I studied in modern times

Chapter 406 The bustling Jing’anfang
In March of the first year of Yuanyou, he became ugly (the eighth day of the lunar month).

Today in Bianjing, it rained lightly in the morning, and it stopped around noon.

As the spring rainy season begins, the water level of the Bianhe River gradually rises.

This brings the navigation conditions of the Bianhe River to the best time of the year.

A large number of water boats lined up and entered Bianjing City along the Bianhe River.

Countless amounts of grain and merchandise were unloaded in stacking yards.

Mr. Lu rode his horse out of the streets of Zhaoqingfang.

He had just visited Sima Guang, who was recovering.

However, the worry in his eyes lingered.

"Sima Junshi is very ill this time!" He sighed, recalling what he saw at Sima Guang's house.

Sima Guang has been on the sickbed since the first month of the year, and his health has been good and bad. This time, he was bedridden for almost a month.

The emperor issued many edicts to send imperial doctors for diagnosis and treatment, and gave a large number of precious imperial medicines.

Now, he was finally cured.

However, Sima Guang's body was visibly thinner.

Even speaking was a bit weak.

The imperial doctor said that he would have to recuperate for at least a few days before he could take a normal shift.

Moreover, you can no longer work as hard as you did in the past.

And Sima Guang himself also had the intention of retreating.

It seems that he intends to become an official and beg to return to Luoyang.

If Sima Guang leaves the court, the governors in the capital will be occupied by the new party again.

This made Lu Gongzhu so worried that he was always distracted while riding on the horse.

Fortunately, his subordinates were very serious and worked hard to protect Mr. Lu.

Until Lu Gongzhu was in a trance, when he passed an intersection, a voice came from the front.

"Enxiang..."

Lu Gongzhu raised his eyes and saw Li Chang, the censor Zhongcheng.

"Gongzhi..." Lu Gongzhu smiled when he saw the visitor, reined in his horse, and waited for the visitor to approach.

Li Chang was Lu Gongzhu's early student, and he was one of the few people who was always recognized by him. He was even considered by Lu Gongzhu to be one of the few people who could inherit his mantle.

As for Lu Xizhe?
Recently, people have made it clear at home that they want to carry forward "Jing Gong's New Learning". They blatantly taught Lu Haowen "The New Meaning of the Three Classics" and "The Theory of Words" under the pretext of tutoring his son's homework.

He even showed off to Lu Haowen a letter from Wang Jiefu instructing him on poetry.

Mr. Lu's eyebrows were almost crooked with anger.

Li Chang rode his horse and arrived in front of Mr. Lu. He dismounted and bowed, "Student, I have seen Enxiang. Has Enxiang just left the residence of Mr. Sima?"

Mr. Lu nodded his head.

"Is Sima Xianggong in good health?" Li Chang asked.

Lu Gongzhu sighed and said: "Sima Jun has recovered."

Li Chang suddenly showed a happy smile: "That's good, that's good."

Although after entering the capital, there were obvious cracks between Sima Guang, him and other old party literati and officials who had stayed together for warmth.

But that was just a political difference.

In the eyes of most people in the old party, Sima Guang's moral aura is still irreplaceable.

Lu Gongzhu looked at Li Chang and asked, "Is Gongze here today?"

Li Changdao: "To be fair, the student is planning to go to Jing'anfang."

Lu Gongze raised his eyebrows when he heard this: "Have you heard about it too, Gongze?"

"Ok!"

News came out from the palace yesterday.

In the Qingshou Palace, the emperor vowed not to increase people's taxes, not increase business taxes, not harm the people, but to build the palace of the empress dowager and the empress dowager for his mother-in-law and queen mother. '

As a result, everyone in the government and the public was curious, what did His Majesty plan to do?
No one dares to take it lightly.

Because this Majesty has proven that he has extraordinary abilities in managing money or playing with money.

Not to mention, just being a Jiaozi of Song and Liao Dynasties made him play a whole new trick.

It’s been almost a month since Song and Liao Jiaozi was officially released.

Because of its exquisite printing, exquisite patterns and bright colors, it is very popular.

In particular, the Dianzhaiwu, the Commercial and Taxation Bureau, and the Kaifeng Prefecture all announced that they fully accepted and recognized the value of Song and Liao Jiaozi.

In other words, Song and Liao Jiaozi became a kind of currency in a sense.

Moreover, Jiaozi’s currency value is very strong!
A consistent Jiaozi can really be used as consistent money.

When Lu Gongzhu was in the capital hall, he saw officials carrying Jiaozi on their sleeves.

