Chapter 262 Minglan’s guilt
“Your Highness!”
Sanshui’s voice interrupted Zhao Xing’s thoughts.
"What's the matter?" Zhao Xing asked.
"Master Wang sent a letter back from the northwest." Sanshui said, holding a letter in both hands and stepping forward.
Zhao Xing took the letter, opened it and read it.
Before Gu Tingye and the others went to the northwest to take office, Zhao Xing asked Gu Tingye to write a reply to Wang Shao.
The letter talked about some situations in the northwest and some of his thoughts.
Wang Shao wrote to Zhao Xing before, saying that he wanted to go deep into the Hehuang land to investigate the situation in the Hehuang land, but Zhao Xing did not agree.
After being rejected by Zhao Xing, Wang Shao thought of another way - to trade with the forces in the Hehuang land.
The land of Hehuang is caught in the cracks, and there are several Tubo tribes and the Qiang people living in it, which is very chaotic.
If you want to send people in, it is very difficult to collect intelligence.
In fact, there has always been trade between the Song Dynasty and Hehuang.
The Xixia State of Liao blocked the flow of war horses into the Song Dynasty. The loss of Lingzhou City also cut off the Song Dynasty's way of obtaining war horses from the Western Regions.
The Song Dynasty could only trade through the land of Hehuang, or through the land of Shu and Tubo on the plateau.
Various tribes in Hehuang lacked salt and iron, and the Song Dynasty had very strict control over this aspect.
If you use salt and iron to trade privately with the various ministries in Hehuang, you will definitely gain the trust of each ministry, and the caravan will be able to travel unimpeded in the Hehuang land, and it will be easier to collect information about the Hehuang land.
It is not easy to do this. Salt and iron have always been government-run. Salt is okay, but iron is more troublesome.
Only Zhao Xing can do this.
After reading it, Zhao Xing pondered.
It was just a little salt and iron, but it had little impact on the Song Dynasty.
The land of Hehuang is a mess of loose sand. Even if a certain amount of iron is obtained, it will intensify the fighting between various tribes.
After all, each of their divisions is too weak. Only if they unite can they have the confidence to face Xixia and Song Dynasty.
Wang Shao's letter also vaguely revealed his intention to provide iron to various ministries in Hehuang and cause civil strife in Hehuang.
This would also be of great help to the Song Dynasty in sending troops to Hehuang.
Zhao Xing thought for a long time and finally agreed to Wang Shao's request.
But this matter must be left to a trusted person.
Now that it is freezing in the north, city repairs can only be suspended. Counting the time, Sheng Wei and Sheng Changsong and his son should be back.
…………
It is snowing heavily outside, but it is very warm inside the Chaoyang Palace.
Zhao Xing was wearing single clothes and leaning on the bedside. Minglan leaned in Zhao Xing's arms, her face still rosy, and she whispered about the information about Xixia that she had learned from Li Yunchu.
During this period, Minglan and Rulan often went to play with Li Yunchu. When chatting, Minglan pretended to be curious and asked Li Yunchu about Xixia.
Li Yunchu didn't have any scheming intentions. She said whatever Minglan asked.
Every time he asked for information, Minglan would come over and tell Zhao Xing.
After several times, Zhao Xing had a deeper understanding of the situation in Xixia.
"Your Highness." Ming Lan looked up at Zhao Xing and hesitated to speak.
"Do you feel sorry for her?" Zhao Xing asked.
Rulan and Minglan were ordered by Zhao Xing to contact Li Yunchu.
What Zhao Xing said about Ru Lan was that Li Yunchu had just come to the Song Dynasty and was unfamiliar with the place. Ru Lan lived nearby, and he could talk to Li Yunchu more often if he had nothing to do.
He did not hide anything from Minglan and told her directly, asking her to find a way to get some information about Xixia from Li Yunchu.
Minglan only went there with a purpose in the beginning, and she didn't feel any burden in her heart.
But as time passed, Li Yunchu failed to defend her, which made her feel guilty.
Every time she came to tell Zhao Xing about the news she had learned from Li Yunchu, the feeling of guilt became deeper, and Zhao Xing could naturally feel it.
Hearing this, Zhao Xing kissed her on the forehead and sighed: "Do you feel that Gu is using women and you are a little disappointed with Gu?"
"No slave." Minglan was anxious after hearing this. , propped up his body and looked at Zhao Xing, and said: "Although I am just a woman, I am not stupid. It's just that the concubine believes in me so much, and I feel a little uncomfortable doing this."
Minglan was so excited that half of her body was exposed from the quilt, and the spring scenery was sultry.
Zhao Xing resisted the impulse, helped her lift the quilt and covered her, held her in his arms, sighed and said: "The two countries are feuding. Although they have maintained peace over the years, this kind of peace How long can it last? You also heard what she said. Although her brother is young, he is very ambitious.
Since the little emperor of Xixia took power, he has made great efforts to govern and use Han people. Now Xixia is prosperous.
< br>As Xixia's national strength increases, will it always be willing to settle down?
Gu is the crown prince of the Song Dynasty. In the future, when the border is in turmoil, countless soldiers will die on the border. Brilliant, but this can reduce countless casualties.”
"I understand, and I have no intention of blaming His Highness." Minglan said softly: "I just feel that Concubine Li is too pitiful."
