Do you know: I am Yuan Wenshao

Chapter 223 Han Zhang offers advice
Yuan Wenshao glanced at Shen Congxing, who had been drinking heavily, shook his head slightly, looked at Gu Tingye and asked: "By the way, do you plan to take it from Sixth Sister? Grandma asked me last time."

"Marry, I must marry. I'm busy, right? Since I put down the rebellion, I haven't even had time to take a look at the house awarded by the government. In a few days, I will ask someone to go to the Sheng family to recruit someone." Gu Tingye said.

Yuan Wenshao reminded: "You should understand the meaning of the official awarding the orange garden to you."

Zhao Zongquan did not reward Gu Tingye with a title. Instead, he gave Gu Tingye an orange garden across the wall from the Ningyuan Marquis Mansion. He just wanted Gu Tingye to return home and inherit the title of Marquis Ningyuan in the future.

Doing so can save a title, and secondly, only if Gu Tingye inherits the title of Marquis Ningyuan can he fully inherit the Gu family's military connections.

However, Gu Tingye was kicked out of the Gu family because of the reputation of angering his father to death. Even if Zhao Zongquan was the emperor, it would be difficult for him to interfere in such private matters.

He rewarded Gu Tingye with the orange garden to express his hope to Gu Tingye and the Gu family that they hope to get back on good terms.

If Gu Tingye marries Minglan without Xiao Qin's consent, it will be even more difficult to look back at home.

Gu Tingye frowned slightly when he heard this. He naturally knew this, but he actually didn't want to look back at home.

With his current position of power and the fact that he is valued by officials, he doesn't care much about the title of the Gu family.

And with Minglan's identity and what happened before, Xiao Qin would definitely not agree to let him marry Minglan.

However, he had to consider what Yuan Wenshao said, after all, this was what Zhao Zongquan meant.

"I said, can you guys not talk about getting married? I get annoyed when I hear that!" Shen Congxing said, patting the table.

Gu Tingye shook his head slightly at Yuan Wenshao, picked up the wine and said with a smile: "Okay, don't say anything, come and drink!"

Seeing this, Yuan Wenshao didn't say anything more, picked up the wine and drank with him.

"Let me tell you, no matter what country I am now, I don't want it at all. I don't want it at all. It's not as enjoyable as when I was a regiment training envoy in Yuzhou." Shen Congxing said with drunken eyes.

"Marquis Weibei, you are drunk!" Gu Tingye's expression changed and he quickly interrupted.

"I'm not drunk. I'm rich now, but my wife is dead. I want to promote the Zou family, so what's wrong with marrying her sister? Ah~" Shen Congxing said with a red face and glared.

"Yes, yes, uncle Guo is right, come and have a drink with us." Yuan Wenshao persuaded quickly.

Shen Congxing obviously drank too much, but what he said involved the official queen and was too sensitive.Yuan Wenshao didn't dare to let him continue, so he wanted to get him drunk.

Gu Tingye also reacted and started drinking.

Shen Congxing was feeling depressed and depressed, and he was half-drunk. He didn't need any persuasion from the two of them, so he drank heavily by himself, and fell drunk on the table after a while.

"Marquis Weibei."

Gu Tingye pushed Shen Congxing, but when he saw no response, he smiled bitterly and said: "After today's banquet, the Queen summoned Marquis Weibei and said that Marquis Weibei would marry the daughter of an English duke. The Empress was worried that Marquis Weibei would not agree. , and called me to be a lobbyist."

Yuan Wenshao saw that Shen Congxing looked wrong before, and he had already guessed it. He nodded and said: "The official family has a shallow foundation, so it is normal to think of using marriage to stabilize people's hearts."

After all, Zhao Zongquan came from Yuzhou. If he wanted to return to Bianjing civil and military affairs, marriage was the best way.

Such things have been very common since ancient times. For example, Liu Bei married Mrs. Mi in order to gain a foothold in Xuzhou, and Lu Bu married the daughter of Cao Bao, a wealthy family in Xuzhou, after a surprise attack on Xuzhou.

These are all disputes and marriages in order to better integrate into the local area.

Logically speaking, Zhao Zongquan would have the best effect if he took the concubine in person. However, Emperor Renzong died not long ago. Although he was only an heir and an emperor and did not need to observe filial piety for three years, it was not appropriate to choose concubines at this time.

As the uncle of the state, Shen Congxing is actually a very good candidate.

In fact, there is a better candidate, and that is Zhao Ceying, but Zhao Zongquan has not even been crowned prince, and it is impossible to find such a powerful in-law for Zhao Ceying.

"Sister-in-law of the Zou family is such a good person, but she...sigh." Gu Tingye said with a sad expression.

He also had contact with the Zou family in Yuzhou. He was a very good person. If he had been alive, there would be nothing like what happened now.

Gu Tingye shook his head and said: "Let's not talk about this anymore. I will send him back first. You don't have to worry about Miss Sheng Liu. I just thought about it and am going to ask the official for a marriage tomorrow."

"This is a good idea." Yuan Wenshao nodded.

