Early in the morning, the old emperor Zhao Zhen, who was getting less and less sleep, sat in the study, reading the new issue of the newspaper.

Queen Cao personally brought breakfast, to say that Queen Cao, just for his wife, is really a good wife, breakfast was delivered, the dishes were placed on the side of the bookcase, and she didn't bother much, and slowly withdrew.

Zhao Zhen looked at the newspaper, his brows slowly wrinkled, and he muttered something in his mouth: ""On the Passage of Qin", on why Qin II was defeated, "On the Six Kingdoms", on why the Six Kingdoms are no match for the tiger and wolf Qin, only this "Theory of a Strong Country" is about where Qin Sheng is, Gan Daojian, Gan Daojian, a rare talent!" ”

As he spoke, Zhao Zhen slowly put down the newspaper and instructed the eunuchs around him to summon Ouyang Xiu from Kaifeng Mansion.

All the ministers came slowly, needless to say, Han Qi was the most dedicated, he got up almost in the middle of the night, and the first one to get to the study, he was actually the minister of Renzong's humerus, and he died after doing his best.

The new Yu Shi Zhong Bao Zheng was obviously not as early as Han Qi, the minister of the humerus, and stood behind Han Qi.

Ouyang Xiu came the latest, because it stands to reason that he didn't have to enter the palace to see the emperor today, and the affairs of Kaifeng Mansion were too busy.

Zhao Zhen didn't say much, just waved to the side, and several eunuchs sent a stack of newspapers, Zhao Zhen said: "Take a look at the "Theory of a Strong Country" on the front page, it is really thought-provoking. ”

There were all the people in the audience, and Ouyang Xiu was the only one who knew what "The Theory of a Strong Country" was, because he had already read it. Han Qi and Bao Zheng obviously didn't know about this article, even if Han Qi made Gan Qi win the last place, Han Qi didn't know what kind of article Gan Qi had written.

Everyone is reading.

Han Qi already has a black face, and what he blackfaces is not how well Gan Qi's article is written, but why did Gan Qi still get lifted? How is this done?

Everyone had almost finished reading, and Zhao Zhen spoke again: "How strong is the country?" I feel that what Gan Daojian said is very reasonable, and the law of the system is the foundation of a strong country. The head of the degree of Wang Anshi also on the book of ten thousand words, I read the deep feeling of the difficulty of the government and the opposition, when to innovate as the key, the first thing is redundant, about redundancy, the court will discuss for a few years, still not much effect, and now the degree of support has been beyond the means, and then go on like this, it is really difficult to continue, you should think about it, in order to improve yourself. ”

This is the right thing, Wang Anshi's book of 10,000 words talks about the specific problem, and Gan Qi's article talks about the problem of top-level design. The two articles are added together, how can Zhao Zhen not be affected at all? The reality has reached this point, and redundancy has always been Zhao Zhen's concern, so he is naturally more anxious at this time.

Han Qi replied: "Your Majesty, the minister has begun to work on the redundant expenses, the redundant expenses in the army are particularly prominent, the ban on millions of troops, less than half of the people can be used, and the rest of the people are useless, when the redundant expenses in the army are the first priority, as long as the redundant expenses in the army are reduced, the imperial court can be much more generous." ”

Redundancy is unnecessary and wasteful public expenditure. Last year, the annual revenue of the imperial court exceeded 70 million yuan, but 90 percent of it was spent on military spending. It is correct that military spending should be changed.

However, military spending cannot be changed at will, and some things are accumulated problems. The root cause of the problem lies in the recruitment system, which uses displaced people and disaster victims as troops and criminals as soldiers, and this problem itself will lead to the army being unusable. As soon as Han Qi opened his mouth, he said that half of the army was unusable, but in fact, it was far more than that, but the vast majority of them were unusable.

But how can it be so easy to cut military spending? How to cut? All other means are palliative, not curative, unless disarmament, but disarmament is also a major problem. Put hundreds of thousands of unbanked soldiers into society at one time? That is, if the life of these hundreds of thousands of people is cut off, what will these people who used to hold knives and guns do?

The purpose of recruiting homeless criminals into the army is to prevent chaos, and if hundreds of thousands of men are suddenly cut off, there will definitely be chaos.

Even if the income they depend on is cut, the problem is not small.

Spraying Wang Bao Zheng, he naturally got up and sprayed: "Han Xianggong's move is inappropriate, military salaries are the business of the military and the Han to make a living, and if you cut it, there will be chaos." ”

Han Qi said again: "Nine times out of ten, the imperial court's annual income is used for military expenditure, and if military spending is not reduced, the question of redundancy is unsolvable." Is it impossible to cut the salaries of officials? ”

Bao Zheng replied: "The official income can naturally be reduced, which one of the officials is not a big family, and its main income, where does it depend on the imperial court?" The method of reducing the amount of money is inevitably desirable. Even if it is to reduce military spending, it should also be aimed at officers, and it is necessary to detail various expenditures, make up for loopholes, and investigate in detail those who are corrupt and pervert the law. ”

Bao Zheng dared to say this? Although the truth is true, the words are very problematic.

For example, Ouyang Xiu, the first one disagreed, and said: "Bao Zhongcheng's words, one rod overturned a boatload of people, the people who are officials, is it really a big business?" Is the main income really not dependent on money? He has been an official for twenty or thirty years, and his family, old and young, all rely on his income to live, and the military expenditure is so huge, and the expenditure is extremely extensive. ”

Ouyang Xiu is also reasonable, not all officials are corrupt and pervert the law, such as Ouyang Xiu, he is not greedy, and his main income really depends on his income. In addition, it should be said that the officials of the Song Dynasty may have the highest salary in all dynasties.

