The Empress Dowager had no choice but to sigh and said: "The old law cannot be restored, and there are many problems with the review of the service law..."
"What should the officials do?" She subconsciously began to ask Zhao Xu for advice.
Just like these times, when she encountered problems in the palace, she would seek Zhao Xu's advice.
However, most of those times were spent in Qingshou Palace.
Only the people in the palace knew about it, but now they were openly seeking Zhao Xu's opinion in front of the two prime ministers.
Han Jiang and Lu Gongzhu both swallowed their saliva.
They know very well, what does this mean?
It means that the emperor has reached adulthood in a certain sense.
Not physically, but politically 'coming of age'.
This means that he has broken away from the category of "child" politically and has become an adult.
So, they all lowered their heads.
Zhao Xu met the Empress Dowager's eyes, pondered for a while, and then replied: "Reporting to the Empress Dowager, the affairs of the world are complicated and complicated, and one move affects the whole body. Especially these laws and regulations, which affect all the people of the world, must be You have to observe it carefully and draw it slowly."
The Queen Mother sighed.
Han Jiang and Lu Gongzhu quietly looked at each other.
There was a little disappointment in his eyes, but there was also a look that was taken for granted.
really!
The issue of military service involves the livelihood of countless people, both high and low.
At that time, Wang Anshi carried out a reform and changed the draft law to the exemption law.
All of a sudden, officials up and down were complaining loudly, and all the states and counties in the country were having a hard time being an official!
Why?
Because the draft law was changed, people could be exempted from draft as long as they paid money.
Many people who were officials suddenly had no free tenant farmers to farm their fields, and they had to spend their own money to hire servants and raise singers.
Many people are not used to it!
And now that the exemption law has been in effect for more than ten years, a sudden change will interrupt this already stable chain of interests.
How many people up and down must have had sleepless nights?
However, the next second, they heard the young emperor say: "However, we can think of ways to use the existing system in an orderly manner from other aspects."
Upon hearing this, the Empress Dowager immediately asked: "What do the officials mean?"
If we stabilize the system and laws, we can make up for the shortcomings.
Of course the Empress Dowager is willing to do it.
Zhao Xu chuckled lightly and asked Han Jiang: "Xiangong Han, how much is the money for exemption from military service in the eight years of Yuanfeng?"
Han Jiang bowed and replied: "Your Majesty, in the eighth year of Yuanfeng, the Ministry of Household Affairs reported to the prefectures and counties all over the world that a total of 18.72 million guan was collected for exemption from military service, of which more than 9 million guan was consumed, and the remaining Please deliver it to the Fengzhuang Storehouse in Bianjing."
This is the power of the exemption law.
With an income of nearly 20 million guan a year, after deducting expenses, there is still a balance of several million guan.
In a sense, the current finances of the Song Dynasty, after the abolition of the Market Change Law, are almost maintained by the exemption money collected from the Service Exemption Law.
that is……
It’s a bit harsh!
Zhao Xu continued to ask: "My lord, do you still remember the number of soldiers in Xiazhou County today?"
Han Jiang thought for a while before replying: "Your Majesty, I am old and don't remember this clearly. I only vaguely remember that it should be more than 200,000."
Zhao Xu nodded, turned around and said to the Empress Dowager inside the curtain: "Mother, Sun Chen has an immature idea."
"Um?"
Zhao Xu said: "Sun Chen once asked two bachelors, Fan and Lu, if they had ever seen servants employed by the government while they were in the place. Both bachelors said that they had seen servants in person. I asked the two bachelors again: This government official
Who are the people hired? Both bachelors said that they are people from famous local families who are guarantors, and are familiar with the government and roads."
"Today, I heard what Xianggong Han said about the shortcomings of military service."
"Sun Chen was just thinking..."
Zhao Xu blinked his eyes and asked the Empress Dowager inside the curtain sincerely: "Sometimes, does the court take too much control?"
"Can the imperial court have more trust in the people, the common people, and the people of the world?"
"Also, should this money for free service be taken from the people and used for the people?"
The two palaces were suddenly confused when they heard this.
They simply couldn't keep up with Zhao Xu's out-of-the-box thinking.
I suddenly jumped from the exemption money to the issue of the Xiang Army, and then jumped from the Xiang Army to self-reflection and review. I felt that the Song Dynasty court had too much control over the world. I even started to review whether the exemption money collected by the court was not enough.
Take it from the people and use it for the people.
It happened that at this time, Han Qi and Lu Gongzhu collectively held the fluorine and worshiped: "Your Majesty, you are wise!"
Never mind what kind of medicine Zhao Xu sells in his gourd?
But his stance was the most pro-people stance since the Song Dynasty.
From the perspective of scholar-bureaucrats and landowners, the court does have too much control!
In this dynasty, we have discussed tea, wine, iron, and salt...
As long as it can be run by the government, the government is eager to get involved.
Even if the people mine the mineral deposits deep in the mountains, the government will reach out and ask the people for money.
Compared with the Song Dynasty, King Li of Zhou Dynasty was a wise king who was light on corvee and low on wealth.
