"Your Majesty, Shangshu Zuopu Shefang Xuanling and servant Wei Zheng are outside seeking an audience——"
When Li Zhi just took over the "Emperor's Qi-seeing Technique" and "Song of Righteousness" from Yuan Tiangang and Kong Yingda, the voice of Zhang Anan, the chief internal officer, sounded outside the "Lizheng Hall".
"Let them in—"
Li Shimin replied cheerfully.
Seeing how much his son couldn't put it down, Li Shimin was very happy.
Unexpectedly, Yuan Tiangang would bring such a rare opportunity to Li Zhi just after entering the palace.
Although Li Shimin didn't know much about the efficacy of the "Emperor's Qi-seeing Technique", Kong Yingda's "Song of Righteousness" was the best method that could lead to "literacy, Taoism and spirituality".
With Li Zhi's incredible qualifications, he may soon become the youngest spiritual scholar in the Tang Dynasty!
Thinking again about Kong Yingda's high praise for the "Emperor's Qi Watching Technique" just now, maybe the Pheasant Slave really found a treasure this time.
"Your Majesty Xuanling, Wei Zheng has met your Majesty——"
The door of the "Lizheng Hall" was opened again, and Fang Xuanling and Wei Zheng walked in one after the other.
"Xuan Ling, Xuan Cheng, you two have arrived just in time. Taoist Priest Yuan Tiangang has accepted my invitation and officially joined the Taishi Bureau. From now on, you will be as close as possible in the same court."
These few people are all old acquaintances. They have known each other since they were young. Fang Xuanling is a humble and low-key person. Naturally, he is very happy to see his old friend from many years ago.
Wei Zheng was not the same. Although he had pretended to be a Taoist priest in order to escape, he was actually an extremely upright person in his heart.
For a fortune teller like Yuan Tiangang, although he admits that he is brilliant, he cannot stand his mysterious and mysterious arguments and rhetoric. He always feels that such a person is just a sensationalist.
Now when he saw Yuan Tiangang in the "Li Zheng Hall" and heard that he would become a minister in the same hall in the future, Wei Zheng just cupped his hands perfunctorily without any smile on his face.
"Your Majesty, I and the Prime Minister are here because of the floods in Henan Province. Heavy rains are pouring in several states in Henan, the Yellow River is overflowing, and hungry people are everywhere. I don't know what the regulations are about your Majesty's request for relief.
"
In the past few days, Li Shimin had been quite busy and worried about Li Chengqian's affairs.
The area around Chang'an City was cleaned up several times, and some evildoers were found, but no trace of the perpetrators was found.
Just like Li Zhi's assassination case, no valuable clues could be found, which made Li Shimin very frustrated.
As for the news about the floods in Henan Province, countless letters were delivered to the "Li Zheng Palace" every day. There were many disputes between the ministers in the court, and the issues mainly focused on the candidates to be sent.
Li Shimin was not slacking off. From this snow-like memorial, he could naturally see that this was not a simple matter.
It is true that there are heavy rains and the Yellow River is overflowing, but what about the riots that occurred in various places in Henan Province?
There are even reports of "river monsters" causing trouble in some places?
Isn't this someone who wants to take advantage of the opportunity to cause trouble and take advantage of the situation?
Seeing that they were about to discuss politics, Li Zhi stood up consciously and wanted to say goodbye but was unexpectedly stopped by Li Shimin.
"Pheasant slave, since you happened to catch up, why don't you stay and listen together——"
Li Shimin stopped Li Zhi before he could speak. This move stunned Fang Xuanling and Wei Zheng who had just entered the "Li Zheng Hall".
Although the princes of the Tang Dynasty were not strictly required not to interfere in politics, the Li Zhi in front of him was only twelve years old after all. Did he actually want to participate in the political affairs of the important ministers at such a young age?
However, the few people present were all people who had experienced strong winds and waves. Although Li Shimin's move was a bit abrupt, no one pointed it out to his face.
"Your Majesty, what Shizhong Wei said is true. Please make a decision as soon as possible!"
Fang Xuanling was dragged here by Wei Zheng, but he was also worried about this matter.
As the head of the Tang Dynasty officials, millions of people in Henan Province were in dire straits, so of course he had the unshirkable responsibility.
"Yuan Zhenren, how long will the heavy rain in Henan Province continue?"
Li Shimin did not reply immediately to Fang Xuanling and Wei Zheng, but motioned them to take their seats and turned to ask Yuan Tiangang on the other side.
