I'm really not King Jing of Zhongshan

Chapter 202 Emperor Qi's 'Open Class'

In Suiyang, the capital of Liang, Liu Wu, the king of Liang, finally found his way back and handed over the heads of the "black hands" behind Yuan An's assassination——Yang Sheng and Gongsun Gui.

Han Anguo also departed from Suiyang as he wished, and came to Chang'an City again, running repeatedly between the Tangyi Hou Mansion where Guantao Princess Liu Xun lived, and the Anqiu Hou Mansion where Ting Wei Zhang Ou lived.

But after a short period of public opinion, Chang'an City quickly forgot about this incident.

Because everyone in Chang'an City has ushered in a year, and even the busiest period of time in the past few years.

--autumn harvest.

Farmers in rough clothes are sweating profusely in the fields, busy harvesting the fruits of their labor in the past year;

The luxuriously dressed merchants, with their servants, guarded the fields of the 'clients' they had talked about earlier, as if they were afraid of being robbed of their business;
Even the officials of the local counties and counties showed up at the local fields with all kinds of measuring tools, pens and inks for recording, bamboo slips, etc. before dawn on the autumn harvest day.

As long as the farmers in the field have finished harvesting, the local officials will weigh it on the spot, and then collect the agricultural tax at a rate of one out of thirty.

Farmers, merchants, and even local county officials were like this, not to mention the Chang'an court.

——In addition to the autumn harvest, the court also needs to summarize, calculate agricultural products, and calculate agricultural taxes. The court also has many other things to deal with and prepare for.

For example, it has been nearly half a year since the rebellion was put down, and the final work of putting down the rebellion was finally completed. The Taiwei Zhou Yafu and the general Dou Ying, who are about to return to the court, brought back the issue of "rewards for meritorious officers and soldiers, and compensation for those who died in battle";

Another example is more than a month later, that is, the fourth year of Emperor Qi Xinyuan, the winter of October in Yuanshuo, the upcoming grand plan, which will bring about issues such as resettlement of local officials, preparation of Yuanshuo court meetings, and calculation of local data;

Even after the rebellion was put down, the issue of how to deal with the kings of the Qi line and the Huainan line, etc., which has not yet been settled, needs to be a headache for the Chang'an court.

If the court needs headaches, it means that the emperor will also have headaches.

Especially at the moment, when the position of Prime Minister has been vacant for half a year, Emperor Qi, who has just finished his vacation in Ganquan Palace, is even more busy...
·
"Whoo~"

"Uh! Uh..."

Weiyang Palace, Qingliang Palace.

Even though he has already moved into the cool and breezy Qingliang Hall, the autumn tiger in late autumn is still tormenting Tianzi Qi to the point of restlessness.

Lifting his head from the imperial case, and moving his neck with a grin, Tianzi Qi's tired face only showed a hint of laziness and sleepiness again.

Covering his mouth with his sleeves, he secretly yawned, then widened his eyes and blinked several times before Tianzi Qi let out a long breath and lowered his head again.

That is, the moment Tianzi Qi bowed his head, his face, which was full of fatigue before that moment, suddenly took on a touch of solemnity and sternness...

"Food production is decreasing..."

"Ugh······"

After glancing at the report in front of him, Tianzi Qi shook his head and sighed bitterly, then straightened up with a stern face.

"go;"

"Call the internal historian, the imperial servant, the Shaofu, and the imperial doctor to discuss matters in Qingliang Hall."

With a deep call sign, several officials outside the palace door ran out immediately;
As for Tianzi Qi, he stood up tiredly from the couch, moved his neck, waist and arms a little, and sat back on the couch until the soreness and fatigue all over his body dissipated.

He grabbed the tea bowl and took a sip of herbal tea, but his eyes were fixed on the roll of memorials laid out on the desk.

The frown is getting tighter and tighter, and the frown is getting tighter;
After waiting for an unknown amount of time, when Chao Cuo, Liu She, Xiao Sheng, and Tao Qing finally arrived, Tian Ziqi's brows were already completely knit together.

"Your Majesty, see Your Majesty..."

"—Well, sit down;"

Seeing that Emperor Qi was unhappy, he interrupted the words of greeting that the four hadn't said yet, and the four walked forward, looking at each other, and sat down on the side of the hall under the guidance of the palace staff.

After a short while, the emperor Qi on the imperial couch rested his forehead with his left hand, and pointed to the bamboo slips in front of him with his right hand;
After the bamboo slips were picked up by the palace servants, sent down the imperial steps, and passed in front of Chao Cuo, Emperor Qi took a deep breath, and immediately let out a heavy long cry.

