Chapter 1 The Tense Atmosphere

The atmosphere in the vast central military hall was delicate and tense. Due to the large number of people, coupled with many braziers, many people's foreheads were already covered in sweat, and those who were slightly chubby, like Dharma River Abbot, had oily faces.

At this moment, Zhao Guan's family (Emperor Zhao) only lowered his head and kept looking at the notes, which made the atmosphere even more intense.

"This subject is a military officer and should not interfere in national affairs, but since Your Majesty has said that anyone can speak freely about politics today, then this subject will venture to talk about financial matters from the perspective of a military man."

After a burst of debate, Li Qiong, the Right Deputy Commander of the Imperial Army's Central Army, couldn't help but interject. "Since money is needed, it is not advisable to treat the common people as if they can be easily deceived, because throughout history, those who have the ability to rebel are precisely the common people who can be easily deceived! Twice in this dynasty, large-scale disturbances were triggered by taxation matters. One was Fang La, who relied on the poor civilians in the southeastern market; the other was Zhong Xiang and Yang Yao, whose foundations were the fishermen and farmers of Jingxiang. This is a lesson from the past! On the other hand, temples and merchants... to put it bluntly, has there ever been a rebellion by monks or merchants? When the country is in danger, they should be killed to enrich ourselves! Even the powerful landlords, if they are truly short-sighted, this time there is no need for Yue Jiedu (Yue Fei) to pacify them. From all over the world, this humble general will go and pacify them for Your Majesty! Let's see whose blade is sharper?"

Li Qiong came from a state school and was considered a person with brains and vision. However, no matter what, he was now just a martial leader of northern refugees. He was most concerned about the Northern Expedition, but he did not have Yue Fei's overall perspective and compassionate mindset. Under the vigor of youth, he was inevitably biased on related matters. There was a reason why the court was worried that he would cause trouble when they discussed peace that day.

However, such fierce words, when spoken at this time, were not rebuked or refuted by anyone, and even caused a moment of silence at the scene, which added to the heavy atmosphere... After all, everyone knew that, no matter how peaceful Guan's family (Emperor Zhao) looked at this time, with his temperament, he might erupt at any time, and it might really come to the issue of knives.

Even Li Qiong was just playing up his characteristics as a reckless Hebei refugee military leader after figuring out the Emperor's intentions... In any case, the Eight Character Army and the Imperial Army's Vanguard were both trump cards in Zhao Guan's (Emperor Zhao)'s hand.

However, at this moment, after looking at the notes for a long time and thinking for a long time, Zhao Guan's family (Emperor Zhao) finally raised his head: "Let me first express my position... We can discuss things, but don't shout about fighting and killing at every turn. Back then, when Wanqijing Lue (Wan Qixuan) was an official, he once advised me that before Yaoshan and after Yaoshan were completely different. Before, the country was in danger, and there was no other way but to use extraordinary methods. But the reason why we used extraordinary methods at that time was precisely so that we would not have to use extraordinary methods today."

Li Qiong quickly pleaded guilty and then retreated into the ranks.

Zhao Jiu paused slightly, but continued: "Just now, from the several chief administrators, to the several ministers, and Chen Jijiu (Chen Kangbo), what they said was all very good. Even Deputy Commander Li, although his words were a bit absurd, still had some truth to them... The country is short of money, but we must not exploit the people again. We can only take it from those who have property above the people. And these people with property, whether they are monks, Taoists, merchants, landlords, or even nobles, definitely have money in their hands. It can even be said that they are the richest people right now. They enjoy the fruits of their labor in times of peace, and of course they can only be asked to contribute when the country is in trouble. However, how should they contribute? We can't just plunder, can we? Even if we succeed, it would not be enough to gain the trust of the people. Moreover, once we plunder, where would the limit be? If the landlords and wealthy merchants have their property easily taken away, will the wealthy households also have to hand it over? After the wealthy households, will the middle-class families also have to be extorted? This would be no limit, and there would be great chaos. Therefore, we must think of a way to take the money from these propertied families in a proper, legal, and measured manner for our use."

To be honest, the monks, Taoists, and wealthy merchants who came to the scene today were all very nervous, sometimes rising and sometimes falling. However, in this kind of place, they had no right to speak, and could only stand there and suffer... Just from what Guan's family (Emperor Zhao) said just now, they first sank to the bottom of the mud pit, and then floated back to the surface of the water.

