The reform was divided into priorities. Which reforms needed to be initiated now and which needed to be delayed. As a transmigrator who was familiar with the Xining reform, Zhao Xu was very clear about the limits.
Change had to be in line with reality. It had to be done at the most appropriate time, not to mention a major event like reform.
Haste makes waste, and haste makes waste.
The Green Crops Law was a top priority because it was spring now, the time when the farmers were in a shortage.
If the government didn't distribute the Qing Miao loans in time, then the poor farmers could only borrow from the big families.
Qingmiao loans actually existed in the Han Dynasty. Although Gongsun Hong was a bastard, the implementation of this policy helped Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty a lot. After the war with the Xiongnu, the national treasury was empty. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty used this policy to scrape a layer of money from the people and tide over the financial crisis.
However, Zhao Xu did not want to profit from this. To collect the usury from the farmers was just killing the goose that laid the golden eggs. It was difficult to continue.
To truly make the people rich, he had to help them maintain their normal cultivation. This was a sustainable policy.
The implementation of the Trade Law could ensure fair trading, and government purchases would no longer be profiteered by profiteers colluding with local officials.
The farmland irrigation law was a hundred-year plan. The construction of mountain ponds, dams, and ditches could ensure a stable harvest during droughts and waterlogging. This was the guarantee of food.
The implementation of the Baojia Law could prevent refugees and idlers from wandering around, increase instability, ensure the stability of the grassroots, and put an end to the foundation of peasant rebellions such as Liangshan Lake.
Zhao Xu vetoed Wang Anshi's Horse Protection Law. According to the Horse Protection Law, the families of the people of the Song Dynasty had to raise horses for the court because the Song Dynasty was seriously short of horses.
Warhorses could be obtained from battles in the Western Xia or Liao Kingdoms. There was no need to increase the burden on the people, and ordinary people could not raise warhorses.
This entire set of reforms had consumed a lot of Zhao Xu's energy. Fortunately, Zhao Xu was extremely energetic and could handle these memorials with ease.
Under the pressure of the Emperor, the reform was carried out very smoothly. Most of the prefectures and counties began to issue Qing Miao loans to the poor people. The other reforms were also carried out in an orderly manner without encountering any resistance.
Zhao Xu knew very well that this was just the beginning. If he continued, he would definitely encounter resistance. This was because the interests of those big families, corrupt officials, big landowners, and rich businessmen who had lost their rich usury had already suffered a great loss.
If the time came, they would unite to oppose it. Zhao Xu was already mentally prepared. Ever since Shang Yang's reform, the Chinese people had never had a good ending. However, Zhao Xu wanted to end this fate.
The reform in the imperial court made it very convenient for Zhao Xu to exercise the supreme power of the emperor. The Shangshu Ling was gone, and so were the attendants of the Menxia Province, the Zhongshu Ling of the Zhongshu Province, and the Privy Council Envoy. All the power was taken away.
The newly established cabinet was only the Emperor's consultant body. The Prime Minister Sima Guang was completely figurehead. He was only responsible for conveying and reviewing matters and had no decision-making power.
Only Wang Anshi and Su Dongpo shared a little decision-making power with Zhao Xu.
The majority of the people in the Imperial Court were against the reform, so Zhao Xu would not give them the power to make decisions and review.
After making the above changes, Zhao Xu also made changes to the time of the court. There was no need to go to court at three o'clock every morning.
Zhao Xu decisively changed the time to seven in the morning. This reform received the heartfelt support of most of the ministers.
Everyone wanted to sleep a little longer. Besides, there was no need to get up so early. It was dark and their minds were still in a daze.
However, there were also some conservative ministers who wrote a letter to oppose it, saying that the three in the morning court session was an old system that had been implemented for thousands of years.
Such remarks were quickly drowned out by the objections of the ministers.
The other old systems had been changed, not to mention this reform that was very beneficial to the rest of the ministers. Soon, the conservative minister fell silent. It was difficult to offend the public.
The next day, morning court.
Zhao Xu sat on the throne and looked at the sea of memorials. In troubled times, important memorials came like snowflakes. The cabinet did not dare to interfere and could only submit them to the Emperor to decide on military affairs.
The court was most concerned about the situation in Xixia. If the 200,000 Liao reinforcements and the Xixia army attacked the Song army with all their might, the Song army would be in danger.
Hebei Road was no longer dangerous because there were 400,000 Great Song elites there, and the other 400,000 prefectural soldiers were already on the way.
Yue Fei had already gone to Hebei Road, and the one guarding Yongzhou was the valiant general Wang Shao.
Wang Shao had 300,000 Song soldiers in his hands. Although they had won not long ago, the terrain there was more suitable for the nomadic cavalry to attack.
Zhao Xu pondered for a while. At this moment, the system spoke,
[Ding-dong. Yue Fei has obtained ten consecutive victories against Liao. He has killed 20,000 Liao soldiers. The host's system points have increased by 500. The host now has 1027 points. He is qualified to summon a famous general.]”
"Summon Qi Jiguang, immediately!" Zhao Xu said without hesitation.
"Ding dong! Qi Jiguang has been summoned and is waiting for the host to inspect the North Drill Ground. This summoning cost 800 points, and the host has 227 points left.”
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