A trip starting from the courtyard

Chapter 664 I'm Too Difficult!

Duke of Qi
Ru Lan carried a bamboo basket of corn, dragged Ming Lan, and Yu Yanran came to the courtyard.A few wild geese who were taking a leisurely walk in the small courtyard to enjoy the scenery saw the bamboo basket in Rulan's hand and knew it was for feeding. They ran up to Rulan one by one, eagerly 'quack quack quack', that posture was very enthusiastic up.

"Everyone stand still, don't crowd!" Ru Lan ordered, several wild geese immediately lined up and stood in a row, Ru Lan took out five rice bowls of different colors from the bamboo basket, and put them one by one, Yan Ran Minglan thought it was interesting, Also help pack rations together.

Seeing Lan Minglan's vigorous masturbation, Yan Ran couldn't help but also masturbated a gray wild goose in front of her. It was fluffy and slippery, and it felt super good in the hand. The leg beast glanced at her, if it wasn't for the friend of the gold master, he would have yelled at her twice, let out a dissatisfied 'crack', and stuck his head into the bowl again, this scene made him laugh out loud, and turned his head to Rulan and said, " No wonder you brought a few little ones with you, and I would be reluctant to leave home if you wanted to."

Sheng Minglan said, "You don't know. A while ago, the second brother got engaged and asked the fifth sister for two wild geese, and the fifth sister scolded the second brother."

Ru Lan stretched out her hand to rub Xiaobai a couple of times, and snorted, "Second brother has no sincerity at all, how could he treat someone else's dowry as his own dowry?"

Minglan suddenly said, "If Yanran marries my second elder brother, fifth elder sister might be willing to borrow it."

Yu Yanran's pretty face flushed, the two families had mentioned this matter, and the old lady Sheng had even talked to her grandmother about it, but unfortunately her father didn't like Sheng Hong's small family at all, with no money and no family background He has no backing, belongs to the "three no family", and the Sheng family's family style is not very good, so it's nothing.

Ru Lan rolled her eyes and said, "Let's forget it, if Yan Ran marries Second Brother, both of them will be bored, and they won't be able to speak two words a day, and they won't be bored to death after a long time!"

Seeing that her friend was a little embarrassed, Ming Lan immediately changed the subject, "Yan Ran, what do you think of my cousin?"

Yu Yanran asked blankly, "Who is your cousin?"

Minglan hurriedly explained, "Just the three scholars who came with us today. The tallest one, wearing a blue gown, is my cousin, named Li Yu, who studied at Songshan Academy before coming to Beijing, and is very honest. But I'm afraid your father won't like it, his family has been in business for generations."

Yu Yanran smiled wryly in her heart, Ming Lan misunderstood, she was just a bargaining chip in the eyes of her father, as long as she gave enough benefits, she wouldn't care what the other party's family was doing.
Wang Lidong walked into the backyard, greeted the three girls, came to Rulan, squatted down, picked up Xiaobai, and rubbed a couple of them. His hair was shiny and shiny, and he was in good spirits. It seemed that his little life was going very well. s.But this weight is very heavy, at least ten catties. I touched my belly and said to Ru Lan, "It's all fat. If you continue to feed like this, you won't be able to fly in the future."

Ru Lan said, "I will let Xiaobai and the others fly for half an hour every day. By the way, second brother Heng, help me catch another wild goose with the color of Xiaobai. The other four are all right, and Xiaobai is alone Yes, so poor"

Wang Lidong looked at some of Xiaobai's features, turned out to be a 'single dog', nodded and said, "In two days, I will catch a mother and let the little guy marry a wife."

"Brother Heng, how do you know that Xiaobai is male?"

Wang Lidong briefly explained the identification method. The female wild goose: has a small body, short and round body, short neck, small head, short and narrow beak, round eyes, and downy wing corners. If it does not meet these conditions, it is a male.

Ming Lan asked aloud, "Second Brother Heng, it doesn't seem so noisy outside."

