Qingyan Palace Study Room.
After Zhao Guan's family left, Zhao Mengqi continued to look through the books.
After a rough estimate, he found that although only half of the Song Dynasty was left, the taxes collected every year were astonishing. In the first year of Baoyou alone, there were about 130 million yuan.
There are many types of taxes, such as the total economic amount, regular tax, monthly stake money, rice consumption, silk money, and purchase, pre-purchase, tax distribution, etc., etc., the variety is really amazing.
In total, it was two-thirds more than during the Northern Song Dynasty. Although industry, commerce and maritime trade have developed greatly due to the large-scale migration of the northern population to the south, the fundamental reason is that the imperial court implemented extremely harsh measures due to the current enemy. Tax policy.
Moreover, among these taxes, industrial and commercial taxes do not account for the majority as Zhao Mengqi thought before, but more than half are still agricultural taxes!
The total agricultural tax for this half of the country is even 1.5 times more than the national agricultural tax during the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty, and on a per capita basis, it is three times that of the Ming Dynasty!
A rough estimate shows that an average farmer has to pay more than half of his annual income to the court!
It can be said that the final demise of the Southern Song Dynasty was not only due to Mongolia's military strength, but also absolutely related to the severe oppression of the bottom class in the country.
Such high taxes are collected when there are not many wars. If there is a war, the exploitation will be even more severe. In this case, how can the people support the Northern Expedition? It is no wonder that the Southern Song Dynasty has no enterprising spirit. The people are even more anti-war and war-weary.
So is all this money used on the military?
Yes and no!
Military spending is indeed very high, but much of it is wasted by officials at all levels who are greedy and greedy.
In addition, the three redundancies in the Song Dynasty have never been really solved, and the administrative costs are the highest in history!
Faced with such a result, Zhao Mengqi felt a little restless. Carrying such a heavy burden, it was simply a fantasy to defeat Mongolia and continue the Han Dynasty.
Even though he now holds the highest power, he still faces a dilemma.
If taxes are reduced or reduced, the military strength without financial support will decline significantly, and it may be destroyed by Mongolia faster than in the original history.
Continuing to impose heavy taxes is a chronic suicide. At most, he will live longer than the original Song Duzong, and then become the last emperor of the Song Dynasty 'gloriously'.
To be honest, this situation is several times more difficult than that of Lao Zhu who started a bowl a hundred years later.
what can we do about it?
Zhao Mengqi sat in front of the desk, lost in thought, looking depressed and dull, looking even stupider than before.
…
"Fourth brother! Fourth brother..."
Zhao Mengqi felt someone shaking him. He slowly came to his senses and heard the call.
After his eyes slowly focused, he saw clearly that there was a little girl in front of him, staring at him with a pair of big timid eyes, looking at him anxiously and concernedly.
"Fourth brother, were you beaten by your uncle? Why are you more stupid than before?"
"Who are you?"
"Oh, it's really broken! Fourth brother doesn't even recognize me. I'm Jian Niang. Look at me carefully..." The little girl grabbed his hand and shook it even harder.
"Stop shaking, stop shaking..."
Zhao Mengqi became more awake again and looked at the little girl carefully.
He has a thin face and a malnourished look, and his hair is withered and yellow, like a pile of weeds. The only thing worthy of praise is his eyes.
Big and bright, like a gem unearthed from the dust, his eyes were full of intimacy, but there seemed to be a hint of timidity and confusion, and tears had begun to well up in his eyes.
He recognized it. This was Zhao Mengqi's sister, Zhao Yu.
At this moment, he didn't know whether it was the remaining feelings of the original owner or because of these eyes, which made him instantly regard Zhao Yu as his biological sister.
"Mother Jian, it's you, why are you here?"
Seeing that Zhao Mengqi recognized him, a smile appeared on Zhao Mengqi's withered face, and his eyes became a little brighter, "It's okay, okay, although the fourth brother is still so stupid, he has not forgotten Yan Niang after all."
"By the way, Fourth Brother, Jian Niang brought you the candy you like to eat."
Zhao Jian happily took out a paper bag from her sleeve pocket and unfolded it carefully, revealing a small brown doll with a corner missing. "This candy man is so sweet. Jian Niang couldn't hold it back, so she ate a little bit, four... Brother, try it quickly..."
Zhao Mengqi was stunned, that's not true. Is sugar very scarce in the Song Dynasty?
As the emperor's niece and the daughter of Prince Rong, she actually regards a gray-looking candy figure as a treasure?
"Fourth brother, eat it quickly..." Zhao Jian raised the candy man to Zhao Mengqi's mouth, but found that he was stunned and couldn't help feeling aggrieved, "Fourth brother, do you dislike Jian Niang for eating it? Originally Jian Niang didn't I was thinking about food, but I had it with me for a long time and I never saw my fourth brother, so I couldn’t help but eat a little bit.”
Zhao Mengqi searched desperately from his memory, and finally figured out that it was not that the Song Dynasty was short of sugar, but that Zhao Han was in a bad situation.
Although Zhao Mengqi himself is a fool, he is still a boy. He has been held in the palm of his hand since he was born. No matter how many people look down on him, because of his status, the material supply will never be bad.
But this sister, who was three years younger than him, was also in poor health when she was born, and in the entire Prince Rong Palace, no one except their own mother took her seriously. Especially after Zhao Mengqi was taken to the palace, her The treatment may be even worse.
