Chapter 63 Section ten

"Wang Anshi didn't react at all to the actual abolition of the Market Change Law. It's incredible." After listening to Shi Yue's retelling, Pan Zhaolin tapped his middle finger on the table rhythmically and fell into deep thought. "That's right. Although we proposed the method of "do not abolish but do not abolish", which can reduce the resistance from Wang Anshi, it is too strange for him to almost abandon the market change law as if it was not a new law proposed by himself." Sima Mengqiu and Pan Zhaolin See similar. "What is he thinking?" Wang Anshi's uncharacteristic approach made Pan Zhaolin and Sima Mengqiu, who believed that "everything is unreasonable, must be deceitful", start to make unnecessary speculations about "Shouxianggong".

Seeing the two of them like this, Chen Liang couldn't help laughing and said, "Why does Wang Anshi have to react?" "Wang Anshi's character..." Pan Zhaolin blurted out the words, and then consciously shut up after speaking halfway. Something flashed in his mind, but slipped away from his hand. Shi Yue laughed and said: "Wang Anshi's character... Maybe it's Wang Anshi's character that made him no longer object. The emperor said that he didn't investigate Lu Jiawen, but I thought that he might have investigated, but he was unwilling to slap himself... Taking this opportunity It may also be Wang Anshi's idea to terminate the Market Change Law."

Chen Liang pondered for a while, then said: "Master Shi's words are reasonable. In fact, from the perspective of students, it doesn't matter what Wang Anshi thinks. The important thing is that the City Trading Law has finally been abolished, and the people of Kaifeng Mansion can relax a little bit." I'm out of breath." Pan Zhaolin smiled self-consciously, and said: "Zi Rou is actually right, but the people of Kaifeng Mansion can breathe a sigh of relief, but we can't breathe a sigh of relief. Wang Anshi's Fangtian equal tax law, you must have a regulation to deal with it. "There is still a word in his mind that Lu Huiqing and Chen Yuanfeng's influence on the Military Weapons Supervision and Weapons Research Institute seems to be deepening.

When Shi Yue heard Fang Tian's average tax law, he frowned slightly, and said, "I'm afraid it will not be easy to convince Wang Anshi, alas, next year... next year..." Shi Yue knew a shocking secret in his heart, but could he tell it?Tang Di and others can believe in mysticism, but Pan Zhaolin and Sima Mengqiu are outright atheists. Seeing that Shi Yue hesitated to speak, Chen Liang couldn't help asking curiously: "Next year, what will happen next year?" The eyes of Pan Zhaolin and Sima Mengqiu focused on Shi Yue at the same time, obviously they were also curious about it.But for Shi Yue, they have a very conscious concept of being a minister, and they will not take the initiative to ask such impolite questions.

"In the seventh year of Xining, since spring and summer, Huainan Road, Jingxi Road, Shaanxi Road, East Road, and Hebei Road have been drought for a long time; in September, in addition to the above roads, the newly recovered Taohe River is also drought... Misfortunes never come singly. , In the seventh year of Xining, Kaifeng Mansion and Hebei Road encountered a large plague of locusts! In other words, eastern Henan, Anhui, Shandong, Hebei, Shanxi, Shaanxi, and the six northern provinces of the Great Song Dynasty were all affected! "Shi Yue was thinking about these things that would happen soon. Although he was not very clear about the details of this era, the important natural factors that caused Wang Anshi's two dismissals in the seventh year of Xining and the ninth year of Xining were none other than A student of history should be familiar with it.In fact, from the seventh year of Xining to the second year of Yuanfeng, the land in the north of the Song Dynasty was plagued by drought and locust plagues.But precisely because of the many decrees of the new law, most of the residents in the northern part of the Great Song Dynasty were overwhelmed and could only barely live on—so when the natural disaster came, they had no ability to resist and save themselves.Perhaps my arrival has made the situation of these people a little bit better, at least the Young Crops Law has been improved to a certain extent, and the Fangtian Average Tax Law, which should have been implemented a few months ago, is still pending in the Political Affairs Hall.Shi Yue calculated the time in his mind: If it is implemented in September, it will be a mess, and then it will be filed and taxed in March. Following this process, the entire northern agriculture will be devastated by natural disasters...

