Da Tang: Father, can I resign?

Chapter 435 Money is not the problem, the problem is having no money

"Come, drink more. There's more after you finish the Tremella soup.

"This was cooked by Her Majesty the Queen Mother herself for you. It took more than two hours to make. You must taste it."

Li Mingda attentively placed bowls in front of the two elders, one child and three important officials, scooped soup for them, and greeted them with a smile:

"Please help yourself, everyone. Why are you so thin? Have more to drink, you're welcome."

As he spoke, he quickly scooped soup into Fang Yize's bowl.

"Haha~ Ah Sizi, you've gone too far. I was just feeling suffocated in the palace, so I just did it casually.

"Compared to the hard work of you, my dear ministers, it is nothing."

Queen Mother Yang also laughed, her attitude very elegant and calm.

It was as if this was his own home and the three ministers were the visiting guests.

The two wives and the eldest grandson looked at the Empress Dowager who had naturally blended into the environment, and exchanged glances with each other.

Finally! Empress Dowager Yang finally couldn't hold back her lust for power anymore, and finally took this step, beginning to openly interfere in government affairs!
"Now, the country is in trouble, and I can't sleep or eat well." After a brief greeting, Empress Dowager Yang's face suddenly became serious.

“Although I am unable to do it, I cannot sit idle in the palace, so I took the liberty to bother you.

"I heard that the Yangtze River basin also suffered severe flooding, especially in the north of Jiangnan Road and the south of Huainan Road."

Sure enough, it was because of the flood in the south.

The three of them figured out that the one who had sent their mother over was her beloved son - that is, His Majesty the Divine Emperor Li Ming himself.

Because Lai Junchen only took orders from Li Ming.

If it weren't for Li Ming's instructions, Empress Dowager Yang would naturally not have known about what was happening in the south.

And since Li Ming chose to "specifically" inform his mother of the matter "at the first opportunity", it was definitely not a whim.

It was he who deliberately allowed the Queen Mother to participate in politics.

Yes, how can the complete form of the Ming Dynasty bureaucratic system be without Empress Dowager Yang?

This is a serious matter, and we really need to pool our wisdom.

"The south is hot and humid, corpses rot faster, and there are many more snakes, insects, rats and ants than in the Central Plains, so epidemic prevention is the top priority."

After the initial politeness, Empress Dowager Yang quickly got into the role and began to offer advice.

"But, Your Highness, the doctors and physicians from the two capitals have already come to the Central Plains to provide assistance..." Changsun Wuji politely expressed a different opinion.

Because of the problem of medical personnel, he had just criticized the governors in the disaster-stricken areas in the Central Plains.

"The situation in the south is more urgent, and medical care in the south should be prioritized."

The Queen Mother did not try to smooth things over with the Regent's objection and retorted:
"The emperor once said that sewage, mosquitoes and high temperatures are breeding grounds for disease.

"The climate in the Central Plains has turned cooler now, and after months of disaster relief, reconstruction has begun to bear fruit. Sewage has been drained and ruins have been cleared, so the plague is relatively unlikely to spread."

When it comes to the professional field of governing the country, Fang Xuanling did not give in and shook his head slightly:
"The Central Plains has a large population and is the economic center of our country. It seems inappropriate to ignore the great rivers and focus on the Yangtze River."

The seventh century was not like later times.

If the Yellow River basin is warm and pleasant, then the Yangtze River basin is extremely hot.

You can wear more clothes when it's cold, but you can't take off more clothes when it's hot, so the population is still concentrated in the north.

Therefore, although the Yangtze River floods were fierce, the actual damage caused was not great.

This can be considered a blessing in misfortune.

In addition, all the important officials were from the north and habitually ignored the south.

To this, Empress Dowager Yang responded sharply:

"No. Our dynasty has been cultivating in the Central Plains for a long time, and the land has been basically divided equally, so the people have a higher recognition of our dynasty.

"The South has only been under our rule for less than a year, reforms are still ongoing, land is still unevenly distributed, local tyrants are still rampant, and our power at the grassroots level in the South is still weak.

“Not only is the ability to resist and save people from disasters weak, but the distribution of disaster relief materials is not necessarily fair, and people are resentful.”

When it came to business, Empress Dowager Yang's entire temperament changed.

Her usual gentleness and softness were gone and her attitude was very tough.

One can't help but see the shadow of a certain Majesty.

“And if the resentment of the southern people grows, what will happen in the end?”

Empress Dowager Yang looked at the three court officials seriously.

There will be a rebellion... Fang Xuanling and Changsun Wuji were both startled.

The people in the south and the north are different.

