After returning to her boudoir, Gongsun Yue felt a little lost.
As the proud daughter of the Sword Clan and the Gongsun Family, Gongsun Yue was already famous in Bashu when she was fourteen years old. Anyone who saw her would not doubt that she must be the most beautiful woman in Bashu.
She is not as gifted as her younger sister Jiang Fuxue in having a photographic memory, but she is also knowledgeable, has a strong memory, is good at calculations, and has exquisite swordsmanship that is second only to Jian Canglang among her peers.
Her admirers can line up from the door of her home to the city gate, and children from aristocratic families come to propose marriage every day.
Beauty, talent, and martial arts have always been Gongsun Yue's source of confidence.
Before this, she had been dismissive of men, so how could she take the initiative to approach them.
Now, Gongsun Yue suddenly started to miss home.
"He has only been successful for less than a few months, and the Empress actually allowed him to recruit private soldiers. That means that the Empress has determined that in the future he will be either the Emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty or the Prince Consort of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Why is he developing so fast..."
Thinking of Jiang Fuxue, Gongsun Yue couldn't help but feel depressed.
"Could it be that he is the destiny? Our Sword Clan once again made a wedding dress for someone else..."
The more Gongsun Yue thought about it, the more his scalp became numb.
At least one of the stunning empresses and princesses will definitely marry him.
Mu Qinxue, the daughter of Dingguo Houfu, also admired him very much.
The princess from Rome also seems to have a good impression of him...
Even if she is the most beautiful woman in Bashu, facing so many powerful opponents, she still feels powerless.
Gongsun Yue murmured to herself, subconsciously touching the spot on her face where Liang Xiao had kissed her more than ten years ago, pursed her red lips, and secretly felt angry.
"Why is it like this? I obviously met him first..."
This was the first time in Gongsun Yue's life that she felt an inexplicable sadness in her heart. It was even sadder than losing her beloved rag doll when she was a child.
When she was a child, the best dolls belonged to her because her sisters would give them to her.
Growing up, everything she had was the best.
"Even if it's not for my little sister, I will drag him back to the Sword Clan's Holy Land by any means necessary. I, Gongsun Yue, will never lose to any woman!!"
The girl in the boudoir whispered softly and began to darken vaguely.
Liang Xiao was also a little surprised when he received the imperial edict at home.
According to the content of the imperial edict, he could recruit up to 10,000 Liang family troops, funded by the state treasury. The normal expenses only need to be reported to the Prime Minister's Office or the Emperor, directly bypassing the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Household Affairs.
Lin Duan whispered: "If Marquis Lanling cannot recruit the soldiers he likes, your Majesty will consider directly assigning a court army to you. I hope Marquis Lanling will do his best and not let down the grace of our emperor. Because of this imperial edict, Those old ministers from aristocratic families ran together to remonstrate, and His Majesty and the Prime Minister spent a lot of effort to resolve the matter."
Faced with Lin Duan’s routine encouragement, Liang Xiao solemnly said: “We must be loyal and wise!”
Of course he also knew that the surrounding prefectures and counties were gradually bringing official salt revenue to the capital.
Several batches of official salt recently shipped to the capital were also snapped up by the people.
In any era, it is inevitable for people to hoard salt.
After all, it doesn't matter if you don't eat sugar, but if you don't eat salt, you will really die.
Insufficient salt intake can be extremely harmful.
Now there is at least four million taels of official salt in the treasury as additional income. In the past, it would have been impossible for the emperor to reasonably raise so much money in a short period of time.
Four million taels may not seem like much to the entire Great Zhou treasury revenue, but it is actually a timely help.
First of all, Duan Yunyi solved the problem of military pay in various places, which ensured that the emperor firmly controlled the military power and prevented the soldiers from mutiny.
With military power in hand, even if the imperial power does not extend to the county, the gentry and landlords will not dare to act recklessly.
The collapse of a dynasty often begins with financial collapse.
As long as there is money, the country can solve many conflicts.
If you raise 10,000 soldiers, as long as you don't raise heavy cavalry, there will be no problem.