Glancing at Minglan, the little girl is quite perceptive, Wang Lidong said, "King Yan has already ordered her to be punished."

"The rebellion is over so soon?" Ming Lan opened her mouth in surprise, and looked at Brother Sun. It was around four or five quarters (2:[-] p.m.), not even a day. In the past, such things took at least ten days. , Xiao Banyue, this time it's like playing house. "Then daddy and second brother are okay?"

Yu Yanran anxiously asked, "Second Brother Heng, are my grandfather and grandmother all right?"

"My uncle and Changbai are safe, and the old Taishi and his wife are also fine."

The three girls all looked delighted.

Yu Yanran continued to ask, "Second brother Heng, did my grandfather leave the palace?"

"Let's go into the room and talk about it." Wang Lidong brought the three girls into the room, and after Mrs. Sheng and Mrs. Wang arrived, he briefly described what happened in the palace.

Knowing that King Yan, who raised the rebellion, was dead, Mrs. Sheng and Mrs. Wang were overjoyed. Mrs. Wang clasped his hands together and sincerely said a few words of thanks to the three saints.

Wang Lidong continued, "The rebellion is almost over now, but the news hasn't spread yet, and a small number of rebels are still rebelling."

Although Mrs. Sheng wanted to go home very much, she had such a large and mighty family, no matter if she encountered rebels or forbidden soldiers, she couldn't please her.As the old saying goes, "Thieves pass like a comb, soldiers pass like a grate, and once a swordsman passes by, the head falls to the ground." '

Thieves and bandits plundered the people like combing them with a comb, and there were still survivors afterwards; officers and soldiers plundered the people like combing them with a bamboo grate, and they robbed them all afterwards.

So they decided to temporarily stay in Qi Guogong's mansion for one night, and they would go back after the people in the capital went to the streets.

Ru Lan's eyes brightened, she secretly exchanged a glance with Wang Lidong, this scene happened to be seen by Wang Shi
At night, after dinner, Wang Lidong chatted with Mrs. Sheng and Mrs. Wang for a while, then took his leave and left.

After coming over for a while, Ru Lan clutched her belly and said, "Mom, I'm going outside to digest food."

Wang grabbed Ru Lan who was about to run away, and said, "It just so happens that I also want to digest."

"Ah?" Ru Lan looked surprised, looked at the old woman's belly, and said, "Mom, you didn't seem to eat much just now, did you?"

Wang said, "I heard that the small garden of Brother Heng's house is very beautiful. I haven't visited it yet. I just took the opportunity to take a look."

Seeing the old lady staring with a pair of eyes, with a horrible look of eating herself without agreeing, Ru Lan could only reluctantly nod her little head.
No matter where Ru Lan was going to go that night, Wang would never leave her. She fell asleep in the middle of the night and held her arm tightly, causing her to collapse.
Early the next morning, the emperor decreed that Zhao Zongquan, the uncle of Dongxiang, be the crown prince of the Song Dynasty, and named him
Zhao Shu.As for the canonization ceremony, I didn’t mention it, but according to the news from the palace, the new crown prince felt that the ceremony was too wasteful of gold and silver, and proposed to save money and spend it on the people, which made the people of the capital feel good about this strange prince +10 .

But anyone who understands has probably guessed that Zhao Zongquan has always been cautious and timid, this guy should be worried about something going wrong, and it just happens to kill two birds with one stone. What a good plan!
With the issuance of the imperial decree, the city of Tokyo gradually returned to normal. At noon, more than half of the shops on the street were open, and the imperial guards were no longer seen in the city. Jiying Lane.

Sheng Hong and Chang Bai had been waiting at the gate of their house for a long time. The family reunion couldn't help crying with their headaches and joy. The touching scene made all the maids and servants shed a lot of tears.

After venting, Sheng Hong pulled Changbai, walked up to Wang Lidong, and bowed deeply, "It's really thanks to Brother Heng's help that my Sheng family was unscathed this time."

Wang Lidong hurriedly moved half a step to the side, "What is Uncle doing, we are all a family, and we should."

