Chapter 624 Exquisite Small Wooden Box
Zhao Yulin looked at Cao Gong blankly and said: I haven't thought about printing money for emergency, let's go back and discuss it. Besides, the court is spending money on construction, but the people still have to spend their wages.
The people use their wages to buy food, salt and other goods, which also incurs taxes. Merchants also have to pay taxes when they purchase goods after receiving the money. Our paper currency becomes living money and is constantly creating wealth, so there is no need to be afraid.
Cao Youwen was already familiar with his routine, and he repeated Zhao Yulin's economic principles to Meng Gong. It seemed that Meng Gong was a little out of date.
He said to Yu Dayi in an encouraging manner: Food is the most important thing for people. We have solved the people's food problem and completed the zero-channel transportation connection between the north and the south. This is a great thing that will benefit the present and future generations.
As you go further south, the economic situation becomes worse and worse.
You don’t know until you see it. It’s really shocking.
Zhao Yulin felt that it was necessary to vigorously promote the construction along the Zero Channel, using the opportunity of improving the traffic capacity of the Zero Channel to stimulate demand and give a boost to the economy of Jinghu South Road and Lingnan.
He said as he walked: The Yangtze River has developed water transportation and large ships, but after entering Mujiachuan and then going to Lingqu, the waterway becomes narrow and cannot accommodate large ships. It is necessary to select a location to build a transfer terminal, unify the transportation capacity, and standardize management. At present, the production of earth and cement has increased significantly after the Jiayang Coal Mine in Qianwei was put into production. It is fast to ship down the river, so we can build it in a good place.
He remembered that in later generations, when the country was in economic recession, it would often carry out large-scale infrastructure construction, giving people the opportunity to make money to stimulate investment and consumption, thereby driving the economy back to life. His major repair of the Zero Canal this time would surely help the people along the line get rid of poverty and become rich.
Although he was happy when he said that, after he calmed down, Meng Gong was still worried. He said to Lao Cao, "If this needs to be done, how much money will it cost?"
Can our Xin Song finances withstand it?
Lao Cao patted Meng Gong's shoulder with a smile and told him not to worry, as he was only a kid with Yulin around.
Haha, Zhao Yulin was speechless. He shook his head and walked away. When did this Old Cao start to use his catchphrase?
Five days later, they entered Xing'an County, Jingjiang Prefecture, Guangnan West Road to check the scales of the Lingqu Canal.
Along the way, there were silted-up rivers and damaged riverbanks. The Lingqu Canal had been in disrepair for many years and was no longer functional. When they were sailing, the water level in some sections of the river could not rise, so they had to climb the mountains and walk.
The big and small balances are the core of zero-channel water diversion, and they do not look optimistic either.
Guard Captain Jing Gang found an inn in the town and just checked in, there was thunder and lightning outside the house, and heavy rain poured down. Zhao Yulin looked at the heavy rain outside the window and said: Lingnan rains a lot, there is enough water, the river is there, we must restore this important transportation route.
In the evening, Zhao Yulin took out his aged Wu Gu Feng and invited everyone to drink. After three rounds of drinking, Meng Gong was still drinking it in one gulp. Although he was heroic, he was already an old man.
Moreover, the alcohol content of the wine was high. Seeing his cheeks flushed, Zhao Yulin was afraid that it might hurt his body, so he advised him to drink less.
Old Meng was still not convinced, and kept saying it was good wine, good wine. He couldn't bear to drink only three cups and continued to make the wine.
Lao Cao was also happy, and he and Lao Meng let loose.
He said: We discovered many problems during this trip. We have listed a project to overhaul the Zero Canal and stabilize the hungry people. If we continue to develop, we will have enough food and fodder to destroy the grassland empire.
Lao Cao and Meng Gong were in great joy, and they began to sing their ancient border defense songs, nodding their heads.
The next day, Lao Cao and Lao Meng both woke up later than him. Time really spares no one. In addition, they were injured in the battlefield, and the heavy drinking last night actually made them sleep comfortably.
The air was particularly fresh in the morning after the rain. Zhao Yulin was jogging on the trail beside the inn to keep fit, and asked Yu Dayi to prepare to return.
After Lao Cao knew about it, he stopped doing it and went further south to Thang Long Province to see Du Baiyue, muttering that Dai Viet had returned but he had not yet gone to see it.
Zhao Yulin said: We have been out for a while and we can't delay any longer, so let them continue to travel south, and after saying goodbye, they will go their separate ways.
The emperor of Dali Kingdom, which was adjacent to Guangnan West Road, did not have it as easy as Zhao Yulin.
Last year, the Dali Kingdom was in chaos and war was raging everywhere. Although the young emperor's eldest son, the King of Zhennan, had put down the rebellion, the remaining rebels were entangled with the Pagan army, constantly harassing the border and robbing counties.
How could the Dali Kingdom, a small country with only a small area of land and a serious population shortage, endure the years of war?
The young emperor raised taxes again and again. Ordinary people could only fill their stomachs after farming and paying rent. In years of famine, they had to sell their children to pay off debts. This meant that Dali's economy had lost its foundation and could not be sustained.
He was out of ideas. On the one hand, he imposed heavy taxes on business, but on the other hand, the government still received very little tax revenue. However, the ghost market business that opened in the middle of the night was booming.
This guy is the emperor. Unlike Zhao Yulin, he doesn't go out to understand the people's sentiments. He just stays in the palace and relies on his ministers to provide information. He issues decrees on the spur of the moment, which is bound to be far from the actual situation.
After the spring, seeing urgent reports of relief coming from various places, the young emperor was worried that the people would suffer from hunger and riot, so he urgently summoned his important ministers to discuss the matter.
