Chapter 208: The Stigma of the Country
Chapter 208: The Stigma of the Country
Prince Yu’s Palace.
"Mr. Dai, take a look at this." Prince Yu got the copy of the daily record a little faster than the Prime Minister. After he got it, he immediately flipped through it and asked someone to immediately invite his adviser, Mr. Dai.
After Mr. Dai arrived, he took the manuscript, quickly glanced through it, then closed it and put it back on Prince Yu's desk.
"Mr. Dai, our father is getting old and confused. How can he use his own reputation as a stepping stone for Xu Qing?" Prince Yu could certainly see that if this memorial in Wanshou Palace was spread, who in the world would not say that Xu Qing was a sage of the time?
Point out your king's faults to his face, but do not hate him.
Not seeking fame, but discussing the truth.
Both the name and the reality are achieved.
The wronged soul of Zuo Shunmen in the imperial court, the Four Remonstrances of Echigo...
Most of the ministers who spoke frankly and gave advice to the old emperor ended up dying in a pool of blood, or were exiled, or never employed again.
After so many years, there are actually people who, in a way that is almost like advice, remind the old emperor not to pursue immortality, but to care about the affairs of the world.
In the end, he didn't make the old emperor angry.
It can be said that Xu Qing's move will win him a lot of reputation among the scholars.
If Xu Qing is a sage of the time, then what is Prince Jade who dislikes Xu Qing?
Xu Qing is like a mirror. The clearer it is, the more it can reflect Prince Yu's ugliness, affecting Prince Yu's prestige in the hearts of the people of the world.
Which crown prince can accept such a thing?
"Your Majesty, please be patient. In my opinion, this is the good intention of His Majesty for you. Congratulations, Your Majesty."
Upon hearing this, Prince Yu couldn't help but feel confused.
"Where does joy come from?"
Mr. Dai smiled slightly, "Your Majesty deliberately did not conceal this daily record. If you do not conceal the affairs of the palace, it is equivalent to issuing an imperial decree and announcing it to the world. From this incident, it can be seen that in your Majesty's mind, the prince's position as the crown prince is extremely stable."
Although he was the eldest son and the Queen had no children, according to the ancestral law, Prince Yu was undoubtedly the foundation of the country. However, as long as the Emperor did not appoint a crown prince, Prince Yu would feel uneasy.
After all, the old emperor loved to break the laws of his ancestors throughout his life.
"Sir, please tell me in detail. The more I listen, the more confused I am." Prince Yu asked hurriedly. He knew that among his subordinates, no one could understand his father's mind as well as Mr. Dai, and even in the whole world, there was no one who understood his father's mind better than Mr. Dai.
But now, there may be one more Xu Gongming.
Mr. Dai: "Your Majesty, I discussed with you before that the implementation of the Single Whip Law would cause a sharp drop in grain prices. Do you remember?"
Prince Yu said with a worried look on his face, "Cheap grain prices hurt farmers. If this one-whip law is implemented, I don't know how many people will go bankrupt or even become homeless this year. Alas, my father still thinks that the sharp drop in grain prices is a good thing, and he is deceived by these treacherous ministers and held a meeting to calm the country and restore order."
He said this with indignation.
If people go bankrupt and become homeless, it will affect the stability of the world.
This is a huge hidden danger.
When he comes to power, he will be the one to bear the final consequences.
Mr. Dai: "Your Majesty, what you said is correct, but if you say that Your Majesty doesn't know that low grain prices hurt farmers, then you are underestimating Your Majesty."
Prince Yu: "What is the reason for this? Why didn't you tell me earlier?"
Mr. Dai: "I have only just figured it out now. Your Majesty, please don't be impatient. Let me explain it to you slowly."
Prince Yu nodded: "Sir, please speak slowly. I am listening carefully."
Mr. Dai: "In fact, in all dynasties, whenever taxes were collected, grain prices would inevitably fall sharply, no matter what kind of tax system it was, the result was the same, it was nothing more than how much the low grain prices hurt farmers. Of course, the implementation of the Single Whip Law this time did exploit the people more than in previous years. But Your Majesty, don't forget that this year's national treasury and inner treasury are more abundant than any other year, and there are fewer physical objects, all in silver. This is much better than in previous years. Because in previous years, the physical taxes collected were mostly shoddy, and the grain was mainly old grain, but when it entered the national treasury, it was registered as new grain. This difference is huge... What I said is just the tip of the iceberg of the shortcomings of the tax law in previous years."
Prince Yu said bitterly: "I only regret that I cannot kill all these corrupt officials."
