"If they could let me handle the errands of the Ministry of Household Affairs and the Ministry of Personnel, there wouldn't be so many poor people in the world that it would make me tremble in my heart."
Zhao Zhen pointed to the booklet on the table, "There are nearly tens of millions of poor people. If they start a rebellion, who can stop them? If you don't tell me where those fields have gone, I will tell you for you.
Those properties went to the hands of officials, aristocratic families, and wealthy families.
It's not enough to lie on the court and drink blood one by one, you also have to lie on the people to drink blood.
Are they drinking the blood of the people?
They are not, they are taking people's lives.
The land that Taizu distributed to the people was not much.
It could barely allow the people to have enough to eat after paying the taxes from the court.
But what about them?
They took away all the food rations from the people.
They took away the people's food rations.
Why don't the people fight with them and the imperial court?
How can there be any eggs in the nest?
What if the common people fight against the imperial court?
Can they live comfortably?"
Zhao Zhen said angrily: "Everyone says that the most intelligent people in the Song Dynasty live in the official families, the aristocratic families, and the wealthy families. I think they are the stupidest people.
The common people are the source of their prosperity and wealth, and every one of them does not care about the life and death of the common people, but they still dream of continuing to be prosperous and wealthy from generation to generation.
What about dreaming?"
When Lu Yijian and the other two heard this, they all hesitated with ugly expressions on their faces.
After a long time.
Wang Zeng pondered and said: "How about... check it out?"
Zhao Zhen sneered: "Who will check?"
Wang Zeng closed his mouth and did not speak again.
What Zhao Zhen is talking about is the issue of land annexation.
The people involved included almost all the middle and upper classes of the Song Dynasty.
Even Kou Ji, who never embezzled a penny, still had a huge amount of land in his hands.
Not to mention everyone else.
Once the issue of land annexation is raised, the middle and upper class owners of the Song Dynasty will have to face it.
The dangers and difficulties to be faced can be imagined.
"The most critical issue at the moment is the road reform government. Now is not the time to delve into the issue of land. We can put it aside for the time being and take a look at it slowly. At the moment, Hei Khan and the Liao coalition have defeated Gaochang.
The Xizhou Uighurs are about to be destroyed.
Once the Xizhou Uighurs were destroyed, the Song Dynasty would have to face the threats from the Black Khan Dynasty and the Liao Kingdom.
Therefore, it is not appropriate to delve into the issue of land now."
When Kou Ji was quiet in Zishi Hall, he slowly spoke.
Lu Yijian was the first to speak out in agreement: "Privy Councilor Kou is right. Foreign enemies are the key right now. After dealing with foreign enemies, it will not be too late to deal with the land issue."
Zhao Zhen sighed in his heart and stopped mentioning the land issue. He said aloud: "When we reformed the government system, we didn't encounter much resistance. But I moved some of the people who didn't have enough to eat to Dali.
This leaves some wealthy local households with no tenants to bully.
They all spread rumors behind their backs, saying that I had moved those people to other places to trap and kill them.
This incident has gradually affected the attitude of the people towards the court.
In some places where the road reform government is being implemented, or where the road reform government has not yet been implemented, there have been incidents of people going against the government offices at all levels.
I sent people from the Ministry of Household Affairs and the Ministry of Personnel down to intimidate local powerful people, as well as some local officials with ulterior motives.
Wang Aiqing, Zhang Aiqing, you will also take a trip later.
Give me a good deterrent to those local tyrants and officials with ulterior motives.
My attitude is that you will investigate anyone who goes against the imperial court.
I have given them enough face without even checking the fields in the world.
If they are shameless, don't blame me for turning against them."
Wang Zeng and Zhang Zhibai looked at each other, stood up together and said, "Here..."
"Okay, let's leave it at that. You can go down."
"I'll take my leave."
"Fourth brother stays."
"..."
The three of them, Lu Yijian, left Zishi Hall. Only Zhao Zhen, Kou Ji, and an invisible person, Chen Lin, were left in Zishi Hall.
