Yang Shousu and Zheng Lang are old opponents. They have had many dealings. Every time, they seem to be getting cheap, but what about it? They are crying in the end. With experience in immunization, Zheng Lang said in a mess and said, "Mr. Zheng, I just hope to follow the previous appointment and not have any extravagant ideas."

Let's put the salt road aside to be realistic...

Zheng Lang smiled. Although he was angry that Yang Shousu was a traitor, he was unconscious of the traitor. It was this person who taught Liang Zuo, who initiated a coup, killed the Wuzang family, and restored the normal development of Xixia. However, with Yang Shousu's death, Liang Zuo became confused again and the Liang family came to power. If we analyze it aside from his traitor's perspective, this person was a famous generation of important officials in Xixia, and his role was far better than that of Zhang Yuan and other Han ministers. But it didn't matter, he said slowly: "Yang Shousu, although you and I had an agreement at the beginning, it was a private agreement, and then I made a promise, but in your Xixia, you almost sent two million stones of private salt to our court last year."

"No, it's just over 400,000..." Yang Shousu stopped and said in a leak.

"More than 400,000 shi, and you don't know about private salt, at least 600,000 shi, right? The cost of one stone from mining to the border will not exceed several shi, but the price is dozens of shi."

"Mr. Zheng, the accounts cannot be settled like this. Your border officials ask for bribes, and your Song Dynasty merchants also want to make profits. The money earned by our country may not be as much as the businessmen of your Song Dynasty. The profit of one stone of green salt can be at most three or four pieces. There is also the sharing of various powerful people in our country. You are famous all over the world for your good business and flexibility. It is not that you don't know this. Although more than 400,000 stones of green salt flow to your country, our Xia Kingdom's income will not exceed one million pieces. From last year to now, how can one million pieces be enough?"

"You also know that these money and silk are obtained by various tainted officials and merchants. Our dynasty uses salt not only for your Xixia green salt, but also for salt removal. Sea salt and well salt, how many disadvantages a year's salt administration has occurred. It is rare that Fan Xiang went to preside over the salt administration, which has achieved great results. Why did you abandon it for your Xixia?"

Yang Shousu could not answer.

Although there was an agreement, it was just a verbal agreement, and the Song Dynasty really wanted to tear it apart. Yang Shousu had no choice but to do anything about it.

Furthermore, what qualifications does Xixia have to make the Song Dynasty give up its good governance? The two countries are not that kind of guy. To this point, Xixia is withered. What ability does it have to ask others for the relocation of their clans?

Zheng Lang sips tea and plays with the black porcelain tea cup in his hand.

Yang Shousu hesitated for a while and said, "Mr. Zheng, if our Xixia perishes, your Song Dynasty may not have a good end."

"wrong!"

“Where was wrong?”

"The Khitan wants to destroy your Xixia. It is not easy, so the war can only continue to be stalemate. In the battle of Hequ, more than 100,000 soldiers of the Khitan were either killed or captured. Last year, the Liao lord crossed the river from Dongshengzhou. He occupied Tanglong Town, an important gateway to Xiazhou in Xixia. Some horses died because of lack of water and grass. He heard that Xiao Hui was defeated, and his son Xiao Ci's slaves were also killed in this battle, and the army returned. I don't know how many troops the Khitan lost in this battle, but I can force the Liao lord back. The heavy loss of this Khitan can be imagined. Although there are frequent troops to use troops to your Xixia, it is a small army. In these years, the Khitan has no financial resources or military sources and mobilizes a huge army to put pressure on your Xixia. If the army does not come out, what is the risk of destruction of your Xixia?" Zheng Lang intended to remind Yang Shousu that he had to give the people of Xixia some confidence.

Then he changed his voice and said, "But people must have credit. Since I promise to provide support to you Xixia, I will give you Xixia a chance. From this year on, our court will purchase horses from you Xixia, twenty to thirty horses, forty to fifty horses, and sixty to seventy horses. Then, buy cows, camels, mules, and donkeys at higher prices than the market. A total of 300,000 taels of silver will be allocated every year to provide support to you Xixia in disguise, but the amount of horses must be kept accounted for more than 60%.

