Do you know: I am Yuan Wenshao

Chapter 232: Help Gu Tingye block the knife

"Your Highness is wise." Yuan Wenshao cupped his hands and said.

"By the way, I have told my father about the news in Hehuang, and he has sent people to inquire about it," Zhao Ceying said.

"Xixia is unable to plot Hehuang at this time, so it is indeed a good time." Yuan Wenshao nodded.

Xixia had been conquering the Western Regions before, but the Zhou Dynasty captured Lingzhou City and opened the way to the Western Regions, which had a great impact on Xixia's administration of the Western Regions.

Zhao Ceying sighed and said: "Xi Xia didn't have the time to take action against Hehuang, and neither did the Zhou Dynasty. At first, I heard that the court didn't even have the money to reward the soldiers, and it was hard for me to believe it. But I carefully After understanding it, I found that the imperial court really has no extra money except for normal expenses. Not to mention anything else, just supplying food to the border every year costs a huge amount."

A large number of soldiers were stationed in the northern and northwest defense lines for defense.

The supply from the north and northwest alone is not enough, and grain and grass need to be mobilized from the south.

Although transporting grain and grass can be a sign that people will do corvee service, the court must bear the responsibility for eating and drinking during the transportation.

This also results in a lot of cost just for transporting grain every year.

After hearing this, Yuan Wenshao was silent for a while and said, "Your Highness, I have a way to reduce this expenditure."

"Oh?" Zhao Ceying said in surprise: "What can I do?"

"There is a huge demand for military rations, and it would be too expensive to transport them all from the imperial court. We can leave them to merchants," Yuan Wenshao said.

"Leave it to a businessman?" Zhao Ceying frowned slightly, not understanding what Yuan Wenshao meant for a while.

Yuan Wenshao thought about it for a while and said: "Your Highness, the proportion of grain taxed by the court is not large, and it often needs to be purchased from the private sector. This matter can be left to the merchants, who can collect grain from the south and transport it to the north and northwest military camps. According to Grain prices give merchants reasonable remuneration.”

"The imperial court's transportation of grain can also indicate corvee labor. If it is handed over to merchants, wouldn't it cost more?" Zhao Ceying asked.

Yuan Wenshao smiled and said: "Your Highness, the benefit I mentioned is not giving money to businessmen, but salt or tea."

Dazhou salt tea was government-run, and merchants could pay money to the court to buy salt and tea, and then use the salt and tea to extract salt and tea.

To put it simply, Shioyin and Chayin are somewhat similar to the buying indicators of later generations.

What Yuan Wenshao meant was to use salt and tea to pay the merchants who transported grain.

As much grain as they brought, they were given salt and tea of ​​corresponding value.

In the process of transporting grain, the merchants could not earn any benefit from the court, and even had to bear the cost of transportation. However, they could make money by selling salt and tea after getting the salt and tea.

This method was not thought up by Yuan Wenshao. Historically, this method was used in the Ming Dynasty and was called the Kaizhong method.

This was of great benefit to the court. First of all, the court did not need to organize manpower to transport grain and grass, nor did it need to use money to purchase grain and grass everywhere. It saved some expenses and a lot of energy.

After hearing this, Zhao Ceying carefully thought about the feasibility of Yuan Wenshao's words. The more he thought about it, the brighter his eyes became. But soon he laughed and cried, shook his head and said, "The method you mentioned is indeed a good method, but it won't work for the time being. Now Jiangnan The area is flooded with illegal salt, and if we do this, more people will take risks."

Private salt is definitely cheaper than official salt. The water system in the south of the Yangtze River is developed, which has a good covering effect on private salt trade.

This also led to the proliferation of private salt in Jiangnan. The amount of salt introduced by the imperial court to the Jiangnan region and the purchase volume decreased year by year.

This also caused the court's income from salt to drop significantly.

If we follow Yuan Wenshao's method, we will peel off the skin of those salt merchants, which will lead to more people selling illegal salt.

Yuan Wenshao smiled bitterly when he heard this and said: "Your Highness, of course I am too idealistic."

"No, your method is indeed very good. It seems that it is urgent to rectify the salt affairs." Zhao Ceying said solemnly.

"By the way, my father is going to reorganize the Western Suburbs Camp and completely separate the left, right, front, and middle camps of the Western Suburbs Camp so that they are not under each other. What do you think about this?" Zhao Ceying asked.

The western suburbs camp was divided into five battalions, but in fact the other four battalions were under the control of the British Duke who commanded the middle camp.

Of course, the western suburbs camp was directly under the government's dispatch, and the British Crown only had nominal jurisdiction, but did not actually have the right to dispatch troops.

Zhao Zongquan completely divided the five camps, his purpose was to win the commander-in-chief of the British Army's western suburbs camp.

After all, even if he transfers the British police officer, Shen Congxing, Gu Tingye and others are still junior, and even he will not have the ability to push them to the position of commander of the western suburbs camp.

If they are not under each other, it is completely possible to arrange for Shen Congxing and Gu Tingye to serve as commanders of the first battalion.

In this way, he could completely control the western suburbs camp in his own hands.

