"Your Majesty, the Ministry of Works has completed the construction plans for Youzhou, Yunzhou, and Jizhou. I have just reviewed them and find them feasible. I plan to present them to Your Majesty for your review today."

"Wang Kui'an, go to the Hall of State Affairs and fetch it for me to see."

"yes!"

"By the way, have Tang Ke and Zhou Chao come to see me."

"As you command."

Before long, Wang Kuian brought several huge blueprints with his men, and Tang Ke, the Vice Chancellor, and Zhou Chao, the Commissioner of the Three Departments, also came along.

The emperor ordered the four huge maps to be hung up. Three of them were new planning designs for Youzhou, Jizhou, and Yunzhou. The other map stretched from Taiyuan and Zhongshan in the south to Huanglongfu of the Jin Kingdom in the north. However, the details of the map became blurred beyond the Great Wall.

According to Zhong Shizhong and Yao Gu's plan, one million people were to be relocated to Youzhou, and five hundred thousand people were to be relocated to Jizhou and Yunzhou respectively.

This number seems larger than the emperor's plan for Tokyo, but it was actually much easier because not all of the one million people went to Youzhou City; people also had to be sent to the surrounding prefectures and counties.

Judging from the plans on these maps, Jizhou and Yunzhou have not changed much, but Youzhou has been expanded by a full two times. As the capital of Liao, Youzhou was already quite large. Now Zhao Huan wants him to expand it by another two times, which shows that he is determined to make Yanyun his base in the north.

"Tang Ke, I ask you, given this scale, how long will it take to complete the Ministry of Commerce?"

Tang Ke said, "Your Majesty, it will take at least twenty years."

Zhao Huan's face immediately darkened, and Tang Ke felt a chill run down his spine. He quickly changed his tune, saying, "However, if recruiting private merchant caravans goes smoothly, the term can be extended to ten years!"

Zhao Huan's expression softened slightly, and he asked Zhou Chao and Xu Churen, "How much money was invested in total over the past ten years?"

Xu Churen said, “Your Majesty, the monthly salary of a laborer is one string of cash. The court intends to recruit 50,000 laborers, which will cost 600,000 strings of cash per year and 6 million strings of cash over ten years.”

Zhao Huan frowned slightly: "One guan? What's the price of rice now?"

Xu Churen's heart skipped a beat. Damn it, the emperor had hit the East Prefecture's biggest sore spot.

The government currently faces several major challenges: first, commodity prices, especially rice prices; second, housing prices; and third, the number of homeless people.

These three points are all related to people's livelihood. If they are not handled properly, society will continue to be turbulent. Given this official's temper, no one in the Council of State will have a good ending.

Xu Churen answered with a forced smile: "In Tokyo, it costs four strings of cash per stone; in Hangzhou, it costs three strings of cash per stone; and in Jiangling, it costs two strings of cash per stone."

The emperor's brows were furrowed. In the Song Dynasty, one shi was equal to 97 kilograms. An adult male would consume 1.5 jin of rice a day, or 45 jin of rice a month. According to the rice price standard in Tokyo, 45 jin of rice would cost 930 wen (0.93 guan). Even according to the standard in Jiangling Prefecture, it would cost 464 wen (0.464 guan).

What is the current price of grain in Youzhou?

Xu Churen's forehead was covered with a thin layer of sweat, and Zhou Chao also lowered his head, his breathing becoming lighter.

"Your Majesty, due to the war, the price of rice in Youzhou City is now four strings of cash!"

Zhao Huan immediately turned hostile: "Five months have passed since the war began! The price of rice in Youzhou is exactly the same as in Dongjing! What are the Council of State and the Three Departments doing?!"

Xu Churen and Zhou Chao knelt down in alarm: "Your Majesty, please calm your anger! Your subjects are already preparing for the allocation of grain! However, due to the war, Hebei and Hedong are also experiencing a shortage of grain."

"Hangzhou! Transport grain from Hangzhou!"

"Your Majesty, if grain is transported northward from Hangzhou along the Grand Canal, the food supply in the capital city of Tokyo will be strained."

Zhao Huan said coldly, "So, the price of grain can't be lowered?"

Originally, Zhao Huan was concerned about the establishment of the northern capital, Youzhou. Unexpectedly, the issue of the monthly wages of the laborers led to the price of rice, which was a matter of people's livelihood. No matter how much Zhao Huan brainwashed the people of the Song Dynasty through the official gazette every day and showed what a great emperor he was, in the end, the people couldn't even afford to eat. Who cared whether the emperor was handsome or wise!

You've made it impossible for us to afford food; you're a tyrant!

Seeing that the emperor was about to lose his temper, Zhou Chao hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, we have surplus grain, we have surplus grain!"

"Where is the surplus grain? Why is there still surplus grain when rice prices are already so high? Which son of a bitch is trying to ruin my empire? Speak!"

“Your Majesty, wealthy merchants and landlords in Jingdong Road and Jingxi Road have long occupied large tracts of fertile land and concealed most of the grain tax. They have hoarded it themselves, and according to preliminary statistics, there are at least 20,000 shi (a unit of dry measure). Now that they have been investigated and their property confiscated, the local officials have just taken office and have already begun to deal with this grain.”

Zhao Huan's anger subsided slightly: "Get up, all of you."

Xu Churen and Zhou Chao both breathed a sigh of relief: "Thank you, Your Majesty."

"What are your plans for dealing with this grain?"

Xu Churen originally planned to transport all the grain to Tokyo to lower the price of grain there, but now it seems that this is not the right approach. He needs to add some more to Youzhou, otherwise, if the emperor gets angry, he will lose his head.

Xu Churen said, "We plan to transport half to Kaifeng and the other half to Beidu."

Zhao Huan glanced at Xu Churen, his tone still somewhat cold: "Is Tokyo currently short of food?"

"Your Majesty, grain prices in Tokyo are also quite high."

Why are food prices in Tokyo not low? Is it due to food shortages?

Zhou Chao said, "The high price of grain in Tokyo is not only due to the supply of grain. Most of the grain in Tokyo is transported from Jiangnan, Shaanxi and Hebei. The transportation requires people and ships. In addition, the housing prices in Tokyo also drive up the price of grain."

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