Until now, Shi Yue has never seen a real refugee! He lived in the wealthiest city in the world in the eleventh century, and he interacted with every day, not the emperor's high-ranking officials, but scholars Qingliu, even the Sang and Tang families were wealthy businessmen; , but after all, he has never seen such a thing as a refugee.Shi Yue's impression of refugees was those tragic scenes on TV. He saw starving and skinny Africans... That kind of misery makes anyone with a conscience feel ashamed. I must prevent this from happening! Shi Yue pursed his lips tightly, swearing secretly.

Pan Zhaolin and the others saw that Shi Yue was suddenly lost in thought, and they didn't dare to disturb them. They exchanged glances and secretly guessed what would happen next year, but no matter how smart they were, it was impossible for them to know the disaster situation next year in advance. Suddenly, Shi Yue raised his head, as if he had made up his mind, and said with a tense face, "I'm worried that next year the whole north will face drought and locust plagues! Father Chun, you should be very clear about the current situation in the north. If the weather is good, the people at the bottom can still support them. In case of a disaster, the imperial court must provide relief. However, the imperial court gathers most of the money and food in the capital. Once a large area of ​​disaster is hit in the north, then there will be superpowers. What's more, at this time, we need to add a tax law of square land! That's going to make things worse!"

Pan Zhaolin, Sima Mengqiu, and Chen Liang immediately looked at each other in dismay. They saw that Shi Yue said something so solemnly, but the whole thing was based on the assumption that the north will be fully affected by the disaster next year. This really made the three of them I feel incredible. "Young master, you said that next year the north will suffer from drought and locust plagues?" Pan Zhaolin repeated carefully. "That's right, if I'm not mistaken, it can be seen from this winter that there will be no rain throughout the winter, and the locust plague first started in Khitan territory, then flew to Hebei, and went straight to Kaifeng Mansion." Shi Yue said with certainty , he needs to tell his staff this information.

Shi Yue's words were so convincing that Pan Zhaolin and others were even more inconceivable. "My lord, how did you know?" Pan Zhaolin asked the doubts in the hearts of the three people. He didn't doubt Shi Yue, but this matter was too unbelievable. Before making any decision, one must first judge whether the information is credible. Shi Yue thought for a while, glanced at the three of them, and said slowly: "You don't need to worry about how I know, sometimes I have some abilities that ordinary people don't have. In short, you believe me, this will happen in all likelihood .”

As the lord, Pan Zhaolin and the others naturally couldn't say anything more if he had said so much.Sima Mengqiu and Pan Zhaolin glanced at each other quickly. Although they still had doubts in their hearts, they conceived an action plan from the worst situation. Although some opportunities might be wasted, it would not lead to the worst result after all. This is what the two can do. accepted. "My lord, do you want to stop Fang Tian's average tax law from being passed?" Sima Mengqiu asked. Shi Yue nodded. "I object, this is not the best policy." Pan Zhaolin objected unceremoniously.