"call·········"

"Look at them all;"

"After a battle, the grain production in Guanzhong has dropped by nearly [-]%."

"—Even [-]% is still estimated by the Prime Minister's Office. When the autumn harvest is over and the actual data are submitted by various places, I am afraid that [-]% will not be able to hold..."

As soon as Tianzi Qi opened his mouth, the four of them raised their heads sideways and looked at Tianzi Qi on the imperial couch;
When the emperor finished speaking, the four people hurriedly moved their bodies and gathered around the table in front of Chao Cuo.

"Weinan Two Stones..."

"Two and a half stones in the north of Weibei..."

"Hongnong Two Stones..."

"Two and a half stones east of the river..."

"Hanoi!"

"—a stone and a half?!"

Having only roughly read the report, the faces of the four of them also showed the same seriousness as the emperor Qi.

After staring at each other with solemn faces for a moment, the four turned around and sat back in their seats.

Then, Tian Ziqi's deep voice became the opening remarks of today's small meeting.

"In the past, the grain output in various parts of Guanzhong was roughly three to three and a half stones per mu."

"Among them, Weibei can reach four stones every three or two years!"

"But this year, the rebellion launched by Liu Bi, Liu Wu and other thieves caused every three peasant households in Guanzhong to send one person out of the pass, either as a pawn or as a husband."

"There is no strong labor to take care of the fields, so the production of the entire Guanzhong field has been greatly reduced."

"—Even in Weibei, this year's yield is likely to be only two and a half stones per mu."

"If this is the case, next spring, no later than summer, there will be a food shortage in the entire Guanzhong."

"And the food shortage means that the price of food has skyrocketed, the people are struggling to survive, the people are eating each other, and there are starvation and death everywhere..."

The deeper and more serious voices only caused the four people in the hall to involuntarily take a deep breath, as if they were already in such a desperate situation, and they showed expressions that seemed to be having difficulty breathing.

And Tianzi Qi's dignified eyes, following the previous words, finally fell on the internal history: Chao Cuo.

"This matter, the minister had also expected it before."

"It's just that I didn't expect that the Wu-Chu Rebellion, which lasted just three months, would cause such serious damage to Guanzhong's farming this year..."

Being stared at by Tianzi Qi, Chao Cuo had no choice but to stand up with a sigh, and bowed his hands to Tianzi Qi again.

"Right now, the autumn harvest is going on, and the news that the grain production in the whole Guanzhong has been reduced, I am afraid that it will be known to everyone soon."

"After the news spreads, the grain merchants in Guanzhong will definitely take action."

"The minister speculates that this year's poor grain harvest in Guanzhong is likely to cause panic among the people in the next few months."

"As for the food shortage predicted by His Majesty, I am afraid that it will not appear so late at all..."

Worried about saying something, Chao Cuo frowned and thought about it for a while, but he couldn't think of any solution, so he had to bow again, and then sat back in his seat.

On the imperial couch, the emperor Qi's already dignified face only became more serious after Chao Cuo's 'reminder'.

"Neishi is right."

"——The news of the reduction in grain production will definitely make the grain merchants very excited, and then they will stockpile the goods, aggravating the panic of the people in Guanzhong."

"Therefore, the court must take measures to avoid such a situation from happening."

"This is also the reason why I summoned the four courtiers to discuss this matter."

Having said that, Emperor Qi turned his head slightly to one side, and first looked at Shaofu Xiao Sheng.

"How much food do you have in your pocket?"

Asked in a deep voice, Xiao Sheng, who was sitting at the bottom seat, hurriedly got up, stepped forward and bowed his hands.

"Your Majesty."

"Since the first year of Emperor Taizong to the present, there are a total of 500 million shi in the Shaofu's grain reserves."

"Earlier, Liu Bi and Liu Wu launched a rebellion, and the minister transferred 500 million stones from the order of His Majesty."

"—Among them, 200 million stones were transferred to the King of Liang, and the remaining 300 million stones were sent to Ao Cang in Xingyang for use by all the troops in the Kanto region."

"From the outbreak of the rebellion in the first month of spring to the calming down of the rebellion in June and July, it took a total of nearly seven months to put down the rebellion."

"According to the army's ration quota of two stones per person per month, for seven months, that's fourteen stones per person."

"Combining the 40 troops of General Dou Ying of Xingyang, the [-] troops of Qu Zhou Hou Liji of Handan, and the troops of Zhou Taiwei and Luan Bu, the total is more than [-] troops... "..."

