There will be many disasters in Da Zhao this year, so the ban on alcohol was imposed out of necessity. It has only been implemented for two months, how can it be broken?
Moreover, everyone in the world knows Jiang Shu's identity. If he goes to court to facilitate this matter, people will think that he is seeking personal gain in vain.
But Yu Zheng understood that Jiang Shu was not a profit-seeking person, and the Jiang family was not short of money. Furthermore, this is not a matter for one merchant in Jiang Ji, but for all wine merchants in Dazhao.
There must be a reason for Jiang Shu's move.
Therefore, Yu Zheng did not answer hastily, but asked slowly: "Why do you have such an idea?"
Jiang Shu truthfully told the truth about the people's sentiments discovered by Jiang's father.
"For us, fruit is dispensable, and we can only eat a few bites of fruit if we think about it. But for fruit farmers, it is the basis for their survival. If the fruit cannot be sold, there will be no money to buy it. They simply can’t survive the cold winter without food.”
After hearing this, Yu Zheng was shocked and said with shame, "I didn't know about this. I didn't expect it to be so profound."
First of all, natural disasters like this year are rare in many years. Secondly, the matter has not yet become violent and has not attracted attention. Third, no one cares about the interests of a small number of people.
If Jiang Shu hadn't had a sharp mind, looked at the problem from a different angle, and discovered it in time, when the situation was serious enough to kill people, it would have caused turmoil again.
Although it will not shake the foundation of the country, it will also cause public resentment. No matter how big or small the matter is, as long as it is for the common people, it cannot be ignored.
"I don't blame you, it's because the officials below didn't pay attention to the report." Jiang Shu's pretty face tightened, and she paused and said, "I think this is a good thing for TOEIC. It can not only help the fruit farmers sell their fruits, but also keep the wine shop running. Let the people have wine to drink..."
Drinking and having fun may sound like an insignificant thing, but it is closely related to the national economy and people's livelihood.
If no one drinks, farmers who rely on farming will lose a source of income, wine merchants will disappear, many people will lose their livelihood, and the national treasury will lose a huge amount of revenue...
Everything has its reason for existence. People living and working in peace and contentment and drinking and having fun are also one of the manifestations of a country's prosperity.
"You are right. I will send Zhuiyun to investigate the matter thoroughly now." Yu Zheng did not expect Jiang Shu to have such an insight and was amazed and impressed by her.
Jiang Shu's face lit up when he heard this: "Husband, do you agree?"
Yu Zheng nodded: "There is no reason to disagree with something that is beneficial to the country and the people."
It's just that the memorial needs to be well-founded, and the officials in the court have different opinions, so strong evidence must be presented to convince them.
Yu Zheng got up and went out of the house to call Zhuiyun and ordered him to take people to investigate the matter immediately.
Zhuiyun was under Yu Zheng's order, so he was naturally more efficient than Jiang's father. In a day or two, we investigated clearly and obtained solid evidence.
In the evening, Yu Zheng listened to Zhuiyun's report in the study, checked and sorted out the vouchers, and wrote the memorial.
The next morning, Yu Zheng reported to the court.
As Yu Zheng expected, some courtiers voiced objections.
"The prohibition on alcohol has only been in effect for two months. If we issue a decree at this time to allow the brewing and sale of fruit wine, wouldn't it be self-contradictory and undermine the holy power?"
"Furthermore, with this order, someone will definitely sneak into Chencang and secretly brew and sell other alcoholic beverages, causing food shortages and making the gain outweigh the loss."
"You two adults are right, this move is extremely inappropriate..."
The emperor did not expect that Yu Zheng would suddenly have this idea, and looked at him immediately, wanting to hear what he had to say.
Faced with the emperor's doubts and objections from the courtiers, Yu Zheng remained calm and spoke calmly, telling what Jiang Shu had said to him one by one.
Finally, Yu Zheng took out the certificate and said: "This is a petition written by farmers in the suburbs of Beijing, as well as the testimony of local officials. Please see it."
The imperial chamberlain took the certificate from Yu Zheng and handed it to Gao He, who then presented it to the emperor.
