Chapter 1300 Court Meeting

Chapter 1300 Court Meeting

Chapter 1300 Court Meeting
On the fifteenth day of July, scorching heat fell from the sky.

Inside the Guanfeng Hall, the court meeting has entered its middle stage.

Sitting on the throne, Shao Xun, dressed in a white robe, listened quietly to the reports from his subjects.

Crown Prince Shao Jin sat in the first row, sitting upright and listening to the government affairs.

The previous reports were all trivial matters. Shao Xun listened patiently and gave his opinions from time to time.

"Your Majesty." Dali Qing Shang Zhi stood up, glanced at the tablet, and then said in a loud voice: "I impeach Linhai Governor Zhou Guang."

"What are you impeaching?" Shao Xun asked.

"Hengyu Ship Garrison has twenty newly built large ships, but lacks crew members. The navy sent people to the south of the Yangtze River to recruit, but failed to get the required number. Linhai Governor Zhou Guang released prisoners on board, which is against the law." Shang Zhi said.

"Is this true?" Shao Xun pondered.

Shang Zhi, the new Minister of Dali Temple, had just taken office and had started to work hard. Finally, he caught someone.

Shao Xun looked at the Minister of War Hou Feihu.

Hou Feihu stood up and said, "Your Majesty, since the Han Dynasty, all prisoners have been required to perform military service. The Daliang Law, which was revised at the end of the Kaiping Period, has a provision that 'all prisoners who fail to perform military service shall be caned 60 times by the chief officer.' Zhou Guang sent the prisoners on board the ship, all of them were chained and confined to the bottom of the cabin, but they only had to row the oars, which was considered military service."

The prisoners in those days were not like those in later movies and TV series who stayed in jail and slept all the time. In fact, they had to work, otherwise who would support them? If they did not work, their families could pay them to work.

Throughout the dynasties, it was not uncommon for prisoners to be sent to the army, which was also a form of labor service.

When Hou Feihu brought up this article, Shang Zhi didn't know how to refute it for a moment, so he could only say: "The criminals are not human beings, how can we entrust them with the responsibility of sailing? This must be done by good people."

Hou Feihu added: "If we can find a good girl to go to sea with, why would we have to go to so much trouble?"

Shang Zhi couldn't answer.

He originally wanted to spend a lot of money to recruit sailors who would volunteer to go out to sea, but he thought that it was impossible.

You have spent a lot of money, so do you have to pay other naval officers and soldiers more? Moreover, paying more money may not necessarily solve the problem. Now it is semi-compulsory conscription, and all the naval officers are hereditary soldiers, and they are not given a choice. If they have the opportunity to choose, I guarantee that they will all go home to farm, even as tenants, and are unwilling to go to sea.

Shao Xun said: "We will discuss this matter later."

What he said was actually a disguised support for using prisoners as sailors.

After saying that, he looked at Crown Prince Shao Jin again and said, "Does Crown Prince have any suggestions?"

Shao Jin stood up and said, "Your Majesty, going out to sea is dangerous, perhaps you can reduce the prisoner's sentence, so as not to hurt your majesty's benevolence."

"Good." Shao Xun said happily.

As a person who had experienced it, he knew too well the difficulties of recruiting sailors.

During the Age of Discovery in the 17th century, the safety factor of navigation was already very high, but several major maritime powers were still troubled by the shortage of sailors and came up with many tricks.

In order to recruit sailors, the Portuguese made all the beggars on the streets of Lisbon disappear overnight and go to the ships - some beggars did not want to be sailors.

There was a law in Britain at that time that stole goods worth five shillings and was punishable by death. Judges would often write one penny less than the amount of theft in their verdicts and sentence the person to exile to a colony or serve his sentence as a sailor.

The Dutch were the best at having fun. Their fields were planted with high-value tobacco and flax - flax was the main raw material for making canvas during the Age of Discovery - they could not afford to hire local people to harvest the crops when they were ripe, so they recruited foreign workers, usually poor Scots and Germans. After the harvest, they did not pay them but kidnapped them and sent them to work as sailors on the ship.

As for Spain, the laws were even more stringent. Ordinary people were often sentenced to serve on ships as sailors for breaking the law. Many people also became indentured slaves and served on ships due to debt.