According to the current prices of goods in the Great Zhou Dynasty, if there are 10,000 elite infantry, including military pay, military rations, clothing, and rewards, the total military expenditure for a year is about 200,000 taels of silver. With a set of armaments, the military expenditure is about 300,000 taels. .
Of course, if it is an elite cavalry, its military expenses will increase four to five times. The current top priority of the court is to solve the financial problems left behind, especially the payment of military salaries. In the short term, there is not enough money to support him in recruiting cavalry.
Now the Minister of the Ministry of War is Zhenyuan Hou Nangong Lei, and the Minister of the Ministry of War is Gong Yangyun. The two of them are destined to be in the same boat.
Most of the powers of the Ministry of War have been taken back by the Emperor and the Prime Minister's Office, but there are still certain powers that can restrict him.
The real trouble lies with the Ministry of Household Affairs. If there is a challenge at a critical period, even if Duan Yunyi and Zhuge Hui come forward, they may not be able to remedy the situation in time.
This is also the reason why he decided to go into business. Occasionally, he can advance military expenses, buy military horses, rations, etc., and then reimburse him when he goes back. 30% of Duan Yunyi's profits can also be directly offset.
If everything had to be reported to the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War, horse merchants and rice merchants might disappear once the government finally allocated funds.
The key to the Zhou Dynasty's ability to sweep away the foreign tribes lies in its ability to form an invincible cavalry and rely on its mobility and combat effectiveness to fight in various places.
Accompanying Lin Duan were several Xuanwei and civil and military officials from the Prime Minister's Palace, a total of 200 people.
These people were responsible for assisting Liang Xiao in recruiting soldiers.
"Has Marquis Lanling thought about the recruitment criteria?"
The military attache who led the inquiry was Zhuge Hui's nephew, Zhuge Ding.
As a military attache, Zhuge Ding had both expectations and doubts about the son of Marquis Lanling.
Didn't he become famous recently and be regarded as a poet of the Great Zhou Dynasty?
As a soldier, the thing you worry about most is that your superior is an amateur who, despite being so proud of his achievements, seizes power at critical moments and gives random orders.
Liang Xiao said without hesitation: "Applicants must be able to wear three layers of heavy armor, hold a long halberd, an iron sword hanging at the waist, a large shield and oar, fifty crossbow bolts and a powerful crossbow, plus three days of military rations, and march in half a day." Baili, you can be hired!"
"What?" Everyone looked at each other.
Zhuge Ding reminded: "Does Marquis Lanling know that he has set the criteria for selecting military soldiers in the Spring and Autumn Period of Wei..."
Liang Xiao handed a stack of notices printed in advance to Zhuge Ding and said: "We are not recruiting tens of thousands of people right away. Help me release the standards first, and then just follow my arrangements."
Zhuge Ding remembered his uncle Zhuge Hui's advice and had no choice but to bite the bullet and issue the conscription order.
In the West Palace Villa, Duan Yunyi sat in his sister's room, watching her embroidery, feeling very worried.
After receiving the news, the old ministers from the aristocratic family came to the palace to remonstrate with them, and their voices were so stern that she was furious.
Fortunately, Zhuge Hui had already anticipated this and roped in other courtiers who supported the imperial power. They argued hard and finally passed the edict allowing Liang Xiao to recruit troops.
These aristocratic families are accustomed to being domineering and domineering. Even when facing the imperial power, they still have a sense of arrogance in their bones.
Especially Duanmujie and Duanmucao, they are harsh in words and yin and yang.
She vowed that one day she would become as authoritative as Emperor Wu of the previous dynasty, so that these officials would obey orders honestly, get out if they did not obey orders, and ransack their homes if they dared to rebel.
Liang Xiao's existence gradually gave her this expectation.
"My lord, Marquis Lanling has issued a recruitment notice. The selection criteria are quite strict..."
A Xuanwei sent Duan Yunyi a notice from Liang Xiao. Duan Yunyi took a look at it and couldn't help being surprised.
This is a bit more stringent than the usual standards for selecting elites during the Great Zhou Dynasty, which means that military expenditures will increase...
Those aristocratic families are definitely going to make trouble again.