"Your Majesty," Minister of Revenue Lin Qi said impatiently when he heard Zhao Jiu's words. "This subject just said that Jiaozi (currency) and national bonds are precisely for this purpose... Now that the country is stable, why not imitate the example of Sichuan Jiaozi and re-establish or newly establish Jiaozi offices in six places: Tokyo, Chang'an, Nanyang, Yangzhou, Hangzhou, and Guangzhou? Issue them properly and ensure that Jiaozi can circulate reliably. As for national bonds, this subject believes that national bonds should also change with the times. Given the popularity of national bonds, they should no longer be bought back with added interest, but should be sold with added interest. There is no need to set terms of half a year or a year, but should be changed to allow long-term holding. And the gold, silver, and copper coins obtained from the sale of national bonds can be used as reserves for Jiaozi. This subject dares to calculate that if it can be done, there will always be a small income of ten million strings of cash, and in the future there can also be a small income of one million strings of cash every year."

As soon as Lin Qi said this, the monks, Taoists, nobles, and wealthy merchants in the distance were all moved. If it was just buying national bonds, and the amount was not too extreme, why not? It was just that according to the words of this Minister of Revenue, it might be necessary to match it with some Jiaozi, which would be a bit painful.

Unexpectedly, after Lin Qi said such appropriate words, Zhao Guan's family (Emperor Zhao) did not even say a word of praise. Not only that, but the several chief administrators also looked at each other in dismay.

After a long pause, it was actually his political ally, Imperial Censor Li Guang, who spoke against Lin Qi: "Minister Lin... What you said is all very reasonable. Jiaozi and national bonds are very good things, and the court will definitely do them. But I ask you, if national bonds are no longer negatively profitable, but are issued with positive interest, how much will actually be sold? If we only want to earn this little bit of interest, will it conflict with the fundamental purpose of national bonds to relieve emergencies?"

Lin Qi frowned slightly, about to answer.

But Li Guang did not give the other party a chance to think, and directly revealed the answer: "If the court wants to earn interest, what about the Green Sprouts Act?"

Lin Qi was speechless for a moment, and all the civil and military officials, monks, Taoists, nobles, and commoners were a little dazed, and then there was a burst of noise.

For no other reason than that the term Green Sprouts Act touched on the core contradiction of politics and economy in the Great Song Dynasty.

Anyone with a little common sense knows that one of the core laws of Wang Anshi's Reform was the Green Sprouts Act, and the Green Sprouts Act was precisely to replace the propertied people who lent money at high interest with the government, directly lending to the poor... This was a theoretical structure that was very excellent, and had great success when experimented in small-scale areas, but in the end, although it succeeded in collecting money when it was implemented, it was a complete failure in terms of people's livelihood, economy, and political morality.

Even the entire failure of Wang Anshi's Reform could not escape this Green Sprouts Act.

At the same time, everyone finally understood why Guan's family (Emperor Zhao) had gathered these miscellaneous groups of monks, Taoists, nobles, and wealthy merchants together, and then let these people enter the public pavilion in the first batch.

It must be known that, according to the theory that the economic base determines everything, by the Song Dynasty, Buddhism and Taoism were no longer purely religious organizations. Although they still maintained basic religious instincts and occasionally engaged in some upper-level routes, as the expansion of religion in the local area reached its peak, the three schools of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism merged, and religious theory was completely localized. However, the temple economy gradually became dominated by powerful landlords, so they put more thought into land management and expansion.

From this point of view, monks and Taoists were basically more like large landlords... The so-called class attributes gradually replaced religious attributes.

However, unlike ordinary landlords, religious characteristics also gave them more currency gathering functions... Think about it, who would really exchange all the money they collected for gold to make golden statues?

Filling them with copper and adding a layer of gold powder on the outside was already very conscientious.

There was also printing Buddhist scriptures and local commercial association activities, all of which openly collected money from believers. There was no need to mention the three-seven split of accounts, the key was that the accounts were never made public.

As a result, the gold, silver, copper coins, silk, and grain of the believers gradually filled the cellars. And with idle money in hand, greed prevailed, and they naturally began to lend money at high interest rates.

Monks and Taoists were the most active lenders in the landlord class, and even most temples had professional lending functions, which made them occupy a considerable proportion of the lending business in the landlord class... It can only be said that throughout history, both at home and abroad, foreign monks and local Taoists were all the same.

Look at the next door, the Knights Templar were also very good at it, weren't they?