Sheng Hong stopped his son-in-law and thanked him sincerely for a long time. This time, Wang Lidong not only kept his wife and two daughters safe, but also helped keep the Sheng family's property.Before Wang Lidong left yesterday, he placed 30 guards at Sheng's house, and in one day they caught more than [-] bandits and five servants who stole property from the house and were about to run away.

I owe a lot of favors.

Great Song Palace, Zichen Palace
Prince Zhao Zongquan looked at the memorial in his hand, frowning into Sichuan characters. The content was that the Yellow River flooded three days ago.The fields in Huazhou, Chanzhou, Caozhou and other states were flooded, and a large number of houses collapsed. The tragedy was unprecedented. I hope that the imperial court will immediately carry out disaster relief and need to recruit 300 civilians and [-] million yuan in disaster relief funds.
'Snapped! 'Slapped the memorial on the table, rubbed the temples, I have been the prince for ten days, and I have never had a day of peace of mind. Almost every day there are disasters, either drought or earthquakes. In the final analysis, two words--money!

But in the TMD treasury, there are only more than 500 million guan left, which is the monthly salary of the officials of the Song Dynasty and more than 100 million troops for the next month.
But if there is no disaster relief from Huazhou, it will only be more than 30 miles away from Fengzhou, and the disaster victims will flood into Kaifeng, and he, the newly appointed prince, will have a bad reputation!

Looking up at the roof - it's too difficult for me!

"Your Highness, did you forget about the inner storage?" The crown princess, Shen Shi, handed over a cup of hot tea, and reminded the official when she saw the sad look on her face.

Hearing the words Nei Zangku, Zhao Zongquan became even more furious. He looked at the chief counselor and said, "Tell the Crown Princess how much money is left in the Nei Zang Kuo."

Chief counselor Li Jixun got up and bowed his hands, saying, "To the Crown Princess, there are only 50000 guan left in the inner storage!"

The emperor of the Song Dynasty had special sources of income, such as mountains, rivers and forests tax, salt and iron tax, and market tax, etc. In addition, there were tribute items from the vassal state, property that was confiscated from the family, and things that were robbed in neighboring countries. A special depository institution is called "inner treasury".

Prince Zhao Zongquan re-patted the book case again, and sneered loudly, "There are only a pitiful [-] guan left in the private treasury of the dignified Song Dynasty officials!"

The concubine Shen was shocked, "Why is it only [-] guan, this... Taizu has hidden more than [-] million guan in the inner treasury"

One of the major events that Taizu Zhao Kuangyin never forgot was to regain the "Sixteen States of Yanyun". To fight a war is to fight for money, so after the founding of the People's Republic of China, Zhao Kuangyin began to save money, but unfortunately he died suddenly before he could save enough.

Zhao Zongquan said with a wry smile, "Lady, this happened a hundred years ago. During the period of Taizu Taizong, the internal storage could only be entered and not exited. I have read the records. When Emperor Zhenzong took over, the internal storage had more than 3000 million guan, but now In the hands of the officials, there are only more than 1300 million guan left. In the past 30 years, there are more than [-] guan left, which is not bad.”

Emperor Zhenzong is too prodigal!
The Crown Princess Shen muttered a few times, but finally closed her mouth.No matter how outrageous the ancestors did, their children and grandchildren can only swallow it. "Why don't you call Ce'er, Cong Xing and the others will figure out a way together. As the saying goes, three cobblers are better than Zhuge Liang."

Zhao Zongquan smiled, nodded and said, "Remember to call Gu Tingye, I happened to find them for something."

Picking up the teacup and taking a few sips, Zhao Zongquan took the next memorial, opened it, and was a little dazed, the memorial was handed over by Qi Hai, the third envoy of the State of Qi, and the content was just one thing, please resign!

During the inspection of salt affairs on Jingdong Road this time, Qi Hai accidentally fell and couldn't move half of his body!

This time, Zhao Zongquan thought, was too coincidental.

