When Li Hao arrived outside the Funing Palace, it happened that Zhao Zhen had something to discuss with people in the palace, so after Tongbing was an internal official, Li Hao waited outside the palace.

However, before Zhao Zhen's matter was finished, Gu Tingye got the news of Li Hao's entry into the palace and came over.

When he saw Gu Tingye, Li Hao really wanted to turn around and leave, because Li Hao knew that he was coming to him now, and there was absolutely nothing good about it.

Whether Gu Tingye wanted to let him help reject Zhao Ceying, or help persuade the old lady of the Sheng family, Li Hao was unwilling to get involved.

But at this juncture of waiting for the summons, Li Hao couldn't leave directly.

So he was caught by Gu Tingye, and he wanted to pull Li Hao aside to speak.

Li Hao was naturally unwilling, so he said, "I'm still waiting for the official family to summon me, or I'll go over to find you when I'm done, and we'll talk slowly."

But Gu Tingye was so easy to deal with, and said directly: "Let's not go anywhere else, just talk to the side, I'll let the internal officials help watch it, and when the official family summons us, just come and tell us."

After saying that, he greeted the internal officials outside the hall and asked the family to help, but they really agreed.

So there was no way, Li Hao could only walk to the side with Gu Tingye.

At this time, Gu Tingye complained, "What are you doing, it looks like you want to avoid me."

Li Hao said: "What are you talking about, I have been busy with official business recently, and I haven't been back at home much, where do I have the time to hide from you."

Gu Tingye answered: "It's not that you're hiding from me, you can say it last time, if I have any problems, I can ask you for help."

Li Hao said in his heart, isn't this one time or the other, it was he who was forced by the Wei family to marry Minglan at the beginning, so he wanted to help Gu Tingye to stir up the situation.

But now that he has decided on his side, it doesn't matter whether he helps Gu Tingye or not, and in terms of Gu Tingye's image in the eyes of the Wei family, Li Hao wants to help Gu Tingye, and it is estimated that he will inevitably be complained.

But Li Hao couldn't do it in front of him, after all, he still had to save face, so he had to say, "Yes, what do you want me to help with, let's talk ugly things ahead, and I can't help with anything."

Gu Tingye said, "Don't worry, I will definitely not embarrass you.

It's just that the old lady of the Sheng family has recently begun to prepare to find someone for Minglan to do, and I want you to help drag it out."

Hearing this, Li Hao said speechlessly, "This is not to embarrass me, how can I help you in this matter, the old lady will not listen to me."

As a result, Gu Tingye said, "I have to help you think of a way, why don't I come to you."

Li Hao hurriedly refused, but he hadn't said it yet.

I heard the internal official calling, saying that the official family was idle and wanted to summon Li Hao into the palace.

Then Gu Tingye took the opportunity to say, "I'll leave this matter to you, I'm sure you will be able to help handle it."

said that he turned his head and left, not giving Li Hao a chance to refuse at all.

When Li Hao reacted and was about to catch up and speak, the internal official grabbed him and said, "Don't chase after you, let's hurry in and reply first, the official family is still waiting."

At this time, Li Hao couldn't refuse directly, so he had to follow the internal official into the Funing Hall first, thinking that he would find Gu Tingye when he came out. ….

After entering the palace, Zhao Zhen said, "Speaking of which, since you took up your post in the third division, you haven't entered the palace these days, and you haven't come to see the affairs of the front division of the palace."

Li Hao explained: "After the minister arrived at the third division, Ouyang ordered the minister to sort out the account books, and the minister was busy for three months, and he was just busy a few days ago, so he really didn't have time to enter the palace, and asked the official family to forgive him."

"I have also read the account books you counted, the accounts are clear and easy to understand, and the details of transactions are also clear at a glance, which is indeed very good."

Zhao Zhen first praised him, and then asked, "By the way, you asked to see you today, is there anything wrong?"

"Thank you for the compliment." After Li Hao thanked him, he explained his intention: "The minister entered the palace today because the official family had previously said that the minister should be clear before he was hired, saying that he had a congratulatory gift, and the minister entered the palace today for this purpose

thing."

Zhao Zhen said with a smile: "It turns out that you are here for this matter, and the date of your family's employment is set, and the wedding date can be set."

Li Hao said: "The next appointment is scheduled for the first day of the next month, and the minister will go with his mother.

As for the wedding date, it will be counted for a few days, but it will not be decided until it is confirmed by the British government."

Zhao Zhen looked at the marriage he had set, which was about to be completed, and he was very pleased.