This was determined by religious characteristics.

At the same time, nobles, as the top-level landlords, accumulated the most wealth and lent the most money. They would definitely lend money, even in both cities and villages.

Merchants naturally did not need to be said, their profession was like this, but they often could not compete with temples and landlords in the countryside, so their influence was generally in the market.

In other words, these people who came here today for no reason finally found their common label... usurers in the feudal era!

And the Green Sprouts Act, to put it bluntly, was that the court came to lend money at high interest rates, seize the usury market, but nominally the interest rate would be lower, which seemed to be beneficial to the people's livelihood!

"Your Majesty!"

Amid the chaos, someone gritted his teeth and spoke, breaking the silence. It was none other than Minister of Personnel Chen Gongfu, who had previously supported using knives against these people and had a fierce attitude. "We must not repeat the Green Sprouts Act!"

"Why not?" Chen Kangbo, the Chief of the Imperial Academy, who had just been on the same front, immediately stepped forward to argue. "Guanzi said, 'If the benefits come from one source, the country will prosper,' this is the principle! The rich lend to the poor, easily reaping the benefits. The government should collect these benefits to plan for great things!"

Chen Gongfu shook his head repeatedly: "I also deeply agree with the theory that benefits come from one source, but even if it is said well, it will not delay the failure of the new law because of this."

"The failure of the Green Sprouts Act was because, in addition to benefiting the people, this law offended countless propertied people like those in the hall today. The propertied people colluded with the old party and deceived Emperor Shenzong," Chen Kangbo continued to argue without hesitation. "In addition, Wang Shu and Wang Wei became new party momentum, hastily employing many shameless people, who corrupted the new law in the execution, which made the Green Sprouts Act fail! But now, where is the old party? And with the divine martial prowess of Your Majesty, will you be deceived by these villains in the hall? As long as we use people properly, we can succeed!"

"This matter is not that simple," Chen Gongfu still shook his head repeatedly. "I am a few years older and personally saw the government forcibly apportioning and forcing the people to borrow... Does Chen Jijiu not talk about the original learning practice?"

"You..."

"Dharma River Abbot," Zhao Jiu suddenly spoke when the dispute was about to escalate, pointing to one person. "You are the Arhat appointed by me, why are you not speaking?"

Dharma River Abbot's face was full of oil, and his sweat was dripping. When he heard this, he quickly stepped forward, put his hands together and bowed: "Your Majesty, this humble monk dares not speak freely about national affairs."

"I am not asking you about national affairs, but about ordinary things," Zhao Jiu said with a smile. "Does Shaolin Temple lend money, Green Sprouts loans?"

Not to mention that Guan's family (Emperor Zhao) clearly came prepared, even if it was just a casual question, there was no way to hide this matter, so after hesitating for a moment, Dharma River Abbot still gritted his teeth and replied honestly: "To let Your Majesty know, when the crops are not yet ripe and seeds and farm tools are needed before spring plowing, Shaolin Temple does lend money to the tenants and the people of Dengfeng. Both money and grain are lent."

Zhao Jiu nodded: "How much interest?"

"Green Sprouts loans are not calculated by month or year, but only by season." Dharma River Abbot could only answer with a stiff head, knowing the information that could be known with a private question, but under the lamplight, his bald head was wrinkled, soft and unlikeable. "Forty percent interest."

"Has the interest always been like this?" Zhao Jiu's expression was as usual, and his voice was gentle.

"Naturally not." The oil on Dharma River Abbot's face shone even more obviously, but he didn't dare to hide anything. "It is said that a long time ago, it was always fifty percent interest, but after Wang XiangGong (Wang Anshi) set up the Green Sprouts Act, monks, Taoists, merchants, and commoners in the Henan area all changed their rules and became thirty percent..."

"Because the Green Sprouts Act stipulates that the upper limit of Green Sprouts loan interest is thirty percent?"

"Yes... yes!"

"And then?" Zhao Jiu did not pursue the malice of the reactionary forces resisting the government, but just asked casually, continuing to ask.

"Then... then after the Green Sprouts Act was abolished, it gradually became forty percent again." Dharma River Abbot was careful. "A few years ago, there was a great chaos. Before Xu XiangGong (Xu Churen) presided over the military reclamation in Henan, it once became fifty percent in some places because of the scarcity and preciousness of seeds. Later, after Xu XiangGong (Xu Churen) managed it, it gradually returned to forty percent."

