Prime Minister

Chapter 1294: Uncle and Nephew Prime Minister (2 chapters in 1)

Chapter 1294: Uncle and Nephew Prime Minister (Two chapters combined into one)

Half a month later, the news of Zhang Zhi's promotion to the position of Secretary of the Central Secretariat spread, causing a sensation throughout the capital.

Now that Zhang Zhi has surpassed Cai Que to take the position of Zhongshu Shilang, people think that the government is allowing the Zhang family to produce another right prime minister.

This is called uncle and nephew succeeding each other.

The story of Zhang Yue and Zhang Zhi reminds people of the story of uncle and nephew Lu Mengzheng and Lu Yijian.

Lu Mengzheng served as prime minister three times, and later insisted on retiring to make room for a younger generation. This move of knowing when to advance and when to retreat was appreciated by Emperor Zhenzong.

In the year when Emperor Zhenzong was offering sacrifices to the gods at Mount Tai, he went to Lu Mengzheng's home to visit this retired old minister.

The meeting between the emperor and his subjects was a special one. Emperor Zhenzong glanced at the sons of Lu Mengzheng standing beside him, and suddenly felt the desire to promote them. He said to him, "My dear, take a look. Which of your sons can be given an important position?"

Emperor Zhenzong's words definitely indicated that he was going to use one of Lü Mengzheng's sons, which was definitely a good thing for Lü Mengzheng. Lü Mengzheng's sons Lü Congjian, Lü Weijian, Lü Chengjian, Lü Xingjian, Lü Wujian, Lü Jujian, and Lü Zhijian all served as officials in the court, but their official positions were low.

However, Lü Mengzheng replied, "None of my sons are of great use. However, I have a nephew named Lü Yijian who is serving as a magistrate in Yingzhou. He has the talent to be a prime minister."

Zhenzong listened very carefully.

When he returned, he wrote Lu Yijian's name on the screen. Then Lu Yijian was promoted repeatedly and finally became prime minister.

This is a beautiful story between an emperor and his ministers.

Everyone couldn't help but think that Zhang Yue would retire after a year, so they recommended Zhang Zhi to the emperor to replace themselves as the right prime minister.

On the other hand, when the emperor punished Cai Que and ordered him to apologize in front of the palace, officials like Huang Yan who impeached Su Shi were demoted three levels, and several members of Cai's party were also dealt with.

Many officials believed that Cai Que had lost power and was no longer the candidate to replace Zhang Yue as the right prime minister in the future. Instead, Zhang Zhi would be chosen.

Suddenly, the Zhang residence was filled with guests coming to congratulate him.

Zhang Zhi was the son-in-law of Lu Gongzhu and the nephew of Zhang Yue, so after he was appointed as prime minister, his house was always crowded with people. In fact, the number of officials waiting outside to meet him even exceeded that when Zhang Yue was appointed prime minister.

Whether it was the Zhang Party, the Old Party, or even the Emperor Party, they all regarded Zhang Zhi as one of their own.

Now Zhang Shi and Zhang Yue have separated.

Lü Gongzhu was famous for his strict management of the family, and none of Lü's descendants were extravagant. So after the family split up, Zhang Shi did not buy a big house, but a house in the outer city, which looked quite simple and shabby.

When the officials arrived to congratulate him, they were all deeply moved to see that Zhang Zhi, as the vice prime minister, lived in such a simple house.

"Sir, why don't you go meet the guests?"

Since accepting the order, Mrs. Lu has been looking very happy and in high spirits.

As the saying goes, women hope their husbands will become successful, and this is true for all women in ancient and modern times. Mrs. Lu has always been worried about Zhang Zhi's official career, and she has been secretly competing with Shiqi Niang in her heart. Now that her husband has been appointed as vice prime minister, she can be said to have finally gotten what she wished for.

Zhang Zhi said to Lu with a worried look on his face: "Hey, my lady, I can't be this official!"