Yuan Wenshao helped Gu Tingye lift Shen Congxing up. Gu Tingye called the entourage waiting outside and carried Shen Congxing out of the house.

Yuan Wenshao watched the carriage leave before turning around and entering the mansion.

After smelling the smell of alcohol on his body, Yuan Wenshao returned to the backyard and asked his servants to prepare hot water, took a bath, and then entered the bedroom.

When he entered the bedroom, he saw that there were only a few candles left in the room. He thought Hualan was asleep, so he undressed and got into bed, signaling Chunhua to turn off the lights.

As soon as the lights went out, Hua Lan moved and leaned into his arms.

Yuan Wenshao hugged Hua Lan and whispered, "Aren't you asleep yet?"

"You didn't come back, so I couldn't sleep." Hua Lan said.

When Yuan Wenshao heard this, his hands became dishonest and he smiled and said, "You must have thought about it, right?"

"What did you say?" Hua Lanjiao pinched him angrily.

The two of them were an old couple. Hua Lan didn't stop his movements, and she didn't use any force when pinching him. Yuan Wenshao didn't know what she meant.

Hua Lan had given birth to a child before, so they couldn't have sex. After the confinement period, the national mourning had passed, and the child was noisy every day. In total, the two of them had nothing to do with each other for half a year.

Yuan Wenshao lowered his head and kissed Hua Lan, and his hands that were kind to Renyi also became busy.

……

The next morning, Yuan Wenshao returned to the room after teaching his daughter to dance. Hua Lan was sitting in front of the dressing table dressing up.

"Officer, yesterday I saw that Marquis Weibei looked bad. Did something happen?" Hualan asked.

There was nothing to hide about this matter, so Yuan Wenshao told Hua Lan directly.

Hua Lan heard this and said emotionally: "Marquis Weibei is really affectionate, and it is not in vain for Zou to risk his life to protect the empress."

"Oh, that's why it's so troublesome." Yuan Wenshao sighed.

"The official means that Marquis Weibei will not agree?" Hua Lan asked in surprise.

Yuan Wenshao shook his head and said: "Marquis Weibei wanted to get drunk yesterday, and he obviously agreed, but he was unhappy and would definitely neglect the daughter of the British Duke. Forget it, let's not talk about it. By the way, Gu Tingye said yesterday that he would Go and ask the officials to grant a marriage to him and his sixth sister."

"Really?" Hua Lan said in surprise: "Grandma has been worried about this matter these days. The last time my mother came over, she said that Mrs. Wu intends to marry the sixth sister of her family's Liu Lang. Grandma doesn't know that Gu Tingye is What do you mean, I haven’t agreed yet.”

"You mean grandma intends to agree?" Yuan Wenshao asked in surprise. "Although Liang Liulang is a bit dandy, he is the legitimate son of the Earl of Yongchang. If it were the former grandmother, she would definitely not agree. But what happened to the sixth sister before, the Liang family is willing to let Liang Liulang marry the sixth sister as his wife, and Wu The eldest lady likes the sixth sister very much, and life should not be difficult. According to mother's wishes, if Gu Tingye does not marry the sixth sister, my grandmother is ready to agree. Now that I have finally waited for the good news, I plan to go back and see my mother. Tell grandma this good news," Hua Lan said.

"I'll go with you." Yuan Wenshao thought for a while and said.

Hua Lan heard this and said, "If the official is busy, I can just go back by myself."

"It's not like you don't know what could happen to me. Now I have no official position and I'm very light." Yuan Wenshao said with a smile.

Originally, according to his plan, he should be able to be reused by Zhao Zongquan due to his merits in sending blood edicts and suppressing rebellions.

After all, Zhao Zongquan was just a regimental training envoy before. Even if he trusted Yuzhou Qiandi's confidants, there were really not many people available to him.

As a result, Zhao Zongquan didn't trust him at all because of the imperial edict from the Queen Mother.

But after so long, Yuan Wenshao slowly thought about it.

……

Royal Palace
Zhao Zongquan frowned slightly after reading the Privy Council's report on the rewards for meritorious ministers.

He had previously served as a regiment training envoy, so he was naturally very familiar with the reward and punishment system and pension system in the military.

However, the reward formulated by the Privy Council this time was not only lower than usual, but also the pension was lower than usual.

This was the first war that Zhao Zongquan fought after he ascended the throne, and he still won. Zhao Zongquan specifically stated that he would reward meritorious ministers in order to win over the morale of the army.

As a result, the Privy Council not only failed to comply with his request, but also lowered the standard of reward and even reduced the pension. It is conceivable that once this standard is implemented, the prestige of his official family will be greatly reduced.

Zhao Zongquan's face turned pale when he saw the approval and jade seal at the bottom.

Normally, memorials were approved by Tongping Zhangshi and Zhongshu's disciples after consultation. After reading the memorial, the emperor approved it and stamped it with a jade seal.

However, now that the jade seal is in the hands of the Queen Mother, the memorials that have been processed by the disciples will be sent to the Queen Mother for approval and stamping with the jade seal.

Finally, send it to him, the emperor, to show him.

