Li Chunfang couldn't stand it anymore, so she stopped the cabinet official who was about to leave, and then asked Xu Jie for instructions: "Master Yuanfu, I am also very hungry and panicked. How about we discuss it while we eat?"

Xu Jie's expression softened, and when he saw Li Chunfang giving him the steps, he gently nodded in agreement, but he was already extremely tired of Gao Gong.

Since this guy entered the cabinet, he has not taken him seriously as the chief minister. He has no respect for Yuan Fu that cabinet ministers always have. He simply does whatever he wants.

It just happened that this guy was Prince Yu's most valued teacher, and now the emperor's health was about to fail. In order to continue to maintain power in the new dynasty, he couldn't really break up with Gao Gong.

Of course, his patience has never been a sign of cowardice, but is for the next move to kill him. Just like how he dealt with Yan Song back then, as long as he waits for a suitable opportunity, he will smash this high-arched figure to pieces.

Gao Gong suddenly noticed Xu Jie's unkind gaze, but his face was full of disdain.

Although he knew that Xu Jie was a ruthless person, he, Gao Suqing, could not do it and did not bother to ask him to please the elder of the Licorice Pavilion who was lying on a plain diet.

The weather outside is still cold, but the people here seem to be even colder.

After Li Chunfang got Xu Jie's consent, she told the cabinet official: "Ah Qi, go get some food and send it over!"

The cabinet official then took the order and hurried away, with a layer of cold sweat on his back.

Lin Haoran saw all this and found that although Gao Gong was arrogant, his actions were more upright than the insidious Xu Jie, and he was simply Xu Jie's nemesis.

Everyone came to the cabinet meeting hall and took their seats one by one.

Lin Haoran was already ranked fourth in the cabinet. He was sitting on the left with Li Chunfang, while Guo Pu and Gao Gong were sitting on the other side. The cabinet officials first brought tea.

Xu Jie seemed to be neither tired nor hungry, so he immediately said straight to the point: "This year's military expenditures on the nine frontiers are huge. The soldiers' pay for the frontier troops alone has reached 2.36 million taels. I wonder if you have any good ideas?

"

Lin Haoran was also the Minister of the Ministry of War, but he was the least suitable person to speak first. He silently picked up the tea cup that was brought to him, and at the same time speculated on Xu Jie's purpose in talking about this matter.

Since Yang Bo's fall, all parties have also come to a standstill.

Neither party has any intention of giving up, but it is now in a delicate balance. The two sides actually lack a suitable opportunity before the next collision.

Now that Xu Jie has raised this question, he is no longer just idle, he must have some agenda, and this may be the fuse that ignites the next big collision.

After Gao Gong entered the cabinet, he did not regard himself as the fifth child at all. He even took the initiative to talk about it: "Master Yuanfu, the military expenditures on the nine sides are huge. This is no longer a matter of one or two days. If I remember correctly,

, the soldiers’ salary of the border army has exceeded 2.5 million taels a few years ago. If you really want to solve the problem of the Nine Border Army,

If we can no longer learn Yang Weiyue's tortoise tactics, we must take the initiative. If we can frighten the Tatars and make them flee back to the depths of the grassland like in the days of Taizu and Chengzu, then

With nine borders, it is possible to shrink the defense line, and some border troops can be transferred internally, and military expenditures will naturally be reduced!"

But I have to admit that a person with an arrogant temperament may not necessarily have real talents and learning, but a minister in a high position like Gao Gong cannot really be a idiot.

Since the Ming Dynasty adopted the military household system, the personnel establishment of the Ming Dynasty's army did not fluctuate greatly.

It's just that they are still raising troops, but the military pay in Jiubian is obviously higher than that in most areas, and there is a big transportation cost problem for military rations.

During the Great Ancestor period, the imperial court's finances could not meet the expenses of transporting military grain to Jiubian, so they sacrificed most of the revenue from the salt tax and asked merchants to help transport the military grain to Jiubian.

It can be seen that the transportation cost of this military ration is not low, and it is even an important part of military expenditure.

It's just that a large number of inland troops are now transferred to Jiubian. Although it increases Jiubian's defensive capabilities, it undoubtedly increases the court's expenditure on military pay and increases the burden on the court in transporting grain.

In view of this, if you want to reduce the military expenditures of the Nine Borders, the most effective way is as Gao Gong said: take the initiative to deal with the Mongolian threat, rather than passively defending now.

Xu Jie frowned slightly, but he denied it lightly: "Most of the soldiers in Jiubian are greedy for life and afraid of death. It's not easy to expect them to solve the Mongolian threat. I'm afraid I'm shooting myself in the face."

Feet, reappear...the changes of Gengxu!"

At the end of his speech, he obviously emphasized his tone.

Guo Pu and Li Chunfang exchanged glances silently, and then looked at Lin Haoran. Knowing exactly where the matter was, the first person to cause problems was Lin Haoran, who was also the Minister of the Ministry of War.

Lin Haoran took a sip of tea and knew that Xu Jie was making alarmist remarks. Even if he supported Gao Gong now, it was impossible for the Licorice Pavilion elder to become the main war faction, so he was still trying to figure out Xu Jie's true intention.

"It's true, since the Southern Japanese can be solved, I believe the Northern Japanese can also be solved. It all depends on man!" Gao Gong no longer had so many scruples and retorted confidently.

Xu Jie had been trying to erase the importance of the Southern Japanese. Now, as if Gao Gong had touched his butt, he immediately asked angrily: "Can the Southern Japanese be compared with the Northern Japanese? The Southern Japanese are just a bunch of rabble, and the Tatars

If my son and his horse can come and go freely, how can we fight this battle?"

this……

When Guo Pu and Li Chunfang saw the cakes and pancakes being brought over, they originally wanted to fill their stomachs, but when they heard Xu Jie's sudden rage, they looked at Xu Jie silently.

"Lin Ge has already proposed a plan a long time ago: a cavalry battalion can be built to deal with the Tatar cavalry, but you are hindering it!" Gao Gong casually picked up a piece of pancake and took a small bite, mockingly saying.

A wry smile appeared on Lin Haoran's face, knowing that Yang Bo's words were not actually fighting for himself, but more to disgust his competitor Xu Jie through this matter.

However, thinking about Xu Jie's obstruction of his building a cavalry battalion, seeing Yang Bo jumping out to accuse him like this, and looking at Xu Jie's bitter face, I felt secretly happy.

In fact, this matter is still a conflict between war or peace. He naturally hopes to solve the Mongolian issue through war, but Xu Jie is essentially a peacemaker and even hopes to establish good trade relations with Mongolia.

The so-called clay figurines have three points of anger. Today, Gao Gong repeatedly challenged her mercilessly. Xu Jie also said with a livid face: "Gao Suqing, when did I get in the way?"

"No? Then you agree?" Gao Gong immediately responded provocatively.

Although Xu Jie was very angry, he was never an impulsive person, so he said coldly: "I am the chief assistant of the Ming Dynasty, not you. Let's wait until you become the chief assistant!"

"If I were the chief minister, I would naturally not be as inactive as you and drive the Tatars to the depths of the prairie!" Gao Gong said as proudly as if he were a dead pig not afraid of boiling water.
Chapter completed!