For example, the prime minister's salary can be as high as 400 yuan a month, and he can buy 100 acres of good land. In addition, there are all kinds of unimaginable subsidies, such as food subsidies, firewood, rice, oil and salt, which is normal, and charcoal subsidies, that is, firewood burned at home, charcoal for heating in winter, and the imperial court give subsidies.

In addition, there is even a nanny subsidy, that is, the subordinates who serve the prime minister at home, and the court gives the subsidy fee. There is also a subsidy for wearing clothes, and the imperial court directly sends all kinds of silk and satin to you home to make clothes. Wait a minute...... Of course, 400 is the highest, and it is lowered step by step, but overall, it is quite high. At the level of Ouyang Xiu Bao Zheng, there are also three hundred guan, and a bunch of subsidies are also a lot. Even if you get seven or eight grades, the salary is not much lower. This is the basic guarantee of sharing the world with scholars. When you become an official, saving a little money is almost equivalent to not having money for food, clothing, housing and transportation, and giving you a few hundred acres to dozens or more acres of land as a deposit every month.

In the Ming Dynasty, the Song Dynasty's Yulu level, in Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes, is a lesson from the past, and then Zhu Yuanzhang is not so good for the official, Zhu Yuanzhang gave the Yulu, it is too much, almost perverted, perverted to the point that if the official only relies on the Yulu, the family is a little bigger, and it is difficult to support even the family. Then the officials are corrupt, and they have to be skinned and filled with grass. In the Ming Dynasty, it was also a dilemma to be a real clean official with two sleeves and a clean breeze.

On the issue of cutting fiscal expenditures, it is not discussed once or twice, and every time this issue is discussed, Emperor Zhao Zhen has a big head. In fact, military spending is not only military spending, but also includes disaster relief expenditures and stability maintenance expenses. Reducing military spending will definitely cause problems, and Zhao Zhen understands this.

But he heard Bao Zheng say again: "Master Ouyang, if you are not greedy, it does not mean that others are not greedy." Up and down in the court, how many people who are officials are not big families, and how many are not rich and rich? ”

Ouyang Xiu and Bao Zheng got up: "Bao Zhongcheng, then tell me, in this study today, which one has a big business and which one is rich?" ”

When the bar reached this point, where would Bao Zheng back down, he took a few steps, pointed to the third envoy Zhang Fangping and said, "Isn't Zhang Xianggong a big family?" Isn't it the rich side? A few days ago, how much property did Zhang Xianggong just buy in the hands of a wealthy gentleman? You don't know? ”

Zhang Fangping was also unreasonable, watching Bao Zheng say himself in front of the emperor, he was so frightened that he waved his hand again and again: "Bao Zhongcheng, there is not much, there is not much, just a little field." ”

Bao Zheng is really biting people indiscriminately, and he can't tolerate sand in his eyes, seeing that Zhang Fangping said that there is not much, he opened his mouth and said: "Then I will send Yushi to check tomorrow to see how much property Zhang Xianggong has bought this time." ”

Yu Shi Zhongcheng, the big man of the Yu Shi Tai, the leader of the Yu Shi Stage, the fighter in the trolls, is about to exert his might again, this time the target is the third envoy Zhang Fangping, who is also the top boss of Wang Anshi's top boss.

Zhang Fangping was already shocked, and hurriedly said: "Bao Zhongcheng, you said that yours is what you are, why bother to pull me?" It's a little thing, it's not worth mentioning. ”

Zhang Fangping is admitting cowardice, but this time it is difficult to escape, where will the fighter in the troll let him go? Zhang Fangping, the third envoy, will not be able to deserve a few days.

"That's it, I'll talk about this later, let's talk about Gan Daojian's article first, since Bachelor Ouyang is here, then I will ask one more question, why is such an article at the end of the list in Kaifeng Mansion?" Zhao Zhen opened his mouth and asked, national affairs naturally first said, Gan Qi's last thing is not comparable to national affairs, and finally mention it.

Reform and reform, a mess, is a simple reduction of fiscal expenditure, it is so difficult, how difficult is it for a country to want to reform?

Ouyang Xiu just knew that the emperor would finally ask such a question, so he stepped forward and spoke: "Your Majesty, the old minister doesn't know the specifics, the old minister has only been in office for a few days, and he has not had time to ask about the specific details of this explanation." Wait for the old minister to go back and inquire, and then report to His Majesty that he knows. ”

Ouyang Xiu is also clever, so he shirked it casually.

Bao Zheng was indignant and said: "Your Majesty, this matter is not so simple, someone must be obstructing it, and I don't want to see Gan Daojian in the middle, this matter must be investigated in detail, how can such a thing happen?" ”

Han Qi, the mastermind behind the scenes, opened his mouth with a black face: "Bao Zhongcheng doesn't have to be so angry, isn't Gan Daojian a winner?" Thinking about it, it was just a few examiners who had different opinions, and when Bachelor Ouyang returned to the yamen to inquire about one or two, it would naturally be clear. Your Majesty also has his own decision. ”

If things don't work out, it is natural to control the impact of the situation. This means is available to Prime Minister Han Dagong.

Zhao Zhen nodded and said: "Then Master Ouyang will go back and ask one or two, and also take a look at the question of Gan Daojian's post on Moyi, if there is no problem, this article will take a solution, it should be no problem." As for those examiners who have no knowledge, they should also be dealt with, and in the coming year, these people should no longer be allowed to control the examination and strive to ensure the fairness of the imperial examination. ”

"Yes!" Ouyang Xiu bowed down and spoke, but he didn't know what to think in his heart, this Gan Qi is also a good means, anything can be heard by the heavens, what was supposed to pass with one eye closed and one eye closed, in the end, he still had to trouble him once.