Lin'an City, Imperial Palace, Funing Hall.
Dark night enveloped all the palaces in the palace, and only the strong and powerful Imperial Guards who walked by from time to time brought some life to this deathly silence.
In his later years, Zhao Kuo rarely visited his concubines. Due to physical reasons, he became obsessed with Taoist practices. While practicing Taoism, he lived in seclusion and rarely met people.
Zhao Kuo fell into a deep sleep, as if he had a nightmare. His eyelids suddenly opened, his face turned pale, and he was sweating profusely.
He climbed up with great effort, sat down on the woven carpet with yin and yang patterns, crossed his legs, put down the whisk, and began to meditate.
Looking at him wearing Taoist robes and looking extremely pious while meditating, he really has a bit of an immortal spirit.
In the early period of the administration, the government was controlled by the powerful Prime Minister Han Yuzhou. In the later period of the administration, it was controlled by the traitorous Prime Minister Shi Miyuan and the Queen Yang Guizhi. Apart from being a tortoise and practicing Taoism, there seemed to be nothing else to do.
This may be the reason why he often makes arbitrary decisions with the stroke of his pen, directly issuing orders for execution without going through the decision-making bodies of the two governments.
"Tai Chi is born from the infinite, the movement of the infinite generates yang, and the stillness generates yin... The practitioner of Taoism aims to maintain the balance of yin and yang in the human body, govern by doing nothing, and cultivate a body of pure yang..."
Thinking of Zhao Hong's words, Zhao Kuo's heart moved, he slowly stood up, stood solemnly, and began to practice Tai Chi.
One move after another, and he didn't know if the middle ones were correct. After one set, Zhao Kuo's body was already heating up.
"Come again!"
Zhao Kuo cheered up and started the second round of practice.
I don't know how many times he practiced until his face was covered with sweat and he was out of breath. Then Zhao Kuo lay down, closed his eyes to rest, and fell asleep unconsciously.
He slept until he woke up naturally, and was gently woken up by the waiter Li Gu.
"The official family, Ji Guo Gong Zhao Hong is outside for an audience!"
"Let him wait a moment."
When Zhao Kuo got off the meditation couch, the eunuch had already brought him hot water and green salt for washing.
"Guan family, should we use the breakfast first or the golden elixir first?"
Li Gu followed and continued to ask.
"I won't use the golden elixir today. Let Duke Ji go to Jiaming Hall and have breakfast with me."
Zhao Kuo's eyes flashed with a trace of hatred involuntarily.
Jiaming Hall, where the emperor of the Southern Song Dynasty ate, had few people except the imperial guards and a few palace maids and eunuchs.
Zhao Kuo, the emperor, was quite frugal.
With this thought in his mind, he followed the eunuch into the hall. When he saw Zhao Kuo sitting at the table, Zhao Hong quickly stepped forward and bowed.
"My son has met Your Majesty!"
"Sit down and eat with daddy."
Zhao Kuo said gently, just like ordinary people's homes.
The palace etiquette of the Song Dynasty, especially the Southern Song Dynasty, was probably the simplest and most down-to-earth in history.
"Dad, is this all you eat?"
Zhao Hong couldn't help but be startled when he saw the porridge, pancakes, and several small plates of vegetarian dishes in front of him.
This puppet Taoist official family is really frugal.
What was he thinking about all day long?
"The people outside have no food to eat, how can I be so arrogant and extravagant?"
Zhao Kuan's expression remained unchanged, and he waved his hand, signaling Zhao Hong to sit down and eat.
Zhao Hong drank the hot porridge and looked at the tableware and wine vessels on the table. None of them were gold or silver.
Looking at Zhao Kuo's clothes, he is plainly dressed and his boots are white in color, as if he has worn them many times.
Zhao Hong shook his head secretly. He suddenly remembered that Zhao Kuo did not entertain the officials during the Shangyuan Festival. Is this also because of frugality?
As Zhao Hong ate, he made a sound unconsciously.
Zhao Kuo looked at Zhao Hong, unmoved, his face still calm, harmless to humans and animals.
This is a good man, but a terrible emperor!
"Dad, I would like to thank you for your support during the New Year's Eve festival!"
After breakfast, the father and son started talking in front of the palace. This was also the purpose of Zhao Hong's visit.
"We are both father and son, no need to be polite."
Zhao Kuo said softly, with a faint smile on his lips.
"I have long heard people say that you are proficient in piano skills, but I never expected that you are so proficient in it that you impressed foreign envoys. "Swordsman" and "Linjiang Immortal" are all shocking, and you are a master of poetry. I am very impressed. Glad.”
