Jiapingguan Chronicle

"That's indeed what happened." Shen Cha nodded in agreement, then sighed softly and said, "I have also read some files from the previous dynasty. The late emperor told his closest confidant that he I don’t believe that there is no money in the treasury. If there is really no money, then go collect taxes. No one can hurt him anyway. If he, the emperor, has to live a hard life, then this country doesn’t want it.”

"This is indeed what Emperor Mo can say. There is no one in his heart but himself. As long as he is living a good life, he has never cared much about whether his subjects are living well or not." Liang Jie Que nodded, looked at Chen Cha, and continued, "The deer pen that the late emperor had been thinking about took a year and hundreds of thousands of taels of silver to be completed. On the day of completion, the late emperor He left the palace and took the civil and military officials for a tour. However, he never went there again. The servant next to him asked him why he didn't go there anymore. He said that he suddenly felt like raising so many deer. In fact, it's not interesting at all. It's not fun at all to be well-behaved. During that time, he became obsessed with elephants again, so he announced Ding Shangshu to the palace and told him that the Ministry of Revenue must continue to give money, and he wanted to raise elephants. Build an elephant garden inside the imperial city."

"Based on the lesson learned last time, the Ministry of Accounts can't just say that we won't give out money casually this time, right?"

"Give it!" Liang Jieque smiled bitterly, "However, this time they became smarter and made a request."

"Request? What request?"

"The Ministry of Household Affairs said that since His Majesty no longer likes the deer pen, the deer pen can be demolished and the deer inside can be sold at a good price. When building the elephant garden, it can be a little more generous."

"Will the Emperor agree?" Merlin frowned slightly, "No? Even though he doesn't like it anymore, it still looks good when it's there!"

"I agreed. He has always been a person who won't look at anything he doesn't like. It has no purpose other than being an eyesore. So, he readily agreed." After drinking all the ginger tea, he looked Seeing everyone's surprised looks, Liang Jieque spread his hands and said, "Doesn't it sound incredible? This is the Last Emperor."

"Aunt Liang." Shen Zhonghe swallowed his saliva and said, "So, whether it is the deer pen or the elephant garden, are our two families involved in it?"

"Of course, the Ministry of Household Affairs is not just about providing money. The Ministry of Household Affairs is responsible for the supervision of the entire project. Although the Ministry of Works also has supervision, it is the boss who gives the money. If the Ministry of Household Affairs does not believe those people from the Ministry of Works, they want to If you supervise it yourself, the Ministry of Works can’t say anything. Therefore, Tian Mo and De Xiao are watching the construction site in person, and they don’t dare to relax for a moment.”

"and after?"

"Whether it's a deer in the deer pen or an elephant in the elephant garden, you need to buy it from foreign or overseas businessmen, right?"

"So, it has something to do with those merchants from the Western Regions, right?" Shen Zhonghe frowned slightly, "They are the forces behind Hui Niang?"

"Xiao Man, don't worry, we will get there sooner or later." Liang Jieque smiled softly and said, "Actually, the foreign countries have always sent some interesting things as tribute to the Western Regions, those gold and silver vessels, and shiny gems. , and these rare animals and so on. But the number of animals is actually not many, just two or three, which is not enough to support a deer pen or elephant garden. Moreover, the food these animals eat must be purchased from foreign merchants. That In the capital at that time, there was a whole street filled with Hu merchants, and now there are also in Xijing City, right?"

"Yes!" Shen Cha nodded, "It's just that there are not as many Hu businessmen now, nor are they as arrogant as that time. I heard that at that time, Hu businessmen could walk around the capital, bullying men and women, no Is it true that people can control them?"

"It's true." Liang Jieque sighed softly, "If according to the situation at that time, if the capital was divided into three, six or nine grades, the first grade would still be big clans and high-ranking families, and the second grade would be these bastards. Shang, the third class are those officials who come from small clans, and the last are the children of poor families. As for ordinary people, they are not as valuable as a cow."

"I've heard of this too." Xue Ruitian thought for a while, "I was thinking at the time why Hu Shang could stand in such a high position and show off his power. Now I understand, it turns out that the emperor likes him."

