The most romantic little emperor

Return to the palace.

The atmosphere in the imperial study was somewhat depressing.

Qin Hao took the initiative to speak: "My dear ministers, what do you think about what happened today?"

Several ministers turned their eyes to Dong Sicheng.

Dong Sicheng hesitated again and again, but still expressed his concerns, "Your Majesty, I have no objection to lowering grain prices. After all, this is a move that benefits the people."

"I'm just a little worried that this move will cause dissatisfaction among the gentry and wealthy families in all states and counties across the country."

"If they unite and take the opportunity to hoard food and then sell it at a high price in the future, the people of the world will suffer."

"Also, some grain merchants and others will take risks, buy grain from the mainland at low prices, and then sell it to the Liao Kingdom at high prices to make huge profits."

"Most importantly, I am worried... worried about them..."

Dong Sicheng hesitated and never said what he was worried about.

Qin Hao smiled slightly and said, "Lord Dong, you are worried that they will rebel!"

Dong Sicheng nodded.

Minister of Revenue Lu Yuanshan also stood up and frowned, saying, "Your Majesty, although the treasury is getting fuller, the war in the northern border is imminent, and the current food in the Ministry of Revenue is only enough to feed the 200,000 troops for three months."

"Besides, we don't know how long this war will last. With hundreds of thousands of mouths to feed, the daily consumption is an astronomical figure. Besides, the imperial court can't leave no food at all!"

"Now, the autumn harvest has not yet arrived, and the grain from the national treasury has to be continuously transported to Hedong. The court is still struggling to make ends meet."

Qin Hao fell silent when he heard this.

Lu Yuanshan should be telling the truth and not lying. Since he can put forward such an opinion, it means that the Ministry of Revenue is really in trouble.

Zuo Wenxuan was a man of incorruptible integrity. Although he had been in office for only a short time, he had a heart that wanted to speak up for the people. Seeing that these ministers remained silent, he just told them about some recent events.

"Your Majesty, I have been getting closer to the Zheng family recently because of the pilot land reform, and I heard an interesting story from Zheng Zhiruo." Zuo Wenxuan bowed.

Qin Hao knew Zuo Wenxuan's character. He was definitely not the kind of person who spoke without purpose. He would not mention a trivial matter in such an important occasion. There must be a deeper meaning behind it.

He immediately became interested and said with a faint smile: "Oh? What's the matter? Why not let all the ministers listen to it."

Zuo Wenxuan explained: "Take the Zheng family in Xingyang for example. They are indeed wealthy, but most of the tenant farmers work for the gentry and nobles, and can only get 10% of the grain per mu of land, while the grain tax collected by the court does not exceed 20% at most."

"Where did the remaining 70% of the food go?"

The ministers present quickly quieted down after hearing this. Their faces changed slightly, as if they had touched some taboo and did not dare to speak carelessly.

Some people even glared at Zuo Wenxuan, as if trying to stop him from continuing.

Qin Hao took everyone's reactions into consideration and motioned for him to continue.

After getting Qin Hao's approval, Zuo Wenxuan dared to say, "Your Majesty, the remaining 70% will only be taken by the gentry and wealthy families, while the majority will be in the hands of the aristocratic families and wealthy nobles."

Damn it, the imperial court only got less than 20%, while the aristocratic families took nearly 70%. Who is the emperor after all? Who was the system of Daxia made for?

Qin Hao sneered and cursed: "Are they robbing? Or are they trying to rebel? Why do they take so much?"

When everyone heard this, their faces changed suddenly. At this moment, they felt Qin Hao's strong dissatisfaction.

Lu Yuanshan, Xie An and others are all representatives from aristocratic families. At this moment, even in the face of Qin Hao's majesty, they have to stand up and speak for their family.

Lu Yuanshan and Xie An looked at each other, nodded, and stood up. "Your Majesty, I and my family have no such intention. The reason why this situation occurred is the rule set by Emperor Taizu."

"The reason why Emperor Taizu was able to defeat Daliang and establish Daxia was that our major families helped us behind the scenes, almost to the point of selling everything we had, to accumulate this family business. The land is the private property bestowed upon us by Emperor Gaozu."

"So, it might be inappropriate to say this now, Your Majesty, do you think…"

He didn't finish his words, but everyone present knew what he meant.

Immediately afterwards, several ministers stood up and spoke, and no one present was unconnected with the aristocratic families.

Dong Sicheng's wife, Cui Banyue, was a daughter of the Cui family in Qinghe.

Xie An was from the Chen Jun Xie family.

Even Wei Zheng, who was always honest and upright, had a wife from the Wang family of Langya.

From this we can see that all the officials in the entire court have more or less the shadow of aristocratic families behind them.

Seeing the ministers standing up one after another, Qin Hao felt a little unhappy, but he was unable to refute.

Because what they say is the truth!

There were only a few noblemen from poor families like Zuo Wenxuan. After hearing these words, they could only remain silent.

These privileges were indeed granted by emperors of successive dynasties and have long been ingrained into the nature of this country.

No wonder people often say that dynasties last for a hundred years and families last for a thousand years.

Say something unpleasant.

After a hundred years or even decades, the Great Xia Dynasty may no longer exist, but these aristocratic families will still be there!

Qin Hao clenched his fist, loosened it, clenched it again, and loosened it again...

He had always wanted to take action against these aristocratic families, and this was also the reason why he supported Zuo Wenxuan in carrying out the pilot reform. However, he did not expect that the aristocratic families had already infiltrated the entire court.

If we act rashly, the entire court will fall apart, and no one will be available. The consequences will be disastrous.

Xie An seemed to see Qin Hao's anger, and hurriedly offered a suggestion: "Your Majesty, I have a plan that may change this situation."

Qin Hao frowned and said unhappily, "You speak, I am all ears."

"Marriage."

Xie An uttered these two words, looked up and saw that Qin Hao was not angry, so he continued to explain: "Your Majesty can marry with the nobles of the aristocratic families, marry their children as concubines, and realize common interests."

"In return, these aristocratic families will definitely stand by your majesty."

Qin Hao was stunned when he heard this and didn't speak for a long time.

After a long while, he calmed down and said calmly: "Thank you, my dear minister. I was originally planning to take your daughter as my concubine. After hearing what you said, it seems that I have to reconsider it."

When Xie An heard that Qin Hao wanted to break off the engagement, he immediately became timid and said hastily, "No, no, no, Your Majesty, you are not joking. You have promised me. If you insist on breaking off the engagement, my daughter will be so angry that I will die."

"Please let me go for the sake of my Wanqing's deep love for you!"

Seeing that Xie An had been controlled, Qin Hao smiled slightly and said teasingly: "What did I promise you? Or have I already issued a marriage certificate?"

"Also, don't say that the emperor never jokes again, or I will punish you for slander."

"Also, don't worry. I am not a heartless person. In consideration of your hard work and contributions, I will be responsible for Xie Wanying."

"I will have someone find a nice house in the capital and give it to her. Her food, clothing and other expenses will be in accordance with the standards of the imperial concubines. What do you think?"

Once these words were spoken, it was more painful than killing someone.

Dong Sicheng and others couldn't hold back their smiles and almost laughed out loud.

It has to be said that Qin Hao's methods were cruel and insidious enough. He placed Xie Wanying outside the palace, without any name or status. What was the difference between this and the ministers keeping concubines? Both were shameful.

No wonder everyone was covering their mouths and laughing.

At this moment, Xie An wanted to die and even wanted to slap himself twice.