In the dark cell, the heavy door opened with a bang, and a sinister voice said.
"General Zhang, congratulations. Your Majesty Tian'en, you can go out now."
Dang rang~ dang rang~
Zhang Ren raised his head dullly and looked at the only light source in the cell.
······
The Spring Festival is here.
This is the most important festival of the year. I heard that it snowed this year on the north bank of the Yangtze River, but in Jianye City on the south bank, I only saw sporadic frost flowers that melted before they even fell to the ground.
This weather lasted for many days.
When I woke up in the morning, I could still hear the scattered sound of firecrackers. Ji Shu yawned and rode a carriage to the palace with Yueying.
The two of them were walking on the steps and saw a large fire burning in front of the palace gate from a distance. Zhang Zhao and Sun Qian were warming themselves by the fire, accompanied by a general guarding the palace gate.
Ji Shu remembered that this person seemed to be named Zheng.
"General Zheng, what are you doing?"
The general hurriedly cupped his fists and said.
"Master Ji and Master Huang, please come over and light the fire. Seeing that the weather is half wet and half dry, and the north wind is blowing, the king is afraid that you will freeze, so he specially asked me to prepare a brazier for you outside the palace. Keep warm, adults.”
"Ziyuan Ziyuan, this way! I have a good seat here, just for you."
Sun Qian just bowed his hand, while Zhang Zhao made some witty remarks.
"It's such a big place, how can it be different?"
Ji Shu rolled his eyes, but still walked to Zhang Zhao to warm himself by the fire, while Yueying stood beside him quietly.
Zhang Zhao looked at the two of them, blinked deliberately and said.
"This auspicious snow heralds a good harvest. Today is the first court meeting after the New Year. What do you want to discuss?"
The news from Shu State had been sent back to Chu State two days ago, and even the courtiers who had no information should know it today.
On the surface, although Zhang Song's delegation did not agree to cede the land, it did agree to pay compensation and punish Zhang Ren as conditions for reconciliation between the two parties. But after Zhang Song's mission returned, not only did they not send anyone to send compensation, they also released Zhang Ren and only demoted Zhang Ren from general to general.
This bit of sincerity would make a mouse cry.
Obviously Zhang Zhao wanted to ask Ji Shu about Sun Ce's thoughts, but there were some things he didn't want to say.
Ji Shu rubbed his hands toward the flames calmly.
"Ask Yueying, I've been idle at home these two days, so these official matters can't be discussed until the palace."
"Oh~~That's it."
Zhang Zhao looked up at Ji Shu with some disbelief, but did not ask any further questions.
Sun Qian beside him only moved his lips slightly, but didn't say a word from beginning to end.
Soon, more and more people came, and everyone came in and took their seats.
As Sun Ce came out of the back hall and sat down, the first court meeting of the new year began.
"Dear ministers, the New Year has just passed. Let's keep this first court meeting simple and only discuss major matters. If there are any urgent or major matters, please tell us as soon as possible."
The ministers took a sip of hot tea and were silent for a moment before Zhuge Jin spoke first.
"Your Majesty, a large-scale plague has occurred in the east of Xuzhou, and it might have been even worse if it hadn't been for the cold weather. The local county magistrate has sent many letters, asking the court to allocate funds for disaster relief."
In some places during last year's war, corpses were not burned in time, and the plague may have been caused by this. Allocating funds for disaster relief is also a good opportunity to win over people in Xuzhou.
Sun Ce nodded and said simply.
"Just allocate 90,000 taels of silver to Gan Ning and tell him to pay attention to the disaster."
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty."
Zhuge Jin said something nice, and everyone fell silent again.
Some people were not sure whether the matter on their side was a big deal or not, but some people began to think about the news they had just received from Shu. This news was obviously a slap in the face of Chu State and did not take into account Chu State's request. Take it seriously.
"Your Majesty, the pensions for the fallen soldiers have been distributed, but the rewards for the meritorious soldiers have been urged many times, but Master Zhang has still not paid them."
After a long time, Hua Xin finally spoke about his urgent matter.
Rewards for meritorious soldiers are related to the morale of the army and should not be underestimated.
Sun Ce looked at Zhang Hong, who immediately explained.