Originally, he was still thinking about finding a reason to remove Qi Hai, and he could only rest assured that the money bag was in his own hands, but Qi Hai has done really well these years, and his income has increased significantly every year. Bian's income is estimated to exceed 9000 million guan, which is 2000 million guan more than before Qi Hai took over. They have done such a good job, and if they want people to move their positions, there is only one way. Promotion.

But this is not what he wants.

Qi Hai is a member of the current official family, and also the queen's cheap son-in-law
"Father, what are you looking at?" Zhao Ceying walked into the hall, seeing his father's troubled face, he leaned forward to take a look.

Seeing that it was his son, Zhao Zongquan handed over the memorial in his hand.

Zhao Ceying took it and looked at it carefully, and said happily, "Father, this is a good thing. I didn't expect such a coincidence."

Zhao Zongquan said, "You mean to give a direct reply?"

Zhao Ceying understood his father's worries, and hurriedly persuaded him, "Of course I agree. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Regardless of whether the Duke of Qi is really sick or pretending to be sick, he offered to resign on his own initiative. Even the officials and the queen can't make a fuss about it." .

I didn't expect Duke Qi to be so knowledgeable.After taking down the third envoy, the father and king can speak a lot more forcefully. "

Zhao Zongquan was still a little hesitant at first, but when he heard the last sentence, he immediately made a decision, took the memorial, picked up a pen and wrote a big word 'Zhun' in the blank space!

Half an hour later, Gu Tingye walked into the Zichen Palace. Seeing that Zhao Zongquan seemed to be in a good mood, which was very rare, he poked Zhao Ceying, "Has something good happened to His Royal Highness?"

When Zhao Ceying saw her good friend coming, she hurriedly whispered about Qi Hai's resignation. Gu Tingye said in surprise, "What a coincidence? I think it's probably just pretending to be sick, but it's good, it's good for everyone."

Zhao Ceying smiled and said, "It's a rare piece of good news these days."

Next, two more people came in one after another, namely Shen Congxing, the prince's brother-in-law, and Lu Dafang, the former magistrate of Yuzhou.

Seeing that all his confidants had arrived, Zhao Zongquan finished approving the memorial in his hand and asked his servant to send the memorial to Zhongshu Sheng.

After chatting with his confidantes for a few words, Prince Zhao Zongquan picked up several copies of imperial edicts and handed them to them one by one.

Everyone spread out to see, and they all yelled happily
The eldest son Zhao Ceying was granted the title of Duke Ying.

The crown prince's first confidant, his brother-in-law Shen Congxing, was granted the title of Marquis of Weibei, the commander of the guard and infantry division.

Lu Dafang, the former magistrate of Yuzhou, was promoted to a bachelor of Zizhengdian, and he had the right to know Kaifeng Mansion.

Li Jixun, the chief counselor, was promoted to a bachelor of Longtuge and promoted to be the servant of Zhongshumen.

Gu Tingye became the Deputy Commander of the Guard Infantry Division.

Everyone bowed down in unison, "Your Majesty, thank you Your Highness!"

Prince Zhao Zongquan raised his hand and said with a smile, "All the gentlemen have contributed to saving you. These are rewards from the officials, so I should thank the officials."

When everyone heard the words, they bowed their hands towards Funing Hall again, with extremely perfunctory expressions.

Zhao Zongquan said to Gu Tingye, "Zhonghuai, I originally wanted to make you a marquis, but I told the officials that you want the title of Marquis of Ningyuan, and now your eldest brother is occupying the title of Marquis of Ningyuan, and the officials have not agreed yet. , you should stop thinking about it."

Gu Tingye cupped his hands and said, "Your Highness, I have made up my mind."

"Aren't they all titles of Marquis? How glorious is it that you have a family of two Marquises? Why are you so brainless?!"

Zhao Zongquan scolded a few words, seeing that Gu Tingye was still determined, Fue said that if he had a chance, he would go to the officials again to discuss this matter.

Gu Tingye hurriedly bowed down, "Hard work, Your Highness."

