Zhu Lian and Han Chenchen went to the backyard to admire the flowers.

After the ministers entered and performed their greetings,

Zhao Huan said, "Sun Liangquan, take a look at this."

Wang Kuian handed the report presented by Liu Yanzong to Sun Liangquan, who glanced at it and was immediately shocked: "Your Majesty, I deserve to die!"

The emperor did not speak, and Sun Liangquan knelt there with his head buried in the ground.

"What would you all like to say?"

Hu Yu said, "Your Majesty, on my way to Tokyo before setting off, I learned that some people in Mingzhou had lost their land and had no other means of livelihood, so they had turned to banditry in the mountains."

Upon hearing this, all the prime ministers present were startled.

I never expected things to escalate to this point so quickly. This is a classic case of officials forcing the people to rebel!

Wasn't this exactly what Fang La's rebellion was like back then?

It's only been a few years!

Zhao Huan's brows furrowed slightly, and he asked sternly, "How many people are there?"

"About eight hundred people!"

His words caused everyone present to gasp in shock.

Tang Ke, in particular, was sweating profusely.

He was in charge of this matter. Although Zhao Huan agreed to convert farmland into mulberry fields, Tang Ke was responsible for planning and implementing the specifics of the conversion.

The fact that they've now forced 800 people to become bandits in the mountains shows that the situation is extremely serious.

This could even indicate that the state's public sentiment has reached the brink of collapse.

Hu Yu then said, "Your Majesty, please forgive me! I have dared to say that I have already seized all the land in Mingzhou, and all sales have been suspended!"

Upon hearing this, Tang Ke was about to jump up and down in anger.

How dare you! This is an order from the imperial court, and the seal of the Council of State has been affixed. You are openly disobeying the order of the Council of State. Do you not want to be the prefect anymore?

But Tang Ke dared not say it.

Firstly, the emperor is here; secondly, Hu Yu has another identity.

What is his/her identity?

The position of the Judicial Commissioner of Liangzhe Circuit was under the cross-management of the Censorate and the Court of Judicial Review.

In other words, Hu Yu was half Liu Yanzong's man, in charge of judicial supervision in Zhejiang and Jiangsu, and also involved in civil cases.

Officials like the prefect reported to the Council of State Affairs, but the Council of State Affairs had no authority to intervene in matters of justice.

Clearly, Hu Yuming is ostensibly Xu Churen's man, but in reality, he is Liu Yanzong's man, and ultimately, the emperor's man.

Of course, everyone was actually the emperor's man; this distinction is made from the perspective of this particular matter.

Hu Yu's words eased Xu Churen's mind. If the situation really got serious, it would be time to replace him as Grand Chancellor.

Now Xu Churen is no longer on the same side as Tang Ke; he firmly opposes the current approach.

Zhao Huan remained silent. He greatly admired Hu Yu, which explained why Liu Yanzong recommended him to serve as the Censor of the Judicial Commissioner of Liangzhe Circuit.

In officialdom, it's rare to find people who proactively take on tasks and responsibilities.

However, although this was a fact of officialdom, it was their duty to take responsibility, and since this matter involved the policy of delaying the conversion of farmland to mulberry fields, Zhao Huan could not make a statement casually.

Once a stance is taken, the matter can easily be swayed by the emperor.

Should we change it or not?

Now that 800 people have run into the mountains, there are endless potential problems, so this matter definitely needs to be postponed.

How do we proceed? How long do we push it? Can we earn my 120 million within three years?

cannot?

No way, I need that money!

This is the kind of stance the emperor should take.

As for how to do it, I will just sit here and listen; you can discuss it yourselves!

Seeing that the emperor was adopting a posture of inviting them to begin their performance, Xu Churen stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, I believe that Hu Sixian has handled the matter very well. While the conversion of land into mulberry fields must be implemented, it should not be rushed. We should proceed gradually."

Tang Ke asked, "Then how do we resolve the problem on Prince Kang's side?"

Zhou Chao also said, "120 million strings of cash over three years is a huge sum of money. With this income, Your Majesty's strategy of expanding the army in the Northwest will not be hindered in any way."

Xu Churen said, "This concerns the livelihood of the people of Mingzhou. It's not just Mingzhou that's undergoing reforms now; Yuezhou, Wenzhou, Taizhou... are all being reformed. If such a problem arises in just Mingzhou, it's hard to guarantee that other prefectures and counties won't follow suit. If things escalate, the peasant uprisings in Zhejiang and the Fang La rebellion will reappear in the southeast! Such losses would be minor compared to the harm done to the people and the country!"

When Xu Churen said this, everyone fell silent.

On one hand, there is huge revenue, but on the other hand, the interests of many ordinary people are being harmed.

Merchants made a fortune by following the imperial court, but the common people lost their land. Without land, the grain supply in Zhejiang and Jiangsu couldn't keep up, and there was no food. This was a serious problem.

Sun Liangping, kneeling and prostrate on the ground, felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave, which shows that the current situation in the state was caused by him.

Zhao Huan asked, "Hu Yu, what do you have to say?"

Hu Yu said, "Your Majesty, I believe that converting rice paddies to mulberry trees is feasible, but not in this way!"

"Then, in your opinion, how should it be changed?"

"Now local governments want to sell land to merchants to plant mulberry trees, but in my opinion, the people can plant mulberry trees themselves. As long as they plant mulberry trees, they can really get a good price. As for the grain in Liangzhe, it can be transported from Jiangnan East Road and Jiangnan West Road. The court is vigorously developing the plains of Poyang Lake, and Dongting Lake in Jinghu Road is also a fertile land of fish and rice. Liangzhe is located in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, so it can take more waterways. Transportation is not a problem at all, and it can also promote the development of the Yangtze River canal."

Zhao Huan then asked, "Tang Ke, what do you want to say? You're the one handling this matter."

“Your Majesty, I have a reason for considering allowing merchants to contract mulberry groves. It’s easier to coordinate and faster. Even if the court doesn’t implement the merchant contracting scheme, merchants will still buy from farmers to plant on a large scale. Because in terms of cost, the silk produced by contracting the groves themselves is cheaper than buying from farmers. The court is doing this simply to regulate the process.”

Zhao Huan also believed that Tang Ke would not dare to act recklessly here, and from his perspective, there was indeed nothing wrong with what he was doing.

However, good plans often run into problems once they are implemented and the interests of various parties become intertwined.

For example, in his plan, if the government were to uniformly regulate the land, local officials could easily collude with wealthy merchants to carry out land consolidation.

Moreover, the imperial decree is in effect here, ordering the sale of land for mulberry cultivation. Wealthy merchants have every reason to drive down prices to buy the land. Farmers don't want to sell, but they have no choice but to. If they sell, their harvest in September will be gone.

A year's hard work wasted like this. Unlike office workers in later generations, this could really kill someone.

Tang Ke spoke, and Hu Yu dared not speak. After all, the prime minister had said that if he contradicted the prime minister here, his official career would be over, even with Liu Yanzong protecting him.

Seeing that Hu Yu dared not speak, Zhao Huan naturally felt that this was not right. As a subject, you should speak frankly and express your thoughts without fear of offending others.

If everyone below thought that way, wouldn't the emperor's ears be plugged?

Zhao Huan said, "Hu Yu, you speak!"