Volume 5 Chapter 9: Stimulation
After the Lantern Festival, the spring ploughing season began. Perhaps because the manuscripts were used up, the Water Margin, whose background was too sensitive, finally slowed down its update. However, the series of incidents that arose in the court had just begun.
Among them, the person who first made a targeted response, or the first person who jumped out was quite unexpected to everyone, and it turned out to be the Imperial Censor Li Jing.
The point that Li Jing targeted was also extremely interesting.
During the spring ploughing season, the Cuju competition was suspended as usual. Therefore, the Cuju competition schedule, which was originally used as a carrier for the serialization of "Water Margin", also changed. The event information disappeared, "Water Margin" moved from the back to the front, and the back was restored to the advertisements of the drinks and takeaways of various regular stores.
Widely advertising was naturally the work of Emperor Zhao, and it appeared behind the Cuju competition list very early on. Usually, the regular restaurants boasted that their wine was the best, the scenery was the best, and the takeaway prime minister said it was delicious... Instead, the "Water Margin" of unknown origin replaced these advertisements.
However, it was these advertisements that had appeared very early on in connection with the Cuju match list, which completely replaced the Cuju match list and triggered the first wave of turmoil in the court during the spring ploughing period.
In late January, the censor Li Jing suddenly wrote a letter of impeachment, saying that this kind of leaflet, which was half advertisement and half novel, violated the state law.
Li Jing's logic is simple and direct:
According to him, the Cuju competition was a semi-official group activity in which Kaifeng Prefecture participated. In this case, the distribution of flyers to explain the situation of both sides and mark the date and seats of the game was an official announcement. Whether it was an advertisement or a novel, taking advantage of the space on the back of the flyer was a harmless act of attachment.
But now, without Cuju matches, this leaflet consisting of advertisements and novels is no longer a Cuju leaflet. It no longer has the nature of an official printed product and is just a privately distributed banned newspaper or periodical.
We cannot allow this kind of thing to appear just because it is harmless at the moment. Otherwise, it will surely be taken advantage of by evil people and used to mislead the public in the future.
It has to be said that after working as an imperial censor for many years, Li Jing finally learned his lesson. The logic of his impeachment this time was clear and correct, which left many people speechless, including Emperor Zhao, who worked hard to update the novel.
By the way, it also forces everyone to face the real crux of the problem - whether or not to lift the ban on newspapers?
After all, long before the New Year, Li Jing's elder brother Li Gang had publicly petitioned for the lifting of the ban on newspapers. Once the ban on newspapers was lifted, the biggest beneficiaries would undoubtedly be the Taoist academies in the south and a large number of retired officials from the south, because they were the only ones who could maintain a popular newspaper with a wide audience and great influence in addition to the official gazette.
Correspondingly, even if the literati in the Central Plains had the intention, they would find it beyond their capabilities to produce a civilian newspaper when they already had a government bulletin. Moreover, Guanxi and Bashu had never been very prosperous.
Therefore, the court has always refused to discuss this topic. In addition, Emperor Zhao fled to the army, so the matter was shelved.
Back to the present, actually, if we only talk about novels, there are still many ways, such as making an official leaflet or simply printing the book in another place. These are all feasible, but you can't escape the danger...the issue of newspaper ban must always be faced.
This time, Emperor Zhao did not dodge the incident, but openly sent Li Jing's impeachment to the provincial capital. There was no need for Li Jing or Li Gang to write a special memorial to point out this issue. He directly asked the provincial capital to discuss the ban on newspapers based on this memorial.
The debate was heated, but the conclusion was extremely simple.
Besides, by now, the role of the official reports is beyond doubt. Not only did the people of the Song Dynasty read their own official reports, but the people of the Jin Dynasty also read the official reports of the Song Dynasty, and even the Khitans read them. There are rumors that when Yelu Dashi set out from Lanzhou, he went to the local prefect in Lanzhou city to ask for almost all the official reports that had been received before, and he specifically asked the officials stationed in the Lanzhou Grand Market to copy the official reports and send them thousands of miles to the west.
