The court hall is definitely not the best place to solve practical problems. These are the words that flashed in Li Hong's mind when he coldly looked at the noisy situation in Xuanzheng Hall.
The five surnames and seven families have openly and covertly obstructed and supported the high officials and dignitaries. Now the court has become a swarm of chaos. The royal family members are involved in the confusion, and the great scholars stand on the commanding heights of morality and feel heartbroken.
What caused this situation was Li Hong's cold words: "All old money will be abolished from now on and cannot be used in any transaction."
Suddenly, it was like a bomb was dropped in the main hall of Xuanzheng Hall. Not only did the seven families of the five surnames and the royal clan, who had a lot of money in their hands, started to worry, but even the officials from the three provinces and six ministries who stabilized the court began to worry. In this case, no one can afford these losses, and the Ministry of Household Affairs will lose half a year's annual income.
After Li Hong coldly threw out a piece of data again, people who held a large amount of old money became silent. That is, if they did not exchange it in equal amounts and exchanged it with a price difference of 300 yuan, Datang would also lose half a year's income. And this is the focus of the dispute today!
After a moment of silence, everyone once again fell into quarrels and heated theories. This was not just Li Hong's business, but a dispute between some truly honest officials and those holding old money. .
Obviously, Li Hong's original goal was achieved. He knew that the court was definitely not a place to solve the problem, but it was definitely an excellent place to fan the flames. Only by intensifying and amplifying the problem could such a long-lasting game be solved as soon as possible. The end of it will also save Datang from losing some money.
When everyone was in a commotion, even Li Hong didn't notice that behind the screen where Li Zhi usually went to court, the current emperor and empress were already sitting.
Li Zhi's face looked as ugly as he wanted at the moment, and he would look at Wu Mei with a groan from time to time, as if to say, look, this is the result of your letting go. How can such a thing be solved openly?
Wu Mei imitated Li Hong's usual behavior and shrugged helplessly at Li Zhi, her face still looking relaxed, as if the noise in the court like a market place was not bad for her.
"Wang Lou, look what that little brat is doing? With the quarrel in the court like this, how can he still stand by and stay out of it?" Wu Mei didn't want to ask Li Hong now what his intentions were, but obviously this new money old man Money is just an inducement.
Wang Lou moved two steps to the side, and through the gauze curtain, he could only see Li Hong sitting there as if he was enjoying the chaos in the court. He would take a sip of tea from time to time, and then continue to look at the quarreling ministers, royal relatives, scholars, and aristocratic families. , or just occasionally flipping through the exam paper on the desk
"Back to Your Majesty, Queen, Your Highness was looking through something that looked like an examination paper on the desk, and vaguely saw that it seemed to be the imperial examination examination paper from Hongwen Hall last year." Wang Lou said respectfully.
Wu Mei had a look of understanding, smiled easily, looked at Li Zhi and said, "You see, the real drunkard's intention is not to drink. I'm afraid the Imperial College and Hongwen Hall are his real intentions."
"Then you said he would give up on the new money and the old money?" Li Zhi didn't care what happened to the Imperial College and the Hongwen Hall. He couldn't mess up the Chao Gang if he made a big fuss.
But if the court is messed up because of money, people are impetuous, divided and collapsed, and all classes become hostile, it will not be all beneficial to the stability of the country.
"Your Majesty, Queen, Bai Chun summoned His Royal Highness the Crown Prince at the entrance of Xuanzheng Palace." Wang Lou glanced at the situation outside like a telescope and reported hurriedly.
"Really? Go to the theater, watch the show, the show is coming soon." Wu Mei's excited expression did not make Li Zhi faint from anger. Is this still the queen who helped her handle the government affairs
Yang Wu whispered in Li Hong's ear, and Li Hong looked at the door of Xuanzheng Hall. Bai Chun waved to him secretly, and Li Hong stood up and wanted to go out.
Pei Yan and his subordinate Cen Changqian saw Li Hong getting up and hurriedly stepped forward to ask.
Li Hong smiled: "Go on, I'll be back soon. It's almost noon, and it's time to end."
Pei Yan and Cen Changqian looked at each other. Although His Highness the Crown Prince was smiling in front of them, they felt that His Highness was like a burning rage that had been suppressed and not released.
Li Hong stood at the door of Xuanzheng Hall, not hiding his figure, and he was also able to let everyone in Xuanzheng Hall see that he had not left.
Bai Chun handed a receipt in his hand to Li Hong and said: "This is from Princess Yiyang and Princess Gao'an. It contains more than 400,000 yuan of old money. All of it is given to the Royal Bank, not the East Palace. It has been signed and pledged." "
Li Hong took it and looked at it, then gave it back to Bai Chun again, indicating that he understood. The moment he turned his head, he saw Lin Shiling standing waiting for his call. His mind changed, and Li Hong called to him. beckoned.
