GBP Chapter 105: Gambling with the Wise
Chapter 105: Gambling with the Wise
The emperor did not respond to Kong Xianren's recommendation in court and put the matter aside for discussion another day.
After the court was dismissed, the eunuch walked over to Cui Bingzhong in small steps and whispered, "Minister Cui, His Majesty has summoned you to the Imperial Study."
The eunuch spoke in a low voice, but the people around him also heard it. They were stunned for a moment, and after a moment, they walked out of the hall in groups of two or three as if nothing had happened.
Royal study room.
When Cui Bingzhong came in, Zhao Hengzhen was looking at Kong Xianren's letter of recommendation. Seeing him come in, he asked:
"Do you know what the writing here means?"
Zhao Hengzhen's face showed no emotion. Cui Bingzhong knew that this matter was inappropriate and he would not have said it if he had not been specifically mentioned today.
"I was not thoughtful enough. During this period, I was also worried about the empty treasury. Now it is mid-spring, and we can only rely on the commercial taxes from the capital to survive. The tax revenue from the prefectures and counties will have to wait for another ten days."
Ten days is a ten-day period, which means that in ten days, taxes from all over the country will be transported to the capital.
"How much can the local taxes be? Why is Da Zhou so poor now?"
Zhao Hengzhen seemed helpless and complained to Cui Bingzhong.
"Your Majesty, I don't think the recommendation in the memorial is a big deal, but I have a bad feeling about the person who recommended it."
In the Great Zhou Dynasty, many scholars and juren were recommended. This was not simply a matter of interest, but also a process of finding loopholes, filling gaps, and improving the system, which never stopped in any dynasty.
It’s just that many institutions have become bloated, giving people the impression that they are just like Pi Xiu that only eats but doesn’t poop.
Cui Bingzhong's words are like handing you a cake, but he also specifically emphasized that he is not responsible for what happens after you eat the cake.
Zhao Hengzhen felt his stomach churning when he heard this, feeling worse than if he had eaten shit.
As a leader, the most annoying people are like this. They have the ability but they don’t solve the problem. Instead, they will point out that there may be a problem, but as for what it is, you have to guess!
Do you feel like an emperor opening blind boxes every day?
"As you say, then we should submit a petition to the Ministry of Personnel to see how many such transport officials should be established, and whether the Ministry of Revenue should establish a department for them."
When Cui Bingzhong heard the emperor say this, he understood in his heart that the emperor had tacitly agreed and just wanted a specific set of rules.
Outside the hall, the second prince Zhao Wei felt relieved when he learned that Cui Bingzhong had surrendered.
What he valued was not only the speed at which the canal transport could generate revenue, but also the ability of the people in the canal transport gang to gather together. If the flow went smoothly, it was possible to gather an army of 100,000 in one night.
Of course, this requires the guidance of someone with a heart to be able to do what you want to do.
The eighth prince, Zhao Jing, whose mother's uncle is from the Lu clan, also runs a small business in Yanzhou. Zhao Wei feels that such a person will not pose much threat to him.
But for some reason, after the New Year, there was something wrong with the way Zhao Wei looked at Zhao Jing, as if he was the meat at home, always being stared at by mosquitoes, rats and ants.
In fact, as early as when Zhao Jing came of age, he was granted land in Jinyang, which was only a thousand miles away from Shangjing.
Although the mountains are high and the water is scarce here, the iron ore here has been smelted since a very early time. By the Zhou Dynasty, this place was not only a fortress, but also a base for plundering iron resources.
Many kings who came to power would station heavy troops here.
Due to geographical reasons, the Great Zhou deployed 500,000 troops in Qin. In the Jinyang area alone, there were 300,000 regular troops. The total number of troops from all over Bingzhou was 800,000.
The Yanzhou area is also an open battlefield, with the same total military strength as that in Qin.
Simply put, the emperor did not want the Prince of Jin to become a vassal.
