Chapter 694: Drinking to quench your thirst
Liu Yuanqi, the king of Chu, quickly drew up a loan contract, which he seems to do a lot, and the contract was very tightly drafted, how much to borrow, how to raise funds, and how to return, all of which were stipulated. Pen | fun | pavilion www. biquge。 info is also quite face-giving to the Son of Heaven, the interest is set very low, and there is only a little symbolic meaning. He also made it very clear that with the gradual promotion of the New Deal in the past two years, prices have also risen, and if a little interest is not paid, those who borrow money will lose money at a loss, and of course this kind of thing cannot be done.
Xiao Tianzi first discussed with a few close attendants around him, and Xin Bi couldn't help but be amazed for the first time when he came into contact with such a detailed loan contract, and said that this was a very fair contract, of course, if you admit that the Son of Heaven has nothing special in this regard, just a debit.
Yang Xiu, Zhou Yu and the others couldn't see anything wrong, but they instinctively felt that it was not so simple, especially when Cao Ang asked a question, the hussar general was already clear enough, but when it came to the ability to do business, he was probably still quite a distance away from Liu Yuanqi, the king of Chu. In the past, the hussar general presided over the formulation of the new deal contract, which had put the imperial court in a situation where it was impossible to get money, so was it so simple to draw up such a loan contract drawn up by the king of Chu himself?
After thinking about it, this group of smart people with an average age of less than the weak crown felt that it was better for the experienced ministers to discuss it. Xiao Tianzi handed over this charter to Lu Min, who forwarded it to Situ Lu Zhi.
The New Year is approaching, Lu Zhi is so busy that he is exhausted, and there is a lot more gray hair on his head. The Son of Heaven drove the expedition in person, won a complete victory, and resolved the epidemic crisis in Yanzhou, which can be described as infinitely beautiful. But behind the scenery of the little Tianzi is the tight finances, as Situ in charge of civil affairs. Lu Zhi was almost crying without tears.
First of all, Taiwei Duan Cheng came to visit him every other day, and the meritorious soldiers were waiting for the reward to go home for the New Year, not to mention the unpeaceful Jizhou. If this reward is not sent in time, who will want to go to war then? What else will the Son of Heaven take to pacify Jizhou?
Then there is Tai Chang who comes to the door every day to ask for help, Lord Situ. As the end of the year is approaching, according to the custom, His Majesty will hold a great court meeting, reward the ministers, and receive the officials of the counties and the envoys of the subject countries, all of which require money. For example, the Huns, although the hussar generals subdued them, they would not be so much a year. But you have to ask for twenty or thirty million dollars, right? Although the number of palace people has been simplified many times, there are still nearly 3,000 people, and the expenses of these people must be given, 10,000 yuan per person, so it will be more than 30 million. Counting seventy-seven, eighty-eight, without one or two hundred million, there is no way to pass this year.
Lu Zhi people collect debts. Where did he get the money, so he had to ask the states and counties for it. But this money is not easy to ask, and Zhao Yun and Meng Tuo, Liangzhou have already sent a list, and Liang has always been based on war horses as the main project, plus a small amount of money and grain. In this Yanzhou War, the number of war horses provided has been seriously overrun, and half of next year's amount will be used. Yizhou Thorn Shi Li Ru is also very simple, what should be given must be given, what should not be given, if you want it, you can say a reason that can let me explain to the people. The assassin of Jingzhou is Liu Xiu, he did not come in person, but he sent the hussar general Yu Turn, and Yu Turn's mouth was even more vertical and horizontal, so that Lu Zhi was speechless. Yangzhou Assassin Shi Zhou Qian is not as arrogant as others, but he also made it very clear that Yangzhou's consumption of supporting the battle of Yanzhou this year has long exceeded their share, and if they still want to, then there must be a convincing reason.
Lu Zhi was furious, what is a convincing reason, is it true that the rebellion of the imperial court is fake, the army has not moved, the grain and grass go first, 100,000 divisions, a thousand gold, you don't understand these truths? What do you rely on to argue with the court? You are all very rich, but you see that the Son of Heaven is overstretched, where is your loyalty?
Seeing that Lu Zhi was angry, everyone was silent, and no one dared to stand up and speak for a long time. After observing each other, Li Ru, the assassin of Yizhou, stood up. The most obvious target of Lu Zhi is naturally Yizhou, Yizhou does not need war horses, nor does it support money and grain like Jingzhou and Yangzhou, and of course they pay the most taxes, but compared with Lu Zhi's expectations, there is still a considerable distance.
Li Ru said that the army used a lot of money to conquer, and of course we know it. But is all this money used for conquest, and the wealth that the Yuan family has accumulated for so many years should now become a trophy, how much is it, how to use it, and those who are attached to the Yuan family are now safe and sound, and they still live their rich sons, is this a little unreasonable? According to the provisions of the New Deal contract, a grain of grain and a lot of money are a lot, what else can the court accuse us? If there is something in the imperial court, it is not impossible to temporarily increase taxes. There is such a clause in the contract, and we are willing to abide by it. But before asking for money, shouldn't the imperial court first explain to us the expenses of the Yanzhou War, at least let us know that the money and grain handed over by the people were really used for real purposes, and not fell into the pockets of some people. After summarizing the Yanzhou war, we can also make an estimate for the next Jizhou war, to see how much it will cost and how the states will apportion.
He finally said, "Lord Situ, you only see that the situation in each state is getting better and better, but you don't know that each has its own difficulties. Nowadays, business is developed, and there are more and more merchants circulating, and it is becoming more and more difficult to maintain the road. The merchant paid the tax, but the government didn't even build the road? That seems a bit too much to say. In addition to building roads, post stations and markets in various places must be expanded, and even grain reserves must be enlarged. Lord Situ, we are also doing this for the sake of the long-term peace and stability of Your Majesty's country.
