After the persuasion of the ministers, Wang Mang actually reflected the inappropriateness of his previous proposal.

As Zhang Jian said, if he exempts all the peasants' agricultural taxes now, then if the court is short of money and wants to collect it in the future, the people will probably have to scold him to death.

But as the emperor of Great Qin, Wang Mang has already been released if he rewards farming, if he takes it back now, wouldn't it be a slap in the face?

Wang Mang's words were thrown out, and the ministers reacted at this time, they did not agree to reduce or reduce agricultural taxes, which to some extent did not give face to the Son of Heaven, and the Son of Heaven was furious.

Thinking that the ministers who rebelled with Wang Jingyao before were suffering in the prison at this moment, all the ministers were terrified.

Zhang Jian knew that opposition would anger Wang Mang, but he didn't care, what he cared about was to return to Wang Mang's feet, as a veteran of the Three Dynasties, Zhang Jian would never allow his political career to end like this.

"Your Majesty is worried about the country and the people, the people are in your heart, the heart of benevolence and righteousness can be learned from heaven and earth, looking at the world and the country, there is no one who can be compared with Your Majesty. Zhang Jian said loudly: "Your Majesty is sage, the minister is stupid, the minister is willing to be a wicked person, and his majesty will be retracted from his previous will and renegotiate the new reward farming law." ”

The people in the hall are not stupid, they are all human spirits, and when they hear it, they know what the old boy Zhang Jian has in mind.

Old immortal, so shameless!

Some ministers scolded in their hearts, how could they not understand that Zhang Jian's attitude of not supporting Wang Mang was to prepare for these words now, Zhang Jian wanted to show that he was absolutely loyal to the Son of Heaven, and even that he was willing to sacrifice his reputation to become the Son of Heaven's Shengming, which was hugging his thighs at all costs.

Wang Mang tugged at the corners of his mouth, Zhang Jian's words were given to him under the steps, but he didn't want to take this step, between raising his eyebrows, Wang Mang saw Shang Yang winking at him, Wang Mang thought about it, and snorted coldly: "Zhang Jian, it's a shame that you keep saying that you want to be the master of the people, but I didn't expect that I just wanted to reduce the agricultural tax today, so you pushed back and blocked, it's really hateful, don't you know that if you do this now, you will be scolded by hundreds of people?"

"The minister is His Majesty's courtier, he is the important minister of Great Qin, everything must be planned for His Majesty, for Great Qin, and he never considers personal honor and disgrace. Zhang Jian kowtowed and said awe-inspiringly.

What an old fox!

Wang Mang sneered in his heart, and then said with a displeased face: "Aren't you afraid of offending me?"

"I believe that Your Majesty will be able to understand the loyalty of your ministers. Zhang Jian's face was solemn, as a veteran of the Three Dynasties, he was very handy on how to interpret the appearance of a loyal minister.

"Good, good, good. Wang Mang said three good words in a row, and then looked at the ministers and said, "Do you also agree with Zhang Jian's proposal?"

"The ministers agreed, Lord Zhang is dedicated to the public, and there is no second heart. Some ministers knelt down and said: "Although my Great Qin is now rich in treasury, it is indeed inappropriate to rashly reduce or reduce agricultural taxes, and the ministers feel that this matter needs to be properly considered." ”

"Huh. Wang Mang sneered and said, "There are so many loyal ministers in this hall?"

Zhang Jian suddenly felt that something was not good, he had lived in the court for a long time, he clearly felt that the original established line seemed to be drifting, it was obvious that he was here alone to perform loyal ministers, why did so many people suddenly appear to join forces to make him a loyal minister? In this way, will the Son of Heaven misunderstand him to form a party, Zhang Jian, who has been in political struggle for a long time, knows that the stimulation of forming a party to an emperor is tantamount to rebellion.

This is not what he originally meant, Zhang Jian's heart jumped, and he already faintly regretted that he shouldn't have acted so rashly, and now he can't figure out that he wants to lift a stone to shoot himself in the foot.

Sure enough, when Zhang Jian was thinking, Wang Mang said coldly: "Zhang Jian, do you know why I don't like you more and more?"

"I don't know. Zhang Jian's eyebrows were pounding.

"Because you have always liked to present yourself as a loyal minister, but in fact you have never been a loyal minister, at least you are not my loyal minister. Wang Mang said.

"Why did Your Majesty say this, the minister's loyalty to Your Majesty ......" Zhang Jian kowtowed and wept blood.

"But the sun and the moon. Wang Mang directly interrupted Zhang Jian and said: "My ears are calloused when I hear this, do you believe what you say?"

"The minister is absolutely loyal to His Majesty, and he has no two hearts. Zhang Jian swore to the sky.

