I studied in modern times

Chapter 625 Zhao Xu: How dare you look down on me?
After September, the city of Bianjing became increasingly cold.

The demand for coal increased greatly, and more and more coal ships entered Beijing from the Bian River, Cai River and Wuzhang River every day.

In order to encourage the development, production and sales of the coal industry, Zhao Xu formally issued an edict through the capital on the fourth day of September, stating that from now on, coal would be exempted from transit tax and only residence tax (that is, sales tax) would be levied at the place of sale, and the residence tax rate would be halved!
This means that coal became the first commodity in the Song Dynasty that could be circulated freely without geographical restrictions.

When the decree was issued, the whole city of Bianjing cheered.

Because coal is the energy source of Bianjing.

Whether for heating or cooking, the people of Bianjing could not live without coal.

Canceling the transit tax means an increase in supply, while reducing the housing tax means a drop in coal prices.

As expected, the price of coal in Bianjing dropped.

In just a few days, the official price dropped from 15 wen per weight (coal in the Northern Song Dynasty was measured by weight, with one weight containing jin) to wen per weight.

It may not seem like much, but for the general public, it is a blessing from heaven!
no way!
Even in the city of Bianjing, the vast majority of people were still struggling to make ends meet.

Every reduction in the burden of basic needs means that the lives of the whole family can be improved a little.

During these days, personnel appointments and dismissals in the Song Dynasty continued.

On the sixth day of September, Xie Jingwen, a senior official of the imperial court, a direct scholar of the Baowen Pavilion, and the governor of Yingzhou, was promoted to the position of assistant minister of the Ministry of Justice.

This person was Wang Anshi's childhood friend and relative (Xie Jingwen's sister married Wang Anshi's younger brother Wang Anli), and he was also an important member of the initial reform team during the Xining Reform.

Later... later he had a falling out with Wang Anshi because of some things.

So he was kicked out of Bian Jing by that stubborn minister and served as an official in the local area from then on.

Because he was deeply involved in the Xining Reforms, the old party also disliked him.

As a person targeted by both the old and new parties, Xie Jingwen has actually had a hard time in recent years.

The reason he was able to return to the court this time was because Zhang Dun and Han Zhen spoke well of him.

He and Han Zhen were good friends, and they even formed a group to debut in those days (in the sixth year of the Qingli period, the brothers Xie Jingwen and Xie Jingchu, as well as Wang Anshi and Han Zhen, were officials in Zhejiang and were known as the Four Sages).

As for Zhang Dun?

When Zhang Dun opened up Jinghu, Xie Jingwen was the transport commissioner of Jinghu South Road and the prefect of Tanzhou. During this period, he fully cooperated and supported Zhang Dun's actions.

Therefore, Zhang Dun's military medal had half of Xie Jingwen's.

On the seventh day of the ninth month, Zhao Junxi, the Right Secretary, was promoted to the position of Junior Minister of Rites.

In the eighth day of the eighth month of the year Guihai, Du Chun, Fengyilang and Yuwenlang of the Ministry of Justice, was appointed as Shaoqing of the Dali Temple.

In response to the recommendation of Grand Tutor and Minister of Military and State Affairs Wen Yanbo, Wang Qinchen, a Langzhong of the Ministry of Works, was appointed Junior Minister of the Ministry of the Imperial Household. He was the son of Wang Zhu, one of the important ministers who followed Fan Zhongyan in carrying out the New Policies of the Qingli Period. However, he died in the second year of the Jiayou Period.

On the eleventh day of the Bingyin year, Lin Xi, the attendant of the Emperor Shenzong, the reviewer of the Veritable Records of the Emperor Shenzong and the Junior Supervisor of the Secretariat, was appointed as the ambassador for river inspection in Hebei. He was ordered to survey the river channels in Hebei in preparation for dredging them this winter.

Lin Xi went out to avoid disaster.

The reasons are somewhat complicated. To put it simply, he and Zhang Xu went too far in playing secret room politics.

They added a few people with connections to the officials recommended to the court for the imperial examinations.

Among them was Lin Xi’s brother-in-law Lu Changyu.

In fact, this is nothing, after all, it is not the first day that the ministers of the Song Dynasty have been making private transactions.

But the key point is that there is something wrong with this Lu Changyue.

The apparent reason was that his "articles were not good enough".

At least many people think that this person is not qualified to take the imperial examination.

According to the system of the current dynasty, the imperial court is composed of selected talents.

We must select people who are good at writing and we must use people who are good at poetry!

