"Prime Minister Liang, what if the taxes are collected and people flock to Liangshan, so that Liangshan's strength increases greatly?"
Li Gang looked at Liang Shicheng and asked.
"To seek refuge in Liangshan? That is collaborating with the enemy and treason, a crime that cannot be punished!"
Liang Shicheng looked at Li Gang coldly and said, he didn't care so much, he only needed to raise money and food for the emperor.
"Hou Shangshu, if there is no taxation, when will money and food be raised?"
Liang Shicheng looked at Hou Meng, the Minister of Household Affairs, and asked.
"This... we have to wait until summer at least before the money and food can be shipped to Tokyo!"
Hou Meng opened his mouth and said that there were many taxes in the Song Dynasty. In addition to the traditional agricultural taxes, there were also taxes on salt, wine, tea, incense, cloth, silk, mulberry, hemp, etc. There would definitely be no shortage of soldiers and horses to conquer Liangshan. The amount of money and food required is astronomical.
"Summer? There are still three months! Do you think you can wait three months?"
Liang Shicheng looked at Li Gang and asked.
"Your Majesty, if Gen Yue's expenses can be reduced, it should be faster!"
Hou Meng suddenly looked at Zhao Ji and said, although Gen Yue has been completed, Zhao Ji is a man who likes the new and hates the old. After looking at the flowers, plants and rocks for a long time, he gets tired of them and wants to replace them with new ones. This makes Gen Yue like a bottomless pit, constantly devouring the treasury. Money and food.
"No, my Gen Yue's budget must not be reduced!"
Zhao Ji immediately glared at Hou Meng. Now it has become his habit to go to Genyue to play. Once the budget is reduced, Genyue will not be abandoned.
Liang Shicheng was overjoyed when he heard Zhao Ji's firm words. The emperor likes money, so everything will be easy to handle.
Hou Meng had no choice but to retire. He had discussed ten things before he was promoted. These ten things were: remove redundant officials, accept remonstrances, clarify the legitimate concubines, distinguish between virtuous and virtuous people, eliminate good luck, refrain from excessive kindness, and be tolerant to the tired people. , save money and money, do not prepare anything in advance, and do not have false power in eunuchs.
But after so many years, the emperor had long forgotten all these ten things. He really didn't do any of them.
"Your Majesty, I have a plan to fill the national treasury without imposing taxes!"
Cai Jing, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke.
"What can be done?"
Zhao Ji immediately looked at Cai Jing. No matter what, Liangshan would be conquered, and the expedition would require money and food.
"Your Majesty, you can cast a hundred coins to fill the national treasury!"
Cai Jing spoke slowly.
"Cai Jing, are you crazy?"
As soon as the word "hundred coins" came out, there was an immediate outcry in the court. Cai Jing proposed to mint it as ten coins, which caused the market prices to skyrocket and the wealth of the people to be diluted instantly. It almost caused a big mess. But now he still wants to mint it. If you pay for a hundred dollars, this is really unacceptable in the world.
When the sense organs reach the Daqing Palace, they are worth a lot of money. They know very well how crazy the world will be when a hundred coins come out. If you mint a coin, the profit will directly increase a hundred times, a large amount of private money will appear, and the price will skyrocket. Ten times. At that time, the world was full of Liangshan.
"As a hundred cents?"
Zhao Ji didn't react for a while. He didn't expect that Cai Jing would treat him as a hundred coins as soon as he opened his mouth. What is the concept? Ten coins are consistent money, which is one tael of silver.
"Taxes cannot be levied, and money cannot be minted. Everyone, do you really want to sit back and watch Liangshan gain a foothold?"
"Think of the hundred coins as a temporary measure. Once Liangshan is wiped out, the court will take back this batch of money!"
Cai Jing looked at everyone and said.
"Cai Jing, it was you who paid 10 qian a day, which caused the price of rice to triple, the price of cloth to triple, and the price of salt to quadruple in Tokyo! It was your majesty who decreed that the price of 10 qian per qian should be reduced to 3 qian per qian. Live in the world."