What Zhao Xing did to Li Yunchu, Minglan Don't know. She thought that Li Yunchu was in a bad mood at first because of the marriage.
Minglan has also been reading for several years. She has heard the stories about Zhaojun's departure from the fortress and Princess Wencheng's marriage to Tubo.
Unlike those people who wrote big books and praised them, she felt that both Wang Zhaojun and Princess Wencheng were very pitiful.
Li Yunchu also came to the Song Dynasty with relatives. When the Song Dynasty and Xixia go to war in the future, Li Yunchu will be in such a difficult situation.
Li Yunchu even knew that she leaked some information to Song Dynasty. Is this acceptable?
"Don't think so much, Gu will treat her well in the future." Zhao Xing said.
"Yeah." Minglan nodded.
"Your brother is not young anymore. Has he entered school now?" Zhao Xing changed the subject.
Because of his butterfly effect, Wei Xiaoniang became pregnant earlier than in the original drama.
Now he is seven or eight years old.
"Chang Lin entered school last year. The last time I went home, my mother said that Chang Lin was very serious in his studies, and my master praised him very much." Minglan felt much better when she mentioned her younger brother.
Zhao Xing looked at Minglan with a bright smile, a little distracted, and started to wander around dishonestly.
"Your Highness." Minglan noticed Zhao Xing's movements, her face turned red with embarrassment, and she murmured as she was about to reject him.
.........
"Meet Your Highness!" Wang Anshi saluted.
"No courtesy." Zhao Xing waved his hand and asked Wang Anshi to sit down.
After Wang Anshi thanked him, he sat down and said, "Your Highness, the amount of money borrowed by Qingmiao Law in each county has been calculated."
"Please tell me in detail." Zhao Xing said.
"The counties have borrowed more than 135,000 taels in total, most of which were used to purchase farm tools and cattle. Nowadays, the people who rent government land have enough farm tools and cattle. As long as there are no major natural disasters in the coming year, These people can be self-sufficient and don’t need the government to worry too much,” Wang Anshi said.
"Yes." Zhao Xing smiled when he heard this: "It's done well. Is the county's money still enough?"
"Enough, the rent paid by those farm owners is all It’s not used up,” Wang Anshi said.
"That's good. Let each county count the rest and hand it over to the treasury at that time." Zhao Xing thought for a while and said.
If they stay in the counties, given the urinary behavior of those officials, they might be used up with various excuses.
Even if it is handed over to the national treasury, it may not be put to practical use, but it can still stop some people's mouths.
"Yes!" Wang Anshi responded and said: "Your Highness, I feel that the land tax is very unreasonable. At present, the tax per mu of good land and bad land is the same. Even if your Highness implements the method of dividing land into acres in the future, This method of paying taxes is also unreasonable.”
“Just say whatever you want,” Zhao Xing said.
“I think the land should be divided into different grades according to its quality. Good land will be taxed more, and bad land will be paid less. This will make it fair.” Wang Anshi said.
Hearing this, Zhao Xing tapped his fingers on the table unconsciously and fell into deep thought.
He remembered that Wang Anshi's reform in history seemed to include this one, but he couldn't remember the details clearly.
People pay land tax based on the number of acres of land they own.
However, the amount of grain produced by good and bad fields is different, so it is indeed unfair to pay taxes on a per-acre basis.
Moreover, the land annexed by powerful landlords is fertile land, and they still look down upon the inferior land.
This seems to be aimed at the landlords and gentry. Not only will the people not suffer, but they will also get advantages.
After all, most of the land owned by the people is second-class or inferior.
According to Wang Anshi's method, many people will have to pay less tax.
Even if some people have some fertile land, overall the taxes they pay will not increase.
But after Zhao Xing thought carefully, he shook his head and said: "Jiefu, have you ever considered how to grade the quality of acres? How can you ensure that no one will judge the good and the bad? Is it the best? And the quality of the fields is not static. "
This method seems to be good, but it has a huge drawback.
If the landlords and gentry join forces with local officials to classify the poor farmland of the people as good land and the good land of the landlords and gentry as bad land, then this policy will be harmful to the people.
This situation is bound to happen, and it is difficult to prevent it.
"Jiefu, it is often difficult to achieve absolute fairness. We can only achieve relative fairness. If we blindly pursue absolute fairness, it will leave more loopholes, which is not a good thing." Zhao Xing said.
"Your Highness, you only need to set detailed grading standards and leave no loopholes..."
"Jiefu!"
Zhao Xing interrupted him and said: "The court clearly has laws, but why do so many people still commit crimes? Some people say that the people are illiterate and how can they understand the laws. Is this really the case?
A murder must be punished with a life. People should understand the principle of repaying debts, right? However, there are many murder cases every year.
As long as anything is complicated, no matter how perfect it is, there will always be loopholes. To put it simply, if the amount of grain paid by all acres is the same, there will be no loopholes to exploit.
It may seem unfair to ordinary people, but if someone exploits the loopholes, it is the ordinary people who will suffer in the end. "
"I understand." Wang Anshi said.
Zhao Xing saw that Wang Anshi still looked a little unwilling, and sighed and said: "I have read all your reform policies. The starting point is good, but many times simple things are complicated."
< br>(End of this chapter)