As the Daxu Dynasty became increasingly peaceful, Guo Shao changed the rules. He held court for 15 days and held meetings for three days. He would meet with the civil and military ministers of the court in the East Hall once every three days, and named the place where he met with the ministers the Council of State Hall.
The sun rises early in the summer, and when people arrive at Jinxiang Hall early in the morning, it is already bright.
Today, Guo Shao came in a little differently, as he brought two four-year-old children with him. Last time Jinzhan mentioned the issue of establishing a crown prince, Guo Shao began to take this issue seriously. If the future heir knew nothing, wouldn't his kingdom be in vain after decades
Guo Shao planned to teach the children himself, but he found that he didn't know how to teach children, so he thought about finding a teacher for them first.
When more than twenty ministers saw the two children, they all looked at them curiously.
Guo Shao held a child in each hand, walked to the upper seat, sat down on the chair, and asked the two children to sit next to him. The chair was a bit high, but the second sister's son Guo Hong was smart and active, so he jumped up and sat there, moving around. Guo Zhang was much more reserved, slowly climbed up the chair, sat there, and put his two little hands on his knees.
We pay our respects to your Majesty and His Royal Highness. Everyone bows and performs the ceremony.
Stand up. Guo Shaodao.
Unexpectedly, Guo Hong said in a serious tone: You are all elders, please sit down.
The people below immediately laughed: "Thank you, Your Majesty, Your Highness the Second Prince." Guo Shao turned around and said: "Hong'er, sit still and don't say a word, just watch and listen."
Guo Hong said innocently: My aunt taught me. Then he winked at Guo Zhang who was next to Guo Shao. The two brothers were of similar age and often played together.
At this time, Lu Duoxun, the Minister of Rites, said: "Yesterday, the Khitan envoy came to Beijing and I met him first. The Khitans came for Xiao Chuo, the daughter of Xiao Siwen, the prime minister of Liao, and wanted to redeem Xiao Chuo."
Wang Pu immediately said: This matter has great potential. According to the news reported by the Military Department's Shangjing Branch, the Liao ruler Yelu Xian and Xiao Chuo were childhood sweethearts and had a close relationship; now that the Liao Kingdom and Daxu are enemies, Xiao Siwen can send an envoy to discuss, it must be with Yelu Xian's instructions, otherwise he will not be attacked.
Wei Renpu said: "The Tanguts in Xiazhou are refusing to obey the imperial court's orders and are threatening to surrender to the Liao Kingdom. Since the Liao Kingdom leader is willing to exchange, it is better to refuse to help Xiazhou as a condition."
Guo Shao did not comment and said: We can discuss with the Khitans and allow them to set up a Liao post station in Tokyo so that we can discuss this matter later.
Lu Dosun bowed and said: I obey your order.
At this time, Guo Shao looked sideways at the eunuch Cao Tai. Cao Tai then sent the two memorials down to the ministers for viewing. The officials in the Political Affairs Hall had seen the memorials, but the military generals usually could not see them, and could only see them now.
Guo Shaodao: These two memorials, one is a memorial by Li Gu, the Minister of Finance, on money shortage, and the other is a memorial by a scholar of the Hanlin Academy on avoiding extravagance. You can all comment on them today.
Some of the ministers below had already read it, but no one was in a hurry to say anything. Although it was called a comment, any speech in the Jinxiang Hall would be regarded as an opinion, so people were more cautious.
The opinions of the Hanlin Academy scholars were, first, to encourage agriculture over commerce, to reduce taxes and levies, and to advocate a simple and frugal lifestyle; second, to streamline the military and government, especially to reduce the number of troops, and to cut down on the military pay and rewards of the imperial guards, because the current military consumed a large amount of the fiscal budget. The purpose of these proposals was to allow the people to rest and recuperate.
He believed that money and treasures could not fill the stomachs of the people when they were hungry or keep them warm when they were cold, and would only lead to extravagance and aggravate exploitation and debauchery. Only farming and weaving, and filling the granaries, could make the country strong and the people rich.
This statement makes sense at first glance and is quite in line with traditional ideas. Guo Shao also feels that gold, silver and copper coins are indeed not worth eating.
However, Li Gu, who actually presided over the Ministry of Revenue and the transportation of military supplies, advocated the opposite view. Li Gu wrote to the emperor to increase the minting of copper coins not for the purpose of revenue for the treasury, because minting coins was a loss-making business. His reason was that from the court to the local areas, there was a shortage of money everywhere, which had greatly affected normal income and expenditure and transactions.
Money shortages have been common since the end of the Tang Dynasty, and all countries have faced this problem. Back then, the Kingdom of Shu had no money to reward its imperial guards, so it had to use iron to cast iron coins.
Li Gu's remarks were based on his experience in organizing the transportation of military supplies for several major wars. In addition to military rations, other military supplies required cash to pay for, otherwise it would be difficult to requisition them locally or let merchants transport them. During the Tang Dynasty, there was a method of using salt merchants to transport military rations, but this method had already been ruined; unless forced levy and robbery were used, but such a method was also inconvenient. First, it would easily cause resistance, and second, it would waste most of the money and property. The people would also hide the supplies urgently needed by the government troops.
The two taxes of the imperial court, summer and autumn land tax and commercial tax, were mainly in kind, because farmers and merchants were short of cash; these kinds of goods were bulky, so they were usually stored in local government vaults. When spending money, in addition to meeting the needs of the government, it was also transported and transferred by the Ministry of Revenue.
