"Change, this must be changed. We can't be soft on the cuts that should be made. The imperial court raises soldiers to protect the country and the country. What does this mean? Has it become a relief center? In the past, the tax revenue could collect more than 100 million taels of silver a year.
Time is nothing, you can still hold on. Now there are only more than 60 million taels of silver coming in every year, how can we continue to do this." Fang Dunru nodded.
He said solemnly: "Of course you and I want to change it, but do you agree with the Privy Council? Will Yang Jun object? After all, troops and horses are controlled by the Privy Council. Disarmament requires the approval of the Privy Council. Disarmament is equivalent to reducing his power, and he will be willing to do so."
Huh? If these things are not communicated and considered well, I am afraid there will be a huge quarrel. If the Holy Spirit cannot make up his mind, can this matter be handled successfully?"
Fang Dunru nodded slightly, frowned and said, "Yes, we must have His Majesty's full support."
Yan Zhengsheng continued: "Seventy percent of the military expenditure has been withdrawn, but even the remaining 30% is only more than 20 million taels of silver. In such a big country, silver is needed everywhere, and money is everywhere. Every department, every government office
, farmland water conservancy, disaster relief, official salaries, all expenses are on this plate, how can we not be stretched? Just like the upcoming Spring Examination, the Ministry of Rites has asked for two hundred thousand taels of silver to prepare, this is still the last
Basic carriage and horse fees. Every year, various affairs of each government office require money, tens of thousands of taels here, tens of thousands taels there, they are divided and lost."
Fang Dunru's brows were about to turn into knots. He knew that the more than 20 million taels of silver seemed to be a large amount, but in fact, it was divided among so many yamen and was quickly divided up, so it was simply not enough.
"Not to mention some money that doesn't need to be spent at all. Some money doesn't need to be spent at all, but everyone is unwilling to save it. For example, the annual Dragon Boat Festival summer festival set by Emperor Sejong, the sacrifice itself costs money
It cost millions of taels of silver, and the reward for officials afterwards cost millions of taels of silver. Last time I only mentioned it, could I petition to cancel the reward of the officials, and everyone immediately opposed it.
.What do these people think? For the sake of this sum of money that can be rewarded to them, they completely ignore the reality of the empty treasury of the imperial court and the current situation of the imperial court." Yan Zhengsheng became more and more angry as he spoke, and drank from his neck.
A glass of bitters.
Fang Dunru raised his hand to pat the table again. He suddenly remembered the scene when his wife came in just now, so he raised his hand and patted it lightly, and it landed on the table with a bang. "These selfish people only care about their own interests and ignore the country and the country. In the imperial court,
With all these people, how can the Great Zhou Dynasty continue? How can the country be sustainable? We must make clear the interests and benefits to the Holy One in this matter, and let the Holy One understand this truth."
Yan solemnly nodded and said: "Of course I want to explain it to the Holy One. Under the current situation, I, Da Zhou, are actually very fragile. At present, the treasury is empty, money and supplies are tight, and the officials from top to bottom of the court are thinking about their own selfish interests. If
Once there is any natural or man-made disaster, how can we provide relief or save the people? Not to mention the threat from foreign enemies. Brother Dunru should know what happened in the Liao Kingdom, the situation may change drastically."
Fang Dunru sighed longly and said: "Yes, the situation may take a turn for the worse. The surface of our Zhou Dynasty is peaceful and beautiful, but inside it is riddled with holes. Yelu Zongyuan of the Liao Dynasty succeeded in seizing the throne and was enthroned as the new emperor. This person is very important to
I have always been coveting the big week. It is said that they have proposed to abolish the alliance between the two countries for hundreds of years, which is a sign of sharpening the sword. Once the war breaks out in the border town, it will consume a lot of materials and money.
, and under the current situation, how can we cope with it? How can the combat power of the frontier army guarantee the defense against the enemy? It is really worrying."
