In the palace, the saint was questioning Prime Minister Zhang Jun.
"When I heard your words, I almost felt like I had a sudden enlightenment." The saint said with emotion.
At the same time, it was also a bit encouraging. Zhang Qing had great talents and he believed that there was still a possibility of improving the state affairs. This was probably true.
Zhang Jun looked at the reddish tea soup in front of him and was also very excited.
"Your Majesty, there are still loyal people in all the towns in the world." Zhang Jun said with a smile: "For example, this tea. Although Du Hong, the governor of the Wuchang Army, was an actor, he was loyal and brave to the country. This tea, I will do my best for a year. If you offer more than a thousand catties, you can be called loyal."
"Yōng Lake contains ointment, which is loved by all the saints." The sage also laughed and said, "I heard that Tubo Zanpu also loved this tea in the past and asked for it from many sources."
As the saying goes, "Dianhu only pays tribute, so why benefit the ordinary people." This tea produced in Yuezhou has a waxy surface and rich aroma. After cooking, the soup is reddish, like the setting sun. It has always been a tribute to the royal family.
"Xuanwu Jiedushi envoy Zhu Quanzhong resigned from the position of Huainan commander, and refused to take the post of Xuanyi Jiedushi envoy, saying that he would cause criticism if he held two towns. He also sent troops to protect the Bianshui River Road, and there was no shortage of tribute every year. He is a loyal minister." Zhang Jun carefully controlled the rhythm and tried his best to lead the topic to where he wanted.
Xuanyi was the original Yicheng, and Jiedushi was always Hu Zhen, Zhu Quanzhong's subordinate.
Zhu Quanzhong requested to change Yicheng Town to Xuanyi Town after his father's name. In the past, the court would definitely not agree to this. But Zhu Quanzhong was a rare loyal minister in these troubled times, so he agreed and appointed him as the military envoy.
However, Zhu Quanzhong was indeed loyal to the Tang Dynasty and refused to accept his resignation. He still regarded Hu Zhen as the governor.
Now Zhu Quanzhong actually holds the post of Jiedushi of Xuanwu Town. Compared with Shao Shude of Lingzhou, it is self-evident who is loyal and who is traitorous.
"It's not appropriate to rely on outsiders to control the situation." The saint sighed.
When Zhang Jun heard this, his thoughts coincided with his own, and he said happily: "Your Majesty is wise."
"Nowadays, both China and foreign countries are controlled by eunuchs and powerful ministers. What can I do?" The saint looked at Zhang Jun with a very earnest expression.
"There is no better way to conquer the world than to strengthen the army." Zhang Jun said with enthusiasm.
The Shence Army currently has more than 50,000 people, of which 30,000 are soldiers recruited from various towns. Especially several vassal towns that seem to be quite capable of fighting, such as Xuanwu, Hedong, Shuofang, etc., each recruits thousands, and then Including other prefectures and counties, we have raised a total of 30,000 yuan, trained diligently, and had no shortage of food and salary, hoping to be able to practice it.
"Is 50,000 divine soldiers not enough?" the saint asked.
"I ask your Majesty to recruit another 50,000 troops," Zhang Jun said.
The saint was suffocated. It was not that he was worried about the lack of money and food. In fact, he could still squeeze out the wealth with gritted teeth. After all, even Weibo Town was offering sacrifices. During the Guangqi period, King Chengde offered farmland once before A thousand cattle, nine thousand farm implements, and a hundred thousand soldiers.
Therefore, money has never been the difficulty in training the new army, but people.
"In the past few years, the imperial court has recruited troops twice, totaling 50,000. Now that it has raised another 50,000, will the generals from outside the vassal have any complaints?" The saint asked, somewhat uncertain.
"Your Majesty, don't worry. The Tang Dynasty is long, the Holy Emperor is wise, and the world is convinced. The divine strategy is about to recruit troops in various towns, and no one has ever stopped him. Even Li Keyong from Hedong, also allowed the court to go to Jinyang to recruit troops. Shuo Fang Shuai Shao Shude also said that Xiang Xiaorui, a party in Hexi, selected three thousand warriors and sent them to Chang'an." Zhang Jun continued: "I have judged the three divisions, and I have recently discussed wealth with Kong Xiang. If we organize and train a hundred thousand warriors, we will We have sufficient equipment, money and food, and there will be no danger of shortage within two years."
In fact, the imperial court was still short of money. At least, the salaries due to officials in the Nanya and Northern Divisions had been in arrears, and even if they were paid some, they would be at a discount.
Guanzhong Water Conservancy has not been repaired for many years.
The inn system is becoming more and more dilapidated.
As for the Tongyi Avenue, except for the Liangjing Dayi Road, which is still spending money on maintenance, the rest have been stopped and no more funds will be allocated.