The important ministers saw that Minister of Rites Zhao Sihan always achieved success during his diplomatic missions to New Song, and praised him for his loyalty to the emperor and his patriotism and his outstanding abilities. They continued to suggest to the young emperor: let Minister Zhao go to New Song again to borrow grain to overcome the difficulties.
This time, Zhao Sihan refused.
She had already overdrawn the credit of the Dali Kingdom and had not repaid a single ounce of the borrowed grain and silver, not even the interest. How could she borrow more money or grain?
The little emperor was in a dilemma.
That's indeed the truth.
As the saying goes, if you borrow and repay well, it will not be difficult to borrow again.
How can you just borrow and not return it?
Zhao Sihan reported: We are worried that our goods cannot be sold, so we impose high taxes on the imported goods from New Song Dynasty. As a result, the people find ways to smuggle goods into the country and trade them in the ghost market. This is called encouraging smuggling, which not only disrupts the market but also makes us lose the taxes we deserve.
What’s more, corrupt officials collude with these smugglers and tip off the government to obstruct their investigations, making it impossible for us to find the smuggled goods or catch the smugglers, yet the market is still flooded with smuggled goods.
Instead of this, it would be better to restore the original tariffs and allow normal circulation of goods, so that smugglers would not make any profit and the court could still collect taxes normally.
The old and important officials were immediately furious, thinking that Zhao Sihan was discussing state affairs without permission and was too rude and should be punished.
But the little emperor felt that Zhao Sihan had hit the nail on the head, so he downplayed it.
The prime minister of the Gao family was very unhappy and asked in a cold voice: Your Majesty is compassionate to the common people and cares about the people of the world. I only talk about the present, and ask Minister Zhao how to overcome the difficulties?
Zhao Sihan glared at the Gao family, and the people from the Chai family said: What else can we do?
She paused intentionally for three seconds before speaking: "If Mr. Gao only donates his family's grain, it will be enough to feed the hungry people in Dali City for half a year. The old tutor knew it very well, but still asked me, a weak woman, what to do?"
Zhao Sihan's powerful speech shocked the court and immediately silenced everyone. It was so quiet that even the fart of a mosquito outside the window could be heard.
The old man of the Gao family woke up from his shock and immediately shouted angrily: How outrageous, too outrageous, is this still the Minister of Rites and the Princess of Zhennan who are speaking?
The head of the Chen family, who ranked low among the generals, spoke.
He thought that what Minister Zhao said was right. Everyone in the court knew that the old Grand Tutor had twenty granaries in his warehouse in the south of the city. If one granary contained five thousand dan of grain, it should be enough to feed the hungry people in the city for three years. Minister Zhao's information was not accurate enough.
This made the old officials in power feel humiliated.
Three ministers then stood up in the hall and presented evidence that the Gao and Chai families were hoarding grain and selling it at high prices, profiting from the national crisis.
The families that had firmly established their power in the government were nervous and could not sit still. They jumped out one after another and scolded these officials for being bold and reckless, talking nonsense, and committing unforgivable crimes, which should be arrested and punished.
At this time, the guard of the south gate stepped forward and presented to the young emperor the evidence that the Gao family and the Chai family had been selling grain in the past three days. He strongly supported that what Zhao Sihan said was correct and asked the emperor to investigate clearly.
The little emperor was a little panicked at first, thinking about how to end it, but he was no longer in a hurry after getting the evidence.
While reading the memorials, he glanced at those respected ministers and said with a smile: There is gold and silver at home and a steelyard next door. My dear ministers have worked hard for many years and naturally have some assets. It is not wrong for the ministers to suggest that some of them be distributed to help in an emergency. Why get angry and cause unhappiness?
The Gao family has already sensed from the little emperor's words that they will not be punished, but they will definitely have to bleed.
This guy thought very quickly and immediately said that the emperor was wise and very observant. His family lived frugally and had indeed saved some surplus grain. So he donated 20,000 shi of grain to help the emperor relieve his worries.
The young emperor has already found this guy's weakness, so he won't let him go easily. He will definitely not be satisfied with just 20,000 stones.
The young emperor chuckled and said: My dear, don't act poor in front of me. Donate 40,000 shi of grain. My dear, Chai, also donate 40,000 shi of grain. You all know that your family's granary is stronger and taller than Gao's.
Then, this guy went about assigning the tasks. Although the old ministers were cursing in their hearts, they still had to keep thanking the emperor for his grace and expressed their willingness to help the emperor share his worries and solve his problems.
Harmony was soon restored in the court, and all the ministers petitioned the young emperor to lower tariffs and allow the goods of the New Song Dynasty to be imported through the border.
The young emperor was delighted when he received the emergency food and approved it. He promoted the general who had dared to impeach the Gao family in court to be an imperial envoy to deliver food to the disaster area to relieve the hungry. He adjusted the garrison commander of the imperial city, further tightened his power, and then waved his hand to announce the end of the court .
Zhao Sihan had just returned to the office and sat down when a young eunuch walked over with small steps and said in a duck-like voice: The Queen invites the Princess to enjoy the flowers and chat.
She immediately stood up and asked her maid to tidy up her clothes and then hurried to the harem.
Inside, the queen was having tea with the little emperor. When she saw Zhao Sihan, she waved with a smile and asked her to come over and sit down quickly.
The queen said with a smile: Princess is really resourceful. She easily solved the problem for His Majesty and also gave those enemies a note. She deserves a reward for her meritorious service.
Then a maid brought up an exquisite little wooden box, and the little emperor lovingly asked her to open it and have a look.