As long as he did not go to the vassal state, the local taxation would still be decided by the imperial court. This was one of the reasons why corrupt officials were always prevalent in Bingzhou. The merchants here were simply too rich.
If salt and iron were important materials in this era, at least half of the resources here would be occupied. Faced with resources that existed just like gold and silver, who could guarantee not to be greedy?
However, Zhao Wei no longer thought about these things at this time. He knew Zhao Jing's ability and knew that he might not be able to manage Bingzhou well if he went there. It was very likely that he would make a mess of the place.
That is, on the second day after Cui Bingzhong and the Ministry of Personnel submitted a memorial regarding the establishment of the Grain Transport Administration, Zhao Zhiqiang of the Ministry of Personnel submitted a memorial, which roughly meant that the eighth prince should be enfeoffed as a vassal.
Zhao Zhiqiang is the emperor's cousin. When the late emperor handed over this inheritance to him, he stood firmly on Zhao Hengzhen's side.
When this memorial was submitted at this time, no one knew why. Zhao Hengzhang had calculated that Lu Yipeng was likely to submit the memorial, but he never expected that the one who would make the final move would be his own cousin.
After the court was dismissed that day, Zhao Zhiqiang was invited to the imperial study after lunch.
"Your servant, Zhao Zhiqiang..."
"Okay, there's no outsider here. I'm your nephew, why should I be polite?"
Zhao Hengzhen was already in a bad mood, and when he saw Zhao Zhiqiang about to salute, he quickly interrupted him.
"Then why did the emperor call me here?"
"Go, bring a chair for my uncle."
Seeing that the emperor was polite, Zhao Zhiqiang did not act pretentiously. He brought a stool that was not prepared in the imperial study.
"Uh! Uncle, the reason I invited you here is to ask if it is necessary for my eighth son to go to Jinyang?"
Zhao Hengzhen is not a person without family affection. Faced with such a problem, he still thinks of seeking advice.
"Your Majesty, this is the way it should be according to our ancestral system. If Your Majesty has other plans, I cannot interfere."
Zhao Zhiqiang looked righteous and thought to himself: Your Majesty, I don’t want to get involved in your family’s affairs, but your second son gave me too much!
"It's not like there are other arrangements, I just feel that Jing'er is still young and should enjoy the emperor's grace at home."
Zhao Hengzhen has been somewhat dissatisfied with Zhao Wei's private actions recently. He did not touch the prince's lineage, just to suppress the people of the second son.
If the eighth child also leaves at this time, the balance of power that restrains the second child will tilt.
He didn't want this to happen, nor could he allow such a situation to occur.
Last time, he successfully used Zhao Hui and said that he would reinvestigate the case of the crown prince, and he got the support of the right prime minister Fan Wenyuan. At that time, he did not say that he would support the third prince.
Zhao Zhiqiang himself didn't want to take sides, but he also felt that the Second Prince's power was growing stronger and stronger, and he didn't want to end up with a bad ending.
Since the second prince gave him what he wanted and promised him again and again, if he still doesn't appreciate it, he would be really ignorant.
Seeing the emperor's attitude today, I thought to myself: Oh my God, it turns out that there is no trivial matter in the royal family. I'd better not get involved in your royal struggle!
So he stood up and said, "Your Majesty, since you have such thoughts, I will never submit memorials again. I can only blame your uncle for being too old and worrying too much."
"Damn, what's wrong with this old guy?" Zhao Hengzhen almost gave this guy a circle in his heart. He just needed to say a few words at the beginning, but he had to add what he meant by adding something later?
"Oh, uncle, I don't mean to blame you. I just want to know what's going on. I'm just asking."
When Zhao Hengzhang saw Zhao Zhiqiang stand up, he immediately pretended to be innocent, ran over from the desk, and pretended to help his uncle.
In fact, I was thinking: You old thing, even if you don’t help me, you can’t harm me!
The Great Zhou ruled the world with filial piety. Over the years, many officials were removed from office because of family scandals.