Last year, the imperial court collected more than one million yuan of tea money, which was more than the 800,000 yuan in the Zhenyuan period. This does not mean that the world is prosperous, but that the number of tea-producing counties has increased sharply, from 52 to 98, and Most of them are located in the south of the Yangtze River, and the output is much higher than that. Moreover, before the tax rate was raised, the tax rate on tea in some places was 10%, some 15%, and some 20%. Now it is uniformly raised to 20%.
Yanli, more than 6 million min in the Yuanhe period, dropped sharply by half in the Dazhong period. Now it is less than 700,000 min. This large amount is actually in the hands of the vassals, otherwise Tian Lingzi would not have the idea of Hezhong. .
Iron was a big investment in the past, but now it’s no longer worth talking about, it’s only 200,000 to 300,000 yuan.
"Fangzhen's private donation" refers to the money that foreign vassal generals gave to the emperor personally in addition to normal taxes. During the reign of Dezong, "Fangzhen's private donation to the emperor was five hundred thousand yuan per year."
At that time, the annual expenditure of the royal family exceeded one million, and the imperial court was in financial difficulties. Dezong could only ask for it from the vassal commander. The prime minister advised him, "However, there are still many announcements, and I still order all the ways not to let the prime minister know about it."
By the Yizong Dynasty, the country's power was declining, but the royal family's expenditures far exceeded those of the Dezong Dynasty, more than three million yuan a year. The money given by Yizong to princesses and princes was more than four times that of the Dezong Dynasty, which is astonishing. Therefore, it had to be He reached out to the vassals and asked for money.
During the Xi Zong Dynasty, expenditures continued to increase. Even Tian Lingzi, who had always been able to make money, hesitated. For the first time, he actually advised the saints to be frugal. At the same time, he tortured corrupt officials and used money to make up for the shortfall. This actually started in the Xian Zong Dynasty. "The county lieutenant Han met in 1999 and got away with three million yuan in stolen goods" (probably he took the blame for everyone).
Now that he has ascended the throne, there is a new atmosphere, and he has issued an edict to reduce royal expenses to the level of the Dezong Dynasty, one million a year.
In fact, it had to be like this. There were wars in the middle of Shu, tributes were sharply reduced, and the Jiangnan rate network would have been cut off if Zhu Quanzhong had not protected it. Moreover, Sun Ru was also involved in the rebellion, so the tributes were not as good as before.
The offerings from Hebei and Henan were robbed by Li Hanzhi once before and were in danger.
The total amount of cattle, sheep, horses and camels offered by the towns in the northwestern part of Beijing and Shuofang in one year is less than 100,000, which are kept in the Shayuan prison of Tongzhou and used for the expenses of the saint's palace and for the banquets given to officials.
This year Shao Shude presented a tribute of 1,000 fine horses, 2,000 camels, 3,000 oxen, and 50,000 sheep, plus several thousand skins, some medicinal materials, and hundreds of carts of salt, which can only be said to be better than nothing.
Xiao Dun of Longyou offered 50,000 cattle and sheep; Li Yanling of Xining offered 10,000 silk and 20,000 cattle and sheep; Fengxiang Zhezongben offered 10,000 coins, 10,000 pieces of silk and 30,000 cattle and sheep; Zhuge Zhongfang of Xingyuan offered money. Fifty thousand pieces of silk, one hundred thousand bolts of silk; the four prefectures of Yonfang together contributed 20,000 pieces of silk, 30,000 pieces of silk, and fifty thousand cattle and sheep.
They are all Shao Shude gang members, and they are becoming more and more disrespectful!
Nowadays, almost all of the prime ministers are divided into three divisions, specializing in making money. In the past, at most one-third, and occasionally half, it became a begging court.
"Where can we recruit 50,000 new troops? There are endless wars in Guandong. I'm afraid it won't be as easy as before." The saint said worriedly.
"Your Majesty, there has been no war in Hebei for many years and is densely populated. Now that it wants to conquer Hedong, your Majesty might as well issue an edict to seize the title of Ke and hold various positions, titles and surnames. The commander of the Heshuo vassal will be pleased, and 50,000 soldiers can be easily obtained." Zhang Jun Encouraged.
He still couldn't forget the old incident when he was begging Huang Chao.
Wang Duo was the governor of the capital, and Zhang Jun was the judge of the capital. Li Keyong was very dissatisfied with Zhang Jun. He directly said in front of the angel who delivered the decree to him that Zhang Jun was "a talker and unable to do practical things. If he was reused, he would be in trouble." One day in the future it will definitely lead to chaos in the world."
Li Keyong's big mouth said casually, but Zhang Jun has always been worried about it. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became, and he always wanted to take revenge.
Li Keyong was dismissed from his post as the governor of Hedong, deprived of his title as the king of Longxi County, and his family was expelled from the clan. Yes, Li Keyong was given a surname by Yizong from his ancestors, and his name belonged to the second son of Daizong, Prince Zheng Li Miao. The same lineage, legally speaking, is the Li Tang clan.
This is just the first step.