"Why, sir?" Mrs. Lu was also anxious. "The imperial edict has been issued, and all the officials have come to congratulate you. Are you going to resign as prime minister?"

Zhang Zhi turned around and looked at Lu and said, "My lady, you don't understand my difficulties."

Mrs. Lu sighed, "The biggest regret in my life is that I didn't give birth to a son for you, but to you, your two sons are no different from your own children!"

"Sir, is there anything you can't discuss with me?"

Zhang Zhi shook his head and thought.

As a lady from a wealthy family, Mrs. Lu was not mean to her concubines, and she even took good care of Zhang Zhi's son.

Although Mrs. Lu was the mistress of the family, she was never arrogant. She visited her parents-in-law every morning and evening. She also sewed and ironed clothes with the maids in the house.

Zhang Zhi has been recuperating at home for the past few years, thanks to Lu's careful care.

Therefore, Zhang Zhi was somewhat unhappy that Lu was unable to get along well with Shiqi Niang, but as a wife, Lu was indeed not at all to blame.

Moreover, in terms of ability to discuss and judge things and political vision, Lu was no less capable than himself.

Zhang Zhi immediately told Lu what he was thinking.

Seeing Zhang Zhi like this, Mrs. Lu calmed down and said, "What you said makes sense."

"The Lu family, the Zhang family, Your Majesty, I can't let down any of them." Zhang Zhi sighed.

"What's wrong with you, madam?"

"No."

Lu turned away and wiped away her tears, thinking, how many men abandon their wives and children for fame and fortune. In ancient times, Wu Qi killed his wife to become a general, and the official would rather not serve as a prime minister than let his family down.

It is a blessing for a woman to marry such a husband.

I didn't put my trust in the wrong person! Dad didn't choose the wrong son-in-law either.

She calmed down and said, "I heard that before my third uncle got married, he intended to become Jing Gong's disciple, but after getting married, he decided to follow his father-in-law, Han Xiansu (Han Jiang)!"

"I don't ask you to be like my uncle, I just ask you to take care of my Lu family after you become the prime minister."

Zhang Zhi was shocked when he saw this, and then he said, "Madam, I am not someone who is ignorant of morality."

Lu asked, "Does the lord think that my father is a person who does not understand human nature and the current situation?"

"What do you mean, madam?" Zhang Zhi asked.

"I opposed the imperial court's use of military force in the northwest before because of the suffering of the people. Later, my uncle won victory after victory in the western affairs. My father often said at home that it was fortunate that the matter was not abandoned because of my opposition."

"In fact, as long as it is for the people of the world and for the country, who is right or wrong does it matter?"

In another historical time and space, after the defeat of Yongle City, the emperor repeatedly sighed in court, saying: "The people in the border areas are so exhausted, and only Lu Gongzhu told me about it."

In other words, among all the officials in the court, only Lu Gongzhu put forward correct opinions and dared to give honest advice.

It’s just that the emperor is very proud now, and Lu Gongzhu is also brave enough to admit his previous mistakes.

Seeing what Lu said, Zhang Zhi was also moved. Lu ordered the maid to bring out the ironed official uniform and said, "Sir, let me help you change your clothes! Don't keep the guests waiting for too long!"

Zhang Zhi nodded.

After changing his clothes, Zhang Zhi said, "I haven't worn this robe for a long time, but it's still brand new."

After a pause, Zhang Zhi said: "It is a blessing that I have cultivated for three lifetimes to have you as my wife in this life."

Lu smiled faintly upon hearing this.

Not long after, Zhang Zhi got up and went out. Countless people were already outside congratulating him.

Mrs. Lu looked at Zhang Zhi's back, and the maids beside him all congratulated her.

At this moment, Mrs. Lu had a calm demeanor, as if she had waited for all the hardships to pass. She said, "You guys take care of it for me first."

Lu walked into the inner courtyard.

"Dad and Mom, why are you drinking tea here!" Lu looked in surprise as Zhang Shi and Yu hid in a small room next to the kitchen to drink tea.

