69novels Chapter 160
Chapter 160
Chapter 160
"What you say, sir, is very wise!"
Upon hearing this, the Prince of Yong was delighted. Fu Bi's method allowed him to send more troops to the border without giving anyone a handle to use against him.
"Then who would be best to lead the troops?"
"The Duke of England is mature and prudent; he should lead the troops."
"That's not appropriate. Precisely because the Duke of Ying is mature and prudent, he should remain in Bianjing at this crucial moment. I believe that General Gan is the most suitable."
"General Gan is getting old after all, and the north is bitterly cold; he can't withstand such hardship."
The group argued endlessly about sending troops, but in the end, Han Zhang proposed that Marquis Zhongjing lead the troops.
After a moment's thought, the Prince of Yong agreed. The next question was how many troops to send.
The three officials stepped forward and said, "Your Highness, the number of troops deployed this time should not exceed 50,000, otherwise the national treasury will not be able to support it."
"What?"
The Prince of Yong exclaimed in surprise, "With more than 50,000 troops deployed, the national treasury is already empty?"
Don't be fooled by the fact that he and the Prince of Yan are candidates for crown prince and can participate in court affairs.
However, the Privy Council and the Three Departments report directly to the Emperor, and they are not places that the Privy Council can interfere with.
Although disputes over money often occurred in the imperial court, he had no idea that the court was so poor.
He was still thinking about enjoying himself after ascending the throne, but good heavens, before he even took the throne, he was told that the national treasury was empty.
"Your Majesty, the summer taxes have not yet been collected, and the national treasury is truly empty," the third and fourth envoys said.
The Song Dynasty implemented the Two-Tax System, a new tax system proposed by Chancellor Yang Yan in the first year of the Jianzhong era of Emperor Dezong of Tang. It changed the previous system of collecting taxes primarily in kind, such as grain and cloth, to one primarily collecting taxes in cash, with taxes levied twice a year.
This new tax law, which unified various taxes and mainly consisted of the existing local tax and household tax, was called the "Two-Tax Law" because it was collected in two seasons, summer and autumn.
The Two-Tax System was a relatively comprehensive reform of the existing tax and labor service system. Essentially, it was a new tax system that replaced the traditional rent, labor service, and tax system with a household tax and a land tax. The main principle of the Two-Tax System was "no distinction between native households and migrant households; the difference is based on where one resides; no distinction between able-bodied men and those of poor or wealthy." In other words, it no longer distinguished between native households (those with local residency) and migrant households (those from elsewhere); as long as one had assets and land in the area, they were considered a local and subject to registration and taxation.
Including previously tax-exempt groups such as nobles, bureaucrats, and merchants in the tax collection scope not only broke the tax-exempt privileges of nobles and reduced the space for tax officials to manipulate the system, but also reduced the burden on ordinary people.
However, the Song Dynasty's expenditures were enormous, and the imperial court was almost at the point of being unable to make ends meet.
The summer tax collection season is fast approaching, and as ordinary people say, it's a time of scarcity, so the imperial court is naturally short of money.
When the Prince of Yong learned the details, he frowned and asked, "How should we resolve the issue of money and provisions?"
Faced with the Prince of Yong's question, everyone lowered their heads, not knowing what to do.
Seeing that no one spoke, the Prince of Yong sneered, "The national treasury is empty, what's the point of sending troops?"
If the Liao Kingdom really sends troops, what will we use to fight them?
"Your Highness, the summer tax can be collected ahead of schedule," an official said.
"What if collecting summer taxes ahead of schedule incites a popular uprising?" Prince Yong asked rhetorically.
If he still can't see that Han Zhang and the others brought him here to make him take the blame, then he's truly stupid.
The imperial court is facing a shortage of capable officials, and the common people are in the same boat.
Collecting summer taxes ahead of schedule at this time, even if it doesn't incite a popular uprising, will still draw a lot of criticism.
He hasn't even ascended the throne yet, and he's already burdened with infamy; how could he possibly accept that?
The official was speechless and stepped aside.
"You are all important officials in the court. Is the only solution now to impose taxes ahead of schedule?" Prince Yong said in a deep voice.
Faced with the Prince of Yong's questioning, Han Zhang and the others remained silent.
"Let me think about this matter carefully."
The Prince of Yong, his face grim, said, "All of you, step back!"
"We take our leave!"
The group bowed and left.
After Han Zhang and the others left, the Prince of Yong summoned his trusted confidants and asked them to offer him advice.
However, after much discussion, the only solution seemed to be collecting the summer tax ahead of schedule.
"Useless trash, get out of my sight!" the Prince of Yong roared.
After Zhao Sheng and the other ministers left, they advised, "Father, please calm your anger!"
"Calm down?"
The Prince of Yong angrily retorted, "They're trying to intimidate me, to make me beg them. Don't you see that?"
The imperial court was short of money, and had no other options besides collecting summer taxes ahead of schedule.
They really think he's a fool.