It can be said that all literate people in the world have become accustomed to obtaining official news of the Song Dynasty from the court bulletins.
Not only that, once the poems, songs, and novels in the official gazette are published, they will become the subject of discussion among literati, and the publisher will immediately become famous all over the world. Is there anything more to say about the poets who have been certified by the official gazette?
The original academic experiments in the court bulletins will be taken out by Emperor Zhao for personal demonstration and study, and will also be replicated in the imperial lectures. There are even rumors that in the next few years, some questions on the original academic experiments will be appropriately added . What does this mean?
Therefore, when someone wanted to make another "New Palace Gazette", they undoubtedly encountered collective opposition from the central government officials... Not only the Wood Party, which has always had a more radical attitude, that is, the Western Palace Prime Minister Zhang Jun's side, but also the Water Party, which has always sympathized with the group of retired officials in the south, that is, a large number of prudent officials represented by the Capital Province Prime Minister Zhao Ding, all expressed formal and serious opposition.
Even the Chief Censor of the Censorate, Li Guang, had a clear disagreement with Li Jing after listening to the advice of several other censors and the opinions of several important officials and friends.
There is no way. This is the instinct of central officials under the centralized system. Although they may have various differences internally, and even serious differences on specific issues, when they face the outer political structure together, they are instinctively unwilling to give up any power and do not want to see any uncontrolled situation.
You can set up secret cabinets and public cabinets in the central government, and publish court reports under the name of the Honglu Temple, which is fine, but if you want to delegate power from the court to the local areas, I'm sorry, take the imperial edict... what are you going to do with it? Find trouble to make Emperor Zhao withdraw his order.
This characteristic makes the opinions and power of a few people like Ma Shen and Li Jing seem so insignificant.
Of course, the provincial government is competent after all, and they quickly gave a watertight and tactful solution:
First, the province redefined the scope of "newspaper ban", and only leaflets that published serious topics such as government decrees, classics, and current affairs were strictly prohibited.
Secondly, poetry, songs, novels, store advertisements, event arrangements, etc., when distributed regularly in printed form, are not counted as covered by the newspaper prohibitions... provided that the former do not contain prohibited content and the latter do not contain false information... just treat them as privately printed books and print them separately.
Finally, the provincial government left some room - the so-called strict prohibition did not mean that it was absolutely not allowed to happen. As long as it was approved by the emperor, reviewed by the provincial government and the Privy Council, and reported to the Honglu Temple, a new report could be formulated.
In the first round, Li Jing, Ma Shen and the Southern Taoism school were defeated.
But then, the price of paper in Tokyo, which was already somewhat expensive, really became more expensive. After the explanation of the provincial government on the newspaper ban was published in the new official gazette in late January, the regular shops, warehouses, and trading companies that had tasted the sweetness of the Cuju list immediately established their own tabloids... Although the provincial government said that it was not a newspaper, the people of Tokyo still habitually called it a newspaper.
Among them, the newspapers of warehouses and trading companies were relatively neat, and were only issued internally to record commercial information such as where there was a lot of rain or where the roads were difficult to travel. However, the official shops were a lot more ridiculous. Some directly printed "Water Margin" like the Cuju match list, but only had their own unique advertisements on the back; some simply edited "Journey to the West Conquering the Demons", and still had their own advertisements on the back; and some simply used Tang poetry, Thousand Character Classic and the like as rafts, which was even more effective.
In addition, some serious things also appeared. For example, Lu Benzhong came forward to set up two tabloids... One specializes in discussing poetry, and the other specializes in geography, customs and interesting news. However, it is not known whether they have any relationship with Emperor Zhao.
At the very end, of course, monks and Taoists are indispensable. "Mulian Saves His Mother" is accompanied by Buddhist scriptures, and "The Legend of White Snake" is accompanied by Yin and Yang and Eight Diagrams. It is really a series of surprising moves.