These people were the "consumables" of the great voyages. They died in batches in exchange for the great geographical discoveries.

At this time, it was actually difficult for the Daliang Dynasty to recruit sailors.

The officers and soldiers of the navy are all hereditary soldiers. They originally operated mostly in the Yangtze River, which was not so dangerous. Now when they hear that they have to go out to sea, they are all as worried as if they have lost their parents. But they have no choice. They have to be sailors from generation to generation, which is very cruel.

After Hou Feihu refuted Shang Zhi, he sat back.

This was not the first time that he had a head-on confrontation with aristocratic officials. He was a little uncomfortable at first and could not beat them with words. Later, the emperor gave him some advice and he started to get the upper hand. Today, he used the Daliang Law to win back a game and felt very refreshed.

Thinking of this, he glanced at the prince out of the corner of his eye.

Shang Zhi's sister is Yu Liang's concubine, and she is also related to the prince, but he should never come to the Ministry of War to cause trouble. If he does not fight back at this time, he will be looked down upon by the officials of the Ministry of War.

Of course, he also knew that this matter probably had nothing to do with the prince, but people like Shang Zhi were too annoying and had to be taught a lesson, otherwise they would always cause trouble.

After the discussion, the Minister of Agriculture Hu Yun reported: "Your Majesty, the number of Xianbei and Wuhuan victims in Yanmen, Xinxing and Taiyuan counties has increased. I request to open the Yangchang granary to provide disaster relief."

Hu Yun's original name was Hu Xun. He was born into the Hu family of Anding. He served as Guanglu Dafu of Liu Han and Shaoqing of Sinong Temple of Daliang. Later, he was promoted to Sinong Qing. The former Sinong Qing Yin Xian was impeached and dismissed from his post because he continued to host a banquet after his aunt passed away. After his return, he served as the Governor of Yuzhou.

"Disaster relief can only be used for emergency purposes." Shao Xun paused and said, "We can collect them and send them to Yiyang to find a place for resettlement. This matter——"

Shao Xun looked at the Minister of Civil Affairs Pei Zhan again.

Pei Zhan stood up and said, "I obey your order."

"Where is General Zuo Shenwuwei?" Shao Xun asked again.

"I'm here." General Liu Bin of the Left Shenwu Guard stood up and said.

He was Shao Xun's cousin. In his early years, he followed Lu Wang Shao Fan and served as a law enforcement officer in charge of investigating traitors. Later, he joined the palace soldiers. After years of promotion, he became the general of the Left Shenwu Guard.

He has a son named Liu Feng, who was originally a Sima of the Zuo Yulin Guard and is now a general of the Longxiang Mansion in Weicheng, Puyang. "After the disaster victims moved south, the Zuo Shenwu Guard sent soldiers to guard them for several months, and there must be no mistakes," Shao Xun said.

"I obey your command." Liu Bin replied.

While the emperor and his ministers were discussing this, the Minister of the Chancellery Chu Huo, who was sitting below the crown prince, quietly showed his tablet, on which were written some words: "Yiyang is a vast land with few people" and "many Wushui barbarians".

The prince nodded slightly. The Shangshu Ling was telling him why the emperor made such arrangements.

"Your Majesty." The military supervisor Jin Zheng suddenly stepped out and said, "The heaven has sent disasters to the south of the desert. It is because of your majesty's virtue that the four seas have been blessed. Therefore, I use the will of heaven to drive the barbarians back to the king. I would like to follow the example of Emperor Guangwu who used the Xiongnu cavalry. First, grant them the title of 'suppressing the rebellion'. If they win, they will be given land and houses. If they lose, it will not harm the foundation of the country."

After saying this, he knelt on the ground and kowtowed, his tablet clanging: "Although my words are humble, they all come from my heart. I will obey your majesty's wise decision!"

Shao Xun did not agree immediately.

He actually considered this possibility, but he was unwilling to place the Xianbei victims in the north, so he chose Yiyang. However, the Xianbei people might not be willing to go to Yiyang, so this was not really a reward.