"I only have a rough understanding of the art of war and am not proficient in these matters." Yuan Wenshao said.

Zhao Ceying said with a smile: "I originally wanted to recommend you to my father to take charge of a battalion. After listening to what you just said, I feel that it is a pity for you to be a military general. With your talents, you will be more useful as a civil servant." .”

"Your Highness is ridiculous. I am just a bit impatient and know nothing about government affairs." Yuan Wenshao said quickly.

Zhao Ceying shook his head and said: "Forget it, then I will recommend you to my father to take charge of a battalion."

"My qualifications are still young, so I'm afraid it will be difficult to convince the public." Yuan Wenshao said.

He is not greedy for power. He is very satisfied with the position of marquis.

There is a saying that goes well, if you do more, you will make more mistakes, if you do less, you will make more mistakes, and if you do less, it will be better.

Next, you don't need to think about it to know that the Queen Mother and the officials are trying to seize power, and a series of battles will break out.

He remembered that in the play, Gu Tingye and Han Zhang deceived the jade seal from the Queen Mother in order to help the official family get back the jade seal.

If the Queen Mother hadn't looked at the old wounds on his back and mistook them for wounds from fighting for the country, Gu Tingye would have been beaten half to death.

He didn't want to get involved in such a thing. To be honest, although the Queen Mother's knighthood was calculated, he was somewhat grateful in his heart.

Whether he was helping the Queen Mother or the official family, it was a bit difficult for him.

Zhao Ceying patted Yuan Wenshao on the shoulder and said: "With the support of the British public, there will be no problem. Let's go, it's getting late, and it's time for Zhong Huai to have a banquet."

"Yes."

Yuan Wenshao knew that Zhao Ceying had already made up his mind, so he couldn't say anything else.

……

"Master, please slow down."

Zhang An and Qin Li carefully helped Yuan Wenshao into the carriage, and then ordered the driver to drive.

After the carriage started moving, Yuan Wenshao, who was drunk, opened his eyes and sat up.

"My lord, are you not drunk?" Zhang An asked in surprise.

Yuan Wenshao rubbed his eyebrows and said, "I don't dare to get drunk."

Many people in Yuzhou Qiandi dislike him. If he says something drunk when he is drunk, he will be in trouble if someone catches him.

"I'll give you a glass of water, Master."

Zhang An didn't know what Yuan Wenshao meant when he said he didn't dare to get drunk, but he didn't ask any more questions. He picked up the thermos and poured Yuan Wenshao a glass of water.

Yuan Wenshao took a few sips from the cup and felt much more awake. He smiled and said, "I heard that Mother Qian was unwell a few days ago. Are you feeling better?"

"Thank you for your concern, my lord. My mother just caught a cold. It's nothing serious. She found out she was pregnant a few days ago and she recovered immediately." Zhang An said with a smile.

"Why didn't you tell me that your wife was pregnant?" Yuan Wenshao frowned. "My mother said she wouldn't tell the master when she was young." Zhang An said.

"This is just a small hour. I told you that you have such a big heart. Your wife is pregnant and you still ask her to come to the house on duty every day. You will take it back to someone later so that you can have a baby. I will ask someone to get some supplements from the warehouse. You Take it back and give her a supplement, but don’t eat too much." Yuan Wenshao warned.

"Yes, thank you Lord." Zhang An said gratefully.

"Why are you being polite to me? By the way, I remember your brother Yu is five or six years old. Have you sent him to study?" Yuan Wenshao asked.

"No, I have already started to teach him martial arts. I didn't let him study." Zhang An said.

"You're stupid. If you let him study, he might be able to gain merit and come back to honor his ancestors without delaying his martial arts training." Yuan Wenshao said angrily.

"That bastard has a very strong skin and is very suitable for practicing martial arts. He probably won't be famous by studying. It's better to practice martial arts more so that he can protect the young master in the future." Zhang An scratched his head and said.

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Yuan Wenshao raised his eyebrows and said, "Listen to me and send him to study. Even if he fails to pass the imperial examination, there is nothing wrong with reading more. Otherwise, I will not let him stay with Brother Xian in the future."

"Don't worry, my lord, I will send him to study when I get back. If he doesn't study well, I will beat him." Zhang An said.

"Don't beat him easily. The child is still young, so talk to him properly." Yuan Wenshao said angrily.

"I know, I know." Zhang An responded quickly.

"You should listen to your wife more when it comes to disciplining your children," Yuan Wenshao said.

"Master Marquis, we have arrived."

At this moment, the carriage stopped and Qin Li said.

Yuan Wenshao got off the carriage and said to Zhang An behind him: "The carriage is for you. Take your wife back quickly. I'll have someone deliver the supplements to you later."

After saying that, he ignored Zhang An and entered the house directly.

"I have met the Marquis!" Yan Zhengping, the steward of the outer palace, saluted: "Not long ago, an internal official came to the palace and said that the Queen Mother summoned the lady to come to the palace tomorrow."

"I understand, go ahead and get busy!"

Yuan Wenshao frowned slightly when he heard this and walked to the backyard.