And it seems that this thing will spread quickly, and even Jiangnan will quickly come up with some tricks.
But this situation was definitely something that the instigators such as Li Jing brothers and Ma Shen could never have imagined.
After the Taoist school failed in its attack on the newspaper ban, the second round began soon. This time, it was Liu Ji, the deputy prime minister of the capital province, and Yan Xiaozhong of Kaifeng Prefecture who jumped out.
Liu Ji wrote a letter through the capital province, suggesting that after the spring ploughing, the technology of raising chickens in mulberry-based fish ponds that the government had used in the harem should be promoted on a large scale in Kaifeng Prefecture.
This time, the matter finally touched Emperor Zhao's heart. After returning to Beijing, Emperor Zhao, who had been staying in the harem to write books, issued an edict to ask all the ministers and the prefect of Kaifeng, Yan Xiaozhong, to go to the stone pavilion in the harem to discuss the matter.
It is already the end of January. Spring has not yet fully warmed up, but the flowers have already bloomed. The tense political atmosphere caused by the three major cases last winter has finally shown signs of loosening, and the atmosphere of political unity seems to be returning.
"I object."
Li Guang, the Chief Censor, made a solemn protest, saying, "This move will waste people's time and money and will ultimately be useless."
Emperor Zhao sat still, and everyone from Prime Minister Zhao Ding down to the others looked half frowning and half solemn when facing the censor.
"Mr. Liu, I was taught to seek truth from facts. May I ask, have you calculated clearly the benefits to people's livelihood if this matter is promoted?"
In front of the stone pavilion where the south wind was blowing gently, Li Guang ignored the reactions of the people around him and continued to question Liu Ji proudly:
"How much manpower does it take to grow mulberry trees, raise fish and feed chickens here? Have you calculated the cost of clothing, food and salaries for the hundreds of eunuchs?"
"Even if the chickens and fish in the harem are cheap, once they come out, they are snapped up by the regular shops on Ma Xing Street outside Donghua Gate, so much so that they have to bribe the eunuchs. But how can ordinary people sell their products as quickly as those in the palace?"
"There is such a large open space. The harem can be cleaned up. Which common people would not plant crops with such open space?"
"Besides, digging a pond and transplanting mulberry trees will take time and effort, money and materials. How can ordinary people afford it?"
"More importantly, the harem doesn't have to pay taxes. So, do the common people want this?"
After a series of inquiries, Emperor Zhao remained seated motionless, and the other ministers also remained expressionless.
Of course, when asked, Liu Ji naturally turned around and said calmly: "Li Zhongcheng, do you think we don't know what you said? Even the emperor doesn't know this truth? If not, why did the emperor only introduce the mulberry-fish pond a few times in the court newspapers, but not directly convey it? And why did we only mention it today?"
Li Guang finally paused slightly, and instinctively looked at Emperor Zhao, but Emperor Zhao just smiled at him: "Li Qing, you still haven't said one bad thing... that is, mulberry farmers are the most important in the world. Although the mulberry-based fish ponds here in the harem are derived from the layout of some manors in the south with narrow fields, whether they can be implemented and adapted in the north still needs to be verified. Otherwise, once implemented, the result will be that the local climate and soil are not suitable, which will be a real disaster... However, in the past few years, with the stable production here in the harem, a few local wealthy families have also successfully imitated them. Regardless of other things for the time being, at least we can draw the conclusion here that the method of growing chickens, mulberry trees, and fishing in parallel along the Yellow River can still succeed."
Li Guang was a little embarrassed, but he still nodded, then quickly turned to look at Liu Ji, who gave him less pressure.
