The Hanlin scholars were all dejected.
At this point, why are you still making a fuss when the leader is gone?
There was a long silence, with sporadic voices coming from the crowd.
"I am ashamed, please punish me, Your Majesty..."
Gradually, more and more people started to speak up, and they became one.
Fang Zheng watched this scene with a smile.
If I had known this, why did I do it in the first place? I am standing on the moral point, holding the thigh of the supreme power, and you want to mess with me?
Don’t you even consider whether you have the money?
Emperor Jing also had the urge to laugh, but his instinct made him suppress it as much as possible, and he said calmly: "This matter was due to your momentary confusion. I can forgive you for the past, but if you do it again, I will never forgive you easily!"
"Everyone go back, and we will go to court as usual tomorrow."
Guo Tianyang also breathed a sigh of relief.
His Majesty's temperament has indeed changed...This time, except for Yan Guoan and others, no blood was shed.
Good news...very good news! Our family will be blessed in our old age!
The crowd gradually dispersed until only Emperor Jing and a few close friends of Fang Zheng were left in the yard.
Emperor Jing said: "Fang Qing, you have done a great job. I should have rewarded you, but... you have just entered the court and your foundation is not stable, so let's talk about it later."
Fang Zhengyi didn't really care. Why would he need an official position when he had the prince by his side?
I wouldn't even accept the position even if you gave me the job!
The greater the ability, the greater the responsibility you shirk!
"Thank you very much, Your Majesty, for your kindness. I am ashamed to accept it!"
Li Yuanzhao, who was standing by, was unhappy and shouted, "Father! I have a share too!"
Emperor Jing laughed and said, "Yes, Prince, you performed very well, but do you want me to give you an official title?"
"I don't want an official position, just give me money!"
Emperor Jing's smile froze, and after a pause, he said calmly, "I am tired... Let's go back to the palace."
After saying that, he turned and left.
Fang Zhengyi and Li Yuanzhao stared at Emperor Jing's back in amazement... Tsk! Really tsk!
..................
When the court went to court the next day, normal order had been restored.
Except for Yang Yingcai who was on crutches, the whole scene seemed very discordant.
My legs were fine at first, but rheumatism suddenly struck halfway through the journey.
He was screaming in pain, and the thugs actually thought he had a broken leg, so they dragged him to the clinic and told the doctor.
The doctor was also a confused man and just took the responsibility.
Yang Yingcai originally wanted to untie it after returning home, but then he felt embarrassed.
It would be better to just pretend to be sick...it wouldn't be so embarrassing.
Who can be too harsh on a sick person?
So he limped to court the next day, but he would glare at Fang Zhengyi from time to time.
At this moment, Emperor Jing was holding the memorial in the court and looking at it carefully.
The memorial was submitted by Zhang Shi, and the topic was still about the famine in the south.
After reading it, Emperor Jing ordered Guo Tianyang to start reading it.
There was nothing new in the content. It was all what I had argued with Fang Zhengyi about a few days ago. It was nothing more than opening warehouses to release grain, and the specific distribution details for stabilizing prices, etc.
After Guo Tianyang finished reading, Emperor Jing said, "If you have any opinions, you can come and discuss them."
"This matter is of great importance. The local authorities have sent me three consecutive memorials urging us to open the granaries and release the grain."
"If we delay any further, I'm afraid it will cause a civil uprising. Times are different now. The impact of the flood in Jianjiang is very serious. You are welcome to offer your suggestions."
Fang Zheng jumped out impatiently, wanting to try again.
"Your Majesty! I think suppressing grain prices is not feasible! The best strategy is to let it flow."
"If grain prices are kept low, grain traders will not be able to make a profit, and it will be very difficult for grain from wealthy areas to flow to disaster areas."
"Local governments have no way to collect grain, and even if they do, I'm afraid it will be poorly enforced and ineffective... The only way to deal with it is to open up high prices to make grain flow."
"Not only that, we must also spread the news as far as possible...when the grain merchants hear the news, they can help the victims survive until the autumn harvest."
We can no longer rely on sweet potatoes, we can only rely on the market now.
"I object!"
Before Zhang Shixian could speak, a large group of Hanlin scholars stood up.
"According to what Lord Fang said, if we encourage high prices, people will be in a state of panic. What will we do if the people cannot afford the food when they can't get it?"
"If grain merchants gather in one place, supply will exceed demand, and grain prices will inevitably fall. If there is no grain in the world, grain merchants will not go to the disaster area. The worst case scenario is to maintain the status quo. How long can the stock in local granaries last?"
Someone else retorted: "This move will inevitably lead to people hoarding food! What if someone takes advantage of this to make a fortune? Does Lord Fang want to let the victims starve to death just because they have food?"
Fang Zheng shook his head and said, "Hoarding is bound to happen, but grain merchants come from far away, and the cost of storage and transportation may not be manageable."
"If most people starve to death, there will be no profit to speak of."
"Moreover, if there really is someone who can dominate the country, not for profit but just to watch the victims starve to death, will the government do nothing?"
"Local governments must keep a close eye on the movements of grain merchants, and proactively crack down on those who hoard grain. This is much simpler than collecting grain from local wealthy households!"
"This is simply nonsense. Time is running out! There is no time to wait for grain merchants to go to the disaster area. The best strategy is to collect grain on the spot and stabilize grain prices."
“..............”
Emperor Jing felt a bit of a headache watching the fierce quarrel below.
What Fang Zhengyi said made some sense, but since ancient times, disaster relief strategies have been as Zhang Shi said. Maybe the effects are not very good, but they are good enough to stand the test of time.
But sometimes, ideas that conform to your instincts are not necessarily correct.
When the noise below was getting lively, Li Yuanzhao, who had been silently listening, spoke up.
"Father, I have something to say."
The court suddenly became quiet. Why did the prince, who usually didn't speak much in the court, suddenly speak today?
Emperor Jing smiled and said, "Oh? What's your opinion, Prince? Tell me about it."
"I think even if we stabilize the grain prices, we may not be able to keep them stable."
"So this method...cannot be used at all."
Zhang Shi said anxiously, "What is the prince saying? Are the words of the government useless? Aren't the people of the world going to rebel?"
"No! Suppose the price of grain in the disaster area is now two taels per catty, and the government forces grain merchants to sell it at twenty cents per catty, then only one thing will happen, that is, the people will have no grain to buy."
"Then who can buy food at this time? It must be people with connections who can buy food. The famine is getting worse and worse. People with connections will definitely take this opportunity to stockpile food. But how many people among the people have connections?"
"Besides, if I were a grain merchant, I would not sell grain at all. I would just sell bowls. If you buy a bowl, you will get a pound of grain for free. You can't control me if I give away grain for free, right? How will the government control me then?"
"There are endless ways for people to deal with the situation... I have seen them all these days, so... it may not be possible to stabilize the price of grain!"
...............
ps: The unit is kilograms, which is more convenient for everyone to read.
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