In spring, the Dongjing Imperial Palace is a comfortable place. The climate in the Central Plains is humid and mild at this time, without the bad weather of Pingxia and Hexi. The ground of the palace is made of a lot of stone bricks, and most of the houses are made of wood. In spring and summer, plants are lush, and there is little dust because there are many people cleaning frequently. When Guo Shao came to Jinxiang Hall every morning, he could always feel the fresh air.
He got off the imperial carriage and entered the building complex from behind the Jinxiang Hall. The rear of the building complex was complex, with winding corridors like a maze.
When they arrived at the back of the Council Hall in the East Palace, the eunuchs and palace maids standing on both sides bowed together. The eunuch on duty, Yang Shiliang, walked up with a whisk in his hand, bent down and said: "Your Majesty, all the ministers have arrived at the Council Hall."
Guo Shao nodded. Jingniang also came over from the front and clasped her fists and said: Your Majesty, the Military Department's Shangjing Branch reported urgently last night that the Liao Kingdom hired a merchant ship and sent envoys to Japan.
Guo Shao immediately said: "Xiao Siwen's spies have a wide range of tentacles. They sent people to Japan, and they must have heard about the movements of the Daxu court. You should send a message to the Imperial City Department to pay attention to the secret investigation of the spies in Tokyo."
Yes, Jingniang said.
Guo Shao then went straight into the council hall, and saw a dozen people already talking inside. When they saw the emperor come in, they all performed the etiquette of monarch and subject.
We are not in the main hall, so there is no need to be too formal. You all should sit down and talk. Guo Shao said kindly.
Everyone bowed and said: Thank you, Your Majesty, for allowing me to sit down.
There was a brief silence in the hall, and everyone was in tacit agreement. During this period of time, they were in a wait-and-see attitude. The ministers first had to wait and see whether the emperor would speak before discussing the matter.
Guo Shao looked around. There were fifteen ministers here today, including nine civil officials, six generals of the Duke level, and the most powerful ministers of more than 400 states in Daxu. The politics of the dynasty, on the outside, was grand and bright, but in reality it was very opaque, and the key things were all done in the back; just like the layout of the Jinxiang Palace, the front was grand and simple, and the back hall was like a maze.
Guo Shao was wearing an old purple robe today, dressed simply and ordinary, but he was still in high spirits as he sat on the throne.
He maintained his usual style of speech and action, with a sharp expression, clear words and a fast pace. He said simply: I have something to tell you today. The royal family and merchants from all over the country will establish a maritime trade bank. The initial original stock value is about 10 million guan. The heads of the Privy Council, the Cabinet, and each of them will hold 1% of the shares and share the profits.
When this was suddenly said, there was no reaction in the hall. I guess everyone hasn't come back to their senses yet.
Guo Shao also paused for a while, waiting quietly, waiting for them to understand what the concept was. The merchants first invested 3 million guan as military expenses for the maritime advance. These capitals only accounted for more than 30% of the shares, so the total original capital of the maritime trade bank was about 10 million guan. Each official accounted for 1%, which was a dividend of 100,000 guan of capital.
How much is 100,000 guan? In terms of purchasing power for basic supplies such as food, it is equivalent to more than 100 million yuan in later generations; and this conversion is very conservative, because the food production capacity of later generations is much stronger than it is now, and the total amount of wealth in modern society is not on the same order of magnitude as that in ancient times.
In addition, 100,000 guan is only the original share. After the sea trade bank expands in scale, the proportion remains unchanged, and the total capital will increase.
Guo Shao believed that everyone understood that people always cared about their own interests.
As expected, Wang Pu was the first to stand up and bow, saying: Your Majesty has been very kind to me. How can I dare to ask for such a great favor
Everyone immediately agreed, pretending to refuse, saying that we are loyal to the emperor and we have a salary, so we dare not accept such a great favor.
Guo Shao knew that this was just a courtesy, not a real refusal, just like he had declined three times when he ascended the throne.
Guo Shao was not so rich that he had nowhere to spend it. He had carefully considered the reward and thought it was a necessary step. He felt that sharing was a very important foundation of an organization. If civil servants at this level could not share the benefits of expansion, they would definitely not support the current national policy. The national policy of war could not rely solely on the army. War preparations, military supplies, and conscription required the coordination of various government offices.
Later, Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty used the failed concept of governing the country to implement the impossibility of some things. He paid low salaries to officials, skinned and stuffed straw to severely punish corruption, but the bureaucrats and gentry of the Ming Dynasty obviously found ways to get more benefits.
Guo Shao needs to share with them to ensure the progress of the overall situation. The generals of the imperial guards have already received generous rewards from the royal family, and it is time for the ministers who have the decision-making power to control all officials to participate in the sharing of the pie.
Guo Shao certainly did not talk about his true thoughts, and immediately said seriously: You can no longer refuse. You gentlemen present here have worked hard for me and the Great Xu Dynasty. How can I treat you badly
After hearing this, the ministers burst into tears of gratitude, and even Prime Minister Fan Zhi knelt on the ground, thanking him profusely, and was very moved. After all, Guo Shao did not just praise him verbally, but also took real and sincere actions.