After years of rest and rest, and in disguise support for the people to raise large livestock, the number of large livestock in the Song Dynasty increased, but it was still seriously insufficient. In many areas in the north, people continued to use artificial plows to plow the land, which restricted agricultural development. The south was even more serious, but the south had no choice. Cattle were scalpers, and horses could not plow the paddy fields, but they had to eat them bit by bit. If Xixia provided a large number of large livestock, Zheng Lang consciously did not expect Xixia to release many good horses, but would provide farmers with many large livestock and increase grain production.

"Where are so many horses and cows in our Xia Kingdom?" Yang Shousu shook his head.

"Horse and cattle are so expensive. Why do you Xixia people eat more? Or we change the method, of which 100,000 taels of silver is worth 200,000 jin, and exchange it for food. It is used to provide food for the Xixia people to protect the military food price, and transport it to your Xixia border for free. What do you think?"

Yang Shousu shook his head: "Mr. Zheng, I'm going to tell you that the Khitan invaded several times and plundered them in large numbers, and there were not many livestock in our country."

"I said you are stupid? You don't have livestock in Xixia, but what about stolen divination? A horse is stolen divination. If you trade with cloth, it only costs a few dollars. In one turn, it will be several times more profitable. Why bother with green salt?"

"Not appropriate," Yang Shousu replied.

The Bu Shang Road was opened long ago under Zheng Lang's instigation, but the number did not anger the Khitan, and the number was not to be enlarged. Once the cattle and horses were transported over in tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands, it would alarm the Khitans and cause great trouble.

"Yang Shousu, the Liao Lord defeated him twice in person. Although he had a slight victory this year, he still couldn't explain to his subjects. Besides, he had Brother Ning Ling in his hand. Can you let you go to Xixia? Stop dreaming, Yang Shousu!"

"Brother Ning Ling was rescued by your Song Dynasty?"

Zheng Lang frowned, and said it only once. At that time, all the important officials were sitting in the Chuigong Hall. Unexpectedly, they would reveal it. The mediocre officials could indeed ruin the country. They expressed their expressions and said calmly: "How capable do you think our Song Dynasty is? This is just an excuse for me in the court. Otherwise, how could I let the ministers support my approach and provide support to you Xixia people?"

Yang Shousu smiled bitterly. He got some news, but after Yang Shousu carefully analyzed it, he didn't believe it.

"Yang Shousu, continue to talk about the serious business. Do you agree with my opinion? If I agree, I may still take a step back and the transaction volume of 300,000 taels of silver remains unchanged. Then, add the additional price of about 200,000 taels of grain to trade your country's livestock according to the market price. With the transaction volume of 800,000 coins, if you are properly organized in Xixia, you will make a profit of 40 to 500,000 coins, and with the gifts I provide to you Xixia, you will be able to survive the crisis in Xixia. It just so happens that my dynasty lacks farming livestock. You can also explain to the Khitans. The best of both worlds, what do you think?" Zheng Lang continued to bewitch.

"Mr. Zheng, I can't answer immediately."

"It's okay, the clear and cool autumn season is a good time to travel. You can stay in our capital for a while. Our Song Dynasty is not in a hurry, so you can wait slowly."

"What you just said about He Ce?"

"Didn't you say you don't have extravagant ideas?"

Yang Shousu is speechless.