"Really?" Wang Mang sneered: "Then can you tell me, when I just ascended to the throne and had not yet gained a firm foothold, were you loyal to me? When I sat in this hall and was besieged by all the ministers in the palace, were you loyal to me? When I passed the three levels in Shangyuan Palace for a mere 200,000 silver, were you loyal to me? And you really didn't participate in the matter of Fang Xizhi? What were you doing when Wang Jingyao was making trouble with me in Shiziyuan? What were you doing when Wang Jingyao coerced the ministers to rebel in this hall? There are still some things that I can't say, things I don't know, are you still embarrassed to swear to the sky in front of me that you are loyal to me?"

"Minister......" Zhang Jian bowed his head and couldn't speak anymore, Zhang Jian already understood at this moment that he had lost his sacred heart a long time ago, and just now Wang Jingyao coerced the ministers in the main hall to rebel Although he didn't follow, he didn't explicitly oppose it, and he was completely ruined here by Wang Mang, even if he was willing to give up all his dignity to hug Wang Mang's thighs at this moment.

"Minister?" Wang Mang shook his head and said: "Zhang Jian, you are the elder of the Three Dynasties, the mainstay of my Great Qin Imperial Court, the pillar stone, you are very stable in the Great Qin Imperial Court, although you are not my Great Qin Prime Minister, but the actual authority is no less than that of the Prime Minister of any other country, you have also taught me, although you do not have the name of the emperor but have the reality of the emperor, you have reached this point, I am very disappointed." ”

"The minister is guilty. Zhang Jian's expression was a little pale, and there seemed to be tears in his eyes, Zhang Jian never thought that he would have a day of tears, so that Zhang Jian's original words of explanation were all held in his heart, and he couldn't say a word.

"Guilty, you really should feel guilty, you feel guilty about Great Qin, you feel guilty about the ancestors of Great Qin, but you don't need to feel guilty, because you have never been loyal to me. Wang Mang said lightly: "Today, you are breaking the kettle and trying to eliminate the influence of various things before with self-pollution, which is not wrong, but you should never use my people of Daqin to achieve your goals, why should my people of Daqin be wrong, and you want to use it?"

After a pause, Wang Mang continued: "Reducing or reducing agricultural taxes is the best and most direct means to reward farming, and even for you yourself, there are great benefits, you obviously see this, but you still oppose it, I admit that you are right, but here, I am the Supreme, do you understand?"

Understood, thoroughly understood!

Zhang Jian smiled bitterly on his face, he completely understood where he lost today's battle, the hall in front of him was no longer the hall he was familiar with, and the emperor in front of him was not the emperor he was familiar with, even though he had the connections and experience accumulated by the three dynasties, but he was old, and the world was changing too fast, or the Son of Heaven was too fast and he was too old to keep up.

The Son of Heaven in front of him has almost created in a very short period of time what countless monarchs of the countries have not been able to achieve in their lifetimes, expanding the territory and tearing the land to seal the king, a large army swept in all directions, and the accumulated prestige almost shook the entire continent, and although he felt this, he still stubbornly believed that Daqin was still the Daqin he was familiar with, and the world was still the world he was familiar with, and he still tried to use his previous experience to turn the right and left, but he was wrong, this mistake was to completely lose everything.

Why don't you go back!

Zhang Jian's heart was relieved, and he bowed his head and said: "Your Majesty, the minister is old and sick, his brain is inflexible, and his legs and feet are inconvenient. ”

That's a failure!

The ministers looked at Zhang Jian's background with a shocked face, most of them were like a dream at the moment, and they didn't dare to imagine everything that happened today, whether it was Wang Jingyao with countless Jindan masters forcing them to bow their heads, or Bai Qi swept away fifty Jindan masters alone, and Wang Mang returned strongly and directly suppressed all the rebels, they thought that today's shock was about to end, but they didn't expect that at this moment, something that shocked them even more appeared, the elders of the Three Dynasties, the Great Qin Ministers, In fact, the prime minister of Great Qin, the heavenly official Zhang Jian, actually wanted to return to his hometown.

After Zhang Jian finished speaking, the big stone in his heart completely fell, and he had calmly accepted all his fate next, whether it was killing or caught, it was always a destination.

Wang Mang thought that Zhang Jian might let go, but he didn't expect Zhang Jian to let go so thoroughly, to a certain extent, for Zhang Jian, Wang Mang really doesn't have a good way, there is no law in Daqin that stipulates that disloyalty to the emperor is a big crime, and as the biggest old fox in Daqin, Zhang Jian does things and speaks without leaking, and almost never leaves any handle, so it is extremely difficult to do anything to Zhang Jian, Wang Mang originally thought that he had to have a good confrontation with Zhang Jian to achieve his goal, but he never thought that now Zhang Jian was suddenly willing to put down everything and return to his hometown, Wang Mang didn't even react for a while。

However, Wang Mang quickly understood Zhang Jian's thoughts, although Zhang Jian was greedy for authority, but at this moment, Zhang Jian did not hesitate to give up in the face of authority that could not be maintained at all.

