Zhu Houxi did not die in the fire, to be precise, he did not even hurt a single hair.

The cause of the fire was also very simple, that is, a lantern outside the imperial tent was blown off by the wind, igniting the cowhide curtain outside the door, and the fire quickly ignited. And the Jinyi guard in charge of patrolling happened to pass by not long ago and did not find it in time.

When they noticed the fireworks and hurried over, Wang Yue and Zhu Houxi had already escaped safely, and they were standing outside, staring at the raging flames, and the faces of both the monarchs and ministers were dark.

Soon, Lu Bing came again with his people, accompanied by two waterwheels, and after about half an hour, the fire was extinguished, and after counting, there was little loss except for the loss of some inconsequential notes.

But even so, it was a fire in the imperial tent, which was not trivial.

"The minister is guilty, please punish your majesty severely!"

Lu Bing knelt in front of Zhu Houxi, trembling all over, and kept kowtowing.

Zhu Houxi's brows furrowed slightly, and after a long while, he sighed lightly: "It's not a big deal, just be careful, I'm tired, you can retreat." ”

Lu Bingzhan was trembling, and wanted to say something more, but found that Zhu Houxi had already turned around and left, and he had no choice but to give an order to let everyone strengthen their vigilance, no matter what, no matter what, nothing could happen again.

Zhu Houxi changed his place of residence, slept until the afternoon, and then got up again, as expected, Wang Yue was already waiting outside.

When the monarch and the ministers met, Zhu Houxi said directly: "How is the investigation?" ”

"There's something wrong with the rope on which the lantern is hung, it looks man-made."

Zhu Houxi snorted, "It's really a hand and an eye!" Even the imperial tent can't stop them, this time it's just a small fire, will it be my life next time! ”

Zhu Houxi's fists clenched and slammed on the table, making a dull sound.

Wang Yue sighed lightly, although he knew very well that assassinating the Son of Heaven and making a move was not a matter of the same level at all, but he also had to say that the warning was full of meaning.

His actions with Zhu Houxi have increasingly touched the core of a huge interest group.

Currency reform to abolish the ...... These two items will really cause big problems, and even if one and a half emperors die, it is not surprising!

"Your Majesty, do you want to send another army of soldiers and horses over to strengthen the guard of the imperial camp?"

Zhu Houxi snorted, shook his head and said, "No need! When the troops were transferred, it seemed that I was scared...... And...... I still believe in Lu Bing, he, like you, came out of the Hidden Mansion. What's more, he has played with me since he was a child, and in terms of years, he is much longer than you, he will not betray me, and he will not dare to betray me! ”

Zhu Houxi took a deep breath and said to Wang Yue: "I think that setting fire is a small trick after all, there should be a bigger trick waiting for you, you have to pay attention to it." ”

Wang Yue bowed his head, he didn't need Zhu Houxi to explain, he had already done this.

And he judged that there would be an answer soon.

Sure enough, in the afternoon of the same day, Xu Zan, the head of the household department in Nanjing, came from Yingtian and said that there was something important and that he wanted to play it to the Son of Heaven.

This Xu Shangshu has some background, his father was a secretary of the Ministry of Officials in the early years, after he entered the office, he was promoted very quickly, and finally served as the official secretary of the Criminal Department.

However, in a Beijing inspection, there was an impeachment of the imperial history, saying that someone gave Xu Zan more than 500 acres of land, and the Xu family built a huge garden, so some people in the local area called the section of the Yellow River adjacent to the Xu family garden as the garden mouth!

Before the Qingzhang acres of land, the occupation of acres by dignitaries and dignitaries was not a new thing, and more than 500 acres was really nothing.

But it would be amazing to be able to take more than 500 acres and just build a garden.

How much money does this Xu family have!

Many imperial historians rushed to impeach, Xu Zan also wrote a book to defend himself, feeling that he was very wronged, his hometown did build a garden, but it had nothing to do with him, this is someone chasing the wind and shadows, framing him.

In the end, there was no conclusion on this matter, but Xu Zan was transferred to Yingtian and was put on hold.

"Your Majesty, this time the minister came to see Your Majesty, and he was sincere and wanted to play His Majesty!"

Zhu Houxi nodded, "Say, if you have anything to say, I will listen!" ”

Xu Zan sensed the displeasure of the Son of Heaven, and sweat soaked his forehead, but the matter had come to this, and he had no way out.

"The minister dared to ask His Majesty...... Abolish two yuan, one whip law, is this the focus of the next change? ”

Zhu Houxi's face instantly darkened, is this to question my decision?

"Wang Yue, you tell Lord Xu for me!"