Zheng Lang did not keep an eye on it. He said: "It is not difficult. Although the Khitans have won a little this year, they have suffered two major defeats and forced troops this year. However, you Xixia and the Khitan are both known for their poverty. Some of the captures cannot make up for the Khitan's military expenditure. In order to cope with the huge military expenditure, the Khitan must strengthen the exploitation of various tribes. Who will they exploit? First, the people within their control, but this is the foundation of the Khitan, and they dare not over-contain too much. Second, the prison areas are fierce, and the Khitans are still mainly used to win over. They dare not over-contain too much. Or the enemy of Liewugu tribes in the northwest are also known for their fierceness. Who is the rest? Under the heavy consolidation, the divisions of the blocking Bu will have differences. Some tribes will have great resentment towards the Khitan, but they dare not face the powerful Khitan, and they will join forces with you Xixia at that time. If you Xixia and these tribes are If the tribes agree to join forces, they will shake the rule of the Wushan area of ​​Shangjing Road of Khitan. Our dynasty produces cloth tea, lack of livestock, Wushan and Wushan use Jinshan to have many livestock, lack of tea cloth, blocking the various tribes of Jianbage, and blocking the Khitan rule will inevitably be in chaos. At that time, I will give you Xixia one month to open up the salt road, seek capital capital, and then use your Xixia’s excellent geographical location to get lucky. Then, whether in military or civil or economic terms, you Xixia will be invincible. Even a trade route will make the Zubu and the Nibage tribe more convinced to you Xixia. Although the Khitan army is strong, it is backward and it is impossible to fight on both sides. In the end, I am forced to agree to peace talks, and even return Brother Ning Ling to you Xixia. Once Brother Ning Ling is eliminated, the Xixia country will be stable."

It must be not the same thing, but these words were so tempting. Yang Shousu asked steadily: "Take it serious?"

"It must be true."

"Why did you come up with this plan?"

"It is beneficial to our dynasty. What are the benefits for our Song Dynasty? When you two countries fight and both sides suffer losses, our Song Dynasty wants, but we don't want your Xixia to perish. So I take action to let you Xixia have some favorable conditions in your hands to fight the Khitan invasion." Zheng Lang said all the truth this time, but Yang Shousu couldn't tell the truth and falsehood, so he continued to believe and doubt.

I don’t believe it very much, but it’s too tempting. Yang Shousu said: “Can I wait for me to report the situation to the king and the queen mother.”

"Okay," Zheng Lang said, sending Yang Shousu away.

But some people dislike Fan Xiang. This person was unexpected to everyone. He Tan, the most dazzling minister of the current emperor! It was his repeated fall, Xia Shu stepped down and Chen Zhizhong stepped down. Fan Xiang implemented the new salt law in Shaanxi, especially with money instead of the original useless materials, moldy and rotten food, which harmed the interests of many powerful and wealthy merchants? Many people wrote letters to oppose it. However, the amount was not heavy, so He Tan made a statement at the court meeting: "Since the news that the law has been changed, the price of salt for business and travelers has increased, and the profits have been small, so there are few things to calculate. .Along the Shaanxi road, it has lost more than one million yuan in profits. The other roads have also reduced the money for selling salt compared to the old days, which is very harmful to the use of funds. In addition, the price of salt in Shaanxi is higher, and it is mostly because of the failure of selling private salt. The punishment and ban are quite annoying. Both officials and private officials are not good. How can it be implemented for a long time? I think that there are many benefits to the matter. If the change is not as good as before, it is better to continue the old law. The change has not been long, and the harm is still shallow. I hope the court will command the government and choose a member of the ministers to go to Shaanxi and ask the transferee of the route and Fan Xiang to discuss the benefits and disadvantages in order to avoid lack of calls and long-term damage."

Zheng Lang stood first, followed by Song Xiang and Wen Yanbo and Chen Zhizhong stepped down. After some changes in the court, Song Xiang was transferred to the East Prefecture as the Tongpingzhang Office. Like Chen Zhizhong, the second prime minister, but it was not uneasy that Zheng Lang was too young, at least compared with the position of Prime Minister, the age was still too light. With Song Xiang, the attacks of some slanders could be reduced. Zheng Lang was also proposed by Zheng Lang, Pang Ji was transferred to the Privy Councilor. Zhao Zhen didn't know who he listened to, so he transferred Gao Ruonne to the East Prefecture as the deputy prime minister. Liang Shi was transferred to the West Prefecture as the deputy envoy of the Privy Councilor. The personnel of the two prefectures changed greatly again. The East Prefecture was Zheng Lang, Song Xiang, Wen Yanbo, Gao Ruonne, and the West Prefecture were Pang Ji, Wang Yiyong, Wang Yaochen, Fu Bi, and Liang Shi.

