Qin Huaidao said calmly: "Your Majesty, the humble minister is pulling coal!"
Li Eryi was startled, talking about grain, why did he end up hauling coal? He was about to get angry when he suddenly thought of something and asked: "You mean to ask me to transport grain from other places? It's freezing, is that possible?"
"
Qin Huaidao smiled: "Your Majesty, the distance from Chang'an to Tongguan County is not very short. It is said that they cannot go back and forth in one day, but they did it. It was also cold and freezing. At the beginning, there were only a hundred or two cars, but people joined every day.
, there are more than 300 people on the bus so far, why?”
Li Er also wanted to know why, but it seemed a bit stupid to ask.
Qin Huaidao did not let Li Er answer, but continued: "Because Wei Chen paid fifty cents to take care of one meal and meat, and he took care of enough."
"There must be a brave man under a heavy reward?" Li Er is worthy of being the emperor immediately. He quickly reacted, his eyes lit up, but soon dimmed again, and he said with some distress: "Chang'an is short of food, it is not a small amount, and the imperial court is short of silver.
There is no way to find someone to transport food at a high price, and it’s so cold, who is willing to run away?”
"Your Majesty has misunderstood." Qin Huaidao said with a smile: "The three major grain merchants stole and sold official grain, which is tantamount to rebellion."
Li Er couldn't keep up with Qin Huaidao's thinking. Strictly speaking, stealing official grain was not a rebellion, and there was nothing simple behind it. He reminded: "The grain merchants are not stupid. It is impossible to really steal grain. They should buy grain from the Ministry of Household Affairs.
I'm afraid that the procedures are complete, compliant, and can withstand investigation. At most, a small official from the household department will be held responsible. The theory of rebellion is a bit far-fetched."
"I understand, and Wei Chen is sure that all the procedures are complete. The documents and files will say that the old grain is sold. It is a common practice for the imperial court to sell old grain to make room for new grain. The investigation will not find anything, unless all the account books are thoroughly checked, but
In this way, it won't take a few months, and they may not be able to find anything. If they dare to sell, they will definitely not leave anything on their account books. If the official who signed the approval for the sale jumps back and claims that he was forced by the grain merchants
What?" Qin Huaidao asked.
Li Er's eyes lit up, and he immediately shook his head and said: "One-sided words are not enough!"
"There is no evidence, which is indeed not enough. But I have asked the guards to seal all the shops. If some prohibited items are found inside, such as crossbows."
"Go on." Li Er was a little excited. Although this method is a bit underhanded, but can it be called underhanded for the sake of the people? That's called wisdom and benevolent government. Li Er is not a pedantic person. If he is ruthless, he will dare to do anything.
Qin Huaidao continued: "As long as the three major grain merchants are proven to have rebelled, it will be a major crime to punish the nine tribes. However, the sage's benevolence and righteousness allows them to perform meritorious service for their crimes. For example, how much grain each family transports to Chang'an can be used as a penalty for death. Afterwards, they are sentenced to exile. They must be willing.
, who wants to die if he can live? And..."
"And what?" Li Er asked, feeling overjoyed. This is a good method. Atonement for his sins can solve the food crisis in Chang'an. As for the life and death of these grain merchants, it actually doesn't matter.
Qin Huaidao reminded: "Furthermore, Wei Chen estimates that behind these three major grain merchants, there may be aristocratic families. Punishing the grain merchants will weaken the strength of the aristocratic families. Of course, the resistance will not be small. It depends on the emperor's wishes."
Punishing grain merchants to attack aristocratic families is so high!
Li Er's eyes widened. He had long wanted to kill the aristocratic family, especially the Five Surnames and Qiwang. However, the aristocratic family was involved in too many areas and they could not act rashly. It was different in the name of punishing the grain merchants. No one dared to stand up to oppose them and they could only suffer the consequences.
He was overjoyed and asked: "One strategy treats the symptoms and the other treats the root cause. I have not been disappointed. What else can you add?"
"have!"
Qin Huaidao said sternly that since he took action, he must handle this matter well and not let the fire burn him. He continued: "The court cannot rely entirely on the grain merchants. If the family is wiped out and the grain merchants are chopped off, and there is no evidence, things will not be the same.
It’s easy to handle, but we have to take precautions.”
"Those aristocratic families are really capable of doing this. Do you mean to save their heads first?"