"You also talk about the market economy." Zhao Jiu rarely laughed, but after laughing, he sighed for a moment. "But this lending is really the fastest way to make money in the world. Forty percent is a conscientious price, and thirty percent is a good government policy... No wonder you can all become wealthy, and no wonder Wang Shu Wang's new law failed so quickly, but still gathered so much money for the court to use for the military."

Dharma River Abbot struggled to answer: "Your Majesty, this matter is unavoidable... The people really have this need."

"I know," Zhao Jiu shook his head. "Even if this dynasty is destroyed and the emperor is gone, this usury business cannot be avoided. But Dharma River, do you think Guanzi's theory that benefits come from one source is right or wrong?"

"Your Majesty," Dharma River knew that the most critical moment had arrived, but he mustered his courage to answer. "This humble monk dares not speak presumptuously about the ancient sage, but I dare to guarantee that the people of Dengfeng have always liked our Shaolin Temple's Green Sprouts loans... When the people are poor and have no way out, the rich provide assistance and charge interest as a return. Is this not helping each other between the rich and the poor? Is it not a good thing?"

Dharma River rarely spoke out, and the theory of 'helping each other between the rich and the poor' was immediately supported by many people. For a time, there was a lot of discussion in the hall, and many nobles, monks, and Taoists were taking the opportunity to speak.

Now, because of the extra performance of a few unplanned ministers, the plot development of this Legend of the White Snake had long exceeded expectations, but Zhao Jiu and the several chief administrators who had been silent for a long time did not have any excessive remarks or expressions, but instead had some sighs... The reason was simple, they had repeatedly discussed many things many times in the previous half month.

Today, these remarks, whether fierce, prudent, righteous, or shameless, did not exceed the detailed discussions that the emperor and the chief administrators had before!

And the absurd thing was that they were very clear that whether it was the theory of 'benefits come from one source', or 'practice is the criterion', or Dharma River Abbot's shameless theory that usury is 'helping each other between the rich and the poor', they all appeared in their discussions... In other words, even the highest level had disagreements, and every theory seemed to be right, at least right within a certain range!

It really was right.

At that time, the logic of the emperor and the chief administrators discussing this matter was this:

The first priority of the country, after discussing and discussing, was to enrich the finances;

And to enrich the finances, we must open up new sources of wealth;

To open up new sources of wealth, we can only take profits from the propertied people;

And to take profits from the propertied people, we should not rob them by force, let alone break the law ourselves. That would really destroy the foundation. Instead, we should use legal and reasonable means to seize the largest, fastest, and most shameless economic income of the propertied people, and use the basic concept that benefits come from one source to include it in the national policy and let the country earn this money;

This business, or means of accumulating wealth, can only be usury. So, if we want to quickly and substantially expand the finances, the country should replace these propertied people in occupying the usury market.

At that time, when they said this, Zhao Jiu and the several chief administrators immediately realized... Wang Anshi thought about those routines decades earlier than them.

Therefore, the discussion immediately turned into a discussion of the Green Sprouts Act.

However, again, the Green Sprouts Act, as the core of Wang Anshi's Reform, was not that simple... Some people, that is, Zhao Guan's family (Emperor Zhao) at the beginning, as well as Zhang Jun, like the current Chen Kangbo, insisted that the failure of the Green Sprouts Act touched the core interests of the propertied people, attracting the alliance of the propertied people and the old party, so the failure was purely a political failure.

It may not be possible to implement it now.

At the same time, almost every experienced and pragmatic official firmly opposed this... Lu Haowen, Zhao Ding, Liu Ji, Li Guang, and even Chen Gui, who now had more responsibilities in the military but also had rich experience in local governance, all expressed their attitudes firmly and clearly, that the failure of the Green Sprouts Act had a direct relationship with the regulations themselves.

The Green Sprouts Act itself was not feasible.

Where was the problem?

The more the reasoning was debated, the clearer it became. After arguing many times and taking many notes, Zhao Jiu had already understood the key, and gradually changed his attitude, and then reached a consensus with the several chief administrators, or they persuaded each other - the problem was actually in the bureaucratic system.

And the relationship between the bureaucratic system and the failure of the Green Sprouts Act can be analyzed from two angles.

First of all, the imperial power does not reach the countryside. As an extension of the imperial power, if the bureaucratic system that implements the law really acts according to the law, it cannot confront these propertied classes in the countryside. The common people also trust and obey these temples and landlords more. And even in the market, it is difficult for the lower-level officials to compete with the wealthy merchants who have been in business for many years.

