At this time, the prince also came back and stood quietly aside.
Li Shimin took out a sign, raised his head and said, "Take Shilang Zhang to see the money warehouse and grain warehouse."
The prince took the jade token with both hands and said, "Shilang Zhang, please come with me."
Before leaving, I heard His Majesty and Fang Xuanling discussing the distribution of officials this time.
The Tang Dynasty was still young, and Tian Khan was also in his prime.
Your Majesty was at his most energetic and ambitious, and he had to watch over all matters in the court. His Majesty also had to interrogate the newly elected officials one by one through the imperial examination.
Eunuch Wang walked in front, with a smile on his face, "I think Zhang Shangshu must be very busy if I come to Shangshu to save so many things."
Zhang Yang walked aside with his hands folded, "I can still cope with it now. Let the children in the palace, as well as the people at home and the village help."
There was a smile on the old face of the prince, "Maybe this means that those who have gained the right will get more help, while those who have lost the right will have less help."
"The prince is joking, but it's just that there is strength in numbers."
Walking all the way from the palace to a secluded alley, Zhang Yang looked at the surroundings. This was the rear of Wude Hall, and there were many guards guarding this place.
Walking down the trail, this is the junction of the Imperial City and Chengtianmen. It is obvious that there are more guards here along the way.
The person guarding this place is Li Junxian.
The prince took out the jade sign and said, "This is the newly promoted Du Zhi Lang, and he will be under the care of Shi Lang Zhang from now on."
Seeing Zhang Yang, Li Junxian had a strange look in his eyes. He bowed and saluted, and he got out of the way without saying a word.
The prince pressed a key and said, "This is the key to the money bank."
Zhang Yang took it with both hands, "What about the key to the grain depot?"
The prince explained patiently: "There are many grain depots. There are six grain depots in Chang'an City. They are guarded by different soldiers, horses and manpower. As for the storage of grain, someone will send it by then."
Zhang Yang nodded slightly, walked to the door of the money bank, and picked up the old big lock.
The vault didn't look big. He took off the lock and opened the door. It was pitch black inside. Zhang Yang couldn't help but take two steps back. "My lord, are there swordsmen and axemen hiding here? Once they get in, these people will attack you." I'm going to cut it into pieces."
The prince lit an oil lamp and said, "Zhang Shangshu is joking again."
He then walked into the money bank holding an oil lamp.
Zhang Yang hesitated for a while, and then he followed up after confirming that there was no ambush. The candles inside were lit one after another, and his eyes gradually became brighter. From the stone steps in the door all the way down, it felt a bit like a basement.
But not completely sinking into the ground.
The door was heavily guarded, and any rat that didn't have eyes would be slaughtered on the spot if it passed by.
After all the candles here were lit, I saw the scene in front of me clearly. The vault was empty, with one or two baskets containing some gold leaves.
The prince explained: "These are all left over from the past. Your Majesty rewards some during the holidays."
There are also three or two wooden barrels. When the lid is opened, silver cakes are placed in them.
There are also a lot of copper coins.
Seeing Zhang Yang banging on the wall, Wang Gonggong was speechless, "Zhang Shangshu, what are you doing?"
Zhang Yang cleared his throat and said, "Old Wang, is there any hidden secret here?"
The prince was surprised and asked: "What is the secret passage?"
"When I press a piece of brick here, there will be a sound of chains inside the wall." Zhang Yang told vividly, "Then a stone door will open here, with more gold and silver money in it, like this Bar."
Eunuch Wang wondered: "Zhang Shangshu is talking about the art of mechanism?"
"It all means the same thing."
Seeing Zhang Yang still groping for the wall, Wang Gonggong sighed: "Don't look for it. The old slave was also present when this place was built. There is no secret door."
"I don't believe it! Is this all the money left in the court?"
The prince was about to cry, "Zhang Shangshu, don't make any trouble, the money from the court is right in front of you."
Zhang Yang picked up a stick and poked it at the top to make sure there was no secret passage.
The prince's expression was dull, his eyes were dull, and he was speechless at this moment.
Zhang Yang stepped on all the bricks and stones on the ground and gave up after confirming that there was really no mechanism.
"How come the whole country is so poor?"
"It's because of the good times in the past two years that the court can save this money."
Zhang Yang took the account book handed over by Wang Gonggong and looked at the number of silver coins on it. The copper coins were fifteen thousand guan and the price of the silver cake was 6,000 guan.
The entire treasury contains 30,000 silver coins.
The mood when I walked out of the money bank was complicated. All the warehouses in Lishan were richer than this money bank.