Wang Mang pretended to keep Zhang Jian, Zhang Jian earnestly said that he wanted to leave, and strongly said that his body could no longer continue to serve Daqin was the criminal minister of Daqin, and the two monarchs and ministers performed well in the main hall, showing the benevolence of the Son of Heaven and the ruthless performance of the ministers to the fullest, as an old man who was about to leave the court, Zhang Jian almost dedicated the most perfect acting skills of his life to the last court.

"Boss, since you are bent on returning to your hometown, I can't help but think about the boss's body, after all, the lord has worked hard for my Great Qin for many years and has made countless indelible contributions, these I and the previous emperors have seen it in their eyes and kept it in their hearts, and I can't be so ruthless and don't care about the boss's body at all, so I agree to the boss's request. Wang Mang said.

"Old minister, thank you Lord Longen, long live Your Majesty!" Zhang Jian said with tears on his face: "The minister can also see that His Majesty is now the time to employ people, and the minister also wants to continue to serve His Majesty, but the minister's body is really unbearable." ”

"Don't talk about it, my lord, I will always remember your contribution to Great Qin. Wang Mang said with a touched face: "Although the old man said goodbye to his hometown, but he can't really tell the old man to return to his hometown, many things in this Great Qin still need your opinion in many cases, I allow you to return to your hometown as the prince's master, and then grant you the right to enter the Hajj, you don't need to report when you enter the palace to see me, and all the treatment in the court is the same, this is my praise for my dedication to my duties over the years, and the old man must accept it." ”

"Minister...... Zhang Jian bowed his head and wept, he didn't expect that Wang Mang would let him return to his hometown with the title of etheric teacher, and even gave him the right to meet the emperor, so that although he returned to his hometown, who would dare to despise him in the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty? This is a great honor, which Zhang Jian never thought of before.

Zhang Jian silently left the court, as the most powerful official of the Qin State for many years, Zhang Jian has countless protégés in the court, and several people in the Jiuqing are considered his students, without the name of the prime minister but the fact that there is a prime minister, even before Wang Mang became a blockbuster, so that the world only knows that there is Zhang Jian but does not know the extent of Wang Mang, many ministers in the court have already expected that there will be a confrontation between Zhang Jian and Wang Mang sooner or later, but they did not expect this confrontation to come so quickly, and Zhang Jian, who seems to have deep roots and flourishing branches in the court, will lose so quickly.

Until Zhang Jian left the hall, many people did not react, Shang Yang looked around the hall, he did have the idea of taking this opportunity to reduce Zhang Jian's wings, but he didn't expect Zhang Jian's strong man to break his wrist so decisively, and Wang Mang's shot was so steady and ruthless, after a dazzling operation for a while, Zhang Jian actually returned to his hometown.

His brows furrowed and stretched, and Zhang Jian said to Wang Mang: "Your Majesty, are you still discussing the matter of rewarding farming?"

"Yes. Wang Mang said lightly: "This is a national policy, the foundation of a strong country, what do you think." ”

Shang Yang nodded and said, "The minister thinks that what His Majesty said about agriculture is the foundation of the country, and strong agriculture is the foundation of a strong country is the supreme truth......"

"I don't need to be a sycophant, I need a countermeasure. Wang Mang said lightly.

"Your Majesty, the minister didn't pat His Majesty's ass, what the minister said was from the bottom of his heart. Shang Yang said respectfully: "After listening to His Majesty's witty words just now, the minister understood that since it was a reward for farming, he would finally put the foothold of this matter on the word reward." ”

"Then how do you think it should be rewarded?" Wang Mang said.

"The imperial court has set aside a transfer reward fund, but the people will reward those who have made outstanding contributions to the agricultural production of our Great Qin. Shang Yang said.

"What if you can't contribute?" Wang Mang said.

"This ......," Shang Yang paused for a moment, and then said, "This requires the formulation of strict laws and regulations, through which they must be bound to contribute." ”

"Then as long as you make people work hard to contribute according to the law, what else do you want to reward?" Zhang Han said coldly.

"Then what do you think?" Shang Yang looked at Zhang Han.

Zhang Han said: "Don't forget the original intention, Your Majesty's original intention of rewarding farming is to let the people of Daqin get benefits, in my opinion, as long as this year's grain output is more than last year, a part of the agricultural tax will be directly exempted, so that the people of Daqin who work hard for agricultural production will basically have benefits." ”

"Now what we are talking about is rewarding the advanced, not eating a big pot of rice?" Shang Yang looked at Zhang Han and shouted: "If you all eat a big pot of rice and engage in egalitarianism, then what's the point of talking about rewards?"

"Since it is a discussion, it is to express their own opinions. Lin Guodong stood up and looked at the ministers with a smile and said: "In this hall, I am the only one who is a local official, and I deal with the people on weekdays, so I think it is better for me to talk about this matter." ”

(End of chapter)