"Yes!" Liang Jieque looked at Xue Ruitian and explained, "Everyone should have been to the Hu Shang Shang Street in Xijing City, right?" She looked at Shen Haolin and Shen Cha and smiled. He smiled and said, "The Duke and the General made a big fuss on that street a few months ago. I heard they dug up thunder and fire, right?"

"you know too?"

"Of course, the news has spread throughout Xijing City, and the people are saying, thank you very much, otherwise, if those thunder and fire explode one day, we will not know what happened, and the death will be unknown." Liang Jieque smiled at the two of them and said, "Speaking of which, you two have also seen it. Doesn't that street look pretty good?"

"Yes!" Shen Cha nodded, "It is indeed very exotic. Although it has been ruined a lot, you can imagine how glorious it was back then." She spread her hands, "However, His Majesty doesn't like it very much and is not very happy. Run that way."

"Yes, not only your majesty, but also Emperor Taizu didn't like these things from the Western Regions very much. Therefore, after the establishment of Daxia, Hu Shang's status plummeted. He was always a guest of every house he went to. Now they have ended up with no one caring about them. They are not favored, so they can only do business honestly and behave with their tail between their legs. Otherwise, if they make a mistake and want to deal with them, it will be very easy. "

"That's true." Merlin nodded, "But Aunt Liang, the previous dynasty was different, right? They were above everyone else?"

"Not everyone, but it is indeed completely different from now." Liang Jieque chuckled, "They could walk sideways in the previous dynasty. Except for the royal family and big clans, they didn't take anyone seriously. In. They dare not be presumptuous with the royal family, because the royal family is their big customer, and almost all the goods in their hands can be sold to the royal family. Not only the last emperor, but also other royal children can sell them at high prices, and then they can sell them to the royal family. We can exchange them for the things they want at very low prices, such as tea, salt, silk and so on."

"Where are the clans?"

"They don't dare to offend the clan. They know that the clan is more powerful than the royal family. If they offend the clan, they won't even be able to survive, let alone doing business."

"Then they really know how to advance and retreat. Those who know the current affairs are heroes, and they are considered heroes." Shen Zhonghe nodded, "But, Aunt Liang, why does the last emperor like these things so much?" "Why is not clear, But it’s true that he is obsessed with it. My grandfather once said that the Emperor especially loved this kind of twinkling things. These are the characteristics of the Western Regions, and they are just what he likes."

"I remember..." Shen Zhonghe thought for a while, "We also have a lot of these things from the Western Regions at home. I thought they were brought back by us when we went overseas to do business. Now that I look at it, it seems... maybe not?"

"No." Liang Jieque shook her head gently, "These things in our house were all rewarded by the late Emperor, and some were bought and sold by force."

"The last emperor rewarded it. It's understandable. He liked this thing and used it to reward his ministers. No one can tell. But the meaning of buying and selling by force is..." Shen Zhonghe's expression was a little confused. He didn't quite understand what Liang Jieque meant, "If we don't like or like this thing, we are forced to buy it? Isn't this lawless? Isn't there anyone in charge?"

"It's not that Hu merchants want to buy or sell by force, nor are they willing to use this method. This method will seriously damage their reputation, and the most important thing for businessmen is reputation. But the one who forced them to do this was the Emperor, their biggest Bosses and customers, if they want to continue to be favored, they must listen to the boss and do whatever the boss tells them to do."

"Did the Emperor ask him to do it?" Merlin frowned slightly, "Does he still care about this matter?"

"He cares about everything and wants to mix in everything. His chamberlain said that if the last emperor were not emperor, he would be a very good businessman."

"So powerful?"

"Isn't it? That's very powerful. In this aspect, he is still very smart." Liang Jieque looked at everyone. Everyone's expressions were very puzzled. She explained and said, "The Emperor is very interested in these things." His liking made his ministers of civil and military affairs and the big clans in Xijing City feel that he had been bewitched and tempted by Hu Shang. How much did he like things from Fanbang? He sneaked up to Hu Shang went shopping on that street, causing the entire imperial city guard to look for him, and then take back the things he bought in large and small bags. If he was not found, those Hu Shang would personally send him back to the palace. "

"Send him back to the palace personally?" Merlin frowned slightly, with a look of disgust on his face, "Can those Hu merchants be so kind?"