The scholar-bureaucrats certainly hope that the imperial court can relax supervision and monopoly in some private fields.
People in Fujian don’t want to think about tea, people in Chengdu don’t want to think about salt, and people in Bianjing don’t want to think about wine.
But is it useful?
Useless.
The Zhao officials cannot afford to suffer a single loss!
To be precise, if you don't take advantage, you will suffer a loss.
Driven by this mentality, a tea law has been tossed back and forth more than a dozen times since the founding of the country.
Therefore, the scholar-bureaucrats have long been looking forward to a wise king who can rule by doing nothing.
For many people, it is enough if the emperor does not bother.
And now this young master not only fulfilled their fantasies perfectly, he even took the initiative to say the most holy words of 'take from the people, use to the people'!
This is not the Holy Son of Heaven. Who can bear the title of Holy Ming?
They just listened to the young emperor saying to the two palaces inside the curtain: "Mother, Sun Chen thinks so."
"Is it possible to find a place near Bianjing to conduct a pilot project?"
A new term has appeared.
Pilot!
Very vivid title!
It is also suitable for the political structure of the Song Dynasty since the Xining Reform. In fact, when the Xining Reform began, all laws would be tried out in Bianjing City, then promoted to Kaifeng Prefecture, and finally spread nationwide.
Just like the Horse Protection Law, when it was first tried out in Kaifeng Prefecture, there were strong restrictions on the property requirements of horse owners.
Therefore, wealthy households are happy to raise horses.
So the response was actually pretty good at first.
Later... later, local officials ignored reality and forcibly pursued political achievements.
Later, when Wang Anshi resigned as prime minister, the Horse Protection Law was completely reduced from a horse-raising policy to a tool for making money.
Raising horses is already secondary.
How to get money from the people has become the first element of the Ma Ma Law.
Just like the tricks Wu Juhou played on Jingdong Road, they were purely for making money rather than raising horses!
"Just find a place on Jingdongdu Road." The young emperor said to himself.
"Order the local Xiang army to make a living with local wealthy households by fighting with each other, or by using the method of bringing leaks, and take over the services from the government."
"Whether it is building bridges and roads, constructing water conservancy projects, or transporting money and food, it is all entrusted to them. If the local government can afford it, it will be borne by the local government. If the local government cannot, then it will go to the central capital hall, which will review and seal the pile warehouse.
Money provides it.”
"In this way, the Xiang army can be resettled, the government does not have to disturb the people, and the people can benefit!"
Open the door!
Market economy, free competition!
This is what Zhao Xu has wanted to do for a long time, and it is also one of the patches that he believes can be put on the broken ship of the Song Dynasty for now.
Han Jiang and Lu Gong listened, looked at each other, and then swallowed.
They felt that their hearts seemed to be beating thumpingly.
As long-term officials, they have been in the same place for a long time.
Especially Han Qi, since he resigned as prime minister in the eighth year of Xining, he has been moving back and forth as an official in the northern prefectures.
At the same time, he was really the first advocate of the exemption from service law - during the Jiayou period, Han Jiang was already advocating hiring people to serve to replace the old service law.
During the Xining Reform, Han Jiang was Wang Anshi's most important supporter.
Even in the attack on Hengshan, it was Han Jiang who took the initiative to go there instead of Wang Anshi - Wang Anshi should have been in charge of this matter, but in this case, Wang Anshi would leave the center and lose the leadership of the reform. Han Jiang
Only then did he decisively accept the mission.
Therefore, whether it is the past draft law or the current draft exemption law, Han Jiang has sufficient understanding and knowledge of its pros and cons.
He knew very well the difference between the methods of service and exemption under the Song Dynasty system.
Why did the wealthy households in the prefectures and counties of the Song Dynasty become mere fish and meat in the hands of petty officials under the Civil Service Law?
This is because under the Service Law, the power to decide who serves is in the hands of the lower officials.
The real local officials cannot and do not have so much energy to deal with these trivial matters.
And local wealthy households, no matter how rich or famous they are in the local area, will be worthless as long as they leave their hometown.
Jackals, tigers and leopards from all over the place will hunt around and eat them up.
Under the exemption law, the rules of the game have changed.
The government began to pay people to do work.
Power was transferred from the hands of petty officials to local officials.
This becomes a profitable business.
Since it is a profitable business, officials will use their own people.
Usually they are relatives, old friends, or servants around you.
Let these people go out to organize and coordinate with local wealthy households, so that everyone can work together to absorb the government's money.
And these people themselves had official status and were very familiar with the Song Dynasty system.
When they do things, their efficiency naturally increases, and there are almost no delays or losses.
Even if there were, they would have 10,000 ways to deal with it.
But the method proposed by the Emperor goes a step further.
He plans to skip the local officials and use the local military and local wealthy households to form a joint venture through fighting and leaking? He is even willing to use the money from sealing up the warehouse to subsidize the local finance?!
