"Ministerial-level cadres want to go to the county, and you are also at the deputy minister's level."

"Big brother, go to the county, our level and treatment will not change, right?"

"Of course."

"Then if we don't go, do we have to argue with the officials to the end? Do you think the officials will not dare to withdraw us at that time? Someone must be scolding the officials, and I don't want to get mixed up with those people. I just don't want to go to the county, and the officials understand. Besides......" Speaking of this, Wen Zhang lowered his voice, "Scolding the official family with those people is to use those people as gunmen." The government will never give in to these people, and I don't want to be a traitor. ”

His younger brother is a clever ghost, but Wen Tianxiang didn't expect his brother's so-called literati temperament to reach such an extent. Of course, the Jinshi literati all came from the Jinshi landlord family, and Wen Zhang was the cadre of the Zhao Guanjia to implement the land state ownership system, so of course he knew his image in the eyes of the literati.

"That's what the ministers think?" Wen Tianxiang asked the third brother.

"The officials who have the opportunity to be promoted to the ministerial level are very happy." Wen Zhang replied unhappily.

"Huh." Wen Tianxiang finally laughed from the bottom of his heart for a few days. The original ministerial-level officials are out of office one term early, which means that the officials below can take office one term earlier, which is of course a great thing for those officials who are eager to be promoted. Thinking that the third brother Wenzhang at home is not yet fifty years old, and the minister is gone, he may be promoted to minister. Wen Tianxiang can understand this mood better.

Ignoring the eldest brother's mood, Wen Zhang continued: "Big brother, I just want to be sent to a rich county, you have to help me." ”

"It's still a few years before you reach the last term, and I'm afraid you'll be retired long ago." Wen Tianxiang replied somewhat casually.

Wen Zhang sighed: "Alas! Big brother, the court knows that the officials value you, and in a few months you will no longer be the acting prime minister. The prime minister didn't go to the county. Unless the eldest brother is dissatisfied with the official family, with the eldest brother's body, he should have done it longer than me. ”

Hearing this, Wen Tianxiang's mood fell again. This truth is correct, but Wen Tianxiang did retreat. The Zhao official family should be the most powerful official family in the Great Song Dynasty so far, that is, even Zhao Kuangyin, the Taizu of the Song Dynasty, is far inferior. Zhao Kuangyin did not dare to completely override all civil officials, let alone dominate the dynasty. After the surrender of Lin'an, the old tradition of scholars and officials ruling the world together also collapsed because of the incompetence of the scholars themselves. Wen Tianxiang still couldn't bear to see the scholars and doctors become insignificant in the imperial court.

After saying a few more words, Wen Zhang got up and said goodbye. Sending his younger brother away, Wen Tianxiang also felt that he didn't know how to deal with himself. After thinking about it, Wen Tianxiang felt that it was better to ask the minister. At least the reaction of the third brother Wen Zhang was beyond Wen Tianxiang's expectations.

The first to find it was naturally the male minister of science and technology. Mentioning this, the men of the science and technology all showed frustration in their expressions, but they all unexpectedly said that since it was the intention of the official family and the one-size-fits-all policy, they admitted it. It can be seen that all the men in science and engineering are not happy. Wen Tianxiang didn't have much hope for these people, since they all said so, let them go.

Next, Wen Tianxiang called the Minister of Civil Affairs first and asked him what he thought. After listening to Wen Tianxiang's simple question, the Minister of Civil Affairs sighed: "Prime Minister, the official family has the world in mind. I am in the Qing Dynasty of the Great Song Dynasty, but when I get to the county, many things are very undecent......"

After listening to the Minister of Civil Affairs' words of concern for the country and the people, Wen Tianxiang continued to ask: "Don't you think that the official family is a little too harsh on officials? ”

The Minister of Civil Affairs's face was bright, and he hurriedly asked, "Could it be that the Prime Minister is going to write a book?" ”

Even knowing that these people didn't actually have a seed, Wen Tianxiang couldn't help but be very unhappy in his heart. Although Wen Tianxiang himself disagreed with Zhao Jiaren's decision, he only felt that it was unspeakably 'unspeakable' to do so, and it was far from the point where everything had to be stopped. When Li Zong reused Dong Songchen, Wen Tianxiang was in his twenties. Jia seems to be in power, and Wen Tianxiang is only thirty years old. At that time, he still dared to take the initiative to resign and scolded in a book. Now that he is 60 years old, Wen Tianxiang has no reason to wronged himself.

