Seeing Cai Jing's correct answer, Zhao Ji was immediately overjoyed and asked hurriedly: "Oh, what's the master's idea?" But he looked expectant. In fact, not only him, but also all the officials in the palace all turned their attention to Grand Master Cai to see what kind of countermeasure he could come up with that would best both sides.
Cai Jing said leisurely: "What your Majesty is worried about is that the money and food in the north have been wiped out so much that the national treasury is gradually empty and unsustainable. I have recently felt that there is something wrong with this matter, so after thinking for a long time I came up with a way to save the money in a short time. Filling the treasury will not only ensure that the soldiers in the south of the Yangtze River are rewarded, but even if there is another famine this year, the court will be able to deal with it without delaying major events in the north."
After a pause, his eyes swept over the waiting colleagues and subordinates at the side and behind, and then said: "That is to enact the law of atonement, allowing civilian criminals to atone for their sins with money, food, cloth, and silk, regardless of the severity of their crimes. Now, Those in prison in the world can also implement it together. In this way, within three or two months, the national treasury will naturally be sufficient!"
As soon as this statement came out, there was an uproar in the palace, especially the upright officials. They all frowned and shook their heads, talking about it one after another: "How can this be done? If this is true, where is the law? Wouldn't the world be in chaos? "
"Yes, this is a strategy that will lead to endless disasters and can never be followed accurately!"...
Those who said these words were all people with low status and not very well-informed. Some officials at the Yushitai frowned and felt helpless. They really didn't expect that Cai Jing would choose this time to bring up old matters again. This timing was really masterfully grasped.
It turns out that Cai Jing and others had intended to implement this atonement method in the court a few years ago. Of course, they were not really concerned about the matter for the sake of the national treasury. In the final analysis, they were motivated by selfish motives. Because as long as this law is implemented, the relevant government officials will surely receive a lot of benefits, not to mention what senior officials like Cai Jing can receive. Moreover, in this way, whether it is local officials or judicial officials in the DPRK and China, the power in their hands can really be used to directly cash in money and food. If a criminal who has committed an offense wants to atone for his crime, he must first please the relevant officials, right? Moreover, the amount of money and food for atonement is also determined by the officials. In order to pay less money and food, the criminals naturally have to pay a sum of money to bribe the officials first. In this way, the officials' income will be more...
The disadvantages of such a law are too great, and there are many sensible people in the court. Therefore, when Cai Jing asked people to tentatively propose it, they encountered collective opposition from countless officials, and finally dropped the issue. Unexpectedly, Cai Jing did not give up this idea, but brought it up again today, and he just used it to relieve the officials' worries! Suddenly, many people had a bad idea. I am afraid that the emperor will really be convinced this time!
Sure enough, before other officials came out to object, Zhao Ji had already smiled and nodded: "Cai Qing is worthy of being the pillar of our Song Dynasty. As expected, he is experienced in planning for the country. This method can not only solve the current siege, but also increase the income of the imperial court. Accurate. Got it!"
"Your Majesty is wise. After I came to court, I asked the Zhengshitang to draw up relevant laws and regulations and issue them to the world." When Cai Jing saw someone who seemed to want to stand up and say something, he immediately praised it loudly and at the same time finalized the matter. In this way, even if there are opponents, they will not dare to refute the emperor and himself as the prime minister, otherwise losing his official position will be a light matter.
He firmly believes that as long as this order continues to be promulgated, his income will more than double in just one year. After all, several of the chief officials of the Ministry of Punishment and Dali Temple are now his disciples, Grand Master Cai. besides
, some of the family members of the criminals who begged him before can be released from prison safely as long as they prepare some money and food, which will also be of great benefit to his influence between the government and the public. As for the various ills caused by this law, which will lead to chaos in the world, make people's lives more difficult, and make unscrupulous people more unscrupulous, Taishi Cai, who is at the top of the temple, will not care.
At this moment, many ministers didn't know what to say. Some people don't have the courage, and some people can't react in a short time, so they can only stand there with a sad look on their face. However, Gao Qiu and others, who were still a little annoyed at first, looked happy at this time, and also praised the emperor's sage for Cai Taishi's clever plan.
At this time, Gao Qiu had another idea in his mind, and stepped forward and said: "Your Majesty, I thought that even if we implement this atonement method, we can raise enough money and food to reward the Jiangnan soldiers within a few months, but after all, it will take a while. From time to time, I am afraid that the soldiers at the front will still be dissatisfied. So why not grant them more benefits first?"
"How do you say this?" Zhao Ji was in a good mood and asked with a smile.
"I thought that I could give the Jiangnan generals some advantageous power, allowing them to seize the property of the rebels and use it for military purposes. This would benefit the generals, punish the rebels, and serve as a warning to those who would come after me." It can also save the court a lot of money..." Gao Qiu immediately gave his advice.
The emperor nodded again and again: "What Gao Qing said makes sense, so just follow it."
Cai Jing had already stepped back. After hearing this, he looked at Gao Qiu with a half-smile. Others may not be able to see the problem immediately, but he can immediately see the evil intention hidden in it. He wants to ruin the reputation of Sun Tu and the Shandong Army. If Sun Tu really does this, the situation in Jiangnan will only become more chaotic. Once the soldiers really let go of looting, they may not be able to stop it.
