Chapter 264 Minglan's Guilt
"Your Highness!"
Sanshui's voice interrupted Zhao Xing's thoughts.
"What's the matter?" Zhao Xing asked.
"Lord Wang sent back a letter from the northwest." Sanshui said, walking forward with a letter in both hands.
Zhao Xing took the letter, opened it and started reading.
Before Gu Tingye and his colleagues went to the northwest to take up their posts, Zhao Xing asked Gu Tingye to reply to the letter from Wang Shao.
The letter talked about the situation in the Northwest and some of his thoughts.
Previously, Wang Shao wrote to Zhao Xing, saying that he wanted to go deep into the Hehuang area to investigate the situation there, but Zhao Xing did not agree.
After being rejected by Zhao Xing, Wang Shao thought of another way - to trade with the forces in the Hehuang area.
The Hehuang area was sandwiched between the two, where several Tibetan tribes and the Qiang people lived, and the situation was very chaotic.
It is very difficult to send people in to collect intelligence.
In fact, the Song Dynasty and the Hehuang area have always had trade relations.
The Liao Kingdom and Western Xia blocked the flow of war horses into the Song Dynasty. The loss of Lingzhou City also cut off the Song Dynasty's way of obtaining war horses from the Western Regions.
The Song Dynasty could only trade through the Hehuang area, or through Shu and Tubo on the other side of the plateau.
The various tribes in Hehuang were short of salt and iron, and the Song Dynasty had strict control over this aspect.
If they use salt and iron to trade privately with the various tribes in Hehuang, they will definitely gain their trust, and the caravans will be able to move freely in Hehuang, making it easier to collect intelligence about Hehuang.
It is not easy to achieve this, as salt and iron have always been government-run. Salt is easy to do, but iron is more troublesome.
Only Zhao Xing can solve this problem.
After reading it, Zhao Xing fell into silence.
It's just some salt and iron, and it has little impact on the Song Dynasty.
The Hehuang area is a loose group of people, and even if a certain amount of iron is obtained, it will only intensify the conflicts among the various tribes.
After all, the strength of each of their tribes is too weak. Only if they unite will they have the confidence to face Western Xia and the Song Dynasty.
Wang Shao's letter also vaguely revealed his intention to provide iron to the various tribes in Hehuang and provoke civil unrest in Hehuang.
This will also be of great help to the Song Dynasty's expedition to Hehuang.
Zhao Xing thought about it for a long time and finally agreed to Wang Shao's request.
But this matter must be handed over to someone you trust.
It is freezing cold in the north now, so the city repairs have to be suspended. Calculating the time, Sheng Wei and Sheng Changsong should be back soon.
…………
It was snowing heavily outside, but it was very warm inside the bedroom of Chaoyang Palace.
Zhao Xing was wearing a single layer of clothing, leaning against the head of the bed. Minglan was leaning in Zhao Xing's arms, her face still rosy, and she whispered the information about Western Xia that she had heard from Li Yunchu.
During this period, Minglan and Rulan often went to play with Li Yunchu. While chatting, Minglan pretended to be curious and asked Li Yunchu about the situation in Xixia.
Li Yunchu didn't have any ulterior motives, she just answered whatever Minglan asked.
Every time she asked for information, Minglan would come and tell Zhao Xing.
After several visits, Zhao Xing had a deeper understanding of the situation in Western Xia.
"Your Highness." Minglan looked up at Zhao Xing, seeming to be hesitant to speak.
"Do you feel that this is a bit unfair to her?" Zhao Xing asked.
It was Zhao Xing who ordered Rulan and Minglan to contact Li Yunchu.
Zhao Xing's explanation to Rulan was that Li Yunchu had just arrived in the Song Dynasty and was unfamiliar with the place. Rulan lived nearby, so she could go talk to Li Yunchu more often when she had nothing to do.
He did not hide anything from Minglan and told her directly, asking her to find a way to get some information about Western Xia from Li Yunchu.
Minglan went there with a purpose at first, and she didn't feel any burden in her heart.
But as time went on, Li Yunchu stopped guarding against her, which made her feel guilty.
Every time she came to tell Zhao Xing about the news she had heard from Li Yunchu, her sense of guilt grew deeper, and Zhao Xing could naturally sense it.
Zhao Xing kissed her on the forehead and sighed, "Do you feel that I'm taking advantage of women and are you a little disappointed in me?"
"I didn't." Minglan was anxious when she heard that. She propped herself up and looked at Zhao Xing, saying, "Although I am just a woman, I am not stupid. It's just that the concubine trusts me so much, I feel a little uncomfortable doing this."
Minglan was so excited that half of her body was exposed from the quilt, looking very seductive.
Zhao Xing resisted the urge, lifted the quilt to cover her, held her in his arms, and sighed, "The two countries are enemies for generations. Although they have maintained peace over the years, how long can this peace last? You also heard her say that although her brother is young, he is very ambitious.
Since the young emperor of Western Xia came to power, he has worked hard to govern the country and made important use of Han people. Now Western Xia is thriving.
As Xixia's national strength grows, will it be willing to remain in peace forever?
I am the crown prince of the Song Dynasty, and I will be the ruler of the people in the future. If the border is turbulent, countless soldiers will die in battle on the border. I also think this method is not honorable, but it can reduce countless casualties. "
"I understand everything, and I don't mean to blame Your Highness." Minglan said softly, "I just feel that Concubine Li is too pitiful."