Yu smiled and said, "You have never seen much of the world, I am afraid you will be frightened. Besides, they are all Ah Xi's friends in the officialdom, so I cannot entertain them."

"I'm afraid people will laugh at me."

Mrs. Lu laughed and said, "Father and mother, who dares to laugh at the prime minister's parents nowadays?"

Yu smiled and said, "Then we must not lose face for the Prime Minister."

Zhang Shi smiled and said nothing. It was not that he did not want to speak, but he was afraid of losing face in front of this daughter-in-law from an aristocratic family.

Yu smiled and said with emotion: "In fact, we don't know how glorious it is to be the prime minister of uncle and nephew!"

"When my third brother held a copy of Mencius and told me that he wanted to study, it seems like it is still in front of my eyes!"

Speaking of this, Yu, with gray hair, looked into the distance.

"Unconsciously, so many years have passed!"

When Zhang Shi recalled it, he was also filled with emotion.

From then on, the Zhang family's life became better and better.

-

Two months after Zhang Zhi took office as the Minister of the Central Secretariat, the first snow fell in Bianjing.

The snow fell particularly heavily, and the houses near and far were covered with white snow.

Inside the Zhang Mansion.

Zhang Yue and Zhang Zhi sat opposite each other in the pavilion in the courtyard, enjoying the snow and eating mutton hotpot.

The cook at the side used a knife to cut the mutton into thin slices one by one, and then Zhang Yuezhi picked up the cut mutton and dipped it into the pot.

Zhang Yue dipped the cooked mutton into the sesame sauce and put it in his mouth to chew.

The uncle and nephew were talking happily. At this time, Zhang Zhidao.

"Uncle San, have you read the letter on the road to Liangzhe?"

Zhang Yue glanced at Zhang Zhi without answering.

Zhang Zhi immediately realized it and said again: "Prime Minister, officials from Liangzhe Road wrote to the emperor saying that the price of rice in Liangzhe has skyrocketed and the people are having a hard time making a living."

After hearing this, Zhang Yue put down his chopsticks and wiped his mouth with a towel. There is a saying that goes, "Weigh the plants when you work!"

When we were just chatting, we said that Uncle San was fine. But when it comes to business, we have to get it right.

Zhang Yue asked: "What do you think?"

Zhang Zhi said: "Since the seventh year of Xining, the prime minister proposed to promote cotton cloth in Suzhou and Hangzhou. After the development of Mr. Gu Ling (Chen Xiang) and Zhang Ziping, the court has been promoting the textile industry in Suzhou and Hangzhou. Because cotton cloth is very expensive and can even keep out the cold better than silk, it has attracted people to compete for profits."

"After our dynasty conquered Liangzhou in recent years, the Silk Road was opened up again. The demand for silk and cotton cloth led the people of Suzhou and Lake Tai to start planting mulberry trees and raising silkworms."

"This year, which is also the sixth year of Yuanfeng, the textile industry in Suzhou and Lake Tai has become quite developed. With the demand for converting rice to mulberry, and even rice to cotton, the price of rice in Suzhou and Lake Tai has skyrocketed since last year..."

Having said this, Zhang Zhi glanced at Zhang Yue's expression.

Zhang Yue said: "Go on."

Zhang Zhi said: "People all think that working hard to grow grain is not worthwhile, and it is better to grow cotton and mulberry trees to make money quickly. Hangzhou and Suzhou have been promoted by the court, and various new looms such as spinning wheels and waist looms are also endless. Now the local textile guilds have suppressed the government-run textile institutes. There are many people with five or six hundred looms, or even thousands of looms."

"Therefore, officials in Liangzhe advocated the use of government monopoly in the postal and mail industries."

Zhang Yue said nothing when he heard this.

Zhang Zhi said: "I heard that in order to purchase cotton and silk from the people, merchants will do anything to get them."

"They even bought up large amounts of land in Suzhou and Hangzhou, then destroyed all the rice fields that had just been planted with green rice seedlings and planted cotton trees instead."

