On March 15th, in the Taiji Hall of the Imperial City of Chang'an, all the civil and military officials of the ninth rank and above in the Imperial Palace participated in the imperial court.
However, this dynasty is different from the past.
In addition to the officials of the ninth rank and above in the capital, there were more than 400 elected representatives who entered the courtyard in front of the Tai Chi Palace from the left and right gates of the imperial city, but did not enter the palace.
So, something interesting that had never happened before in history happened on this day.
Officials of the ninth rank and above went into the palace to discuss affairs, while more than 400 elected representatives stood in the outer corridor to listen to the discussion.
The courtiers in the palace looked at the elected representatives outside the palace gate, with disdain in their eyes.
However, it is no wonder that officials look down on these civilians.
More than half of the more than 400 elected representatives are members of the Chamber of Commerce, and most of the rest are elderly people or well-respected local squires.
Due to their different status and different knowledge, these people naturally behave differently.
The representatives who have participated in the royal council have a general understanding of the court etiquette, so these people are precise in their courtesy and speech.
As for the other civil representatives who came to the palace for the first time, some were kneeling on the ground and cowering, others were looking around with curiosity, and some were even shocked by the majesty of the imperial city and kept wiping tears.
The officials in the court were reporting to the emperor about the flood on Hedong Road.
After listening to the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development's progress report on disaster relief, Zhou Jun asked: "Which prefecture and county is the most severely affected in Hedong Road?"
Official from the Ministry of Revenue: "Reporting to your majesty, this is Puzhou, and sixty-seven out of ten of the areas have been hit by floods."
Zhou Jun asked another question: "Has the government reported the daily rations for the disaster victims in Puzhou?"
The officials from the Ministry of Household Affairs were stunned after hearing this, and quickly looked through the records and read out the numbers: "Above four years old is a small child, over eleven years old is a medium child, and above twenty years old is a small child. The grain is: Dingkou is given two liters per day,
For the middle mouth, one liter and five liters are given, and for the small mouth, the liuhe is given. For the elders in each household, the ding mouth is given two liters and five liters per day, and the middle male is given two liters."
When Zhou Jun heard this standard, he couldn't help but nodded slightly. The food that Puzhou government raised for the victims was very sufficient, even exceeding the emperor's original expectations. This shows that Puzhou officials are good at governance.
However, Zhou Jun quickly thought of another question: Does Puzhou Prefecture really have so much disaster relief food?
The Ministry of Household Affairs was ordered to fetch the Kan register, which contains the money and grain allocated by the imperial court to Puzhou, as well as the local official warehouse records over the years.
Zhou Jun himself was good at arithmetic. Combining these numbers, he did a simple calculation using the average based on the registered population of the Ministry of Household Affairs in the affected prefectures and counties. He frowned and said, "No, if according to the records of the Ministry of Household Affairs, the money and grain allocated by the imperial court,
Coupled with the local grain reserves, it is completely unable to meet the reported ration standards for the victims. Is it possible that the officials of Puzhou Prefecture lied about the figures...? I ask you, how is Puzhou Prefecture responsible for the food gap in the middle?
Raised?"
The Ministry of Revenue official paused for a moment and could not answer.
Zhou Jun looked unhappy when he saw this.
Fifth Qi, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, was implicated in the ultimatum case a few years ago and was moved to Liangcheng. As the successor, the chief official of the Ministry of Revenue has been replaced several times, but his ability is not as good as that of Fifth Qi.
Zhou Jun looked at the officials and asked: "The disaster relief figures from Puzhou Prefecture do not match up. Does any of you know what is going on?"
The officials looked at each other and no one answered.
Seeing this, Zhou Jun's eyes turned cold and he said to Fan Jinian beside him: "Go and call the representative from Puzhou outside the hall for me."
Fan Jinian: "Here."
Not long after, Puzhou's elected representative, a business owner over fifty years old, entered the palace gate tremblingly and knelt in the palace.
