After the Western Xia and the Northern Liao reached an alliance, the Western Xia added a large number of fields in the north and the east, and a large number of merchants gathered at the border for a while, the border between the Western Xia and the Northern Liao, which was originally very rare, is now a prosperous scene, the grain, pig iron, green and white salt, tea, wine, cloth, silk and other resources in the Western Xia continued to flow into the territory of the Northern Liao, and the fur, medicinal materials, ginseng, deer antler, gold and silver of the Northern Liao flowed into the Western Xia.
In addition to the Silk Road originally opened up to the west, the Western Xia added a trade route to the north, and the trade route with the Northern Liao brought wealth to the Western Xia at the same time, but also brought huge hidden dangers.
Because most of the items traded by the two sides are important strategic materials such as grain and tea, and they are also the living materials on which the people depend, a large number of exports have caused the price of grain and tea in the Western Xia to rise.
With the increase of the population of Western Xia, the food supply of Western Xia was tight, but it was not particularly obvious before the trade with Northern Liao, with the increase of grain trade with Northern Liao, this problem became more and more acute, the price of grain in Western Xia began to rise, and food was related to the stability of a country, if there was a problem with food supply, it was likely to cause domestic turmoil in Western Xia.
The other is the tea trade, there is no place to produce tea in the Western Xia, all the tea in the Western Xia has to be imported from the Northern Song Dynasty, tea is an extremely important strategic material in this era, especially for the grassland peoples in the north, tea is an indispensable thing.
Since the grassland people mainly eat meat and dairy products, these things are very greasy, so they need to drink tea to remove the oiliness; Tea in China at that time has penetrated into the homes of ordinary people and has become an indispensable part of people's lives, just like table salt, but the tea production area is only in the Great Song Dynasty, so both the Liao State and the Western Xia need to obtain tea from the trade with the Great Song Dynasty every year, and the tea of the Great Song Dynasty is monopolized by the government, and the amount of tea traded to the two countries every year is limited.
Nowadays, Northern Liao needs to obtain tea from Western Xia, and there are only those tea leaves in Western Xia, which will inevitably cause a shortage of tea, once the price of tea is in short supply, the price of tea will rise, and the rise in tea prices will cause some people not to buy tea, Baixin will cause panic, or civil unrest.
Originally, Li Liangzuo didn't think about these at all, but now the problem has come out, whether it is food and tea, there is a shortage of supply, although it is not very serious, but if it is not solved as soon as possible, it may cause a very serious problem, and this matter will make Li Liangzuo anxious.
In desperation, Li Liangzuo could only order the temporary suspension of the supply of grain and tea to Northern Liao, and at the same time the right to sell these two materials was returned to the imperial court, and merchants were not allowed to sell grain and tea privately.
In the imperial study room of the Imperial Palace of Xingqing Mansion.
Li Liangzuo sat on the dragon chair and looked at the six cabinet members and said: "Let's talk about how to solve this matter, Northern Liao needs a lot of grain and tea, and these are also indispensable to us; Especially tea, we are completely dependent on the Great Song Dynasty, and now the two countries are in peacetime, the Great Song Dynasty may be a stable supply for us, but if the two break out into war The Great Song Dynasty will cut off trade with us as soon as possible, so won't my Great Xia Kingdom fall into a very embarrassing situation overnight, this problem must be solved, and you must come up with a feasible solution for me. ” Gao Huaizheng, the judicial envoy, first proposed: "Your Majesty, is it possible to transplant tea trees to the north, so that we don't have to worry about the supply of tea anymore." ” Zhou Wentai immediately objected and said: "Master Gao may not know that tea trees only grow in the warm and humid south, and it is absolutely impossible to introduce tea trees to our country, and we are destined to be controlled by others on the issue of tea; My opinion is to solve the problem of food supply first. ” Wei Ge Ning Ling said: "Since the founding of the Great Xia, food is a big problem, although our country has a vast territory, but the land that can adapt to grain planting is very limited, grain production has always been a big problem, the original population of Western Xia is less and it is relatively easy to solve, but now with the increase in population, the food supply has been insufficient, and now we need to buy a certain amount of food from the Great Song Dynasty every year to fill the gap; Your Majesty, according to the advice of the old ministers, we should continue to strengthen the construction of farmland and water conservancy, increase grain production, and see if we can open up new farmland. ” Li Liangzuo nodded and said: "Uncle Huang is right, since this is the case, then set up a farmland and water conservancy department in the imperial court, which is responsible for the country's farmland and water conservancy projects, and find ways to increase grain production, this position is intuitively important, you see who can hold this position." ” Nuo Yisheng stood up and said, "Your Majesty, the old minister asks for this position. ” Li Liangzuo glanced at Nuo Yixiandu, and didn't know what the old boy's big plan was, so he refused: "The old general is still serving as a military envoy, and I can't bear to put a heavy burden on the old general."
Li Liangzuo's words were very tactful, but the meaning was very clear, you are already a military envoy, and if you are giving you the position of director of the Department of Farmland and Water Conservancy, isn't it that the power in your hands is too great, so this position cannot be given to you.
Nuo Yisheng also understood what Li Liangzuo meant, so he said to Li Liangzuo: "The old minister is willing to resign from the post of military envoy and concentrate on managing the Farmland and Water Conservancy Department. ” Li Liangzuo heard Nuo Yixiang say this, so he began to weigh the pros and cons of this, Nuo Yixiang is a military general, and his influence in the border army is very great, and many generals in the border army are promoted one by one, if Nuo Yixing can completely leave the army, Li Liangzuo can slowly completely eliminate the influence of Nuo Yixing in the border army, so that the military power will be completely and completely in the hands of Li Liangzuo.
After thinking about all this, Li Liangzuo nodded and said: "Okay, since the old general insists, then I will be the same, and from now on, the old general will be transferred to the director of the Department of Farmland and Water Conservancy; For the time being, the affairs of the Military Affairs Yuan were entrusted to Zhou Wentai, deputy military envoy. ” "Wechen respectfully obeys His Majesty's holy decree."
The two of them took the holy decree.
At this time, Xiaofuzi hurriedly barged in and said, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty's concubine is about to give birth, and your concubine is about to give birth."
"What are you talking about," Li Liangzuo said without reacting for a while; "You said Qiao'er was going to give birth."
"Yes, Your Majesty, go and have a look," Xiao Fuzi said anxiously.
Li Liangzuo said to the six people: "Ladies and gentlemen, today's discussion is here, as for the tea problem, we are coming up with a solution tomorrow, and today everyone will tease us and think about it." ” "Greetings to Your Majesty."
The six members of the Cabinet bowed.
And Li Liangzuo trotted all the way and left in a hurry.
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