The emperor opened it and saw that every word on the petition was filled with bright red fingerprints of the people, which was shocking.
Looking at the testimony of local officials, it is stamped with official seals, indicating that it is true.
The emperor closed his eyes after reading it, frowned and said: "Although this matter is not very involved, it is also related to the livelihood and lives of the people, so it cannot be ignored."
Longmu glanced majestically at the officials below, and the holy will was clear.
The courtiers who had previously objected looked at each other and said hesitantly: "It is a good thing for King Jing to be considerate and caring for the people, but if someone takes the opportunity to brew and sell other drinks for profit, the consequences will be disastrous."
Taifu Zhou said: "Then we will issue another strict decree. Only fruit wine is allowed to be brewed and sold. Anyone who brews and sells other drinks in violation of the order will be severely punished."
Since Cao Qian committed regicide and Cao Qian's party was eradicated, Yu Cheng's support has been greatly reduced, and most of the courtiers in the court have turned to support Yu Zheng.
With Taifu Zhou taking the lead, others followed suit and put forward countermeasures to eliminate the concerns of the court officials.
At this point, the matter is no longer controversial.
The emperor issued two decrees. One was to allow wine merchants to brew and sell fruit wine, and the other was to strictly prohibit the brewing and selling of other drinks.
"My emperor is wise." All the officials shouted in unison.
Before leaving the court, someone asked Yu Zheng curiously: "How did the prince know about such a trivial matter?"
Yu Zheng holds a high position, so it stands to reason that he would not know about such trivial matters since no one would report them.
Yu Zheng glanced at the person who asked the question, stood tall and proud, and said in a proud tone: "My princess is Jiang Ji's boss. She was patrolling the shops a few days ago and saw that all kinds of fruits on both sides of the street were unsold. From a businessman's perspective, she speculated on the crisis of fruit farmers. Inform the king."
Yu Zheng did not tell the truth completely so as not to cause unnecessary trouble to Jiang Shu.
For example, there are rumors that women interfere in politics, seek personal gain, or even beauties harm the king.
These words, spoken appropriately, just amazed the civil and military officials of the entire dynasty.
Even the emperor looked at Jiang Shu differently.
On the way out of the palace, Xie Qi'an walked with Yu Zheng.
"There are many vacancies in official positions in the capital. We need to be promoted and appointed from various places. Does the prince have anyone to recommend?"
After Cao Qian's party was eliminated, many positions were vacated in the government, which was a good opportunity to train his confidants.
Xie Qian's words were both a test and an attempt to sell Yu Zheng a favor.
Yu Zheng glanced sideways at Xie Qian.
Xie Qi'an had a warm smile on his face, like a harmless fox.
But the fox is the most cunning.
Yu Zheng's expression was cold, he wanted to say that he had no recommendation, but as he spoke, he saw Shen Changze.
His dark eyes flashed slightly, Yu Zheng's lips lightly opened and he uttered three words: "Shen Changhuai."
Shen Changhuai?
Xie Qian was stunned for a moment and couldn't remember who this person was.
Full of doubts, Xie Qi'an returned to the Ministry of Personnel and checked for half a day before he found out who Shen Changhuai was.
"What does King Jing mean by recommending him?" Xie Qi'an was puzzled.
Although Shen Changhuai came from the Marquis of Jing'an Mansion, he was just an unknown concubine. In addition, he was a low-key man. He was promoted to an official position after passing the examination, so almost no one knew about him.
But just because he came from the Marquis of Jing'an, it was impossible for him to be involved with Yu Zheng. After all, the relationship between the Marquis of Jing'an and Princess Jing is well known to the world.
The only intersection between Shen Changhuai and Yu Zheng was when they were in Qi County in Xi'an last year. Yu Zheng was in danger and Shen Changhuai helped suppress the bandits...
Perhaps Yu Zheng was grateful for Shen Changhuai's help, or perhaps he truly cherished his talent.
Xie Qi'an thought about it for a long time and wrote Shen Changhuai's name on Ren Tiaobo.
He carefully read Shen Changhuai's official records. He was a good official who was honest, diligent, selfless for the people, and had great achievements in both public and private affairs. He should be promoted.