With this achievement, both the government and the public were convinced that their young emperor knew how to communicate and manage money.

Facts are the best evidence.

Therefore, as soon as the news in the palace spread, everyone's attention was attracted.

A prime minister like Lu Gongzhu would not dare to go to Jing'anfang to inspect and take a closer look.

Young people like Li Chang, who are considered to be 'young people' who have the opportunity to enter the three provinces and two prefectures in the future, are very enthusiastic.

Everyone wants to know, what tricks is this His Majesty planning to play?
How is he going to fulfill the promise he made in front of the two palaces.

It does not increase people's taxes, does not increase business taxes, does not harm people's interests, but builds two palaces.

There has never been such a precedent in all dynasties.

For many people, this is even more subversive.

After all, many old party literati and officials agreed with Sima Guang's views on wealth.

The wealth of the world is determined, not among the people, but in the government.

The government gets more, and the people get less.

Therefore, the emperor should not compete with the people for profit.

The government should withdraw from most commercial fields as much as possible.

It is best to give up all salt, tea and wine.

If this is not possible, the government should reduce its interference in business as much as possible.

In this way, if wealth is stored among the people, great rule of the world can be expected.

And this Majesty vowed that with just a few confiscated and confiscated noble ancestral homes, he could generate enough wealth to build two palaces.

Moreover, they also boasted that they would not increase people’s taxes, increase business taxes, or harm people’s interests.

This is going to be done by him.

Lu Gongzhu knew that this was a great achievement comparable to the ancient saint kings.

Because only those ancient holy kings could do such a thing without increasing the burden on the people or harming the interests of other people.

That is to say, the success of Song and Liao Jiaozi allowed him to have sufficient say in the economic field.

Otherwise, if this incident comes out, the government and the public will be in a state of uproar.

This is easily reminiscent of the Heavenly Book incident of that year.

Zhao Guanjia slapped his head, took the ministers and ministers, went straight to Mount Tai, and played role-playing, pretending to be the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, Emperor Qin and Emperor Wu of Han.Then...there was chicken feathers all over the place...

What happened to those prime ministers who were fooling around with the True Temple?
Five ghosts!
Thinking of this, Lu Gongzhu said to Li Chang: "Gongzhu, after seeing Jing'anfang, come back and talk to me."

"Promise!" Li Chang certainly understood what Mr. Lu meant: "Please rest assured, Sir, the students will definitely record what they see and hear on paper."

……

After Li Chang said goodbye to Lu Gongzhu, he mounted his horse again and went straight to Jing'anfang.

Bypassing the old Fengqiu Gate and crossing the East-facing Royal Street, he soon arrived at Jing'anfang.

And Li Chang found that there were already many colleagues gathered here.

Almost all ministers who are interested in the three provinces and two governments seem to appear near this small Jing'anfang.

Zeng Bu, the Minister of Household Affairs, Deng Runfu, the Imperial Academy Scholar, Zeng Xiaokuan, the Minister of Rites, Han Zhongyan, the Minister of Personnel...

Even the figures of those ministers who are temporarily hopeless in the three provinces are also looming among them.

In addition, the children of elders in Beijing also appeared in the square.

Li Chang saw Wen Jifu and Zhang Andao without any effort.

In addition, Sima Guang's son Sima Kang seems to be standing in an attic, holding something and writing and drawing.

Li Chang knew that Sima Kang was in charge of the publication and editing of Bianjing Yibao, which was second only to Bianjing Xinbao.

This is a big deal.

Because, now in Bianjing City, all fools know who is behind Bianjing New News?

And how did the Bianjing Yibao get started?

Especially the latter - the emperor personally gave movable type to the ruling Sima Guang.

That's not the case. How is it possible that there are only two tabloids in Bianjing City that can be published publicly and boldly talk about the affairs of the government and the public, and the affairs of all the barbarians in the world?

Do you really think others are fools?
This kind of thing that can make money and influence the tendency of public opinion, if there were really no restrictions, anyone could do it, and it would have become widespread a long time ago.

In fact, such taboo things can only be done with the tacit approval of the imperial power.

Otherwise, the Imperial City Division, Kaifeng Prefecture, and the three government agencies.

Any yamen can throw such daring, ignorant, and arrogant people into prison or even send them to Salmon Island.

It is precisely because of this understanding that the censors at the Censorship Station can tolerate the erosion of their right to speak.

Li Chang dismounted in Jing'an Square, and then quietly approached Wen Jifu.