It was still very swollen. If Zheng Lang chose, at least Gao Ruonne and Liang Shi, Song Xiang were not qualified, and Wang Yi would never have to consider it. People and animals were harmless, but the Song Dynasty was not from his family, and even Zhao Zhen might not be able to make a complete decision. He could only integrate carefully. Fortunately, Fu Bi began to mature after training, and with famous ministers such as Wen Yanbo and Pang Ji, several of them were very scheming. However, unlike many ministers in the Qingli New Policy, they were mostly people who did practical things. The two governments continued to maintain a high efficiency.

But the only people who know about it were Pang Ji, Wen Yanbo and Chen Zhizhong. Zheng Lang looked at Wen Yanbo and Pang Ji, the new Privy Councilor on the opposite side, and suddenly the three of them laughed at the same time.

When Lu Yijian and Li Zi made a move, the people who were both famous gentlemen and grandchildren were the world's famous ones.

Fan Xiangyan Law opposed the famous minister He Tan, who is indeed an unexpected candidate.

Zhao Zhen also knows it.

He coughed. You three are already important officials in the world and can't laugh. This is not good, but he thought about the words on Zheng Lang's memorial and laughed.

The atmosphere is wrong.

He Tan was confused. Seeing him in a daze, the four of them couldn't help but lower their heads together and continued to have fun.

After laughing, Zheng Lang said, "If so, I recommend Bao Zheng, deputy envoy of the Ministry of Revenue, to discuss the salt law with the Shaanxi Transportation Department."

Then he looked at Bao Zheng and said to himself, Brother Bao, you have to fight for me.

Shang Hu Dao broke the dam, and many ministers acted insensitive. Zheng Lang knew that the Northeast Road was not the root cause of cure, and he did not say anything about the cost of curing it. However, these ministers did not say anything more, including Bao Zheng, which disappointed Zheng Lang. But compared to other ministers, Bao Zheng was good. Since it was Bao Qingtian, even though he exaggerated it, he could be regarded as a famous minister of a generation. Zheng Lang's proposal was a bet, would Bao Zheng say the words in history? He did not disappoint him. Bao Zheng walked out of the train and held his teeth and said:

"I was the former Shaanxi Transport Authority. I know that since Fan Zongjiejian requested a ban on the Yan Law in the second year of Qingli, the soldiers, chariots and yamen were transported to various states. The officials sold their own yards, which led to the soldiers' death and damage. The public broke the family business. There were many complaints. The officials were full of complaints. The ministers and officials were inconvenient to speak in the front and back. They begged to trade the old laws to save the desolation of Guanzhong. The officials held a report, but the discussion was not possible. Yesterday, because Fan Xiang asked for another request, Ye Qingchen had also known the Yongxing Army and the Secretariat of the Secretariat.

More than those of Shaanxi, who were ministers, and saw that they were in trouble, they had to pass the old business law. They ordered customers to take money along the border, collect military reserves, and avoid inflated prices. They asked for goods and were lenient to get labor and labor. This was beneficial to the country and harmless to the people, and the reason was very intense. However, at the beginning of the reform, all the wealthy merchants and sly officials were unhappy, and the people discussed the matter because they lost money in the year and had a little more money than before, and they were dissatisfied and asked to restore the old law. Although the old law was good, it was undoubtedly a good one, but it was probably a big deal to cause harm to you."

It was very tactful and gave He Tan a face. There was something in fact, He Tan, stop talking nonsense. Those who passed this method include Ye Qingchen, Zheng Lang, Wen Yanbo, Chen Zhizhong and Pang Ji. They all lived in Shaanxi. They saw how hard the old salt method was. They were only passed. What harmed the people, but the people were not harmed, and it was beneficial and convenient. It was not only beneficial to the people but also to the soldiers. What harmed the wealthy businessmen. Merchants could no longer use rotten food to deceive the country's money, and cunning officials could no longer embezzle and accept bribes. At worst, the profits were damaged, but the profits were important, and nearly tens of millions of people in Shaanxi were important, and hundreds of thousands of soldiers were important!