It turned out that he had earned face for the Song Dynasty in front of foreign envoys.
Zhao Hong thought for a moment and then said it.
"Thank you, Daddy, for your appreciation. My son said last time that playing music and composing lyrics is just a small skill. The right way is to solve the serious problems of the Song Dynasty. Although our country is peaceful and the people live and work in peace and contentment, only by being prepared for danger in times of peace can we make the country more peaceful. The Song Dynasty truly moved toward revival and prosperity."
While complimenting, Zhao Hong also raised questions and hidden dangers.
He also knew that Zhao Kuo was generous and kind and would not make Long Yan angry because of some "nonsense".
Otherwise, all these years of cultivating Qi and cultivating one's body will be in vain.
"In the fourteenth year of Jiading, the Tatar army invaded Bianjing of the Jin Kingdom and came into contact with our Northern Expedition King's Division. The Jiaoxi army fled south one after another, while the Jingdong army directly surrendered to the Tatars. We, the Song Dynasty, also had to send envoys to make things easier. In Tatar.”
Zhao Kuo spoke slowly, as if he was talking about a trivial thing that happened to others.
"Dad grew up in the palace and is not familiar with side affairs. You can tell me, this Tatar, he can drive the Jin people from the north to the south of the Yellow River, and his military strength is just like the Jurchens in the past. What do you mean by him? What kind of existence?"
"Dad, these Tatars are really a serious problem for me!"
Zhao Kuo mentioned Mongolia, and Zhao Hong couldn't help but perked up and continued talking.
"Daddy, have you ever heard of the law of the jungle?"
"What is the law of the jungle?"
Zhao Kuo raised his head in shock, and finally there was a trace of fluctuation on his calm face.
"The so-called law of the jungle is the law of survival. The weak eat the strong and the fittest survive. This is true for Qin Shihuang when he destroyed the Six Kingdoms, the Five Husties destroyed China, the Jin people destroyed the Liao Dynasty, and the Tatars attacked Xixia and the Jin people. If you want to adapt to the law of the jungle, you have to Strengthen yourself, otherwise you will be eliminated. The Tatars are a country of beasts, not accustomed to Chinese civilization, and follow the law of the jungle. Our Song Dynasty is far richer than the Xixia and Jin Dynasties, and the Tatars will definitely go south. A battle with the Tatars is inevitable It must be done. That’s why I said that the Tatars are a serious problem for our government.”
Zhao Kuo listened and remained silent.
"Dad doesn't know. My son heard that there is a group of Buddhist tomb robbers in this Tatar army who specialize in stealing the tombs of the emperors of past dynasties. Not only do these guys steal the burial objects in the tombs, they also like to make skulls of emperors into Drinking utensils are extremely cruel.”
When the Yuan Dynasty destroyed the Southern Song Dynasty, the Tibetan Buddhist monk Yang Lian Zhenjia robbed the imperial mausoleums of the Southern Song Dynasty and stole the treasures. Among them, the body of Zhao Yun, Lizong of the Song Dynasty, was soaked in mercury when he was buried and had not yet decomposed. The tomb robbers dragged his body out of the mausoleum. Hang it upside down in the woods in front of the mausoleum to drain the mercury. Later, Zhao Yun's head was cut off and made into a drinking vessel, which was sent to the rulers of the Yuan Dynasty to be made into a drinking vessel. Zhao Yun's head was not found in the palace of Yuan Dadu until Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang captured Dadu.
In the second year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang buried Song Lizong's skull in Yingtian Mansion (Nanjing, Jiangsu) with imperial rites. The following year, Zhao Yun's skull was buried at the former site of Yongmuling Mausoleum in Shaoxing, and the Imperial Mausoleum of the Southern Song Dynasty was restored.
Therefore, Zhao Hong was not just talking nonsense, but he was telling the truth forty or fifty years in advance.
"Be prepared for danger in times of peace and prepare for a rainy day. You do have a sense of urgency."
Zhao Kuo's face turned pale and he was no longer as calm as ever.
He specializes in tomb robbing, and also likes to make the skulls of emperors into drinking utensils. Doesn’t this mean that even a hundred years later, Yulong Bintian’s body will still be destroyed?
"Tell me, how can we resolve it?"
How to resolve it? Of course, we cannot meditate all day long to nourish our energy. We need to work hard and work hard to rejuvenate the country.
Of course, I think so in my heart but dare not say it out loud.
"Dad, do you know the three major drawbacks of my court?"
If you didn’t finish it last time, I don’t want to miss it this time.
"What are the three major disadvantages? Just tell me."