Wang Yue nodded, he turned to Xu Zan and said: "Unifying the currency and reducing the obstacles in circulation is a reasonable thing, not only is it convenient to collect taxes, but it is also a great help to merchants and merchants. ”

Xu Zan took a deep breath, he looked up at Wang Yue, lowered his head again, bowed his body and said, "Lord Wang, I don't know if these ideas were suggested by you?" ”

Wang Yue smiled: "Yes, although the plan is a big guy, but I have made a lot of contributions." ”

Xu Zan let out a long breath and suddenly said sharply: "Lord Wang, aren't you afraid of chaos in the world?" ”

Wang Yue said twice, "Lord Xu, do you want to learn from the lobbyists of the pre-Qin Dynasty to intimidate the official?" ”

Xu Zan shook his head decisively, "Lord Wang, I never meant that, but I also ask you to think twice...... What would happen if you had collected all the money according to your assumptions? ”

"What else, of course, it is convenient for transportation, and the government and the people are both convenient."

"No!" Xu Zan shook his head, "Lord Wang, not to mention anything else, the capital alone costs six million stone grains every year. These grains are all taxes from the fields in the south of the Yangtze River, if they are changed to silver money, what will happen to the food shortage in the capital? ”

Xu Zan asked, his eyes widened.

Collecting grain and collecting money are two very different situations.

In any case, the amount of grain requisitioned should be given priority to ensuring the quantity of grain.

But once they make money, the common people will leave rations to fill their stomachs first, and as for the money, they can work part-time or sell some raw silk for embroidery.

In fact, under the conditions of male ploughing and female weaving, women's ability to earn money is stronger than that of men, and men's absolute advantage is because they can produce hard currency - grain, otherwise it will be reversed.

Wang Yue laughed, "What's so difficult about this, the imperial court can purchase from Jiangnan, or from the Wa Kingdom, or from Annan...... Don't forget, not long ago, Qiu Luan got millions of stone grain from Annan, and this number can be doubled at any time! Jingshi will never be short of food! ”

Xu Zan showed a "unexpected" look and smiled slightly, "Lord Wang is really powerful, then I want to ask, where is this grain going?" How to transport to the capital? ”

Wang Yue chuckled, "Naturally, it's by sea." Tianjin has been open to the sea for several years, and the sea freight has been very mature, the loss is very low, and the speed is faster...... To tell you the truth, I have long been willing to suggest that Your Majesty completely abolish Cao Yun and switch to sea transportation! ”

Really!

Xu Zan couldn't help but nodded, "Lord Wang, have you thought about what the consequences of abolishing Cao Yun will be?" ”

Wang Yue also smiled, "I wish to hear the high theory!" ”

"Lord Wang, there are many drawbacks in Cao Yun, and the annual cost is huge, and it costs millions of ...... just to dredge the river This point is up and down, everyone knows it, but no one dares to move, and the things in this are definitely not simple. Xu praised and said: "Cao Yun is not only the Ming Dynasty, but also the Yuan Dynasty and the Song Dynasty. This river is not just as simple as transporting grain from the south to the north. There are millions of other creatures along the river, all of whom depend on it for their lives. ”

"Lord Wang, you need people to transport grain, you need sailors to make ships, you need warehouses to store grain, and you need craftsmen to repair ships...... Counting up and down, there are hundreds of thousands of people used! They dragged their families and mouths again, and there were even more, millions of living beings, food and clothing, it was not a lie! ”

Xu Zan stared at Wang Yue and said sharply, "Lord Wang, aren't you afraid?" ”

Oh, yes!

Hundreds of thousands of people have lost their livelihoods and millions have not had enough to eat.

What a terrible horror it would have been if it had caused a stir!

Don't forget, the Red Turban Army uprising that overthrew the Yuan Dynasty was set off by hundreds of thousands of river repair workers.

The number of interest groups formed around the canal is still several times that of the original river repair workers!

If the Great Yuan Dynasty can perish, will the Great Ming Dynasty be great?

"Lord Wang, it's right to rectify finance and taxation, but currency reform, a whip law, is really unnecessary. It is reasonable for the common people to farm and receive grain, feed the nine sides of the capital, nourish the way, and benefit the people, and it has lasted for hundreds of years! Once shaken, the consequences are unimaginable! The lower official came this time and told His Majesty about this matter, he already had the heart of death, Lord Wang, as a close minister trusted by the Son of Heaven, you should think twice before acting, and you must not be reckless! ”

After Xu Zan finished speaking, he crawled on the ground and threw his five bodies to the ground.

His words were not praised and amazed, but laughed.

"Lord Xu, you talked about millions of workers, food and clothing. But he didn't say that every year when the river is repaired, millions of taels of silver fall into whose pockets? You also didn't say that there are so many comptoir ticket numbers along the way, whose industry they are! Just a million workers, the imperial court has a way to solve it. However, once these dignitaries and dignitaries shifted their economic focus, their investments were all gone. The originally hot land business became worthless in an instant. ”

"So the millions of workers are fake, and the powerful behind are real!"