This was clearly a show of force by the civil officials to intimidate him, the future crown prince. He was certain that if he summoned the civil officials now and adopted a humble attitude, they would immediately have many ways to deal with him.
"Father, don't be anxious. Let's stall for time. I don't believe they can ignore the crisis on the border!" Zhao Sheng advised.
You're oversimplifying things.
Prince Yong said coldly, "Do you believe that if I don't compromise this time, there will be a series of similar things waiting for me?"
'
Zhao Sheng pondered for a moment upon hearing this, and said, "Ziqian is known for his quick wit. I'll consult with him and see if he has any good ideas."
The Prince of Yong, recalling Wang You's earlier warning about Chong Wang's rebellion, felt a glimmer of hope and said, "Then go and ask him."
"Your son takes his leave!" Zhao Sheng said, bowing.
"Young master, the Crown Prince of Yong has arrived. He's in the main hall, and the master wants you to go there quickly," the maid said.
"Why are you here at this time?" Wang You frowned slightly.
The palace was in complete chaos at this time, yet Zhao Sheng still had time to come and find him.
-
Wang You arrived at the main hall with doubts.
"Greetings, Your Highness!" Wang You bowed.
"No need for formalities!"
Zhao Sheng looked at Wang Min and said, "Wang Physician, I would like to speak with your son alone for a few minutes."
Upon hearing this, Wang Min bowed and withdrew.
"Your Highness, what has happened that you've come at this time?" Wang You asked.
Zhao Sheng recounted the events to Wang You and then asked, "Ziqian, do you have a way to solve the court's financial problem?"
Upon hearing this, Wang You pondered for a moment and said, "I do have some ideas, but they will take some time."
The Grand Chancellor and others said that the Liao Kingdom might invade the border, and it seems we can't wait that long.
"Does this really mean we have no choice but to compromise with those civil officials?" Zhao Sheng was very disappointed to see that Wang You was also helpless.
"I do have a quick way, but I'm afraid Your Highness won't dare to use it," Wang You said.
"What method?"
Zhao Sheng said urgently, "At this point, as long as the problem can be solved, Father can't worry about anything else."
"First, Your Highness must understand why those officials did this."
Wang You said, "Those who previously supported the Prince are doing the same thing. Doesn't the Young Master find that strange?"
"It is a bit strange."
Zhao Sheng hadn't thought about it carefully before, but now that he heard Wang You say this, he realized something was wrong.
"Does Your Highness know of this person, Chao Zhongyue?" Wang You asked.
"Chao Zhongyue?"
Zhao Sheng pondered for a moment, then shook his head.
"This person—"
Wang You recounted Chao Zhongyue's story in detail.
Chao Zhongyue was the military governor of Gaoyou. When the city was besieged by rebel forces, he made an unexpected decision.
He not only personally bribed Zhang Hai with a large sum of money, but also mobilized wealthy households in the city to raise a large amount of gold, silver, jewels, fine wine, and delicacies to host a banquet outside the city to reward the rebel army. Perhaps it was this generous gift that worked, as the rebel army indeed changed direction and began to plunder other counties.
The news quickly reached the capital, causing a stir in the court and among the people. The emperor was furious and immediately decided to execute this local official who had colluded with the enemy and betrayed the country.
Many ministers, led by Prime Minister Fu Bi, also expressed their support, believing that Chao Zhongyue's actions were heinous and must be severely punished to set an example.
However, when the execution edict was delivered to Prime Minister Fan Zhongyan, it encountered unexpected resistance.
This renowned minister, known for his concern for the world's troubles before anyone else, refused to affix his seal to the edict and returned it to the emperor untouched.
Faced with his colleagues' doubts, Fan Zhongyan earnestly said: "Since the founding of the Song Dynasty, there has been a tradition of not killing scholar-officials. If we set this precedent today, what will happen when the emperor wants to kill other civil officials in the future? This door must not be opened."
These words made everyone suddenly realize the truth. The next morning at court, the civil officials unanimously pleaded for Chao Zhongyue's life. Faced with the collective opposition of the entire civil official group, the emperor, though unwilling, had no choice but to compromise and ultimately demoted and exiled Chao Zhongyue. Interestingly, within a few years, this disgraced official was reinstated and even promoted to the position of Prefect of Xingzhou.
The Song Dynasty's policy of suppressing military power through civil administration effectively curbed the potential for military generals to seize power, but it also created a unique privileged class of civil officials. In this era, civil officials seemed to have a get-out-of-jail-free card; even if they committed serious offenses, they would at most be temporarily exiled, and could return to the court after a few years. No wonder later generations of scholars regarded the Song Dynasty as an ideal paradise for scholar-officials.
However, this policy of excessively favoring civil officials also sowed the seeds of future problems. The expansion of power within the civil service led to increasing corruption in the government and low administrative efficiency, ultimately becoming a significant factor hindering the development of the Song Dynasty.
"You mean, the court officials are doing this because they're worried that the King will kill the civil officials?"
