Li Shimin paused and said: "If Deng doesn't have the autumn harvest, some of it will be transferred from emergency granaries in various places. So far this year, the weather has been good in various places. There should be no natural disasters this year. We will just replenish it after the autumn harvest."
Although Wei Zheng often made mistakes when speaking out, he was not stubborn.
On the contrary, Wei Zheng's intelligence and political talents were not much worse than those of Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui.
In the ninth year of Wude, Li Shimin launched the Xuanwumen Incident and killed Li Jiancheng and Qi King Li Yuanji. Li Shimin heard that Wei Zheng had often advised Li Jiancheng to arrange himself elsewhere, so he sent someone to bring Wei Zheng and asked: " Why do you want to alienate our brothers?" Wei Zheng replied: "If the prince had done as I said, there would be no trouble today."
At that time, Li Shimin no longer had military power in his hands. If Li Jiancheng really did what Wei Zheng said, even if Li Shimin rebelled, there would be little chance of success, and the history of the Tang Dynasty might be rewritten.
If Wei Zheng was really that stubborn and would remonstrate anything he felt was wrong, he would probably have been killed by Li Shimin long ago.
In fact, although Wei Zheng often made mistakes in his remonstrances, the things he remonstrated with were always correct. Even if Li Shimin was angry, he did not do anything to him.
Autumn harvest times vary across the Tang Dynasty. In places such as Jiangnan, rice is basically ripe in June and July, while wheat in the north will not be harvested until September or October.
If you only use three layers, it really won't have much impact.
"Your Majesty, you can use some of the emergency food, but you must not use the food in Shandong and Henan." Wei Zheng said.
He still remembered Lin Xuan saying that there would be floods in Shandong and Henan around July and August.
If Lin Xuan was the only one who said it, he would probably not believe it, but if Yuan Tiangang said the same thing, he would have to believe it.
He had heard of Yuan Tiangang's reputation, so just in case, he resolutely refused to use grain from Henan and Shandong.
"This is natural." Li Shimin nodded and said.
When Dai Zhou saw that Wei Zheng had stopped talking, he said: "Your Majesty, even if we draw three layers of grain from emergency granaries from various places, plus the taxes from the autumn harvest, we can only supply the army for eight months at most."
Naturally, it is impossible that the Tang Dynasty's annual taxes could only support the army for a few months.
But you can't spend all your money and food on fighting.
He is talking about officials' salaries and other expenses after deducting them.
"Eight months is enough. Even if it cannot wipe out the grassland, as long as it can greatly weaken the strength of the Turks, it can bring a hundred years of stability to the Tang Dynasty." Li Shimin said firmly.
When Dai Zhou saw what Li Shimin said, he bowed and retreated.
He is just the Minister of the Ministry of Finance, he only needs to say what needs to be said.
Han Yuan, the Minister of War, came out and said: "Your Majesty, Duke Lu can make Tubo retreat without spending a single soldier, which shows his talent. Since Duke Lu is about to return to the court and set out to conquer the grassland, it is better to let Duke Lu He also went out with the army."
Han Yuan's father, Han Zhongliang, served as the Minister of the Ministry of Justice during the Wude period. Later, he retired and returned to his hometown because of his health, so he was not affected by the Xuanwu Gate Incident.
When Han Yuan was young, he had outstanding conduct, erudite knowledge, and good knowledge of official administration. He was deeply valued by Li Shimin, and he was promoted to the position of Minister of the Ministry of War within a few years of becoming an official.
Li Shimin didn't think much about it at first. He just thought that Han Yuan recommended Hou Junji because of his talent.
But then, many officials from the Sixth Ministry stood up to agree with Han Yuan's words and recommended Hou Junji to accompany the army on the expedition. This forced Li Shimin to think more.
Since Hou Junji was involved in the corruption incident last time due to the Battle of Gaochang, everyone who had a good relationship with Hou Junji before has tried to avoid him, for fear of being implicated by Hou Junji.
Officials are all about being prudent and protective, but there is no such thing as providing help in times of need.
If Han Yuan was the only one to recommend Hou Junji, Li Shimin would not doubt it, but now that so many people are speaking for Hou Junji, Li Shimin has no choice but to doubt it.
Thinking of the letter Hou Junji wrote to Li Tai, Li Shimin had some doubts. Could it be that these people were instructed by Li Tai?
wrong!
Li Shimin quickly realized that these people were in high positions and had no contact with Li Tai. They could not have been ordered by Li Tai.
In this case, there are only aristocratic families.
Thinking of this, Li Shimin's eyes narrowed. Some of these people were from poor families, and some were from small aristocratic families.
Li Shimin had asked people to investigate before and found that there was no relationship at all between these people and the five surnames.
Now it seems that it is not that it is not related, but that it is hidden too deeply.
Han Yuan was the first to stand up. Is he dedicated to serving the public good, or is he also a member of a noble family?
For a moment, Li Shimin's heart was filled with a haze.
After Han Yuan finished speaking, he kept paying attention to Li Shimin's expression. Although Li Shimin hid it well, he still noticed something unusual.
Han Yuan scolded all the eighteen generations of the Cui family in his heart.
When the Cui family found him, he thought about it carefully and agreed.
He was the Minister of War, and it was within his authority to recommend generals to lead the army, so he was not afraid of Li Shimin becoming suspicious.
But he never expected that the family would actually find someone else.
With so many people recommending Hou Junji, how could Li Shimin not be suspicious?
I really think Li Shimin is a fool.
"Well, the ministers are right. Hou Junji has made up for his merits this time. Let him go to the grassland this time." Li Shimin said calmly.
Hou Junji is the bait for his fishing. The fish has not yet taken the bait, so naturally it cannot move the bait.
On the contrary, you need to make the bait more attractive so that you can catch more fish.
Seeing that Li Shimin agreed, Han Yuan was slightly startled. Could it be that he had just seen it wrong?
Han Yuan was still a little confused until he left the Manlu Hall.
Back at the house, the more Han Yuan thought about it, the more something was wrong. He always felt that Li Shimin must have noticed something, and he must have some plan for agreeing so simply.
"Master, someone outside sent a greeting card." The butler's voice interrupted Han Yuan's thoughts.
Han Yuan asked: "Who is it?"
"Back to the master, the person who came here did not tell me his name and origin. He only said that the master would understand it when he saw the greeting card." The steward said.
Han Yuan took the invitation and after reading it, his expression changed drastically and he said, "Take the person to my study."
"Yes." The butler responded and stepped back.
Han Yuan came to the study and waited anxiously.
"Master, we've brought them." The butler's voice sounded outside the door.
Han Yuan opened the door, glanced at the person behind the housekeeper, and then said: "This gentleman and I have something to discuss. Please go down and don't allow anyone to approach the study."
"yes."
After the housekeeper left, Han Yuan turned around and entered the study. The man who was brought by the housekeeper followed him in and closed the door.
"What do you mean by the Cui family? Are you not afraid of being discovered by sending you here at this time?"
Although Han Yuan lowered his voice, he could not suppress the anger in his tone.
"Don't be upset, Mr. Han. It's a very important matter. I just sent this slave to ask."
The person who came was none other than Cui Hao's housekeeper.