Chapter 25 Mie Buddha Zhe

For such an answer, Chai Shizong did not reprimand sharply, but waited silently.Because sometimes knowing the desperate situation you are in can stimulate a greater desire to survive. Seeing that Chai Shizong did not speak, Fan Zhi continued to explain his opinion: "The so-called internal supplement is to use the treasury to save money for emergencies, get food from neighboring countries at high prices, and then enter the market at low prices to subsidize the people's livelihood. In this way, as long as you persist until Our country’s autumn grains will be able to relieve a little. When the winter wheat is put into storage next year, we will be able to solve the dilemma. The problem is that our country has been fighting for years, and the national treasury is empty. It’s not easy. The so-called external repair is to discuss or force with Nantang to revise the policy of raising taxes. Even if you don’t need to lower the export grain tax, just lower the transit tax rate, you can let Wuyue send a large number of low-priced goods to our country. The problem is that the Southern Tang Dynasty also fought several battles before, but failed to gain any benefits from the battles. At this time, it is like a dog that snatches food. After the meat is eaten, it will never loose its teeth. In addition, the Southern Tang Dynasty is afraid They are restrained, so he will definitely intervene in the friendship between Wu Yue and our country. They will never be willing to lower the transit food tax and let Wu Yue and our country exchange what they need."

"Then can we also increase the tax rate of some goods to make up for the loss?" Chai Rong actually thought of this move on the way back. "Great Zhou is still the suzerain of all the countries. Raising taxes for no reason is detrimental to prestige. Furthermore, although we are rich in charcoal, cattle and horses, they are not necessary for the southern countries. The Northern Han and Daliao in the north are our enemies. Profit from these two countries." Fan Zhi denied Chai Rong's previous idea with just one sentence. "Internal repairs and external repairs won't work, and tax hikes won't work. Isn't that going to force my Great Zhou into ruin?" Chai Rong frowned involuntarily.

"Now it's not just dilapidated, I'm afraid there will be a war coming. At present, all our reserves are not enough to revive the war." This time it was Wang Pu, the deputy envoy left behind in Tokyo who spoke.This person not only has a broad mind for governing the country, but is also proficient in astronomy and divination.He has repeatedly proposed to Chai Rong the strategic policy of "first south and then north", but Chai Rong did not adopt it, and always regarded the Northern Han and Daliao as the first major enemies.Therefore, Wang Pu felt that the current situation should be an excellent opportunity for Chai Rong to correctly understand the strategic policy of "first south, then north".

"Is Fan Xiang saying that the Northern Han Dynasty and the Daliao Dynasty will take advantage of our country's embarrassment to send troops to attack?" "It's not the Northern Han and Daliao, but the Southern Tang and Western Shu. The steep increase in tax rates in the Southern Tang has hit our country hard in terms of people's hearts and livelihood. The sinister purpose of such measures is self-evident. Although Shu is rich, But the Shu people will not be self-sufficient and self-sufficient, and always covet the land of the Central Plains. When Meng Zhixiang was there, he had to go to the north several times, and finally let him take Feng, Chi and other four continents to be stable. Nowadays, Meng Chang's ambition is not to let his parents, from various Judging from the signs, there is a great intention to take advantage of this opportunity to invade our country. From this point of view, the real interference from foreign powers is still in the future. But fortunately, General Jiuzhong has formulated several strategies, which can temporarily delay the action of Xishu."

"Yes, what about Zhao Jiuchong, why didn't you see my brother? He was in the capital, so I wouldn't worry about it any more." Speaking of Zhao Kuangyin, Chai Rong suddenly realized that he hadn't seen him among such ministers. he. "General Jiuzhong entered the Southern Tang Dynasty to find a way to solve the food crisis." Fan Zhi replied. "Why, he has already grasped the method of external cultivation?" "No, he is going to steal food by borrowing the road. He wants to use the underworld to smuggle food, and then put this tax-free and low-priced food into the Dazhou market, which can alleviate the food crisis."

"This is a solution, but it is not done by a hero, and its effect is unknown, and it cannot solve the root cause." Chai Rong, the first hero, is open and aboveboard, and does not fully approve of this method. "It's a pity that I can't give me food and grass for March, otherwise I will take the fourteen prefectures of Huainan in Southern Tang. With this region rich in grain and salt, it will be my turn to raise taxes and ask him for money from Southern Tang." "By the way, General Jiuzhong left a secret book for the emperor before he left, saying that there is a good way to solve the problem. It's just too much involved, I dare not make the decision, and I will leave it to the emperor to come back to make a decision." Fan Zhi hurriedly ordered The man took the secret book left by Zhao Kuangyin from the sealed and locked iron cabinet in the waiting room.

