"The current decision-making of the imperial court is worrying. In my opinion, it is inappropriate to re-obey the covenant with the Liao people at this moment. Knowing that the Liao people are only busy quelling civil strife and are not sincerely on good terms with me, the Zhou Dynasty, they should have made it earlier
Make a decision. Otherwise, once the Liao people calm down the civil strife and free up their hands, they will definitely use troops against me, the Zhou Dynasty, and tear up the alliance. The Liao people are pigs and dogs who will not abide by any oaths and do not understand what etiquette, justice and shame are at all. They will definitely
That’s what I did.” Guo Xu said in a deep voice.
Lin Jue frowned and thought for a moment and said, "What do you think, His Highness?"
"My idea is very simple. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The Jurchens are in civil strife, and Yelu Zongyuan's army has gone north to quell the rebellion. Now is our best opportunity for the Great Zhou Dynasty. We should mobilize the army to attack north and march directly to Beijing.
At the same time, he sent people to make an alliance with Wan Yangu, the leader of the Jurchen tribe, and attacked from the north and the south to destroy the Liao Kingdom. This way, we could not only eliminate the evil wolf in the north of the Great Zhou Dynasty in one fell swoop, but also expand the territory and occupy a large area of the Liao Kingdom. This is
Killing two birds with one stone. This opportunity can be said to be a God-given opportunity for me, but now I sit back and watch it disappear in vain, which makes people extremely anxious." Guo Xu said coldly.
Lin Jue said softly: "So that's what His Highness thinks, but has His Highness considered the current situation of our great Zhou Dynasty? A battle in Youzhou cost three million taels of silver, and it was almost impossible to get the money back. What's more, it was launched
How can the imperial court afford the war to destroy the Liao Kingdom? I think the imperial court may not know this, so it promotes changes and uses this rare breathing opportunity to reorganize the internal affairs and replenish the national treasury. If Yelu Zongyuan cannot be wiped out soon
Jurchens, we, the Great Zhou, have gained a chance to breathe. A few years later, even if Yelu Zongyuan destroys the Jurchens and then attacks me, the Great Zhou, we, the Great Zhou, will already have enough money and elite soldiers and horses to deal with it. This may be the only way to deal with it.
It was planned by the imperial court."
Guo Xu nodded and said: "You are absolutely right, that's what they think. But don't you think this is too conservative and unenterprising? Also, do you really think this so-called reform can be done?
Do you want me, the great Zhou Dynasty, to enrich the country and strengthen its army?"
Lin Jue frowned and said, "What does your Highness mean by this?"
Guo Xu chuckled and said: "Originally I didn't want to point fingers at the new law, but now that I have mentioned this, I will express my thoughts. Of course the original intention of the two adults is to enrich the country and strengthen the army, but the terms of the new law that I have seen are...
Going in the opposite direction. I am not disrespectful to the two gentlemen. They are in a state of prosperity now, and my father is also in a state of affairs. They cannot listen to outside objections. As far as I know, after the implementation of Changping's new law, its shortcomings have been revealed and public resentment has arisen.
It’s just that they are still in the dark, or pretend not to know.”
Lin Jue was shocked and said: "Is it really so?"
Guo Xu narrowed his eyes and looked at Lin Jue and said: "You are also a member of the Ordinance Department. You may not like to hear what I say. The people in your Ordinance Department are working behind closed doors and have no idea about the situation outside. You know the new law trial
Did any strange things happen after it came into operation? The court's practice of lending has had a great impact. Your new law has now become a burden on the people. Local officials actively implemented the new law because it was linked to political performance. Now it has changed
It has become a compulsive behavior. It was originally a voluntary thing for the people, but now it is tied to political performance, but it has become an assessment and burden. This is simply too funny." Lin Jue frowned and thought in his heart:
Once it is linked to political performance, local officials will definitely do this. What I had argued for and was most worried about has actually happened.
"Twice a year, four cents of interest, what is the difference between this and usury? The difference is that usury is voluntary, and the court's usury cannot be repaid if you don't want it. The government forces you to take it, which is a blatant act of exploiting the people. It is even more ridiculous.
What is the regulation is that the upper-class households guarantee the lower-class households. I understand that it is because they are worried that the loans issued will not be collected. But is this fair to those third-class and above households? The government stipulates that they provide guarantees for the lower-class households, which is tantamount to
Transfer the risk to these people. Households above the third class have to pay interest for their own loans, and now they have to repay the principal and interest for the loans for lower class households. How much repayment ability can they have? Therefore, now the local government is
There is a trend of abandoning farmland and selling off farmland. Farmers of the third class and above have begun to sell their fields. Why? Because they just want to become a lower-class household that does not need to guarantee others. Even if their lives are more difficult,
It's better than working hard and being dragged into bankruptcy in the end. Tell me, is this the original intention of the new law? Is this the purpose of the court's reform? Is it to make the people become extremely poor? To change the situation
Is it worse?"
Lin Jue frowned and asked in a deep voice: "Where did you get what His Highness said? Why is the feedback we got from the Ordinance Department not like this?"
