"Avoiding suspicion?" Guo Chong felt a little strange.

"Yes. Many of the candidates this time were students of Master Fang's original Songshan Academy in Hangzhou, and one was a disciple of Fang Dunru, so in order to avoid suspicion, he could not serve as the chief examiner. As for the minister, it is also because of Fang Dunru, a student, the minister has a very good personal relationship with him in Hangzhou, this time he participated in the Spring Examination, the minister did not want people to gossip and delay his future, so the minister also chose to avoid suspicion. Yan Zhengsu said with a smile.

Guo Chong was stunned, waved his hand and smiled: "Which one is this to avoid?" Could it be that you Yan Zhengsu and Fang Dunru will still engage in favoritism. Even if all the people in the world will cheat for personal gain, I'm afraid the two of you won't do it. ”

Yan Zhengsu looked a little excited, the emperor's words were undoubtedly the greatest praise for the courtiers.

"Thank you for your trust. We will naturally not live up to the expectations of the emperor and will never do favoritism, but after all, the rules are the rules, and the minister and Fang Dunru are both important ministers in the court, and they must take the lead in abiding by the rules, otherwise how can they convince the public? "Solemnly bowed.

Guo Chong nodded and smiled: "That's right, it's always right to follow the rules." ”

Yan Zhengsu nodded and said, "So both the minister and Fang Dunru have to avoid suspicion." In particular, the student of Master Fang is very likely to be in the top few in high school, and if he doesn't avoid suspicion, it will be even more unclear at that time. ”

"Oh? Who's that? You dare to say such a thing before the big exam is over. It sounds strange to me. If I hadn't known you very well, I'd have suspected that you had done something beforehand. Is it so easy for me to take the imperial examination in the Great Zhou Dynasty? Hehehe. Guo Chong smiled half-jokingly.

"Initiation of the Holy One, this person should have an impression of the Holy One. His name is Lin Jue, a native of Hangzhou. "Solemnly solemn.

Lin Jue...... Lin Jue...... Oh! I remembered, was it the same Lin Jue who offered a plan to suppress bandits last year, and I gave him a reward? Is that cousin of Lin Bonian of the Sansi Yamen? Guo Chong suddenly remembered.

"The emperor has a good memory, it is this Lin Jue. At that time, the emperor also rewarded him with the name of a righteous man. He is the first Xie Yuan in the autumn of last year's Liangzhejiang Road, with excellent poetry and first-class literary style. He is indeed a talent. Yan Zhengsu said with a smile.

"Examining the element? Looks like he's really talented. From this point of view, he is capable of writing and martial arts. I was amazed by the strategy of suppressing the bandits at the beginning, and I had to solve the yuan in the imperial examination, so it's no wonder that you think he must be able to go to high school. ”

"Yes, the emperor should know that ministers don't easily respect others, but this Lin Jue, ministers have high hopes for him. That's why we don't want to make a difference. If his future is delayed because of the relationship between Chen and Fang Dunru and Lin Jue, that is what we absolutely do not want to see. I need such a talented back in Da Zhou, and I can serve as the spine of the imperial court in the future. The capable ministers in the court are either old or pitiful, and a group of young people should be selected and trained through experience. ”

Guo Chong nodded heavily and said: "What I said is very true, you are also a painstaking person, I understand you, you are selecting talents for my Great Zhou, with good intentions, which is praiseworthy." ”

solemnly said: "The ministers should do what they do, why praise them." ”

Guo Chong nodded and asked in a deep voice, "Is the Liao envoy gone?" ”

"Qi Sheng, I left Beijing yesterday. If no agreement is reached this time, there is a fear that there will be another war in the border towns. Yang Shumi had already ordered the border army to be on guard against the Liao attack. "Solemnly solemn.

"What do you think?" Guo Chong frowned.

"The minister thought that the emperor was doing the right thing, and it was right to reject his unreasonable demand. Yelu Zong Yuante is also rude, what do you do with my Da Zhou. If you want to add coins, you should also discuss it, and you actually sent a messenger to threaten. If this is allowed to succeed, where is the majesty of my Great Zhou? The emperor didn't see the Liao envoy, which was right. didn't bombard him out of the capital, which was already considered to be a face-saving face for the Liao people. "Solemnly solemn.

"But Lu Xiang, they said that I should agree to him. Saying that it can be negotiated and adding 500,000 taels of coins a year is nothing. The key is to ensure the tranquility of the border towns. What do you think? Guo Chong said.

Yan Zheng said solemnly: "The minister doesn't want to praise and disparage Lu Xiang's remarks. It is said that Lu Xiang's statement is also correct. In the past, the alliance of Yanyun ensured the peace of the border towns of the Great Zhou and the Liao people. Some people say that the covenant of that year was humiliating and betraying the country, and losing morale. But overall, Chen thought that the benefits of Yanyun's alliance were still obvious. The two countries have been peaceful for a hundred years, and the border towns have traded with each other, and the profits from trade have exceeded 500,000 taels of coins every year. Not to mention the peace of the border towns brought about by the peace of the people of the sixteen states of Yanyun, and the grain crops were planted and harvested. If the border towns are restless and the people of the sixteen states cannot farm, the imperial court will also allocate funds for grain relief. One positive and one negative, how can there be hundreds of millions of losses in the past 100 years? Therefore, the minister's evaluation of the Yanyun Alliance is still high. ”

Guo Chong nodded slightly, and said softly: "What you said is very reasonable. However, why do you say that I was right to refuse the request of the Liao envoy? If this covenant has such great benefits, and I promise them an increase of 500,000 coins every year, it will not be a big deal. ”

