"The Liao Kingdom is strong and has a vast territory. They also have a million troops. The alliance of Tan Yuan has been broken and the coins are no longer there.”Sima Guang said dejectedly.
"Lord Prime Minister, the Khitans are not to be feared. The alliance of Tan Yuan and the payment of annual coins are weak actions against outsiders. Now that we no longer have to pay annual coins and save military funds to resist the Khitans, I think it is very appropriate.”
The new top scorer, Zhang Juzheng, walked out of the class and said loudly.
Sima Guang was stunned and stared at the young man in front of him. After a long time, he said,"
"When two countries fight, the outcome is hard to predict. Song and Liao have been at peace for a hundred years.”
"Lord Prime Minister, you're old and scheming for the country.”
Wen Yanbo, Ouyang Xiu, and the others walked out of the class to express their agreement.
Zhao Xu listened to the officials in the court exchange their opinions. The new and old officials were conservative and the reformists were slowly forming.
There were no sects in the court, and there were all kinds of strange sects. It was very normal for there to be different sects in each dynasty, either obvious or hidden.
As the emperor, he only needed to be the judge and see what the dishes were like.
Zhao Xu said without hesitation," Whether it's war or peace concerns the fate of the country. I will consider it carefully. The current plan should be the people's livelihood and Qian Youqing's.”
"Your subject is here!" The Minister of Revenue, Qian Youqing, walked out of the line and bowed with an ivory board in his hand.
"How much money is left in the national treasury?" Zhao Xu asked.
"Your Majesty, after the autumn harvest, the national treasury is full and the tax collection is timely. However, after the war against Xia, the national treasury is already insufficient for expenses. The salaries of the officials have not been distributed yet. After the distribution, there is still a shortage of 10 million strings of money.”
"The War of Xia didn't cost much, right?”Zhao Xu was a little confused.
"Your Majesty, there is not much money in the Xixia Royal Palace, let alone food. In addition to the famine in Xixia this year, food is still being transported to Xingqing Prefecture. Otherwise, there would be thousands of miles of starving people.”Qian Youqing said.
Usually, Zhao Xu had also checked the accounts of the Ministry of Revenue. After an unprecedented anti-corruption campaign, the vermin in the Ministry of Revenue were gone. The accounts were authentic.
It was still difficult to collect taxes and food. The reform had just begun, and all the money earned was used to destroy Xia.
Increasing taxes was tantamount to killing the goose that laid the golden eggs. It would also cause social instability. It would take some time for the reform to further benefit.
In order to increase the national treasury in the short term, he had to find another way.
After thinking about it, he could only start with the despotic gentry and the big landowners. Of course, there were also the imperial relatives. Since the founding of the Song Dynasty, all the imperial relatives had been raised and kept in captivity. There were not many vassal kings, and there were no fiefs.
However, from Emperor Taizu of Song to Emperor Renzong of Song, the imperial clan was given a large number of fertile land, which was not subject to taxes.
After more than a hundred years of reproduction, these parasites had multiplied to tens of thousands of people, occupying almost half of the fertile land in Kaifeng City.
If they wanted to attack the clan relatives, the gentry, and the big landowners, they had to find out what these people were doing. There were already people who could investigate Zhao Xu, and they were Wang Anshi and Hai Rui.
This matter should not be made a big deal. It had to be kept a low profile. Otherwise, it would easily arouse the vigilance of those people and hide their money. If it was made a big deal, it would also affect social stability.
Therefore, Zhao Xu called Wang Anshi, Hai Rui, and Zhang Juzheng to the Hall of Heroes after he retired.
The ceremony was over.
"The treasury is empty. Do you have any good ideas?" Zhao Xu asked.”
Wang Anshi said," Your Majesty, the treasury is empty. There are only three kinds of redundant personnel: redundant officials, redundant soldiers, redundant fees, and redundant fees. There are no more redundant officials and redundant soldiers. The money and grain consumed every year far exceeds the annual coins of the redundant fees.”
Zhang Juzheng bowed and said,
"The destruction of Xixia and the abolition of the Tan Yuan Alliance will have to deal with the Liao invasion. These two items have increased the expenditure of the national treasury by a lot, but I think it is worth it. The shortage of the national treasury is only temporary.”
Zhao Xu nodded and praised," The two beloved ministers are right. The disaster of Xixia has been eliminated, and the expenditure is not much. I want to solve the current crisis of the national treasury. Do you have any good ideas?"”
Hai Rui stepped forward and said," Your Majesty, I believe that in order to solve the current problem, we must once again fight corruption. Corrupted officials are rampant, and the people are in dire straits. The country cannot bear it. Cracking down on corrupt officials and despotic tyrants can clarify the governance of the government and increase the income of the national treasury. It's killing two birds with one stone.”
"The G Storm has already begun. Most of the officials are hiding their greed. If this continues, it will cause unrest in the court. The amount of money confiscated will not be much. I intend to crack down on the powerful clans.”
Before Zhao Xu could finish his words, the three ministers immediately knelt down and cheered.
Only the Emperor could speak of attacking the clan relatives. Even Wang Anshi would not speak of it because the implications were too great. It was a matter of the royal family. If things were not handled well, the clan would be exterminated or it would cause a monstrous accusation.
" Hai Rui, I've asked you to handle this matter. Wang Anshi and Zhang Juzheng will assist you. I'll support you. No matter who you are, no matter what happens, don't back down or be afraid.”
Hai Rui was stunned and knelt down to receive the decree,""Your Majesty is ambitious and wise. I will fight for you even if I have to die. The problem of the clan is really a tumor of the empire.”
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。