"Li Zhongcheng." Unexpectedly, the next person to confront Li Guang was Prime Minister Zhao Ding. "The governor mentioned this matter today for a specific strategy, not just to flatter... First of all, the vacant land you mentioned is indeed hard to find around the capital, but along the Yellow River, due to the previous military tensions, few people are willing to settle there except for the military and civilian settlements designated by the government, so there are still a lot of vacant land available. Even in the Central Plains and other places that have experienced war, there may be vacant land available in just three years."
Hearing this, not only Li Guang, but also Emperor Zhao was slightly moved, and then he remembered the ice-breaking thing mentioned by Zhang Rong again.
"Secondly, as for Li Zhongcheng's argument about costs and taxes, it is a bit too demanding. Just ask, is this design more clever and convenient than planting mulberry trees, raising fish, and feeding chickens? If so, it is more economical than many farms at present, rather than forcing a comparison with the harem." Just when Emperor Zhao's mind was wandering, Zhao Ding had already continued to follow. "Moreover, since it is implemented along the Yellow River, if there is a surplus of chickens and fish after self-use, it can be sold to the military camp to improve the army's food and strengthen the soldiers. I think there are many retired soldiers in the military settlements, and the land granted to meritorious soldiers is also there. The military camp should not rob them."
"If that's the case, it's not impossible if we can limit it to the area along the Yellow River and around military and civilian settlements." After being refuted by Zhao Ding one by one, Li Guang chose to back down at the right time. He had realized that this matter was probably led by Emperor Zhao and Zhao Ding, and Liu Ji and Yan Xiaozhong were just the frontmen and executors.
"Besides, whether it's the province or the government, how can anyone be as bold as the Zhongcheng? They definitely don't dare to promote it directly along the Yellow River." Li Guang just thought of Yan Xiaozhong, and the short Yan Xiaozhong suddenly interrupted with a sneer. "It's clearly stated in the memorial that it should be carried out from Kaifeng Prefecture, and it should be a pilot project first. If Kaifeng Prefecture succeeds, then go to Zhengzhou and Huazhou. If Zhengzhou and Huazhou succeed, then go to Luoyang and Jingdong... Moreover, if it starts from Kaifeng Prefecture, the government can come forward and directly issue low-interest or even interest-free green seedling loans here in Xuande Tower, just like selling national bonds, so that the military and civilian settlements along the river can come according to the settlement villages and use them for a unified loan! Why does Zhongcheng Li have to find fault with it?"
Li Guang was ready to give up the argument, but when he saw Yan Xiaozhong's attitude, his old habit came back. He immediately resisted and retorted: "If the special loan is mainly for the village, then this kind of thing should also be done mainly for the village. How can we know that there won't be cunning officials and bullies who will profit from it?"
“That is indeed a concern.”
The Emperor Zhao, who was sitting over there, interrupted again at the right time. "But the military and civilian settlements along the river are mostly villages that were uniformly settled after the court returned to Tokyo in the second and third years of Jianyan. There are many soldiers in them, but there are fewer bullies. And compared with this concern, these settlements are basically all of various surnames, and there has never been any clan activities. There is no place to go for annual ancestor worship and Mid-Autumn Festival grave visits. This is not a good thing. At least the vegetable-eating demon cult often takes the opportunity to invade, which leads to disasters. So, what I mean is that if this can be accomplished, we will lure them with no interest, allow them to decide for themselves , and see if they can imitate the clan property in the south and set up some village properties with this kind of mulberry pond and fish pond..."
As soon as these words came out, everyone in the upper and lower levels seemed to be thinking about something. Li Guang also suddenly came to his senses, but he forced a smile and said, "If that's the case, then I haven't thought it through! I think this is feasible, and the Censorate can send two censors to patrol along the river to monitor this matter."
Zhao Jiu nodded with satisfaction.
By the way, what Zhao Jiu mentioned at the end was what really hit the nail on the head for these bureaucrats - that is, the collective property of the village and the corresponding collective activities of the village.
