The old emperor's funeral was extremely simple. This simplicity was divided in terms of time. When Zhao Zhen was alive, he thought that leaving his body outside for nine months was pure nonsense, so he only allowed his son to put his body outside.
The coffin should be kept in the coffin for twenty-seven days and then buried as quickly as possible while the body is still fresh, so as not to trouble yourself and the people in the world.
Since Emperor Long Yu Bintian, the civil and military affairs of the entire dynasty have been busy with the funeral of the old emperor. When Shanling envoy Pang Ji came back from Gong County to deliver the order, the political affairs of the Song Dynasty returned to the calm situation of the past.
After the young emperor hid in the palace and grieved for a long time because his parents died, he had no immediate plans to go to court to ask questions.
This requires three invitations from civil and military officials before he can truly rule the world. Of course, after the three invitations, the emperor still has to be reserved and not show any urgency, lest people mistakenly think that he hopes that his mother will die soon.
It was not until the Empress Dowager took the ruler passed down by the old emperor and beat the emperor severely several times that the haggard emperor sat on the dragon chair with tears in his eyes and prepared to kill.
It is also customary to kill people. Worried that the old emperor has no one to call him in the underworld or in heaven, the first thing the new emperor should do is to kill all the condemned prisoners first, without waiting until autumn for execution.
After all the death row prisoners were killed, the next step was to show that the new emperor was a benevolent emperor, and then to launch a general amnesty. As long as it was not a treasonous crime, everyone would basically be pardoned.
This is a common practice, so many people who have accumulated hatred in their hearts will choose to take revenge after the old emperor dies. After taking revenge, they will go to the government to surrender. They only need to sit in jail for a few months. After the new emperor grants amnesty to the world,
You can become a human being again.
This year, these people made a mistake. After the little emperor killed the condemned prisoners in prison, he did not announce any amnesty for the world. The only kindness he gave was to further reduce or reduce land taxes. At the same time, business taxes increased again.
Some.
Today, the proportion of the Song Dynasty commercial tax to the national tax has surpassed the land tax. As time goes by, the court not only did not reduce its income, but actually gained more input.
The only commercial tax that has not increased but has been reduced is grain tax. The Ministry of Household Affairs calculated a final figure for grain, and Zhao Xu forcibly set the final selling price of grain. According to the figure he gave, the grain was trafficked.
Basically there is no profit at all.
There is no profit from selling, so there is not much profit from farming. The only advantage is that it can fill the belly.
Pang Ji saw the little emperor's will and knew that it was very inappropriate to do so. However, the little emperor's original decree could not be dismissed. This was for the sake of the little emperor's prestige.
In the end, the little emperor's decree successfully passed through the central government. It passed through the left and right channels, and the emperor's decree was not returned during the matter. All the prefectures and prefectures followed it in unison. Grain merchants all over the world complained, and one decree saved the lives of grain merchants in the Song Dynasty.
It's blocked.
"Your Majesty, the grain output of the Song Dynasty has never been balanced. Rice production is high in the south and wheat production is low in the north. Now, the population in the north of the Song Dynasty is more than the population in the south. Therefore, we need to transport the excess grain from the south to the north.
, in this way, both the north and the south will have enough food to eat. Especially in big cities like Tokyo, which itself does not produce food, and the food produced by the surrounding small counties is not enough to supply the capital. Most of the food in the capital
They all rely on canals to be transported from the south.
Therefore, more people in Tokyo eat rice than pasta."
Pang Ji sat on a chair and explained to the young emperor Zhao Xu the relationship between grain origin and price, as well as the relationship with grain merchants. He hoped that the emperor could understand that governing the world cannot be done in a moment of enthusiasm.
When Zhao Xu went to Yun's house in Bailongyufu a few days ago, he passed by a grain store. It was the lean season at this time, and food prices in Tokyo were soaring. A woman who couldn't afford food sat in front of the grain store with her three young children.
Cry loudly.
The three children cried out that they were hungry, but the clerk in the grain store was watching the fun with his hands folded, and would not sell grain to the woman who only had five copper coins in her hand.
The eldest lady of the Yun family, who was with the little emperor, was so angry that she and her younger brother smashed the grain store to pieces on the spot. Every tooth in the mouth of the clerk and shopkeeper was beaten to pieces by the generals of the Yun family and the palace guards.
The reason is that the shopkeeper said he would bring wild things to cause trouble in the store.