Yan Zhengsu said: "500,000 years old coins are nothing, but that was before. Now, even if I have an extra 500,000 yuan a year, it is a heavy burden. Because these 500,000 have no provenance. For those who have ten thousand dollars in their pockets, spending an extra hundred taels of silver is nothing. In a destitute family, there is only enough to make ends meet every day, and an extra ten cents will make one person in the family hungry, and this is the difference. Moreover, this is not just a matter of increasing 500,000 taels of silver, after Yelu Zongyuan seized the throne, he was demonstrating to our Great Zhou. The alliance of Yanyun is a contract between my Great Zhou and the Liao people, and 500,000 taels of coins is also the number stipulated in the covenant, and it is not something that anyone wants to change. Yelu Zongyuan's move was to annul the covenant. At this moment, he promised to add 500,000 yuan, and maybe in less than a year, he will have to make an inch and ask for an additional 1 million. What then? The appetite will grow bigger and bigger, and the more I satisfy him, the more my Da Zhou will lose his prestige. It is related to the prestige of the Great Zhou Dynasty and the observance of the terms of the covenant, which cannot be bought by any amount of silver. ”

Guo Chong nodded and said, "Exactly, I think so too." ”

solemnly said: "So the minister thinks that the emperor is doing the right thing." But there will be no peace on the border. In the final analysis, although I have a lot of soldiers, I am not proficient. A lot of things went wrong. Fighting at this moment is also extremely unfavorable to my Great Zhou. Fortunately, there was still time, and they didn't have the courage to really dare to invade on a large scale. However, if I don't hurry up in the big week, it will be very troublesome in the future. If the fiscal problem is not resolved, there will be little room for manoeuvre in the event of a crisis. ”

Guo Chong's face became gloomy, he knew what Yan Zhengsu meant. Speaking of which, the court still has no money. The current situation of the imperial court is quite not optimistic. If there is a war now, the situation will be even worse.

"I have decided that I will no longer reward my ministers for this year's summer festival. and save two million taels of silver, and spend them where they are to be used. Guo Chong said softly.

"The emperor is wise, but this is not enough. Two million taels is not even enough for the border army in March. Not enough for the Beijing officials to pay for a month. "Solemnly solemn.

"I have also ordered the construction of the Yanshou Palace Genyuan to be stopped. The Queen Mother no longer cares about me for this reason, saying that I am not filial, and she wants a garden to live in for the elderly, but I don't agree. I'm unfilial to be a son, for a few million taels of silver, I ...... Ay! Guo Chong looked at the swaying green trees under the corridor and sighed softly.

"The Queen Mother is wise and holy, she will understand the emperor's difficulties. The millions of taels of silver saved can be of great use. But it's still not enough! I can't always rely on saving money by means of saving, and I can't save money by making things difficult for the emperor. Without open-source means, it is impossible to rely on throttling. At present, the annual fiscal revenue is 60 million taels, which is really too little. Not to mention anything else, when the fiscal revenue increases by 30 or 40 million, does Your Majesty still need to save so much? Are you still worried about the army's food and salary, the court's expenses, and the disaster of the famine year? If the symptoms cannot be cured, the root cause must be cured. "Solemnly solemn.

Guo Chong nodded and got up, and slowly walked down the stone steps to the flowers and trees in the garden. Yan Zhengsu also hurriedly got up and slowly followed. Guo Chong seemed to be enjoying the scenery, looking at the flowers blooming on the side of the road around him for a while, and looking up at the dense canopy of trees for a while, looking thoughtful.

Yan Zhengsu followed behind Guo Chong slowly, and he didn't speak, he knew that the emperor must have something to say when he called him. After a long conversation a few days ago, Guo Chong hadn't seen anyone for days. Suddenly, if you ask yourself to come and see the driver, you must have made a decision. Yan Zhengsu was waiting for Guo Chong to give the final result. If it is the result he wants, Yan Zhengsu is naturally relieved. If it was the opposite result, Yan Zhengsu also thought about it, he would ask to leave the capital on the spot and go to other places, even if it was a small county magistrate, he would never return to the capital.

"Solemn and solemn." Guo Chong stopped in front of him, his slender fingers resting on a rockery, and turned his head.

"The minister is here!" Yan Zhengsu stepped forward and said in a deep voice.

"I know you're waiting for me to make up your mind. I won't hide it from you, it's hard for me to make this determination. But I also knew that I had to make this decision. I was a little scared, the comfortable days had passed for a long time, and I had actually lost my will and didn't want to toss anymore. But the current situation in the imperial court, I am more worried. The current situation may continue, but it will get worse and worse. I have gone most of my life, and I may be able to hold on while I am here, but I am afraid that the children and grandchildren who will inherit my position will not be able to hold on. Therefore, I feel that I cannot do nothing, and I cannot pass the responsibility on to my children and grandchildren. With some energy left to me, and people like you, the minister is determined to change. We can't let Da Zhou sink day by day, and we can't leave a mess for our children and grandchildren. These are the words I have called you to say today. I believe in you, and I am determined to delegate this to you. You can't live up to me. ”

At sunset, next to the rockery. Guo Chong, who was fair-skinned and slightly fat, turned his head to look at Yan Zhengsu and said this. In many memories in the future, in difficult moments, Yan Zhengsu often recalled this scene, which gave him great motivation, but also prompted him to go to the dark and never look back.

"Your Majesty!" Yan Zhengsu's voice trembled a little, and his heart was jumping. He waited for the best result, and the emperor finally made up his mind.

"Yan Zhengsu, in ancient times, Qin Xiaogong appointed Shang Jun to change the law, so that the country was rich and the army was strong, and the world was unified. Now you are my merchant king, and I hope that you can also save my Great Zhou, so that my Great Zhou can once again make the country rich and the people strong, and the soldiers will be abundant and the food will be abundant, and it will never fade. Can you do it? Guo Chong asked in a deep voice.