When Lin Shiling approached, Li Hong looked up and down Lin Shiling, who was wearing a scholar's green shirt, and asked: "You have heard clearly enough about the affairs of the court. If it were you, how would you view it?"
Idle time is idle. Anyway, there is still noisy inside, so let them continue to noisy for a while. They will stop automatically when they get tired of noisy.
"Back to Your Highness, in my humble opinion, the crux of this exchange of old and new money is the huge amount. The imperial court cannot afford to pay so much money, and the wealthy and distinguished families holding the old money cannot afford such risks. , if they choose to exchange one for one, they will only be cheap for the people they originally acquired, which is the people of the world." Lin Shiling said with excitement in his eyes but calmly thinking about it.
"How to untie this knot?" Li Hong asked with a smile again, and at the same time he took a rough look at a piece of paper in Bai Chun's hand.
This piece of paper is not an important secret, but a solution to the problem of exchanging new money and old money after brainstorming by students from Chongwen Hall.
Lin Shiling's expression was uncertain. He obviously already had the answer, but he was considering whether if he gave such an answer, he would make His Royal Highness angry, or think that his plan was too dirty and despicable, and thus cut himself off. The only hope for an official career.
"Speak confidently. No matter what the plan is, I won't argue with it." Li Hong looked at Lin Shiling's hesitant expression and knew that he already had a plan.
"Yes, Your Highness. The common people believe that food, clothing, housing and transportation are the foundation of human life. Whether they are high-ranking officials or ordinary people, they cannot do without these necessities of life, such as firewood, rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar, tea and so on. I, the officials of the Tang Dynasty, The corn, cloth, etc. included in the honorary salary are of equal value, so why not use it again now?" After saying this, Lin Shiling stopped talking, and after looking at Li Hong's expression, he saw Still smiling.
So he had no choice but to continue: "Now that Chang'an has banned old money, prices have begun to fall. Not only will the court's main source of tax revenue be damaged, but the people and merchants will also suffer. In this way Come on, as long as those who hold old money continue to buy at low prices, within two months, my Datang’s annual income will have to go into it, and it won’t even be enough. By then, I’m afraid those powerful people who hold old money will be completely To gain the upper hand. The current plan is to stop all honorary salaries and exchange them for high-priced items, forcing the old money in their hands to continue to depreciate, and strictly control salt, sugar and other edible items. In this way, although the cloth can keep them warm, But if they can't make ends meet, then they will be eager to sell their old money in an attempt to buy things at low prices in the market. However, as long as the court promulgates registration details on the grounds of managing merchants, the common people and honest officials or those who hold new money will You can still enjoy benefits, but those who hold old money are more powerful in numbers, and their purchases will definitely not be small, so they need to report to the court. In this way, they can raise prices and make up for the low prices sold to the people. The difference in price will last for less than a month, and I am afraid that about 70% of the old money can be recovered. The first beneficiary will naturally be the court, followed by the common people and honest people. "
Li Hong smiled. Although this method is effective, it is too despicable, but it is still the simplest and most direct method. As the control proceeds, transactions will become increasingly frequent. Although large transactions will not occur, the tax on each transaction will The truth is that it will not change. Prices will be raised for large traders, taxes will be sufficient, and price differences will be removed for low-priced items. The beneficiaries will naturally be the common people and merchants.
Chongwenguan's plan is similar, but it is more upright. However, in the end, the court will be the party that loses the most, and those who hold the old money will become a one-for-one deal throughout the process until the end. After completing the replacement of old money and new money, the people have become the natural beneficiaries.
"How old are you this year?" Li Hong suddenly asked.
"Back to Your Highness, Xiaomin is twenty-seven years old this year."
"Have you ever been married?"
"My wife, children, and mother are all still in Taiyuan Mansion."
"You are now Zhan Shicheng, the crown prince of the East Palace. You are in the sixth rank. You are in charge of judging government affairs and knowing the civil and military officials." Li Hong patted his shoulder and said.
Lin Shiling was stunned on the spot, and even forgot to thank His Highness the Crown Prince. He was so open-mouthed that he still doubted whether he heard wrongly. Suddenly he became a sixth-rank East Palace official? !
The position of Prince Zhan Shi is equivalent to the position of Shangshu Ling of Shangshu Province. The function of this organization is to imitate Shangshu Province. Basically, after the prince inherits the throne, Prince Zhan Shi is the best candidate for the left and right servants of Shangshu Province. one.
As for the position of Prince Zhan Shicheng, it is the same as that of Zuo Cheng and You Cheng who are under the influence of servants. If nothing happens, as long as the prince inherits the throne, then as long as he does not make a huge mistake, Lin Shiling may become the general. He became the prime minister and became a powerful minister of the Tang Empire.
Li Hong ignored him and already had some concerns in his mind. He turned around and returned to the court. The quarrels at this time gradually stopped. After he walked back to his seat, the entire court became silent. , everyone is waiting for how they will decide.
(End of chapter)