Rebirth: Overthrow Song Dynasty

Well……

Hearing this, the members below were all stunned.

"Your Majesty, I don't know how much the imperial court allocates to the palace every year?" A councilor stood up and asked.

"Only one hundred and fifty thousand taels of silver." Zhao Ji said.

ah!

The members of parliament below immediately discussed a lot, and many of them had expressions of disbelief on their faces.

"Master Li, you used to work in the Military Aircraft Department. I don't know if the imperial court allocates so much money to the palace every year?" A member of the council immediately asked.

"I'm not very clear, but the annual expenses of the imperial palace are not very high, and the number of maids and guards in the imperial palace is also very small, less than one-tenth of what it was in the Liao Dynasty." Li Chuwen said.

"This matter is absolutely true! As the Supreme Emperor, when I was in the palace, there were only six maids serving, and there were only ten dishes for lunch every day. It is impossible to ask for more! I personally asked the king that day. Concubine, Wang Shu told me that the imperial palace spends 150,000 taels a year! This is really too little! When I was in Kaifeng, how could I not need a million taels a year?" Zhao Ji said angrily.

When he was in the Kaifeng Palace, the number of eunuchs alone exceeded 2,000, and the number of concubines and maids in Zhao Ji’s harem totaled more than 2,000. Zhao Ji himself spent a lot of money, and there were countless dishes for each meal. He chooses by himself, and he also likes all kinds of flower stones, so he transports a large number of flower stones from Jiangnan to Kaifeng every year! The cost of millions of taels he mentioned was only the cost inside the palace, not the cost of the various imperial gardens he built outside.

"One hundred and fifty thousand taels, this is really too little! A prime minister's mansion in Kaifeng spent more than that every year!" Zhao Ji said.

The Song Dynasty implemented a system of high salaries to maintain integrity, and the salaries of first- and second-rank officials were extremely high. As for the prime minister's office, there were many subordinates, and the relevant expenses were provided by the court. Of course, after the reform of Zhao Chen's system, the Military Aircraft Department replaced the former imperial ministries, and there were no such expenses anymore.

"One hundred and fifty thousand taels, it's really unimaginable!" Li Chuwen nodded.

"And I heard from Wang Shu that the reason for spending so much is to repair the Yanjing Palace! After the Yanjing Palace was occupied by the Jurchen, it has not been repaired for many years, and there are many dilapidated places in it! It may be in the next year or two. , The amount of gold and silver consumed by the imperial palace is less every year! Ladies and gentlemen, the imperial palace is the place where the imperial court works and where the emperor of the Song Dynasty lives. Why should it be decent? It’s only 150,000 taels, it’s embarrassing to say it! The Song Dynasty governed the country and countless people, and the king of the Great Song Dynasty wants to live such a life, how can this be possible?" Zhao Ji said.

"The Supreme Emperor is right. One hundred and fifty thousand taels is really too little. I am willing to donate three hundred thousand taels of silver to His Majesty to support the palace." A Khitan man in his seventies stood up and said.

This Khitan man is a well-known wealthy businessman in Yanjing, with a lot of wealth, and he usually likes to help the poor, so he was also elected as a member this time.

"We need the imperial court to allocate funds, and we cannot take your money." Zhao Ji said.

"Since the Supreme Emperor has brought up this topic today, let's discuss it." Li Chuwen said.

At present, these dozens of councilors are discussing this matter in the political hall. It took only half an hour for them to reach a "consensus". Increased to 500,000 taels.

After finishing this matter, Zhao Ji was elated! For the first time since returning from the north, he was so happy that he seemed to see the power beckoning to him again.

"Next, let's discuss the charter of the Consultative Council! Your Majesty asked me to participate in state affairs, and I have to think about how to participate in state affairs, right?" Li Chuwen said.

The MPs in the Palace of Political Affairs started discussing again, but this time, no one had a clue.

The Consultative Council is a new thing that has just appeared. It is truly unprecedented, and there is no such institution abroad. No one knows how this institution works? Members of Parliament are not even clear about their identity. They don't know whether they belong to officials or to ordinary people? Now let them discuss the constitution of the Consultative Council, they are all in the fog.

For a whole morning, they didn't discuss any results.

They took a break at noon and continued to discuss the constitution of the Consultative Council in the afternoon. However, the afternoon passed without any results.

"Lord Li, this Consultation Bureau was established by His Majesty's order. Your Majesty must have his own considerations. We still need to ask His Majesty for advice!" said a member of the council.

"That's right, without His Majesty's instructions, we really don't know what to do?" Another member said.

Li Chuwen nodded, he himself was a little confused, and he couldn't figure out why.

