dong Geng." It's a bit like a stew, and also a bit like a mixed hot pot.

I prepared three stoves today.

Xu Lai and his friends lit one stove, while the women lit another one next to them. The servants who hadn't gone home ate their own stove in the outer courtyard.

Most of the servants who stayed at the Xu family home for the festival were brought by Pianpian and Dingxiang from their hometown.

The siblings Ding Zhengchen and Ding Xiang not only brought servants to the border region, but also recruited twenty Tanka warriors as guards.

Of these twenty Tanka people, fifteen voluntarily stayed in Xihe, settling down, receiving land, getting married, and farming just like ordinary immigrants.

Having the status of a head of household and owning their own land was the life they had always dreamed of.

Plates of ingredients were served one after another, including wontons, rice noodles, mutton, rabbit meat, cured meat, offal, winter bamboo shoots, and lotus root.

Wood ear mushrooms, cabbage —

The rice wine has been warmed up.

Wang Hou volunteered to help, working with the servants to set out all the ingredients, bustling about in the inner courtyard.

Xu Lai gestured for everyone to sit down and casually asked, "Have you all been assigned your duties?"

Liao Zhenggu said, "Prefect of Ezhou."

Upon hearing this, everyone was surprised, realizing that this person had connections in the court.

Although Xu Lai helped them secure official positions, he only treated them to a meal. Given Liao Zhenggu's rank and experience, he would certainly need other connections to be appointed as the prefect of Ezhou.

Liao Zhenggu laughed and said, "I am against the new law, so I'm afraid it will be difficult for me to get promoted in the future. I will have to travel around to different places to serve as an official."

Yu Shanyuan sighed, "After returning to the capital, I inquired in detail about the Green Sprouts Act. Alas, this law is difficult to implement. Even if officials want to do it well, the clerks have to be obedient."

Yu Shanyuan had previously worked as a clerk and even served as a staff member for the magistrate of Qingyuan County. He knew all too well the methods of those clerks.

The Green Sprouts Act would inevitably exacerbate land consolidation. If the government forced wealthy households to act as guarantors for the poor, would those wealthy households simply accept the losses? They would certainly pass them on to the poor through usury.

Even wealthy households who didn't suffer any losses could collude with corrupt officials. They might borrow money from the government for crops but list someone else as the borrower. Some farmers were completely unaware and ended up owing money for crops without even knowing it.

How many local officials in the world can keep their clerks from running amok?

Xu Lai said, "The situation that Ti Ren (Yu Shanyuan) described shouldn't be too common in the early stages of the reform. However, it will gradually increase over the years. The longer it is implemented, the more obvious the harm of the Green Sprouts Law will become."

There were too many loopholes in the Green Sprouts Law. At first, everyone was very careful, and even if they found a loophole, they didn't dare to exploit it.

But as time went on, everyone else was finding loopholes, so why shouldn't I? If I didn't take advantage of the loopholes in the Green Sprouts Law, wouldn't I be at a disadvantage?

Wang Hou couldn't help but ask, "Since the Green Sprouts Act has loopholes, can't Your Majesty and Prime Minister Wang see them?"

Xu Lai said, "They can see it, but they think they can control it. They also believe that even if a few individuals exploit the loopholes for profit, the Green Sprouts Act is more beneficial than harmful overall."

"They're far too confident," Wang Hou muttered.

Xu Lai said, "No matter what law is enacted, it will have both advantages and disadvantages; nothing in this world is perfect. In the early stages of the Green Seedling Law's implementation, the number of farmers who benefited far exceeded the number who suffered. Therefore, during the debate over the Green Seedling Law this year, neither the reformists nor the opponents of reform lied. They were both telling the truth!"

Upon hearing this, Liao Zhenggu, Ding Zhengchen, Yu Shanyuan, and Wang Hou were all taken aback, as they had not expected Xu Lai to speak up for Wang Anshi.

In the first year or two after the implementation of the Green Seedling Law, a large number of farmers at the bottom level did benefit, but it generally ripped off wealthy farmers.

Xu Lai sighed, "One year later, two years later, three to five years later—the number of victims will exceed the number of beneficiaries. Because by then, the clerks and wealthy households will become bolder and bolder, and will discover more and more loopholes in the Green Sprouts Act. Even if there are no loopholes, they can create them artificially."