Qin Huaidao nodded: "Yes, only they know where to collect food and how to collect it. Moreover, if they are alive, the family will not dare to take action easily for fear of being bitten. I suggest that the army take over, firstly to protect, and secondly to escort, to avoid
He will be silenced, and will be exiled after receiving the grain. Someone will be secretly keeping an eye on him. If the noble family does not save him, or simply chops off the grain merchant's head, it will chill the hearts of the people below. If he is rescued, he will take the opportunity to investigate and suppress the noble family."
"This is a good idea!" Li Er praised.
"besides……"
"There's more?" Li Er was a little shocked, there was actually more? Cheer up.
Qin Huaidao continued: "Your Majesty, we have to prevent the grain merchants from committing suicide. The ministers suggested that the grain merchants' properties should be raided and the property sold. The money obtained should be used to purchase and hire people to transport grains."
"At this time of year, roads are difficult to travel, people are hard to find, and food cannot be transported into Chang'an." Li Er reminded.
Qin Huaidao smiled: "Your Majesty, Wei Chen suspects that the inability to transport food into Chang'an is also a man-made disaster. Some people don't want the food to be transported in. Do you remember what Wei Chen said about pulling coal just now?"
Li Er's eyes turned cold: "Is it a man-made disaster? There is some truth to it. If food can be transported in, the price of food cannot be raised. But there is no reason why no one will transport goods if there is money to be made. It seems that I have checked, but the food shortage in Chang'an is too big.
It’s such a cold winter, no one is willing to work if the wages are too little, and if the pay is too much, the court can’t afford it.”
"This is also simple." Qin Huaidao talked eloquently.
Li Eryi was startled, is this simple?
Qin Huaidao continued: "Serve as a corvee!"
"No, corvees can't act rashly, and it's cold and it's easy to cause trouble." Li Er interrupted.
Qin Huaidao was filled with admiration. He was worthy of being the emperor of the ages. He had the people in his heart. He explained: "Don't be impatient, Your Majesty. Let me explain. There are certain things about doing corvee service. First of all, it is the principle of voluntariness. Those who are willing to come can offset the corvee service they have to bear in the coming year."
, and the wages should be high, and if you don’t want to come, don’t force it.”
"Pay wages?" Li Er was surprised. He had never done this before.
"That's right, pay the workers." Qin Huaidao's tone was more firm: "Wei Chen suggested that the court's disaster relief system should be changed. All relief should be paid by workers, that is, working to get money and grain, rather than directly giving out grain, to raise a group of people.
Not to mention the lazy people, they also waste food and breed a bunch of corrupt officials. The humble minister also suggested to abolish the corvee and replace it with hired workers. A little money can mobilize the enthusiasm of the people."
"Work for relief, hire workers for labor?"
Li Er's eyes shone, as if a door to a new world had opened. He was so excited that countless thoughts flashed through his mind. He couldn't help but admire: "The imperial court wastes a lot of money on disaster relief every year, and the people are unwilling to do corvee work, so they use the money for disaster relief."
Using money to hire people to do corvee work kills two birds with one stone. This is a mature strategy for the country, and it is a great good!"
The more he thought about it, the more feasible it became. Li Erjie exclaimed: "What a great man who uses work for relief and hires workers for labor. This strategy solves a long-standing problem in the court. The credit lies in the country. There is definitely no problem with using work for relief. Hiring workers
It’s hard to say what it means to be a corvee, as corvee involves too many things, so let’s try this incident.”
"Holy sage!" Qin Huaidao said sincerely, corvées are ordinary people working for the court for free. If we can use hired workers instead of serving and pay the people, even if it is less, the loss will be the interests of the court. Li Er is willing to give it a try.
amazing.
"Hahaha!"
Li Er was in a good mood and warned: "Huaidao, I will record the credit for you first. I will handle it from the Ministry of Household Affairs. The grain merchants will leave it to you. I will copy it. Each family will be fined another hundred thousand shi of grain."
No matter how much you transport out, you will return as much as you want, and the charges must be confirmed."
Qin Huaidao laughed when he heard this. Confiscating houses was a lucrative job, and more importantly, he could be implicated. He might be able to drag the Wang family and Cui family in Taiyuan into the water and avenge them for being assassinated several times in the past few days.
Perhaps, this is also what Li Er meant, he wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to move the family, otherwise why would he leave it to him?
Qin Huaidao glanced at Li Er and left.
Li Er looked at Qin Huaidao's leaving figure, his eyes surging with joy, and he murmured to himself: "Second brother Qin, you have a child, rest in peace."
Immediately, Li Er suddenly raised his voice and shouted: "Come here, announce the age of the family!"