Minglan didn't know what Zhao Xing did to Li Yunchu. She thought that Li Yunchu was in a bad mood at the beginning because of the marriage.
Minglan also studied for a few years, and she had heard stories such as Zhaojun's journey to the frontier and Princess Wencheng's marriage to Tubo.
Unlike those people who wrote extensively about and praised them, she felt that Wang Zhaojun and Princess Wencheng were both very pitiful.
Li Yunchu also came to the Song Dynasty as a marriage partner. When the Song Dynasty and Western Xia go to war in the future, Li Yunchu will be in a very difficult situation.
Even if Li Yunchu knew that some of the information was leaked to the Song Dynasty by her, could he accept it?
"Don't think too much. I will treat her well in the future." Zhao Xing said.
"Yeah." Minglan nodded.
"Your brother is not a child anymore. Is he in school now?" Zhao Xing changed the subject.
Because of his butterfly effect, Wei Xiaoniang became pregnant earlier than in the original drama.
He is seven or eight years old now.
"Changlin entered school last year. The last time I went home, my wife said that Changlin studied very hard and the teacher praised him highly." Minglan felt much better when she mentioned her younger brother.
Zhao Xing looked at Minglan's bright smile and felt a little distracted, his hands moving around restlessly.
"Your Highness." Minglan noticed Zhao Xing's actions, her face flushed with shame, she was reluctant to accept, and murmured.
…………
"Greetings, Your Highness!" Wang Anshi bowed.
"No need for formalities." Zhao Xing waved his hand and asked someone to let Wang Anshi sit down.
After Wang Anshi thanked him, he sat down and said, "Your Highness, the amount of money loaned out under the Qingmiao Law in each county has been counted."
"Tell me in detail." Zhao Xing said.
"The counties have borrowed a total of more than 135,000 taels, most of which were used to purchase farm tools and oxen. Now the people who rent land from the government have enough farm tools and oxen. As long as there is no major natural disaster next year, these people will be able to be self-sufficient and the government will not have to worry too much." Wang Anshi said.
"Yes." Zhao Xing smiled and said, "You did a good job. Is there enough money in the counties?"
"It's enough. The rent paid from those fields has not been used up yet," said Wang Anshi.
"That's good. You can ask each county to count the rest and then hand it over to the national treasury." Zhao Xing thought for a while and said.
If it were left in the counties, given the nature of those officials, they would probably use it up with all sorts of excuses.
Even if the money is handed over to the national treasury, it may not be used for practical purposes, but it can shut some people up.
"Yes!" Wang Anshi responded, and said, "Your Highness, I think the land tax is unreasonable. At present, the tax per mu of good land and bad land is the same. Even if Your Highness implements the tax distribution according to the land in the future, this tax method is not reasonable."
"Jiefu, just say whatever you want to say." Zhao Xing said.
"I think the land should be divided into different grades according to its quality. Good land should pay more taxes, while poor land should pay less. This is the only way to be fair," said Wang Anshi.
Upon hearing this, Zhao Xing tapped the table unconsciously with his fingers and fell into deep thought.
He remembered that this item seemed to be one of Wang Anshi's reforms in history, but he couldn't remember the details clearly.
The people paid land tax according to the amount of land they owned.
However, the amount of grain produced by good fields and poor fields is different, and it is indeed unfair to collect taxes based on per acre.
Moreover, the lands annexed by the landlords and powerful people are all good farmlands, and they look down on the inferior ones.
Doing this seems to be targeting the landlords and gentry, but the common people will not only not suffer any loss, but will also benefit from it.
After all, most of the land owned by the people is of inferior quality or poor quality.
According to Wang Anshi's method, many people would pay less taxes.
Even if some people have some good land, the overall tax they pay will not increase.
But after careful consideration, Zhao Xing shook his head and said, "Jiefu, have you ever thought about how to classify the quality of land? How can we ensure that no one will classify the good as bad, or the bad as good? Moreover, the quality of land is not fixed."
This method seems to be a good idea, but it has a huge drawback.
If the landlords and gentry join forces with local officials to classify the common people's inferior fields as good fields, and the landlords and gentry's good fields as inferior fields, then this policy will become a policy that harms the people.
This is bound to happen, and it’s difficult to prevent.
"Jiefu, it is often difficult to achieve absolute fairness, we can only achieve relative fairness. If we blindly pursue absolute fairness, it will leave more loopholes, which is not a good thing." Zhao Xing said.
"Your Highness, you just need to set detailed classification standards and leave no loopholes..."
"Jiefu!"
Zhao Xing interrupted him and said, "The court clearly has laws, so why do so many people still commit crimes? Some people say that the people are illiterate and don't understand the laws. Is this really the case?
People should understand that if you kill someone, you must pay with your life, and if you owe someone money, you must pay it back, right? But there are many murders every year.
Anything, once it is complicated, no matter how perfect it is, will always have loopholes. On the contrary, if it is simpler, and the amount of grain paid by all acres of land is the same, there will be no loopholes.
It may seem unfair to ordinary people, but if someone takes advantage of it, the people will suffer in the end. Do you understand?"
"I understand," said Wang Anshi.
Zhao Xing saw that Wang Anshi still looked somewhat unwilling, so he sighed and said, "I have read all your reform policies. Your starting point is good, but many times you make simple things complicated."
(End of this chapter)