Zhao Sheng frowned and said, "But Father has not yet ascended the throne, nor has he shown any intention to kill civil officials?"
"To plan ahead."
Wang You said, "Your Highness, don't forget about the Prince of Yan's rebellion. The officials are worried that after Your Highness ascends the throne, he will investigate this matter and target the civil officials."
Because it involved treason, the officials lacked a legitimate reason to stop it.
Aside from this reason, I really can't think of any other reason why the officials are so united.
If all the officials were truly united like this, the emperor would have already formally established an heir.
Everyone has their own demands; some want to intimidate the Prince of Yong, while others don't want to participate.
At least those officials who support Prince Yong will not.
Their support for Prince Yong was tantamount to an investment. They watched as Prince Yong became the crown prince and was about to sit on the throne, but then they jumped out and opposed him.
Only when faced with the common interests of everyone can they be so united.
After much thought, the only thing that could be done was to stop the Prince of Yong from killing the civil officials.
If Prince Yong had been established as the crown prince normally, the officials might not have had such concerns.
The fact that Prince Chong was plotting a rebellion gave Prince Yong a perfect reason to kill the civil officials.
Or it was just an excuse that the officials couldn't stop it.
Therefore, before the Prince of Yong ascended the throne, they gave him a warning, only in this way could they prevent him from targeting the civil officials after he became emperor.
It's not that they had a particularly good relationship with those civil officials; they were simply afraid that the Prince of Yong would set a bad example.
Zhao Sheng's face darkened. "Just for personal gain, not a single official in the entire court dares to speak the truth?"
"It's not necessarily all for personal gain. Some people don't want Your Highness to set this precedent, while others may be worried that Your Highness will be implicated too widely!" Wang You said.
Throughout history, when it comes to rebellion, there has almost always been a case of killing the innocent but not letting the guilty go free.
If Prince Chong plotted a rebellion, it's hard to say what kind of military officers he bribed. But were there no civil officials who had connections with Prince Chong?
As long as they exist, a whole host of their former students, associates, and friends can be implicated.
"Ziqian, what about the solution you suggested?" Zhao Sheng asked after a long silence.
"Since they want to stop us, then kill them!"
Wang You coldly said, "Investigate the Prince of Yan's rebellion thoroughly, and the wider the investigation, the better."
Zhao Sheng frowned and said, "Doing this will only make those officials more opposed, and it won't solve the problem of lack of funds."
"If we raid those officials' homes, won't the money just come from there?" Wang You retorted.
"this--"
Zhao Sheng frowned deeply; Wang You's plan was clearly aimed at making money.
This not only disrupts the rules, but what will happen if we run out of money later?
We can't use this method every time we're short of money, can we?
If we really do that, it won't be long before someone rebels.
"Does Your Highness still remember when we first met and discussed the problems that plagued the court?"
'
Wang You said, "Does Your Highness know why the new policies failed back then?"
The so-called reform is nothing more than making the originally unreasonable distribution of wealth reasonable.
"Does Your Highness know that the court is broke, the people are impoverished, and where has all the money and grain gone?"
Without waiting for Zhao Sheng's reply, Wang You continued, "They're all in the hands of officials, landlords, and gentry. If we don't kill them, do you think they'll hand over the meat that's already in their mouths?"
Therefore, after the new policy was implemented, not only did some people at higher levels oppose it, but it was also difficult to implement at the local level.
Even if the authorities hadn't called for a halt, it still wouldn't have succeeded.
This is not a problem with the new policy, but a problem with the people.
How can we solve the deep-seated problems of reality without addressing the human element?
The best examples are the reforms of Li Kui and Shang Yang.
Although Li Kui's reforms were successful, he killed too few people. Later, when a new emperor ascended the throne and the old aristocracy regained power, they overturned all the achievements of the reforms.
But what about Shang Yang's reforms?
Not only did they kill many people, they also created a new aristocratic class.
The succeeding monarch executed Shang Yang to quell the anger of the aristocratic nobles.
Even if he hadn't killed Shang Yang, the results of his reforms would have been preserved.
Because the old aristocracy was no match for the new aristocracy.
How many people in the court truly support the reform?
There were not many people who supported the reform to begin with. The country is so big, and the implementation of government orders still depends on the conservatives.
If they don't support the reform, how can we expect them to implement the new law?
Only by killing them, killing them until they are terrified, will they naturally become obedient.
Some timid people will obediently implement the new law.
"Your Highness, the court's lack of funds is caused by long-standing problems."
Wang You said, "We've managed to get some money now, which has temporarily solved the problem of lacking funds. But what about later?"
Without addressing the root cause of the problem, it's completely meaningless.
Zhao Sheng fell silent upon hearing this. He found Wang You's words somewhat hard to accept, but he had to admit that what Wang You said made a lot of sense.
"I can't make that decision."
Zhao Sheng said, "I will tell my father the truth when I get back, and then we'll see what he decides."