In the next period of time, Zhao State fell into complete silence and embarked on the road of recuperation.
However, the wine-provoking doctors in the academy became crazy busy. Even those celebrities who did not care about fame and wealth, and ignored the royal power and wealth, after hearing that the imperial court was going to preside over the compilation of the "Dictionary", they also signed up one after another.
Naturally, there were all kinds of quarrels.
For example, which version of seal script to choose? If you choose a printing version that has only been released in recent years, it goes against tradition and is not accepted by most scholars. If you choose traditional seal script, too many arc strokes will be difficult to print and prone to errors.
If it cannot be printed, even if the "Dictionary" is compiled, it can only be used as a royal collection edition and placed in a high cabinet, which will not benefit all scholars.
This is unacceptable to everyone.
There are also several ways to write the same character, which one should be used as the official version.
There are also some words that have been created in recent years and have not yet become popular. Should they be included?
Xunzi paid no attention to this.
He just released the news and let everyone start arguing.
Some things won't come to fruition without wrangling them for several months. Only when you've waffled enough can you sit down and talk calmly.
When the King of Qi heard that Zhao Kuo had returned from Wei, he rushed from Linzi to Handan and brought gifts to Princess Changle.
He had a great time in the Kingdom of Zhao last time. After returning home, he kept thinking about visiting Zhao Kuo again in the Kingdom of Zhao.
Of course, this is only part of the reason.
Another part of the reason is that the caravans of the State of Qi made a lot of money in the Western Regions with the State of Zhao. He heard that the State of Zhao had opened the Maritime Silk Road, so he wanted to join in the fun.
In the past, the King of Qi had little status in the State of Qi. Not only the Queen Mother could control him, but even the ministers often stood up to oppose him. But since Li Si came to the State of Qi and the caravans he sent out made money, the King of Qi gradually lost his position.
He straightened up.
He can do things that the Queen Mother and ministers were not allowed to do in the past. The reason is very simple. I spent my own money and did not spend the state treasury. When the people encountered drought, I also used money to provide relief.
King Qi was deeply aware of one thing. Men cannot live without money, even if they are kings. If you don't have money, you won't be tough when speaking. If you don't have money, you will have to look at the faces of the ministers.
So after hearing that Zhao State had opened the Maritime Silk Road, King Qi rushed to Zhao State.
"It's not impossible to bring Qi with us, but I have two conditions." Zhao Kuo said.
"King Zhao, please speak." King Qi said while eating melons and fruits. Although they were both monarchs, the delicacies in King Zhao's palace were something he could not eat in Qi.
To be fair, in terms of enjoyment, I am still far behind compared to King Zhao.
"First, the Qi State's caravan wants to use the name of our Zhao State to trade with other countries or merchants outside." Zhao Kuo said.
"This is no problem." King Qi said without hesitation.
"Second, we will cancel tariffs between Zhao and Qi and allow merchants and people to communicate with each other," Zhao Kuo said.
In the past, Qi State's commerce was prosperous and business travelers gathered there. Since Zhao State established a chamber of commerce and united all merchants, Qi State merchants were gradually squeezed out by Zhao State.
Qi State's tariffs mainly collect money from the Zhao State Chamber of Commerce.
"Brother-in-law, it's not that I don't agree. It's okay to cancel tariffs. But if people are allowed to interact with each other, I'm afraid the people of Qi will come to your Zhao." King Qi put down the melons introduced to Zhao from Hami.
No matter how stupid he is, he still knows the importance of population to a country. Over the years, Qi State has blocked the border and strictly checked people's entry and exit. However, Qi people continue to flee to Zhao State. If people were allowed to travel, wouldn't there be even more people fleeing!
"King Qi, does he know why the people of Zhao are so rich?" Zhao Kuo asked.
"I don't know." King Qi shook his head.
"The reason is very simple. There are two main ones. The people of our State of Zhao have land. As long as they are not lazy men lying at home, they will not starve to death. Second, the government of our State of Zhao has provided various jobs for the people.
Let them make money, just like officials' salaries. As long as Qi State is like our Zhao State, the people will naturally not flee all the way from Qi State to our Zhao State. After all, if there is a choice, who would be willing to leave the place where they grew up?
Where is your hometown?" Zhao Kuo said.
King Qi's eyes lit up, then gradually dimmed, he shook his head and said: "I don't have the ability of King Zhao, and I, the courtiers of Qi State, are far inferior to Minister Zhao Kuo."
The King of Qi was particularly envious of Zhao Kuo. If he was away from the country for several months, nothing would happen and the ministers would handle everything well.
"I can help you," Zhao Kuo said.