From this point of view, the reactionary forces were indeed too powerful.

However, at the same time, it must be admitted that compared with temples, landlords, and wealthy merchants, the end of the bureaucracy, or the lower-level officials, were probably the most reactionary group of people in this era!

Not to mention that they must collect cash, and that they lend money with an upper limit of 30%, the most terrible thing was that when they implemented Green Sprouts loans, they often directly changed them into malicious apportionments. Some corrupt officials treated this policy and other policies no differently, and they were just using it to annex land and extort money... Even, Green Sprouts loans were more convenient and had more room for operation.

Therefore, for the common people, monks, Taoists, wealthy merchants, and landlords may still be able to talk about human feelings and can be restrained by clans and neighbors. They are kind people who use millet and fresh fish as interest. But the government is a jinx that often destroys families and exterminates people. They are not short of money, but they force you to borrow. What they give out are moldy seeds, but what they collect is cash. If you dare to say no, they will immediately send you to do corvee labor... Even if there are some local bullies, evil monks, evil merchants, and evil Taoists, they are probably colluding with the government first to become evil.

Therefore, once you consider the setting that the imperial power-government-grassroots officials are the truly evil people, then even the 'helping each other between the rich and the poor' that Dharma River used to defend usury will seem to make sense.

After all, the common people are extremely poor. When they really run out of food and need to prepare seeds for spring plowing, they really need to borrow money to tide them over.

And in the eyes of the common people, a 30% Green Sprouts loan that can easily destroy their families is far less suitable than borrowing a 40% loan from a nearby temple... Moreover, Shaolin Temple, which has been prosperous for hundreds of years, has its own prestige, armed protection, and religious bewitchment.

Of course, the problem is, how can he, Zhao Guan's family (Emperor Zhao), now learn from Emperor Shenzong to eat this bowl of rice and eat it safely?

"I know what you mean," Zhao Jiu said slowly. "I also understand your hidden intentions, but some things cannot be tolerated by you... Dharma River Abbot, as for the theory that benefits come from one source and helping each other between the rich and the poor, I can only choose benefits come from one source!"

Dharma River was originally prepared to argue, but he opened his mouth and remained silent - because Guan's family (Emperor Zhao) said that they were not allowed to say more.

"Why don't you speak?" Zhao Jiu asked coldly.

Dharma River Abbot was completely helpless and could only respond: "This humble monk understands."

"You understand my ass!" Zhao Jiu suddenly changed his expression.

Not to mention that this was inside the military camp, nor the many braziers around, and how alarming the many armored soldiers on the side of the braziers were... Even if there were not, the sudden change of Guan's family (Emperor Zhao)'s expression was enough to make these already uneasy people feel terrified.

"This humble monk is terrified," Dharma River said with sorrow in his heart, but he could only kneel down helplessly. "The country is in difficulty. If the government has any requests, Shaolin Temple is willing to offer everything, only asking that Your Majesty preserve the temple's system and not make this humble monk become the one who destroyed the temple..."

"The fact that benefits come from one source has huge problems, but the key is helping each other between the rich and the poor. In my opinion, these four words are the most shameless, the most terrifying, and the most intolerable thing for me as an official!" Zhao Jiu ignored Dharma River's pretense. He was not really trying to show off his power on a mere Shaolin Temple abbot, it was too degrading.

In fact, while saying this, this current emperor directly closed the notes in front of him, and then looked around the seat with his head held high: "I ask you people, who gave you the face to call a 40% interest rate helping each other between the rich and the poor? Do you really think I don't understand the people's livelihood? Don't understand arithmetic? Poor people have a few acres of thin fields. At the end of the year, there are only a few stone and a few dou of harvest, but they still cannot be properly complete. So they seek you to borrow money to prepare for farming. This time, they borrow three dou before spring plowing, and they have to pay back more than four dou. When the crops are not yet ripe, is there a shortage of four dou? If you borrow another four and a half dou, do you have to pay back six dou? With great difficulty, there is a bumper harvest this year, and a few acres of land harvest three or five dou more. Are you going to join forces to lower the price and force the people to sell it cheaply, easily erasing these three or five dou? So, three dou become four dou, four dou become six dou in a year; six dou become eight dou, eight dou become one stone in two years... Even without disasters, will they have to be forced to sell their children and wives in three or five years, and will they have to sell their land to become tenants in ten years? Who are the wives and children sold to? Who are the fields sold to? Aren't they you lenders?! As for the poor people in the market, I am too lazy to say the same thing again, so as not to be嫌弃啰嗦."