Yuan Tiangang did not dare to be careless. He put the whisk in his hand aside and took out something from his arms. It turned out to be a small antique box.
The box is approximately square, maroon in color, and about half the size of a palm.
Yuan Tiangang carefully held it in his hands, determined its direction, raised the maroon box with both hands, and bowed deeply toward the east.
Then, while muttering something in his mouth, he shook the small maroon box up and down three times with both hands.
He came to the table, gently opened the box, and poured out six copper coins one after another.
"Your Majesty, according to the hexagrams, the heavy rain in Henan Province will continue until July."
It’s July 15th, and it’s just the beginning of July. It seems like it will rain for more than ten days.
"Xuanling, has the Ministry of Household Affairs prepared food for disaster relief?"
"Your Majesty, it will take more than a month for the autumn grain to be harvested. Now we can only transport a maximum of 150,000 shi of grain from Chang'an."
"Taking into account the floods in Henan Province, the domestic production has been reduced by at least half, and the autumn planting in the affected areas is also expected to be affected."
"As a result, we still need 300,000 shi of grain to support the entire Henan Province until next year's wheat harvest."
The Tang Dynasty has shown signs of strength in recent years. Unfortunately, famines occurred in the past three years, which greatly affected grain production. In particular, Henan Province is located in the plains and is the production center of the Tang Dynasty.
The Henan Road of the Tang Dynasty mainly included the north of the Huaihe River in later Hen Province, most of SD Province and a little in the south of Heb Province, including the famous Yellow Flood Area.
"So, can you guys find a way to raise the missing 300,000 shi of food?"
After listening to Fang Xuanling's words, Li Shimin also frowned and was at a loss to do anything. That was 300,000 shi of grain, and it was not something that could be easily grabbed by a handful of sand.
"Prime Minister, can you reduce the expenses for the hungry people in the disaster area? Save some food, maybe you won't need so much."
Seeing that no one was talking, Kong Yingda, the Imperial College wine minister who was sitting nearby, said.
"Hey, I don't know about Kong Jijiu. The amount I just mentioned was already too low. Besides, post-disaster reconstruction is bound to happen after the heavy rain. If you don't even have enough to eat, I'm afraid post-disaster reconstruction is just a matter of words.
Empty words."
It's not that Kong Yingda isn't resourceful enough, it's because he doesn't serve in the relevant deployment and isn't as thorough as Fang Xuanling thought.
"Pheasant slave, what do you have in mind?"
Suddenly, Li Shimin saw Li Zhi watching the show and asked casually.
"Father, when all the sages of the court are here, how dare I dare to be so arrogant? Besides, I am just a twelve-year-old child, how can I..."
"Haha, why is His Highness the King of Jin so self-effacing? Ambition does not depend on age. In ancient times, Gan Luo was able to become prime minister at the age of twelve. Your Highness the King of Jin is also twelve. How can we let the ancients be more beautiful than before?"
Well, this Kong Yingda himself has not finished giving out some irrelevant suggestions, but he is actually supporting Li Shimin from the side. Is this trying to seduce Li Zhi, or is he feeling sorry for his "righteous song"?
"Well, I went to see Shu Bao a few days ago. I heard that Shu Bao said that His Highness the King of Jin is young and mature, with a world-wide mind and good plans. I would also like to hear what His Highness the King of Jin has to say?"
Wei Zheng also spoke at the side.
As the eldest brother who was sworn to on Wagang Mountain back then, although he was a civil servant and was not too close to the generals, he always treated Qin Qiong, who was the second in rank, differently.
Seeing everyone staring at him, Li Zhi knew that he couldn't escape in today's game.
"Well, since all of you uncles want to see me show off my embarrassment, then I'll have the guts to say some nonsense. I won't care whether it works or not."
Seeing these elders looking at him intently, Li Zhi decided to risk his life. Haven't you ever eaten pork and seen a pig run away?
"The first thing to solve is the food problem, so where is the food?"
The lack of food is obvious. This is not a wise idea. The question of where to find food has left several big guys here a little confused. For a moment, they didn't know what Li Zhi wanted to express.
"The victims of the disaster definitely don't have food. Even ordinary farmers may not have much surplus food, and the Ministry of Household Affairs can only squeeze out 150,000 shi."
"Pheasant slave thinks that the remaining 300,000 stone can be obtained from two places. One is the government's 'war preparation'. Fortunately, new food will be available in a month or two, although most of the miscellaneous grains can still withstand it for a while.