However, Zhao Zhen was also worried that Li Hao might not really like this, and if something was wrong in the future, he still advised: "Actually, I understand that you may not really like this marriage, but now that the matter has been decided, you have to accept it.

The British Duke is a veteran of the Three Dynasties, a pillar in the country, and you must not treat his girl slowly."

Li Hao replied: "What is the official family talking about, since I want to marry her, I will respect each other like guests in the future, but I will not treat her slowly."

Hearing this, Zhao Zhen felt that Queen Cao was not the person Zhao Zhen really liked at the beginning.

But Concubine Yang ordered Zhao Zhen to marry and become the queen, and they respected each other like guests.

At this time, Zhao Zhen was not interested in talking, so he said, "I have written down this matter, and I will send the reward to your house in a few days, and you will also send it to the British Duke as a dowry at that time."

But Li Hao was still curious, so he asked, "Thank you for the reward from the official family, but what is the official family going to reward?"

Zhao Zhen replied, "You'll know then, do you still have actual things?"

Hearing this, Li Hao understood that it was time to leave, so he said, "That's gone, the minister will retire first."

After leaving the Funing Palace, Li Hao originally planned to go to Gu Tingye, but when he walked to the Right Chengtian Gate, he asked the guards guarding the gate and found out that Gu Tingye had already led people to the harem to inspect.

It was inconvenient for Li Hao to go there after all, so he had to go out of the palace and prepare to go back to Sansi.

But he didn't think about it, Li Hao didn't even reach the Xuande Gate, but he was stopped by Zhu Neiguan, only to hear Zhu Neiguan say: "Master Li, you let me find it easy, come back to Funing Hall with me, the official family has something to do with you."

Although Li Hao was strange, he still followed Zhu Neiguan and walked back, and then listened to Zhu Neiguan complain: "You want to go out of the palace through Xuande Gate, just go directly, why do you still go around to Xihua Gate, let me find it easily."

Hearing this, Li Hao knew that he must have gone out to ask someone, thinking that he was going over there to go out of the palace through Xihua Gate. ….

So I first looked for it, and then estimated that from the mouth of the guards of the Right Chengtianmen, I knew that I was going to leave the palace from the Xuande Gate, so I took a big wrong road before I found myself.

So Li Hao explained: "I was originally going to find Gu Tingye, but later I heard that he was leading people to patrol the harem, so I took a detour to Xuande Gate.

Isn't this side close to the Sansi Yamen, and I'm going to go directly from here, I guess I'll have already left the palace gate, and then you will be more troublesome for me."

After explaining, Li Hao asked, "By the way, I just left from the official family, why did the official family call me back again, is there something wrong?"

Zhu Neiguan said, "I don't know about this, but just now Master Ouyang and the two Grand Ministers went to the Funing Palace, and then it didn't take long for the official family to order me to come to Lord Li."

Hearing this, Li Hao also knew in his heart, and hurriedly said, "Thank you Neiguan Zhu."

Zhu Neiguan also nodded, which made Li Hao sigh that it was still useful for him to make good connections in the palace at the beginning, at least these news could be more well-informed.

When the two arrived outside the Funing Palace, Zhu Neiguan went in first to report, and soon Li Hao entered the hall.

And the scene in the hall, sure enough, was the same as Li Hao thought, Zhao Zhen took the copy of the law change outline written by Li Hao in his hand and looked at it again.

I was so fascinated that I didn't seem to notice Li Hao who had already come in.

On the contrary, Han Qi and Fu Bi, who were sitting next to him, looked at Li Hao in unison after Li Hao came in, and there was strangeness in his eyes, as if he was looking at a monster.

It's just that Zhao Zhen didn't speak, and no one in the hall spoke, so Li Hao felt in the hall

The atmosphere was a little weird.

And this silence didn't get better until Zhao Zhen finished reading the whole set of strategies, with a moment of contemplation.

Because at this time, Zhao Zhen finally spoke: "I just heard from Ouyang Qing's family that you came up with this strategy alone, and this is true."

Li Hao replied: "This set of strategies cannot be considered to be thought up by the ministers alone, after all, the ministers also combined a lot of old policies in it.

In particular, the provisions of the new policy during the Qingli period were summed up."

Hearing Li Hao's words, Zhao Zhen still didn't believe it, and said, "I still can't believe that you have only been in the officialdom for a few years, and you can have such attainments.

If you tell the truth now, I will count you as a meritorious contributor, and I will not blame you.

But if I find out, this is your impostor, and that is the crime of deceit."

Li Hao replied firmly: "This is what the minister himself summed up, and the minister will never dare to bully the king."