So Wen Tianxiang asked rhetorically: "If you think this policy is wrong, why don't you write a book?" ”

"There have already been people who have been on the stage, and the officials who can be ministers are all pillars of the imperial court. Sending them to serve in the county is overkill and wastes talent. It's just that the official Weifu uses it for its own use, and I can't help it. The Minister of Civil Affairs sighed.

"Oh? Did you write the book yourself? Wen Tianxiang finally held back his ridicule. Zhao Jiaren believes that young county magistrates often do not have the ability to see through even the affairs of just one county, and they serve in the county, that is, they become officials and accumulate experience. There is no way to completely change the face of a county. On the contrary, it is recognized as the traitors Cai Jing and Ding Daquan, who are utilitarian and practical. Mulan Pi was repaired and Baiheling Road was opened, so that the problem of two poor counties in Fujian was solved from the root. If a traitor can still do it, shouldn't a good minister be able to do it? Wen Tianxiang must not accept this logic.

Feeling that his words were not agreed by Wen Tianxiang, the Minister of Civil Affairs put away his joy, "It's other officials who wrote the book." I didn't get into the book. ”

Wen Tianxiang wanted to say something, but in the end he didn't say anything and let the Minister of Civil Affairs go.

Later, several officials from Jinshi were invited to the Ministry of Officials, and when Foreign Minister Lu Baifeng discussed, Lu Baifeng's attitude was very frank, "Our Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Administration and Domain Affairs have already written to the officials, and our errand is management, and it is useless to put it in the county." Even if it is dispatched, it must also be sent to various overseas vassal states to serve as festival envoys or governors. ”

Such a confident speech made Wen Tianxiang finally smile a little. This is the answer that Wen Tianxiang agrees with and likes, the minister doesn't even have this confidence, this minister is in vain. He asked, "What do the officials say?" ”

Jinshi Lu Baifeng replied briskly: "The official family said that building a system at this stage is more important than being an official. You're really good for going overseas, but you have to do these groundwork when you get overseas. We want the officials to give us more benefits. Things have come to this point for the time being. ”

"You're not afraid that the official family will be angry?" Wen Tianxiang was surprised by this statement, he knew that he couldn't say such a thing.

"If the official family is a person who gets angry when he encounters something, how can he have such a feat. The official family made it clear that if this precedent is set now, people's appetite will only grow in the future. So he disapproves in principle. ”

This Tianxiang was a little curious, "Why?" ”

"The husbands of the ancients did not plow, and the grass and trees were sufficient for food; Women do not weave, neither do the skins and feet of beasts. Do not do enough to raise enough, the people are few and have more money, so the people do not fight. It is not possible to reward generously, not to impose heavy penalties, and the people are self-governing. It is not too many to have five sons, and there are five sons, and the eldest father is not dead, but has twenty-five grandchildren. It is because of the people and the lack of goods, and the work and the support is thin, so the people fight, although they are rewarded and punished, they are not free from chaos. Lu Baifeng came to a piece of Han Feizi's "Five Worms".

Wen Tianxiang nodded again and again after hearing this. In ancient times, men did not need to cultivate, and the wild fruit was enough to eat; Women do not need to weave, and the skins of animals are enough to wear. It is not necessary to exert effort and provide for it sufficiently. The population is small and there is a surplus of goods, so there is no need for people to fight for each other. Therefore, there are no heavy rewards or heavy penalties, and the people are naturally safe and sound. Now it is not too many people to have five sons, and each son has five sons, and the grandfather will have twenty-five grandsons before he dies. Therefore, the population is large, but the goods are scarce; I worked hard, but I still didn't have enough to eat. So the people contended with each other, even if they doubled their rewards and punished them constantly. As a result, chaos is inevitable.

This is actually the so-called 'Malthusian population trap' in later generations. After the Industrial Revolution, about 100 years later, the "two highs and one low" (high birth rate, high mortality rate, low growth rate) in the production of the Western population was gradually replaced by the trend of "three lows (low birth rate, low mortality rate, low growth rate)".

Many economists believe that the various factors of high mortality are the key processes in matching the reproduction of the population with the means of subsistence in the agricultural era, and Malthus said that war, famine, and plague are all ways to bring the population down to a level commensurate with the production of the means of subsistence, and that the idea that the number of people should be proportional to the development of agriculture in some way and to some extent is an implicit logic. Malthus put forward the theory of two progressions: population growth is in a geometric progression, while the means of subsistence only increase in an arithmetic progression, and the additional population must always be eliminated in some way, and the population cannot exceed the corresponding level of agricultural development. This theory has been called the "Malthusian trap".