Zhang Yang locked the treasury again, and the prince smiled apologetically all the way, "Originally, last year, the taxes from various places came in, and the court still had a surplus. However, in order to prevent the low price of grain from hurting the farmers, the court was unable to get out the money several times. Collecting grain allows the government to collect grain when it is abundant and provide relief when food is scarce."
"This is all due to Lishan's ability to rush to the aid of the DPRK. His Majesty often talks about this matter, and he is very emotional when talking about it."
"Really? Doesn't His Majesty think that our Lishan Mountain is rich and wants to lead troops to rob us?"
The prince's smile became more and more embarrassing, "What did Zhang Shangshu say? How could your majesty do such a thing."
Walking back to Shangshu Province, Li Anyan brought people here early to repair the official residence.
Li Lizhi and a group of children were also sorting out the account books.
"Brother-in-law, why are some of the account books compiled yesterday missing?"
"I took it home and asked your imperial sister to help." Zhang Yang took off his official hat and explained.
The two little girls Gao Yang and Dong Yang were still sitting aside, holding the cake in their hands and eating it in small bites, like squirrels.
It was July of the ninth year of Zhenguan, and the imperial examination had just ended.
After calculation by North Korea and China, the supply of officials from various places is still not enough.
Especially at the local level, the old gentry and country gentry from all over the country have too much say.
To break this situation, the DPRK must cultivate more young and motivated officials.
Under the auspices of Changsun Wuji, groups of newly appointed young officials left. Chang'an City and they were going to Shuofang, Shudao, Jiangnan, Tongguan, Fanyang...
Li Shimin did not want the family to become more powerful.
If we don't take advantage of the moment to suppress these wealthy families and allow them to regain their strength in the future, it will be even harder to deal with them.
Changsun Wuji has also been using his own methods to consume the power of the family.
This method was relatively mild, but it made Wei Zheng a lot dissatisfied, fearing that these young officials would also become vassals of the noble family.
Use thunderous means to deal with nobles.
After all, the old man Wei Zheng is still very tough.
The DPRK and Central Government once again posted notices that the imperial examination will be held in May next year.
With the imperial examination held for two consecutive years, the imperial court gave the world a determination. The imperial examination was not a gift from His Majesty that was held occasionally, but a major event that was held every year.
Pei Xingjian has been following Zhang Elephant to deal with various important matters at hand these days. Except for not being able to see the Shangguan of the Ministry of Rites, that is, Shangshu Zhang Yang, it is not difficult for him to deal with the many affairs here.
With Di Zhisun and Pei Xingjian as his two right-hand assistants, Zhang Xiangxiang's pressure has been reduced a lot.
And Xue Rengui also brought Liu to Chang'an City.
During this period, we encountered some twists and turns, especially Liu Yuanwai, who was unwilling to give up and cooperated with local officials to obstruct it.
The Foreign Affairs Council has always been tough in its actions and there was a conflict with it.
When it comes to reading and writing, Xue Rengui is not good at it, but when it comes to fighting, this guy is one to ten.
Facing nearly a hundred local officers and soldiers, I was stunned to be frightened by the opponent.
In the end, the Hedong Pei family came forward and the matter was settled, and Xue Rengui also successfully married the Liu family.
After the people were brought to Chang'an City, Xue Rengui's skills spread in the Foreign Affairs Academy. Xu Jingzong waved his hand and handed over the entire guard general of the Foreign Affairs Academy to Xue Rengui.
Although he does not have a formal official position in the DPRK, he at least has a decent position in Chang'an City.
Until July, in the palace.
Li Shimin drank tea leisurely, and he found that he felt much more relaxed after handing over the financial power of the court to Zhang Yang.
The Li Zheng Hall was empty. These children had gone to Shangshu Province to help Zhang Yang sort out the account books.
"This Zhang Yang is really fooling around. How can he let the children sort out the account books?" Li Shimin blew the tea leaves on the tea. "If something goes wrong, all the officials and generals in the dynasty will have to deal with this kid. In the end, he is not Please ask me to let him go."
A smile appeared on the corner of his mouth. Thinking about that scene, he couldn't hold it back for a while and laughed again.
"The children have grown taller again, it's already summer, and the clothes have to be made again." Empress Changsun arranged some silks and satins distressedly, "The clothes that the beauty can't wear can be worn by Gao Yang and Dongyang. Even if they wear them in turn, There are still not enough clothes.”
The queen herself didn't have many clothes to change into, so all the clothes in the Li Zheng Palace were the clothes of the princes and princesses.
Sitting down next to His Majesty, Empress Changsun whispered: "I don't know what happened to Qingque and my father in Lishan."
Thinking that the place to spend the summer this year has not yet been decided, Li Shimin whispered: "Zhang Yang is right, I can no longer be so extravagant and wasteful, I will go to Lishan to spend the summer this year."
