Do You Know?: I, the Little Cabinet Elder, Regent of the World.

Chapter 305 Zhao Ceying's Fear?

The sixth year of the Xifeng era passed quickly!

At the end of September, silver refined by Iwami Ginzan was transported from Japan to Bianjing.

1.57 million catties!

One catty is sixteen taels, which is 25,120,000 taels of silver, equivalent to about 370,000 strings of copper coins.

The amount of material extracted is truly staggering.

In the past, the annual refining volume was only about 250,000 jin.

One million five hundred and seventy thousand catties, which is six times the standard.

Even compared to the previous year, the increase was a full 440,000 jin.

Of course, this is actually an "overloaded" refining volume.

This was mainly because some of the "workers" responsible for refining silver ore were subjected to severe exploitation.

In fact, there were no workers involved in the refining of silver.

The military is the industry, and the industry is the military.

The number of soldiers who crossed the sea to Japan was around five thousand, and the number of workers was naturally around five thousand as well.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the five thousand people who crossed the sea to Japan will be responsible for refining the silver ore from start to finish.

Surprisingly, the Fujiwara clan actually attempted to seize the silver mine.

Furthermore, many people were brutally suppressed and captured.

This meant that many of the workers responsible for refining silver at the Iwami Silver Mine were actually soldiers of the Fujiwara clan who had been brutally suppressed.

The people of the Great Zhou would show no mercy to bandits.

Naturally, but inevitably, there is some exploitation.

This naturally resulted in an "overload" of refining.

Of course, Mr. Jiang is kind-hearted.

Old Master Jiang couldn't bear to see such an inhumane act and had already ordered that it be stopped from happening again.

Moreover, 1.57 million catties!

According to Jiang Zhao's estimate, this level of refining is basically the upper limit of the annual refining volume.

Going forward, if one wishes to increase the refining capacity, there are essentially two paths.

Either increase the workforce or innovate the technology.

Regardless, the amount of silver refined was sufficient to support the implementation of the silver standard.

Economic prosperity and national strength seem to be within easy reach!
In mid-October, envoys came from Dali, Western Xia, and Champa, and several representative figures from the "autonomous" chieftain families in the southwest also came to the capital to pay tribute.

The political situation in the Dali Kingdom underwent significant changes.

Just as the three major regimes of Liao, Zhou, and Xia were vying for power, Gao Zhisheng and his son, powerful ministers of the Dali Kingdom, also seized the opportunity to launch a coup.

King Duan Silian shaved his head and became a monk, voluntarily abdicating the throne.

However, perhaps out of consideration for legitimacy, Gao Zhisheng and his son did not declare a usurpation. Instead, they supported Duan Lianyi, who had previously served as an envoy, as a puppet king.

The envoys who came to the capital this time were from Gao Zhisheng and his son. Their main purpose was to establish connections and prevent the Great Zhou from interfering in the affairs of the Dali Kingdom.

On the Western Xia side, the Liang clan, which was involved in the interference of the empress's relatives in politics, was almost wiped out, and the young emperor Li Bingchang took over the reins of government.

However, it was only a nominal assumption of power.

In reality, the true power holders were still the Chancellor Li Qing and the Deputy Privy Councilor Wei Ming A Wu, rather than the young Emperor Li Bingchang, who had no power base.

Therefore, it's really hard to say whether it was a young emperor taking over the reins of power or a powerful minister usurping power.

The Champa Kingdom sent envoys to the capital purely to establish relations with its vassal states.

The Zhou army of 100,000 men annihilated Jiaozhi, which was truly overwhelming and relieved the crisis of Champa in an instant.

Therefore, the Kingdom of Champa truly recognized its elder brother.

Besides some local specialties, Champa also offered "tribute women," numbering about ten, mostly daughters of high-ranking officials, or even princesses of the country.

Most of them entered the inner court, either as female officials or palace maids, while some of the higher-ranking ones became talented women or beauties.

Occasionally, one or two palace maids would be bestowed upon high-ranking officials as concubines or maids to win their favor.

The southwestern chieftains came to the capital also to establish connections.

Without exception, the Tusi clans were quite satisfied with the "autonomy" system.

The purpose of going to the capital to pay tribute was purely to get to know important figures in the central government and thereby solidify their position.

Around November, the grain yield results for the sixth year of the Xifeng reign were released.

Harvest!
At Jiang Zhao's instruction, the Ministry of Revenue used all the agricultural tax money collected to buy grain. At half the price of rice, they easily bought 11 million shi of grain, an increase of nearly 30% compared to the previous year's 90 million shi.

