All the ministers were standing below waiting for His Majesty to speak, but His Majesty at this moment... ?
Emperor Yu Yin was feeling emotional at this moment!
I asked him, Fu Xiaoguan, to be a lone minister, and he did so decisively!
I hope Prince Hui stays away from Shangjing, so he knocked Prince Hui off his horse and stepped on him hard!
Where can we find such a minister?
This is a key minister sent by God to help me support the country and punish evildoers!
He's so sensible at such a young age, but look at you all, humph! All you know is to oppose me! All you know is to find ways to gain benefits for yourself and your family!
A bunch of villains!
You...are not even worthy of carrying Fu Xiaoguan's shoes!
The more His Majesty thought about it, the angrier he became, and the more he compared, the angrier he became. The original warmth on his face disappeared and became a little ferocious. The ministers were confused and thought that His Majesty was angry with Fu Xiaoguan because of Prince Hui's matter.
This Fu Xiaoguan is only a fifth-rank doctor. How can he be qualified to stand here?
Now that he is standing here, I think he has been summoned by His Majesty.
And Prince Hui is your Majesty's younger brother! So Prince Hui's third son is naturally your Majesty's nephew!
It takes more than one stroke to write two "Yu" characters. This Fu Xiaoguan not only beat the Third Prince to death, but also severely humiliated Prince Hui, which completely ruined Prince Hui's reputation and naturally also damaged the face of the royal family. As an elder brother, he would naturally vent his anger for his younger brother.
Fortunately, I didn't try to get close to that guy outside. He was so damn scary. Even if he didn't die this time, he would probably be skinned alive!
Even if Concubine Shang protected him, it would be useless. After all, His Majesty still has the final say in this world. Even if Concubine Shang has many means, she is a woman, and His Majesty's woman. Regardless of their relationship, His Majesty is much more important than that Fu Xiaoguan.
Except for Yan Beixi and other people in high positions who roughly knew the real reason why His Majesty was angry, the vast majority of civil and military officials in the court believed that Fu Xiaoguan would definitely suffer this time.
Then someone looked at the Minister of Rites Shi Chaoyuan and winked at him. What does that mean? You still don't understand the emperor's heart? Why don't you take this opportunity to avenge the humiliation of last year?
Shi Chaoyuan's face turned solemn. He withdrew his gaze, bowed and stood still, thinking to himself, "How could I be instigated by you? You idiots, I won't be fooled by you!"
Fu Xiaoguan was also confused. He looked around blankly. Hmm, these people were a little further away from him. He looked up at His Majesty, who seemed to remember that this was the first grand court meeting of the court.
"Ahem, my lords... now that the court has begun, you must gather your thoughts. The ninth year of the Xuanli reign is the most important since I ascended the throne. I have been reflecting on this these past eight years. I have made many mistakes. From now on, I will work hard to govern the country. I also hope that you can have a new look in this new year."
"It has been over two hundred years since Dayu was founded. Under the wise and courageous leadership of its successive emperors, Dayu's national strength has achieved unprecedented development, and the people's living standards have also been thriving."
Fu Xiaoguan looked at the emperor in astonishment. Wasn't that the opening line of his own disaster relief paper? What did His Majesty mean by saying it?
"But I believe that all this is not enough. During my rest period, I have drawn up a plan for Dayu's future development. This is the twenty-word policy that I will vigorously implement starting this year. Remember this: those who receive your salary should share your worries. I will not tolerate those who slack off and do nothing!"
"From the ninth year of the Xuanli reign, I will ensure that everyone has access to education, everyone has income from work, everyone has access to medical care, everyone has support in old age, and everyone has a place to live! This is my twenty-word guideline. If it can be achieved, it will usher in a new era of prosperity. This will be a blessing for the people of Dayu and a blessing for the country!"
Uh, Your Majesty is shameless!
Fu Xiaoguan opened his mouth and retracted his head, staring at the ground, thinking... This is just empty talk without any detailed measures, how can it be realized?
After His Majesty spoke out his twenty-word policy, Yan Beixi and Dong Kangping felt a little strange, but they were both experienced and shrewd people and did not show it on their faces.
When this policy paper came into the hands of His Majesty, they all read it in the Imperial Study. His Majesty was very interested in the opening paragraph and asked, "Tell me, is it possible to achieve the goal of ensuring that everyone has access to education, everyone has income, everyone has medical care, everyone has support in old age, and everyone has a place to live?"
I still remember Dong Kangping's reply: "Unless Dayu becomes unprecedentedly powerful."
These twenty words are certainly good, but they are too idealistic. The amount of money required to realize them is incalculable, so this was the only question and answer in the imperial study at that time.
But now His Majesty has set these twenty words as the first guideline for this year's grand court meeting... Dong Kangping felt a little uncomfortable. He knew exactly how much silver was left in the national treasury. What should he do?
