Chapter 2612 Return to the Spirit
Why did the imperial court want to buy back these lands? Because they were sold at too low a price back then.
Some of these lands are sold at only one-third of the market price, and some are even sold at only one-fifth, or even less.
All of them were sold when there was a natural disaster or large expenditure in Qizhou, and the governor's office sold them on the grounds that the treasury was short of money.
Now the court has redeemed it at the original price.
What’s infuriating is that when the Ministry of Revenue asked them to use their land to pay off their debts, it didn’t directly use the current market price to offset the debts, but instead used the price they paid to redeem each piece of land.
In other words, Qizhou resold the land they selected to the Ministry of Households at a quarter, a fifth or even lower price.
Can Governor Yu agree to this?
Of course I can't agree to that.
He's furious, okay?
However, so many official fields certainly cannot be placed in the hands of the Ministry of Revenue. Does he have to report to the Ministry of Revenue every year after the fields are divided into adult fields in autumn?
Not to mention how much time would be wasted in a round trip, this is equivalent to exposing Qizhou's internal affairs to the Ministry of Revenue. Would Yu, the governor, who is the father of the country, agree to this?
Of course, I can't agree to that.
So Bai Shan saw a memorial in the Secretariat that cursed Minister Liu three hundred times.
Bai Shan read it once and threw it aside, classifying it as a meaningless memorial. These memorials would not pass through the emperor's hands, and their Secretariat would directly approve and submit them.
Upholding their friendship, Bai Shan wrote a letter to Governor Yu, reminding him, "Why not bargain?"
This is not a battle on the battlefield. Insults can make the other party angry and uneasy, and then kill the other party. This is the court. Starting a war of words like this will not have any effect, but will only add to the hatred.
Since the Ministry of Revenue has made an offer, Qizhou can bargain if they are interested. If they are not satisfied with this solution, they have to propose another solution, otherwise they will always be led by the Ministry of Revenue.
Bai Shan handed the letter to the guard at home and said, "Send it to Qizhou by express horse. You can keep it for two more days. If there is a reply, take it back. If there is no reply, don't take it."
Manbao was curious, "Have you become friends with Governor Yu?"
Otherwise, how could he get involved in the fight between Qizhou and the Ministry of Revenue?
Because of this matter, they only quarreled in the memorials, and the other ministers all stood by and watched, so that it didn't even make it to the level of a grand court meeting. If Bai Shan hadn't been in the Secretariat, she wouldn't have known about this matter.
Well, as an imperial physician, she would not be involved in such political affairs, and there was no need for her to know.
Bai Shan smiled and said, "This is not only to help Governor Yu, but also to help Minister Liu. It is also to help the people of Qizhou."
He said, "Governor Yu is right to be concerned. Qizhou's affairs should still be handled by Qizhou. If the adult farmland needs to be transferred to the Ministry of Revenue first, the back and forth may delay the wheat planting season in the fall. It will not benefit the people. I don't think Minister Liu has any intention of controlling Qizhou's affairs. He just wants to impose harsh conditions to keep the price of Qizhou lower."
"But Governor Yu might have been too angry to think of this for a moment."
Governor Yu certainly didn't think of it at the time, but two days after the memorial was sent out, his anger had subsided, and he thought of it.
The Chief Secretary also came to remind us, "Sir, since the Ministry of Revenue has quoted a price, we might as well return it. I believe His Majesty will make the decision for us."
But in his last memorial, he had cursed Minister Liu's ancestors...
Just at this moment, Bai Shan's letter arrived. Governor Yu opened it and breathed a sigh of relief.
The Chief Secretary looked at him with concern, "Sir..."
Governor Yu waved his hand and said, "That's all right. Go ahead and write a memorial. Just say you can use the land to pay off the debt, but at the current market price. Set a higher price so we can negotiate back and forth."
The Chief Secretary was overjoyed to see that he had listened to his advice, and bowed and left.
The deputy general came over and said, "Sir, the memorial you wrote last time..."
He was standing aside and saw it at the time. He felt that if someone scolded him like that, he would not care about bargaining and would do whatever he could to disgust the other person.
Governor Yu said, "The memorial was stopped by Bai Shan and was not delivered to the emperor."
He stroked his beard and said, "I actually owe him a small favor this time."
The memorial was stopped at the Secretariat. The official in charge of reviewing it took a quick look and saw that it was full of abusive nonsense. He then marked it with a small red cross and sent it to the Ministry of Personnel.
After the Ministry of Personnel reviewed and confirmed that it was correct, it was thrown into the trash can.
There are two destinations for memorials in the trash can. One is to be thrown directly into the archives and destroyed after a certain number of years. The other is to be sent back to the individual who wrote the memorial so that the person who wrote it will know how useless his memorial is, to the point that it cannot even be approved by the Secretariat.
Bai Shan now travels between the two departments more often and has learned some tricks. If the places are not far away and there are frequent correspondences, and the transmission cost is not high, they will deliver it to people.
If it is far away and there are few memorials exchanged, the memorials will be thrown directly into the archives room.
If all correspondence did not need to be archived for a certain period of time for future reference, they would have simply destroyed such nonsense.
So Minister Liu didn't know that there was a memorial that cursed him and his ancestors, and two days later he received a memorial from Qizhou counter-offering.
He was happy that things were finally on track, and he began to happily bargain with Qizhou.
Apparently, the old ones still have the best experience. When Liu Huan met up with them on their day off, he said, "My grandfather has been so happy these past two days that he's walking with a breeze."
Zhou Man said, "Your Majesty has been very happy recently. The weather is so hot, and he can still eat three big bowls of rice in one meal."
Bai Shan suppressed a smile and asked, "Did you go to the gastrointestinal department after that?"
Manbao said, "It's nothing serious. I prescribed sour plum soup for him. Just drink a bowl every afternoon and evening."
Mingda said, "Then I will go to the palace to see my father tomorrow."
A familiar voice came from downstairs. Zhou Man immediately went to the window and looked down. He saw Mr. Tang helping Mrs. Tang get out of the car. He immediately waved to them happily, "Brother Tang, we are on the second floor."
Tang He looked up, smiled slightly, and went upstairs with Mrs. Tang.
Seeing so many people in the box, Tang He was speechless for a long time. He said he would treat him to a meal, but ended up inviting so many people?
Bai Shan happily welcomed the guests in. Since they were all acquaintances, there was no need for introductions. After greeting each other, they sat down.
Madam Tang sat on the other side of Princess Mingda and asked with a smile, "Princess, why don't you go to Princess Danyang's summer banquet?"
Mingda smiled and said, "I was a little bit bitter in the summer, and my aunt knew it, so I didn't go."
But Princess Changyu and her husband went.
Mrs. Tang also felt that a banquet in the middle of summer was not fun, so she made an excuse not to go.
Lord Tang sat next to Bai Shan, shook his head and whispered, "You are so cunning. Tell me clearly, is this meal yours or theirs?"
"Of course it's my treat," Bai Shan said, "Brother, am I the kind of person who would take advantage of others to treat you?"
Lord Tang thought about it and laughed.
See you at 10:30 pm
(End of this chapter)
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