It stands to reason that Zhao Han is the daughter of King Rong no matter what, so she would never have fallen to this point. The dirty family in the wealthy family must have been involved here, and their mother, who was born in a humble background, could not give her much protection.
Some people go too far!
After thinking about it, Zhao Mengqi's heart ignited with anger, but in front of Zhao Han's innocent eyes, he suppressed it again, forced himself to take the candy man happily, and ate it, "Sweet! It's really sweet, four I really like this gift from Jian Niang."
Zhao Jin saw her brother eating happily, and she immediately lost all her grievances. The corners of her eyes were crooked, with a look of satisfaction on her face, but Zhao Mengqi still noticed the small movement of swallowing.
"Jian Niang, after fourth brother eats your candy man, he will definitely give you more and better candies in the future, and even build you a palace with candy so that you will always be sweet."
"Fourth brother, you are talking nonsense again. How can you use sugar to build a palace..."
As she said this, Zhao Jin's eyes were already full of yearning, and she had obviously fallen into the dream her brother had spun for her.
The candy man, which was only two fingers thick, was quickly eaten by Zhao Mengqi. Then he led the thin Zhao Jin out of the study, "Jian Niang, fourth brother will take you to eat delicious food now."
"Huang Gou, pass on the meal and ask people to bring the best sweets in the palace!"
…
Sitting in front of the banquet piled with all kinds of delicacies, Zhao Jin had her mouth full and her cheeks were bulging, like a large hamster.
Zhao Mengqi transformed into the best waiter, and his service was even more attentive than that of a certain Di Lao. Whenever Zhao Jian glanced at something, he would immediately and diligently bring the dishes there and pile them in front of his sister.
"Mother Jian, eat slowly, don't choke. These are all yours. If there's not enough..." Zhao Mengqi took the handkerchief and carefully wiped the oil stains from the corners of Zhao Jian's mouth while saying dotingly.
Zhao Han had no room for his mouth and only a slit for his eyes. He nodded happily and hummed in a nasal voice, "Fourth brother is so good..."
After eating for a while, Zhao Han's belly was bulging. Her small body couldn't actually hold too much, but her eyes still radiated with appetite.
Zhao Mengqi moved a plate of honey-bamboo shoots and flowers over and said, "Mother, don't be in a hurry to eat so much when you're full. You can enjoy this carved honey-fried rice slowly."
Then he turned around and told Huang Gou, "Go and send the imperial doctor over. Remember to bring more digestive medicine, it won't be bitter!"
He knew that overeating was bad, but he couldn't bear to stop his sister's desire for food.
Zhao Han was also very well-behaved. After listening to his brother's words, he was no longer in a hurry. He just put the sweets in his mouth and tasted them carefully.
"Fourth brother, Jian Niang is a little sleepy, but I still want to eat..."
Zhao Mengqi leaned over, hugged his sister's thin shoulders, and put her little head on his shoulder, "Then you do this, eat and sleep at the same time."
"Hmm..." Hiding in the crook of his brother's shoulder, Zhao Han's voice was a little muffled, a little soft, a little lazy.
After a while, Zhao Han snored, and the hot breath blew on Zhao Mengqi's neck, which was a little moist and warm.
Huang Gou came back with the imperial physician. When he saw Zhao Mengqi making a quiet gesture, he asked the imperial physician to stand guard at the entrance of the palace. Then he crept over and reported softly, "Alang, King Rong is leaving the palace. Send someone to call Xiao Mengqi." Madam, look..."
"Tell them that Jian Niang will stay here for the next few days. I will take her back to Prince Rong's Mansion on the day of her birthday."
When Zhao Han fell asleep, Zhao Mengqi carried her to the couch, covered her with a brocade quilt, and tucked her in carefully.
Although Zhao Han is very thin, weighing more than 40 pounds, Zhao Mengqi actually has no difficulty, which he could not do before.
Just because when he was angry about what happened to Zhao Han, he captured that sense of power again, and because he didn't have an attack at that time, this power actually settled down.
After careful consideration, he gradually came to a realization. Although this matter was unscientific, his time travel itself was not a very scientific matter. It was not a bad thing anyway. Regardless of how it came about, the right way to explore and utilize it. .
Walking out of the dormitory, I felt a sense of power gradually filling my body. I couldn't help but stretch my body, and my joints crackled.
At this time, Huang Gou came back again. Taking advantage of his free time, he began to report the news he had learned, mainly about what happened in the morning.
Although Zhao Guanjia and Zhao Mengqi have said it, not every detail is available. Listening from a different perspective is not a bad thing.
Sure enough, Zhao Guanjia did not mention who the ministers recommended. Maybe he didn't care, but Huang Gou thought these people were his master's opponents, so he inquired about them and reported them to Zhao Mengqi one by one.
"Zhao Mengfu? This name sounds familiar."
After taking a look at the note with the list written on it, Zhao Mengqi quickly figured out who it was.
Oh, this guy is a famous calligrapher, painter, and poet in the Yuan Dynasty. He seems to have been an official in the Yuan Dynasty for a long time. Unexpectedly, he is still a baby boy now.
Zhao Mengxi? Have not heard.
Wei Guansun? Aunt's son? It seems a bit threatening.
Zhao Heyun? In my previous life, I read a bad novel and there was such a person. Maybe it was just the same name. Wait, it can't be such a coincidence, is it also from Quanzhou?
I just don’t know if he also has a girl named Zhao Leyan.