The reason for this is that the fifth year of the Xifeng reign was the first time that Champa rice was truly promoted on a large scale. It was the first time that people had planted it, so most of them must have had concerns and dared not plant too much.

However, last year's Champa rice harvest was unexpectedly bountiful, and the people tasted the sweetness of success, so they naturally planted even more this year.

If we consider the tax rate as 1/15, then 15 times the amount of agricultural tax revenue would be the true agricultural GDP.

That is, fifteen times eleven thousand bushels of grain is the actual agricultural grain output.

165 million shi (a unit of dry measure)!

This is a grain output that can truly feed hundreds of millions of people.

As a result, even the price of grain in the capital was affected to some extent, with the price of japonica rice dropping from 70 wen per dou to 65 wen per dou.

Champa rice was even cheaper, costing only twenty coins per bushel.

Ordinary people, even if they do manual labor, can usually earn about a hundred coins a day, which is about five dou (a unit of dry measure).
Ten dou make one shi, so five dou make half a shi.

Half a bushel of rice is usually enough for an adult man to consume for eighty or ninety days.

One day of hard work can sustain one's livelihood for eighty or ninety days!

During the so-called prosperous Kaiyuan era, grain prices had never been so low.

Praises inevitably arose from all levels of society.

In short, in general, there was only one major event in the sixth year of the Xifeng reign—the unification of China!
Everything was set aside in preparation for the great achievement of unification.

Even the reform policies were actually making concessions for unification and did not implement any decrees that might cause too much turmoil.

Autumn goes and winter is in the air; the first day of the first lunar month.

The Secretariat, the Hall of State Affairs.

From top to bottom, on the left and right, six Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet took their seats one after another.

Grand Chancellor Jiang Zhao picked up a document and occasionally appeared to be pondering it.

The other five people all stared at the past in silence.

About ten breaths.

Jiang Zhao raised his head.

"The year's plan starts in spring."

"The overall planning for the first half of the year is crucial for the implementation of government policies and for proceeding step by step."

Jiang Zhao sat up straight, supporting himself with his armrests, and said calmly, "Therefore, we will not discuss politics today, but focus on formulating the plan for the first half of the year."

"Any objection?"

Following him, five Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet shook their heads in succession.

Forewarned is forearmed, without prejudging the waste.

The formulation of some overall plans is undoubtedly quite necessary.

Of course, given Jiang Da's "assertive" style, the so-called formulation of overall plans is more likely to be a notification rather than a comprehensive formulation.

"Overall, there are five key things that must be given attention in the first half of the year."

Upon receiving the document, Jiang Zhao glanced at it briefly before passing it on.

"Firstly, to discuss annual plans and policies."

Jiang Zhaoping said, “The documents from the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Works, the Bank, the Imperial Academy, the Ordnance Bureau, the border markets, Xihe Road, Shaanxi Road, the Southwest Protectorate, and the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun are all of great importance and must be given special attention.”

The document was passed down and circulated among the five Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet.

The documents mainly record information about key government offices or important towns.

The Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Revenue, one concerning personnel and the other finance, received significant attention almost every year, which is not surprising.

The Ministry of War was the focus of attention, mainly concerning several issues related to provisions and armaments.

In the sixth year of the Xifeng reign, hundreds of thousands of people fought for half a year, and the consumption of food, fodder and military equipment was naturally considerable.

To prevent anyone from becoming too greedy, the accounting books must be thoroughly investigated.

Banks are about savings.

The savings involve hundreds of millions of dollars; even the slightest mistake could affect the monetary system. The implications are so significant that they cannot be ignored.

In particular, the issue of "unauthorized misappropriation" needs to be closely monitored.

Jiang Zhao even intended to establish a special regulatory department and set specific penalties for crimes.

The rule of law does not apply to officials and scholars, except for banks!
The Imperial Academy and the Military Ordnance Bureau, one concerned with newspapers and semi-free education, and the other with military equipment and munitions, were clearly the "new elites" among all government departments, both inside and outside the capital.

The border markets mainly involve trade between the Liao, Zhou, and Xia kingdoms. The specific trade volume and trends must be taken seriously.

As for Xihe Road, Shaanxi Road, the Southwest Protectorate, and the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, whether they are important northern towns or newly expanded territories, they naturally deserve our attention.

About a hundred breaths later, the document was returned to Jiang Zhao.

"Secondly, the special imperial examination in spring."

"The first day of the second lunar month is the triennial imperial examination."

