My father is Emperor Wu of Han, how can I be different from him?

Chapter 62 Fryer
Yes, no.

Liu Ju underestimated again, but last time he underestimated the scope of the emperor's attack, this time he underestimated the possible consequences of moving salt and iron!

Even Liu Che did not rush to set up the salt and iron official camp from the beginning.

Instead, they introduced a small character to test the waters first...

Wait and see.

At this time, the Xuanshi Hall was filled with ministers and close officials.

This description is actually problematic, because who are the officials? Prime Minister Li Cai, Imperial Censor Zhang Tang, the Minister of Rites, the Minister of Internal Affairs, the Minister of Defense, and the Nine Officials.

All of the above are high-ranking officials of the outer court!

And who are the close ministers in the inner court?
Except for the general who was there to support the show, the rest were all random people, such as the drama master Dongfang Shuo, the small attendant Sang Hongyang, the tea server Huo Guang, and so on.

Each of them has a famous name, but at this moment, it depends on the official position!

Regardless of the rank of their official positions, they all have to give up.

The two groups should not have been able to sit together, let alone discuss matters in the same hall, but the emperor summoned them together.

The intention here.

In fact, it was to deliberately blur the boundaries between the inner and outer courts and dilute the power of the prime minister who ruled over all officials...

Some people in the court could not see through it, while some saw through it but did not say it out loud. Anyway, at that moment, no official in the Xuanshi Hall showed any displeasure.

"I have called you all together today because there are many undecided matters. Let's discuss them together."

On the main seat.

Liu Che opened his remarks with a sentence whose bias was unclear, indicating that they could begin, and at the same time, he also withdrew from the matter.

Just like when Shuofang City was being built, there was a lot of controversy in the court, so the emperor summoned both parties together and let them debate and argue.

I watched silently, taking the opportunity to see everyone's attitude...

Liu Che liked this trick very much and it always worked. The same was true for today's discussion about the purse.

He had just finished speaking.

Someone below received the signal.

The young attendant Sang Hongyang stood up from the right side and bowed to the emperor at the top, the crown prince beside the imperial steps, the generals in the front row, and the ministers opposite him in turn!
then.

Then he said modestly: "I have some superficial opinions, please correct me."

As soon as Sang Hongyang opened his mouth, the Prime Minister and others came following his reputation, realizing that today's meeting was most likely instigated by this guy.

Being stared at by everyone, Sang Hongyang remained calm and composed, and his tone was still humble, but the meaning of his words shocked everyone!
"Now the imperial court is short of taxes and the treasury is depleted. I suggest that we strictly prohibit private minting of coins and implement Guan Zhong's method on salt and iron."

Guan Zhong advocated that it was only right to govern the mountains and seas.

Shanhai refers to salt and iron. The whole sentence means that salt and iron are monopolized by the government.

The words fell.

The close ministers on the right had indifferent expressions. They had heard the rumors a long time ago, otherwise the general would not have told the prince to speak less.

But it was the first time that the ministers heard such arguments, and at this moment, Wei Qing's foresight was highlighted.

Because after hearing this, the officials were furious!
"absurd!"

The chief of the imperial clan Liu Shou rebuked him without even moving his buttocks. He glared at Sang Hongyang and said, "What nonsense are you talking about!"

"The policy of Emperor Xiaowen and the previous emperor to be lenient to the people, can you change it just by saying it with your mouth? You don't know what you mean!"

He just finished speaking.

Taichang Zhou Ping also glared at him unkindly, "Allowing the people to mint coins and liberalizing the salt and iron industries is the way to enrich the country. If you do the opposite, you will compete with the people for profits."

"It may seem like the court's taxes have increased, but in the long run they will be very harmful!"

After the two men finished speaking, the officials in the hall were still indignant, but the emperor, who was sitting at the top, had already quickly reviewed their resumes.

Liu Shou, the chief of the imperial clan, was the grandson of Liu Jiao, the King of Chu, and represented the imperial clan.

Taichang Zhou Ping, Marquis of Sheng, represents the old nobles.

Two of the Nine Ministers have expressed their views, but this is not the end, but a beginning.

immediately.

Li Xi, the Grand Administrator, frowned: "Government-run enterprises will only breed corruption, which is unwise." Li Guang, the Doctor-in-Chief, was puzzled: "Salt, iron, and coinage have been implemented for a long time without any mistakes, why do we have to change it so hastily?"

The Emperor commented.

Li Xi, Marquis of Guannei, represents the emerging nobles.

Li Guang...represents the general public.

The Minister of Agriculture was in charge of the national finances, and the Minister of the Imperial Household was in charge of the royal private property. Both of them knew how poor the court was. Although they did not explicitly refute it, they still conveyed silent opposition.

The attitudes of the nine ministers are clear at a glance.

A glimpse of the whole picture shows that it is not difficult to guess the opinions of the upper-class princes, nobles, and ministers of the Han Dynasty on salt, iron, and coinage...

Among the three dukes.

Imperial Censor Zhang Tang had a calm expression on his face and had no intention of speaking.

However, after everyone reached a consensus, Prime Minister Li Cai spoke up, or rather, made the final decision, "Your Majesty, I'm afraid that what Minister Sang Hongyang said is difficult to implement."

The subtext is: Let’s discuss the next thing.

"Ah."

Liu Che nodded, as if he was going to follow the prime minister's words, but unexpectedly, he suddenly turned around and asked Wei Qing: "General, what do you think?"

Hear the words.

Before the general could say anything, a stream of gazes were already staring at him from the left, with the prime minister's gaze being the most sharp.

"If Your Majesty asks me about the deployment of troops, I will tell you everything I know, but this is about finances, which is not my expertise, so it is difficult for me to give any opinion."

After Wei Qing finished speaking, the ministers silently withdrew their gazes.

The emperor nodded again, his face showing no sign of satisfaction or dissatisfaction. He waved his sleeves and said, "Let's put this matter aside and discuss the next one."

in this way.

From front to back, Sang Hongyang, who had just shown his head, was knocked back to his original position just like in the whack-a-mole game!
All the pros and cons of the salt and iron monopoly in his mind, no matter how he debated or refuted them, were of no use.

They don’t even give you the qualifications to have an equal dialogue!

Looking at Sang Hongyang's lonely figure, Liu Ju, who had been listening to the whole process, said something good for him... in his heart.

'Don't be discouraged.'

"The salt and iron industry will definitely be implemented, and you will definitely shine. After all, if you don't believe in yourself, you have to believe in the man behind you!"

Putting aside the prince's complaints, the meeting in the palace continued.

Then it’s still about finance.

Yes.

The long-awaited 'white paper currency' has officially entered the mainstream!

To be precise, it was the emperor who asked them to discuss it. Soon after, the kings came to the court and asked me to issue a kind of "white paper" worth 400,000 coins. Is it appropriate?
This topic is even more outrageous than the previous one!

But surprisingly, the Chief of the Imperial Clan Liu Shou only said one sentence: Your Majesty, are you serious?

The reply was: More real than real gold!

Subsequently.

Zong Zheng grinned for a moment to express his shock, and then that was it.

The other ministers merely looked up to His Majesty.

Nothing else.

Government affairs were passed one by one. Some were approved unanimously, while others were controversial and awaiting resolution. However, as the discussion went on, the group of close ministers on the left fell silent.

There is no way, the official position is there.

Someone is throwing a 2,000-shi official in your face, and you yourself don't even have 200-shi official. How can you argue with him?

The most powerful among the close ministers - General Wei Qing.

Except for a matter involving the construction of beacon towers in the two counties of Hexi, he kept silent the rest of the time...

(End of this chapter)