Did Lu Changyu write any famous works? Any poems or fu that have been handed down from generation to generation?
No!

How can I take the exam without him?!

Besides, we have heard that this person has a problem with his character and has been charged with several crimes of corruption and bribery.

How could a person with such questionable character and morals, and whose writing is not good, be qualified to take the imperial examination?
We don’t accept it!

This is a black box operation!

The real reason behind this, however, is actually the struggle between the old and new parties.

Although Lu Changyu's position is not high.

However, it was in the sixth year of Yuanfeng that he first wrote a letter proposing that Mencius be sent to the Confucius Temple.

Moreover, he actually accomplished this task.

The struggle between the new and old parties in the field of ideology and thought revolved around Mencius.

The New Party revered Mencius and regarded him as the second sage.

The old party was firmly opposed to Mencius being enshrined in the Confucius Temple, not to mention putting Mencius' tablet behind Confucius and before Yan Zi and Zeng Zi. This was a rebellion against the will of the old party!
As a result, a fierce struggle over the lines broke out between the two sides, which lasted from the sixth year of Yuanfeng to the end of the seventh year of Yuanfeng. In the end, it was Zhao Xu's father who overcame all objections and made the final decision to carry Mencius into the Confucius Temple. The matter came to an end when Zhao Xu ascended the throne.

How long has it been?

Can the people of the old party forget?

So, Zhang Xu and Lin Xi were careless and forgot to dodge, so they were caught by the feet and beaten with five lightning whips.

There was a lot of criticism at the time, and Zhang Xu and Lin Xi were scolded harshly.

The impeachment memorials against the two men almost filled up the desk in the Tongjiansi office.

Seeing that the situation was not good, Lin Xi asked to see Zhao Xu. Zhao Xu assigned him the job of "Hebei River Patrol Ambassador" and sent him away to avoid disaster - as long as he was not in Bian Jing, the crows would not be able to spit on him!
In the eyes of the crows, Lin Xi had slipped to his knees.

It is not advisable to pursue him relentlessly. After all, although Lin Xi is a member of the New Party, his brother Lin Dan is a recognized talent of the Old Party and a secretary of the Secretariat. It was he who wrote the letter of thanks to the Lady of Ganquan County of Grand Tutor Wen.

It's not easy to lose face and create an irreconcilable feud.

However, once Lin Xi ran away, it was equivalent to selling out Zhang Xu.

On Dingmao (the twelfth day), Lu Changyu could not bear it any longer and asked to withdraw from the imperial examination.

Zhang Xu couldn't bear it anymore and announced that he would close the door to visitors.

The crows pursued the enemy and whipped them continuously.

They began to label Zhang Xu and Lin Xi as traitors and cliques.

They also explained the reason why Zhang Xu opened a back door for Lin Xi as being because Lin Xi's brother Lin Dan was a secretary of the Central Secretariat and had a say in the imperial court, and Zhang Xu was a "treacherous minister plotting to become prime minister and wanted to curry favor with Dan" - as if Zhang Xu, as a ruler, needed to curry favor with Lin Dan.

Of course, these are just things that are mentioned briefly.

What the crows really exaggerated was the past events in which Zhang Xu tried to curry favor with Wang Gui and fawned on him many times.

This is why she wished that Zhang Xu would die - everyone knows that the Empress Dowager "deeply hated" Wang Gui and "once wanted to kill him", so much so that there was a legend in the palace that "if Gui had not died, he would have been guilty".

Therefore, any court official who had any connection with Wang Gui and was proven to be a member of Wang Gui's party would definitely be hated by the Empress Dowager!
Upon hearing the news, Zhang Xu was so frightened that he immediately began to write a letter requesting the title of county magistrate.

The Censorate won a great victory!
The crows were so triumphant and happy!

Toppling a ruling party, everyone's KPI will be exceeded, and promotion and fame are just around the corner.

However, Zhao Xu didn't pay much attention to these things.

There's nothing to pay attention to.

He was not familiar with this guy Zhang Xu and they had no feelings for each other in both lives.

So it's not worth his energy to save her.

Besides, if Zhang Xu resigns, there will be one more hole to be filled in the capital.

It can be used to reward those who have made contributions in this war.

Besides, Zhao Xu has been very busy recently!

He really doesn't have the energy to care about the treacherous political struggles in the court.

The war on the front line took up a lot of his energy.

On September Dingmao (the twelfth day), the first batch of cotton bolls shipped from Xihe Road were delivered to the city of Bianjing, which made him even busier.