Before unifying the world, the Ming Dynasty originated in Liaodong and its influence was mainly concentrated in the Northeast and Central Plains.

The radiation capacity to areas south of the Huaihe River is insufficient.

In this battle for supremacy between Ming and Tang, the South can basically be said to have "opened the city without bloodshed". After one round of economic warfare, it quickly fell to its knees and did not "fight together".

It can be said that the reform is not thorough.

Therefore, although the people in the south also like the Ming Dynasty, their sense of identity is definitely not as strong as that in the north.

Although Lai Junchen's report did not mention "civil unrest".

However, if we allow the situation in the South to continue to deteriorate...

Fang Xuanling stroked his beard, pondering the truth:
"What Her Majesty the Queen Mother said is indeed reasonable."

Chang Sun Wuji touched his chin and nodded repeatedly:
“Indeed, despite the devastation, the people of the country remained united with the imperial court, and not a single riot occurred across the country.

"This is a wonder that has never been seen since ancient times, and it is due to your majesty's benevolent rule.

"We must not destroy the overall situation of the country because of policy mistakes."

They were both persuaded by the Queen Mother.

Queen Mother Yang's words were clear, powerful, and well-reasoned, and they provided the two ministers with a perspective that they had never imagined.

The two technocrats were only thinking about doing the "disaster relief" job at hand.

We have not yet thought about the political issues behind this from the perspective of the North and the South and from the perspective of regime stability.

As expected, she is the master of the harem who raised His Majesty Li Ming. She is quite something.

No wonder His Majesty has decided that the Queen Mother will be the one to intervene in government affairs.

"So, let's temporarily let the people of the Central Plains suffer. We will transfer 60% of the doctors in the disaster-stricken areas of the river to the south."

Empress Dowager Yang said slowly.

Her voice was not loud, but her tone was full of unquestionable authority.

"Yes, sir." Fang Xuanling and Changsun Wuji answered in unison.

As long as the general policy is set, the specific matters can be safely left to them.

"besides."

Empress Dowager Yang's tone softened a little, with a faint smile on her face.

"Thanks to the Emperor's blessing, everyone in the palace is in good health. The imperial physician in the palace has nothing to do.

"They are all doctors with superb medical skills. It would be a waste to keep them idle. It would be better to send them to the disaster area.

"Half go to the Central Plains, and half go to the South."

The number of imperial doctors is limited, and it is hard to say how much practical effect they can play, but sending them out is a good political gesture.

He is the divine doctor appointed by His Majesty!
He actually condescended to treat the common people!

Rounding it off, then can we also be considered to be enjoying the royal treatment? The effect of pacifying the people is unique.

Moreover, one is in the south and the other is in the north, which is very thoughtful.

As expected of being taken around by His Majesty Li Ming to perform for various events to win favor, he has already grasped the essence of guiding public opinion.

"But Your Majesty... I mean, if the Emperor and the other nobles in the palace - including Your Majesty the Queen Mother - are not accompanied by enough imperial doctors, I'm afraid..."

Changsun Wuji weakly raised his concerns.

As the brother-in-law of both the Ming and Tang dynasties, he felt that he had to help his poor half-paralyzed brother-in-law and not let him be forgotten.

Empress Dowager Yang sighed helplessly:

"What the Duke of Regent said is absolutely right, but this was the idea of ​​the Emperor.

"I advised him the same, but he kept insisting that he was not sick.

“As you all know, the Emperor is also a stubborn person.

"I couldn't persuade him. I had no choice but to keep a small number of elderly doctors who were too old to travel, and let the rest of the Shang Pharmacy members go to the disaster area for free medical treatment."

It turned out to be the will of His Majesty the Supreme Emperor himself... Changsun Wuji's heart moved.

In order to fight the disaster, everyone in the palace worked hard.

"Then the matter of doctors has been decided. Doctors from the north will be transferred to the south, and most of the doctors from the Central Plains will be sent to support the disaster areas in the south."

Fang Xuanling said, paused, and slowly shifted his gaze to Empress Dowager Yang.

"Since medical care is leaning towards the south, then according to the Queen Mother's wishes, should other resources also be used in the same way?"

Queen Mother Yang's smile gradually became brighter, and she could not help but nod in appreciation:
“As expected of Prime Minister Fang.

"Disaster relief resources really need to be 'properly' tilted toward the south."

"Appropriate" is a very artistic word. How much is appropriate?

This is a question that makes both Prime Minister Fang and Regent Zhangsun scratch their heads.

If too little power is drawn from the Central Plains, it will not be able to support the South; but if too much power is drawn, it will inevitably discourage the Central Plains' core base.

That's the political problem.

The difficulty often lies not in “whether to do it” but in “to what extent to do it”.

