A square table is covered with a map of the eight states. There are a total of twenty-four cities on it, which is the remaining territory of Dafeng Zhengtong.
The four people sat on the four directions of the table, the southeast and northwest. The emperor was willing to sit in the second place, so the seats on the left and right were occupied by Guiliu and Zhang Jiqi respectively.
The ceiling of this meeting hall is surprisingly high for some reason. Therefore, although the overall size is not large, it gives people a sense of grandeur and seriousness. In particular, the plaque hanging directly opposite the gate has the four characters "Don't give way to the country". The writing is powerful and it was the late emperor's own handwriting.
The many memorials and documents brought by the emperor and Zhou Xu were really stacked like mountains, so they simply put them under their feet. After everything was prepared, as his life's "decision began", Zhou Xu immediately sat upright, and the female imperial master also opened her eyes.
The emperor bent down, picked up the first pile of memorials from under his feet, and distributed them to everyone.
"The first difficult thing is that you must have seen it when you came here. The Dafeng rebels have advanced another fifty miles to the fighting zone. According to the scouts, there are at least 10,000 people this time, including soldiers and farmers. They should be building a new defense. fortifications.”
The emperor paused and then said: "Fortifications with aggressive functions."
Guiliu looked down at the map and frowned: "After all calculations, the fighting zone between the north and the south seems to be only two hundred kilometers. The rebels advanced directly a quarter of the way this time. Their intention was obvious, they just wanted to grab a little more of their throat. Move up a little bit until you really strangle us to death."
The emperor nodded helplessly: "That's true. If they really allow them to build a military town that can station and raise troops, there will be four military towns that can take care of each other and support each other. According to this situation, then our side will almost have to fight on the battlefield again and again. Defeat is certain."
Guiliu stared straight at the border of the map and seemed to see the mighty Dajing Dynasty. He said softly: "What if a hand pinches him? As long as we use more strength, we can get rid of it."
"You think too simply, it's not that easy." Zhang Jiqi said: "If you had seen the Dafeng territory, you wouldn't have this idea. Unlike your Dajing, the Dafeng territory is long and narrow from north to south. When viewed from the sky, It is just a thin belt, so even if one end is attacked by the enemy, the impact on the other end is actually very limited. The kind of ebb and flow you mentioned, unless it is a massive attack by hundreds of thousands of troops, the rebels can possibly use the strength here Remove the cuts. But, can you, Dajing, really donate so generously?"
Geiliu said calmly: "Wars have been about strategy and layout since ancient times. Unless it is certain that it can determine complete success or failure, no one will easily move hundreds of thousands of troops to attack directly. If the problem can be solved by using a million troops to rush in, then why should I Sitting here today discussing things with you? So whether to send out a large number of troops or not has nothing to do with sincerity. And since I entered Dafeng alone, I have already shown enough sincerity."
There was something wrong with the atmosphere, and anyone here could see that the two were secretly competing with each other. The emperor quickly smoothed things over and said: "Look at my memory, I forgot to cleanse my husband and the emperor's master. Zhou Xu, after the discussion is over, you tell Huang Cui to go to the kitchen and say that there will be a banquet at my residence tonight. All the wine and wine must be prepared in advance.”
Zhou Xu said quickly: "I obey your order."
Then the huge assembly hall suddenly fell silent for a while, with no one speaking.
Geiliu stared at the map for a long time and suddenly said: "If we make a compromise, it might be feasible."
The female Imperial Master didn't say anything, just acquiescing to his idea.
Zhou Xu also said: "I also believe that fighting to defend is the best choice."
The emperor smiled bitterly and said: "I bet you three have come up with a solution, but I am the only one who is the fool, right?"
"It is not accurate enough to use war as a defense." Zhang Jiqi said: "To be precise, it should be to use war to support war."
Gui Liu frowned, "It shouldn't be about fighting to support fighting. It's almost enough to say that we are united vertically and horizontally."
What's the deal?
There are more than a dozen small countries in the border area of Dafeng.
Zhang Jiqi sneered and said: "Do you think you are a smooth-talking politician? Taking a step back, even if you have great lobbying skills, it will still require a huge amount of energy and time to control those small border countries one by one. Instead of doing this, it is better to feed war with war and use the means of killing, attacking and plundering to expand territory and military strength."
"You are unkind. I will never agree." Gui Liu's face was expressionless.
Zhang Jiqi laughed as if she had heard a big joke, "A good gentleman will inevitably die, so just drown in your benevolence, righteousness and morality."
Gui Liu knocked on the table with his hand and said coldly: "Yes, you are right, but I would rather a gentleman die and be crowned. Did you see that little girl next to me? His mother died early, and his father is a guardian The soldiers in the city were killed by the rebels who attacked the city. Such a young child lost his parents and was displaced. Today in this chamber, if your idea of Zhang Jiqi using war to support war is really passed, the follow-up will really use If we forcefully occupy more than a dozen small countries by means of attack, how many children will lose their parents like little girls? How many people will be displaced? Please answer my question, Imperial Master."
"I don't know." Zhang Jiqi said calmly: "I only know that if you want to regain the country, this is the best way. And your talk of benevolence, morality, etiquette and music can only move you, but it can't save anyone. "
Gui Liu responded tit for tat, "Using the wrong means to achieve the right thing is worthy of being called the best?"