Wei Renpu said loudly: The emperor treats us so well, how dare we not be loyal
Li Gu said generously: Your Majesty is wise, and I am loyal to you and willing to die for you. I am willing to sacrifice my life for you.
Guo Shao sat there, smiling from ear to ear, looking very pleased with everyone's loyalty. However, he was not yet overwhelmed by the flattery, and immediately said: "But I still have something to discuss with you gentlemen."
Your Majesty, please give your order. Your Majesty is the most respected
Guo Shao nodded and said: Okay, I think that excessive land annexation is the biggest problem in all dynasties, and you are the officials in charge, and you should be the role model for the world. From now on, we, the monarch and my subjects, will make three rules. The total amount of land occupied by each family and relatives within three generations shall not exceed 300 hectares. You can rest assured that I will never treat you unfairly.
Suddenly no one was in a hurry to express their opinions, and everyone looked sideways at the attitudes of others.
Shi Yanchao said with a smile: "You civil officials, just obey us and we will give you titles and generous salaries, and you will also happily hand over your military power."
Everyone was stunned after hearing this. Soon Wang Pu took the lead in expressing his willingness to obey the order, and everyone followed suit.
Guo Shao laughed loudly, his smile seemed to be a play: Very good, very good, my subordinates are all loyal ministers, so if there is anything, we can discuss it with the emperor and his ministers in the court. I don't want my ministers to deceive their superiors and treat the emperor as an enemy.
The nine people knelt on the ground one after another, saying, "As a minister, if we are unfaithful and unfilial, heaven and earth will not tolerate it. We thank your majesty for his grace."
They knelt down, but their tone of voice was confident and righteous, without any sense of servility.
Guo Shao still had a smile on his face, but it was a little stiff. Fortunately, the throne was high, so it was not easy for others to notice what kind of smile he had. However, he felt that some things were indeed very subtle. The ancients generally did not kneel to others, thinking it was a shame; but when they kneeled to the monarch and parents, they did not think it was mean at all, but justified. Loyalty and filial piety were really deeply rooted in people's hearts.
These things play a great role in maintaining order in the country. So even though Guo Shao feels that the system is very backward, he dare not easily shake the foundation. Once human beings lose order and reason, it is very terrible.
The smile on Guo Shao's face gradually faded, and then he said: Let's begin today's meeting.
Everyone was silent after hearing this. It seemed that such a big thing was discussed in a casual manner, and the discussion had not yet begun.
Guo Shao went straight to the point and said: I have learned two things from you all. The military expenditure does not exceed three million strings of cash at most; Japan is very likely to have colluded with the Liao Kingdom and knows the intentions and motives of our dynasty.
He paused for a moment, then spoke quickly and clearly: In this case, our country's strategy cannot be to destroy other countries or wage war from the very beginning.
The military budget was insufficient; and even if the Japanese capital was captured, they would not be able to control all the places for a while. In addition, the battle of Xiazhou lured the enemy soldiers to gather most of their young and strong men to destroy their resistance potential in one battle, but it might be difficult to repeat the same trick this time. If they were too aggressive, they might fall into a long-term and scattered war in Japan.
I have set the following goals for now: First, to establish a foothold on the coast of Japan and to possess ports and fortresses. Second, to control the Sanin Iwami Silver Mine. Third, to negotiate peace and trade. Fourth, to educate the people, to take advantage of the situation, to promote Buddhism and gradually eliminate Shintoism.
He attached particular importance to the last one. The difference between Japan and the Pingxia Dangxiang was that they came up with some ideological things that were incompatible with the theory of the Kingly Way of the Central Plains. Cultural beliefs were the most tenacious things of an ethnic group. The Shinto of Japan and the Kingly Way of the Central Plains seemed to be true but not true, which was the most disadvantageous to the Daxu Dynasty; just like in religion, heresy was more harmful than pagans. Heresy was the same religion, but with different interpretations of doctrine.
As soon as Guo Shao finished speaking, Wang Pu rushed forward, somewhat disregarding his manners, and said hurriedly: "I volunteer to take charge of all affairs of the front camp military office to share your Majesty's worries."
Guo Shao was a little surprised when he saw this. He thought to himself that Wang Pu seemed to be afraid that Wei Renpu would be overshadowed by his achievements. Wang Pu always believed that Wei Renpu was in a higher position. At this time, it was important to respect the superiors and subordinates. If the former superior wanted to be inferior to his subordinates, it would be a very embarrassing thing.
As requested by the Royal Envoy. Guo Shaodao.
Shi Yanchao also said impatiently: I will be the vanguard.
At this time Guo Shao said: There is no rush to use troops to start a war.
In any case, Guo Shao's style was already very impatient. In this era, it was usually very slow to accomplish a major event. For example, the Japanese Prime Minister agreed to pay tribute, and the deadline might be twenty or even fifty years. Or a domestic reform might take ten or twenty years.
But Guo Shao's personality is different. He is used to being resolute and decisive. He does things immediately when he thinks of them. Such actions may sometimes appear radical and cause some side effects. For example, the reform of the imperial army system immediately caused a serious shortage of money. However, many times, the benefits outweigh the disadvantages. Some things are just a matter of efficiency. Everyone says that Japan has a long way to go, but in reality, the distance is only a few days' journey by ship.