With a wave of his hand, another document was passed down.

Jiang Zhaoping said, "The candidates for chief examiner and deputy chief examiner have not yet been decided. The cabinet should propose a few candidates and submit them to the emperor for selection. The Grand Secretaries can recommend one or two."

"I wonder who the Grand Secretary recommended?" Yuan Jiang, a Grand Secretary of the Wenyuan Pavilion, asked slowly as he picked up the document.

The imperial examinations were one of the main responsibilities of the Ministry of Rites.

Therefore, officials from the Ministry of Rites would certainly occupy one of the positions of chief examiner and deputy examiner.

The difference is that if the Minister of Rites is in charge of the examination, then he occupies the position of chief examiner.

If the examiner is the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites or the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, then the examiner occupies the position of deputy examiner.

The choice of whom Jiang Zhao recommended determined whether the others should recommend someone of the third or second rank.

“Zhang Heng, Minister of Rites,” Jiang Zhao said calmly.

With just this one sentence, all five cabinet members understood.

Since the Minister of Rites was also among those recommended, the rest were destined to compete only for the position of deputy chief examiner.

The document was sent back shortly afterward.

Jiang Zhao picked up the document and glanced at it twice.

Unsurprisingly, several of the names recorded in the documents were "cabinet prospects".

The lineage of Han Jiang is descended from Zheng Xie, the Grand Master of the Palace.

This is Jiang Zhao's previous year's top scholar.

In the second year of the Jiayou era, the two had a work handover.

The lineage of Yuan Jiang includes Pu Zongmeng, the Right Vice Censor-in-Chief.

Yu Jing's lineage includes Wang Shi, the Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices.

Wang Gui's lineage includes the newly appointed Hanlin Academician Zheng Juzhong.

This is Wang Gui's third son-in-law.

Meanwhile, Wang Gui's eldest daughter married Li Gefei and gave birth to Li Qingzhao.

According to this calculation, Zheng Juzhong was actually Li Qingzhao's third aunt's husband.

In addition, Wang Gui's granddaughter married Qin Hui, and Zheng Juzhong was also Qin Hui's third aunt's husband.

As for Zhang Fangping, he only symbolically recommended Zeng Bu, the Chancellor of the Imperial Academy.

It's impossible for the chief and deputy examiners of a prestigious imperial examination to be from the same faction.

Zeng Bu was only a fourth-rank official, so he certainly wouldn't be selected as the deputy chief examiner.

Thirdly, the Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai.

Jiang Zhao said in a deep voice, "The Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai is tentatively scheduled for the end of May."

"The official road from Bianjing to Mount Tai must be thoroughly repaired; there must be no mistakes whatsoever."

Several Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet nodded in agreement.

The Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai is of great importance and is undoubtedly the most important event in the administration of the country in the first half of the year.

There is no doubt about this.

"Fourth, we can launch a military operation against Japan in February." The document was passed down, and the Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet all turned solemn and read it carefully.

The documents mainly record the movements of Japan and the reasons why it was necessary to take military action.

The Iwami Silver Mine is far too important.

It can be said that the Great Zhou Dynasty relied on the Iwami Silver Mine to switch from the copper standard to the silver standard!
This is something we absolutely cannot afford to lose.

Military action is imperative!
"can."

"good"

"can."

Several Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet pondered for a moment, then nodded in succession.

In the past, the Great Zhou would definitely have been unable to withstand years of continuous warfare.

When large countries fight, the battle lines are too long, and the situation is mostly a battle with both sides winning and losing.

Unless there is a significant difference in command, it will generally be a protracted war.

A protracted war is essentially a logistical battle.

Years of warfare have placed immense pressure on logistics, and the Great Zhou Dynasty simply cannot afford to continue.

However, things changed after Champa rice was introduced.

For large-scale campaigns involving more than 100,000 people, the Great Zhou would certainly not dare to continue to expend resources year after year, but supporting regular battles with 10,000 to 20,000 people would not be a problem.

The importance of the silver mountain is evident in the stone; since the barbarian Japanese pirates dared to covet it, they naturally had to be severely punished!

Fifth, a major test of political performance.

Jiang Zhao looked down and said calmly, "The triennial performance evaluation always involves a lot of personnel changes. Even the cabinet may see personnel changes."

"This is also of paramount importance."

After the announcement, the Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet exchanged glances, all showing some degree of worry.

Three years have passed in the blink of an eye?
Cabinet personnel changes!
……

Light catkins fluttered down, and plum branches were covered in white.

Royal study room.