Li Ru's words caused a chorus of echoes.
Lu Zhi's face turned pale, he knew what these people wanted to do. They demanded that the court pay an account and make all the expenses clear to them. But Lu Zhi knew that this was not clear at all, on the one hand, a considerable amount must have fallen into his pockets - although he Lu Zhi himself did not stretch out his hand, but he could not guarantee that others would be as clean as him, on the other hand, the amount of expenditure of the royal family was very staggering, accounting for at least forty percent of the expenses of this war. The Son of Heaven and the Queen Mother drove the expedition in person, do you think it is so easy? How many people do you have to be with you? If this account is handed over, then don't think about Xiao Tianzi's personal expedition to Jizhou, because this is purely an extra expense.
But Lu Zhi knew. Xiao Tianzi wanted to conquer Jizhou in person. And he himself hopes that Jizhou will be pacified by Xiao Tianzi, not Liu Xiu. Jizhou is the last battle to pacify the world, and the little emperor is about to become pro-government. The pacification of Jizhou will lay a solid foundation for his pro-government and further curb the expansion of Liu Xiu's power. This is of great significance to the next game between Xiao Tianzi and Liu Xiu.
Of course, Lu Zhi couldn't pay this account, and he threatened to remove these people from their posts, but Li Ru blocked him with a word. You can remove us from office, this is the right of Situ Fu. But how do you explain to all the people in the counties that have implemented the New Deal? To overthrow the contract is to overthrow the New Deal, and the next step will be the flight of countless rich people, because there is no binding of the contract. Who knows when the imperial court will implement a policy like the Edict of Confession?
When it came to the arrest order, Lu Zhi also felt very powerless. In order to support the war against Hungary, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty implemented the Edict of Rebellion, and as a result, most of the middle-income families in the world went bankrupt, and these people were forced into the mountains to become cowards, and the world was surrounded by displaced people, almost overthrowing the Han Dynasty. Later generations of Confucians reprimanded the order. Lu Zhi couldn't be clearer.
Looking at the calm Li Ru, Lu Zhi regretted it a lot, he knew that this person was so capable, he should not have sent him to Yizhou in the first place, but should have stayed by his side as a helper.
In the face of the persistence of Li Ru and others. Lu Zhi didn't dare to come hard, he knew that what Li Ru said could become a reality, because they had his disciple Liu Xiu behind them, and if they really wanted to use tough measures, it would only worsen the situation further.
At this time, Lu Min brought back the loan contract drawn up by Liu Yuanqi, the king of Chu. After Lu Zhi read it, he only said four words: drink to quench your thirst.
Lu Min had helped Lu Zhi deal with government affairs in Situ Mansion for many years before he set out on the expedition, and he was also clear about this. But he also knew that even if it was wine, it could only be drunk, otherwise the New Year would not be able to pass the approaching New Year, and the court after the victory was about to face a bleak New Year.
Lu Zhi hesitated, he knew that this money could solve some crises, but it was not a life-saving straw, but another rope around the neck of the imperial court. If he makes his own decisions, he is a sinner who will go down in history.
"Let it be discussed by the three princes and nine secretaries." After thinking about it for a long time, Lu Zhi said weakly.
Xiao Tianli received Lu Zhi's reply, and didn't say much, and distributed the contract to the three princes and nine secretaries for discussion. Situ Luzhi remained silent, and Taiwei Duan Cheng also remained silent this time, his reason was that I didn't understand this, I only knew that if the meritorious soldiers could not be rewarded in time, it would be a great blow to morale. Sikong Tang Zhen's reason is much the same, now there are many things in the world of water and soil, and money is needed, and a lot of money is needed. How to get money is a matter for Situ Fu, and I don't express my opinion.
Xiao Tianzi watched coldly, and was very angry at Duan Cheng and Tang Zhen's seemingly fair actions, but in fact they added fuel to the fire. After Lu Zhi's explanation, he also knew that this contract was secretly murderous. If nothing else, once this contract was signed, he would be on an equal footing with those who lent him money, and there was no dignity of an emperor to speak of.
This country is mine, you even have my life, and you still dare to bargain with me? Xiao Tianzi couldn't figure out how Emperor Xiaoling could agree to sign such an unobtrusive new deal contract.
Just when Xiao Tianzi was angry, an emergency battle report came from Bingzhou, and the wandering Xianbei King and Lian suddenly appeared in Wuyuan, these people were poor and crazy, and there was a possibility of a large-scale invasion. The 2,000 border troops of Wuyuan alone could not resist, and at least the entire Bingzhou army was needed, so please make proper arrangements immediately, and order Zhao Yun, the assassin of Bingzhou, who entered Beijing to report on his duties, to return to the garrison as soon as possible and prepare for battle.
As soon as Xiao Tianzi heard the news, he became angry, and said to Lu Xiaohuan, who was accompanying him: "Your father is getting bolder and bolder, and he dares to lie about the military situation? ”
Lu Xiaohuan turned his face at that time: "Why did Your Majesty say that?" It is a felony to lie about the military situation, does Your Majesty have evidence? ”
"Hmph, your father thinks he is the hussar general's old department, and now your two families have in-laws and hussar generals to support him, what is he afraid of?"
Lu Xiaohuan sneered: "If it is really as Your Majesty said, the world will not be yours for a long time, but the hussar general." ”
Xiao Tianzi didn't expect Lu Xiaohuan to dare to confront him in front of him, he was furious, Lu Xiaohuan was unmoved, and sneered repeatedly, the two of them were like two aggressive little roosters, and they stood up above the main hall until the Empress Dowager Song arrived in a hurry.