Emperor Sui Yang

Yang Hao has not been idle recently, and he is very concerned about the emergency construction of the canal with his father-in-law Yu Wenshu.

Yan Pi had already set off one step ahead of time, he had to survey the terrain, Shaoqing Yun Dingxing was also taken away from Taifu Temple, leaving only Shaoqing Yuanshou.

Dogs know that 200 million shi of grain is not enough to eat, so the problem that Yang Hao needs to solve right now is where to get the remaining grain.

Several large granaries in Luoyang were half empty, and half of the remaining grain was to be supplied to the capital, and half to be recruited by the emperor on his northern tour, so Yang Hao could not move.

So what to do?

If the treasury is short of money, take it from the merchants, and if the treasury is exhausted, take it from the people. This is the only rule, and it will work at any time.

"Try it in Henan first, and notify all the grain merchants to sell the grain to the Yuzhou government. Those who don't sell it will be punished for hoarding." In the Qi Palace, Yang Hao was discussing the preparation of grain with a group of people.

Minister Wei Jin frowned and said, "Then, at what price should we purchase these grains?"

"In order to prevent them from overreacting, it is best to buy it at [-]% of the original price," said Shi Liujian, Chief of the Qi Palace, "You can either borrow it or sell it. If you borrow it, the government will return it in three years."

Wei Jin smiled wryly and shook his head: "Why pay it back? Pay back those granaries in Luoyang? We can't move these granaries."

"Let's borrow it first," Yang Wei waved his hand.

Pei Yun, the Shaoqing of Dali Temple who also serves as the servant of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, was also there at this time, and he was surprised when he heard the words:
"Isn't this bad? If the government loses its trust in the merchants, how will they deal with them in the future? Henan grain merchants are all ostensible properties of big families, and King Qi still has to think carefully."

"Can the mint not mint it?" Yang Hao nodded, looking at Yuanshou, the Shaoqing of Taifu Temple, and said.

Yuanshou nodded.

The coinage of the Sui Dynasty was under the management of Taifu Temple.

During the reign of Emperor Kaihuang, the number of five baht coins issued was very large, because the currency system at that time was very chaotic. The goose-eye money and Xiaoliang's side-cut money are all in use by the people.

So Yang Jian began to rectify the currency and recast the uniform standard Sui five baht, that is, the Kaihuang five baht. All other money will be abolished, so a large amount of Sui five baht will definitely need to be invested.

So at the beginning of Kaihuang, the price of goods was very low, because the money was too valuable, but as more and more money was minted, the price of goods also rose, but basically remained at a reasonable level.

That is, last year, Yang Guang built the largest mint in Yangzhou in the Sui Dynasty. Yangzhou opened a furnace to cast tin and five baht, which caused the copper to turn white, so the common people called it white money. White money has now begun Lots of circulation.

Because the north-south trade is booming now, the money on the market is no longer enough, so a large amount of five baht must be minted and distributed among the people to solve the difficulty of trade.

This year at Taifu Temple, it is estimated that 400 million yuan will be released. Once the money comes out, how will it be invested?
Of course, it depends on the government's input. For example, in Yang's current situation, he can use the newly minted money from the government to buy grain from grain merchants.

But in this way, there is also a big disadvantage, that is, it will push up prices, and for ordinary people, it will be a disaster in a short time.

Because private income needs a period of time to adapt to price inflation, this painful period is very difficult, but with the communication between the North and the South, the income of the common people will definitely increase gradually.

Yuan Shou said: "The furnace has just been opened this year, and the money has not yet been minted, so the food can only be borrowed, but at the end of the year, you can use new money to pay back."

"Let's do it this way," Yang Hao said, "According to [-]% of the current grain price, buy grain from Henan grain merchants and return it at the end of the year. If it is not enough, buy it from Hebei, Shanxi, and Shandong."

"It's definitely not enough," Pei Yun said, "When Tokyo was built, the grain merchants in Henan had already lost their blood, and they didn't have much leftover food."

Yang Hao was stunned and said, "I borrowed grain at the beginning, didn't I pay back all the grain?"

"The one who built Tokyo was repaid," Pei Yun said helplessly, "The food borrowed by Yuhe was supposed to be repaid this year, but King Qin's expedition to the west and His Majesty's northern tour have all been allocated, so we can't repay it."

Yang Hao thought for a while, and said: "This time the canal is being built, the emperor has a decree, and the policy of exempting slaves and maidservants from paying taxes will continue to be implemented. The money collected will be enough to pay back, right?"

"The premise is that you have to collect it," Pei Yun said: "Shanxi, Hebei, and Shandong have all suffered from military disasters. It is not clear how much they can collect. That is to say, the grain merchants in the south can still make up their minds."

"Isn't that bad?" Yang Wei frowned and said, "Jiangnan has already allocated 200 million shi, and the emperor has exempted the Yangzhou area from paying taxes for three years. They are all tax-free. I can't make any more plans for Jiangnan, right?"

"There is more than one Jiangnan in the south, there are other places," Pei Yun said.

Yang Hao smiled wryly and said, "I don't have the ability to get food out of the mouths of the southern barbarians. The focus of borrowing food has to be in the north."

"If we do this, there may be a food shortage in the north, and there will be civil unrest," Pei Yun reminded.

Yang Hao laughed: "Mr. Pei is worrying too much. Small-scale civil unrest is also provoked by others, so there is nothing to be afraid of."

What if it is a large stock?What a stick you are, Pei Yun looked at his new boss Yu Wenshu helplessly, hoping that Yu Wenshu could help persuade him.