“As a result, grain prices in Liangzhe skyrocketed.”

Zhang Yue said: "The court is now opening up the Silk Road to the west and opening up trade with Korea and Japan to the east."

"Do you know how many Tangut weavers are left after the Silk Road was opened?"

In fact, the Tangut textile industry was quite strong. In addition to the official brocade workshops, there were also individual weaving households among the people.

The Dangxiang also had their own "brocade" products, and the people also planted mulberry trees and raised silkworms. Although the quality of Xixia silk was not high, it was barely circulated in places like the Uighurs. The Dangxiang then obtained silk from the Song Dynasty and resold it to the Western Regions.

At the same time, the Dangxiang region has been able to weave cotton cloth since the beginning of the Song Dynasty, but the level of the looms has always been inferior to that of the Song Dynasty, so the output is extremely low.

However, after the Song Dynasty conquered Liangzhou, the Dangxiang people could no longer make price differences, and all kinds of cheap and high-quality textiles hit the entire Western Region market.

The textile industry in Qinzhou and Jiangnan was a heavy blow to the Dangxiang, no less than another battle of Pingxia City. The Dangxiang lost the battle of Pingxia City, and they could recover after a few years, but the bankruptcy and blood loss of the textile industry could never be compensated.

As for the Song Dynasty, it had always had official weaving houses because it had been paying tribute to the Liao Kingdom. However, at the beginning, most of the weavers were forced to work for the government for free. This situation was not broken until Wang Anshi's exemption law. After that, the government adopted an outsourcing method to cooperate with private weavers, providing dyes, weaving cloth, etc.

However, the official price is usually the lowest, and private users have almost no profit.

However, the rise of the cotton textile industry broke through the state-run economy in one fell swoop, and even broke the state-run barriers of the silk industry.

As for the soaring rice prices in Liangzhe, it is an indisputable fact.

"There are a lot of people opposing it? There are both new and old parties!" Zhang Yueyan said.

Zhang Zhi said: "Some people do care about people's livelihood, but some people think that the gathering of people is not conducive to government management, and some people see the huge profits and want to include the profits of cotton cloth into the government business."

Zhang Yue heard this and said, "But the banner they are flying is all about people's livelihood, right?"

"Indeed."

"So how do you think we can solve this problem?"

Zhang Zhi said: "I don't know."

Zhang Yue turned to look at Zhang Zhi and said, "You are already the prime minister, how can you not have a strategy in mind? What if His Majesty asks about it in the Golden Palace?"

Zhang Zhi smiled and said, "It doesn't matter what I do! If there's not enough food, I can just transfer it from other places! I won't change the rules!"

Zhang Zhi's shameless tone reminded Zhang Yue of the time when he taught Zhang Zhi to read in the small building at Nanpuxi's home.

Zhang Yue looked at the falling snow outside and said to Zhang Zhi, "The grain transfer is not enough. I still remember the answers to the questions in the Jiayou Six-Year System Examination."

"The topic of the policy at that time said, although the fields have been opened up, the people are mostly bored. Although the borders are secure, the troops cannot be withdrawn. The benefits have been dredged, but the unnecessary expenses are increasing."

"I said that, first of all, the population increased. During the Zhidao period, the number of households in the country was 7.73 million, while during the Huangyou period, it was 1.53 million, a full one-third more, so the per capita farmland was actually less. This is one reason."

“The second reason is that the people of the world are gathered together but not evenly distributed.”

"Wu and Yue have a small land area and a large population, while Huguang has a large land area and a small population. Going away from the narrow area will make it wider."

"In the Jingxiang area, there are more local officials than nomadic officials, and the locals are governed separately."

Zhang Zhi heard this and said, "Uncle San's idea is to develop Huguang and use the grain stored in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River to support the lower reaches!"

Zhang Yue nodded, and he thought about the time when he was studying science.

Zhang Yue was still very young at that time, and he supported the proposal of having the prime minister concurrently serve as the three officials in his policy proposal. In fact, that is what Wang Anshi did.