"It's not a question of good or bad policy, it's a question of thousands of lives!" Shi Yue was unusually calm. Pan Zhaolin said sarcastically: "Even if you stop the Fangtian average tax law, it will not save tens of millions of lives. The Fangtian average tax law will only make things worse. Unless you can persuade the emperor to exempt the entire north from this year." At the same time, the army and the people were mobilized to stand ready to save themselves. Otherwise, everything would be in vain! The current capabilities of the Song Dynasty are simply unable to deal with the full-scale outbreak of disasters that spread across half of the country. " Shi Yue knew that Pan Zhaolin was telling the truth, but he was too cold-blooded.He said coldly: "I will try to convince the emperor." When he said this, even he himself did not believe it.Why should the emperor believe his prediction of next year's disaster and make such a huge adjustment?Who would believe Wang Anshi's prophecies among Zhongshu's prime ministers, prime ministers, three ministers, and the entire court? Pan Zhaolin showed that slightly sarcastic smile again, and he glanced at Sima Mengqiu intentionally or unintentionally. Sima Mengqiu said calmly: "My lord, the students also object to your stopping Fang Tian's tax law." Chen Liang asked anxiously: "Why? Even if the effect is limited, you can't do nothing!" Pan Zhaolin sneered and said, "Whether you save or not, the result is the same. You should use this result to strive for the greatest benefit for yourself, so as to avoid fewer deaths in the future. This is true kindness. That kind of woman's kindness, don't worry about it." .If what the son said is true, then the new party will definitely attack each other with the old party, and Wang Anshi will face tremendous pressure, and the son just took advantage of this opportunity to collect the reputation of scholars and the people. We should think of a comprehensive disaster relief measure, After the refugees arrived in the capital and caused shock, they were given to the emperor." "Yes, although comprehensive disaster relief is actually impossible. However, if the measures proposed by your lord can successfully alleviate the disaster situation in one or two roads, and if you try your best to solve the disaster situation and refugees in Kaifeng Prefecture, then your lord's political prestige will reach a new peak. No matter how many battles Wang Shao wins at the border, it won't matter." Sima Mengqiu added calmly. Chen Liang seemed to look at the two people without knowing each other, and said: "Let the people in the north ignore it, and solve the situation of one or two roads plus Kaifeng Mansion. Is this what you call benevolence?!" "Zirou, there is a right to do things." Sima Mengqiu glanced at Chen Liang and explained, "It is impossible to save the whole north, so why bother? However, if we propose one or two solutions, as long as we prepare early It is still possible. And Kaifeng Mansion has to be rescued. Only by saving Kaifeng Mansion can the emperor and all officials see the ability of your lord, and only then can the scholars and common people in Kaifeng Mansion support you more. What's more, with our current ability, To be able to solve the problem of one or two roads is to try our best." Sima Mengqiu's words are much more pleasant than those of Pan Zhaolin, but their essence is generally the same. Chen Liang, who was extremely disapproving, but unable to tell Sima Mengqiu and Pan Zhaolin, cast his eyes on Shi Yue as if asking for help. Shi Yue stood up and said coldly: "I don't need to use the victims' lives in exchange for any political prestige. We can think of one or two good ways to solve one or two disasters. At the same time, I will try to make suggestions to the emperor and try to persuade The emperor can make preparations as soon as possible. In addition, from now until the autumn harvest, send a letter to Han Qi every two months to remind him to make preparations." Pan Zhaolin sneered, and said, "It's useless, my lord. Without the court's order, Han Qi is in a place of suspicion. If he collects grain and grass, and the censor tells him that he wants to rebel, I'm afraid Han Qi won't be able to stand it." Ben. With Han Qi’s prudence, he would not do that at all. Since the son is so sure that there will be disasters next year, even if Fang Tian’s average tax law is passed, if the disaster happens, it will be suspended. Why make an enemy of Wang Anshi at this time? Wait until Wouldn't it be much better to wait for the opportunity next year?" Sima Mengqiu also said: "Wang Anshi is determined to win the tax law on land average. Those who strongly oppose it have their own people, and there is no need for adults to intensify the conflict with Wang Anshi. Wang Anshi has given up the market change law and is pressing every step of the way. What's the benefit?" Whether it is Pan Zhaolin or Sima Mengqiu, there is a subtext that has not been uttered: Shi Yue's best interest is not to drive Wang Anshi out of power.Before Shi Yue's political prestige reached the point where he could serve as prime minister, Wang Anshi's interests in the position were far greater than those of someone else's position - so the opponent's land average tax law should not be a fight to the death with Wang Anshi at all. It's not that Shi Yue doesn't understand this point, but there are many things that you don't do if you understand them.