On September 21st, the autumn tax revenue in various places was basically over, and there was already a basic feedback in the court. The emperor held a grand court meeting, and wanted to discuss the major financial expenditures for next year, so as to have a prototype.
After resting in Beijing for five days, Zhou Man and Bai Shan, who had recharged their batteries, changed into their official uniforms early in the morning. They went out together, and when they arrived at the side door, Daji prepared the carriage and horses.
Bai Shan looked at Zhou Man and asked, "Are you riding a car or a horse?"
Zhou Man said: "Let's ride a horse, it's boring to ride a car early in the morning."
Bai Shan led Chi Ji to her, and then went to pick up Robo Li. The two of them took the horse out, and Da Ji also led a horse to follow behind.
The three got on their horses and walked towards the imperial city.
There was no one on the street, so Bai Shan and Zhou Man rode together, and Daji followed behind. When they entered the main street of the imperial city, there were more carriages and horses on the street, and they were all on one side.
A military general overtook the two of them from behind, and when he passed, he turned his head and greeted Zhou Man with a loud voice, "Master Zhou, have you returned to Beijing?"
Glancing at Bai Shan, he said "yo" and said, "Lord Bai, come to court!"
Bai Shan always felt that their tone was not very kind, but why
In terms of friendship, he has also been on the battlefield and has made minor military achievements.
Before he could think about it, the general had already passed him and ran away, and neither of the husband and wife had time to say hello.
There was the sound of a carriage chasing from behind, Bai Shan and Zhou Man looked at each other, then kicked the horse's belly to speed up, and refused to let anyone overtake them.
Yang Heshu, who was chasing after him: …
When they reached the gate of the palace, Bai Shan and Zhou Man got off their horses, handed over the horses to the guards at the gate of the palace, took the wat from their waists, and entered the gate of the palace. .
When Yang Heshu got off the car, there was only one back of the couple left.
Now Yang and Shu were not in a hurry, they walked slowly into the palace as usual, and when they got to the gate of Tai Chi Hall, they saw Bai Shan and Zhou Man were surrounded by people.
Especially Zhou Man, many ministers expressed their thoughts to her, and asked her with concern if the journey would be smooth.
Yang Heshu stood with his arms folded and watched them. Zhou Man and Bai Shan noticed his gaze, smiled and greeted the colleagues around him, then walked towards Yang Heshu.
Yang Heshu is notoriously cold in court. Although he is good-looking and gentle, there are not many people who will come to his side.
So everything around him is empty.
Bai Shan and Zhou Man walked over, lowered their voices and asked curiously, "Brother Yang, did something happen in court?"
I haven't heard Mr. Zhuang mention it either.
Mr. Zhuang is old, and he is only a lecturer at the Chongwen Museum. If it is not necessary, he will not go to the court meeting.
This is also the emperor's preferential treatment for veterans. All the ministers who have reached the age of sixty in the court, who have no important positions and no important affairs, do not go to the court meeting.
But Mr. Zhuang didn't go to the court, he was in the court, and he still knew about the affairs of the court, and he didn't hear him mention it these days.
Yang Heshu said: "Two days ago, you made another note about asking for the repair of the river and the opening of the water transport?"
Bai Shan nodded blankly, "Yes, sir, the court has been discussing this matter, but it's been a long time since I decided to leave it. I thought I'd have to leave my leave to join the court, so I wanted to bring this up again."
"After your brochure was uploaded, Yi Ziyang connected with Feng Zongping and posted a brochure in response, suggesting that the Ministry of Industry be in charge of this matter, with the assistance of troops stationed in various places, and then recruit laborers to sort out the river, thinking that the river can be opened in three years .”
Zhou Man: "So determined? I'm afraid it's a lot of consumption, right?"
However, Bai Shan recalled the scene of being annoyed by the military general when he entered the palace in the morning. He said, "...the Ministry of War and the leading generals from various places want to take charge of this matter, but they can't beat the Ministry of Industry for the time being. Do you think I brought up this idea?"
"Not only the leading generals from various places, but also many generals who have been idle in the court are also interested in this errand. After all, they mainly use soldiers."
Bai Shan frowned, "But do they know how to dredge rivers and build dikes and dams?"
Yang Heshu smiled slightly and said, "There must be no Ministry of Industry who understands."
He said: "I just want to remind you, be careful when you go to court in the morning."
Bai Shan decided to wait and see what happened, and said nothing for the time being.
Dredging the river is still the main water network in the country. No one knows how much it will cost, where to start dredging, and maybe build piers along the road. My mind floated.
Of course, except for a few people, what most people see is the merits involved behind it.
Leaving aside, let’s talk about the Ministry of Industry. Han Shangshu is famous for his stability, and he can’t help being impetuous at this time. If the water transport can be opened and the rivers of the whole country can be connected together, then he, the Minister of the Ministry of Industry, can be regarded as famous forever.
So not only the DPRK and China are fighting, but the Ministry of Industry is also fighting for the person in charge.
There are also local officials who are proficient in water conservancy and geography to send letters to the court, and some people are recruiting talents to send to the court. For example, a certain person from the people, who is known as a virtuous man, is very insightful in water conservancy projects and has several books, asking the emperor to be a good order.
Bai Shan and Zhou Man basically lived a life separated from the court for fifty days. Although there was news, the news was like a leaking hole, and they could only blow it a little.
Right now they were standing on the court hall, the leaky hole was suddenly opened, and the whole cave was filled with wind, so the two of them were almost stunned by the rush of news, neither of them expected this It's such a big deal.
The emperor himself didn't expect that the hall was chaotic enough anyway, after one person finished speaking and another said, the emperor simply raised his hand to stop the crowd, and said: "The matter of the water transportation of the river will be postponed for the time being, let's talk about other things first. "
Only then did Liu Shangshu find a chance to speak, and Zhuozhuo stepped forward and bowed: "Your Majesty, the autumn harvest has ended in many places, and winter wheat is being planted in many places. This year, the areas around Guizhou and Liuzhou in the south, and Bingzhou and Daizhou in the north are more severe droughts. In addition, the harvests in other places are not bad.”
The emperor asked: "Didn't the sea breeze land in Taizhou in June and July?"
"Yes, but there is enough food in Yuezhou and Hangzhou, and there is no need for further assistance from the capital. This year, the Jiangnan area has a bumper harvest. The price of rice has dropped to seven cents a bucket, and the price of grain has dropped to five cents a bucket. "
The emperor asked: "Put the canal on one side in advance, and then order all the states and counties to build granaries, purchase grain to fill the granaries, and stabilize prices."
This decree had already been issued more than a month ago when Bai Shan's booklet returned to the capital, but it obviously had little effect. Except for a few places that worked hard to implement this regulation, most areas did not do much to stabilize prices. Well, now the price of food in some places has dropped just like the steps they went down to the Tai Chi Hall.
The emperor pondered for a moment and then said: "Yang and Shu."
Yang Heshu beside Zhou Man got up and came out, bowed and said: "The minister is here."