Mr. Dai advised: "The court will always need people. If the system is not changed, it will be the same no matter who comes to power. The best result is to be less greedy, which is really a drop in the bucket for the court's expenses.
Your Majesty, you have a kind heart for the people, and it is a blessing for all people. But for the court, whether the people live and work in peace and contentment is not the first priority. In my opinion, the first priority of the court now is to enrich the treasury. Without money, the court cannot function. If the court cannot function, it will naturally cause chaos in the world, and the people will suffer as well. In any case, the implementation of the Single Whip Law can make up for the emptiness of the treasury. Only with money can we get things done.
In this case, the people will have to suffer first.
As for your majesty holding the Peace and Prosperity Conference, the purpose is to support the reform and show the world that the results of the reform are good. Moreover, the Single Whip Law has benefited all the nobles and gentry. Everyone has benefited, so who would be willing to expose this matter and offend the whole court?"
"But didn't you always say that the king is like a boat and the people are like water, and that water can carry the boat but can also overturn it? The sages also said that he who wins the hearts of the people wins the world. If you allow the One Whip Law to harm the people, what will I do in the future?"
Mr. Dai: "It's hard to say what will happen in the future, but the people's hearts and minds at the moment are something that the prince can win over."
Prince Yu: "Sir, do you want me to comfort these victims? But where can I get so much money?"
Mr. Dai: "Your Highness can realize this, which shows that he is very talented. However, His Majesty has indeed made far-reaching plans for Your Highness, and has already found two people to help you."
Prince Yu was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized: "Sir, are you talking about Minister Wang and Xu Qing?"
Shangshu Wang came to him and was a member of the Wang family, one of the four major families in Nanzhili. Naturally, the wealth behind him should not be underestimated.
As Xu Qing enjoyed the benefits of maritime trade, one can imagine how rich he was in money and grain.
It was natural for Minister Wang to help him, but why should Xu Qing help him?
Prince Yu hesitated to speak.
Mr. Dai continued, "Minister Wang naturally supports the prince, but Xu Qing has to solve the problem of the disaster victims because he is virtuous."
Prince Yu suddenly understood.
The emperor used his own reputation to promote Xu Qing as a saint of the time, but is this title of saint so easy to obtain? The more famous Xu Qing is, the more people who were harmed by the One Whip Law will be attracted, especially those near the capital. Recently, many people have gone bankrupt because of the One Whip Law, and many of them may not be able to survive this winter.
Now that Xu Qing has come to Beijing and has gained such a great reputation, with just a little guidance, these disaster victims will flock to Xu Qing like a tide.
Xu Qing solved the most difficult part at the beginning, and then Prince Yu came out to finish it with the support of Shangshu Wang, which would maximize the benefits without spending much money.
If Xu Qing refused to help the victims, he would be hypocritical, even worse than Wang Mang...
In fact, every winter, there are disaster victims coming to the vicinity of the capital to seek survival. This time, Xu Qing might be able to solve the difficult task of disaster relief for the imperial court.
In previous years, these disaster victims could only be forcibly driven away.
After all, the imperial court had no surplus food.
Many officials’ salaries are not paid in full.
If Xu Qing did not come to Beijing, Prince Yu could also rely on the support of Shangshu Wang to solve the problems of some of the victims and also gain a good reputation.
Who asked Shangshu Wang to come and seek refuge with him? Since he wanted to seek refuge with him, he had to show his sincerity.
Prince Yu understood that this was the real reason why his father asked Minister Wang to join him.
Now these ministers dare to offend His Majesty, but they certainly dare not offend the Crown Prince.
Unless you are determined to rebel.
Mr. Dai naturally understood the emperor's intentions. In this reform, the emperor stayed out of it and let his ministers do everything. If things were done well, it would be the emperor's credit for employing people; if things were not done well, it would be the ministers' fault. Even Prince Yu was a chess piece used by the emperor in this game of reform.
But deep down, Mr. Dai was still somewhat disappointed with Prince Yu.
He who bears the disgrace of the country can be the master of the country; he who bears the misfortune of the country can be the king of the world.
If Prince Yu could take the initiative to think of doing something for the victims, what would a mere Xu Qing matter?
On the other hand, Mr. Dai also wanted to know, if Xu Qing knew that this reputation would attract thousands of hungry victims, what would he do?