It should be understood that no matter how rapid the urbanization progress of the so-called Song Dynasty was, the Song Dynasty at that time was still a typical medieval imperial society based on agriculture. Moreover, like all other places, due to problems of productivity and organizational advancement, the peripheral structures of imperial power could hardly reach the grassroots people, which is the so-called meaning of "imperial power does not go to the countryside."
And this situation will breed problems.
First of all, the fragility of the small peasant economy makes the grassroots people defenseless in the face of usury and rent exploitation, and this fragility will allow religions such as Manichaeism, which has a self-help insurance business for the poor, to take advantage of the situation and move in, which is impossible to stop. In the end, people live in poverty, cults are rampant, and finally they rise up in rebellion.
But at the same time, another absurd reality is that if imperial power were to force its way into rural communities, it would instead cause greater chaos and damage - because in the era of imperial power, compared with the government, monks, Taoists, and landlords were simply white lilies!
In fact, the reason why those monks, Taoists and landlords were able to exploit the people and suck their blood out of them was largely because of the evil deeds they did after relying on the imperial power.
This situation will be difficult to change even after another eight hundred years.
At this time, a moderate grassroots organizational form is needed that can both obey the rule from above and play a calming role to the people below.
Historically, this position has been occupied by none other than clan.
If a clan wants to play a practical role, it must have an economic foundation to a large extent. Therefore, the role of clan property is unquestionable.
So who invented the system of clan property?
The answer is Fan Zhongyan.
After Fan Zhongyan invented clan property, it was immediately strongly recognized and promoted by the Song Dynasty court, and quickly swept throughout China, subsequently rapidly expanding clan power in small villages and communities.
There was no way. Although clan property and lineage were synonymous with backwardness in later times, at the moment, facing the imperial power above, the temples, landlords, usurers within the village, and the pervasive cult associations at the lowest level, this was already a relatively progressive form of village collective economic organization.
Back to the present, for Zhao Jiu, the problem of lack of organization at the grassroots level is also a personal issue.
In fact, Emperor Zhao was faced with many problems. He wanted to march north, which required strong troops, money and food, but also internal stability and peace in the rear. But as he directly participated in the administration, he gradually had some ideas of his own.
For example, after coming out from Zhang Rong, thinking back to Zhang Rong's interrogation, he felt uneasy and had always wanted to do something against certain groups. It seemed that if he didn't do something, even the Northern Expedition would lose its meaning... In fact, this was also one of his original intentions for joining forces with Zhao Ding to launch this matter.
One of his attempts was to promote mixed agriculture of mulberry-fish ponds and then specialize in grassroots collective economy.
As a time traveler, Zhao Jiu certainly knew the backwardness represented by the feudal clans, but after serving as an official for six years, he also realized that the fact that the feudal clans could become the dominant force in rural China for the next 800 years was reasonable and progressive, because at least they were more gentle than the yamen runners of the feudal era and more stable than the self-help of cults.
Moreover, what he promoted at this time was a non-clan collective economy based on civilian and military settlements, which imitated clan property. It seemed to be a little more progressive with some idealism compared to clan property. This thing might fall apart in the future and be replaced by clans. It might become a synonym for conservatism and backwardness like feudal clans, but at least for now, in China in the 12th century, it still seemed to be advanced.
In fact, even people like Li Guang were keenly aware of the meaning behind this matter. In the face of the goal of directly expelling the cult and improving the survival stability of the grassroots people... even if it was just a possible benefit... it was still enough to convince this group of scholars to unconditionally support this move.
The only thing that caught people off guard was that many people originally thought that this official would first make trouble regarding matters related to the Northern Expedition, but he ended up bringing this matter to the forefront.
Li Guang immediately changed his position, so that this matter was immediately passed in the form of the highest resolution... It was indeed the highest resolution. The ministers discussed it in front of the emperor, and then even the Chief Censor raised both hands to support it. There was no political resolution that was smoother and more grand than this.
This matter has been discussed.