On the contrary, Zhang Yue was quite lenient as the prime minister. In history, the Right Division of the Ministry of Revenue (formerly Sinong Temple) was directly under the prime minister during the Yuanfeng Reform, but Zhang Yue returned it to the Ministry of Revenue. Of course, this was also for Huang Lu's sake, as he and Cai Que both knew Zhang Yue when they were in humble circumstances.

During all these years of working together, Huang Lu had slammed the table at Zhang Yue many times, but Huang Lu had also helped Zhang Yue to take the blame at critical moments. This was the extent of the friendship between brothers.

Zhang Yue believed in his policy at that time that the country had indeed "benefited from the advance".

At that time, the Song Dynasty had been established for a hundred years, and there was almost no economic growth. In order to maintain itself, it could only work on the existing stock, which was very difficult.

Therefore, Zhang Yue believed that the court must further centralize power in order to allocate resources in the future. That’s why Wang Anshi’s reforms came about.

How to solve the problem of "self-interest"?

Zhang Yue remembered that someone said that the GDP of a certain dynasty accounted for a certain amount of the world's GDP. This was a ridiculous thing.

It's like a person raising sheep and eating them himself in the end, so they cannot be included in GDP.

Because GDP is the final commodity price, and China before the Opium War was mostly a self-sufficient natural economy.

Only when you raise sheep and sell them to others in exchange for money can it be counted as GDP. GDP is a social division of labor, a transaction. I raise sheep not for my own consumption, but to sell them to others and finally exchange them for money. This is called social division of labor.

Finally, the sheep was sold and processed into mutton, the mutton was sold and made into shabu-shabu mutton, the shabu-shabu mutton was sold to a hot pot restaurant and made into mutton hot pot, and finally you ordered a mutton hot pot takeaway through Meituan.

From sheep to mutton to shabu-shabu mutton to mutton hotpot to mutton hotpot takeout, each step participates in the social division of labor, and someone earns wealth from it, and the price of mutton hotpot takeout is the final GDP.

The more steps of social division of labor involved in a transaction, the more wealth can be created.

Hearing this, Zhang Zhi was somewhat puzzled and asked, "How can the imperial court make money from this?"

But Zhang Yue said to Zhang Zhi: "Go over there and get a piece of mutton with your hands!"

Zhang went straight to take the mutton with his hands.

Zhang Yue said: "Put it back!"

Zhang Zhi put the mutton back.

Zhang Yue said to Zhang Zhi: "Look, is there a little more grease in your hands?"

Zhang Zhi suddenly realized.

As long as it is a transaction, unless it is a transaction between acquaintances or a roadside stall, the court can make money from it.

But you raise the sheep and eat them yourself, and the court cannot make a penny from it.

Of course, when productivity is low, natural economy is not the only solution.

For example, if I earn 20 yuan per hour, I have to choose to cook for myself. But if I earn 200 yuan per hour, I can order food.

Although ordering food is more expensive, I can earn that money back in less than ten minutes of work, while it would take me an hour to cook.

This is a question of labor efficiency.

The social division of labor is to let everyone do what they are more suitable for, rather than doing everything. This is the same as the fact that doing housework for your own family cannot create wealth, but doing it for other people's families can.

The more developed the economy is, the more it moves towards a commodity economy rather than a self-sufficient economy.

This is the way to break the "self-interest" mentality!

Of course, there is also the development of Huguang!

Zhang Yue picked up a piece of mutton and said to Zhang Zhi. That's why he encouraged the trade of silk and cotton cloth, because there are a lot of links involved in cotton planting, cotton deseeding, textile, looms, machine owners, dyeing, etc., which can drive a lot of industries.

Finally, when it becomes a piece of silk or cotton cloth and then a finished garment, there are countless steps of social division of labor involved.

Zhang Zhi listened attentively and suddenly his eyes were opened.