"Zhou Han..." Li Chang asked softly: "Did you find any clues?"

Wen Jifu turned around and saw Li Chang, and quickly handed over his hands: "Hello, Mr. Li."

Then he replied: "Nothing has been discovered yet."

"I only know that this morning, Song Yongchen, the big boss next to the official, and officials from the Right Army Inspection Department of Kaifeng Prefecture, seemed to be going door to door in Jing'an Square to inquire about some things."

"What's going on?" Li Chang asked.

"I think I heard someone say that they were asking about the price of residential houses in Jing'anfang!"

Li Chang frowned: "The palace plans to pay for the purchase of private residences?"

"I guess so." Wen Jifu nodded.

This is not surprising in the Song Dynasty.

It was common for emperors to spend money to buy houses and land from ordinary people.

Back then, during the Renmiao era, the people of Bianjing built their houses at the foot of the imperial city, blocking the patrol routes of the Imperial Guards. Renmiao issued an edict to demolish them, but they also paid compensation for the demolished houses.

During the late emperor's time, he repaired the inner and outer rings of the imperial city and demolished hundreds of official houses and civilian residences. The late emperor ordered that the demolished residences be "given at market prices."

This is true for official matters, and even more expensive for private matters.

Zhao officials will not be stingy in this kind of thing.

Li Chang became more and more confused.

Take the ancestral residences of nobles and then purchase nearby residential buildings.

What exactly is going on in the palace?
So, he asked in a low voice: "Zhou Han, do you know what your Majesty wants to do?"

Wen Jifu shook his head.

Although there was news in the palace that the emperor vowed to build palaces for the two palaces.

But what exactly do you plan to do?The people in the palace kept their mouths tightly shut.

Now, even Wen Jifu doesn't know the details.

This put Li Chang in trouble.

If he doesn't know what the official is going to do, how can he speculate and surmise?How to brag?Take sides?
He was in a hurry.

After all, there was talk in the palace that the capital was going to be expanded.

The number of governors is likely to no longer be limited to five in the East Palace and two in the West Palace.

This means that people like him who had no chance now have a chance to get a cool umbrella.

That's a cool umbrella!
The highest pursuit in a minister's life is also the highest honor to be able to benefit his descendants.

……

Zhao Xu looked at Song Yongchen and counted the numbers.

Then he was surprised: "Jing'anfang is quite big!"

Song Yongchen bowed and replied: "Everyone, in terms of area alone, Jing'an Fang is the inner city of the inner city, second only to Xuanhua Fang, Xingguo Fang and Dunhua Fang."

"I have measured it. It is 510 three steps wide from north to south and 420 five steps long from east to west. It is slightly longer from north to south and slightly narrower from east to west. There are more than a hundred houses in the square, most of which were built on land occupied by previous dynasties. Most of the houses have doors. The system of building a house is to have five rooms, one door, one building and two buildings, which is called a courtyard."

"However, many people build houses illegally, and there are many houses with six, seven, or eight rooms in their yards."

This is natural.

Bianjing is a commercial city, and everything is about money.

All houses have value.

As long as you rent it out, you can pay at least several thousand rents a month.

Of course, ordinary people will go to great lengths to build more houses, just like modern urban villages.

Naturally, there are also many safety hazards.

Bianjing City would catch fire every now and then, and a fire would often burn down hundreds of houses.

This is because Bianjing City has a complete fire-fighting system and fire-fighting equipment at the peak of the feudal era.

Otherwise, like the Five Dynasties, half of Bianjing was burned down in one go. I don’t know how many times it will happen.

Zhao Xu put together the reports in his hands and said to Song Yongchen: "Supervisor, go talk to these household heads and see if they are willing to sell their houses?"

"Call up the names and houses of those who are willing to sell them and make a sand table."

"No!" Song Yongchen bowed.

"Remember, don't force it, let alone force it to buy." Zhao Xu warned.

Zhao Xu didn't want to end up like that bastard Zhao Ji, who even had to pay for the houses of people in Bianjing.

He is not so unrestrained yet.

Besides, he wants to make money, and to make money, of course he has to be clean, wear suits and leather shoes, be gentle, and be calm and leisurely.

Otherwise, if bloodshed breaks out, he, the emperor, will be disgraced. The key question is - who will buy his house?
　Note: In Bianjing in the Northern Song Dynasty, almost every street had a fire watch tower. Every 500 meters or so, there was a submersible fire shop. Both the submersible fire shop and the fire watch tower had professional fire fighters on standby.

　　There was nothing I could do, I was really afraid of being burned.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)