Chapter 400 Asking for Credit in Public
When Zhang Xian returned to Chang'an, he immediately submitted a memorial to request merit, and gave the first credit to Lord Lu.
He wrote in the memorial that the strategy of stabilizing grain prices in Nanyang was proposed by Lord Lu, and Ji Wuyin was responsible for assisting the government in operation.
This was also the statement they had agreed on.
Now everyone has a rough idea of what kind of character the emperor is.
This time, the Ji-Liao Alliance earned so much grain. If the emperor finds someone to calculate, even if he doesn't know the exact number, he can know the approximate number. Not to mention that there is Zuo Anmin who can't stand their good fortune by his side, and he will definitely tell the story.
The Ji-Liao Alliance is destined to show off its wealth, so they decided to push all the profits to Ji Wuyin. Anyway, in the eyes of the emperor, Ji Wuyin, the richest man, is a big piece of fat meat, and there is no difference between eight kilograms and ten kilograms.
Zhang Xian not only submitted a memorial to request merit, but also directly requested merit for Lu Desheng when he was specifically asked about the disaster relief in Nanyang during the first court after his return.
"…At that time, I was really helpless in the face of the grain price in Nanyang being raised to 260 wen per dou. Later, thanks to Lord Lu's letter and his advice to me, the grain price in Nanyang was able to stabilize in such a short period of time."
At this time, Zhang Xian was not afraid of exposing his friendship with Lord Lu.
For Zhang Xian, Lu Desheng was a mentor and an ally, and he had to be promoted to the position.
Does this still need to be chosen? At the beginning, he was at a loss because of the Nanyang issue, so who cared about his life or death?
And he also did some preparations beforehand. After sending a letter to Lord Lu, he also wrote to several other colleagues with whom he had friendship to ask for advice on the issue of disaster relief in Nanyang.
This was also a cover for his relationship with Lord Lu. As for whether the emperor believed it or not, and how much he believed it, he could not control it.
Anyway, their emperor was very suspicious and would doubt everything, so after making preparations, he didn't need to care about what he thought.
The ministers did not expect that they would hear the name Lv Desheng again after nearly a year. For a moment, everyone had different expressions.
And look at what they heard. Lv Desheng actually had such great wisdom and such exquisite means? Why didn't they believe it?
Some ministers suddenly thought of Lv Songli. Before she was exiled with her husband's family, she single-handedly brought down the Xie family, which made them still remember it.
Just as the ministers were distracted, Zhang Xian continued, "Now the grain price in Nanyang is subject to a household purchase limit plan, and each bucket of grain is only one hundred coins. This grain price is the lowest in Dali. And the Ji family business promised that this grain price will continue until the next summer grain."
Some ministers heard this number for the first time and were shocked. This is really an unprecedented low-priced grain, not even a fair-priced grain. No wonder Nanyang can stabilize so quickly.
Will this price really not lose money?
If it is a loss, it is simply a loss of money to make a profit. What are they looking for?
Zhang Xian finally said, "So, Your Majesty, I think that in the disaster relief in Nanyang, Lord Lu should be the first to be credited, and the rich merchant Ji Wuyin also has merits. Please reward him according to his merits."
Hearing this, the ministers felt that they understood. It turned out that Ji's business was seeking the emperor's reward?
As soon as Zhang Xian finished speaking, a minister stepped out.
"Your Majesty, I think that Ji's business and Liaodong Chamber of Commerce are showing favor to the people. We should not give them a heavy reward according to what Lord Zhang said." The speaker was Taiwei Xiao Qun, who was also one of the four ministers of state.
Zhang Xian was not anxious at all when he heard his accusation.
At the beginning, he submitted a secret memorial to the emperor, and there was another plan in the secret memorial, because it might be criticized and it would require the use of money and grain from the national treasury. The most important thing is that if it is not implemented properly, it may result in losses.
For various reasons, the emperor did not choose that plan. Now, Ji's business and Liaodong Chamber of Commerce have become the center of attention and have won the hearts of the people.
Xiao Qun's words really hit the emperor in the heart.
Sure enough, Song Mo's face was dark at this time. He gritted his teeth and thought, how could he not know this? Ah! He is really talking about something else!
In fact, Song Mo felt very uncomfortable at this moment.
As soon as Xiao Qun started, officials from his faction also followed suit.
"Your Majesty, Lord Zhang is the chief officer of this disaster relief trip. The first meritorious person should be Lord Zhang, and Lord Zuo should be the second meritorious person."
"Yes, Lord Zhang is too modest. He also has great merits."
"That's right."
The ministers who spoke up meant to give all the credit to Zhang Xian and Zuo Anmin.
They all had psychological shadows about Lv Desheng.
Now that he was finally kicked out of Chang'an, he climbed so fast, wouldn't he be back soon? No!
Yao Songwen, the Minister of the Dali Temple, glanced at Xiao Qun and knew that he was guarding against Lü Desheng using his great achievements to restore the Qin family. As the Grand Marshal in charge of military affairs, he was now the Marshal in the northern border, his confidant.
But this matter concerned Lü Desheng, and he noticed that the emperor was not very happy to hear what Xiao Qun said.
Yao Songwen stepped out and said, "Your Majesty, I think that those who have made contributions should be rewarded, those who have made mistakes should be punished, and fairness and justice should be taken into account."
"Lord Lü stabilized Nanyang for the emperor, and it is really not right to find fault with the eggs afterwards and intend to erase the reward of the meritorious person. Not rewarding meritorious deeds will not only make the meritorious person feel cold, but also make others feel cold."
Yao Songwen said something fair. After all, he was able to become the Minister of the Dali Temple because of Lü Desheng's favor, and he was repaying the favor now.
Zhang Xian didn't have any objection to this matter, so why should the others worry about it? !
"Your Majesty, Lord Yao is right. Whoever deserves the credit should get it." Zhang Xian looked around and sneered, "You don't have to ignore my wishes in the name of doing good for me. I, Zhang Xian, will leave it here. I don't want the credit that doesn't belong to me!"
Having said this, Song Mo certainly had to express his position.
Song Mo hesitated. If Lv Desheng was promoted further, he would be a governor. Where should he be placed? There has been no vacancy for the governor in the local area recently.
At this time, the court was still arguing.
"Okay, shut up! Shen Aiqing, you order someone to go to Liaodong County to confirm this matter as soon as possible."
Shen Wan, one of the ministers of state, came out to receive the order.
The matter was quickly investigated, and the people sent back to Chang'an soon, and at the same time Lv Desheng also handed in a memorial to Chang'an.
In Lv Desheng's memorial, knowing that he had made a contribution, he took the opportunity to propose the reward he wanted. He hoped to use this contribution in exchange for the opportunity to redress the Qin family.
Song Mo's mouth twitched slightly, and Lu Desheng was still as thick-skinned as ever.
Song Mo knew very well why the Qin family was exiled, and he was always hesitant about rehabilitating the Qin family.
He always knew that there were two lives between him and the Qin family, which was why he suppressed the Qin family.
Song Mo once again ordered people to go to Pingzhou to ask Pingzhou Governor Shi Tao about the Qin family's performance in the exile area.