"That is the "three redundancies", "redundant soldiers", "redundant personnel" and "redundant expenses". Because the "three redundancies" cannot be solved, our country is poor and weak, unable to devote all its efforts to the Northern Expedition, and can only stick to the old ways and cannot extricate itself. .”
Zhao Hong's words finally made Zhao Kuo's eyes light up.
The "three redundancies", "redundant soldiers", "redundant personnel" and "redundant expenses" really hit the nail on the head.
"My child, how should we solve these "three redundancies" you mentioned?"
Zhao Kuo asked softly.
The "three redundant" problems, "redundant troops", "redundant personnel" and "redundant expenses", are closely related. If there are more soldiers and officials, the cost will naturally be higher.
However, these "three redundancies" have existed since the founding of the Song Dynasty, but there has never been a suitable way to solve them.
"Dad, the solution is nothing more than to lay off redundant personnel, eliminate redundant soldiers, and the redundant expenses will be solved naturally. In addition, we must thoroughly investigate the land tax, promote business and mines, open up the sea and enrich the country, and expand the market for the Jin people. The imperial court taxes If there is enough, we can train a new army and forge sharp weapons to prepare for border incidents."
Zhao Hong combined the "experience" of later generations with the knowledge in this body's mind and what he saw and heard, and slowly spoke out.
Commercial taxes account for more than 80%, land taxes are less than 20%, and the economic bubble is severe. Is this the machine age after the Industrial Revolution? Where will so many industrial products support business? If you don’t believe me, try naming a few large machinery manufacturing factories.
People always have to eat. In the final analysis, the Song Dynasty was still an era of handicraft industry and agriculture, and agricultural products were still the most important.
There is no other option but monopoly and exorbitant taxes. And all these people's wealth and anointment were divided up by the scholar-bureaucrats and the powerful.
"It's easier said than done to thoroughly investigate the land tax?"
Zhao Kuo sighed softly.
"Dad, in the early years of Jiading, Guanhuizi could be exchanged for 400 copper coins. Fifteen years later, Guanhuizi was only worth 100 copper coins. The people were already miserable due to the excessive issuance of banknotes, inflation, and economic collapse."
Zhao Hong continued to talk earnestly, hoping to increase his impression in Zhao Kuo's heart.
"Pingjiang Prefecture has tens of thousands of hectares of fertile fields in the Taihu Lake Basin, all of which are owned by powerful families. In the Jianhu Lake area of Shaoxing Prefecture, more than 2,300 hectares of fertile farmland have been occupied by wealthy families. The powerful have invaded and devoured people's fields, and the people have been reduced to tenants. Its fish meat.”
Zhao Hong looked at Zhao Kuo and bowed respectfully.
"Your Majesty, I forgive you for your arrogance. The emperor of our dynasty and the scholar-bureaucrats rule the world together. The imperial power has been extremely weakened, and the scholar-bureaucrats are the only family. This matter is extremely harmful and has shaken the foundation of the country!"
"If we have to take drastic measures in a hurry, I am afraid that the world will be shaken and the government and the public will be uneasy. At that time, Emperor Xiaozong and Emperor Guangzong both wanted to get rid of the drawbacks of land annexation, but in the end they gave up."
Recalling the past, Zhao Kuo's face seemed a little melancholy.
"Your Majesty, there is no need to act too hastily. You only need to choose one province to try it out. Once the results are seen, it will become a model for the whole country, and then it will be implemented in all provinces."
Zhao Hong said softly. In fact, this idea is not difficult. It is the same principle as the establishment of special economic zones for future generations.
"Your Majesty, you are much calmer than before."
Zhao Kuo nodded slightly, changed the topic, and stood up.
"You and my son are practicing boxing together. Speaking of which, I have forgotten a few moves."
"Daddy, just do whatever you want."
Zhao Hong and Zhao Kuo stood up together and started practicing.
Since Zhao Kuo doesn't want to talk, don't force it.
"Dad, I'm here to thank you. Tomorrow, I will go to the Ordnance Institute to serve."
"Just do things carefully. No fault is a merit. Wait a moment, go to Kunning Palace and pay your respects to the Queen."
Zhao Kuo downplayed it, the speed of practicing boxing remained unchanged, and the expression on his face remained unchanged.
"My son, I understand!"
Zhao Hong's heart skipped a beat and he quickly agreed.
It seems that the puppet father emperor also understands very well in his heart. He is teaching himself how to do things.
However, from beginning to end, Zhao Kuo did not mention Shi Miyuan. I don’t know if he hates Shi Miyuan deeply.
The king is weak and the other is strong. I believe that every king will not feel comfortable.