"Moreover, the poor who benefit now will be unable to repay the Green Sprouts Act if they encounter natural disasters or accidents in the future, and will need the wealthy households who acted as guarantors to repay on their behalf. Even if the wealthy households do not deliberately make things difficult, they will still calculate interest and make the poor compensate. The poor will also blame all their hardships on the Green Sprouts Act. The number of poor people who resent the Green Sprouts Act will also increase."

After hearing this, everyone seemed to be deep in thought.

Do you really think the young emperor didn't find out the truth?

At the height of the debate over the Green Sprouts Act, Emperor Zhao Xu dispatched two eunuchs, Zhang Ruoshui and Lan Yuanzhen, to conduct on-site investigations in the rural areas surrounding the capital for over a month.

Two eunuchs, traveling incognito, could only contact some farmers at the bottom of society, and the majority of them supported the Green Sprouts Act.

What about Han Qi, who submitted a memorial opposing the Green Sprouts Act? He mainly contacted wealthy households, and in the early stages of the reform, it was the wealthy households who were harmed, so all Han Qi heard were complaints.

The two investigation reports were completely contradictory: Han Qi called it an evil law, while the eunuch called it a good law. This left Emperor Zhao Xu utterly bewildered, completely unsure of whom to believe.

Actually, Han Qi and the eunuch were telling the truth.

But as time goes by, things will be different in a few years.

The wealthy households who initially complained to Han Qi might now support the Green Sprouts Act because they could exploit loopholes to profit from it. Conversely, the poor who praised the Green Sprouts Act to the eunuchs might become vehemently opposed because they had become victims themselves.

The same policy can be evaluated completely differently depending on the time and the target audience.

Therefore, Wang Anshi believed that the drawbacks of the Green Sprouts Act could be controlled. He had also sent people to investigate, and the feedback he received was that the benefits outweighed the drawbacks!

Apart from those who oppose for the sake of opposing, everyone believes they possess the truth and fights each other over it.

In situations like this, things get complicated because everyone is telling the truth while simultaneously believing the other person is lying.

"Come, come, today is the Winter Solstice, let's not talk about these troublesome things."

Xu Lai raised his cup and said, "May you be well and healthy, drink this cup to the brim."

Pianpian, Yu'er, Dingxiang, and Dou Niang, who were sitting around the pot nearby, also raised their glasses in congratulations. After the personal maids finished their work, they simply invited the maids to join them for hot pot.

As night fell, the guests left in a drunken stupor, and Xu Lai asked Chen Xiaoyi to call a donkey cart for them.

After Xu Lai and his wives and concubines finished washing up, they sat together by the fire, chatting and laughing as they celebrated the Winter Solstice.

The next few days were a holiday.

Xu Lai went out and bought a set of "Records of the Grand Historian". He had studied various Confucian classics well before, but he had never put in the hard work to study history.

Xu Lai had only been studying history for two days when he was summoned by the emperor.

After a few casual words, Zhao Xu got down to business: "You are from Lingnan, are you familiar with Guangxi?"

Xu Lai replied, "Not very familiar."

Zhao Xu took out two memorials and a congratulatory letter, and immediately handed them to Xu Lai to read.

That congratulatory letter, however, came from Jiaozhi. Jiaozhi claimed that they had defeated Champa and achieved great success in suppressing the rebellious Song Dynasty, attributing this to the blessings and power of the Song emperor.

One of the memorials came from Guangxi. At that time, the Guangxi Military Commissioner and Prefect of Guizhou was Pan Su, the grand-nephew of Pan Mei.

Pan Su told the emperor that the memorial presented by Jiaozhi was a forgery. Jiaozhi had not only failed to win, but had also suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Champa, and was now in a state of extreme chaos. Fearing that the Song Dynasty would seize the opportunity to attack, Jiaozhi lied and claimed a great victory.

Pan Su also said that now is the best time to attack Jiaozhi. He has prepared troops and supplies and is ready to send troops to recover Jiaozhi at any time.

The last memorial was written by Wang Gui.

Wang Gui meticulously copied the report submitted by the Guangxi Transport Commissioner more than twenty years ago, and then offered his own suggestions.

Xu was both amused and exasperated after reading it.

He made great contributions to the expansion of the border and was promoted more than ten ranks, which aroused the envy of many border officials. There was Li Fugui in Huanqing Road and Pan Su in Guangxi, both of whom wanted to replicate Xu Lai's deeds.

