Fenghou

Chapter 1146
Zhou Kuan clapped his palms and laughed, his laughter was full of complacency, as if to say, I never thought you would have today.

Chen Qing smiled wryly, of course he knew that this was his wife taking this opportunity to warn him that limiting extravagance not only requires others, but also requires self-discipline.

Chen Qing had no choice but to take out a small cloth bag from his bosom, took out half a copper coin from it, handed it to the soldiers and said: "Go to Baoji Cabinet Workshop to get two hundred taels of silver, and the secret is four five!"

"Follow the order!"

The soldiers took the copper coins and left. At this time, the food was brought up first, and the shopkeeper also brought a small pot of wine. Cha Ji filled the wine glasses for them, and the two began to eat.

After lunch, the staff took away the tableware. Tea Ji brought them tea. Today is to order tea. To order tea is to grind the tea cake into powder, and then brew it with boiling water. When pouring water, keep stirring to let it Foam, the richer the foam, the better, the best if the foam exceeds the cup but does not overflow.

People in the Song Dynasty fight tea mainly to compare the patterns formed by the bubbles. Top masters can make the bubbles form patterns of flowers, birds, landscapes, etc.

The real ordering of tea begins with baking and grinding, and after multiple grindings, the tea powder is as fine as dust before brewing. The water and temperature are also very particular, so that a good tea with a strong fragrance can be ordered.

Cha Ji skipped the grinding step, and started directly from brewing. Although she couldn't make flowers, she was skilled in the technique. She ordered two cups of good tea that were full but not overflowing, and then she got up and left.

When the tea foam subsided, Zhou Kuan took a sip of the teacup and said with a slight smile: "Although Jingting is already very good, its ripeness and fragrance are still much inferior to Fengcha. If you are used to Fengcha, you can barely drink it." Accept Jing Ting."

Chen Qing said lightly: "This is how easy it is to go from frugality to extravagance, but difficult to go from extravagance to frugality. Why leave a gap in the extravagance restriction order, which is only implemented in public and does not involve the government. I can't eat the deer tongue."

Zhou Kuan's heart trembled, and he explained with a smile: "Your Highness, humble positions no longer eat deer's tongue."

Chen Qing was surprised: "When did you stop eating?"

"It started when I saw the princess asking His Highness to pay for the tea."

Chen Qing laughed out loud, Zhou Kuan was so seasoned, he actually saw the good intentions of the princess, and he obeyed others first.

The two of them took a sip of hot tea, and Zhou Kuan said again: "There is a saying among the officials of Jingzhao that His Highness is at ease now, has His Highness heard about it?"

Chen Qing was stunned, "I've never heard of it, but where do we start with the current situation of ease?"

"Perhaps everyone thinks that His Highness should cross the Yellow River."

Chen Qing shook his head, "If I cross the Yellow River, I will definitely win? What if I fail miserably and return home?"

"Your Highness, do you think you will lose?"

Chen Qing pondered for a while and said: "There were not many golden soldiers in Hebei last year. The reason why I didn't fight for a long time was not that I couldn't take it down, but because I was worried that I wouldn't be able to hold it. The golden soldiers attacked from north to south. We are very passive. The reason why we were able to seize the Central Plains was largely due to the use of the contradiction between Wanyan Chang and Wanyan Wushu. In fact, we basically gnawed all the bones that are easy to gnaw, and the further we go, the harder it is to gnaw. The more cautious you are, the more prepared you are.”

"I heard from Zhao Kai that His Highness wants to recruit [-] troops?"

Chen Qing nodded, "Actually, there are [-] troops. Xiangyang got [-] troops, and Zheng Ping trained [-] militiamen in Chengdu. I feel good and can turn into a regular army, so I need to recruit another [-] troops. I usually feel We have a lot of troops, but once we fight, we feel stretched and insufficient, especially when fighting in the Central Plains, otherwise I would not have sent [-] militia groups to Guanzhong.”

"A [-]-strong army, the annual military pay and supplies will increase by [-] guan! We just broke even, and we are going to be short-lived again." Zhou Kuan sighed.

"It doesn't matter. The materials we transport from Fujian Road and other places are worth hundreds of thousands of guan every year. We can increase the supply of copper coins or silver to make up for the shortfall."

Speaking of this, Chen Qing smiled again and said: "I used to be able to withstand several million punctures, but now I can't bear hundreds of thousands of punctures?"

Zhou Kuan chuckled, changed the subject and asked, "It's almost November now, what plans does Your Highness have for next year?"

Chen Qing thought for a while and said, "Before the spring of next year, we plan to go to Datong Mansion to inspect the defenses there. Next year there will be a fierce battle to win Haizhou, so that we will have our first seaport and capture Shandong Road. However, Wanyan Wushu also realized this, so he invested heavily in Haizhou for defense. The key is that the imperial court deployed another [-] troops on the Huaihe River, led by Liu Qi and Wang Jian, both of whom are famous generals. , is difficult to deal with, and the situation of seizing Haizhou will be very complicated."