As His Majesty's wife and queen, I know in my heart that Renshou Palace has been renamed Jiucheng Palace and has been repaired.
That palace is in Tiantai Mountain, and I have never stayed there.
His Majesty has always been thinking about it.
In the Shangshu Province, the main load-bearing beams and pillars are not moving, so it is easy to repair them. When Li Anyan left, he also cleaned the yard in front of the main hall and cleared away the weeds.
Zhang Yang looked at the numbers on the form and frowned. The accounts from the first year of Zhenguan to the present were clear. The losses and expenditures were all written in the form.
Li Lizhi wrote the accounts carefully, and finally finished sorting out the last volume of accounts. She relaxed her wrist and said, "Brother-in-law has written everything."
Zhang Yang opened it and confirmed it, "Take your brothers and sisters to rest. When the ice cubes in the palace can be taken out, I will make smoothies for you."
Seeing her younger brothers and sisters who were already sleeping unsteadily, Li Lizhi woke them up and took them away.
Six hundred volumes of files, after half a month of sorting and compilation, I had such a thick volume in my hands.
This is the current economic situation of the court.
Zhang Yang organized all the account books on the floor and put them on the bookshelf.
The Shangshu Province was empty, and he stood alone in the main hall, listening to his own breathing as he walked out and closed the heavy door.
There were some stones and wood left by Li Anyan in the yard. Zhang Yang picked up the scattered stones and wood on the ground and swept the floor again.
It was when many officials were leaving for work. Wei Zheng passed by Shangshu Province and happened to see this scene. Zhang Yang swept the floor alone and tidied up the long-abandoned official residence.
He also wiped the sweat from his forehead. His back was soaked with sweat, and his back was soaked with sweat.
Seeing his hard work, Wei Zheng was moved in his heart. Most of the children from poor families in the court can endure hardships and work hard.
On the contrary, some children of powerful people are lazy in doing things.
Zhang Yang walked out of the courtyard and looked up to see Mr. Zheng standing outside the courtyard. He closed the door and sighed with emotion: "Finally, these account books have been sorted out."
"Changsun Wuji should arrange some civil servants for you."
Zhang Yang locked the door, "Every day one person comes, one person leaves, one person has an official residence, this kind of life is not bad."
Wei Zheng stroked his beard and said, "You can take care of yourself happily."
"If there are more people, I would feel busier."
"You will still have to return to Zhongshu Province in the future. Shangshu Province will eventually be banned."
"I will always retire."
This was not surprising. Wei Zheng shook his head and clicked his tongue, "The summer harvest is coming this year. Last year, Lishan rushed to help Sheji. Can the DPRK still cope with it this year?"
An old man and a young man walked out of the Zhuque Gate. Zhang Yang stopped for a moment and said, "There will always be a way."
Farewell to Wei Zheng, Zhang Yang walked towards the alley on the side of Zhuque Street.
At home, Li Yue was feeding her children porridge. When her husband came back, she handed over the account book.
Zhang Yang pinched his daughter's fair and tender face. Xiao Qingqing was still a little resistant, and there was even a little disgust in her small eyes.
He stretched out his big hand and rubbed her face again, causing the child to reach out and want to hit her, but it couldn't cause any harm.
"The child is so stubborn that he has followed the princess." Aunt Wang said from the side.
Comparing the three account books in front of him, the government still had 30,000 guan of money left. Zhang Yang pondered: "Based on previous years' harvests, how much money is needed for the official grain to be collected by the government this time?"
Li Yue continued to feed the child porridge, "The Guanzhong area will collect 30,000 shi of grain this year, plus the tax and salary. Last year, the tax was 16 million shi. This year, the food in the imperial court after autumn will be around 20 million shi." , according to eight coins per dou to collect grain, even if you want to deal with the grain in Guanzhong, you need to prepare three thousand silver coins."
The most urgent issue facing the couple is this year's grain collection.
With the 30,000 guan of money in the court, it is still difficult to cope with the grain collection, not to mention that there is still so much stipend that has not been paid.
Li Yue added: "In addition to lumi and silver coins, the salary given by the court was mixed. First, for these officials in the court, they took grain and resold it in the market for money. Once the amount increased, it would definitely affect the situation." The price of food, the salary for a high official like Zhao Guogong is 700 dan."
The price of grain affects people's livelihood, and it is not unheard of for the price of grain to hurt farmers. Especially in the early stages of a good harvest, we decided not to let the price of grain fall.
This depends on the economic strength of North Korea and China.
At night, the couple thought about countermeasures. First of all, the 30,000 guan from Chao Zhong was definitely not enough. Lishan could come up with another 50,000 guan to help Chao Zhong.