Zhang Yue was in high spirits and drank a few more glasses of wine. He said, "My major policies are all based on this path. You should follow this path in the future!"

Zhang Zhi said seriously: "My nephew will remember this."

Before he knew it, the snow on the ground was three feet deep. Zhang Yue stretched his hand outside the yard and saw snowflakes falling on his palm.

But in the pavilion in the distance, Shiqi Niang and Lu came into the corridor wearing a white and a yellow cloak.

Zhang Zhi smiled and said, "They must be annoyed that we are talking too late, so they are urging us to go in."

Zhang Yue smiled and said, "Yes."

Women's friendship is very strange. Before, Shiqi Niang and Lu Shi were at odds with each other, fighting fiercely in secret, and the servants on both sides didn't know what to do. But now the two women are holding hands and talking in detail, looking very close.

"What a pity to see such a beautiful snowy scene." Zhang Yue felt a little reluctant as he looked at the continuous falling snow.

Zhang Zhi said: "Yes, but the snow scene in Bianjing is no better than when I was in Xihe Road, where the grasslands and valleys were all covered with snow, and the sky and the earth were vast!"

"It's like an overwhelming force!"

Both the uncle and the nephew had led troops to the northwest.

When Zhang Yue thought of this, the scenes of golden swords and iron horses, and heavy snow covering bows and swords came to his mind.

Zhang Zhi smiled and said, "Uncle San, seeing this, why don't you write a poem to commemorate the past!"

Zhang Yue looked at the vast snow scene and his heart was moved. He then said, "You also know that Third Uncle is not good at this."

Zhang Zhi looked at Zhang Yue's expression and said, "Uncle San must have a good poem in mind."

Zhang Yue had just had a few extra drinks and was feeling tipsy. Seeing Zhang Zhi's encouragement, he immediately said, "Okay, let me write!"

When Zhang Yue witnessed this snowy scene, he immediately started writing as he saw the heavy snow rolling.

"The celestial beings were enraged, overturning the silver sea and scattering the pearls. The six-petaled strange flowers flew and filled the hills and valleys. The white tiger went mad, the white unicorn went wild, breaking the pearl rope. The jade dragons fought fiercely, and their scales fell all over the sky."

"Who cares about the thousands of miles of mountains and rivers, the soldiers standing stiffly, their white belts stained with the flags. The colors of the spears and halberds are reflected, the light of the swords and halberds is shaking, and the murderous aura is everywhere. The brave men and the subordinates are talking about military strategies. We must get drunk and see the vast blue sky!"

After reading it, Zhang Zhi clapped his hands and said, "Great words, they really have the spirit of a hero!"

Hearing the number of heroes, Zhang Yue suddenly woke up and his drunkenness was immediately sobered up by three points.

He immediately threw the written paper into the stove beside him. Zhang Zhi was surprised when he saw this and said, "Why is Third Uncle like this? It's a pity for such a good poem."

Zhang Yue smiled and said, "It's just a joke, just take a look at it."

"Now that you and I are both rich and powerful, why bother thinking about this war? Let's go!"

……

The next day.

Zhang Zhi handled official affairs in the Secretariat.

I finally had some free time and watched two officials warming themselves by the charcoal brazier, while it was snowing heavily outside.

When Zhang Zhi thought of this, he suddenly remembered the poem Zhang Yue wrote yesterday, and his heart was moved.

He immediately took pen and ink and rewrote the poem on paper.

Zhang Zhi read it again and again, and couldn't help but exclaimed: "What a good word!"

"good words!"

"It's really a very heroic and arrogant thing!"

After writing it, Zhang Zhi put the paper aside. After leaving the office, a public official happened to see the paper with the poem written on it, and immediately copied it down on impulse.

……

That night at Cai Que's residence.

This poem has fallen into Cai Que's hands.

After reading it, Cai Que was shocked and said, "Although it is about snow, the murderous aura in my heart is so strong!"

"This is a statement that reveals your ambition. How dare you write this? Are you planning a rebellion?"