Chapter 131 Clever Tricks Can Turn Wolves into Sheep

In September of the sixteenth year of Jiading in the Great Song Dynasty, in Lin'an City, an unexpected solar eclipse made people panic.

The most disturbing is the son of heaven Zhao Kuo himself, since the death of the prince Zhao Di, his body has completely collapsed, almost all day long, even if he occasionally improves, he can only sit in the courtyard and bask in the sun. It is the queen and Shi Miyuan who maintain the operation of the government, which has been the case for so many years, and the Son of Heaven himself is used to it.

He originally wanted to meditate in the emperor's son Zhao Hong, but he hesitated, after all, he saw with his own eyes how his father, Emperor Guangzong, neglected him after his grandfather Xiaozong was in the inner meditation. But the sudden solar eclipse made him very uneasy, and he always felt that it seemed to indicate something.

And although the imperial doctor tried his best to hide it, he also realized that his body had reached its limit.

"Xuan ...... Prime Minister Xuanshi came. ”

On this day, he was in better spirits, and he rested on the couch for a while, and then he gave his will.

When this will was passed into the hands of Shi Miyuan, Shi Miyuan was worried about the affairs of the treasury, although the income of the city of Qingyuan, Quanzhou, and Guangzhou had surged, but with the expansion of trade with Liuqiu, the local silk industry was greatly impacted, not only the tax was far less than in previous years, but also those who were not able to compete because of the cheaper and more gorgeous Liuqiu brocade weavers, have gone bankrupt. Even the farmers who grow mulberry and raise silkworms have become more difficult. There have been calls from the people, asking the government to strictly prohibit the flow of Jin, but even stronger than this call is the voice of the Zhu Zi Dynasty officials above the Song Dynasty: the matter of the city is very important, and it is not allowed to waste food because of choking.

Moreover, according to Shi Miyuan's knowledge, the opposition from farmers who grow mulberry and silkworms is becoming smaller, because some maritime merchants are buying a large amount of raw silk in the countryside with huge sums of money, and this raw silk will also be sold to Liuqiu.

However, the problem that caused Shi Miyuan a headache was that the trade with Liuqiu did increase the income of the Great Song Dynasty, but the expenditure of the imperial court was like a bottomless pit, which increased these revenues and sucked them over. All kinds of food, the rewards of the loyal and righteous army on Shandong East Road, thinking of these places that cost money, he felt a burst of irritability in his heart.

"Everywhere is asking for money, asking for money, how can I become money, I have no choice but to issue more coins."

With Shi Miyuan's cleverness, he naturally knew that the indiscriminate issuance of coins was actually drinking to quench his thirst, but he had no choice. If you want to improve the financial situation of the Great Song Dynasty, the only way to open up the source is to open up the source and reduce the expenditure, and the open source will have to raise taxes, and the small people in Shengdou are already unexploitable, and they can only be added to the official gentry and rich people, even Shi Miyuan, who is so powerful and powerful, does not dare to take them seriously.

To throttle expenditure is to reduce the food and salary of various military states, or to reduce the salaries of hundreds of officials, which is a trick that Shi Miyuan cannot take, and if he is not careful, he will betray his relatives and leave.

Therefore, what he can do is to issue coins, and in the more than ten years he has been in power, the indiscriminate issuance of coins has become a stubborn disease, at least he himself has no way to solve this problem.

Until the Son of Heaven was sick, he was still thinking about the empty official treasury, and the Son of Heaven was a little strange when he saw that he looked like he was unsettled: "Shi Qing, why do you look uncertain?" ”

Shi Miyuan's heart sank, Qin Hui was also in power at the beginning, but even if he was idle at home, he didn't dare to wear clothes that were close to yellow, and he was absent-minded in front of the Son of Heaven, which was really too imprudent. He bowed and saluted, and then said: "The minister is thinking about the affairs of Jianghuai, some time ago, there was a piece of music that said that Jianghuai was water, and the hungry people were to be cared for. ”

"JAC flooding...... Some time ago, there was an eclipse of the sun...... "Zhao Kuoji, the son of heaven, said sadly: "I have no way, so the sky has a warning ......"