In this memorial, Zhongshu Menxia's intention was to approve such a reward, as was the reply from the Queen Mother.

Zhao Zongquan said with an ugly face: "Go and call the Grand Prime Minister."

"Yes!"

The eunuch standing by the side quickly went to send someone to summon him.

Han Zhang's office was very close to the palace, and he arrived at the main hall soon.

On the way, Han Zhang had actually guessed why Zhao Zongquan was looking for him, so when he saw Zhao Zongquan's expression was wrong, he was not afraid and saluted very calmly: "I pay my respects to your Majesty."

"Can you, the great minister, even pass such a memorial?"

Zhao Zongquan smashed the memorial directly.

Han Zhang's official position was Tongping Zhangshi, and he was responsible for communicating with Zhongshumen to handle the memorial.

In normal times, even if Han Zhang passes, it will ultimately depend on the emperor's wishes.

Now that he is an emperor in name only, the Queen Mother has already agreed, which means it has taken effect.

Han Zhang picked up the memorial without even looking at it. He bowed and said, "Is your Majesty talking about this reward?"

"Ha!" Zhao Zongquan sneered: "It seems that the Grand Prime Minister knows it very well. Then I would like to ask you, how did you pass such a memorial?"

"I told you to reward the meritorious soldiers heavily, but not only did you fail to do so, you actually lowered the rewards. What's more disgusting, you even lowered the pension. Aren't you afraid of chilling the hearts of the soldiers all over the world?"

Han Zhang smiled bitterly and said: "Your Majesty has misunderstood. The reason for this is because the treasury is out of money."

Zhao Zongquan was stunned when he heard this, then quickly came to his senses and said angrily: "We pay nearly [-] yuan in taxes every year, and the world has been at peace for so many years. After a war, you tell me that the treasury is out of money? Do you think I am a fool?" "

"How dare I expire Your Majesty? If there is money in the treasury, I will naturally not agree, and the Queen Mother will not agree. The reason why the standards are lowered this time is really because there is no money. If the full amount is paid, the remaining money in the treasury will not be available at all. It won’t be enough to support tax collection next year,” Han Zhang said.

"What about the money from the treasury?" Zhao Zongquan asked.

Han Zhang smiled bitterly and said: "Your Majesty, we suffered heavy losses in the war with Xixia more than 20 years ago. That war has emptied the national treasury. In addition to paying for normal expenses through tax revenue in recent years, there is a slight surplus, but not much. Not long ago, he rebelled against the king. Your Majesty has spent a lot of money to reward meritorious soldiers, plus pensions. Now, in addition to the money to meet normal expenses, the remaining funds in the treasury are no longer enough to distribute rewards and pensions normally, so we can only make this decision."

"Fart! Officials' salaries are so generous, why haven't they been reduced?"

Zhao Zongquan was so angry that he uttered vulgar words, which showed how angry he was.

If this is not a good thing, it could lead to a mutiny.

"Your Majesty, if you want to do this, I naturally have no objection. For the sake of the court and the world, I am willing to live frugally and only receive half of my salary. However, other officials may not be willing. The world will be turbulent by then, and the Queen Mother will not agree. "Han Zhang said.

"Huh~" Zhao Zongquan took a deep breath.

Zhao Zongquan didn't believe Han Zhang's lies at all. With the salary level of officials in the Zhou Dynasty, even if they were paid half, the officials would still live a comfortable life.

And among those officials, which one does not have several shops, and which official does not receive some tribute in private?
However, he also knew that his foundation was unstable, and if he really deducted officials' salaries, the consequences would be even more serious.

"I don't care, you must come up with a charter on this matter, and you can't chill the hearts of the soldiers." Zhao Zongquan suppressed the anger in his heart and said.

Han Zhang looked confused: "Your Majesty, as the saying goes, it is difficult for a clever woman to make a meal without rice, and I am not as capable as Fan Li, how can I do anything? Unless..."

"Unless what?" Zhao Zongquan asked.

"I heard that Marquis Zhongyong had a method of firing colored glaze, which enabled him to earn a lot of gold and silver. If he could use this method to make colored glaze and sell it overseas, he should be able to earn a lot of money." Han Zhang whispered.

Zhao Zongquan shook his head when he heard this and said: "As the emperor, how can I seize the things of my ministers? How will the world view me if word spreads?"

Yuan Wenshao made a lot of money from Liuli, so he naturally knew that he was also very moved by Han Zhang's proposal.

But as an emperor, if he asks for the method of making colored glaze, his reputation will be ruined.

Han Zhang heard the meaning of Zhao Zongquan's words and said with a smile: "As the emperor, your majesty cannot do such a thing. However, I heard that King Huan and Uncle Zhongyong have a good relationship, so I can let King Huan and Uncle Zhongyong talk about it. Uncle Zhongyong understands the righteousness well and will definitely sacrifice it. Even if Uncle Zhongyong doesn't want to, there is no loss."

After hearing this, Zhao Zongquan was silent for a while and said, "Even if there is a way to make colored glaze, it cannot be turned into money in a short time."

(End of this chapter)