*****

That night, many councilors had already dispersed, and they agreed to gather in the Hall of Political Affairs before dawn tomorrow morning, just like officials in the early morning court, while Li Chuwen came to see Zhao Chen outside the Imperial Study Room.

After Zhao Chen let him in, he first reported some things that happened in the Palace of Political Affairs today, and said, "Your Majesty, the Advisory Bureau is going to suggest to the Military Aircraft Department that the annual appropriation for the palace should be increased to 500,000 taels of silver."

Zhao Chen was stunned for a moment, then laughed loudly, and said, "Why does the palace need so much silver? Right now, there are only me and four concubines in the palace, two empresses, more than two hundred maids, and some cleaning staff. Those who are hygienic really don’t need so much silver.”

"Your Majesty, I think what the Supreme Emperor said is right. The imperial palace is where the imperial court resides, and it is also the place where the emperor of the Song Dynasty lives. It should be decent! The layout of the imperial palace is too simple now, and there are only more than 200 maids here. It is not as good as some big families have many maids, if it spreads outside, it will not be good for His Majesty's reputation." Li Chuwen said.

"I like to be thrifty, and I don't like luxury and waste. The appearance in the palace is already very luxurious in my opinion, much more luxurious than the vast majority of people in the folk. As for decency, reputation, etc., I don’t think it’s anything special either. After all, this is the first topic discussed by your consultative bureau, and you can submit it to the Military Aircraft Division, but the Military Aircraft Division will not accept it.” Zhao Chen said.

"I understand! Your Majesty, there is one more thing. I have no idea about the constitution of the Consultative Council. I really don't know what to do?" Li Chuwen said.

"You first need to discuss the election of the speaker. You have already done this. Now, Li Chuwen, I will now appoint you as the deputy speaker of the Advisory Bureau." Zhao Chen thought for a while before saying.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Li Chuwen said with a surprised smile on his face.

"The Consultative Council needs to meet every once in a while to discuss matters! In addition, a small number of people need to stay in the Consultative Council to preside over daily affairs."

"Every time the Conference Board meets, if someone is unable to come, he must ask for leave! If someone fails to ask for leave several times in a row, the Conference Board can expel him."

"The Conference Board has a meeting. Members need to prepare a bill, then discuss it in the Conference Board, and submit it to the Military Aircraft Department after the discussion."

Zhao Chen stood up from his seat, paced lightly in the room, and spoke slowly.

"Your Majesty, how do you arrange the seats in this consultation bureau? I'm afraid it's not good to always sit together like this? There must be a distinction between superior and inferior." Li Chuwen wrote down what Zhao Chen said, and then Again.

"There is no superiority or inferiority in the Consultative Council! You are selected by the common people, and you represent the common people to supervise the imperial court and give advice to the imperial court. Naturally, there is no distinction between superior and inferior! Even if the Supreme Emperor is the speaker and you are the deputy speaker, you are just It is responsible for convening members and holding meetings! When discussing bills, your status is exactly the same as that of ordinary members! When discussing bills, only a few obey the majority, and no subordinate obeys the superior! In addition, you need to discuss what bill and how much it reaches People can pass it, but any bill needs to reach a larger number of people to pass it." Zhao Chen said.

"Your Majesty, are these councilors considered officials? Does the imperial court need to provide a salary?" Li Chuwen asked again.

"Members are naturally not officials! Members can be said to be a bridge between officials and the people! Members need to visit the people frequently to understand the people's conditions. Members must not seek interests for themselves, but for the interests of the people! The court will also give members Related salaries, congressmen can even hire people to understand people's conditions, all of which cost money." Zhao Chen said.

Li Chuwen nodded in a ignorant manner.

Seeing Li Chuwen's appearance, Zhao Chen couldn't help laughing.

All over the country, except for Zhao Chen, the rest of the people don't know what the Consultation Bureau does? Even the vast majority of people think that this is the place Zhao Chen used for Zhao Ji, Zhao Huan and others to retire! People's wisdom is not yet developed, even an official like Li Chuwen can't comprehend all Zhao Chen's intentions! Under such circumstances, Zhao Chen had to personally participate in the construction of the Advisory Bureau. He personally appointed Li Chuwen as the deputy speaker, and felt that he had personally formulated all the systems of the Advisory Bureau.

"Your Majesty, there will be discussions in the Consultation Bureau tomorrow, and then please go over and guide me in person." Li Chuwen said.

"Okay! I'll be there tomorrow!" Zhao Chen nodded and said.

In the early morning of the second day, Zhao Chen came to the political hall in person, and he sat in the lower seat like an ordinary member of parliament, and the surrounding "members of parliament" showed respectful expressions on their faces.