He didn't expect the Queen Mother to move so quickly, but he didn't know what she paid attention to when she summoned Hualan into the palace.

"Why have I gained so much weight? This imperial uniform is obviously made according to the previous size. Why is it so tight? Chunhua, please get it changed quickly. You will wear it tomorrow morning." Hua Lan said.

"Yes." Chunhua responded.

As soon as Yuan Wenshao entered the room, he heard Hua Lan talking to Chunhua about what changes he wanted to make.

"Madam, you are plump, not fat." Yuan Wenshao said with a smile.

Hua Lan's face turned red when she heard this, and she said angrily: "What drunken words did the officials say? Chunhua, go quickly and ask someone to send you sobering soup."

"Yes, I will leave you." Chunhua saluted, accepted her orders and retreated.

"You all go down."

Yuan Wenshao asked the maid in the room to go down and sat down next to Hua Lan.

"What's wrong with the officer?" Hua Lan asked doubtfully.

"Madam, if I guess correctly, if the Queen Mother summons you, she will probably give you a concubine for me." Yuan Wenshao said with a solemn expression.

Hua Lan was stunned when he heard this and didn't believe it: "Official, are you drunk? Why would the Queen Mother give you a concubine?"

When civil and military officials perform meritorious service, it is normal for the official family to reward a beauty or something like that. How could a queen mother give her a concubine?

"Madam, listen to me."

Yuan Wenshao told Hua Lan that the Queen Mother summoned him today, and then said: "As soon as I left, the Queen Mother sent someone to summon you. It's not that simple. I guess the Queen Mother will probably tell you that she wants to summon you." Give me the palace maid next to you to be my concubine, if this is really the case, how will you deal with it?"

Hua Lan heard the words and said in a deep voice: "If that's true, I definitely can't have this person. But I can't refuse the Queen Mother's reward. How about bringing them back and raising them?"

"No, if I really accept it, even if I don't touch it, the officials will be suspicious of me. And the person given by the Queen Mother, even if it is a maid, represents the Queen Mother's face. If I accept it, they will not cause trouble at home. It's not easy to deal with." Yuan Wenshao shook his head.

Hua Lan heard this and said anxiously: "Official, what should we do?"

"If the Queen Mother really wants to give me a concubine, just do this..." Yuan Wenshao told Minglan how to deal with it.

Hua Lan worriedly asked: "If you say that, won't the Queen Mother be angry?"

"Just be angry when you are angry. The queen mother will always return the government to the officials. Compared with the queen mother, our officials are a bit more suspicious. It will be more troublesome if she is suspected by him. But you don't have to worry, I will ask King Huan to invite the queen. You have to deal with it in the past, and then you can just act according to the circumstances." Yuan Wenshao said.

"Okay, I understand." Hua Lan nodded.

"Without further delay, I will go to Prince Huan's Mansion first." Yuan Wenshao said.

"The officials should drink the hangover soup before going." Hua Lan said.

"It's okay, I'm not drunk at all. By the way, Cuichan is pregnant. I asked Zhang An to take her back. You can have someone send her some supplements." Yuan Wenshao said.

"Yeah, I'll make arrangements right away." Hua Lan nodded.

Just as Yuan Wenshao was about to go out, someone from the palace came to the door again.

This time, it was Zhao Zongquan who sent him to inform him to attend the small court meeting in the palace tomorrow morning.

Yuan Wenshao sent the people away, guessing that Zhao Zongquan should start the restructuring.

In the later period of Emperor Renzong's reign, the court meeting was changed to once every five days. On weekdays, if the officials had something to discuss with their ministers, they would hold a small court meeting.

However, usually small court gatherings summon civil officials, and now even a laid-back prince like him has to attend. It is obvious that the matter discussed this time has something to do with the military.

Yuan Wenshao shook his head, no matter what, he will know tomorrow. The top priority now is to ask King Huan to ask the Queen to go there when she is summoned by the Queen Mother in Hualan.

Otherwise, Hua Lan alone might not be able to cope with the Queen Mother.

When Yuan Wenshao came to Prince Huan's Mansion, he learned that Prince Huan had not returned.

He estimated that King Huan had left Gu Tingye and entered the palace, so he could only wait in the palace.

After waiting for more than half an hour, King Huan came back.

When Yuan Wenshao told him about the matter, King Huan didn't say much and agreed directly.

He didn't know if Yuan Wenshao's guess was right, but if it was as Yuan Wenshao guessed, it would be a good thing for his father.

After Zhao Zongquan ascended the throne, he did not change the eunuchs and maids in the palace. The Queen Mother had been in charge of the harem for many years, and many of these people were loyal to the Queen Mother.

If this incident can be used to release some maids from the palace, a lot of the Queen Mother's eyes and ears can also be cleared.

When Yuan Wenshao came out of Prince Huan's Mansion, he suddenly thought that it was Gu Tingye who the Queen Mother was targeting in the play, and he could be regarded as blocking the knife for Gu Tingye.

What's even more depressing is that he can't mention it to Gu Tingye, otherwise he will definitely ask Gu Tingye for some compensation.

(End of this chapter)