Wen Tianxiang didn't know that there was a person named Malthus in another time and space, but he very much agreed with such insight. Not to mention that Zhao Guanjia's answer was tricky, but it was straight to the heart. couldn't help but continue to ask Zhao Jiaren what he thought of this question.

Lu Baifeng was obviously impressed by this, and he replied: "The official family said it well. We have several children, and we hope that each of them will be better than us in the future, at least not worse than us in life. And our children feel that their current life is a matter of course, and the official family especially emphasizes that our children will feel that the financial resources and official positions that our entire family has are taken for granted. They alone deserve everything we have......"

"This ...... Isn't it a bit too much? Wen Tianxiang couldn't help but interrupt Lu Baifeng's words when he heard this.

Lu Baifeng sighed, "Alas! I originally thought the same thing, but the official gave an example. If we think of everything we have as a bag of pancakes, and what each pancake does, we look at them separately. For parents, for ourselves, for each child, for friends and family. But in the eyes of the children, this pancake is actually a whole. He also said that if I didn't believe me, I would go home and do a few tests. I'll go back and follow what the official said......" Speaking of this, Lu Baifeng shook his head a little helplessly, "It's really so." ”

Wen Tianxiang was a smart person, and hurriedly asked, "How to test?" ”

"It's very simple, just go back and ask the children what they think a home should have. Listen to what they have to say. Anyway, none of my children would feel that the servants of the house were separated, not their servants, but the servants of the whole family. ”

This answer made Wen Tianxiang speechless for a while. Because he remembered that his son and daughter had used Wen Tianxiang's carriage privately. The carriage was also a means of transportation that could only be used by wealthy and powerful people in the Great Song Dynasty, and the carriage used by Wen Tianxiang was configured by the imperial court, with good shape, elegant equipment and excellent quality. If it is the price on the market, Wen Tianxiang's own purchase will be very painful. Not to mention that the horses that pull the carts are even better horses.

Traveling in such a carriage is naturally a great face-saving and can make most other people envious. For the sake of the child's private use of the carriage, Wen Tianxiang taught the children a hard lesson, and also reprimanded the coachman and the guard of the carriage a few times. This can barely be regarded as maintaining the family style of the Wen family.

Now listening to Lu Baifeng say this, Wen Tianxiang also felt a little worried in his heart. You don't even have to go home and ask about this kind of thing, in fact, it has happened several times. As for the matter of the servants in the house, well, Wen Tianxiang didn't want to ask anymore. Every baby wants to be self-centered, so that all the resources of the whole family are self-centered.

Thinking of this, Wen Tianxiang suddenly remembered the matter of finding the nine-tailed fox. As far as he could see, Zhao Qian didn't seem to have such a problem. Zhao Qian didn't rely on cultivation kung fu to use all the things that his father and mother had, and the prince, who was no longer young, didn't care about it at all.

"Prime Minister, do you still remember the official family going to find the nine-tailed fox?" Lu Baifeng sighed.

"Hmm." Wen Tianxiang responded.

"Do you remember the official family personally leading the horse for the saint?" Lu Baifeng's tone was full of sighs.

"Oh? …… Oh! Really! Wen Tianxiang also understood Lu Baifeng's sigh. The Zhao official family was the highest power in the Great Song Dynasty, and theoretically everyone in the Great Song Dynasty was obliged to work for the Zhao official family. Not to mention riding a horse in the barren mountains and mountains, it is a sedan chair carried by sixteen people in the Zhao Guan's family, and no one will feel that there is anything wrong.

But Zhao Jiaren, as an official, has no intention of borrowing from outsiders at all. Wen Tianxiang first saw Zhao Guan's family leading the horse for the queen, and even dismounted with the queen in his arms. I just think that the Zhao Guanjia couple is deeply affectionate and enviable. didn't expect that the couple's deep love was based on not seeking outsiders. This bearing, this style......

"The official family is simply a saint!" Wen Tianxiang sighed. No wonder he felt very comfortable by Zhao Jiaren's side, that was because Wen Tianxiang was originally a person who only wanted to do things for the country, but he met an emperor who never let others do private things for him. No matter how everyone quarrels, they will not let Wen Tianxiang really be wronged privately.

"The official family is simply a saint!" Wen Tianxiang sighed. No wonder he felt very comfortable by Zhao Jiaren's side, that was because Wen Tianxiang was originally a person who only wanted to do things for the country, but he met an emperor who never let others do private things for him. No matter how everyone quarrels, they will not let Wen Tianxiang really be wronged privately.