But Yu Wenshu comforted Pei Yun instead: "Pei Gong, worry more, nothing will happen. Even if some refugees and bandits cause trouble, it's just a minor pain and ailment, nothing serious."

Are you really not afraid of things?Yang Hao is not afraid to understand, you have never been on the battlefield, and you, Yu Wenshu, have been on the battlefield for a long time, and you still treat it like a child's play?
Pei Yun was helpless. Although he was from the Pei family in Hedong and had a close relationship with Pei Ju, their family was an official in Nanchen in the early years.

His father, Pei Ji, followed Chen Ba to destroy Hou Jing first, so when Pei Yun was very young, he heard about the tragic scenes in the south from his father.

The Hou Jing Rebellion had an unprecedented devastating blow to the south. When Nanliang was in the south, it was already faintly fighting against the north. As a result, a Hou Jing emerged, which directly led to the demise of Nanliang. Half of the southern gentry disappeared. plummeted.

Historical records: Hou Jing's soldiers killed and plundered, and his corpses were blocked in the road. The rich and powerful families were stripped wantonly, and their children, wives and concubines were all sent to the barracks.
After Chen Baxian established the Chen Dynasty, his control over the south was already very limited, because Hou Jing completely disrupted the south, so that he became powerful with the Nanman forces, which cannot be eliminated so far.

That's why, Yang Hao said that he has no ability to extract food from Nanman's mouth. He really doesn't have that ability. Nanman may rebel anytime and anywhere.

It can be said that without Hou Jing, Yang Jian may not have destroyed the Chen Dynasty. In this way, Hou Jing has made a contribution to the unification of China.

Pei Yun is very afraid of civil unrest, especially for a family like him with a big business, because this time, Yu Wenshu asked him to go to Luoyang with Yang Hao, and he even had to go to Hebei, because he was in charge of recruiting civilian husbands.

Why don't I go, don't think that you are a Shangshu, so you can take care of me?

Pei Yun figured it out, as long as he didn't cooperate, Yu Wenshu would definitely have to change, so he said directly:

"I can't do this job. Unless King Qi solves the food problem, I'd better replace him."

Yang Hao sneered again and again, I knew you were unreliable, you, a Pei family from the south, really thought you were Pei Ju?
How long has Father spoiled you?Are your wings stiff?How dare you challenge me?

Yang Hao directly reprimanded: "Get out of here."

Get lost, thank you, Pei Yun got up and left, feeling happy in his heart.

After Pei Yun left, Yang Wei spat on the ground: "Such a bastard deserves that your daughter can't have a baby. It shows that he has committed a lot of crimes."

Then, Yang Hao turned his eyes to Wei Jin, who thought he was the servant of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, and said:

"Then please trouble Duke Wei and go to Hebei."

I'm so old, what am I going to Hebei for?Wei Jin said: "Recruitment is not a big deal. It's not suitable for an old man to travel around. Let the young people do this kind of thing. Wei Yijie and Wei Fusi can do it."

Yang Hao cursed in his heart, but he couldn't show it on his face, so he could only smile and nod: "It's because the king didn't think carefully, so let Yi Jie go."

After the Ministry of Civil Affairs was restructured, in addition to Shangshu, the assistant officials were two ministers, Wei Jin and Pei Yun, and had four divisions: Duzhi, Hubu, Jinbu, and Cangbu. Among them, Duzhi and Hubu had their own ministers. The two are under Wei Jin's care, and the Jinbu and Cangbu's servants are each under Pei Yun's care.

Among them, the two servants of the household department are Wei Yijie and Wei Fusi. They used to be Yuanwailang, and there were eight Yuanwailang before. After the restructuring, they were promoted.

Yang Wei had to take Wei Jin's face into consideration, because he was Wei Xiaokuan's son and the uncle of Crown Princess Wei Ying.

And Wei Yijie is the elder brother of the princess.

The matter is settled like this, and the food has to be found in the north. Yu Wenshu also knows in his heart that if this continues, Hebei will not be able to handle it. As Pei Yun said, civil unrest is almost inevitable, but he feels that as long as the food is sold as soon as possible Just calm down.

As long as the canal is opened smoothly, and your majesty's journey down the south after the northern tour is not delayed, then other things don't matter.

After Pei Yun left Qi Palace, it was already dark, so he took advantage of the night to go to Qin Palace.

With Pei Ju not around, he didn't even have anyone to discuss with, so he could only go to Yang Ming, because he also knew that he had offended King Qi just now.

"Don't listen to persuasion. If you do this, who will take the blame if something goes wrong?" Pei Yun immediately complained after seeing Yang Ming.

Yang Ming asked Pei Shuying to pour him a cup of tea, and said with a smile:
"Pei Gong has successfully unloaded the burden. Congratulations."

Pei Yun took a sip of tea and said with a wry smile: "This is the first time in my life that when I was scolded and got out, I felt at ease."

"Prince Qi is too rude," Pei Shuying said from the side.

Pei Yun waved his hand: "I have a poor foundation and a weak family background, so it's normal to be despised by others. That's why I don't want to be dragged down by King Qi."

This is called self-knowledge. Historically, Pei Yun's branch has already reached its peak when it comes to him, and its descendants are all unknown.

He is different from Pei Ju, his family went to the south early, so after returning, he no longer has much influence in Hedong, so he has to rely on Pei Ju.

Yang Ming said with a smile: "Pei Gong, don't underestimate yourself, it's a good thing not to go, by the way, how is the princess doing recently?"