Although Shen Tu Xin was an official in charge of literature and art, he was not a simple man.
He pinpointed the key to the emperor's plan: if the south held out for three months, cutting off the southeast's food supply to Tokyo, the increased demand for provisions in Jinghu due to the war would inevitably reduce the food supply to Tokyo, leading to a decrease in Tokyo's food supply and a rise in food prices. This would cause the emperor's internal situation to collapse first.
It was already late autumn, and a cold wind was howling through Tokyo.
Zhao Huan has been in a very good mood lately. In addition to exercising hard, reading, and eating on time, he occasionally drinks a few cups of wine to relax.
Sima Junru reported back that everything was progressing very smoothly from the north.
As the weather grew increasingly cold, the migration from Yanyun was temporarily halted, but the first wave was successfully completed, with 80,000 new people arriving in Youzhou. These 80,000 people settled down quickly after arriving in Youzhou.
In addition to setting up the Shangyusi (Office of Commerce and Resources) in Dongjing (Kaifeng), the second stop was Youzhou. The Shangyusi temporarily found a very dilapidated place to set up its office.
In the emperor's words, the most important thing now is to build the framework first, and not to prepare everything before taking action. We need to be quick!
Under what circumstances can a stone float on the surface of water?
Once a certain speed is reached!
The Song Dynasty was undergoing reforms. The Jin Dynasty was not stupid, the Tanguts were not stupid, and even people from Japan, which was just across the sea, were living and studying in the Song Dynasty.
We need to get things moving quickly. It's okay if the initial steps aren't perfect. Even polishing the most precious jade involves steps, right?
Anyone who dares to deliberately delay the implementation of the new policies is ruining my Great Song Dynasty and deserves to die!
The Ministry of Commerce and Industry of Youzhou, the capital of the north, which would later become one of the most magnificent government buildings in the entire north, is now not even as impressive as the residences of some merchants.
But there was no other way. The emperor personally ordered that the hole in the roof be patched up and the draft be stopped. The Ministry of Commerce and Industry quickly began recruiting private merchant caravans in Beidu.
These caravans were quite different from those of the Song Dynasty in the past. The people recruited for these caravans were to build city walls, schools, and roads. The merchants in charge of organizing the caravans were required to pay these laborers their monthly wages on time.
As soon as this matter entered Beidu, it immediately attracted the attention of many people.
Especially with Han Lixian, the emperor's father-in-law, in Youzhou, there were almost no business circles in Youzhou that he didn't know. He only had to spread the news slightly, and people were already scrambling to take over the government's business.
The people of Youzhou were already impoverished after the war. Now, not only did the imperial court have to spend money on infrastructure construction here, but a large amount of grain was also transported here, and the price of grain was visibly falling.
People can earn money simply by participating in labor, and with that money they can buy food, so their children no longer have to worry about going hungry.
Although the weather is getting colder, the people's hearts are warm.
When the emperor said he would abolish corvée labor, it really was abolished. From then on, poor people no longer had to work for the government as free laborers.
In the past, there was really no other way. If there were men in the family, they would work hard in the fields and still have some food stored up. They could eat a meal every few days and not starve to death. During the off-season, everyone had plenty of energy but didn't know what to do.
Things are different now. As long as you're not lazy and are willing to work hard, you can get paid.
For ordinary people, what could be more important than having their wives and children well-fed?
Previously, when the emperor reclaimed Yanyun from the Jin dynasty, everyone treated it as a spectacle, since Yanyun had changed hands several times and the people there had become numb to war.
But things are different now; everyone is truly feeling the blessings of the current emperor.
Hearing that many teahouses in Beidu Youzhou were discussing the merits of the new policies, Zhao Huan felt very at ease and slept even more soundly.
But Zhao Huan had only managed a few good nights' sleep because of the situation in Youzhou, and now the events in Dongjing (Kaifeng) right under his nose kept him awake.
Xu Churen and Zhou Chao knelt on the ground, trembling with fear, unable to find a reason to stand up.
Because food prices in Tokyo have gone up!
The price skyrocketed to six strings of cash per stone!
The rise in food prices is just the beginning. The real danger lies in the surge in other prices caused by the soaring food prices!
Zhao Huan smashed the graphite on the table onto the ground: There are always treacherous subjects trying to harm me!
Despite his rage and the shattering of the graphite plate, the emperor's voice was calm, or rather, cold, so cold that it made the very bones of the Zhou dynasty tremble.
"Zhou Chao, tell me, who is this blind fool who would try to harm me at this time?"
Zhou Chao felt his legs trembling uncontrollably. The emperor was so outspoken and direct! All that was said was that someone had raised grain prices, and Zhou Chao had accused him of plotting against him.
"Your Majesty, the food supply to the southeast has been completely cut off. Because of the need to prepare provisions for Yue Fei, there is also a shortage of food in Jiangling Prefecture, and the capital city of Dongjing is now short of food."
Zhao Huan sneered, "Prime Minister Zhou, is there really a food shortage in the capital city of Dongjing?"
Zhou Chao felt a chill on his neck, as if he had been dragged to the Five Dynasties Gate and stabbed.
Yes, is there really a food shortage in Tokyo? Every day, the restaurants outside Donghua Gate dump out a lot of leftover food, which is even fed to dogs rather than sent to poor families.
Of course, from an economic perspective, capitalists would rather dump milk in a stinking ditch than give it away.
But from the perspective of the highest-level decision-maker, is the entire city of Tokyo really short of food?
The Zhou Dynasty only saw that the total grain supply this year was much less than in previous years. The officials in the capital city, who were used to extravagance, could not get rid of their bad habit of throwing away food if they didn't like it after just one bite, so of course there was a grain shortage.
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