"The statistics have been completed, but the number of cattle and sheep required for the reward is huge. Last year, the war between the princes caused the price of grain to rise. Many merchants went to the grain trade, so the purchase of cattle and sheep has not been enough. The Chamber of Commerce has raised the price of cattle and sheep. The business order, but it still needs a lot of time, please convert the shortfall into silver and distribute it."
If the rewards of some soldiers have been distributed and others have not been seen for several months, it may cause another problem.
Sun Ce nodded and understood Zhang Hong's difficulty. Sometimes, you have money but don't have the goods to buy. This is still Chu State's policy of building roads aggressively, and trade in other places will only lag further behind.
As for the distribution of cattle and sheep converted into silver taels, the large demand will increase the price of cattle and sheep. The part converted into silver taels may cause some losses to the soldiers who did not receive the cattle and sheep, but this policy may also restrain the rise in prices and prevent them from It has had a huge impact on people’s lives.
"It can be converted into silver. How many days will it take to release it? Please give me an accurate figure."
Zhang Hong frowned and cautiously raised his hands.
"The entrustment for large-scale purchases has been issued through the Chamber of Commerce. It will take some time to calculate the purchase situation. If there is any shortage, the required silver will be calculated. It will take about a month."
Sun Ce shook his head and said.
"I'll give you ten days, and it must be allocated to Hua Xin for distribution within ten days. As for the purchase orders for cattle and sheep, please accept them as usual and put them in the factory for maintenance."
Zhang Hong's frown was like a thick fog that could not be dispersed for thousands of years, so he had no choice but to answer now.
"Yes, take the order."
Zhang Zhao on the side rolled his eyes and said.
"Your Majesty, General Taishi promised to compensate the farmers for their losses when they burned the farmland. He already calculated the required 30,000 taels of silver years ago. Should he put it down now, or should he wait a little longer?"
What are you waiting for?
Are you waiting for Shu to pay compensation?
Everyone couldn't help but look at Zhang Zhao, he was the one who spoke freely.
When this matter was mentioned, Sun Ce's face was very calm. At least the ministers could not see any emotional fluctuations. They only listened to Sun Ce's calm words.
"It really should be released as soon as possible. You should be responsible for this matter. Don't delay the people's spring planting."
"yes."
After seeing Zhang Zhao agree to the promise, Sun Ce continued.
"Now that we have said this, all the officials and ministers must have heard the news about Shu's release of Zhang Ren. Let's talk about what you think."
The civil servants looked at each other, but no one said anything.
The generals could not hold back, so Huang Zhong spoke first.
"Your Majesty, Liu Zhang clearly deceived our Chu State to be exhausted after a long battle, and he expected that we would not attack Shu, so he dared to act like this. If our army has no response, won't we be despised by the kings? Please lead the troops to conquer Shu, and we will surely Take Yong'an County as a tribute to your Majesty."
"I second the proposal."
Zhao Yun cupped his fists and said.
"I second the proposal."
Jiang Qin cupped his fists and said
Capturing a county will not only involve the entire army and harm the country, but it can also demonstrate the strength of the Chu army and intimidate the princes. Huang Zhong's proposal is the most suitable proposal for the military.
Seeing that the three generals present were unanimous in their opinions, the other generals also seconded the case.
"Your Majesty, no!"
Seeing that the military was so unanimous, Zhang Hong couldn't sit still and quickly raised objections.
"Although the country is large, if it is warlike, it will perish!"
"The Chu State is indeed a powerful country, but the two Northern Expeditions have caused the Chu State's national strength to drop sharply. If the war resumes, it will inevitably cause material shortages, rising prices, and make the people restless. This is one; second, the war only ended a few months ago. The reorganization of the military system has just been completed. The middle-level generals and the lower-level soldiers have not yet become familiar with each other, and the military is exhausted. Thirdly, what General Huang said is based on the premise of victory. But if you lose, or the attack fails, not only It is only a waste of money and food, and it will also lose the reputation of Chu State."
"In my humble opinion, it would be more appropriate to stop fighting for the time being and wait for the Chu Kingdom to recover in three to five years before raising troops to capture Shu in one fell swoop."
As soon as Zhang Hong finished speaking, someone immediately retorted.
"Chief Zhang, what you said is too exaggerated."
Everyone followed the sound and saw that the person speaking was General Xu Sheng.