"Why did Your Majesty say this, since Renzong in this dynasty, there has never been an emperor who has always cherished benevolence and virtue like Your Majesty." Shi Miyuan's words came from the bottom of his heart: "The heavens are strange and have their own fixed numbers, is it the fault of the Son of Heaven?" ”

Zhao Kuo shook his head, not wanting to say any more about this issue, he looked at Shi Miyuan, and saw that Shi Miyuan was now also white, and there were obvious old age spots on his face, he closed his eyes, leaned against the couch, and let out a long sigh.

"Shi Aiqing, now you are also old......

After saying this, Shi Miyuan raised his eyebrows, and his heart jumped suddenly.

Immediately, I heard Zhao Kuo say: "I am also old, you are still in good health, but I am not a ......"

"Your Majesty is at ease to take care of the dragon body, and when you are healthy, the minister asked the imperial doctor, and they all said that Your Majesty is only temporarily weak, and he can slowly recuperate and recover." Shi Miyuan's heart was relieved, and he comforted: "Your Majesty is rich all over the world, there are strange people in the world, and Your Majesty is born by the common people, and God will bless Your Majesty." ”

Zhao Kuo's eyes lit up, but he shook his head and smiled bitterly: "Shi Qing always likes to say some nice words to persuade me." ”

The two were silent for a while, the imperial doctor brought a pot of medicine, and the inner bell took the medicine, tasted it, and then blew lightly to let the temperature of the medicine cool down, and after it was suitable, it was handed to the palace maid, and the palace maid served Zhao Kuo to drink.

During the whole process, Shi Miyuan didn't make a sound, and what echoed in the hall was the slight coughing sound of the Son of Heaven.

The main hall was filled with a strong smell of medicine, and even under this smell of medicine, it could not hide a rotten smell of death. Because it was cloudy outside, the hall seemed very dark, and the son of heaven Zhao Kuoli was thrifty, and resolutely refused to install glass with good light transmission to the palace windows, and refused to light the horse lantern after six o'clock in the afternoon before a quarter of an hour, so it was so.

Shi Miyuan faintly praised in his heart, and then moved his gaze to the Son of Heaven.

"Shi Xiang, I have the intention to meditate, what do you think."

After coughing low for a while, Zhao Kuo, the Son of Heaven, wiped the medicine residue from his mouth, raised his head and looked at Shi Miyuandao.

"What?" Shi Miyuan's heart froze, the Son of Heaven wants to meditate? If there is only one prince under his knees today, that is the prince Zhao Hong, who has always had a bad relationship with him, Neizen, that is, to pass on the throne to this Zhao Hong, and enjoy the blessings of being the emperor in the harem.

This cannot be allowed in any way!

"Your Majesty is prosperous in spring and autumn, and he is wise and benevolent, why do you think of inner meditation?" Encountering this problem, Shi Miyuan felt that he must not be resigned, he glanced at a palace maid, the palace maid quietly retreated, and not long after, she turned back, except for Shi Miyuan, no one noticed her short departure at all.

"I can't accept old age, Shi Xiang, I was not a good man in the first place, and I was so tired that you were so tired that you were out to insult me...... I think Hong'er is heroic and martial, not similar to me, it is better to pass on the throne to him, so as not to miss the major events of the world......"

When it came to this, Zhao Kuo's words were a little intermittent, he was not a smart person originally, and how to convince Shi Miyuan with words made him extremely confused.

"This must not be done." Before Shi Miyuan could speak, a voice sounded at the door first, the voice was sharp and high-pitched, and after Zhao Kuo listened, he turned around on the couch, facing the wall, with his back to the visitor.