Li Hao is saying righteous words, anyway, the guys who introduced these policies really haven't thought about it now.

When it comes to the timeline, the initiative must be his own, so of course there is no problem in saying so.

That's all for it, in fact, Zhao Zhen already has some faith, but in order to verify.

is still like Ouyang Xiu, according to this set of strategies, ask questions for Li Hao to answer.

Seeing that Li Hao could answer in depth, and could explain in detail in combination with the actual situation, the kind of idea that was familiar to him and obviously had personal ideas made Zhao Zhenzhen believe that this was Li Hao's own idea. ….

So I couldn't help but boast, "I didn't know that you had such a talent for practical use, and such a perfect strategy should not be done in a day, it seems that you have already started to prepare."

When Li Hao heard this, he thought in his heart, "Of course, it can't be written in a day, but it doesn't take as long as Zhao Zhen thought.

After all, a lot of the content was studied in later generations, and I just sorted out and adjusted it according to the actual situation.

But these words naturally have to be followed by Zhao Zhen's words, or they don't show their own merits."

He replied: "It is the duty of a minister to serve the court, and since the minister came to study, he has been bent on establishing his heart for heaven and earth, establishing his life for the people, continuing his studies for the saints, and opening peace for all generations.

Therefore, since the minister entered the court, he felt the pain of the failure of the new policy during the Qingli period, so he began to prepare for these, and now he is valued by the official family, and it is also the blessing of the minister."

As a result, before Li Hao finished speaking, Zhao Zhen and the others were already stunned.

At this time, Li Hao thought of the four sentences of Hengqu that he had just said, which had not yet come out at this time.

After all, Zhang Zai and himself were Jinshi in the same year, and at this time he was still serving as an official in Weizhou, and he had not started to lecture, so these four sentences naturally did not come into being.

So when I first heard these four sentences, the shock brought by Gang Zhao Zhen can be imagined.

Soon several people reacted, and Zhao Zhen said: "Okay, what you said in these four sentences is really good, establish a heart for heaven and earth, establish a life for the people, continue to learn for the saints, and open peace for all generations.

I'm glad you have such ambitions."

Of course, not only Zhao Zhen, but also Fu Bi, Han Qi, and Ouyang Xiu looked at Li Hao's eyes, and they also became more gentle.

Soon, Zhao Zhen recovered, got down to business, and said, "But the idea you put forward is thought of with several great ministers, and just a few days ago, several great ministers asked for orders to continue to change the law.

I have already selected a candidate and sent him to Yongxing Military Road to try out the Fang Tian Average Tax Law, and I have also dabbled in other measures, many of which are similar to yours."

Hearing this, Li Hao was just about to be modest, so he heard Fu Bi say: "The officials don't lie for us, Li Hao's plan to change the law is far more complete than the ministers think.

Of course, there is no way to strengthen the army, and I think it is only taking into account the current situation, so it is not triggered.

Otherwise, Li Hao's time of leading troops in the army will not be short, and he will never fail to perceive the pros and cons."

Hearing this, everyone looked at Li Hao again, waiting for Li Hao's reply.

Li Hao replied

"This is true, in fact, our dynasty has always emphasized literature over military force, and there are naturally mistakes and omissions in armaments.

It's just that in my opinion, there are priorities, some things can be done now, and some things can't be rushed."

Zhao Zhen asked, "Oh, then you can talk about it specifically."

Li Hao explained: "If you want to change the law in the Great Song Dynasty, the first premise is to make the government and the opposition understand that the current imperial court has encountered a crisis, and the change has reached the point where it has to be done.

At the same time, what needs to be done in the early stage of the reform is some quick and effective measures that can produce results in a short period of time and will not provoke turmoil in the government and the opposition.

It made the people feel the actual benevolence and kindness from the reform of the law, and also made the officials carry out profound reflection and improvement, making the reform a consensus fashion. ….

Only when the officials and the people approve of it, can they support the reform of the law, and we unite the majority of the people to fight against a very small number of people, so that the reform can be truly successful."

Hearing this, Zhao Zhen asked directly, "Then you say, if it were you, what would you choose to do now?"

Li Hao replied: "If it were me, the first thing I would do to reform would be Yanzheng.

I have roughly reckoned that from the Qingli period to the present, the salt tax collected by the imperial court has continued to decrease over the years, and this situation is very abnormal.

A large amount of the salt tax was swallowed by the salt merchants and local corrupt officials in the form of private salt, if they could pay back the salt tax that was greedy for ink.