"Brother Dunru can see clearly, but the current situation may not be the worst. I think it is this current situation that will prompt the Holy One to make up his mind. It is not too late to make changes now. Once the storm comes,
It's too late to attack. That's why I said just now that we have to wait for the right time. Even if a small incident happens now and the court fails to cope with it and the reality of financial control is exposed, the Holy Spirit will be forced to make a decision. In my opinion
, this opportunity will not be too far away. You and I still appreciate your patience. What we need to do now is to think about things more deeply and thoroughly. Then the propositions we propose will be more convincing, and the faster we act, the more effective we will be.
As the saying goes, sharpening the knife will not waste time chopping firewood, and the hard work done now is actually for the future." Yan Zheng said solemnly.
"Brother Zhengsu's thoughts are clear. It seems that he has a lot of thoughts. There is nothing to say. I, Fang Dunru, am willing to be a vanguard for brother Zhengsu. Once things start, if we have to charge into the battle, Dunru will be at the forefront. For
Brother Zhengsu will fight his way out." Fang Dunru laughed.
Yan Zhengsu smiled and said: "There is no charge or pawn in this matter. You and I are all pawns. Everyone involved in this matter will enter a huge storm. After the storm, the world will be new and the sun will shine brightly."
, I, the Great Zhou Dynasty, will restore the splendid peace and peace forever."
"What a wonderful thing that lasts for eternity, it should come to light." Fang Dunru laughed and raised his glass, looked at each other and laughed loudly, and drank the wine in the glass.
…
On the Bianliang market at night, although it is already the third watch, the lights are still bright and the crowds are flowing. Bianliang is a city that never sleeps. There are twelve hours a day, and every hour, every moment, and every breath is so noisy and prosperous.
.The people on the street are leisurely and confident. They enjoy life in this metropolis. They never worry about the future. Because in everyone's heart, they have never realized that this prosperous and splendid Zhou Dynasty appeared first.
Hidden crisis.
Lin Jue was once such a person. Although he saw some dark sides, he never thought that the dark whirlpool under the calm water of the Great Zhou Dynasty would swallow everything. Even in the last life, Lin Jue experienced more than ten years of
In life, everything in the Great Zhou Dynasty had no big disturbances and no big crises. However, in this life, everything seems to be changing.
Lin Jue felt a little hesitant and confused. Although many signs showed that the things he experienced in the previous life were different from this one, Lin Jue always believed that those were just changes in local details and had nothing to do with the general trend of the world. But now, Lin Jue
I don't think so anymore.
Tonight, after listening to the long drunken conversation between Fang Dunru and Yan Zhengshen, a hazy cloud covering Lin Jue's eyes was lifted, allowing Lin Jue to suddenly change from a confused and ignorant person.
The state gave a glimpse of the deep-seated true state. A glimpse of the black hole beneath the calm appearance. This made Lin Jue feel both shocked and frightened.
The amount of information contained in the conversation between Yan Zhengsheng and Fang Dunru was huge. The state of the officials in the Zhou Dynasty, the psychology and behavior of the monarchs and ministers, and even the unpredictable difficulties and crises they faced, all shocked Lin Jue.
.
Although Yan Zhengsheng and Fang Dunru never talked about the real content of what they wanted to do from beginning to end, the answer is actually self-evident. There is no doubt that the purpose of their visit to Beijing this time is to reform the law.
Lin Jue hadn't had time to think about what this meant, but Lin Jue could tell from the attitude and decisive tone of Yan Zhengsheng's conversation with Fang Dunru that this matter was by no means simple. Fang Dunru had even described it as charging into battle.
Killing the enemy in blood showed how difficult this reform was in their minds. Lin Jue was keenly aware that a violent storm was about to hit, and it was very violent and brutal. In an instant, Lin Jue suddenly realized why.
Wu Chunlai tried his best to win over him and become their spy. Why even Lu Zhongtian could tolerate him beating his beloved son? Maybe it has something to do with this storm.
The carriage trotted briskly on the street, and the horseshoes rose and fell on the bluestone avenue. The sound was clear and rhythmic. The street lights flew past, and the crowds on the street also backed up. All of this seemed to be a still scene as the carriage flew past.