Then, seeing Zhao Ding, Liu Ji, Yan Xiaozhong and others all looking relaxed and contented, Emperor Zhao also seemed to smile for the first time in several months. After hesitating for a moment, Prime Minister Zhang Jun suddenly strode out and bowed in front of the pavilion:
"Your Majesty! I read Water Margin a few days ago and was moved, so I came up with five proposals! Today, since your Majesty is here, and the ministers are all here, including the Chief Censor, I would like to put forward these five proposals. Please judge them and your colleagues should review them."
Zhao Jiu, who was relaxed for a rare moment, was slightly startled, then smiled and said, "Mr. Zhang is a nobleman of the Western Palace, if you have anything to say, just say it... What did you learn from "Water Margin"?"
"Just five things."
Zhang Jun bowed his head in agreement, then raised his head and spoke proudly in front of the ministers, scholars, servants, and even the chief escort of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the two commanders of the Imperial Guard in front of the palace, in the style of official reports that were popular in official documents today:
"First, we need to expand the army! The Imperial Camp should be limited by the current financial resources of the court and slightly expand the army to 230,000 or 240,000. We should also set up reserve military stations in Lanzhou, Xingqing Prefecture, and Yinshan. In case of emergency, we can easily recruit the scattered Tubo, Dangxiang, Khitan, and Mongolian troops to form an army!"
"The second is alliance! Since the emperor has convened the various states of the world at Jinhe Lake to discuss the attack on Jin, he should have more contacts and discussions. He should summon the envoys of Dali, Nanyue, and Goryeo to the capital to consult and discuss. He should take hostages from the two Mongolian tribes, the Western Regions, and the Tibetan tribes to the court. The young ones should be sent to the military school and the Imperial College, and the adults should be sent to the imperial guards."
"The third is to stabilize the queen! In the Jiangnan area, Fang La and Zhong Xiang swept through the southeast Jingxiang before. Since Yue Fei suppressed the rebellion, the Qianzhou Qian bandits rose again, and Jiangxi Road was in turmoil again. The famous ministers Quan Bangyan and Guo Zhongxun were the pillars of the anti-Jin army. Now Quan Bangyan has returned to the court after mourning, and he is the governor of Jiangxi Road. Guo Zhongxun can be sent as the reserve general manager of the imperial camp and go to Jiangxi Road to train 10,000 reserve soldiers, and the treatment of the imperial camp will be reduced by half... In addition to stabilizing the queen, when necessary, we can also form an army to go north to assist in the Northern Expedition!"
"Fourth, it is to correct the name! The shame of Jingkang is the source of shame and indignation for scholars and common people all over the world. The six thieves were executed in the past, but there is still the chaos of Jingkang. We should ask the Emperor Taishang Daojun and the Emperor Taishang Yuansheng to write in person, describing the various defeats of Xuanhe and Jingkang, to set the record straight! The loss of the two rivers is not about money and interests. The recovery of the two rivers in the country is related to the foundation of the country. It concerns the government and all the ministers, including Li Gang and Lu Haowen, and countless other people in power. Whether they are upright or not, we should ask the government to issue an order in the palace newspaper to reiterate that Song and Jin cannot coexist! It is difficult to sleep peacefully with hatred!"
"The fifth is to build up wealth! Since the Northern Expedition cannot be delayed, and the national strength is still in a difficult situation, we should ask the Ministry of Revenue to formulate a plan, whether it is three years or five years, how to obtain wealth, how to provide relief to the people, how to accumulate, whether it is national debt, or exchanging titles, or paying taxes. Although it may be a little embarrassing for a big country, it may not hurt to show it openly, so that the sincerity of the emperor and the determination of the country can be known to everyone in the world. The country takes it from the people, and it is really united, and the whole country is only used for the Northern Expedition!"
When Zhang Jun mentioned the first two, the emperor, the prime minister, and the civil and military officials inside and outside the stone pavilion did not react much. They just thought that Zhang Shuxiang saw that the Zhao emperor cooperated so closely with the capital and was jealous, and could not help showing it.