Moreover, it doesn't matter even if Sun Tu refuses to accept this method, Gao Qiu has nothing to lose anyway. And as long as he is willing, he can spread relevant information among the army, which will greatly reduce Sun Tu's prestige in the hearts of the soldiers. It can be regarded as a business with no capital and huge profit, and it is a very insidious business.
It wasn't until Zhao Ji agreed to this that Gao Qiu felt much better. To be honest, Sun Tu's success again this time is not what he wants to see. If things go on like this, if he is really allowed to quell the chaos in Jiangnan, no matter how difficult this person is to deal with, he will definitely become a big trouble. And he and I have already become enemies. Who knows what the result will be.
In fact, even Zhao Ji had some complicated feelings about this. Although Sun Tu defeated the rebels and captured Huzhou, which made him very happy, it also proved how big a mistake he made in reusing Zhu Meng before. When this guy was there, he not only caused chaos in the south of the Yangtze River through excessive conquests, but he was also incompetent to the extreme. He was beaten back and forth by the rebels, and they all went to Jinling.
As a result, Sun Tugang killed him and in just a few months, he accomplished what he had not been able to do for two years. Comparing the two sides, it seems that he really trusted Zhao Ji and hired the wrong person before. Where does this put his face and his prestige
It was with such complicated emotions that Zhao Ji quickly settled the matter without further entanglement. Then he ordered to withdraw from the court and wait for everything to be implemented.
It was not until after they withdrew from the palace that the ministers who truly served the country began to gather together in twos and threes to discuss how to politely resist the emperor's chaos.
If it were left for more than ten years
In the past, when encountering such a thing, the courtiers dared to directly refute the emperor's will. After all, officials in the Song Dynasty had long developed a good tradition of confronting the emperor directly for hundreds of years, let alone this kind of problem. If the order is violated, even if it is an order that is good for the world, or even the emperor's family affairs, the ministers will intervene and oppose it. The emperors of the Zhao family have no temper at all.
But now it is very different from before. Although the imperial power is not too arrogant, Cai Jing, the grand master and prime minister, has extremely powerful power, and he is also the best at being gentle and submissive to his master. When the imperial power and the prime minister's power are completely integrated, the courtiers are no longer opponents.
Because in the past, although the emperor would be demoted if he offended the emperor, his reputation would greatly increase, and it would not be long before he could be recalled to the court for re-employment. But now, with Cai Jing taking over, the situation is completely different. Once they are really demoted and leave the capital, these officials will never come back alive. Master Cai had various means to defeat and criticize officials during his tenure. In the end, he was ruined and was considered lucky even if he didn't die.
Because of this, treacherous ministers are now in power in the Great Song Dynasty, and the right path is not clear. Even those who care about the people and the country can only suffer and endure, but they can't really do anything for the country. On the other hand, there are treacherous jesters like Gao Qiu and Liang Shicheng. They all have prominent positions and great power, and they can make a promise at the same time.
Since it was clear that opposition would only lead to death, these officials had no choice but to find other ways. For these civil servants, the most direct and effective way is to question Sun Tu's military exploits in Jiangnan, in order to achieve the effect of draining the bottom of the cauldron - as long as the court no longer needs to reward Jiangnan soldiers and horses, then this method of atonement does not need to be implemented. Yet
After understanding this, many ministers made a fuss about Sun Tu's battle at Huzhou. They believed that there were still some unclear aspects of this great victory. The imperial court was afraid that such a heavy reward might be an excessive reward; or they thought that the number of defeated enemies was too great. If there is a false report, officials must be sent south to inquire to be sure... Anyway, it is all kinds of suspicions, just to deny the credit of Sun Tu and the Shandong Army. Anyway, the civil servants in the DPRK always have a sense of superiority when facing military generals, let alone their achievements, so naturally they talk nonsense at this time without any worries at all.
Seeing this, Gao Qiu also took advantage of the trend and started to add fuel to the flames, planning to characterize Sun Tu as an occasional small victory, but it is hard to say that he has achieved great success.
Just when Chao Feng was moving towards this direction, another good news came from Jiangnan, which instantly silenced all the officials in the court - outside Suzhou City, the Song Dynasty officers and soldiers surrounded and annihilated more than 10,000 rebel divisions, almost annihilating all the enemy troops. Another big victory!
In just five or six days, Jiangnan had achieved great victories in a row. This was so exciting that even the people in Tokyo cheered. Now it was impossible for the imperial court to spare any rewards. And the law of redemption was successfully implemented under these circumstances...
By this time, many people's attention had shifted from this decree to the overall situation in Jiangnan. The continuous great victories made the monarchs, ministers and people rejoice, and they felt that the day was not far away when the rebellion in Jiangnan was quelled. Zhu Meng Zhao Ji had already forgotten about him. If anyone asked him about Zhu Meng again, he would only say, "Have a good death!"
&&&&&
Although Labor Day is a legal holiday, of course a hard-working author like me will not interrupt updates. . . . . Therefore, I also ask all book friends to be diligent and vote a few times. Both monthly votes and recommendation votes are acceptable. . . . After all, today is the beginning of the month, which is a good time to cast your monthly vote. . . . .