"Is what King Zhao said true?" King Qi looked at Zhao Kuo excitedly.
"You and I are brothers. Would a brother lie to you?" Zhao Kuo walked to King Qi and sat down. "However, if I participate in the development plan of Qi State, it will inevitably be unfair. Therefore, King Qi is also needed.
Cooperate."
"That is, I must cooperate with King Zhao." King Qi said quickly.
Both parties are very satisfied.
After the matter is settled, Zhao Kuo does not need to take care of the rest. He can just arrange for specialized personnel to go to Qi State to inspect, plan industries, and select sites to expand the port.
At the same time, there is also the construction of official roads in the Huaisi area and the construction of the Huaihe River Seaport.
After the New Year, Zhao Kuo began his northern tour.
The main purpose of this northern patrol is Yandi.
Zhao Kuo did not choose to visit privately incognito, but instead revealed his identity and flag. The imperial guards were leading the way, and two extraordinary generals, Ben and Gai Nie, were guarding him on the left and right.
Zhao Guo originally did not want to be so extravagant and wasteful, but in the end he agreed after the persuasion of the Minister of Civil and Military Affairs.
The land of Yan is different from the hometown of Zhao State. Jizhou, Taiyuan and other places have belonged to Zhao State since ancient times. The people have already had a sense of belonging to Zhao State, and private visits incognito are nothing.
However, the land of Yan had just returned to the State of Zhao. Even though the reputation of the State of Yan was not good in the past, everyone had already become accustomed to the rule of the State of Yan. The State of Zhao needed to clearly tell the people of the State of Yan that the State of Yan was gone.
This land is ruled by the State of Zhao, and the king is King Zhao.
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On the way to the northern tour, the people met along the road. Zhao Kuo would stop the motorcade from time to time and talk to the local people, asking them whether they had enough to eat, whether the wages for work were paid on time, how the mulberry farming was going, and whether the officials were bullying the people.
The people trembled, looked at Zhao Kuo, and answered Zhao Kuo's questions excitedly.
When officials throughout the north heard that Zhao Kuo had started patrolling again, they cursed in their hearts and quickly devoted themselves to governance. Even the officials who had no fingers in the spring water went to the farmland and mulberry fields one after another to breathe the fresh air in the countryside.
He also enthusiastically asked fellow villagers about farm matters and whether they encountered any difficulties that needed to be solved by the government. Even when they were contradicted by some foolish young people, the officials did not get angry. Instead, they accepted it humbly and said they would make improvements next time.
The changes in officials made the people a little surprised. It was not until they heard the news about the monarch's northern tour that they suddenly realized it.
Zhao Kuo rarely went to listen to reports from officials. Sometimes he would not even go to the government office, but would go directly to the streets, alleys, or the countryside to ask local people.
No matter how well an official does, the local people have the most say.
Apart from the countryside, the places where Zhao Kuo went most often were colleges in various places to talk with local students.
These people are the future of Zhao State and have never experienced the dangers of society and officialdom. Whatever they say, Zhao Kuo can hear the real truth from their mouths.
Moreover, Zhao Kuo likes to be with these young people very much. When staying with them, Zhao Kuo always feels that he is still very young.
"What's the name of this county?" Zhao Kuo frowned as he looked at the talented mother and son in front of him.
He pushed the guard away again and walked into the middle of the crowd, his expression suddenly darkening.
I saw that many people in the crowd were obviously emaciated and malnourished.
Since he became the king of Zhao, he has never collected more taxes because of wars, road construction, palaces and cities. The country of Zhao is vast and sparsely populated, and every household has land. It is not a problem to have enough food, and there should be no big disasters.
There are situations where there are dishes on the scale.
This is definitely not normal.
But the strange thing is that no one stood up to impeach local officials.
There are many righteous people in the land of Yanzhao. It stands to reason that after being oppressed by the government for so long, they have already stood up and resisted. They should not impeach the king when they see them, but praise the local officials instead.
"Your Majesty, this county is called Kuxing County." Guo Kai said.
"Kuxing, Kuxing, the local people are really suffering." Zhao Kuo turned around and looked at the officials following behind him, "The county magistrate, the county prime minister, and the county lieutenant stand up."
"The humble minister pays homage to the king." Three officials walked out of the crowd, knelt on the ground, lowered their heads, and their bodies were trembling.
"Detain them all for review." Zhao Kuo waved his hand and said.
"Your Majesty, I am innocent of all crimes. You cannot lock me up." The magistrate of Kuxing County said urgently.
"Yes, Your Majesty, Magistrate Xu has worked hard over the years and has a very good reputation among the people. You can't arrest him for no reason." Chang Kai, the governor of Hengshan County, leaned over and said.