"
"The other thing that I think we should consider more is 'borrowing' food, or even asking people to 'donate food'."
"It's not that the Tang Dynasty really didn't have food, it's just that food was not in the hands of the common people and the government."
When Li Zhi said this, he paused deliberately.
"His Royal Highness Prince Jin, do you mean those wealthy and aristocratic families?"
Fang Xuanling was the first to understand. He was born in the Fang family in Qinghe, and was considered an influential family in the local area.
However, compared with the top "Five Surnames and Seven Families" in the world, it is far behind. For example, Fang Xuanling's wife, the Lu family, came from the Fan Yang Lu family.
Fang Xuanling is famous for being "pecked of his henpecks". In addition to his humble character, Mrs. Lu has a huge Fan Yang Lu family as her backing.
However, Li Zhi's idea of "five surnames and seven families" might be a bit wishful thinking.
"The prime minister is really quick-thinking. What the boy is talking about is the powerful family headed by the 'Five Surnames and Seven Families'."
Seeing that Fang Xuanling's question was a little uncertain, Li Zhi understood his concerns.
"Father, I heard that the 'clan chronicle' compiled by you has been basically completed and will be published in the Ming Dynasty soon?"
When the conversation changed, Li Zhi actually asked Li Shimin an irrelevant question.
"Haha, yes, after so many years of hard work, it's time for 'Clan Chronicle' to be released to the world."
"Clan Chronicle" is a big killer weapon that Li Shimin has been brewing since he ascended the throne.
In the early years of the Tang Dynasty, one of the important conditions for the gentry to dominate society was that they monopolized the power to elect officials by blood, and the standard for judging family character based on blood family rather than current power emerged.
For example, the surnames of Cui and Lu, both of which are high-ranking officials and young people in the family, are both first-class surnames, while those of the Li and Tang royal family only have fourth-class surnames.
Therefore, Li Shimin explicitly ordered that the standard for assessing family levels in "Clan Chronicles" is not the blood family, but the existing official title level.
This greatly reduced the status of many Shandong surnames who did not have official titles in the court, such as Cui, who was demoted to the third class.
After the promulgation of such "clan annals", the gentry clans in Shandong and Jiangnan will inevitably suffer heavy losses, but there is nothing they can do about it. After all, the important weapon of the country is now in the hands of Li Shimin.
"Yes, if everything goes well, it is expected that the 'Clan History' will be made public in two months."
Li Shimin couldn't help but feel excited when he heard what his son was talking about.
"Father, the titles of the Tang Dynasty are awarded to those officials who have contributed to the Tang Dynasty, whether they are fighting on the battlefield, serving in the central government, or serving as pastoral guards."
"As long as there are outstanding contributors, we, the Tang Dynasty, will never begrudge titles. So, can we use a few titles to raise food for this disaster relief?"
Li Zhi spoke very slowly, enough for everyone present to hear clearly.
"Does His Highness the King of Jin mean to sell his official position and get a title?"
Look, what words came into Old Wei Zheng's mouth, why did he feel so awkward when he said them?
"Master Wei, if we don't have 300,000 shi of food, is it possible that a large number of hungry people will starve to death?"
Li Zhi did not rush to refute, but still asked patiently.
"Yes, Henan Province has a large population and a food shortage of 300,000 dan. There is no guarantee that people will not starve to death."
No matter how stubborn Wei Zheng is, he still understands the weight of these 300,000 shi of food.
"So, if the imperial court releases a few titles and can get 300,000 shi of grain, does that mean it saves countless lives?"
"Buddhists have a good saying, 'Saving one life is better than building a seven-level pagoda.' What's more, those are thousands of lives. What does it matter even if you have the reputation of being a 'selling official and a noble'?"
These words left Old Wei Zheng speechless, while Li Shimin and Yuan Tiangang on the side had wry smiles on their faces.
Although Buddhism was not banned in the Tang Dynasty, Taoism was the state religion of the Tang Dynasty after all. Your Highness, the King of Jin of the Tang Dynasty, actually spoke words praising Buddhism in the "Li Zheng Hall". Is this really okay?
The problem is, "Saving one life is better than building a seven-level pagoda" makes sense, but why have I never heard anyone say this?
"A mere title may not be taken seriously by those wealthy families. However, if they have this title, their family name will be able to improve their ranking in the upcoming 'Clan Chronicle'. In this way, this
Doesn’t the title become particularly important?”