Not bad, not bad, Zheng Lang shook his head. Old Bao was at least a hundred times better than Ouyang Xiu.

After a while, Bao Zheng said again: "There are two types of reforms: first, then harm, first harm, then benefit. Although the old prohibited law has obtained tens of thousands of treasures, the people's strength is getting more and more difficult, and the people's strength is getting more and more difficult. It is inevitable that the people's strength will be increased by a little profit and then a big harm. If you consider the business, even if you have a small profit and a small loss in one or two years, you will gradually take it and make it easier to get the old profit and avoid the people's strength. If you fail to defeat the people's strength, you will suffer from small harm and eventually achieve great benefits. Moreover, the country is rich and the world should be based on servicing the people. How can you bear to compete for 100,000 treasures every year? It cannot be extended for one or two years to achieve results!"

"Wonderful, a good person is based on servitude to the people," Zheng Lang cheered.

He Tan, do you dare to talk too much? If you talk too much, a big hat that cares for the people can crush you to death.

Bao Zheng looked at Zheng Lang and would definitely win Zheng Lang's approval by being polite to the people. However, he also expressed his support for himself and his courage was even more relaxed. He continued: "If you trust and make decisions easily, you will not trust the world. And you want to return to the previous ills and laws, how can the creatures in Guanzhong take their hands and feet? I have also thought about what Fan Xiang had reported before and after, and they have very clear understanding of the truth, but they have some damage to the Transport Department, which leads to objections. I am not afraid of hard work and making conjectures, and I have made conjectures. What I value is for the country to cherish the affairs of the matter and do not want to favor the small profits for a while and cause great trouble in the future."

Retreat.

Bao Zheng felt a pity that such a good salt method was going to be eliminated.

In fact, there is a more complete set of salt administration reforms. The only people who know about it are Pang Wenchen and Zhao Zhen, who put it in the archives. Bao Zheng didn't know that in his heart, he believed that Fan Xiang's method was the most perfect salt administration method since the founding of the Song Dynasty.

Bao Zheng then went to Shaanxi. Not only did he not obey He Tan's words, but he changed Fan Xiang's salt law, but instead of the reform, he asked merchants to invest money to sell salt in the eight states of Yanhuan, instead of Fan Xiang's original isolation area. He also ordered soldiers in border prefectures to strictly prohibit private salt passages and block them from the source. If they did not investigate, they would stop. The investigation was shocking. Although Fan Xiang was thoroughly considered, he was still secret. Some minor officials colluded with soldiers to use the white and red private salt priced in the Western Xia Dynasty as official salt to sell in the prohibited area, and raised the salt price. The court did not benefit, but the salt was expensive. So he simply relaxed and applied the commercial law.

He also suggested that officials in Sanjing and Hezhong still used the trade law to sell salt. The salt administration was in chaos and has been banned since now. Hezhong is an important gateway to salt removal, and the three capitals are the most important place for the country, and the salt price must be stabilized. Therefore, the trade law is abolished, and the ban method is adopted. In this regard, officials in the Sansi believed that the business and business in the capital were rarely arrived and had no courage, but the salt price was high. Please continue to trade in public and private as before, and the rest were prohibited. Obey.

In fact, it was the excuse of Sansi. The capital was densely populated and there were millions of people. Merchants who dared to use trade laws and practice business all had a tough backstage. If they were forcibly banned, they would definitely attract more opposition. Sansi did not have the courage to implement Bao Zheng's proposal.

Even with the support of Bao Zheng and others, the salt administration reform was constantly being continued and opposed by many people. Zheng Lang also expressed his support for this, but he had never come forward and was unable to hurry. If the powerful and powerful people in the world hated him, they would end up like Wang Anshi. It doesn’t matter, at most, they would just go home. But in this way, nothing can be done, it’s worth it!

At the end of September, the court received urgent reports from the south that Nong Zhigao invaded Yongzhou!
Chapter completed!