Qin Xiao was startled for a moment and said doubtfully: "The princess just said that the imperial court has no money to train new soldiers, so how can we train new soldiers?"
"You have half remembered it. I just said that even if you can train new soldiers, it will take a lot of time." The princess's beautiful eyes were flowing, without a smile on her face: "Whether we should recruit new troops for training, the saint naturally sticks to his word.
."
Qin Xiao has two wishes at the moment, one big and one small.
His small wish is to have power and money. Most people in Kyoto do not dare to offend him. He can live a sweet life with Qiuniang. Naturally, his big wish is to return to Xiling one day, not only to regain Xiling, but also to kill him with his own hands.
Kill Li Tuo.
Since the princess said that she hoped to train a new army to prepare for the recapture of Xiling, Qin Xiao certainly agreed with this and immediately said: "So, the saint is planning to train a new army?"
"No." The princess shook her head and said: "The national treasury is tight, and the two troops guarding the border consume a lot of military expenditures every year. For this reason, many officials in the DPRK once appealed, hoping to reduce the number of troops in the south. According to them,
Murong Changdu has been content in southern Xinjiang for more than ten years, and he only has tens of thousands of troops at his disposal. Pei Xiaogong does not need so many troops and horses to guard, and can reduce them by at least 30%, and the remaining troops and horses are deployed in key locations. In this way,
It can not only defend southern Xinjiang, but also reduce the burden on the national treasury." Qin Xiao took a white piece from the chess box and without hesitation, he placed it neatly on the chessboard. He then handed over the black chess box, and Qin Xiao hurriedly stretched out his hands.
After taking it, I heard the princess's gentle voice continue: "And there are many such people in the court. Even saints must consider the attitudes of these people."
Although Qin Xiao has been in Beijing for some time, he has not yet ascended the throne and cannot fully grasp the attitude of the officials in the court.
"They all advise to reduce the troops in the south, so naturally they cannot support the recruitment of new troops." Qin Xiao frowned and said: "The princess said that the saint cares about their attitude, so naturally they cannot easily decide to train troops?"
The princess smiled softly, her pretty face full of charm, and said softly: "You seem to have forgotten that I am still in charge of the North Courtyard."
"North Courtyard?"
"The Beiyuan has the right to interfere with the annual budget expenditure of the Ministry of Household Affairs." The princess said slowly: "If the Beiyuan insists on allocating a military expenditure from the Ministry of Household Affairs to train new troops, and there are some people in the DPRK who advocate the recovery of Xiling,
If the ministers jointly submit a letter to the sage, the sage may not give orders to train troops."
"Can the Ministry of Household Affairs afford such military expenses?" Qin Xiao asked rhetorically.
Logically speaking, as a young minister of Dali Temple, he was not qualified to discuss such military and national affairs with Princess Sheyue, but today it was the princess who brought it up first, and she had no intention of stopping Qin Xiao from talking about it. Qin Xiao naturally took this opportunity to talk to the princess.
The matter of recovering Xiling.
Yuwen Huaiqian's reminder made Qin Xiao understand that he could not use troops against Xiling in a short time. However, Yuwen Huaiqian also said that as long as he waited for up to three years, it would be the opportunity for the imperial court to send troops to recover Xiling. Qin Xiao certainly hoped that the imperial court could take precautions.
, prepare early.
"Recovering Xiling is related to the dignity of the Tang Dynasty." The princess stared at Qin Xiao with a pair of beautiful eyes: "As long as the wind direction in the court supports the recovery of Xiling, it is imperative to recruit and train a new army, and of course the court will do everything possible by then.
We must do everything possible to raise military expenses, and I can guarantee that as long as the saint orders military training, I can help the Ministry of Household Affairs to raise military expenses."
Qin Xiao became more and more confused as he listened.
He didn't know why the princess suddenly talked about military training today, and why she talked about such things with him.
"Are you wondering why I support the recapture of Xiling?" The princess has a pair of extremely charming and beautiful eyes, and an astute mind that looks directly into people's hearts.
Qin Xiao nodded and said with a wry smile: "I really don't understand why the princess would mention such important military and national affairs to me?"
"Because what I just said is the reward I gave you." The princess said calmly: "I know that you are bent on regaining Xiling and recruiting new soldiers in preparation for sending troops to Xiling in the future. This is naturally what you want. And I
The palace's rewards don't stop there. If you do your job well, I will not only persuade the saints to train soldiers, but also recommend you to personally participate in the recruitment and training of this new army. Maybe in a few years, you will be the commander of the army.
Go out to conquer the country and return home in fine clothes!"
Qin Xiao looked surprised and said doubtfully: "Do the errands well? I can't understand what the princess said!"
But the princess picked up a bell and shook it a few times. After putting it down, she quickly saw a maid coming with a tray. When she got close, she knelt on the ground. Qin Xiao had already seen a bell on the tray.
The maid put down the tray, picked up the porcelain cup with both hands, and carefully presented it to the princess. The princess took the porcelain cup. After the maid stepped back, she took a sip, shook the porcelain cup and said, "This is a porcelain cup passed down from the Western Regions."
The wine made from the grapes here is sweet and mellow, do you want to have a taste?"