Mr. Dai continued, "Your Highness, please inform Minister Wang about the disaster relief. You can ask Minister Wang to send someone from the Ministry of Revenue to appropriately disclose the relationship between the Haisha Gang and Xu Qing to the public. The Haisha Gang is also a key link in the sea transportation of grain. In addition, it can also illustrate the impact of sea transportation on grain transport. The food and clothing of millions of grain transport workers depend on sea transportation. With sea transportation, the grain transport workers on land will naturally suffer more and more every year. The livelihood of these people also needs to be considered and solved. Even the implementation of the Single Whip Law has a lot to do with Xu Qing..."
These events are not exaggerated at all, and their impact on the people is real.
If Xu Qing is a saint of the time, he should be held responsible for these things.
If he was not, the world would have seen through Xu Qing's hypocrisy; in this case, even if Xu Qing could survive these storms, he would not have a reputation that could shake the world.
In Mr. Dai's opinion, Xu Qing's strongest point is momentum.
Once the general situation is over, Xu Qing will only have the courage of a common man, and will have no room for resistance in front of the behemoth that is the Dayu court.
"Xu Gongming, I wonder if you have ever thought that one day you will be hurt by the situation?"
In Mr. Dai's view, there are three people playing the big chess game of the world.
One is His Majesty, one is the Prime Minister, and the other is Xu Qing.
Xu Qing is the weakest, but also the best at taking advantage of situations.
Sometimes he borrowed from His Majesty, sometimes from the Prime Minister, and every time he made a move, it was like a wild horse running freely in the sky, an antelope hanging a horn, leaving no trace. But if you look into it, it is all upright and dignified.
Is this person's talent a gift from heaven?
However, if Xu Qing could solve these problems, it would truly be "a disgrace to the country and a misfortune to the country."
To Your Majesty, it naturally doesn't matter.
After all, he is still His Majesty. If the world gets better, it will only be good for His Majesty.
However, if Xu Qing becomes powerful, the one who will be most affected is Prince Yu, who will succeed the throne in the future.
This is enough to show the emperor's ruthlessness.
After all, the old emperor only loves himself.
...
...
Yan Shan encouraged the members to publicize Xu Qing's wisdom. The matter was simpler than he thought, and it seemed that there was a hidden force in Beijing helping him to push this matter forward.
Yan Shan initially thought that the chief minister had other plans, but he discovered that this hidden power actually came from the Ministry of Revenue. It was really puzzling.
"Editor Yan, the reputation of the chief minister is growing. When I left the city today, I found that some people came with their families to see the chief minister's saintly virtue."
Yan Shan smiled at first when he heard this.
what is this.
You have to know that in Jiangning Prefecture, countless common people are lining up to sacrifice their lives for Brother Gongming.
After he smiled, he felt something was wrong, so he grabbed the man's collar and asked, "Where are these people? Take me to see them."
"It's just outside the city. It's really cold now. According to convention, the Ministry of Revenue will open some porridge stalls as a show. The national treasury is full this year, so why is there no movement at all?" The man muttered.
Someone sneered at the side: "Because His Majesty held a meeting to promote peace and prosperity, saying that the Single Whip Law was the greatest good policy in history. And many of these people were forced into bankruptcy by the Single Whip Law, and can only come to the vicinity of the capital to seek a living. If the Ministry of Revenue opened a porridge stall, wouldn't it be a loss of face for the court?"
"Then don't care about it?" The person asking the question was a young scholar from Nanzhili who came to Beijing to take the imperial examination. He was influenced by many of the ideas of the Fushe Society and was quite passionate.
"if not."
The more Yan Shan listened, the more he felt something was wrong, so he said, "Let's go out of town and take a look."
On the way, he also bought Shuntian Times and a newspaper office recently built by Mr. Feng and some clean-minded people, called Xinmin Newspaper.
This is in line with the Prime Minister's meaning of "renewing the people" in his reforms.
When people heard the name and the background, no one dared to check, so the newspaper was easily distributed.
Both newspapers contained articles praising the chairman.
If Yan Shan had seen this before, he would have felt that he had made a great contribution. Now he has vaguely realized the seriousness of the situation.
After leaving the city, I saw many disaster victims, and there were more and more of them. Some people were telling the story and ideas of the leader in the crowd.
All the members around him feel proud of it.
Yan Shan broke out in a cold sweat when he heard this.
He had a talent for officialdom struggles, and at this moment, he had already understood that a great disaster was about to happen to him.
Yan Shan rode his horse at full speed to Feng Mansion without thinking twice.
"Hurry, I want to see your son-in-law." This was not the first time Yan Shan came to the Feng Mansion. He grabbed the door and said anxiously.