Chai Rong's chief eunuch personally took the secret from the waiting room and handed it to Chai Rong.Chai Rong opened it, took a closer look, and couldn't help but let out a soft sigh: "Ah, get rich by destroying Buddha!" Yes, a very strange thing.Zhao Kuangyin only wrote two characters on the secret booklet at the beginning, and those two characters were the two characters "Buddha's wealth" written vertically.But now it has become four characters, and there are two more characters in front of the word "Buddha wealth": "Mie Qu".So the original "Buddha's wealth" has become "to get money by destroying Buddha".

The city of Chengdu in Western Sichuan has been very lively recently, with everything being cleaned up and replaced with new ones, and the colors are hanging red.To welcome the envoys of the great powers, there must be some ostentation in order to show their prosperity and hospitality.What's more, this time, envoys from two big countries will be received all at once, so both the specifications of the scene and the level of reception will be more grand than before.Moreover, there are many details that need to be taken care of for the face of the two countries as much as possible, so that the special envoys of the two countries feel that they are the most respected.Of course, the most important thing is the face of Shu.

But there seems to be too many other weird atmospheres hidden in the bustle of Chengdu this time, and all these weird atmospheres are contrary to the peaceful bustle, making people feel like the mountains are about to come. The first thing people feel is the atmosphere of chilling and danger.This can be seen from the guards and school patrols lining the streets and alleys.Before entering Fengzhou Pass, the special envoy of Dazhou was assassinated by the prefect of Fengzhou and the guerrilla commander.Then, less than 20 miles past Fengzhou, the Dazhou special envoy team also encountered assassins, injuring many Dazhou guards and Xishu soldiers, at least they escaped from the dangerous situation.Although no assassins were encountered on the subsequent journey, who can guarantee that those assassins will not strike again in the imperial city of Shu?

Then there was an awkward atmosphere.As far as Xishu is concerned, it is definitely necessary to entertain the envoys of the two countries well, so that wherever they go, they will feel at home.Therefore, the settings at the gate of the city, Chijie Street, the Royal Station, and the gate of the palace are somewhat nondescript.Just like in a post station, there are lotus flowers, a specialty of the Southern Tang Dynasty, in vases in the porch, and paper-cuts that Dazhou people like are pasted next to them. Then there is the eerie atmosphere.The envoys of the two countries arrived two days before and after, and both lived in the two large courtyards of the Royal Inn, but the envoys of the two countries did not have a normal courtesy meeting.Da Zhou's Wang Ce and Zhao Pu simply hid in the room for half a step out of the compound, maybe those assassins made them frightened.So no matter who they are, they don't meet each other, they just wait for the king of Shu, Meng Chang, to summon him.However, Xiao Yan and Gu Zijing in the Southern Tang Dynasty were completely opposite. They were away from the station all day long, and they didn't know who to do or what to do.