It was his queen Yang who came.

Although she is also old, Queen Yang is still as good as more than thirty years, with a thin anger on her face and a pair of apricot eyes.

Before coming to the imperial couch of the Son of Heaven with quick steps, she glanced at the surrounding inner bells, maids and royal eyes, and snorted in a nasal voice: "Go out!" ”

These people all shrunk their necks and walked out of the main hall one by one, and only the Son of Heaven, Shi Miyuan and her were left in the main hall. Shi Miyuan exchanged glances with her, and Empress Yang bit her lip and sat in front of the Son of Heaven's couch.

"Your Majesty."

"How did you come, I am sick, don't pass it on to you." Hearing Empress Yang's call, Zhao Kuo had to turn his head and said lightly.

"Is Your Majesty still suspicious of the concubine?" Empress Yang screamed sadly, her eyes turned red, and tears fell from her cheeks. She has been in charge of the harem for a long time, and she originally developed the temperament of the mother of a country, but in front of Zhao Kuo, the son of heaven, she was still as coquettish as when the two met for the first time next to the Empress Dowager Wu.

This look made the Son of Heaven a little unbearable, but when he thought of his son Zhao Di, who died young, the unbearable dissipated.

"Concubine...... Wrong! Seeing that the Son of Heaven was silent, it was clear that she had acquiesced, and Queen Yang exhaled, tears falling like rain.

She took the prince Zhao Di into her palace, but the prince died inexplicably, and the whole world was suspicious of her, only her own family understood that she really did not murder the prince.

Zhao Kuo, the Son of Heaven, began to cough violently, Shi Miyuan shook his head at the queen again, and then said to the imperial bed: "Your Majesty, please retire." ”

"Stand down, stand down, you all step down......" Zhao Kuo said helplessly.

To make such a fuss about Empress Yang, no matter what, it is impossible for him to persuade Shi Miyuan to support his abdication today.

In the Great Song Dynasty, the prime minister was extremely powerful, and if the prime minister did not have his support, it would be extremely difficult for the Son of Heaven to implement his policies and strategies. Therefore, Zhao Kuo could only hold back for the time being and wait for a better time on the sickbed.

The news that the Son of Heaven wanted to be Inner Zen, I don't know which palace maid or inner bell spread it, the prince Zhao Hong was encouraged and rejoiced, and Zhao Guicheng, the heir of King Yi, seemed to know nothing about it. He sits on the Diaoyutai platform, reads and learns every day, and when he gets up in the morning, he will trot and move his body, and in the eyes of outsiders, he is content to take on this idle prince.

In a place where others couldn't see, a secret letter was sent out through Huo Chongcheng and Qin Dashi.

Shima Guangyan in the north began to increase trade with the Hu people, purchased large quantities of wool from the Hu people, and taught the Hu people the skills of settled herding. Because of the long-term cooperation, Shi Ma Guangyan has had a very close relationship with the Hu people, after the death of the old and conservative and more difficult to deal with Mu Huali, his son, who has always been friendly with Shi Ma Guangyan, became the Hu people's Taishi and king in charge of running the Jin Kingdom, he is easier to persuade than Mu Huali, and is very interested in letting the Hu people settle down and graze - in the past, the Hu people were nomadic and lived on water and grass, and every winter, they always inevitably suffered from frost and hunger, and settled in grazing, planting pastures, and raising livestock in captivity, can change this situation to a large extent. Moreover, in the past, sheep were raised only for sheepskin and mutton, but now they can shear their wool every once in a while, and exchange it for liquor and utensils from Shima Guanghiko, which makes Polu extremely satisfied. After all, now almost all the places that the Hu people can loot are looted, and even the population can't catch many people to trade with Shi Mo Guangyan.

In the past few years of population trading, Shi Mo Guangyan took away about 150,000 young people from the land of Yanyun, and the land of Yanyun was originally slaughtered by the Hu people, and now it is even more inhabited. If it weren't for Shi Mo Guangyan's transaction, these 150,000 young men would not have escaped death.