Zhao Zhen let out a long breath and said: "I am feeling cold both physically and mentally now. Now all the civil and military officials in the court say that the Song Dynasty under my rule is unprecedentedly powerful and wealthy. But such a powerful and wealthy Song Dynasty still exists.
Nearly ten million poor people.
How many Dingkou does my Song Dynasty have in total now?
Counting those Hexi, Xixia, and Dali people who have joined us in the Song Dynasty, the total number is less than 80 million.
Nearly ten million of them are poor people.
This does not include those Xixia people and Dali people who have nothing.
If we include them, the number of poor people would probably be even greater."
Kou Ji hesitated and said, "I'm afraid it's more than ten million..."
Zhao Zhen looked at Kou Ji blankly.
Kou Ji said frankly: "The poor people defined by the officials are those who have nothing to eat and have no land. In fact, those people have escaped the category of poverty and can be characterized as abject poverty.
Those who have land but cannot make ends meet.
Working as a tenant, you can barely make ends meet.
Apart from eating, there is no money left for anything else.
The above three categories of people are also poor people.
Therefore, after careful calculation, the number of poor people is probably greater than those contracted by various localities.
In addition, there are some fugitives who are hiding in the mountains."
Zhao Zhen closed his eyes in pain and said: "Yes... they should be counted among the poor people. Even if they fled to the mountains and forests, as long as they call me official, they are the people of the Song Dynasty."
Having said this, Zhao Zhen slowly opened his eyes and gritted his teeth and said: "Now I wish I could cede land to the Liao Kingdom, pay annual tribute, and calm down the war. Then I can deal with those who took away the people's food rations.
They are far more hateful than foreign enemies."
Kou Ji said frankly: "Even if the officials are willing to cede land to the Liao Kingdom and pay annual tribute, the Liao Emperor Yelu Longxu will not give up attacking the Song Dynasty. Because he is about to die, what he has to do now is to defeat the Song Dynasty.
Get down. Let me, the Song Dynasty, be unable to attack the Liao Kingdom in the north before his son Yelv Zong really grows up."
Zhao Zhen sighed, "I just hate those evil thieves who steal food rations from the people, so I just said it casually, why should Fourth Brother take it seriously?"
Kou Ji smiled calmly and said, "I just said it casually."
Zhao Zhen glanced at Kou Ji and said, "I am frightened by this matter. Fourth brother doesn't seem worried at all?"
Kou Ji smiled and said: "We are already prepared to deal with them. We only need to wait until we calm down the war, take back the Yanyun Sixteenth Prefecture, and take back more territory, then we can attack them.
We have plenty of time to take care of them slowly, so why should the officials be anxious?"
Zhao Zhen said in a deep voice: "When I think of those people who are digging up the foundation of my Song Dynasty and taking my life, I wish I could kill them right now."
Kou Ji smiled lightly and said nothing.
A big boss of a company saw that the middle and upper levels of the company were constantly enriching themselves and harming the company's interests. He also saw that the middle and upper levels of the company were eating the flesh and blood of the employees at the bottom of the company.
It would be strange if he didn't want to kill anyone.
When Zhao Zhen saw that Kou Ji was silent, he asked, "Fourth brother, is there any way to deal with them now?"
Kou Ji pondered for a moment, then smiled and said, "Yes!"
Zhao Zhen was overjoyed and asked: "What can we do?"
Kou Ji said frankly: "Aristocratic families and wealthy families annex land, but there are not enough people to farm it, so they must hire poor people as tenants.
In the Song Dynasty, the trade of human beings was prohibited.
Therefore, most people use contracts to bind tenants.
Among private tenant farmers, most day laborers cannot sign contracts.
Only long-term workers can sign contracts.
Long-term workers are also the most ruthlessly exploited people by aristocratic families and wealthy households.
The officials can discuss with the Ministry of Punishment and implement a long-term labor contract that is universal and cannot be changed.
Except for contracts made by the imperial court, contracts made by private aristocratic families and wealthy families will not be counted."
Zhao Zhen frowned, "You want me to face the common people in the long-term contract? But in this case, the aristocratic families and wealthy families will definitely cause trouble for the court.