"I know achieving these goals is extremely difficult, but it depends on human effort..." He stood up, seemingly excited. He took two steps on the Dragon Terrace and continued, "The late emperor and Prime Minister Yan Yunchuan created the famous Taihe Era in Dayu history. My lords, if they were able to do it, why can't I and you do it?"
"Therefore, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Secretariat will begin drafting a detailed proposal on this matter, with Yan Beixi personally leading the charge."
Yan Beixi thought that the national treasury was almost empty, and the east was still preparing for war. Your Majesty, how do you want me to take charge?
But he didn't dare to say it out loud. He could only step forward, bow and reply: "Your Majesty, Yan Beixi obeys the order!"
"Well, now for the second thing."
Fu Xiaoguan didn't listen to what the emperor said next. He was thinking about how to develop the economy of such a dying country and realize that ideal.
Increasing taxes is certainly not advisable. The taxes in the Yu Dynasty are already very heavy. If more taxes are added, it will probably cause even greater problems for the Yu Dynasty.
After much thought, I can only start with trade.
Today, trade among the four countries is not prosperous, and there is even less contact with many small countries outside the four countries. This is called closing the country to the outside world, which is extremely detrimental to the economic development of a country.
In order to develop commerce, we must promote the prosperity of the private economy. Only when the private economy is prosperous can we produce sufficient goods for commerce.
This brings us to a problem. In this era, agriculture is still the main industry, and productivity is extremely low, which limits a lot of labor. Just like in Xishan, if it weren't for those tens of thousands of refugees, Xishan would not have been able to develop so quickly.
Then liberating productivity is the primary issue.
The first generation of Fu had just come out, and if everything went well this year, it would be the second generation of Fu. To increase rice production, we have to wait at least another three years, because the rice seeds need to be cultivated, and even if Xishan successfully cultivated the rice seeds, it would be far from enough for Yu Chao to sow.
The production and manufacturing of agricultural equipment has already begun in Xishan, which can liberate some productivity, but it is not easy to implement it throughout the Yu Dynasty.
Firstly, it’s a question of acceptance, and secondly, it’s mainly a question of money.
Fu Xiaoguan had no intention of giving away those machines for no reason, as the farmers in poor areas obviously could not afford them.
This requires the farmers to be able to make some money, which in turn involves the ability of local officials. If they can liberate their minds and attract investment, businessmen will be willing to invest in building workshops.
But this involves the status of businessmen. If their rights and interests cannot be guaranteed, attracting investment will obviously be empty talk.
After thinking about it, this thing is really a systematic project. Whether it is the strength of the court's support, the ability of local officials, or the confidence of businessmen, many links are indispensable.
It’s difficult!
Fu Xiaoguan sighed.
This situation cannot be reversed in one or two years, and what the Yu Dynasty needs most now is stability!
Stabilize, hold steady, and make the current situation stable before you can seek other solutions.
Your Majesty has raised this matter to such a high level today, which has posed a difficult problem for Prime Minister Yan and my father-in-law. Let's see how they will deal with it.
The cooperation with Yao County needs to be accelerated. Yan Xiwen's thinking is not that conservative. We need to write a letter to Yan Xiwen and let this reform start from Yao County. After gaining experience, we can look for the opportunity to gradually implement it nationwide.
Putting this matter aside, Fu Xiaoguan heard His Majesty say, "The Yellow River is a difficult problem. Every year we try to control it, it floods again. Is there really nothing the Ministry of Works' Water Conservancy Department can do about it? Bi Dong, I asked you to come up with a solution last year. Tell me now."
A little old man walked out. Fu Xiaoguan stood at the back, and all that could be seen was his slightly gray hair and slightly hunched waist.
"Your Majesty, I, Bi Dong, would like to report... I believe that the river should be widened during the dry season. However, this project is extremely massive, requiring hundreds of thousands of manpower, and the Ministry of Revenue..." Bi Dong turned his head to look at Minister Dong, and added, "The Ministry of Revenue is saying that money is extremely scarce. So, Your Majesty, this is very difficult for me!"
The atmosphere here suddenly became solemn, and Fu Xiaoguan frowned because Bi Dong's method was wrong.
He did not jump out to correct it, but continued to watch, because it was obvious that this matter could not be accomplished now.
As expected, His Majesty frowned and looked at Minister Dong. Dong Kangping could only step out, bow, and say, "Your Majesty, the Ministry of Revenue already made plans for this year's many matters at the end of last year. I have already shown that to Your Majesty. If we add the expenses for the Yellow River management... Minister Bi's budget is 600,000 taels of silver. This... I really can't afford it."
silver!
How come our country, as big as ours, is so short of money?
The renovation of the Empress Dowager's Cining Palace has been delayed for two years. Even the original plan to spend 100,000 taels of silver on the 14th day of the first lunar month for the Empress Dowager's 70th birthday has now been reduced to 30,000 taels.
This money...where to get it from?
How about raiding the homes of the six major clans?
Yu Yin suddenly had this idea, but he knew that he couldn't do it now.
He walked back and forth on the dragon platform for a few steps, and suddenly looked at Fu Xiaoguan.
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