Empress please be more ruthless

Chapter 71
While talking, everyone sat down, Song Qingtong sat at the head seat at the end of the long table, Yuan Yong sat on her right hand, Xing Pu sat on her left hand, Ji Yunhe stood beside Song Qingtong without taking a seat.

Song Qingtong ordered the maids to serve the wine and dishes. Twenty court musicians sitting on the ground at one side of the main hall played or played a soothing and bright qin music. The maids filled the wine for everyone. Looking at the crowd, he said: "Everyone, at the beginning of the founding of the Northern Qin Dynasty, the land was barren and the people had no means of living. Back then, the imperial court encouraged farming and vigorously developed agriculture. Now that the foundation of our country is solid, the focus of our development is not only agriculture but also business prosperity. Looking at the prosperity and prosperity of Kyoto , is inseparable from your unremitting efforts over the years, and I would like to offer you a toast." After speaking, he raised his glass and drank it down.

Everyone didn't expect Song Qingtong to say such a thing, and they were all shocked. All dynasties and dynasties have oppressed and attacked businessmen, and prosperous business is unheard of. They all looked at Song Qingtong who was sitting at the end of the table. Entering the palace gate till now, their manners are generous and decent, their speech is calm and graceful, their smiles are gentle and powerful, but they do not make people feel profane and offensive. It seems that the rumors are not credible. There was a slight loosening of the face that was stretched.

Seeing that everyone's faces softened, Song Qingtong couldn't help but deepen the smile on her face. Only if they didn't reject her from the bottom of their hearts and were willing to listen to her speech seriously, could she get to the point, and said with a smile: "The 2000 million taels of silver notes from Ji's Bank were taken The rebellious party in the palace took it away. Everyone must have known that Yunhe sold his property and can raise part of it. There is still a gap of 200 million taels. With this amount of money, the purpose of inviting everyone here today is to ask everyone to plug the silver gap."

As expected, everyone present without exception lowered their heads, and their faces returned to a tense state.

Song Qingtong raised his eyes and glanced at Ji Yunhe, Ji Yunhe understood, took the tray, and distributed the rectangular strips of white deerskin in the tray to everyone one by one. Above the rising Tenglong, there are four characters printed: Beiqin Public Loan, printed in an inconspicuous place: 5 taels of silver, with a term of five years.

Everyone was puzzled, and Song Qingtong smiled slightly. She was also forced to do nothing. This time and space has not yet issued national bonds and said, "Everyone, the imperial court will not ask you for money in vain, so I decided to issue public bonds. The face value of each public bond 5 taels, the term is five years, and the interest is six points. That is to say, if you buy 5 taels of government bonds in your hands, the face value will be 5000 taels after five years. We are all smart people, and it is useless to leave spare money at home , and usury violates the criminal law, it is better to buy public bonds, which can also solve the country's urgent needs."

Everyone looked pensive, Song Qingtong flashed coldly, and said again, "Everyone knows the current situation. If Bei Qin's economy collapses, it will not benefit you at all, and the rebellious party in Ligong intends to destroy us, Bei Qin, it will definitely Take advantage of the opportunity to create chaos, there will be dead eggs under the nest, if Bei Qin loses, how can you be alone!"

Song Qingtong was eloquent, showing both kindness and power, everyone was worried and frowning, Ji Yunhe looked at Song Qingtong, his eyes became more gentle, today she told him about the detailed rules of public debt issuance, after he listened to it, his gloomy mood was washed away , this method is completely feasible!Yuan Yong's eyes turned slightly, and he looked at Song Qingtong with probing eyes.

Xu Lu was the first to express his opinion: "The emperor said it well. This public bond sounds fresh. If you can really get the money in five years, I would like to try it. I want two."

At the dining table, everyone began to discuss in low voices, and slowly the voices became louder, Xing Pu said: "Your Majesty, will the imperial court really return the principal and interest to me in five years?" At the end, he added, "Forgive me for your boldness. "

Song Qingtong smiled gently: "I keep my word, how can I slip up?"

The atmosphere at the dinner table became heated, and everyone participated in the discussion. Yuan Yong's eyes flashed, and he suddenly opened his lips: "The emperor will increase taxes in the future?"

Song Qingtong was startled slightly, and said, "No."

Yuan Yong asked again: "Will the emperor raise the price of salt?"

Song Qingtong replied: "No."

Yuan Yong raised his eyebrows, "According to what I know, Northern Qin's annual tax revenue is 400 million taels of silver, which is 2000 million taels in five years, and the annual salaries of the ministers plus the expenses of the palace are at least 200 million taels. 1000 million taels, may I ask the emperor, after five years, how will the emperor repay the money I invested in?"

This remark immediately caused an uproar at the dinner table, and the trust that had just been gathered was immediately shattered. Song Qingtong had already considered this issue, and originally planned to bring it up for discussion at the court meeting tomorrow, but since being asked, It's not impossible to say it now.

After everyone's voices gradually subsided, Song Qingtong glanced at Yuan Yong and smiled calmly: "I will neither increase taxes nor increase the price of official salt. After five years, I can also repay everyone's silver taels with interest."

Yuan Yong raised the corners of his lips, showing a charming smile, "I would like to hear the details."

Song Qingtong's eyes swept over everyone present, and after watching, he said, "I'm about to issue a decree to lift the sea ban, and Beiqin will open the customs from now on!" The voice was resounding.

The entire Changle Palace is boiling over. Everyone is a businessman and knows the importance of opening the customs. In this way, all kinds of luxury goods such as jade and porcelain that cannot be sold in China can be sold to Korea, Japan, and foreign countries. It's a great thing to bring in people from abroad and do business in partnership.

Song Qingtong saw everyone's excited expressions in her eyes. She had read the history books. Since the founding of the Northern Qin Dynasty, the criminal laws of the previous dynasty have been followed.This is mainly from the consideration of defense against the Japanese pirates. The Japanese pirates are indeed hateful, but they can't give up eating because of choking. She will increase her troops to fight against the pirates. If you want economic prosperity, you must not close the country!In the future, she will gradually open up the states and counties adjacent to the northern countries. Of course, that will be after the Li Palace rebellion is resolved.

Xing Pu's eyes flickered, and he suppressed his excitement and said: "The emperor opened the customs, will there be additional tariffs on the goods?" The dining table immediately fell silent, and everyone listened carefully.

Song Qingtong smiled: "Exported goods will not increase tariffs, but imported goods will increase taxes. If you want to buy and sell overseas, you only need to go through the clearance procedures at the relevant local departments."

(End of this chapter)