Qin Xiao thought that if you mentioned something else, he might not have tried it. However, when he left Kunlun Pass and went to the Wutuo Khanate, he did taste a lot of wine, which may not be inferior to the glass in your hand. He said respectfully: "Little minister
Thank you princess, no need to."
"Many people say that I live a luxurious life and spend money like water." The princess chuckled and said: "They are not wrong. Just this wine was transported from the Western Regions, and the money consumed on the way was astronomical for ordinary people.
, and there are no less than a hundred barrels of this wine in Sheyue Palace, so even if Jiayuguan is blocked for three years, I will not worry about running out of wine."
"The princess is like a golden tree, and the things she enjoys are naturally beyond the imagination of ordinary people." Qin Xiao could only say.
The princess smiled charmingly and said: "I can enjoy these things not just because of my status as a princess. The most important thing is that I am in charge of the inner treasury of the empire."
Qin Xiao looked at the princess's gorgeous and charming smile, which was shining brightly. He didn't dare to look directly at her, but he couldn't figure out this princess in his heart.
There is no doubt that Her Royal Highness the Princess is of course an extremely smart person, otherwise the saint would not have been able to hand over the inner treasury to her. Even if it was given to her because of blood relations, it would have been impossible to defeat the inner treasury without extraordinary ability.
Well organized.
And being able to form a force in the court that can compete with the Xiahou family, this princess's skill is evident.
Underneath her charming and beautiful skin, she is extremely shrewd. The light from her eyes sometimes makes people shudder, but sometimes when she smiles, she is unrivaled in charm and even a little bit playful.
"I have been in charge of the inner treasury for ten years, and tens of thousands of people in the palace are waiting for me to eat. This job is not easy." The princess sighed softly: "But now someone wants to cut off the jobs of tens of thousands of people in the palace.
Naturally, I cannot sit idly by and ignore this."
Qin Xiao really didn't understand the princess's thoughts for a moment. His lips moved slightly, but in the end he didn't speak.
In front of Her Royal Highness the Princess, you must not say some things that you shouldn't say, and even if you should say something, you should think twice about it.
"Qin Xiao, do you know where the inner treasure is?" The princess took a sip of wine, put down the porcelain cup, and suddenly looked at Qin Xiao and asked.
Qin Xiao was startled and immediately replied: "I don't know!" He thought to himself, the inner treasury is the source of royal wealth, so it is naturally located in Kyoto. Looking at the city of Kyoto, the inner treasury should be located in Jinchengfang, which is heavily guarded.
Guarded by the most elite Dragon Scale Guards in the empire, no one is allowed to enter Jinchengfang without permission. It is the safest place to set up a bank.
Sure enough, the princess had already said: "In this Jinchengfang, there is the warehouse of the inner treasury." She turned her beautiful eyes and said: "But this is not the whole of the inner treasury. The inner treasury is never just a place to store money, just like
A river is constantly flowing and moving."
The more Qin Xiao listened, the more confused he became.
If the princess talked to me about Xiling, it would be understandable. After all, I was from Xiling and knew the situation in Xiling relatively well. However, the princess suddenly mentioned the inner treasury and even revealed the secrets of the inner treasury. This was really abnormal.
Of course, there are many ordinary people who know about the national treasury, but they are extremely rare who know that the empire still has an internal treasury.
The inner treasury is the royal family's own money bag. The civil and military officials of the dynasty dare not mention it. Even if they are officials in Kyoto, the inner treasury is an extremely mysterious existence to them. In addition to the fact that there is too little news about the inner treasury,
It's also because the inner library itself is indeed operating very quietly.
The princess suddenly mentioned the inner treasury, and Qin Xiao didn't know what the princess wanted.
"If we only rely on fixed income, it is impossible for the inner treasury to maintain the expenses of tens of thousands of people in the imperial city." The princess stared at Qin Xiao and said slowly: "So in order to ensure that there is no shortage of food in the imperial city, the inner treasury must find ways to increase income.
.”
Qin Xiao sighed in his heart. The annual fixed income of the inner treasury was already quite large. In addition, the Hangzhou Lin family had to transfer a huge amount of money to the inner treasury every year. Its annual income was definitely higher than the military expenditure allocated to the four towns in the north.
It is much higher. Those military expenditures can support nearly 100,000 troops in the four northern towns, but they cannot support tens of thousands of people in the palace.
When Princess Sheyue talked about the inner treasury, Qin Xiao did not dare to say a word, lowered his head, and did not even dare to look into the eyes of the princess.
"The royal family should not compete with the people for profit, but to ensure that the internal treasury always has enough money to support the palace, it must do some business secretly." The princess said: "Many people know that the Lin family in Hangzhou is an imperial merchant.
It is a royal business, but the Lin family is just a royal merchant on the surface. In addition, there are real royal shops. On the surface, they are just ordinary merchants, but their true identities are people from the inner treasury. These shops also sell silk tea.
Such business can replenish the internal treasury to some extent without affecting private commerce."
Qin Xiao was stunned.
This is of course the biggest secret in the inner treasury. Princess Sheyue actually told herself very calmly. At this moment, Qin Xiao felt a sense of uneasiness deep in his heart. He could tell himself such a secret thing. The princess also said before that she would do a good job and give it to her.
A reward for persuading a saint to recruit new soldiers. From this point of view, the mission mentioned by the princess is indeed extraordinary.