I estimate that this part of the salt tax that has been embezzled will be at least 20 million taels or more, and after the elimination of these moths, the average annual salt tax will increase by nearly 4 million taels."

Hearing this figure, the rest of the people were a little surprised, they knew that a lot of salt taxes had been omitted.

But I never imagined that this number would be so large.

You must know that at this time, the overall tax of the imperial court in a year only adds up to more than 80 million taels, so this figure is already very objective.

After thinking about it, Zhao Zhen immediately asked, "If I order you to pay the salt tax, you can be sure that you can complete this matter."

Hearing Zhao Zhen's words, Li Hao didn't speak yet, but the rest of the people couldn't sit still.

Han Qi began by saying, "Master Li may indeed be extremely talented and worthy of being entrusted with a heavy responsibility.

However, the payment of the salt tax necessitated contact with the local officials, and Master Li lacked experience in this area.

It would be safer to send important ministers of the court to pay the salt tax, and at the same time, it would be able to calm some local officials and make them dare not make trouble."

Then Ouyang Xiu also said, "Yes, and you didn't also point out the marriage to Li Hao, this salt tax payment can't be done in a short time.

Why don't you let the others go, and Li Hao will help come up with ideas in the court."

Zhao Zhen felt that what Han Qi and Ouyang Xiu said was also reasonable, and said, "What you said is also good, but after all, this matter was sorted out by Li Hao himself, and he is the only one who is most familiar with it."

So he asked Li Hao's opinion: "What do you think about this matter, do you want to go south to pay the salt tax in person."

Li Hao replied: "The minister is naturally willing to serve the official family, but as Han Daxiang said, the minister does not know much about local affairs.

If you ask the minister to clear the payment, I am afraid that the official family will appoint a serious minister who is familiar with local affairs to go with the minister.

In addition, a large amount of salt tax has been leaked, and there must be local soldiers and horses involved, and it is necessary to transfer a soldier and horse from Beijing to accompany it."

Zhao Zhen saw that Li Hao had thought about this, so he agreed: "Okay, then this matter will be handled by the Qing family."

What you just said, I have agreed, you can dispatch soldiers and horses from the front of the palace, and many of them are your old subordinates, which is also convenient for listening.

As for the person who assists, you can choose it and report it to me.

In addition, it is not appropriate for you to be a judge of the three divisions to handle this settlement, and I will appoint you as the deputy envoy of the three divisions of Quanzhi."

Although the official rank has not been promoted, since they have all been temporarily replaced, when they come back from their meritorious service, it is estimated that they will have to be promoted to at least the fourth grade. ….

So I hurriedly thanked

Said, "Minister, thank you, the official family, Longen."

Zhao Zhen said, "Okay, then you can prepare first these days, and when you get hired, you will immediately get up and go south."

I will also help you explain this to the British Princess, after all, you are busy with business, and I want to come to the British Princess's support for you."

Subsequently, Zhao Zhen and Li Hao and others discussed this strategy, and this research was done until dark, and before the palace gate was closed, several people left the palace in a hurry.

On the way, Han Qi and Fu Bi both praised Li Hao, but Ouyang Xiu looked a little wrong.

Then when he left, because Li Hao didn't come in his own carriage, he still went back with Ouyang Xiu.

In the carriage, Ouyang Xiu said, "Why do you have nothing to do with this, you think those salt merchants and officials in the south are easy to deal with."

Li Hao replied, "I know that my uncle cares about me, but this thing is always for people to do, and if other people can do it, I can't do it.

As for the salt merchants and the local officials who colluded, I really didn't really care much.

This time, there are people in front of the palace, and they will not dare to gather troops and horses to fight me, if that is the case, then I will die of joy."

Hearing this, Ouyang Xiu said, "You, on the surface, they naturally don't dare to come nonsense, but in secret, no one can say what they will do.

Anyway, if you go down this time, you must be cautious and don't act impulsively."

After telling this, Ouyang Xiu asked again, "Who do you want to take to the south this time, do you have any ideas?"

Li Hao replied: "I have a general idea of the specific candidates, and I am familiar with them all.

Only in terms of civil servants, I really don't know a few people, and I must have a trustworthy team here.

So I'm going to pull my Uncle Sheng up, and my senior brother Yan Fu, and then pick a few people from the three divisions who are good at arithmetic, it should be enough."

After hearing this, Ouyang Xiu said, "That's fine, your uncle has also been a local official for more than ten years, and many of his deeds are familiar to him, plus he is trustworthy, so he is indeed a good candidate."

The people in the three divisions, I'll find them for you, and I'll recommend someone for you, do you remember Cai Xiang?"

From knowledge to strength