Zhang Jiqi narrowed his eyes and said: "If you do a wrong thing with the right method, is it the best?"
The emperor was uneasy because he guessed what would happen next.
As expected, two eyes looked at him at the same time, but neither spoke.
Whether to take it in a kingly way or in a domineering way, the final decision-making power still lies in the hands of the master of the country.
Guiliu looked at him and began to put pressure on him, "Since the Eight Kings Rebellion, you must have seen the misery of many people. If you still decide to use the method of killing, you will be no different from the rebels who burned, killed and looted everywhere. Yes. I believe that Your Majesty should want to be kind and benevolent for eternity, rather than be famous for eternity."
The woman ignored the restless emperor and smiled and said: "By the way, I suddenly remembered that the Dajing Dynasty, which has always been a king, seemed to have taken the initiative to send troops to destroy Nanzhao decades ago. What about attacking its people? If you love your country, you can attack it, but won’t you still lose a lot of innocent people?”
Guiliu was silent for a long time and said softly: "My father did make a mistake. If it were me, I wouldn't do this."
"You are just a little kid in his early twenties and have not yet ascended the throne. I don't care about you." Zhang Jiqi obviously didn't want to argue about this anymore and looked at the emperor sideways. "I'll just listen to him on this matter. Let’s see how it all works together. Turn the page and talk about the next thing.”
The emperor secretly breathed a sigh of relief and leaned over to hold another roll of documents marked with a vermilion pen.
"This is the expenditure of twenty-four cities on people's livelihood, raising troops, etc. I have sent people to investigate each one, and there is indeed nothing in vain. But even if there is a real need, I can only pay the minimum. approve."
The emperor picked up another pile of documents without cinnabar marking from his feet, held his forehead, and frowned.
"These are the documents submitted from various places in the eight states in recent days. To put it simply, there is still a lack of money. I hope the court will allocate funds. The war has been going on for half a year. The country has been lost, the people have been lost, and the rich land has been lost. How can I still have money? I am not afraid of your jokes. My three meals a day now are just clear soup and bland food. Later I can take you to the treasury to see if it is full of jade, gold nuggets, beads and gravel. Nothing but rats.”
"No wonder I walked along the way and found that most of the vendors couldn't even exchange a broken piece. Some even didn't even have a few copper plates, and their trouser pockets jingled empty."
Guiliu paused, then remembered something that happened on the way, and said with a smile: "When I was coming to Yicheng, I passed by a roadside stall buying sesame cakes, and I ordered one sesame cake without asking the price. After all, one sesame cake Only a few copper coins? But guess what, he actually asked me for half a pound of money, and said that this is the rule in Dafeng. I understood as soon as I heard that he was bullying me as a foreigner who was unfamiliar with the place. Of course. I didn’t argue with him. It was not easy to escape the war, so I gave him a lot of money.”
The emperor nodded and said helplessly: "This is indeed the current situation. Emperors like Yicheng have a good foothold, and most people don't dare to be arrogant. But in more remote places, bad coins are chasing good coins, and some governments have even begun to mint them privately. Privately made. The reason why I did not crack down hard is that although this situation is not good, it can at least be maintained. If we really crack down hard and punish the whole body, we may encounter a worse situation. "
Zhang Jiqi frowned slightly, "You won't mint new coins in this situation." What are you waiting for?
"Of course I know that we need to change the old system and introduce new orders." The emperor hesitated and said bitterly: "But the specific implementation method is too involved. Both I and Zhou Xu are undecided, so I would like to ask Mr. and the emperor to personally draw up a strategy. implement."
Guiliu shook his head: "Changing the currency system is a major event for the dynasty. I am just a kid in my early twenties and have little experience, so I may not be qualified. So I'd better leave this matter to the Imperial Master."
Zhang Jiqi smiled and said: "Speaking of which, your Gui family and I have some connections. We were the same family hundreds of years ago, but they were later separated. So, you, a twenty-year-old kid, should you call me ancestor?" Come on, how about calling me now to make me, an old and beady old woman, nostalgic?"
Guiliu stared at her, half-believing and doubtful, and said in a cold voice: "Is this really true?"
Zhang Jiqi seemed to think about it seriously, then tilted her head and smiled, "Fake."
Guiliu stood up with a thud.
Seeing that he could no longer hold back, the emperor quickly stood up, so as a courtier, Zhou Xu also stood up quickly.
"That's all for today's discussion. I believe that both sir and the Imperial Master are tired and should go back and have a good rest."
As he spoke, the emperor took Giliu's arm and pulled him out.
Seemingly thinking of something, he turned around and said in a deep voice: "Zhou Xu, please go home to me now to accompany your wife and daughter!"
Zhou Xu quickly accepted the order, bent down and saluted, "I will go back now!"
The emperor dragged Guiliu out of the meeting hall and quickly disappeared.
Zhou Xu moved all the memorials and documents back by himself before leaving.
So Zhang Jiqi was the only one left in the meeting hall, still sitting in his seat.
She covered her mouth and yawned, feeling suddenly tired.
She found it funny when she thought of how the prince looked livid with anger and fearful just now.
Suddenly, the light in the meeting hall dimmed a bit, and it turned out that a man was standing at the threshold, blocking the sunlight that was pouring in.
Wearing a lotus crown on his head, he looked at the woman with a smile and asked, "Can I come in?"