Han Jiang took a deep breath, suppressed the excitement in her heart, thought about it calmly, and said with a bow: "Although your Majesty's method is wonderful, I foolishly thought that there might be hidden dangers in it."
"Ms. sir, please tell me." Zhao Xu asked gently.
"If the Xiang army and the wealthy people in this place are connected..." Han Jiang said, "If things go on like this, the tail will inevitably be lost."
Zhao Xu nodded and said: "My husband's concerns are indeed justified."
"But what I mean is that when the Xiang Army and the rich join forces through fighting and leaking, it needs to be made clear that the imperial court will only continue to provide the Xiang Army with one year's expenses. After one year, the Xiang Army will
The troops were disbanded on the spot and turned into civilian households. They signed a deed with the wealthy household and became workers!"
When Han Jiang and Lu Gongzhu heard this, they immediately felt sleepy.
Because, throughout the history of the Song Dynasty, the most difficult thing to do was disarmament.
Before Wang Anshi, the one who did the best in disarmament tasks was Wen Yanbo, the imperial master of the dynasty. When Wen Yanbo was the prime minister, he reduced 80,000 troops in the world.
And what were the Xiang armies like in the Song Dynasty?
In fact, the leaders know it clearly in their hearts.
The Xiang Army was not an army at all, and the Song Dynasty never regarded the Xiang Army as an army.
They are just young people who are supported by money, as long as they don't make trouble.
Moreover, in the Song Dynasty, anyone who had the means would not serve as a soldier.
Because the treatment of the Xiang army is notoriously poor.
If this can be done.
Han Jiang didn't care, but Lu Gongzhu's heart was already beating fast.
As long as this is accomplished, it will be a great achievement that will go down in history!
As the right prime minister, doesn’t he lack such a meritorious service now?
After Lu Gong thought about this clearly, he immediately asked: "I dare you to ask your Majesty to explain the truth clearly."
Zhao Xu looked at Mr. Lu and chuckled, "I don't think much."
"But there are a few conditions that I think are indispensable."
"One: In a county, there can't be only one Dou Niu, belt vent, there must be multiple ones, preferably some strong and some weak. This is the ancestral method."
There must not be only one strong force in the local area.
We must try our best to add sand into it and support dissidents.
This is the application of the confusion of different opinions and the system of large and small in the economic field.
"Secondly, if possible, can we use the buying method in Duquyuan to let them buy government errands?"
"Third, there may be a need for a department to monitor them..."
"As for the rest?" Zhao Xu rubbed his hands: "I haven't thought of it yet. I still need my ministers to put their heads together and formulate rules and regulations."
Zhao Xu finished his words.
Lu Gongzhu had already held the fluorine in his hand and bowed: "Your Majesty is wise!"
For Lu Gongzhu, this was like pie in the sky.
The best thing is that this pie doesn't seem to have any poisonous effects.
Because it will hardly arouse any public opposition or criticism, and it does not seem to harm anyone's interests - well, local state and county officials have now been expelled from the ranks of scholar-bureaucrats by Lu Gongzhu.
If someone questions him about this, now Lu Gongzhu can hold his chest high, imitate Fan Wenzhenggong back then, and answer righteously: How can we cry together when one family is crying?
What is lost is only your family's short-term interests.
But it is the people of the world who are profiting!
Why?
Once this thing spreads, it will be a big business worth millions or even tens of millions of dollars every year.
And it happens every year.
Even if it is placed in the prefectures and counties, it will still be a stable livelihood of several thousand or tens of thousands of dollars a year.
This is what everyone is pursuing.
A business that guarantees income despite droughts and floods, a career that can continuously increase wealth instead of decreasing it.
Therefore, he did not care about being rude in front of the emperor and bowed directly: "Your Majesty, why did you choose Jingdong? Why not just go to Bianjing and use the capital as a pilot?"
"Since the late emperor, all laws have been first implemented in the capital. This is the usual practice!"
If you go to JD.com, the credit will go to others.
Only in Bianjing City, he, the Right Prime Minister, could always control the rhythm and situation in his own hands.
"Oh?" Zhao Xu looked at him and said, "Is that so?"
He looked back at the curtain.
At this time, the two palaces also agreed with Lu Gongzhu's opinion: "If it is to be tried out, the capital city is the best."
This is their subconscious reaction.
Jingdong Road is too far away, and if something happens, it will be difficult for the court to respond in time.
Bianjing is better!
Just when your eyes are low, if something goes wrong, you will know it immediately.
Of course, there is also the most important reason - how can such a good thing be put out of town?
Bianjing is the foundation!
Zhao Xu looked at the two prime ministers in the palace with a smile. He pretended to think deeply and said, "If this is the case, many of these things need to be carefully considered."
"Sixth brother is right!" Queen Mother Xiang expressed her position immediately.
"What the officials said is true, and you really need to think about it carefully!" The Empress Dowager had no objection to this. She looked at the two prime ministers in the palace: "Why don't we invite all the ministers to discuss it at the meeting tomorrow? ?”
Han Jiang and Lu Gong held the fluorene and bowed again: "Wei!"