"After careful calculation, there should be about half of the 300 million shi army rations that the Shaofu transferred to hide."

"It's just the remaining part, I'm afraid I can't transfer it back to Chang'an..."

Xiao Sheng's detailed data summary also made the other three nod their heads;
As for Xiao Sheng's last words, the Emperor Qi on the imperial couch nodded with a gloomy expression.

——Ao Cang, which is the transfer station for the grain in Guanzhong to be transported outside the Guan;

Whether it is military rations, civilian rations that are transshipped to the Kanto for sale, or tax grains that are transported from the Kanto to the customs, they all need the transfer station of Ao Cang to play its unique role.

Just like the Wu-Chu rebellion that broke out at the beginning of the year, it was precisely because Ao Cang was always impregnable that the imperial army could put down the rebellion without worrying about the issue of military rations.

In other words: Whether Ao Cang has enough food is related to the stability of the whole world.

Just as Xiao Sheng said just now, the millions of stones of grain left in Ao Cang can no longer be transported back to Chang'an.

Even if it is just to stabilize the hearts of the people in the Kanto region, and to deter the princes of the Kanto region, Ao Cang must have millions of stones of grain, which cannot be shaken.

Thus······

"I understand the meaning of Shaofu."

"The grain in Ao Cang cannot be transported back to Chang'an."

"I just want to say: can we use some of the remaining food in the Shaofu first?"

"——Is it possible for the Shaofu to sell a part of the grain at a par price in the spring of next year to calm down the grain price in Guanzhong?"

Hearing the question from the emperor, Xiao Sheng, the Shaofu, suddenly became a little anxious. He clearly wanted to say 'no', but he really didn't dare to say it!
After a while, when Emperor Qi was getting impatient, Chao Cuo got up again, walked to Xiao Sheng's side, and bowed to Emperor Qi.

"His Majesty."

"The food shortage in Guanzhong this year, the food gap caused by it, cannot be completely made up by the Shaofu alone."

"—Now, there are nearly a million households and millions of people in Guanzhong, and each household has [-] mu of land."

"This year, the overall yield per mu in Guanzhong has dropped by nearly one stone, which means that every household in Guanzhong will lose at least eighty stones of grain and rice this year."

"Eighty stones per household, nearly a million households, this is a gap of more than 8000 million stones..."

"In the past, there was no reduction in grain production in Guanzhong, and there were still grain merchants hoarding goods, driving up grain prices."

"And this year, Guanzhong has harvested 8000 million shi less grain than in the past. What can Shaofu do?"

If he said so, Chao Cuo did not forget to turn his body slightly, and nodded to Xiao Sheng with a little reassurance.

After that, he looked at Emperor Qi on the imperial couch again.

"Let's not mention the remaining 2000 million shi of grain in the Shaofu. They are all distributed in various places in Guanzhong. It will take a lot of time, manpower and material resources to transport."

"Even if the 2000 million shi of grain is all in Chang'an, before the gap of tens of millions of shi of grain, I am afraid, it will be a drop in the bucket..."

As soon as Chao Cuo's words came out, Xiao Sheng, the Shaofu, also hurriedly raised his head, looking anxiously at Tianzi Qi.

Although he didn't speak, his staring eyes were clearly telling Tianzi Qi: That's right, that's it!
But Chao Cuo, Xiao Sheng, and Tao Qing, Liu She and others at the side were somewhat unexpected: after Chao Cuo's words, Tianzi Qi did not show the expression of giving up.

Not only that, Tianzi Qi got up from the couch, put his hands behind his back, and looked at Chao Cuo with a solemn expression.

"I know."

"Therefore, I plan to use the 2000 million shi of grain from the Shaofu to temporarily relieve the urgent need in the customs."

"For the rest, use the money from the Shaofu to buy grain from Shu and Hanzhong, and transport it to Guanzhong in sequence."

As he said that, Tianzi Qi couldn't help but let out another breath, and turned his head to look at Liu She.

"The Shaofu pays for the food."

"But there is one thing that must be told to the servant in advance."

"—I plan to exempt all the low taxes this year."

"Not only the low tax, but also the agricultural tax in Guanzhong will be completely exempted."

"The grass used by the eunuchs for horse administration will be made up from the funds of the Shaofu."

Speaking of this, Tian Zi Qi finally turned his head to the side again, looking at Tao Qing, the imperial historian.

"After the agricultural tax was exempted, the government's treasury was used to distribute officials' salaries, and the government's funds were also used to fill the gap."

"—In the past, the salaries of officials were always half copper coins and half rice grains;"

"This year's situation is special, and all copper coins will be distributed instead."