"One year to quell the rebellion, two years to conquer Yin, three years to subdue Yan, four years to establish the Marquisate of Wei."

"despair--"

The ancient scroll was gently tapped, and the reading aloud ceased.

"Is this really possible?"

Zhao Ceying stretched out his hands, sighed softly, and fell silent for a moment.

Simply put, it's too "fantasy".

In one year, he quelled the rebellion; in two years, he conquered Yin; in three years, he subdued Yan; in four years, he established the Marquisate and the Guard; in five years, he built Chengzhou; in six years, he established rites and music; and in seven years, he returned power to King Cheng!
This is a story about the Duke of Zhou acting as regent, recorded in the "Great Commentary on the Book of Documents".

From assisting King Wu, acting as regent to quell rebellions, and enfeoffing princes, to returning power to King Cheng, each step is recorded in detail.

just
In just seven years, he brought the world under his rule, the state prospered, and power was returned to the king.

Is this really possible?
Especially the idea of ​​returning power to the king is just too outrageous!

Such morality is too lofty, isn't it?
It even makes one wonder – did a person like Zhou Gongdan really exist throughout history?
"Ugh!"

With a sigh, Zhao Ceying gently set the book aside and reached out to pick up the other two ancient scrolls.

Recently, Emperor Zhao has become fascinated with history books.

I spend almost half of my day reading history.

As for why?

All I can say is that thousands of years of ancient history encompass everything and include countless things.

All questions about "human beings" can be answered by learning from the past.

With doubts and worries in his heart, Emperor Zhao naturally began to read history books, which was quite unusual for him.

The Book of Han, Biography of Huo Guang and Jin Midi; the Book of Jin, Annals of Emperor Wen; the Book of Shangshu, Da Gao.

These are the three ancient books that Zhao Ceying mainly reads.

Among them, the story of Duke Zhou Dan is recorded in the "Great Proclamation" of the Book of Documents.

The other two ancient books are about Huo Guang, a powerful minister of the Western Han Dynasty, and Sima Zhao, a powerful minister of the Wei Dynasty.

In addition, it occasionally touches on the stories of Wang Mang, Zhuge Liang, Changsun Wuji, Dou Xian, Sima Yi, Wang Dao, Huan Wen, Fan Zhi, and Tan Daoji.

"Ugh!"

With another sigh, Zhao Ceying stretched out his hand, then put the book he had picked up back down.

It's easy to see that he was extremely agitated and quite hesitant.

And indeed, that is the case.

Recently, Zhao Ceying has been hesitant and uncertain about one thing—whether to check or eliminate Grand Chancellor Jiang Zhao!

It might sound incredible.

Everyone knows that Emperor Zhao and Grand Chancellor are of one mind and can be called a ruler and minister for all time. How could there be any question of checks and balances or even a purge?
But that's exactly how it is.

Zhao Ceying has been hesitant about this matter for quite some time now.

The reason for this is that they want to pave the way for their offspring.

Carbuncles are considered incurable.

Emperor Zhao Ceying may not live much longer!
This is the diagnosis result of the imperial physicians.

Zhao Ceying was furious about this and punished several of the physicians.

However, being a convicted physician does not equate to the illness being curable.

Since July, day by day, Zhao Ceying could clearly feel her body weakening.

On the surface, he may still appear to be a normal, strong man.

But in reality, it's purely because of its good foundation.

As an emperor who fought on horseback, Zhao Ceying's physique was undoubtedly much better than that of ordinary people.

He has a good physical constitution and his serious illness hasn't lasted too long, so from the surface, there won't be much change.

However, the unusual movements in one's body can fool others, but not oneself.

Zhao Ceying knew in his heart that he was indeed becoming weaker and weaker.

In everything we do, we must plan ahead.

Therefore, Zhao Ceying actively sought treatment while also trying to make plans for his passing.

Grand Chancellor Jiang Zhao is undoubtedly the most important person among them.

"Duke of Zhou, Huo Guang, and Sima Zhao"

Zhao Ceying closed his eyes slightly and sighed repeatedly.

Jiang Zhao's power is simply too great.

He had people in both the civil and military officials.

If we don't handle Jiang Zhao's problem properly, it's as if we haven't handled anything at all.

It can be said that even Zhao Ceying, as an official, would have to expend a great deal of effort to deal with him.

In fact, Zhao Ceying did not want to consider Jiang Zhao's power in the first place.

Given the tacit understanding between the emperor and his minister, he naturally trusted Jiang Zhao implicitly.