Temujin was busy running the Western Regions, and in the past two years, he turned his head back to stare at the Western Xia, so he had no time to look east, otherwise, with his vision, he would naturally have doubts about the settled grazing that changed the customs of the Hu people: no longer riding horses to herd around, but living a leisurely life in a fixed house, is this still the Hu people?

This is a means of concealment deeper than opium and lead salt, and when the Hu people are content with pleasure, they can no longer ride a war horse or bend a bow, and they lose the unrestrained nature of nomadic robbers, and they will become docile and docile. When they are completely tamed, it is the day when the harvest begins.

The wool exchanged from the Hu people was sent to Liuqiu, and it became a new product of Liuqiu: Liuqiu blanket. Because of the coarse wool of the Hu people, they cannot spin fine wool, but they can be woven into fine blankets. These blankets were very popular with the Great Song Dynasty, the Wa Kingdom and the Korean people because of their various floral textures, and the Hu people themselves also had a special preference for this kind of cheap and more comfortable Liuqiu blanket. Shima Guangyan was the first batch of wool from the Hu people in January of the sixteenth year of Jiading, and in July of the sixteenth year, this batch of wool became blankets, which were transferred through Tamluo and transported back to Zhigu to be presented in front of Polu.

The Hu people were vulgar, and they only knew that this Liuqiu blanket was a good thing, but they didn't expect that the wool they sold to Shima Guangyan and the Liuqiu blanket sold back by Shima Guangyan would have a price difference of at least five times. This kind of exploitation of the Hu people by using the price scissors difference, Shi Mo Guangyan did it happily, and the Hu people themselves were also willing.

Moreover, with the passage of time, the Hu people became more and more dependent on the spirits, tea, and utensils sold by Shima Guangyan, and in this kind of leisure life, their enthusiasm for the southern invasion was obviously not as good as before, but they were very interested in occupying the land of Yanyun to raise grass and grazing.

All this was expected by Zhao and Ju, because of the sheep species, the wool provided by the Hu people can only be woven into carpets, but Zhao and Ju have long instructed Shi Mo Guangyan to get their sheep breeds from the Tubo people, and after transporting them to Tamna, they will be crossbred with the Hu people's sheep breeds, hoping to cultivate good fine wool sheep. However, this is not a matter of one or two days, and the luck is very good, but I am afraid that it will take three or five years, and if the luck is bad, it will not be possible in ten or eight years.

In addition, Zhao and Ju also have a new hobby during this time, that is, accompanied by Zheng Qingzhi, they go to various places in Lin'an. The Great Song Dynasty did not control his heirs tightly, and accompanied by Zheng Qingzhi, Shi Miyuan was naturally relieved, and he thought that increasing Zhao and Ju's contact with the outside world would allow Zhao and Ju to win the favor of some officials and sons, and it would also help him to plan in the future, so Shi Miyuan also encouraged him.

After playing for several months and personally surveying the situation of all parties in Lin'an, Zhao and Ju seemed to have lost interest in playing again and began to return to the days of sitting in the study. His studies did not progress quickly, but it did not make Zheng Qingzhi suspect that he was not working hard enough, but calligraphy, and now he has the legacy of Emperor Gaozong.

However, underneath his seemingly indifferent look, there was a boundless wind and waves.

He knew that a decisive battle was coming, the body of the Son of Heaven was weakening day by day, the activities of Shi Miyuan's party were becoming more and more frequent, and the prince Zhao Hong was becoming more and more weird.

After more than two years of forbearance, the final decision moment is coming.

Note 1: "History of the Song Dynasty": 16th year of Jiading...... In September, there is an eclipse of the sun.

Note 2: Qin Hui's caution is recorded in Ye Shaoweng's "Records of the Four Dynasties" in the Southern Song Dynasty.