Li Zhi finally finished explaining his plan, but Li Shimin's face showed a trace of displeasure.
"Father, I know what you are thinking. Isn't this going against the original intention of compiling a 'clan chronicle'?"
"But, who prevents us from being able to produce 300,000 shi of food now? Besides, don't you still have the final interpretation of the 'Clan History'?"
"In three to five years, when the world is settled, if you are happy, just order people to rearrange it again. It will only be a waste of money on paper and ink."
Good guy, are you planning to "kill the donkey" and try to use the stupid boy in vain?
"Now that food is available, I don't recommend distributing it directly. Instead, we should adopt the method of 'relief through work'. Men, women, old and young will exchange their own labor for food according to the actual situation."
"In this way, we can not only ensure that these victims have three meals a day, but also prevent the growth of the sentiment of getting something for nothing, and can also complete the post-disaster reconstruction work. Isn't it killing three birds with one stone?"
After Li Zhi finished speaking, he sat there drinking his tea.
Several big bosses in the "Li Zheng Palace" were quickly thinking about the feasibility of this matter. After all, they were the real rulers of the Tang Dynasty.
As for Li Zhi, as he said, he is just a twelve-year-old child, and no one will hold him accountable for what he says is right or wrong.
"Xuanling, how feasible do you think Pheasant Nu's suggestion is?"
When it comes to Li Shimin's subordinates and political strategies, Fang Xuanling is the first to be recommended.
"Your Majesty, I feel that the advice given by His Highness the King of Jin is not a last resort. We don't need to publicize it in a big way. We can just let it out quietly."
"I believe that those interested families will surely come to us. When the time comes, Your Majesty will reluctantly agree. After all, extraordinary things are done in extraordinary times."
"Even if this food-raising strategy doesn't work, we haven't lost anything, and the 'relief through work' admonished by King Jin is indeed a good approach."
"However, the specific implementation depends on the actual local situation. If there is really no labor at home, we should give appropriate preferential treatment."
Fang Xuanling was worthy of being an experienced person in planning for the country. In just a few words, he optimized both of Li Zhi's suggestions.
As for the matter of "preparing food for war", things should be done step by step and slowly. We already have 150,000 shi of food in hand, and it will not be used up in a short time.
"Well, Xuanling should put more thought into it. For the sake of the millions of Li Shu people who have suffered, Xuanling must take action on this matter personally."
Li Shimin's words are on point. The "Five Surnames and Seven Families" are also intricately connected. Letting the Qinghe Fang family act as a matchmaker would be a buffer.
"Your Majesty, since the food has been provided, I wonder if the people who are going to provide disaster relief..."
Fang Xuanling was the minister Zuo Pushe, so of course he could not leave the central government lightly. Now he had to plan to have the wealthy family "donate grain". The important ministers sent to Henan Province needed to be decided as soon as possible.
"Well... I am willing to let Xuancheng go, what do you think?"
Originally, Li Shimin planned to give this job to the Wei family in Jingzhao, and Wei King Li Tai also recommended Wei Ting to him several times.
Unfortunately, after Li Zhi and Li Chengqian were ambushed one after another, Li Shimin unconsciously developed some barriers to Li Tai even though the things behind them were not as simple as they seemed on the surface.
"Your Majesty, I have the unshirkable responsibility to serve the country and the people. However, it is okay for me to ask myself to be the deputy envoy for this disaster relief and take charge of specific affairs."
Wei Zheng hurriedly bowed and agreed. He had originally intended to go to the disaster area, not only to be loyal to the country, but also to highlight the existence of the East Palace.
Wei Zheng is such a person. Since he is in the East Palace by name, he naturally has to think about Li Chengqian, even if Li Chengqian is not that close to him.
"Haha, it seems that Xuan Cheng also has a candidate for the post. I wonder if it is consistent with what I have in mind?"
Seeing that everything was settled, Kong Yingda laughed and joined in again.
"The God of Immeasurable Blessings, the old Taoist has a person in his heart who can be a good envoy. If this person goes, everything will go smoothly and success will be achieved."
Well, even Yuan Tiangang came to join in the fun.
Li Zhi felt inexplicably uneasy in his heart. He innocently looked at the big guys in front of him, as if he was watching "a group of demons dancing wildly"?
"Haha, that's right. It's far away in the horizon, but close in front of you. Your Majesty, please give the order——"
Is this... is this still the loyal and humble Fang Xuanling?