The world is not black and white; the doctrine of the mean is the essence of statecraft.

This degree is very difficult to grasp.

"How should the money and grain for disaster relief be distributed between the Central Plains and the South?"

The Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister and the Queen Mother engaged in a heated debate.

Just when the three giants of the Ming Dynasty bureaucracy were discussing heatedly.

"Cough cough."

In the corner, Fang Yize's dry cough was heard.

He clearly had no expression on his face, but somehow he gave people the illusion that he had a very grim look on his face.

"I'm sorry to interrupt your discussion, but I just have one question."

Fang Yi asked politely but indifferently:

"You are all discussing how to distribute money and food, but I have a small question -

“Where does the money and food come from?”

As soon as these words were spoken, the room, which had just been the scene of a heated discussion, suddenly fell into an awkward silence.

Empress Dowager Yang looked at Zhangsun Wuji, and Zhangsun Wuji looked at Fang Xuanling.

Fang Xuanling lowered his head and studied the bowl of porridge.

Li Mingda, who had just diligently served porridge and tea to everyone, had run away at some point.

What a clever little guy.

"Whether in the south or the north, there is not enough money and food to provide relief to the victims. How do you plan to allocate it?"

Fang Yize's voice echoed coldly in the silent room.

“By the way, aid is not something that will automatically arrive with the next executive order.

"Starting from the Central Plains, crossing the overflowing Huai River and the Yangtze River, long-distance cross-regional transfers will also incur losses, and they are not small."

Financial management works like this: the Queen Mother and the Prime Minister only need to discuss how to divide the cake, while the Prime Minister has to consider more in order to make the cake bigger.

Perhaps sensing the awkward atmosphere, Changsun Wuji tried to smooth things over between the two sides:

"The Queen Mother's decision is absolutely correct, but Prime Minister Fang's concerns are also reasonable. Long-distance transportation is not only extremely costly, but may not be in enough time.

"The disaster relief work in Huainan and Jiangnan cannot rely solely on aid from the north. They must also raise funds locally..."

"Yes." Fang Yize nodded coldly and repeated the question:
“So, whether it’s relief from the North or self-raising from the South, where does the money come from?”

…………

"Where does the money come from?"

Li Ming sat at the table in the tent and asked himself this question more than once.

"Your Majesty, how difficult is this? Let me, Old Xue, give you some advice."

A vulgar voice sounded beside him, making Li Ming's ears buzz.

It’s Xue Wanche.

Thanks to timely and effective response measures, the disaster situation in Huazhou has now basically stabilized and entered the post-disaster reconstruction stage.

Since it involves "construction", it is naturally inseparable from the general who builds the city, Xue Wanche.

"Your Majesty, have you forgotten that we in the Ming Dynasty no longer use heavy copper coins, but light paper money?
"A piece of paper can be worth a coin! As long as we ask someone to bring the paper money from Tangzhou, the problem of the lack of money in the disaster area will be solved!"

Xue Wanche was pointing out the situation, talking with spit flying everywhere, his pride evident in his words.

Li Ming raised his eyes tiredly, looked at the capable warrior who had finished his repair and was full of energy, and a teasing smile appeared on the corner of his mouth:

"General Xue is right, it can be improved.

"Why do we need to transport the money all the way from Tangzhou? It's just stamped paper. Wouldn't it be more convenient if we just printed the money in the disaster area?"
"By the way, let me remind you that the legal tender of our country is called 'paper money', not 'paper money'..."

"That's right!" Xue Wanche slapped his head, not knowing whether he had heard the second half of his Majesty's words, and interrupted excitedly:
"Why didn't I think of that? I'm so stupid. No wonder I'm not the emperor."

Only Li Ming could tolerate this series of remarks that were enough to make the nine clans ancestors.

"Go away, go away, go away and beat the dust! Don't disturb me while I govern the country!
"Really? You are such a hopeless idiot. No wonder you were kicked out of the house by my aunt Princess Danyang."

Li Ming angrily kicked Xue Wanche out.

Printing money... Haha, I wish the problem of material shortages in the disaster area could be solved so easily.

What is money?
Money is just a common thing.

No matter whether it is paper, gold, silver or copper, if they cannot be eaten or worn, they will be uncomfortable to sleep on. What’s the point of pulling them to the disaster area?

Money is just a code name; what is truly scarce are the resources behind it.

"With the turmoil in the Yangtze River, the expedition to Japan has to be suspended. Fang Yize has to transfer all the funds prepared for the expedition to the disaster-stricken areas in the south.

"Alas, I really can't live without money..."

Li Ming was very upset and left the tent in a bad mood.

(End of this chapter)