Zhao Zongquan took two sips from the teacup, moistened his throat, and sighed several times.

Shen Congxing, Marquis of Weibei, asked curiously, "Brother-in-law, why are you sighing so well?"

Zhao Zongquan immediately poured out the bitter water, got up earlier than the chicken, slept later than the dog, worked more than the donkey, the most guilty thing was that he was ashamed, and the reward of his confidantes could only be white strips for the time being
Shen Congxing was surprised, "I heard that the tax revenue of the imperial court has exceeded 9000 million guan, which is 2000 million guan more than the previous two years. Is this not enough?"

Zhao Zongquan explained, "The more you earn, the more you can spend. In the past two years, there have been continuous disasters in various places, and the cost of disaster relief and pensions has increased by more than 1000 million yuan every year. In addition, there will be tens of thousands more troops every year. By the end of the year There is no balance at all."

Whenever a natural disaster breaks out in an area, the imperial court will recruit a large number of victims in the disaster area to fill the army and provide them with food and clothing, so as to prevent them from gathering crowds to rebel and occupy the mountain as king, which will become a factor that is not conducive to ruling.

Li Jixun, the servant of Zhongshumen, said, "In the next two months, the imperial court will have several large expenses.

In the enthronement ceremony of His Highness, according to the usual practice, the courtiers and the people of Bianliang and millions of soldiers will be rewarded, and a certain amount of money, food and taxes will be exempted.Then we have to." Speaking of this, he looked at the prince, who immediately understood and waved his hand to let all the officials in the hall go out.

Seeing that there were only his own people left in the hall, Li Jixun said in a low voice, "The funeral and mausoleum cost about 3500 million yuan when the official dies."

The funeral expenses of the royal family in the Song Dynasty mainly consisted of two parts: one was rewards, and the other was the cost of building mausoleums and offering sacrifices.

The rewards follow the practice of the previous generation: the old emperor died, and the officials should be given rewards in his name to make the officials miss him.

According to records, when Song Zhenzong passed away, he spent 100 million guan to reward the army alone, and 400 million guan to reward the ministers.
Emperor Renzong's expenditure on this aspect must not be less than that of Emperor Zhenzong.

It is also a considerable expense to report the funeral to the Liao and Xia dynasties, with gifts and so-called "remnants".

The construction of the mausoleum in the Northern Song Dynasty began after the death of the emperor, and the entire project had to be completed within seven months. The construction of the mausoleum is a "banknote shredder". According to the cheapest construction method, it needs at least 500 million guan.

After all the confidantes calculated, they all took a breath, these alone would cost almost 5000 million guan, if the rewards from their Conglong heroes were added.
Crown Prince Zhao Zongquan looked at his confidantes and said, "Everyone think about it, what is the best way?"

After waiting for a while, seeing that everyone was silent, Lu Dafang, the new Governor of Kaifeng, went out and clapped his hands, "Your Highness, I have a plan to solve the urgent need."

Zhao Zongquan hurriedly said, "What's your plan?"

Lu Dafang said: "There is only this amount of wealth in the world, if it is not with the people, it is with the officials.

In this rebellion of the King of Yan, many nobles from aristocratic families have children who participated in it. Let's use the excuse of 'investigate against the party'. Anyone involved will be arrested. If the crime is not serious and the criminal has a good attitude of confessing, then Pay some fines."

Zhao Zongquan stroked his beard twice, knowing that Lu Dafang still had a lot to say. In this way, he could not only earn a lot of "gold and silver", but also win over many officials. No one dares to go against the water. In addition, if anyone is disobedient, they will be dealt with directly. It just happens to vacate the official position and arrange for their own people to take over the position. It can also deter the courtiers and let them know that this prince is not a piece of paper.
Everyone can't help but praise, wonderful!
Shen Congxing teased, "Then let's give this operation a code name?"

Everyone looked at the prince in unison, Zhao Zongquan thought for a while and said, "Let's call it hunting lions, swatting mosquitoes, and catching foxes."

(End of this chapter)