The imperial court now has to implement the government system and prepare for war, but there is no spare power to deal with them."
Kou Ji grinned and said, "What the officials said is wrong. Just because the officials have no spare power to deal with them, does not mean that the court has no spare power to deal with them. I remember that there are still a group of officials in the court who are busy working on matters that cannot treat people as animals.
Officials from both the government and the public, as well as the people, also fully recognized their words.
Imperial officials and wealthy families hire people to carry sedans based on people and animals.
Then the local tyrants squeezed the tenants and used them as old scalpers, which also treated people and animals.
Those officials who are not accustomed to treating people as animals can't stand today's imperial officials and aristocratic families hiring people to carry sedan chairs. Naturally, they can't stand the local tyrants treating tenant farmers like old scalpers.
Even so, just let them reason with those local powerful people."
Zhao Zhen hesitated and said: "Many of them also come from powerful local families."
Kou Ji smiled calmly and said: "If they think that the officials of the imperial court and the aristocratic families who hired people to carry the sedan chairs are treating people as animals, but the local tyrants are not exploiting the tenants, then it means that they are just trying to gain fame.
It is enough for one official to give them a sedan chair."
Zhao Zhen thought for a long time and suddenly laughed and said: "Wonderful! Wonderful!"
Kou Ji also laughed.
Officials who insist on not treating humans as animals are mostly stubborn and corrupt scholars who pursue fame.
They care about reputation very much.
They are willing to risk their lives for the sake of reputation.
Therefore, even if they come from a wealthy family, they will help Zhao Zhen implement the standard long-term labor contract set by the imperial court.
Some of them will probably start from their own homes first.
And after they attack their own family, they will look for other people with great righteousness and force others to follow their example.
The most important thing is that these people are not afraid of local powerful men threatening their lives.
Why?
Because once the local tycoons kill them, they will make a lot of money.
The reputation they pursue will reach an unprecedented peak after the local tyrants kill them.
If Zhao Zhen takes the opportunity to express his condolences and help them improve their reputation, then they will become even crazier.
In order to gain fame, they keep breaking into bandit dens. Why do they still care about local power?
There were many bandits in the Song Dynasty, and there were also many celebrities in the Song Dynasty.
Some of these celebrities earned their fame by risking their own lives by breaking into bandits' dens and admonishing the bandits to surrender to the court.
The bandits listened to their advice and surrendered to the imperial court. People would immediately report that a certain scholar went deep into the tiger's den and engaged in verbal battles with bandits.
Their reputation will skyrocket instantly.
If the bandits don't listen to their opinions, kill them.
Their reputation will also increase greatly, because local people and local officials will characterize their actions as righteous deeds.
Their descendants will receive preferential treatment from local people and the court.
Letting them deal with local powerful people is the same as having them deal with bandits themselves.
After Zhao Zhen praised Kou Ji's clever plan, he said: "I never thought of such a wonderful trick before. Those old stubborns and rotten scholars in the court could be of such use.
I used to find them annoying, but now I actually kind of appreciate them.
Hahaha……"
Kou Ji smiled and said: "Each type of person has its use. Some people are like double-edged swords. If you don't use them well, you will hurt yourself. If you use them well, they will be a weapon to kill the enemy."
Zhao Zhen nodded in agreement and said: "Fourth brother is right..."
After a pause, Zhao Zhen said: "It's just that once I implement the standard long-term contract, the local powerful will probably no longer sign long-term contracts with the common people. The common people will most likely become day laborers.
And short-term workers are slightly inferior to long-term workers."
Although local powerful forces continue to exploit long-term workers, they also provide them with a stable job to make a living.
Once the imperial court implemented the long-form contract.
In order to cope with the long-term contract system promoted by the imperial court, local powerful people would definitely turn long-term workers into short-term workers.
As a result, the livelihood of most long-term workers is not guaranteed.
Kou Ji said frankly: "Suffering is certain. After all, there are few kind-hearted people among the local powerful. Long-term workers have become short-term workers, and they may be further squeezed.
But everything is temporary."