From the time cotton bolls began to arrive in Beijing, Zhao Xu began to frequently leave the palace to inspect government-run institutions and workshops specializing in manufacturing military equipment, such as the Silk and Brocade Institute.

At this time, Zhao Xu, accompanied by Shi Deyi, Liu Weijian, Liang Weijian and other big men, and protected by Yan Yuan and others, was inspecting the work of Lingjinyuan in Lingjinyuan.

no way!
Lingjinyuan was the ceiling of Song Dynasty's textile technology.

It is also the most developed textile workshop in the world.

It has an extremely long history. It was established after Taizu moved the weavers from Shu who were captured when he conquered Shu to Bianliang.

As early as the Kaibao period, the Bian Jing Lingjinyuan was already famous throughout the world.

But, it is different from other royal institutions.

There were no looms or weavers in the Silk and Brocade Courtyard.

There are only officials and clerks.

This made many of the people who accompanied Zhao Xu here marvel at this, and the look they gave the eunuch in charge of Lingjinyuan was even fierce.

This frightened the other party so much that he trembled with fear and hurriedly explained: "Everyone, the system of Lingjinyuan has been different from that of other departments since our ancestors..." The eunuch in charge of Lingjinyuan was only in his thirties. It was the first time for him to encounter such a high-level inspection team, and he trembled as he spoke.

He lowered his head and introduced the system of Lingjinyuan in front of Zhao Xu with a trembling voice.

It was obvious that he was scared.

So, he explained very carefully: "In the fourth year of Emperor Taizu's Kaibao reign, due to the rampant problems in the Silk and Brocade Courtyard, with frequent incidents of deduction, corruption, and humiliation, the supervisor Liang Zhouhan was ordered to inspect the Silk and Brocade Courtyard, and then reported back to Emperor Taizu, asking for Emperor Taizu's grace to abolish the Silk and Brocade Courtyard's account system, and specially allow the weavers in the Silk and Brocade Courtyard to 'manage their own looms, and each of them can ask for the weaving of the female workers'..."

"From now on, the Silk and Brocade Court will not have looms or weavers. The Silk and Brocade Court will only issue materials, and the weavers will distribute them to the female workers. After weaving, the Silk and Brocade Court will only be responsible for checking, reconciling accounts, and storing them in the warehouse..."

To put it simply, during the time of Taizu, the weavers who were brought back to Bianliang from Shu were oppressed and exploited too harshly by the heads of the Lingjinyuan.

So, they started striking and petitioning.

At that time, the Dengwen Drum Court in Bianjing City allowed common people to beat drums to appeal for justice.

Legend has it that at that time, even if the people in Bianjing City lost a pig, they would go to the government and ask them to help find it.

So this matter reached the ears of Emperor Taizu. After knowing this, Emperor Taizu sent an official named Liang Zhouhan to investigate thoroughly.

After Liang Zhouhan finished his investigation, he reported back to Taizu, proving that the heads of the household had indeed exploited, withheld, and embezzled the weavers' money.

At the same time, he found out that because of these guys, the quality of silk in Lingjinyuan was also declining.

Taizu was immediately furious, and from then on he abolished the household registration system and carried out reforms on the Lingjinyuan.

He adopted Liang Zhouhan's suggestion and after abolishing the household register, he no longer set up household registers to act as supervisors, but instead let the weavers in the Lingjinyuan directly take on production tasks.

The raw materials were provided by Lingjinyuan to the weavers, who then went home and produced the products on their own.

The Lingjinyuan paid the weavers according to the quantity and quality of the silk and satin they handed in, and calculated their qualifications - yes, in theory, the weavers of the Lingjinyuan belonged to the Xiangjun, and were part of the system, so they could also work on upgrading and take the route of acting officers.

Pretty advanced, right?

This is the piece-rate wage system that is very popular in many modern textile factories!

Of course, due to the limitations of the times, technology and raw material supply, Lingjinyuan's piece-rate wage system is not a completely market-oriented behavior.

The weavers were still bound by the Silk and Brocade Courtyard. Their personal freedom was restricted, and they could only move around in the city of Bianjing, and they also had task quotas.

If it is not completed, there will be penalties.

In addition, the means of production they owned, whether looms or raw materials, all belonged to the government.

So, they had to pay Lingjinyuan for the rental fee of the loom.

At the same time, they must use the raw materials provided by Lingjinyuan to complete the designated production tasks.

Zhao Xu could guess with his butt that there must be countless scandals here.

Exploitation and oppression are even more imaginable.

However, this is still a very progressive way of production.