Guo Xu sneered: "How could Yan Zhengsheng and Fang Dunru let you know these bad things? What they are promoting is the benefits of this new law. Some time ago, Gyeonggi Road officials and thousands of people gathered at the gate of the inner palace
The matter of presenting plaques to foreigners is naturally the target of vigorous publicity. How could they come up with these unfavorable things? You ask me where I learned about it? Haha, there are mountains of reports like this in the Prime Minister's Office in the Political Affairs Hall. All I need to do is
A trip to my grandfather's house revealed everything. I don't believe that Yan Zhengsheng and Fang Dunru don't know that your Ordinance Department has an interested officer? They are responsible for monitoring the implementation of the new law. Unless they collectively see
Blind, otherwise Master Yan and Master Fang would have piles of reports like this on their desks."
Lin Jue was silent for a while and said softly: "If such a thing is true, then it is indeed a big worry. Master Yan and Master Fang must not want these things to happen. Their original intention in formulating the new law is..."
"I know their original intention, and I also know that this is not the situation that the two of them want to see, but in fact this is happening. No matter where the problem is, it shows that this new law can make people happy in a short time.
It is impossible for me to have a completely new look. What is more likely is that this will lead to chaos. You can think of me as alarmist, I am just telling my opinion. In fact, I have expressed my attitude before,
I am in favor of reform. The Great Zhou Dynasty did need a change, but it was not a change like this. Reform is a long-term thing that requires careful management and step-by-step. Ten, twenty or even thirty years, continuous improvement and improvement
Only by pushing forward can we achieve great success. The two adults and my father are too eager to attack and gain immediate benefits. Of course, it is understandable that the situation is forced and we can only hope to achieve immediate results. But the reality may not be that we can achieve what we hope for."
Lin Jue's impression of Guo Xu was refreshed again. This second prince was not a simple man. Although he was young, he was so knowledgeable. Many of his views coincided with his own, and he actually thought the same way about the reform.
.And I actually have accumulated historical experience, but he has completely his own opinions. In this regard, I am not as good as him. If this person can inherit the throne in the future, it may be more suitable than that of the eldest prince.
"Has His Highness reported these words to the Emperor?"
"No." Guo Xu shook his head.
"Why is that? Since Your Highness has such an opinion, why not report it to His Majesty?" Lin Jue said.
Guo Xu pondered for a moment and said, "I can't. Don't ask me why."
Lin Jue was a little confused, but in an instant he suddenly understood. Guo Xu did not want to report it. Firstly, the emperor was very determined to reform at the moment. If he sang the opposite, he would be dissatisfied. Even Lu Zhongtian and the others remained silent, so naturally He knew that it was not appropriate to come out and play devil's advocate at this moment, because there was no room for opposition to the reform. Secondly, as a prince, Guo Xu could not show too much concern for state affairs, because this would easily make people think that he was eager to ascend to power, which would be detrimental to him. Disadvantage. When the Holy Emperor is in power, the prince cannot be too high-profile, otherwise there will be only harm but no benefit.
"Then why is Your Highness here today? You must not be here to congratulate me. My friendship with you has not reached that stage yet. Your Highness has told me so many secret things, but I still don't know. What's your purpose of coming?" Lin Jue smiled.
"Hahaha" Guo Xu laughed. He looked at Lin Jue and said, "We are still relatives, so there is nothing wrong with me coming to congratulate you. Isn't it for my cousin's sake?"
Lin Jue smacked his lips in silence, and Guo Xu smiled and said: "Well, I won't beat around the bush. I came to you and said so many things, so of course I have a purpose. Well, congratulations are also one of the reasons, but my main purpose is Yes...I want you to help me."
Lin Jue smiled and said, "I? Your Highness, is there anything else you want me to help with?"
Guo Xu put away his smile and said seriously: "I am serious. I have said so much before, don't you understand yet? I can't let this great opportunity for my general to deal with the Liao people to be wasted. I have to do something What. I want to report it to my father, hoping to suggest that the imperial court accept my suggestion, unite with the Jurchens, attack the Liao people from the north and the south, and give them a fatal blow."
Lin Jue was shocked and said: "Your Highness really wants to take action? Is the Emperor willing to agree? Even if he is willing, how will the military expenditure issue be solved?"
"Don't worry too much about military expenditures. I will find a way. I came to you. Firstly, I want to ask you whether this strategy is feasible. Secondly, I want to ask you to give me some advice. I want to lead the army in person. I need capable people to plan for me, so I came to you because I know you are a capable person." Guo Xu said in a deep voice.
Lin Jue opened his mouth in surprise, shook his head after a while and said: "Your Highness, I'm afraid you have found the wrong person. Lin Jue does not have such great ability. Lin Jue is just a scholar. He has no knowledge."
"A scholar who almost wiped out 30,000 pirates with one person?" Guo Xu sneered: "I asked many people about the battle against bandits in Hangzhou, so I know you are a brave and resourceful person. , otherwise I wouldn’t come to you. What I lack most is talents like you. If we can succeed this time, you can think about how much you have contributed."