Wang Gui probably saw Pan Su's memorial first, and then discovered that the emperor admired the ten-year campaign against Xia, so he urged the emperor to send troops to Jiaozhi and provided the emperor with intelligence on Jiaozhi.

"Your Majesty, we can attack Jiaozhi, but two conditions must be met," Xu Lai said. "First, the court must have sufficient funds and provisions; second, the border generals must not only be familiar with the geography of Jiaozhi, but also have a thorough understanding of its climate. Throughout history, the number of soldiers who died in Jiaozhi due to the heat and malaria far exceeded the number who died in battle."

Zhao Xu nodded and said, "These past two days, I have also been reviewing the old records of the early Ming Dynasty's conquest of Jiaozhi. It is indeed necessary to be familiar with the local climate. Pan Su must be transferred away from Guangxi, otherwise he will definitely launch an unauthorized military campaign. The prime minister and the Grand Councilor have all recommended some candidates."

Who do you think is suitable for the position of Military Commissioner of Guangxi?

Xu Lai said, "I once studied at the Guangzhou Prefectural School and heard about the deeds of an official."

"Xiao Zhu?" Zhao Xu smiled.

"That's Xiao Zhu."

Xu Lai said, "Back then, Nong Zhigao rebelled and declared himself emperor, marching all the way from Guangxi to the gates of Guangzhou. In that critical moment, Xiao Zhu, who was only the acting magistrate of Panyu County, led his men to break through the siege and fight their way to the sea. He recruited many loyal soldiers and ships with a large sum of money. He personally led the fleet, taking advantage of the typhoon to charge straight into the rebel camp and burn Nong Zhigao's warships and naval fortress. If it weren't for Xiao Zhu's daring battle, Guangzhou might have fallen into the hands of the rebels."

"This man is indeed both scholarly and martial, and decisive and courageous," Zhao Xu remarked.

Although Emperor Zhao Xu did not know what a typhoon looked like, there were frequent reports of typhoon disasters along the coast, with some so powerful that the court had to grant a special decree to exempt them from taxes.

But Xiao Zhu dared to charge straight into the enemy camp during the typhoon!

Xu Lai said, "My father-in-law (Yu Jing) has praised Xiao Zhu highly, and Di Wuxiang (Di Qing) has also recommended Xiao Zhu. He has served as an official in Guangxi for many years and is most suitable to be the Guangxi Military Commissioner."

Zhao Xu smiled and said, "These past few days, you are the third person to recommend Xiao Zhu. It seems that Xiao Zhu's appointment as the governor of Guangxi is indeed the popular choice."

Xiao Zhu is a very interesting person. He was a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) but now he is serving in a military position.

Because his civil service rank had been completely stripped to the lowest level and he had been unable to obtain a substantive post for many years, he used bribery and connections to obtain a military rank, and now he has inexplicably become a military officer.

But he was a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) and was regarded as one of their own by the civil officials!

Incidentally, Xiao Zhu is currently in charge of the troops in Linfu and the other two prefectures. His situation is rather bad, but he also distinguished himself in the Song-Xia War this year, which led to his promotion to the rank of a fifth-grade military officer.

Xiao Zhu was quickly summoned back by the emperor to give an audience.

Zhao Xu asked, "Pan Su said Jiaozhi could be conquered, and you said the same thing back then. If you went to Guangxi, would you attack Jiaozhi?"

Xiao Zhu shook his head and said, "Your Majesty, the reason I said Jiaozhi could be taken back then was because I, along with the Guangxi Provincial Governor and the Transport Commissioner, had been preparing troops in Guangxi for several years. To train the cavalry, I even secretly opened gold mines, which led to my impeachment and dismissal from office. Now, the troops in Guangxi are not what they used to be, and their equipment has been ruined by some people. The cavalry I trained has also been disbanded. Jiaozhi is not weak, and if we fight now, I have no chance of winning."

Zhao Xu was very satisfied after hearing this, but he was afraid that Xiao Zhu would also want to fight if he went to Guangxi.

Xiao Zhu continued, "If Your Majesty wishes to take Jiaozhi, I will need to manage the situation in Guangxi for at least three years."

Zhao Xu said, "I have no intention of attacking Jiaozhi for the time being. You can go to Guangxi to guard against Jiaozhi launching an attack."

"Your Majesty, I will certainly live up to your expectations!" Xiao Zhu stood up and bowed.

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