"My son-in-law has been going to the Xishan Coal Mine during the day these days. Doesn't Yan Bianxiu know?"
"Xishan Coal Mine?" Yan Shan naturally knew this place. Since the Khitans occupied Yanyun, they had been mining coal in Xishan near the capital as fuel.
However, coal is still not as effective as charcoal and firewood for heating and cooking, and produces a lot of smoke and heavy ash. However, after years of logging in the mountains near the capital, the price of firewood has become increasingly expensive, so it is naturally not as cheap as coal to make a fire for heating in winter.
Yan Shan didn't know why the boss went to Xishan Coal Mine at this critical moment, but the situation was urgent and there was no time to delay.
Yan Shan galloped all the way to Xishan.
When he arrived, he saw Xu Qing and Gu Daoren discussing something, with a pile of honeycomb-shaped coal placed beside them.
"Wei Zhong, why are you so panicked?" After Yan Shan appeared, he naturally attracted Xu Qing's attention. He smiled indifferently at Yan Shan.
Yan Shan cut to the chase and told Xu Qing about his discovery.
Xu Qing smiled and said, "It's just a small matter, why are you in such a hurry?"
"It turns out that the boss already had a plan. I was worrying too much." Yan Shan immediately felt relieved.
Xu Qing pointed at the honeycomb-shaped coal and said, "I asked Taoist Gu to stir them up these days to solve the problems of the disaster victims."
Taoist Gu: "It's a waste of talent to even use such a small trick like this, even an old Taoist needs to intervene."
Xu Qing laughed loudly: "If it wasn't Master Gu who took action, I wouldn't feel at ease if someone else did it."
Taoist Gu stroked his beard and said, "The Ministry of Works of the Great Yu Dynasty really has few talented people. They are no match for me."
He originally had a good impression of the Great Yu Dynasty's Ministry of Industry, and thought it was extraordinary. But after meeting it, he was inevitably disappointed.
Fortunately, with Xu Qing's help, he was able to access many of the Ministry of Industry's top secrets.
In his opinion, many things were far behind the Fangxian Dao, but there were also some outstanding points. Moreover, the resources of the Dayu Dynasty were indeed rich, and it was indeed very beneficial for him to practice the heterodox way here.
Xu Qing bowed to Taoist Gu to express his gratitude, and then said to Yan Shan: "The victims of the disaster have three problems in winter: food, shelter, and heating. I intend to use these victims to mine coal and build sheds next to them. The coal produced can be sold and used for heating."
Xu Qing had already found out that the Xishan Coal Mine was jointly owned by the royal family, some nobles and the Ministry of Industry.
He planned to take advantage of this incident to contract the Xishan Coal Mine.
The benefits of honeycomb coal are much greater than the crude coal we have now, and the process can be further improved. With coal as the energy base, we can start researching more powerful mechanisms.
The soul stone vein has its own advantages, but the coal mine can also be used in endless ways.
In addition, combining Taoism and mechanical techniques can fundamentally solve many problems.
The nature of a gentleman is not different from that of a man who is good at making use of things!
In Xu Qing's eyes, there is nothing mysterious about Taoism or martial arts. He can combine the advantages of each and his knowledge from his previous life to use them for his own benefit.
The imperial court may think that the disaster victims are a burden, but to Xu Qing, they are precious wealth.
After hearing about Xu Qing's methods, Yan Shan couldn't help but admire him very much.
A boss is a boss after all.
What seemed like a disaster to him was actually a great thing for the boss.
"If one wants to accomplish great things, one must put people first. Now that people have come to me, I will never abandon them." Xu Qing said calmly and contentedly.
The coal mine matter was also part of the deal between Xu Qing and the Prime Minister.
But at that time, he didn't say anything about the victims.
Moreover, Xu Qing could not have imagined that the emperor would do this.
Now that you are here, just go with the flow.
All conspiracies and tricks are just small tricks.
Xu Qing came to the capital to tell these insects that they can accomplish great things and do them well if they act uprightly.
And with the emperor's help, Xu Qing's gains seem to be greater than he originally expected.
...
...
Yanyue Hall.
"Prince, Xu Gongming is in trouble." Someone reported to the Prime Minister.
The Prime Minister looked at the information and put it aside.
"Got it. Don't worry about it." He said calmly, then wrote a line of words on the white paper on the desk.
"Bear the stigma of the country!"
He suddenly understood His Majesty's "love" for Xu Qing.
Your Majesty is Your Majesty after all.
After the Prime Minister finished writing, he sighed softly.
(End of this chapter)