"On the side of the Prime Minister's Mansion, the Yushi doctor needs to take care of it."

The low, dignified, and forceful words only caused the four people in the hall to be stunned!
After thinking for a long time in secret, he finally bowed with hesitation.

"Your Majesty Shengming..."

After saluting, they returned to their seats. Chao Cuo, Liu She, and Tao Qing all looked at him with sympathy, and all gathered on the young mansion: Xiao Sheng.

——According to Tianziqi, the bad harvest in Guanzhong this year and the resulting food crisis were all paid for by the Shaofu.

The low tax due to the servants and the agricultural tax due to the state treasury of the Prime Minister's Mansion are all subsidized by the funds of the Shaofu, and are no longer collected from the common people;
And the Shaofu not only has to pay the agricultural tax of the Xiangfu treasury, the low tax of the eunuch Mazheng, and the cost of buying grain from outside the customs, but even the 2000 million shi of grain must be used to stabilize the grain in Guanzhong. price······

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty..."

"Your Majesty..."

After being stared at by the sympathetic eyes of the three for a long time, Xiao Sheng, the young man whose face turned into a pig's liver, finally had the courage to stand up;

But when his eyes met Tianzi Qi's face covered with clouds, Xiao Sheng's courage was just lost in an instant.

After stumbling and stumbling like this for a long time, he could only choke out the word 'Your Majesty', Xiao Sheng finally knelt down on the ground wanting to cry but without tears, shedding tears silently.

And on the imperial couch, seeing Xiao Sheng's appearance like this, Tianzi Qi finally let out a long sigh with a vicissitudes on his face.

"My Han family is based on agriculture and governs the country with filial piety."

"Filial piety is the foundation of folk customs, and agriculture is the cornerstone for people to live and work in peace and contentment."

"—Food is the only thing that can make the people feel at ease."

"This year's rebellion has reduced the grain production in Guanzhong. This has already happened and cannot be changed."

"However, the reduction in grain production in Guanzhong, and the imminent rise in grain prices and food shortages, I absolutely cannot sit idly by."

After saying these words in a solemn manner, Tianzi Qi let out another long sigh, and then turned his gaze back to the Shaofu Xiao Sheng in the center of the hall, who was already sobbing.

"I know that the Young Mansion intends to tell me that the money and food in the Young Mansion were all saved by the late emperor for more than 20 years of frugality;"

"I also know that the money and food saved in the Shaofu will be used for the future battle against the Huns."

"—But the Shaofu needs to know!"

"The reason why the late emperor saved all this money and food!"

"The reason why my Han family wants to fight the Huns!"

"It's not because of the hatred of my Liu family!"

"It's because of the national enmity of my Han family!!"

"It is to protect the people in the borderlands from being plundered and mutilated by the Huns, so that the people in the borderlands can live and work in peace!!!"

···
"Nowadays, there is a food shortage in Guanzhong, and the people are about to fall into dire straits because of the soaring price of food."

"At such a juncture, do I want to keep these life-saving money and food to fight the Huns?"

"What kind of Huns are more important than my people, the lives and livelihoods of the people in Guanzhong???"

He uttered several questions in a series of solemn and solemn words, and the face of Tianzi Qi also carried an inexplicable majesty and strange brilliance!
Even Chao Cuo, Tao Qing, and Liu She who were at the side were bent slightly under the pressure of this strange brilliance...

"I have already decided on this matter."

"Shaofu don't cry anymore, I will tell the prime minister: the big plan at the end of the year, I won't embarrass the Shaofu because of this matter..."

The last casual addition made Xiao Sheng burst into tears, and he kowtowed several times before he knelt backwards and returned to his seat with lingering fear.

Tianzi Qi did not pay attention to Xiao Sheng any more, but was still full of sternness, raising his head slightly to Tao Qing, Liu She, and Chao Cuo who were on the side.

"Tomorrow's court meeting, please take the initiative to bring this matter up."

"——Marquis of Kaifeng, as a prime minister, should propose to exempt the agricultural tax;"

"—The servant was born later, and proposed to exempt the high tax."

"From the background of internal history, he proposed a method of buying grain from Shu and Hanzhong."

Seeing that Tian Ziqi was so unscrupulous, he arranged for a few people to "action" at the tomorrow's court meeting. The three of them looked at me and I looked at you, and they had no choice but to surrender again.

"Your Majesty, please obey His Majesty's edict..."

"--Um."

"—I have nothing else to do."

"—If you have something to say, you can talk about it now."

"——If it's okay, then you can retreat and go about your own business."

(End of this chapter)