Zhao Zhen stared at Kou Ji and waited quietly for the next sentence.
Kou Ji smiled and said: "The local tycoons turned long-term workers into short-term workers, which is of great benefit to us. Once we win more territory, we won't have to worry about poor people being tied to the local area because of their status as long-term workers.
Since they are day laborers, they have no contract.
That means the court can move them to other places at any time.
They don’t have to pay anything for it.”
“Kill two birds with one stone!”
Zhao Zhen laughed. After laughing, he seemed to remember something again, and added: "When we immigrated to the common people, the local powerful people had no reason or excuse to oppose us. It can be said that we killed three birds with one stone."
"This is a very clever plan. I will issue a document to the Ministry of Punishment and ask the Ministry of Punishment to issue a standard long-term employment contract as soon as possible."
"The officials should discuss this matter with Lu Yijian and the others before making a decision. With the support of the three of them, it should be much smoother for the officials to handle the matter."
"That's right... I don't know what the three of them are saying, but they want to nag me again."
"..."
"Right."
Zhao Zhen looked at Kou Ji and said, "While I was chatting with you, I almost forgot my purpose of keeping you."
Kou Ji stared at Zhao Zhen without saying anything.
Zhao Zhen asked: "Fourth brother, do you remember He Xiangu?"
Kou Ji was stunned for a moment and said: "That person in Sanqing Temple? I haven't seen her for a long time, and I haven't heard what she has done recently. I almost forgot about her. The official mentioned this person, but something has implicated her.
people?"
Zhao Zhen smiled and took a memorial from Long's case and handed it to Kou Ji, "Fourth brother, take a look..."
Kou Ji took the memorandum suspiciously, glanced at it briefly, and said suspiciously: "The selected girls from all over the country are sent here? Why are the officials showing this to me?"
Zhao Zhen did not answer Kou Ji's question, but pointed at the memorial and said, "Look carefully."
Kou Ji thought for a moment and was slightly stunned. He had already guessed a possibility through Zhao Zhen's words, and immediately searched for a familiar name in the memorial.
After searching around, I found a familiar name.
"Yongzhou He Qiong? The eldest daughter of Yongzhou County Lieutenant He Yong?"
Kou Ji narrowed his eyes, "She was actually among the girls being picked, and more importantly, she was actually selected."
Zhao Zhen nodded with a smile.
Kou Ji stared at Zhao Zhen and asked, "Have the officials sent someone to check if she is He Yong's daughter?"
Zhao Zhen smiled and said: "I checked it and got an unexpected result."
Kou Ji didn't know why.
Zhao Zhen laughed softly and said: "Then He Qiong is indeed the eldest daughter of Yongzhou County Lieutenant He Yong. Not only that, she also has a twin sister named He Xiang."
Speaking of this, Zhao Zhen said with emotion: "I don't know what kind of virtue He Yong has accumulated. He is tall and thick. He actually gave birth to a daughter who is as beautiful as a fairy. What's more important is that there are two in one child."
"Maybe it's not his..."
Kou Ji was recalling his encounter with the two He Xiangu in his mind, so he said something casually.
Zhao Zhen pondered and said: "You mean, the He sisters were born to Mrs. He and an outsider?"
When Kou Ji heard this, he slowly came back to his senses and said, "Probably not. I think that the He sisters must have found a cheap man for themselves in order to enter the palace."
Zhao Zhen raised his eyebrows, "You mean, that He Qiong came for me."
Kou Ji nodded and said, "It's obvious."
Zhao Zhen muttered: "I thought that all the monks had stopped, but I didn't expect that there would be more monsters. I just want to see what kind of trouble she can cause after entering the palace."
Kou Ji was stunned and asked: "The officials want her to enter the palace?"
Zhao Zhen smiled and said: "Since she has been selected and sent up, she must enter the palace. As for whether she will be a palace maid or a concubine after entering the palace, it is up to me."
Kou Ji said bluntly: "I think it would be better for the officials not to provoke her."
Zhao Zhen asked: "Does she still dare to attack me in the palace?"