Zhou Jun: "Get up and talk."
The businessman slowly stood up and answered again.
Zhou Jun asked the businessman: "I ask you, have you ever heard of the flood in Puzhou?"
The businessman did not dare to raise his head and just said: "Your Majesty, the grassroots' home is in Yongfeng, Puzhou, which is a place where floods are raging."
Zhou Jun: "Oh? How many floods has your hometown experienced?"
Businessman: "Three-thirds of the grassroots people are in their fifties. Counting this time in the 11th year of the New Year, Puzhou Yongfeng has experienced five floods in total."
Zhou Jun: "Let me ask you, has Puzhou Prefecture distributed money and food to the victims of this year's floods? Are the figures as stated by the Ministry of Household Affairs just now?"
Businessman: "Reporting to your majesty, I will give you two liters per day for Dingkou, one liter for five liters for middle grade, and six liters for small grade. For the elders in each household, I will give two liters and five liters per day for Dingkou, and two liters per day for middle-aged men... Puzhou Prefecture issued
The relief grains received are exactly as the Ministry of Household Affairs official said just now, and the figures are exactly right."
Zhou Junqi said: "That's strange. The money and food allocated by the imperial court and the local official food in Puzhou Prefecture, combined, are simply not enough to maintain the ration standards for the victims. How does Puzhou Prefecture make up for the gap in the middle?
of?"
The businessman bowed and replied: "Your Majesty does not know. Before the flood came, it rained heavily for several days in Puzhou Prefecture. The government guessed that there might be a flood next, so they called the local merchants and warehouses to discuss borrowing money and food.
Prepare for disaster relief."
Zhou Jun: "The government borrows money and food from merchants and warehouses? Is it possible that this is coercion and inducement...?"
The merchant quickly replied: "There is no such thing. The Puzhou government used government tax revenue as a guarantee and promised the merchants that as long as they are willing to lend money and grain to the government for disaster relief, before the next autumn tax, they will pay an annual interest of six cents.
The principal will be returned to the merchant with interest. Of course, if the merchant is willing, the government can also exempt part of the tax to offset the interest."
After Zhou Jun heard this, he was a little surprised. This method was somewhat similar to local government bonds in later generations.
After thinking for a moment, Zhou Jun asked: "Other than that, how did the government convince you?"
The businessman smiled and said: "We are business people. When we go out, we meet all the fellow villagers. Naturally, we want to be harmonious and make money. Moreover, what the Puzhou government said at the time is also very reasonable. If the flood comes, the trading company will need
Temporarily transferring a large amount of money and food is not only time-consuming and labor-intensive, but also risky. It is better to use it for disaster relief, and the government tax revenue can be used to make up for the losses in the coming year."
Zhou Jun said with emotion: "Businessmen are chasing profits, so you can safely hand over your money and food to the government for operation. I am a little surprised."
The Puzhou businessman looked hesitant and stopped talking.
Zhou Jun saw the other party's hesitation and said: "Since you are a representative of Puzhou, when it comes to your hometown, you must say what you have to say and don't hesitate."
The businessman calmed down, nodded and said: "The common people have always been unable to hide their words. If it were in the past, we businessmen would never dare to lend money, food and goods to the government. Because the government took things by force, it was too serious.
We don’t know if the government will abide by the agreement. However, over the years, the court has attached great importance to the people and allowed people to come to the court to listen to discussions. We trust the government, and that’s why we agreed to lend food to provide disaster relief.”
Zhou Jun looked pleased, paused for a moment and asked: "Who came up with the idea of using tax revenue as security to issue debts to businessmen?"
Businessman: "The common people heard that it was the idea of the governor of Puzhou Prefecture."
Zhou Jun: "Assassin Zhou?"
Businessman: "Report to your majesty, the governor of Puzhou, whose name is Zhou Shang."
Zhou Jun was stunned and thought to himself, it turns out he is his eldest brother's eldest son and his nephew.