Chapter 286 I don't want to live without a backbone
At the beginning of spring, with the progress of track construction from Jingxi Road to Qinfeng Road and Huanqing Road, food prices rose first in Suide, Huanqing and the entire Qinzhou Road, and then wool prices rose again.
It is understandable, after all, there are a large number of craftsmen concentrated in the west of the country, and the demand for food has increased, so it is reasonable for prices to rise.
This round of rise was led by Gongfangcheng.
Grain merchants are happy to hear about this situation.
The external grain trade and the adjustment of the entire grain price are completely controlled by those in Gongfang City... They are the largest grain merchant and the largest transporter.
The merchants were engaged in food processing, but they did not collect wool. They were mixed with wool traders, and their final destination was still in the workshop city.
Therefore, this price adjustment makes grain merchants very happy.
Equally happy are the Xixia tribe, which greatly increased the number of sheep herding last year.
The market is becoming more and more prosperous. In addition to the items in the inner garden that Zhao Xi has strictly prohibited from selling to foreigners, all the items that can be seen on the market in the imperial court can be seen in the market.
Some snacks in Neiyuan have been sold by Lao Liujia, who has always followed Zhao Xi's guidance.
The reason why Zhao Xi controls it is because all the goods in the Neiyuan are related to armaments.
For example, biscuits, candies, and various other snacks can be directly used as military rations under certain circumstances...
It has been a long time, maybe because Zhao Xi has participated in government affairs more often, or maybe because he is really busy with affairs, there has been no so-called idle activities like teaching the prince for a long time.
Zhao Xi was suddenly notified again today, and the princes thought of teaching the prince again...
As long as he is not an emperor, the prince is always obliged to accept the teachings of his father-in-law.
The same goes for emperors, but the method and name are different. Teaching the emperor's behavior is called Jing Yan, and giving lectures to the prince is called Lecture Yan.
Teaching the emperor is a group of people sitting together, one person giving the lecture, and all sorts of talking and bickering.
To teach the prince, you can just send anyone according to the mood of the political hall, including all the princes.
As for Zhao Xi, except for the princes, no one has ever come to teach him.
Today is no exception, but Fu Bi is here alone.
It was Fu Bi who notified Zhao Xi privately, and it was the old rich man who came alone.
Zhao Xi was extremely suspicious that this was purely what the old rich man meant privately.
"Just wait and go down."
I'll go! I did it again. This approach made Zhao Xi a little uncomfortable. After all, he was from Ouchi, and he just dismissed his servants casually in front of his master... The prince of the country was really not polite at all.
"Your Highness, are you going to start it?"
Huh? Just as the tea was brewed, the old rich man said this.
Zhao Xi's first thought was: Who could have revealed this?
"Don't make random guesses. No one has mentioned it. It's just my guess. Taking advantage of the construction of the western track, the grain transaction price will be raised, and the wool purchase price will also be raised."
"When the track laying is completed, the overall price will drop, and by taking advantage of the price drop, other grain merchants will be reduced or even cut off from selling grain to the west."
"After everything meets His Highness's expectations, we will look at the opportunity when the Western bandits have the greatest demand for food and completely cut off the food supply, causing the Western bandits to develop their predatory nature, harass the borders, and even launch a large-scale war."
"Forcing the imperial court to respond to the battle, we can achieve your highness's goal of fighting against the Western bandits. Your highness, is what Fu Bi said true?"
How many times has His Royal Highness dug holes for people and then buried them?
Fu Bi was not good at wealth management, but he was not inferior to anyone in strategy. After studying His Highness the Crown Prince's many operations, one could generally see the results of His Highness the Crown Prince's plans.
Zhao Xi didn't say anything, and he was basically sure in his heart that it was not someone who exposed this, but the old rich man figured it out by himself.
The whole process is generally consistent. Zhao Xi did not explain it in detail in the escort camp. Even if someone knew about it, they would not talk nonsense.
Only Fu Bi didn't care.
As I said earlier, this kind of private conversation should be done after that.
Therefore, in this situation, neither the princes nor Zhao Xi have any taboos.
"Rich Prime Minister, actually I don't want to go through so many twists and turns. I especially want to shout directly in the court: Let's fight against the thieves!"
"Can it? No! A hundred years of peace, in the eyes of the court officials, it is peace, but in my heart it is peace. Who would think about what is behind this hundred years of peace?"
"The ministers and servants have become accustomed to living in wealth and living, and they think that guarding the family property of their ancestors is a merit. No matter how they do it, it doesn't matter even if they are servile, even if they lose their backbone. After all, they are guarding the family property of their ancestors."
"In the Battle of Sanchuankou, the Western bandits annihilated Liu and Shi's troops until they laid siege to Yanzhou. In the Battle of Haoshuichuan, the country suffered a loss of 100,000 soldiers. Then, in the Battle of Dingchuan Village, it lost more than 10,000 soldiers again."
"After several battles, the Western bandits broke the courage of the imperial court. No one dared to talk about the war anymore. This is also the reason why several prime ministers proposed not to talk about the war for twenty years. Because the imperial court has no courage!"
Zhao Xi could no longer control his emotions at this time. The more he spoke, the more he held his breath, and the more he spoke, the more uncomfortable he became. He could not even control the tears flowing down his face.
"What happened next? Prime Minister, what did we do next? Sui Ci... what a nice term! Isn't it Sui Gong?"
"It doesn't sound good to pay tribute to a rebel who was once your country's territory, right? Just change the term."
"Keep saying that the Western thieves are barbarians, and keep telling yourself that the place is a wilderness. When will this kind of narcissistic dream last?"
"Prime Minister, I, Zhao Xi, don't want to live without courage or spine, and I don't want my subjects to be unable to straighten their backs or raise their heads when facing foreign dynasties!"
"I am not a martial artist. I told Taishi Pang in the early years. Just as a person needs two legs to walk, the court also needs both civil and military skills. This is the only way to revitalize the country."
"Prime Minister Fu, I don't want my descendants to be insulted in a hundred years. I don't want our descendants to call the Song Dynasty a coward after a thousand years!"
"But what about the current court? If I really speak out about the war, what will be the consequences? It will probably be a confrontation between the entire court and the Eastern Palace, and it will be a disharmony between the monarch and his ministers that may continue after I ascend the throne."
"This is not what I want. I can only fight back and let the Western thieves force us to fight. The courage of the imperial court was shattered in the battle. I hope to use the new army to restore the courage of the imperial court in the battle."
"If the monarch and his ministers are of one mind, they can cut through the metal! Xi doesn't want to argue in the court over this, so he has to resort to a cunning strategy. Unless he hides it from the political hall on purpose, he can't say anything."
After finishing speaking, Zhao Xi stood up and bowed to Fu Bi respectfully... as an apology for planning the war in private.
At the same time, I am also grateful to the old rich man for his tears on his face at this time.
At this moment, at least Fu Bi felt the same as him and was touched.
Zhao Xi is really not cheating, he is showing his real emotions at this moment.