"If you make a hundred coins now, the price of rice in Tokyo will increase thirty times, the price of cloth will increase twenty times, and the price of salt will increase forty times! Do you think there will still be people in Tokyo at that time?"
Some people pointed at Cai Jing and angrily criticized him. After Cai Jing came to power, he vigorously promoted ten coins, which directly led to skyrocketing prices and almost caused chaos. Cai Jing was demoted because of this.
No one believed Cai Jing's words. What kind of expedient measure was there? How could it be controlled when the hundred coins came out, and the court would take them back? I don’t know how many private mints are made by the private sector. How to collect them?
"Then just think that I'm an old fool and you guys can come up with some clever ideas!"
Cai Jing did not insist. He clasped his fists and returned to the ranks of civil servants. However, he glanced sideways at Zhao Ji on the dragon throne. He just lit a fire and it depends on what Zhao Ji thinks. If Zhao Ji agrees, it is useless for anyone to object.
When the hundred coins matter was over, the court became quiet again.
No one spoke, and Zhao Ji's face darkened again. It was almost noon. He called thousands of officials in Tokyo, but no one came up with a charter all morning, which made him a little angry.
"Your Majesty, Hanlin Chengzhi Wu Kai, Prince Zhan Shigeng Nanzhong, Zhongshu Sheren Mo Chou, Taixue Xue Zheng Qin Hui, and Zhongxun Lang Wang Yu want to see you!"
A eunuch reported to the emperor.
Zhang Bangchang was slightly happy when he heard the eunuch's report, and his people finally came in.
"Xuan!"
Zhao Ji waved his hand and said.
"Greetings to Your Majesty!"
Wu Kai, Geng Nanzhong, Mo Chuan, Qin Hui, Wang Quan and others immediately saluted Zhao Ji.
"What's your plan?"
Zhao Ji didn't care about etiquette, so he waved his hand and asked.
"Your Majesty, after deliberation, I feel that sending troops to conquer at this time is not the best strategy. The thieves are ferocious and it is best to fight. Fighting with them will only damage the power of our Song Dynasty."
"In my opinion, it is better to negotiate peace with the Liangshan bandits and paralyze them! Those Liangshan bandits are all bandits after all. They can deceive the people for a while, make small profits and deceive the people with false promises, but in the end it cannot last. Over time, the people Of course you know where the blue sky is!"
Wu Kai said to Zhao Ji.
Zhao Ji's brows were almost twisted into knots. The suggestions from Wu Kai and others were really difficult for him to evaluate.
"Do you think it's feasible?"
Zhao Ji looked at the others and asked.
"Your Majesty, this plan is a bit different!"
Someone said it, but there was no positive comment.
Li Gang frowned as he looked at Wu Kai and the others. These people had been officials in Tokyo for so long that they thought they were stupid. Are they trying to waste time with Liang Shan? Is this because Liangshan is not stable enough?
"What I want is to quickly wipe out Sun Lei, do you have any other methods?"
Zhao Ji looked at Wu Kai and the others and asked.
"Your Majesty, I have an idea!"
Li Gang really couldn't stand it anymore. They were messing around like this, and they wouldn't be able to discuss a charter until dark.
"explain!"
Zhao Ji asked when he saw Li Gang speaking.
"Your Majesty, the reason why Liangshan is so powerful and the people are rushing to seek refuge is that it is forced by excessive taxes and exploited by corrupt officials. As long as your Majesty cleans up the administration, reduces taxes, eliminates redundant personnel, and cuts down the court's expenses. And you can definitely appease yourself by issuing a copy of the imperial edict. The people of the world must win over their hearts.”
"Your Majesty is issuing an edict to recruit soldiers and horses from all over the world to come to Beijing to serve the king. He will attack the unruly ministers and send down talented people in any way. He will definitely be able to recruit strong men to serve the country."
Li Gang saluted Zhao Ji.
Zhao Ji opened his mouth and didn't say a word for a long time. Li Gang's regulations seemed simple, but it was extremely troublesome to implement.
"Li Gang, if you don't have money or food, you still recruit soldiers and horses from all over the world to serve the king? Do you have the money to feed them?"
Liang Shicheng immediately looked at Li Gangdao.
(End of chapter)