Zhao Xu had already asked Shi Deyi's Investigation Department to find out the production methods of the Brocade Institute and the East-West Dyeing Institute.

So he knew that these so-called weavers in Lingjinyuan were no longer just weavers.

A more accurate name for them should be small workshop owners.

Generally, there is one weaver with three to five female workers, using two or three looms to form a small workshop.

While completing the tasks for Lingjinyuan, they also wove cloth and sold it for money.

What do you say about the day?

It can be considered a middle-class family, not as good as the rich, but better than the poor.

Also, these people have interesting characters.

They are both the objects of oppression and exploitation, and also the ones who oppress and exploit others.

Zhao Xu patiently listened to the eunuch's introduction of the system of the Silk and Brocade Courtyard. Then he asked, "How many weavers are registered in the Silk and Brocade Courtyard now? How many female workers are registered?"

The other party replied: "Your Majesty, in the sixth year of Xining, the detailed editing and revision of the imperial edicts issued an order from the late emperor to reduce the number of weaving workers in the silk and brocade court to 400 people..."

"The number of female workers has been revised to 1,040..."

Zhao Xu listened and snorted twice, not believing his nonsense at all! He just picked up the documents in the Lingjin Courtyard and started reading.

Then, Zhao Xu looked at the other party coldly: "Four hundred weavers, one thousand and forty female workers?"

"According to Taizu's system, there were only 400 looms per weaver. How could they weave hundreds of rolls of silk cloth in a day?"

The textile industry, even in modern times, is an industry with a very high level of personal dependence in many backward and poor countries.

In modern times, the life of bonded workers in the textile industry was extremely miserable.

Especially in this day and age?

"You were looking at me when you were a child?" Zhao Xu narrowed his eyes.

Around him, the loyal dragon guards had already widened their eyes.

Yan Yuan even put his hand on the scabbard.

"I deserve to die!" The eunuch suddenly broke out in a cold sweat and trembled all over.

All the officials from Lingjinyuan present also knelt down with slight trembling.

"Say!"

"How many weavers are there in Lingjinyuan now? How many female workers are there?"

The eunuch kowtowed while trembling: "Your Majesty...Your Majesty...Your Majesty...I really don't know!"

now it's right!

Zhao Xu rubbed his hands and waved to Yan Yuan who was following him: "Catch him!"

Then, he turned and looked at Shi Deyi: "Shi Deyi, by my order, seal off Lingjin Courtyard and notify the Ministry of Revenue to send someone to check Lingjin Courtyard's account books!"

"Yes!" Shi De nodded again and again to accept the order.

Suddenly, the entire Lingjin Courtyard was filled with ghosts howling.

Countless eunuchs, clerks, and officials knelt on the ground, kowtowed and begged for mercy.

But Zhao Xu has a heart of stone!
The dragon-riding soldiers brought by Yan Yuan immediately protected Zhao Xu in the middle. The burly warriors wearing mountain armor even raised their giant shields to protect Zhao Xu in the center of the shields.

Following Shi Deyi's orders, the officials of the Imperial City Department who were on standby outside the Lingjin Courtyard, along with the imperial guards, rushed in from various gates and captured all the officials, eunuchs, and clerks present.

During the whole process, no one dared to resist, there were only cries and pleas for mercy.

It was only at this moment that Zhao Xu spoke: "Shuu ...

"Silence!"

Then, all the begging and crying disappeared completely.

It was not that they were obedient, but the warriors of the imperial guards blocked their mouths with cloth.

Zhao Xu waved his hand, and Shi Deyi immediately brought all the captured officials, clerks, and eunuchs before him.

When these people arrived before the emperor, they prostrated themselves, kowtowed and begged for mercy with tears in their eyes.

But Zhao Xu had already prepared to slaughter the pig.

Under the protection of Yan Yuan and the imperial guards, he walked forward to the lobby of the government office in Lingjinyuan and sat down.

Then he ordered all the officials, clerks and eunuchs who were captured inside and outside the Lingjin Courtyard to be brought to the court.

"As the old saying goes, if the water is too clear, there will be no fish; if the person is too strict, there will be no followers!" Zhao Xu sat upright on the chair at the head, looking down at these people, and said coldly: "I am not a mean king."

"How can you, who eat my salary but are not loyal to me?"

"Even, the child looks down on me!"

He raised the account book in his hand.

I was too lazy to even give him a perfunctory response, or even to cook the books.

How much do you people disrespect me?
Do you really think I'm a ten-year-old child?
Those who were tied up in the hall immediately squirmed and made whimpering sounds.