After all, military expansion and alliances are things that the West Palace should consider and do. The West Palace should have been preparing for such things a long time ago, but it just couldn't bear it and threw them out today.
But when Zhang Deyuan mentioned the post of An Hou, everyone was surprised and serious, because this move was suspected of sending radicals from Hebei to directly suppress public opinion in Jiangnan. And it must be admitted that although this move was suspected of being somewhat disharmonious, it was destined to be a direct and effective means, and also a major counterattack against Ma Shen and other opposition factions.
It was indeed a ruthless move, so ruthless that it didn't even seem like Zhang Deyuan's work.
Of course, Li Guang and some of the close officials from Jiangnan who were present immediately wanted to refute it.
However, as Zhang Jun continued to talk about the fourth point, everyone present changed color, and no one thought about the third point for a moment... Because this prime minister of the Western Palace told everyone in a straightforward way that the shame of Jingkang must be faced directly, and the recovery of the two rivers must be insisted on. Otherwise, all components of the ruling group since Jianyan, including Emperor Zhao sitting in the pavilion and the retired prime ministers, will have to face the questioning of the legitimacy of their rule!
Instead of hiding it and letting the people say that they were on guard against their fathers and brothers, it is better to tell the world clearly that it was those two fathers and brothers who lost the world, and these two people are no longer qualified to enjoy the treatment of the state! The current Emperor Jianyan and his civil and military officials did not rely on the continuation of the previous court to be the rulers, but relied on defending the two Huai regions, recovering the Central Plains, and repelling the invasion of the Jurchens!
However, this point is still obscure. The key is that Zhang Jun wants to remind all those who still hold official positions that if they do not fight in the north, this country and this court will not be upright and upright! This is not an economic account at all! It is a problem of the foundation of the country. To put it bluntly, if you, Emperor Zhao, do not fight in the north, why should you be the official? ! It is in accordance with etiquette to give it to the Supreme Emperor Yuansheng, right? ! You ministers do not support the northern expedition, so what qualifications do you have to sit in the court and be the prime minister and minister, and think about the secret cabinet and the public cabinet? A group of lucky people who have been promoted for three to five years have become prime ministers and ministers. Shouldn't they give it to those famous Taoist scholars in the south? !
As for the final step, setting a timetable and honestly showing the progress of the Northern Expedition preparations was to ask the court to publicly make a political commitment! This was unprecedented.
Therefore, by the end of the conversation, everyone inside and outside the pavilion had fallen into complete silence.
However, after a pause, Emperor Zhao, who was staring at Zhang Jun, was the first to laugh: "Deyuan, did you get these from "Water Margin"?"
Zhang Jun nodded calmly: "That's right! But I'm not the only one who has this feeling!"
Zhao Jiu nodded immediately, but stood up in the suffocating pressure from the others, then walked forward, holding the still somewhat doubtful Zhao Ding with one hand, and grabbing the dignified Zhang Jun with the other, and then raised his voice:
"Emperor Taizong of Tang had Fang Xuanling to make plans and Du Ruhui to make decisions. Although I am not as good as Emperor Taizong of Tang, I still have Prime Minister Zhao to strengthen my wing and Prime Minister Zhang to move forward for me. In this case, although the future is difficult, what do we have to worry about? These days, I have been worrying too much."
Having said this, without waiting for the two ministers to express their opinions, Zhao Jiu looked back at the scholars and servants beside him and issued an order: "First, issue an order to promote the use of mulberry-based fish ponds as village products after spring plowing. After a few days, when this matter starts to be carried out, report today's report to the court tomorrow to stimulate the world! Let's see who is dissatisfied, who is uneasy, who has something to say, and what can be done?!"
Li Guang was inside, and no one responded around the stone pavilion for a while, only the new green mulberry leaves were swaying.