If possible, he even planned to have Jiang Zhao serve as the Grand Secretary for decades, so that the emperor and his minister could create a golden age together.

On the one hand, he acknowledged Jiang Zhao's abilities.

This is a true prime minister who will be remembered for all time!
On the other hand, Zhao Ceying possesses unique personal charm and prestige.

With prestige and control comparable to that of a founding emperor, Zhao Ceying was fully confident that he could control the civil and military officials and gain the genuine approval of Grand Chancellor Jiang Zhao.

The two could very well be a ruler and his minister for all time!
However, all of this is predicated on the premise that he is healthy.

"Ugh!"

Zhao Ceying sighed three times, his face full of bitterness.

Unfortunately, he fell ill!

Moreover, he probably won't live much longer!

Just because he can control all the civil and military officials doesn't mean the young prince can do the same.

Just because he can win the loyalty of the Prime Minister for all ages doesn't mean that the young prince can do the same.

Although there's an unpleasant saying, the truth is "a treacherous ruler and sycophantic ministers."

In fact, some of the most notorious villains in history books may have actually been loyal ministers.

The difference between a treacherous minister and a loyal minister is merely a matter of a single thought.

The reason, in essence, lies in the difference in the rulers.

When the king is a wise ruler, his ministers will also be wise.

When the king is a foolish ruler, his ministers will become treacherous.

Now that a wise ruler is in power, Grand Chancellor Jiang Zhao is naturally extremely loyal and upright.

But what if a young ruler were on the throne?
This is a problem that Zhao Ceying has to consider.

Given these concerns, he now has three options:

First, purging powerful ministers.

While her health was still good, she thoroughly dealt with the eldest son, Jiang Zhao.

In this way, with powerful ministers withdrawing from the court, the young emperor naturally no longer needs to worry about the problem of powerful ministers.

Of course, this also raises a rather unique problem.

Without Grand Chancellor Jiang, will there be other powerful ministers?
is it possible?
Very likely!
A man who is similar to the emperor's brother-in-law, or an empress dowager who rules from behind the curtain, could potentially take advantage of a young prince!

Therefore, this method is not very feasible.

Secondly, it serves as a check and balance against powerful ministers.

While still in good health, he took the opportunity to promote some veteran officials and continuously suppressed the prestige of Grand Chancellor Jiang Zhao.

In this way, a system of checks and balances can be created among the ministers.

As the checks and balances continue for a long time, the power of the minister diminishes, and he ceases to be a powerful minister.

With several senior officials checking and balancing each other, the young prince can grow up safely.

Of course, this method will also create some problems.

For example, given Jiang Zhao's abilities, is it possible for him to break the checks and balances and reunify the cabinet?

Or, is it possible that a loyal minister might be gradually driven to a dead end by this tactic, forced to abandon serving the country and instead focus on political maneuvering?
Thirdly, following the example of Zhuge Liang, he entrusted his son to a powerful minister.

This method has a unique feature that cannot be ignored compared to liquidation and checks and balances.

In other words, the authority of Grand Chancellor Jiang Zhao was maintained.

This could lead to two extremes:
I. A good direction.

With the abilities of Grand Chancellor Jiang Zhao and the authority of a trusted minister entrusted with the care of the young emperor, he was well capable of maintaining the reform policies and even creating a golden age!
In fact, whether it is liquidation or checks and balances, it inevitably leads to one outcome: the inability to continue to promote reform and innovation.

Grand Chancellor Jiang Zhao is the sole core of the reform; this is not an empty statement.

Without Jiang Zemin presiding over the new policies and grasping the overall direction, the reform and innovation would have been a foregone conclusion and would have failed.

An authority strong enough to overwhelm all others, and the correct direction for reform.

This is the key to the success of the reform!

Zhao Ceying frowned, his expression unusually grave.

If he were to pass away, and if Grand Chancellor Jiang Zhao were to be restrained or purged, it would naturally mean that the reform and innovation would lose its authority and direction.

Reforms and innovations would naturally be unable to continue.

There is even a possibility that some people will "go backward" and cancel some reforms that have already been successfully implemented.

Second, the negative direction.

Given Grand Chancellor Jiang Zhao's authority, if he were to truly stray onto the wrong path, perhaps no one could stop him.

Many of the civil and military officials were promoted by Jiang Zhao.

At that time, he might not be called Jiang Zhao anymore, but Sima Zhao!

"Ugh!"

Zhao Ceying shook his head repeatedly, unable to make a decision for a long time, and was extremely troubled.

……

(End of this chapter)