"Of course they don't mean well, and they don't want to do this, but they have to ask for money!"

"You want money? What money do you want?"

"Of course it's the money that the emperor should give when he buys things. This guy never takes any money with him when he goes out. The money he spends on buying things is either given to him by his guards, or by Hu Shang sending him to him. At the entrance of the palace, people were asked to go to the palace to pick them up and then give them to these Hu merchants." Liang Jieque shrugged, "Later, the late emperor felt that this was very troublesome, so he simply called Hu merchants into the palace and asked them to bring their best , the most beautiful and shining items. These Hu merchants tried their best to please the emperor. They brought several large carts of things into the palace. A few hours later, they brought even more than when they came. The cart went out from the palace, and the cart was filled with things that the emperor had given them, and they were all what they needed. After so many trips, everyone in the capital knew about it, so Hu Shang only knew about it when he was in the capital. It’s a more domineering feeling.”

"What about forced buying and selling?"

"It's like this. The more things you buy, the more things you buy. Soon the warehouse in the palace can no longer be piled up. Some of them must be cleared before new ones can be purchased. In addition to giving rewards to ministers, there is also a lot that needs to be cleared. So, these should How to clean it up? Emperor Mo thought of a way." Liang Jieque spread his hands, "Every once in a while, he would hold a market in the palace, and he would put out the things he didn't like and wanted to clear out. Come out and let the royal family, civil and military officials, and their families enter the palace to play."

"Understood!" Jin Jing clapped her hands gently, "He is indeed a business wizard! How could this be a simple visit to the palace? This is clearly to tell his ministers and relatives that I have many different things here. Hurry up and get your money to buy what you need." He extended his thumbs up in admiration, "That's awesome. Being the emperor is really a injustice to him."

"You can't not buy it, you can't buy less, you can't buy it at a low price." Liang Jieque sighed softly, "Those royal children and those ministers clearly know what is going on, and they clearly know that they don't like and don't need these. , but due to the pressure of His Majesty the Emperor, they had to buy a lot of things they didn't want against their will. This is the so-called forced buying and selling." She looked at Shen Zhonghe, "Do you remember the set of teacups at home? Shiny, that one that your grandfather particularly disliked, do you remember?"

"Particularly disgusting?" Shen Zhonghe thought for a while, "Ah, I remembered it!" He thought of the teacup set, couldn't help but frowned, and said, "Is it the pink, twinkling set? , the one who even tastes bad when drinking tea."

"Yes, that's it. That one was bought from Emperor Mo."

"The taste of the last emperor is not particularly good." Seeing the curious looks of others, Shen Zhonghe explained and said, "You all know the aesthetics of people from the Western Regions, it's very strange. It's quite beautiful. A set of teacups, plain and clean, isn't it nice? But they have covered the teapot and teacups with sparkling gems, and they are all pink, and they even have them on the rim of the cup..." He picked up the teacup in front of him. He pointed at the mouth of the cup and said, "Even here, it's covered with gems. I don't understand how we should drink tea when it's filled with gems. Or should we say that people from the Western Regions drink tea?" The method is different from ours, they don’t stick it to their mouths, they pour it in through the air.”

"This kind of cup shouldn't have any practical value, right? It should just be a decoration. It looks good when placed there, right?"

"Yes!" Liang Jieque nodded, "It's just a decoration and can't be used. If you drink tea with it, you will definitely start talking. It's just such a thing. You can guess, it's just such a flashy gadget. It was originally How much money did Tian Mo spend to buy it from the market in Mo Di?"

"If it's in silver, it shouldn't be cheap, right?" Shen Cha thought for a while, "I would say a more outrageous price, it should be seven hundred taels, right?"

"General, your price is still a little conservative." Liang Jieque shook his head slightly, "More than this number, no, to be more precise, your price is still far away!"