"I know that you want to explain and say that it was all done by Guan Gou... You are not aware of the situation, and you have absolutely no intention of looking down on me..."

"But even so, you did not stop it, which is a great sin in itself!"

All the struggles suddenly disappeared and they were speechless!
Infidelity itself is a capital crime!

Dozens of desperate eyes looked at Zhao Xu. They only hoped that the crime would be limited to themselves!

Zhao Xu looked at them and said at the right time: "I am not a cruel and murderous king."

"For the sake of your hard work, I will spare your death!"

Suddenly, everyone's eyes were filled with tears and they were filled with gratitude.

In their eyes, Zhao Xu looked more like a Bodhisattva surrounded by Buddha's light.

This is what is called Stockholm syndrome!
Zhao Xu looked at these people and continued, "Even if you can escape the death penalty, you can't escape the punishment of living!"

"You are required to confess your past embezzlement within ten days and return the stolen money to Zuo Zang."

"In this case, I will forgive you for your past mistakes and allow you to make amends for your crimes!"

Zhao Xu understands PUA.

How can we get these people to serve us if we don't trample them into the mud first?
Therefore, all of this was premeditated.

He had already thought of it long before Zhao Xu asked Shi Deyi to investigate Lingjinyuan and Dongxi Dyeingyuan.

It doesn't matter how Ling Jinyuan responds.
Even if the eunuch took the initiative to confess the problem today, Zhao Xu would still find fault with him and pick on him.

But Zhao Xu didn't expect that the eunuch would be so arrogant and rebellious!
The child looks up to the emperor!

This is the best excuse for him!

So, everything went smoothly!
Lingjinyuan, an institution in Bianjing City that specialized in producing all kinds of precious fabrics for the royal family and supplying them to officials for use in making robes, was taken over by him just like that!

Behead him, treat him to a meal, and accept him as a dog.

The whole process was completed so smoothly.

After hearing Zhao Xu's decision, all the people who were tied up in the hall breathed a sigh of relief, shed tears, kowtowed, and expressed their immense gratitude!

Just returning the stolen goods...

Fortunately! Fortunately!
This is also a characteristic of Chinese people.

If Zhao Xu came to power, he would ask these people to return the stolen money and return the proceeds from embezzlement and extortion.

They definitely don’t want to!

But what if Zhao Xu put a knife to their necks and acted as if he was going to kill their entire family?

Then they will definitely be willing to return the stolen goods and money.

They would also be filled with gratitude and work like slaves for Zhao Xu to repay his kindness!
The textile industry is a labor-intensive technical industry.

It is also an industry that requires heavy management.

These people may be corrupt, but they have always completed the production tasks of Lingjinyuan very well.

This shows that they are people who are familiar with the industry.

Therefore, killing them would only give us a chance to vent our anger, but would not help in any major way!

But keeping them and letting them make up for their crimes would be of great help to what Zhao Xu was going to do.

At the same time, this is also a hot spot!
Zhao Xu couldn't wait to see the crows' reaction after they found out about this.

Come on! Crows! Show your spirit of standing up for the people and not fearing the powerful to fight against heaven and earth!
Let's vigorously criticize the current inefficient palace-owned monopoly economy!
The Song Dynasty has nurtured scholars for a hundred and fifty years, and today is the day to die for justice!

And Sima Wengong...

Even in your grave, you will bless these crows, right?
Thinking of this, Zhao Xu called Shi Deyi over and whispered to him, giving him instructions.

Shi Deyi was stunned when he heard this, and felt like his eyes had been opened.

In his life, he had seen officials like Zhao who would get into fights with ministers in the outer court just for a few thousand strings of cash.

However, this was the first time he encountered the situation where Emperor Zhao helped the outer court to build momentum and caused trouble for his own industry!
This this……

"Go ahead!" Zhao Xu said softly, "Now it's time for all the departments to scrape the bones and cure the poison!"

"Moreover, the teachings of the sages are that those who receive the greater should not take the lesser, and those who eat meat should not compete with the lower people for profit!"

"The world today is just as Sima Wenzheng said..."

"The government gets too much, and the people get too little!"

At this moment, Zhao Xu's face shone with the glory of a saint.

He is not fighting alone!
Hayek echoes him in the future!
The two sages Confucius and Mencius responded to him in ancient times!
The Confucian idea of ​​people-centeredness and Hayek's free market are now integrated in him.

Of course, he couldn't and wouldn't admit that he just wanted to get the gold coins and find someone to take over.

(End of this chapter)