Meng Chang did not meet the envoys of the Great Zhou rashly, but discussed with a group of ministers for several days. It has been a long time since he actively asked about the government. Normally, Meng Chang just likes to play on a whim, but now that it's hot summer, he doesn't even give up on a jerk.Because he is naturally most afraid of the heat, and he will breathe when it is hot.So when the weather is hot and nothing happens, I hide in the Crystal Palace with Mrs. Huarui, taste ice Li Xueou lotus root, listen to Yaqin, and fill in wonderful words. The crystal palace is not only unobstructed and ventilated on all sides, but also has active spring water flowing through the palace, and there is a shock machine in the flowing pool.After it is turned on, the water splashes in all directions, bringing coolness and taking away the heat.What's even more amazing is that when the palace was built, many pieces of unmelted ice caps were transported from Anga (northern Russia, near the Arctic Circle).The ice cap is usually sealed in an iron box and hung in the main hall. Once the heat is unbearable, the iron box will be opened when the engine is turned on. The cold energy of the ice cap will be sent by the wind, and the heat in the whole hall will drop a lot.In addition, the iron box can also be lowered into the inlet of the flowing water, and the water will gradually become as cold as ice water, and after flowing, all the heat will be taken away.In this way, the temperature can be lowered quickly, and there is no loud noise of the surf, which is used for not disturbing sleep at night.Therefore, only in such a palace can Meng Chang write the words "ice muscles and jade bones, since he is cool and sweatless".But now the special envoys of the Great Zhou Dynasty and the Southern Tang Dynasty came to Chengdu almost at the same time. This is a major event that must be properly mediated.So Meng Chang very rarely gave up the good time of enjoying happiness in the Crystal Palace, and came to the palace to discuss with the ministers how to deal with it.He would not meet with Wang Ce, Zhao Pu, Xiao Yan, and Gu Zijing until he had discussed how to deal with them, and had no suitable way to deal with the purpose of Da Zhou and Southern Tang's sending envoys. Dazhou sent a special envoy to come here, it must be related to the recent food shortage and soaring food prices in Dazhou.To be honest, if we go back a few years, Meng Chang will definitely seize this excellent opportunity to attack the hinterland of the Central Plains of Zhou State.At the beginning when the Khitan destroyed the Jin Dynasty, He Jian, the governor of the Xiongwu Army, attached the three prefectures of Qin, Cheng, and Tier to Shu, and then Meng Chang sent Sun Hanshao to attack Fengzhou, opening up all the routes to the Central Plains at once.Later, although Prime Minister Wu Zhaoyi repeatedly prevented him, he still sent An Siqian to send troops to the east to invade the Central Plains, but due to various reasons, he finally returned without success.After that, there was an agreement to cooperate with Dazhou, and Dazhou has never tried to recover the four prefectures of Qin, Jie, Cheng, and Feng that threatened him greatly. This time, Dazhou was facing a shortage of food and salt, and Meng Chang listened to Wang Zhaoyuan's suggestion and let him borrow people's grain and salt to trade at the border of Zhou and Shu in the form of official business.In exchange for horses, cattle, sheep and other items needed for application at low prices, so as to seek high profits.This approach actually violated the covenant of cooperation and mutual assistance with the Great Zhou, and it was quite suspected of adding insult to injury. Asking himself from the perspective of human feelings and principles, Meng Chang knew that this decision was a bit unworthy of Da Zhou.So when I just received the invitation letter from Dazhou to send special envoys to the country, I felt that they sent their envoys here for nothing more than two purposes: one is to indict the teacher for the behavior of taking advantage of the fire in Xishu, and the other is to ask Xishu to support it according to the previous agreement And help, provide low-priced grain and salt to solve Zhou's difficulties.So Meng Chang immediately ordered the border barter to be suspended, and the grain, grass, and salt transported to the border were first stored in the grain and grass field of the barracks.He felt that this was at least a matter of saving face, and that the special envoy of Da Zhou should not see with his own eyes that Shu State exchanged high prices for grain and salt for Zhou State's horses, cattle and sheep. In addition, Meng Chang's disposition has actually lost the pride and vigor of the past.Shu is a land of abundance, rich in products, and can enjoy the blessings of heaven as much as possible.So Meng Chang didn't want to have any conflicts with Da Zhou, but just wanted to live a good life for himself.If any conflict inevitably arises, he knows that the strength of Shu cannot compete with Great Zhou.In order to protect oneself, in addition to relying on natural insurance, there is also the need to cooperate with foreign aid.It was for this reason that he could not neglect the envoys of the Southern Tang Dynasty in the slightest. In fact, the Southern Tang Dynasty and the Later Shu Dynasty were separated by Chu and Nanping. Except for some wild roads and cut-offs that were not under the jurisdiction of the people, there was no way to communicate with each other in time.However, such a geographical location can prevent conflicts of interests, and can contain other countries from the front and back, and attack from both sides.So a long time ago, Meng Chang looked for an opportunity to make friends with Li Hongji, the crown prince of the Southern Tang Dynasty, and secretly agreed on the principle of mutual benefit to deal with the crisis. Not many people know about the friendship between Li Hongji and Meng Chang, because this is a strategy Li Hongji prepared in private.Although Li Hongji was the prince, Yuanzong had already issued an edict to the world, and his successor to the throne was Li Jingsui, Yuanzong's younger brother and Li Hongji's uncle.The prince Li Hongji was definitely not willing to arrange this. He is a talented emperor with a lot of culture and military strategy, and he is the best candidate to succeed the Southern Tang throne.Among the entire royal family, only this Li Hongji can stabilize and continue the Southern Tang royal family.In high-sounding words, for the sake of the development and future of Southern Tang, Li Hongji would not easily give up the throne to his uncle Li Jingsui.Therefore, in addition to preparing a certain amount of military power within the scope of the Southern Tang Dynasty, he also wanted to use the power of other countries to ensure his complete victory in the future struggle for the throne.