The second step is to send troops to capture Jinyang and take back the big town of Hedong. In this way, the imperial government's financial plan will be greatly improved.
"Your policy is inappropriate." The saint who had always followed Zhang Jun's advice had to interrupt and said: "Ke Yong has great achievements in recovering Chang'an, and he has always been respectful and paid constant tribute. This is inappropriate, inappropriate."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Jun knew that the heat had not yet come, so he stopped talking and talked about another matter: "Shuofang Jiedushi Shao Shude asked to establish Weibei Town, with jurisdiction over Wei, Fang, Yan, Dan, and Tong. The six states of Hua..."
"Hmph! Shameless!" The saint got angry when he heard this and said: "Baosai, the second town of Baoda, is also the national screen vassal! Tong, the second state of Hua, is also the gateway to Jingdong! How can I teach it to others lightly? The late emperor promised him As the governor of Shuofang and the two towns in Hexi, I am already a favor, but I am still not satisfied. There is no need to pay attention to such traitors."
Zhang Jun frowned secretly.
If we want to conquer Hedong, it will be a lot of trouble without the cooperation of Shuofang's army. Especially a few months ago, Shao Shude led an army of 200,000 to force Li Keyong back. He was so majestic and his military strength should be no problem.
I just didn't expect that the saint had such a bad impression of him. Did he neglect Jin Shang when he welcomed the late emperor back to the capital?
"Prince Lingwu built two palaces in Yulin and Woyang for His Majesty. Over the years, he conquered east and west and recovered Helong, and he also made great contributions. When the late emperor was dying, he also led troops to kill Tian Lingzi, Yang Fugong and others..." For his own plan, Zhang Jun had to hold his nose and cover up Shao Shude, although he also felt that this man's loyalty was quite limited.
"It is indeed good to kill Tian Lingzi..." The saint's tone softened slightly.
At that time, he was whipped by Tian Lingzi in public, and his dignity was completely lost. The saint still does not want to think about it. Shao Shude killed this powerful eunuch, which was in line with the saint's wishes.
"Tonghua two states, I would rather give them to Hao Zhenwei than to Shao Shude." The saint was still unwilling to hand over these two states.
Zhang Jun thought for a while and decided to avoid this matter for the time being and look for opportunities to speak out later. He really wanted to win over Shuofang Town. As long as he could take back Hedong, everything would be worth it.
"Your Majesty, we must make a decision early on regarding Jingyuan Town." Zhang Jun reminded.
Yuan Shi led 3,000 Shence troops to station in Yaowu Town in Pingliang County. Hearing that the imperial court wanted to confer on him the post of Commander-in-Chief of Jingyuan, he refused. He was not young and knew the risks of this matter, so he did not want to go to Hun. There are three thousand soldiers in the navy, most of them are young people from the market, and the Jingyuan army is a frontier army. How can they do this?
Yaowu Town is actually the outer town of Shence Army.
There are many such outer towns in Guanzhong, but most of them are abandoned. For example, the city of Kaolaocheng was once an outer town, and so was the city of Yuduole where Yang Yue once stationed.
The imperial court wanted to gradually expand the sphere of influence of the Shence Army and control more territory by restoring these outer towns. However, they did not expect that the first newly established outer town did not go smoothly, and Yuan Shi was unwilling to be the commander of the Jingyuan Festival.
"Who does Zhang Qing think can be the commander-in-chief of Jing?" the sage asked.
"Dean Xu Yuzhi can take this position." Zhang Jun recommended.
Dean is the name given to Yushi, Shiyi, Buque and Yuanwailang. It can also be used to address each other.
"If Master Jing doesn't want to do it, what can he do?"
"Naturally, the elite officers of the Shence Army were selected to escort Dean Xu." Zhang Jun replied.
"Good!" said the sage, "this matter will be discussed in the future."
"Your Majesty is wise," Zhang Jun congratulated.
Separated by a wall, Ximen Zhongsui sat back in his chair with a cold face.
"Li Keyong is right, Zhang Jun is not very capable, he talks big, he will be punished, and he is a man who overthrows." After eavesdropping for a long time, Ximen Zhongsui was speechless to the two monarchs and ministers.
If all the affairs of the country were conducted as they did, it would be a complete mess.
I still want to enjoy a few more years of happiness, but you are here to cause trouble for me? He now deeply doubts whether it was right to make King Shou the emperor.
Shao Shude, the king of Lingwu County, is too familiar to him and understands him too well.
He is indeed an ambitious man, but he is also a powerful careerist, and he is close at hand. If there is a change, the emperor may not even have time to go on patrol.
This kind of people will either destroy him or show him favor and stabilize him. How can they act so randomly?
"Call Liu Jishu, Palace Supervisor Liu, if you have anything to ask him," Ximen Zhongsui ordered.
We have to deal with the Prince of Lingwu County. The saint is ignorant and Zhang Jun is clueless. In the end, they have to help clean up this mess from the Northern Division.