Finally, the eldest lady of the Yun family took out a piece of silver to buy all the grain in the grain store and gave all the grain to the poor people who couldn't afford it.
When the eldest daughter of the Yun family saw the woman crying with joy while holding her child, she asked the emperor with tears in her eyes, why would he allow these black-hearted businessmen to bully people?
The emperor, who saw the grain merchant's sinister face with his own eyes, was furious and returned to the palace to think hard and come up with such a solution.
"Master, I really can't bear to see those black-hearted merchants bullying my people."
A smile appeared on Pang Ji's face, and he looked at the emperor and said happily: "Your Majesty has the people of the world in his heart, and I am very happy. This is a mind that a wise king must have.
It’s just that Your Majesty has forgotten that although the owners of the grain store are bad, they are also His Majesty’s subjects. As long as they do business within the scope allowed by the laws of the Song Dynasty, Your Majesty should support them instead of brutally stopping them.
At this time, it is the time when the supply of grain is low, and it is also the time when old and new grains are replaced. At this time, last year's grain has been used up, and the new grain has not yet been shipped to the capital. Therefore, it is natural for grain prices to rise.
The veteran has checked and found that the increase in grain this year is not large, and merchants have not hoarded grain to deliberately raise prices. As long as new grain arrives in Tokyo, prices will naturally fall. "
"But, that woman..."
"Your Majesty, it is the responsibility of the government, not the grain merchants, that women and children cannot eat. The Changping Granary under your Majesty's control was used at this time. Food for the relief of the people should come from the Changping Granary, not from the Changping Granary.
From the grain merchant, the grain merchant has paid taxes to the Song Dynasty, so his responsibility has been completed."
"So, I was wrong?"
Pang Ji laughed and said: "Your Majesty's love for the people is not wrong. Besides, thunder, rain and dew are all your kindness. Although the grain merchants are suffering at the moment, the people all over the world are deeply aware of your Majesty's love for the people. There is no gain or loss."
There were no mistakes.”
"But you said earlier that if I do this, the food in the world will no longer circulate, and no merchants will be willing to transport food to the capital."
"It is the duty of the prime minister, the old minister, to adjust the yin and yang of the world, and it is not the burden of His Majesty. The reason why grain prices are inconsistent throughout the world is the freight. Your Majesty only stipulated the grain prices and did not calculate the transportation costs. At this time
Your Majesty should issue another decree to stipulate the amount of freight, so that the grain merchants will have no complaints."
Zhao Zhen scratched his head and sighed: "If we do this, the price of food will still be very high! There is no change from before."
Pang Ji smiled and said: "Your Majesty is unaware of something. The lower the price of grain, the better. Your Majesty knows that cheap grain hurts farmers."
Just when the emperor and his ministers were discussing how to make up for the emperor's mistakes in a harmonious atmosphere, the eunuchs came to report. The Yunlu clan came to the palace with their eldest daughter Yun Luo and eldest son Yunting to plead guilty.
Zhao Xu blushed a little, and Pang Ji smiled and said: "Your Majesty, the Yunlu family is the most knowledgeable among women about economics. If Yun Zheng had not learned how to lead troops in war, it is very likely that he would have become the number one businessman in the Song Dynasty.
, Since Mrs. Yunlu knows that her children made mistakes in the grain store, why don’t Your Majesty listen to what Mrs. Yunlu will say?"
Zhao Xu nodded repeatedly.
When Pang Ji walked out of the hall, he happened to see Lu Qingqing kneeling with his son and daughter outside the hall. Yun Luoluo and Yun Ting had their hands tied with ribbons, and they knelt behind their mother without saying a word with their heads hanging down.
Pang Ji smiled and ordered the eunuch to help Lu Qingqing up and said, "Madam, why is this necessary? It is not an unforgivable mistake for a child to make mistakes occasionally.
Just now I was praising Your Majesty that all of Madam’s children have kind hearts, which is very rare.”
Lu Qingqing saluted and said: "The Prime Minister has over-rewarded me because their misbehavior caused His Majesty to deviate from the formulation of national policies. How can this be a small crime?
What's more, I asked someone to find out that the reason why the woman had no food was because her husband gambled away the grain that Chang Pingcang sold them at a flat price in exchange for money.
They smashed up other people's shops without asking the actual reason. This is a sign of bastards. This matter is related to national policy, how can they let it go so easily?" (To be continued)