Zhou Kuan pondered for a moment and said, "Your Highness, I have two suggestions for you."

"Please say!"

Zhou Kuan's expression became serious, and he said slowly: "The first is internal affairs. When the water is clear, there will be no fish. Your Highness's extravagance limit order can be implemented, but it should not be long-term. Although the extravagance limit order has taken into account the feelings of the army, the rich People's money can't be spent, the income of restaurants has decreased, and the income of teahouses has decreased. Just like what the manager said just now, it is clearly the best teahouse in Jingzhao, but it has suddenly dropped to the middle level. Obviously, Fengcha can be exchanged for it. The wealth of the rich, why not do it? Luxury restrictions will indeed reduce the income of the common people. I think His Highness is better to neglect it than to block it. Heavily taxed luxury goods and then legalized them.

You can wear Shu brocade if you want, fifty guan for one bolt, thirty of which are tax, the more you wear, the more the government will collect taxes, if you want to drink Fengcha, you can go to the official tea shop to buy it, [-] guan for a catty, Among them, four hundred guan is tax. If you want to live in a five-acre house, the price per mu is [-] guan. , Blocking is worse than sparse! "

Chen Qing nodded, "Counselor Zhou can write a proposal, discuss it with the Internal Affairs Hall, and then come up with a complete plan for me. If it is feasible, I can put down my face and change blocking to dredging."

"Okay! Let me talk about the second suggestion next!"

When Chen Qing returned to the official room, he was still thinking about Zhou Kuan's two suggestions. In fact, Zhou Kuan's second suggestion had already been arranged, which was to prevent the Jurchen army's winter offensive. The Jurchens are very good at crossing glaciers with iron horses. Ice killed the Yellow River, plundered food, property and population, on the one hand increased its own supplies, on the other hand destroyed the social economy of the Central Plains, created refugees, and brought a heavy burden to the Western Army.

Chen Qing also thought of this point. His countermeasure is to reduce the population of the flooded area, and then the villagers will enter the city to strengthen the defense of the city. The second is to fortify the walls and clear the fields, so that the golden soldiers have nothing to grab and kill, and then concentrate their forces to eliminate the scattered ones. The enemy army does not need special instructions, I believe Zhang Xiao and Yang Zaixing will do well.

The key is Zhou Kuan's first suggestion, which shocked Chen Qing a lot. Instead of suppressing luxury goods, it is better to impose heavy taxes on them and take money out of the hands of the rich. On the one hand, it also allows the people to increase their income and expand employment. This is like sitting on a sedan chair. If businessmen are prohibited from sitting on a sedan chair, the bearers will lose their income, and the shops that make sedan chairs will lose their business.

The key here is control. Luxury goods should be controlled in the hands of the government and taxes should be collected from the source.

The extravagant consumption in the Song Dynasty was relatively simple, nothing more than basic necessities, such as Shu brocade, Suzhou embroidery, and lake silk, which were the luxury of clothing.
Then there is food, such as Fengcha, Kuquan mutton, all kinds of delicacies from mountains and seas, precious medicinal materials and so on.

After thinking about it for a long time, Chen Qing called Wei Ji and told him: "You find ten people who are responsible and divide them into five groups. You spend three days going to various places to understand public opinion. The views on the extravagance restriction are mainly the people at the bottom. Come back." Report to me later."

"Humble job understands!"

Chen Qing called Chao Qing again, and said to him: "You go to Zhang Canjun, and tell him that the warning and punishment for violating the extravagance restriction order will be suspended, and when it will start to be enforced, wait for my notice."

Beida Wazi is crowded with people, and the business is extremely hot. The middle-class families and lower-level families in Jingzhao City like to visit Wazi, and Chen Qing also likes it. It is very down-to-earth, and the things here are cheap, rich, and close to life.

But he has not had the opportunity to come and go for several months. The key is the security issue. Many times he cannot help himself, and the soldiers have the power to restrict his freedom. This is a special power bestowed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Princess.

But sometimes, the guards will allow him to come out for a walk. The premise is to change his face. The inner guard has a very skilled female face changer. She can make special human skin masks. Of course, it is not made of human skin. The face is completely changed, and then the shoulders are padded, the figure is changed, and a whistle is held in the mouth, the tone of the speech will become low, breathy, and the voice will also change.

Of course, his disguise cannot be hidden from his wife Lu Xiu.After all, they are too familiar, and they can be recognized by Lu Xiu right away with a special feeling. Apart from Lu Xiu, there is also her daughter Chen Binger who can't hide it. No one else can recognize her, including Zhao Qiaoyun and Yu Ying. They will only feel familiar , but not sure yet.

It was easy, a few personal soldiers followed him from a distance, and with the control of dozens of inner guards, Chen Qing was able to come out and walk.

After getting off the carriage, Chen Qing walked into Beiwazi alone. He wanted to personally experience the impact of the extravagance restriction on the people at the bottom.

(End of this chapter)