The imperial court collected a lot of taxes, but it was impossible to mobilize them from all over the country to send them to the front line for expenses, as there were too many and too heavy things. If there was cash, it would be different, as we could buy supplies from the people nearby.
The biggest cash drain is on the army's pay and rewards. You can't just collect a pile of firewood from a timber merchant and then reward the soldiers with a roomful of wood.
Finally someone took the lead in expressing his opinion
The first to stand up were all the generals of the Imperial Guards, who unanimously opposed the stupid words of the Hanlin Academy scholars. It was simple, they actually wanted to cut military spending.
Even Shi Yanchao couldn't help but yell: Brothers, we just came down from the battlefield, and the civil officials are plotting against us from behind!
A civil official said: The purpose of raising troops is to protect the land and the people. The generals and soldiers do not cultivate the land, and most of the national treasury is consumed in it. It is overwhelmed. How can we live with the people
Li Chuyun did not break away from the generals' standpoint. He stroked his beard and said, "Soldiers are not tenants. If they are good at farming, how can they be good at fighting? Soldiers should not wear rags like beggars and eat coarse food."
The Duke of Kaiguo said this against his conscience. The salary and reward of a commander is more than that of a governor. If the soldiers are asked to eat coarse food, then we will have to beg for food.
Guo Shao said nothing, but just sat there and let the ministers argue. He would wait until the end to see the situation before expressing his opinion, because his words were the imperial edict. Guo Hong and Guo Zhang turned their heads from time to time and looked at their father with curious eyes. Guo Shao did not teach them. He thought that these styles were taught by words and deeds. If he did it himself, the children would learn it over time.
Zuo You stood up and bowed, saying, "I support Li Xianggong's proposal. Lack of money is not good for the country or the people. Those who have food may lack clothes; those who have food and clothes may not exchange clothes with those who have food if they have nothing to ask for, but they can sell the surplus for money."
When there is a lack of money in the world, everything cannot be exchanged. If the granaries are full, there will be no need to farm. It is like a blocked meridian.
Just then, Guo Shao said: Deflation.
Everyone was puzzled, but they could vaguely guess what the word meant because they could relate it to the context.
Guo Shao doesn't know much about economics, but his insights are definitely different from those of the ancients. He knows some common sense anyway. Deflation is definitely not conducive to economic development, no matter what society it is in.
It is a very simple idea. As Zuo You said, in a self-sufficient state, there is little demand, and once it is met, there is no motivation to continue production. This is also true. Most people have nothing to do during the slack season except for corvée labor, or do some extremely inefficient chores; even gossips with the ladies to kill time. This is a waste of labor and productivity.
If the reward for work is money, and the world produces enough material temptations, it will increase the enthusiasm for work. In order to obtain money and to be able to easily exchange it for money, people will also produce and obtain things that the world needs, such as food in times of famine.
Ancient China was in a state of deflation for a long time, and every dynasty was short of currency. Firstly, heavy metals were scarce, and secondly, minting copper coins was a loss-making business. It was just a good policy for the court to govern the country, just like building water conservancy projects.
Guo Shao immediately expressed his opinion and said: I approve what Prime Minister Li said, and the Ministry of Revenue can decide on the issue of coin minting.
At this time, Li Chuyun pondered and said: Your Majesty, if you can obtain a silver mountain, mine it, extract silver and mint silver coins, it will be a profitable way.
Everyone fell silent, and suddenly they realized that Li Chuyun's previous famine theory was being brought up again. He didn't seem to be talking nonsense at the time, and now for the sake of the silver mountain, he brought up the topic of expanding territory. As expected, all high-ranking officials would not speak nonsense, and it was not as absurd as it sounded at first.
Guo Shao did not comment, because this matter involved a wider range of issues. He did not comment on whether the civil officials or the military generals were poorer. There was no truth in this matter, and each family was just doing it for their own interests.
Guo Shao pondered for a moment and said: The two princes and princess have reached the age of elementary school, and I want to choose a teacher for them.
This topic has once again attracted everyone's attention. One of the two princes should be the crown prince, and being the crown prince's teacher is not that simple.
Guo Shao looked at Zuo You and said: "Minister Zuo, please teach my three children to read and write."
Zuo You hurriedly said: “Your Majesty has entrusted me with such a heavy responsibility that I am willing to devote my life to the task.”
The atmosphere in the palace was a bit cold, because Zuo You was not a great scholar. If we don't consider his official position, he had no status in the scholar circle. He was born in a wild way and had no achievements. He was a minor official at first, and then a staff member. What knowledge did such a person have to teach the prince
However, Zuo You was Guo Shao's trusted adviser, and everyone guessed that this was just a favor given to Zuo You.
Guo Shao said again: Dong Zunhui, you teach the two princes archery, horse riding and shooting, and let Zhou Tong assist them.
Dong Zunhui stood up and bowed, saying: I obey your order.
Dong Zunhui was born into a legitimate military family. He was very well versed in martial arts and military etiquette, and Guo Shao trusted him very much. Zhou Tong was also a very interesting warrior. It was he who taught Guo Shao archery.
As for Zuo You, Guo Shao felt that he was good enough at teaching elementary education, and his writing was better than Guo Shao's anyway. Guo Shao also felt that if one studied too deeply the thoughts of sages and regarded them as beliefs, it would be detrimental to one's job as an emperor; Zuo You was just right as a half-baked person, and the important thing was that Zuo You's ideas were not pedantic.