Speaking of this, Zhao Jiu took a long breath and coldly swept over the people in the hall with various shapes, but sneered again: "Do you want to say that even so, it has always been so since ancient times, so what? What can you do? Li Qiong!"

Li Qiong could never have imagined that he would be named at this time, and he stepped forward in fear: "Your Majesty."

"What did you say before?" Zhao Jiu said with a smile that was not a smile.

Li Qiong suddenly realized and quickly replied: "Twice in this dynasty, there were major disturbances. One was Fang La, whose uprising was based on the poor civilians in the southeastern market; the other was Zhong Xiang and Yang Yao, whose uprising was based on the fishermen and farmers of Jingxiang..."

"Did you hear that?!" Zhao Jiu suddenly slammed the table and stood up, his voice shaking the hall. "This is where my anger lies today, because you people are digging at my roots! I never care about you accumulating wealth! I care about the poor being forced by you to have no place to stand! If they have no place to stand, they will rebel! If they rebel, my throne will not be stable! I killed a Liu Guangshi that day, and someone said that I was砍自己御座的椅子腿, killed Du Chong, and also actually 砍自己的椅子腿. When I imprisoned the Second Sage and dismissed seventy or eighty courtiers, they even said that I was 往自家御座上泼粪! Now you tell me, what you are doing is simply directly digging a grave for me?!"

The sudden attack made many people, including Li Qiong, tremble.

"Today I will teach you what is called imperial learning!" Zhao Jiu's face was ashen, he got up and put his hands behind his back, walked past the somewhat flustered chief administrators and important ministers, and then looked around coldly. Whoever he saw, no matter what their position, avoided him. "Then what is emphasizing civil over military affairs, what is favoring scholar-officials, what is异论相搅, what is守内虚中, what is与士大夫共天下, are all things above! The poor people are the most basic foundation! Whether it is the emperor, the scholar-officials, the nobles, or even the Buddhist and Taoist wealthy merchants, don't they all have to stand on the common people? Water can carry a boat, but it can also overturn it. Is Tang Taizong really pretending to say nice words? Can he become an eternal emperor by saying nice words? I ascended the throne as a useless prince, and I am as ignorant as the Supreme Taoist Emperor, as frivolous as I am in harming the country, and as easy to be fooled by you? Some things, even if you don't understand, I understand! I just认定了 that your 'helping each other between the rich and the poor' is digging at my foundation, I just认定了 that this is the most intolerable thing in the world!"

"The Imperial Gazette praises me as光武中兴 every day..." Zhao Jiu suddenly turned his head and looked at Lin Qi. "Minister Lin, you have good learning. You said that Emperor Guangwu measured the land and forced dozens of counties to rebel, but why did he have to use knives and continue to measure the land?"

Lin Qi was asked to the head and could only respond with a stiff head: "It is exactly the reason for Your Majesty's words."

"Yes," Zhao Jiu said thoughtfully. "The Former Han Dynasty has been helping each other between the rich and the poor for more than two hundred years, and as a result, how many poor people have no place to stand, so the Green Forest and Red Eyebrows surged up. Emperor Guangwu started in the fields of Nanyang, of course he knows what is going on, so he would rather have the powerful people who followed him in the uprising rebel, and would rather suppress them with knives to sort out the fields... And I divided the land in HuaiShang and Nanyang, and measured and granted land in the Central Plains and Guanzhong, it is the same reason. However, I am more difficult than Emperor Guangwu, because this dynasty has only been around for a little over a hundred years, and has not reached the point where the world is rebelling. It seems that it can still be maintained. Therefore, I can't move in the South, and when I shouted in Baima that I want to绍宋, everyone only thought that I was just going to imprison the Second Sage and去异论, but they don't know that I really want to go to those who think that丰亨豫大 can go back to the comfortable people, and I really want to wash the country again to become a new Song! What bullshit can be defended and reconciled, isn't it just wanting to be stable? But they don't know that the current situation is internal and external troubles, and if you don't advance, you will die... Write a letter about today's affairs and send it back to Li Gang. Say it word for word and let him comment on it again! Just say that I am waiting for his reply!"