Everyone looked at Zhao Kuo.
"If you recruit them now, I can make the decision and no harm will come to your family." Zhao Kuo said to the magistrate of Kuxing County.
"I...I don't understand what the king means." The Kuxing County Magistrate shook his head.
"Your name is Huo Yu, right? If I remember correctly, you graduated from Handan College four years ago. When you took office, I personally sent you out of the city." Zhao Kuo looked at the young county magistrate next to him.
.
"Your Majesty, still remember me?" Huo Yu looked at Zhao Kuo in shock.
"Do you still remember what I said to you when you took office?" Zhao Kuo said.
"Your Majesty... Your Majesty said that he doesn't ask us to report to the country and bring peace to the people. He only asks us to live up to our own conscience." Huo Yu lowered his head and said, "I'm sorry for your Majesty. I betrayed Your Majesty's trust. I can only repay Your Majesty in the next life."
.”
After saying that, Huo Yu got up and rushed towards the imperial guards. The imperial guards subconsciously raised their guns and stabbed Huo Yu.
puff!
Blood spurted out, and Huo Yu slowly fell to the ground.
"I'm sorry to the king. I can only repay you in the next life." At this moment, the county lieutenant next to him pulled out the sword from his waist and wiped it on his neck. No one had time to stop him.
In less than half a minute, two more bodies appeared on the ground.
Zhao Kuo's face was extremely cold, his eyes were fixed on the county magistrate who was kneeling on the ground, and his whole body was filled with murderous aura.
"Your Majesty, I only ask your Majesty to spare my life." When the magistrate of Kuxing County saw that the county magistrate and the county lieutenant had all committed suicide, he was so frightened that he collapsed on the ground.
"Your Majesty, we found out that the magistrate of Kuxing County is named Xu Lin, and he is Tingwei's nephew." Liu Ping came over and said.
"Spare your life, how can you be worthy of the two lives that just died, and how can you be worthy of the tens of thousands of people in Kuxing?" Zhao Kuo said in a deep voice, "Come here, suppress him and investigate thoroughly."
The imperial guards immediately stepped forward and pushed Xu Lin down. No matter how hard he struggled, it was of no use.
"Your Majesty, Magistrate Xu is a good official, you can't arrest him." At this time, a commoner stood up and said.
"Yes, the county magistrate is a good official. He also said that he would lead the people in the county to get rich." Another citizen stood up.
"Examine carefully and bring the people who spoke for him to ask." Zhao Kuo said. He was not surprised that Xu Lin bullied the people and took bribes and violated the law. There are so many officials in Zhao State, and it is normal for corrupt officials to appear.
However, the corrupt officials Zhao Kuo encountered in the past were all scolded by the people and they were eager to eat their flesh. This was the first time that Zhao Kuo encountered a corrupt official like Xu Lin who was praised by the people.
"Chief Chang, please tell me." Zhao Kuo looked at the magistrate standing next to him.
He would not believe it if he said that the county governor had no knowledge of what happened in Kuxing County. Likewise, this was also the county governor's dereliction of duty.
Failure to report the knowledge, or even complicity, is also dereliction of duty.
However, Zhao Kuo inspected several counties in Hengshan County and found that only the people in Kuxing County were decent, and this did not happen in other counties. Therefore, Zhao Kuo did not immediately order the county governor to be arrested together, but gave him a
Chance.
"Your Majesty..." Chang Kai sighed and told the story from beginning to end.
It turned out that Xu Lin had levied excessive taxes on the people of Kuxing County many times. The reason why the local people did not report it and even praised him was because Xu Lin never forced everyone to pay money and food, but adopted a voluntary method.
As for the reason, it is very simple. Everyone gives the money and food to the government, and the government uses it to do other things. After a few years, the government will return the money and food to everyone several times.
The credit of the Zhao government is very good. With the government's endorsement, how could everyone still be suspicious and hand over money and food to Xu Lin one after another, even scrimping on food and clothing, and taking out all the remaining food, just to get several times the money and food in the future.
But how can Xu Lin use this money and food for other things? Besides, no matter what he does, it is impossible to double it several times in a few years.
So Xu Lin decisively stuffed most of the money and food into his pocket, and distributed the remaining money and food to the county lieutenant, county magistrate and other officials. After all, he also knew that this matter could only be done if everyone benefited.
As for what to do when the people need food in a few years, that's not his business.
He had already been transferred by then.
Besides, he collected the money and food in the name of the government, so it would naturally be returned by the government. What does it have to do with him, Xu Lin?
Anyway, he has someone in his court, so he is not afraid of being held accountable.
As for which unlucky guy takes over later, that's out of his control.