Background. Even Lin Jue in the carriage was as frozen as an old monk in trance, staring blankly ahead, like a clay or wood sculpture. But his mind was filled with confusion and endless confusion.
…
Lu Wu sat next to Lin Jue, looking at the state of the young master with some worry. Ever since he said goodbye and left Fang's house, the young master had been like this, as if he had fallen into some strange thoughts. This state of the young master made Lu Wu
Wu originally planned to tell Lin Jue something important in the car, but she didn't dare to say it. Lu Wu was afraid of irritating the young master.
What Lu Wu wants to say is that when she was at Fang's house just now, she accidentally saw half of the face exposed behind the door curtain of the east wing of Fang's house. At that time, Mr. Fang and Master Yan were talking loudly and looked excited. At that time, the young master was listening with great interest, and
The face that flashed past behind the curtain made Lu Wu almost suffocate with fright.
Lu Wu could recognize who it was, even if it was only half of his face. It was Miss Huanqiu, absolutely right. Lu Wu and Fang Huanqiu had been together for a long time, and they were very familiar with each other. Lu Wu could guarantee that it was Fang Huanqiu.
Lu Wu's first reaction was that it was Fang Huanqiu's ghost who had returned. In addition, the light and shadow were dim at the time, and the way the face disappeared behind the curtain was so weird that Lu Wu was so frightened that he could not speak.
Also jumping up and down.
But soon, Lu Wu felt that something was wrong. The door curtain was still shaking after Fang Huanqiu's face disappeared. Didn't it mean that the ghost couldn't touch anything? How could it touch the door curtain? And Lu Wu soon remembered what was ahead not long ago.
Mistress Fang secretly brought a bowl of food into the wing. Lu Wu didn’t think much about it at the time, but now it seems that she was bringing food in. Can ghosts also eat? Let’s take into account Mrs. Fang’s and Mr. Fang’s weird behavior before.
, for example, Mr. Fang and Mrs. Fang were evasive when talking about Miss Huanqiu, and showed no sense of grief, which made the attentive Lu Wu have a lot of doubts. This time he actually saw it
Miss Huanqiu appears, so the only explanation is that Miss Huanqiu is not dead.
Lu Wu was really confused. If Miss Huanqiu was not dead at all, then why did she hide from the young master? Why did Mr. Fang and Mrs. Fang lie and hide it. The young master and Miss Huanqiu were originally a match made in heaven.
Could it be that Mr. Fang and Mrs. Fang didn’t agree with the marriage, so they deliberately made up a lie to deceive the young master? But Mr. Fang and Mrs. Fang are obviously very good to the young master, so how could they do this? Miss Huanqiu is deeply devoted to the young master.
, that's not pretending, how can you avoid the young master?
Lu Wu's little mind was confused by all these mysteries. She thought about it for a long time in the car and wanted to tell the young master about it. But at the same time, she felt that she shouldn't tell the young master. If the Fang family deliberately concealed the matter,
This shows that they are not really good to the young master, so why bother to tell the young master and make him sad? Lu Wu knows that the young master still has not forgotten Miss Huanqiu. On the other hand, since Miss Huanqiu died, the young master's side
There are already several more women. The young master is already very close to them. Now he suddenly learns that Miss Huanqiu is alive. What should the young master do? Wouldn't it make a mess?
She is the young master's little maid, and she is satisfied to be his concubine, but they can't. Will the little princess agree to be the concubine with the young master? Will Gao Muqing be willing to be a concubine? Miss Huanqiu is even less qualified, and Mr. Fang will never do it.
I agree, wouldn’t that just increase my worries?
Lu Wu hesitated all the way with these chaotic thoughts, wanting to tell Lin Jue about this, but she was afraid that she would get into trouble by talking too much. When she finally decided to tell the young master about the matter, she found that the young master
Looking a little dazed, she realized that the young master was silently thinking all the way. Lu Wu felt that it was better not to cause trouble to the young master. It was better to pretend that she didn't see anything, maybe she was just dazzled.