Lin Qi was impatient and his chest was beating wildly, but he could only bow his head.

Zhao Jiu ignored the rest and went directly to the side of the only person kneeling on the ground, coldly: "Arhat Dharma River, I collected several thousand acres of land in Shaolin Temple before, and you seem to have a lot of land... How did these nearly ten thousand acres of fertile land come from? Are they all given by pious men and women for free? Or did you press this method, year after year, helping each other between the rich and the poor, and济 came? Do you think that your temples span dynasties, from the Tang to the Song, anyway, the troubles you cause are borne by us officials? So you can rest assured that you are helping each other between the rich and the poor? Digging at my roots? My eight ancestral tombs around Luoyang, are they dug out by your Shaolin Temple?"

Dharma River was crawling on the ground, not daring to answer.

Zhao Jiu also ignored it and turned to a purple-robed official in front: "Duke Yansheng, your family is a direct descendant of the sage, and it is said that you are always reasonable... But even if you are so reasonable, why do you want to ask the Vanguard of the Imperial Army for land as soon as you go back? Are you running a homecoming team? Or do you think that your family is even more capable of spanning dynasties than the monks, so you feel even more at ease helping each other between the rich and the poor?"

Duke Yansheng's lips were already trembling, and he was unable to respond at all. A red-robed elder next to him was about to speak and express his position, but Zhao Jiu turned to another monk: "Abbot Xumu of Lingjiu Temple, you have indeed made great contributions in recent years, but I ask you, why has the land of your Lingjiu Temple increased by one or two thousand acres every time the Jin people come and go, and every time the puppet Qi is built and destroyed?"

"Your Majesty, those are ownerless lands after the war, and they are really not the result of usury oppression," Abbot Xumu said in a panic with his hands together.

"But in essence, it is the same principle. Land is the foundation for settling the people, and I cannot easily give it to you," Zhao Jiu explained earnestly. "But I am not an unreasonable person... Just like Zhang Boying, Grand Commandant Zhang, everyone knows that he is fond of money. He was once terrified, thinking that I was going to deal with him, and he wanted to send me that helpless big silver ball, but I didn't want it. Not only that, but I rewarded him with royal property instead. When he moved to your Jingdong, I didn't touch his house and shops in Xuzhou, but I specifically asked people to collect his fields in Xuzhou, but gave him special permission to invest in overseas trade and do business in Japan and Goryeo in my name... You say, even he is like this, what about you? Does your Lingjiu Temple have higher merits than him? I have said so much, you have to understand me. In the future, when we fight to Yanjing and collect the temples in Hebei, how about dividing them among you meritorious monks? Or go to Japan to do business, I can also give you Lingjiu Temple a royal quota for a ship, but take out the fields for Wanqijing Lue (Wan Qixuan) to settle refugees and reward soldiers, how about it?"

"This humble monk can understand, can understand!" Abbot Xumu quickly responded. "I am also willing to give it, willing to give it!"

"And you... Han Xiaozhou!" Zhao Jiu, without waiting for the monk to continue expressing his position, directly came to the front of a person, but it turned out to be Han Xiaozhou, the head of the first family in the current dynasty, the Plum Blossom Han family. "Han Qing..."

"This subject is here," Han Xiaozhou was an honest man and quickly cupped his hands. "This subject..."

"I ask you, does your family 'help each other between the rich and the poor'?" Zhao Jiu continued to ask earnestly.

"This subject does not manage family affairs," Han Xiaozhou said with a sweat. "Moreover, this subject's ancestral home is in Hebei, which has been occupied by the Jin people..."

"What about before?" Zhao Jiu asked without waiting. "Before, did you help each other between the rich and the poor?"

Han Xiaozhou was so anxious that tears came down, really came down, but he didn't know how to answer.

"Let me tell you," Zhao Jiu patted the other party's shoulder and said earnestly. "Your family really likes to help each other between the rich and the poor. I asked Yue Pengju, when he was in Xiangzhou, when his father was still a self-sufficient farmer with dozens of acres of land, but there was no way, when he encountered a disaster year, he went to borrow money, and naturally your family helped each other between the rich and the poor, and dozens of acres of land were passed on. When it came to him, he could only be a tenant for your family... And the reason why he was able to join the army was that one day he went to your house to borrow money and encountered bandits besieging your family's rural villa. He shot the leader of the bandits with an arrow, and that's why your family recommended him to be a archer... The ridiculous thing is that your brother