Kou Ji shook his head, "That won't happen...but she must have some agenda when she enters the palace."
Zhao Zhen solemnly said: "I will send Chen Lin to keep an eye on her."
Kou Ji stared straight at Zhao Zhen and asked quietly: "Guan family, have you been thinking about her for a long time? Have you secretly been to Sanqing Temple?"
Kou Ji also watched Zhao Zhen grow up and knew a little bit about Zhao Zhen's character.
Zhao Zhen is definitely not the kind of person who is attracted to people he has never met.
Now he clearly knows that He Qiong has other motives for entering the palace, but he still doubts that in order for He Qiong to enter the palace, he must have met He Qiong and seen He Qiong's face.
Anyone who has seen He Qiong's face will find it difficult not to miss her.
Even if Kou Ji has no greed for He Qiong, when someone mentions He Qiong, He Qiong's face can clearly appear in Kou Ji's mind.
When Zhao Zhen faced Kou Ji's questioning, he did not hide anything and said very frankly: "I was out of the palace once and met He Qiong."
Kou Ji sighed inwardly and said nothing more.
Zhao Zhen might be playing with fire, but Kou Ji had no intention of stopping him.
Although Kou Ji couldn't guess the specific purpose of He Qiong's entry into the palace, he could roughly guess a direction.
He Qiong entered the palace probably because he wanted to revive Taoism through Zhao Zhen.
Therefore, she will not hurt Zhao Zhen, let alone others in the palace.
Because she is a smart person, she knows that if she enters the palace as a Taoist disciple, many people will definitely pay attention to her.
So she will never act rashly in the palace.
Since the lives of other people in the palace would not be threatened, Kou Ji didn't bother to talk to her.
Anyway, if she enters the palace, Zhao Zhen will not suffer any loss.
Kou Ji's status will not be shaken at all.
"As long as the officials like it..."
Kou Ji said perfunctorily.
Seeing that Kou Ji did not stop He Qiong from entering the palace, Zhao Zhen showed a smile on his face and said: "When He Qiong enters the palace, I will talk to her and give her sister who is as beautiful as her,
for you."
The corner of Kou Ji's mouth twitched, and he asked dryly: "Is this considered sharing a blessing?"
Zhao Zhen said with a bright smile: "You are right to think so."
When Kou Ji thought of He Xiangu who couldn't convince others and immediately wanted to fight against them, he shook his head decisively and said: "I can't bear this."
Kou Ji had roughly guessed that it was his sister He Qiong who first met him when he entered Bianjing City.
The last person who met him in Sanqing Temple was his sister He Xiang.
My sister is quiet and elegant. After entering the palace, as long as she doesn't take the initiative to cause trouble, she should live longer.
There is a little bit of violence in my sister's character, and she will not survive more than a month after entering the palace.
So if I had to choose one person to enter the palace, it would definitely be my sister.
Kou Ji does not covet the beauty of their sisters, nor is he willing to raise a violent little girl in his house.
So I decisively declined the matter.
When Zhao Zhen saw Kou Ji's refusal, he frowned slightly and shouted: "I have given you beauties over and over again, but you have refused over and over again. Are you dissatisfied with me?"
Kou Ji couldn't help but rolled his eyes and said, "Guan, please don't scare me on purpose. Think carefully about how you would feel if you saw me holding He Xiang."
Zhao Zhen was stunned and blurted out, "Can there be..."
After only saying two words, Zhao Zhen couldn't speak any more.
Because he suddenly realized that the two sisters looked the same.
If Kou Ji hugged He Xiang and was seen by him, he would definitely feel uncomfortable.
"Ahem..."
Zhao Zhen coughed dryly, covering up his embarrassment, and said calmly: "I will issue an order later to let He Qiong's sister join the palace. If she is not willing, then I will give her an ultimatum."
If Zhao Zhen, as Zhao Zhen, personally gives He Xiang the ultimatum, then He Xiang is destined to be a monk for the rest of his life.
They are not allowed to return to secular life, let alone get married.
Kou Ji decisively raised his hands and said: "The official is a sage!"