Furthermore, the fighting capacity of these disaster victims is actually very average. They are all old and weak people abandoned by various tribes. Letting them go into battle will only damage their morale. It would be better for them to engage in development.

So he waved his hand and said, "Back off."

Jin Zheng didn't waste any time and just stood up and left.

The prince couldn't help but look at Jin Zheng a few more times, and his impression of this man became more and more profound.

That inspection trip to Guanzhong really opened his eyes. For the first time in his life, he had a direct understanding of the four words "arrogant soldiers and brave generals".

He is timid in front of his father, but dares to intimidate himself. Alas.

"Your Majesty." Cheng Xia, the General of the Ministry of Finance, stood up and said, "The Qingzhou army will sail north to take Ma Shijin and conquer Pingzhou. It is imperative. I request that food and grass be transferred to Youzhou after the autumn harvest, but I am afraid it will be too late."

"Isn't it too late to send them after the autumn harvest?" Shao Xun asked, "We can start sending them out in mid-September."

"Yes." Cheng Xia responded and stepped back.

Chu Huo had wiped off the words on the tablet and wrote a few more lines: "The soldiers under the command of the various lieutenants of the Ministry of Revenue need to sow in autumn" and "The canals are frozen in winter."

Shao Jin nodded slightly again.

General Yangwu Murong Han felt sad when he heard this.

It seemed that the plan to attack Murong Xianbei was irreversible. The first batch of troops had even crossed the sea to the north to help Qiannian stabilize the situation.

Next year, we will launch a large-scale military campaign. Youzhou will attack Liaoxi, and then we will unite with Tuoba Xianbei and Yuwen Xianbei on the grassland - maybe they will even send envoys to contact Goguryeo. It will be really dangerous if we advance on several fronts like this.

Although Murong Han hated Murong Huang very much, he still couldn't help feeling a little sad at this moment. He just hoped that the war would not be too cruel and that he could preserve as much strength as possible.

"Your Majesty," said Prime Minister Wang Yan, who had been silent until then, "In the battle to recapture Pingzhou, a large number of troops will be dispatched, and we may need to increase the amount of money, grain, taxes and labor."

"This is inevitable." Shao Xun said as a matter of course: "The Prime Minister will handle this matter at his discretion. Don't let it be a big mistake."

"I understand." Wang Yan nodded and said.

This time, Chu Huo sat upright and did not give any hints.

Crown Prince Shao Jin glanced at him, pondered silently, and gained some understanding.

Afterwards, several more people came out to report on matters and the process did not end until noon. Today turned out to be a rare long court meeting.

After Tongshi Sheren announced the adjournment of the court, Shao Xun went directly to Lichun Terrace.

After lunch, I was a little surprised to hear that Yu Wenjun's mother, Guanqiu, died of illness in Yingchuan.

He went to Ganlu Palace first and comforted Yu Wenjun.

Yu Wenjun was in tears and wanted to go to the old house in Yanling. Shao Xun agreed and ordered the Palace Secretary Shao Xu to arrange people to escort the queen to Yingchuan.

At the same time, he thought of the Yu family.

It has been three years, Liangzi must have returned from Shuzhong.

The original intention of sending him to Chengdu was to let him stir things up. Liangzi understood his intention and did a very good job.

The land measurement started in June last year, and few people dared to oppose it openly, which might have been due to the previous disturbance.

At this point, it was meaningless for him to stay in Shu. When his mother died, a filial son would always go home to mourn, so he could hand over the post of governor of Yizhou.

In addition, Liu Ling went into Shu to suppress the rebellion, and his methods were quite ruthless, so much so that Fan Ben, the Du Shuijian who had been playing it safe before, could not help but give advice.

At this time, perhaps a relatively gentle governor should be sent to Sichuan to calm the situation.

Shao Xun thought of a candidate: Chen Jing.

Being transferred from Shangshu You Pushe to Yizhou Governor was considered a demotion, but everything happens for a reason. Chen Jing was not stupid and he should know it.

Thinking of this, Shao Xun personally took paper and pen, drafted an imperial edict, and sent it to the Menxia Province.

After doing all this, he opened Tian Mao's letter again and sent someone to summon Cai Cheng, the Supervisor of the Imperial Household, to come to the court.

(End of this chapter)