When the decree came down, even Li Dan himself didn't expect it. It's okay to just go directly to Zhongshu and work as a member of the Communist Party of China. What's the deal with this part-time job in Zhongshu? Translated in the words of the previous life, it would be: Secretary of the State Council and Deputy Director of the National Security Bureau?
Li Dan couldn't say anything about such a nondescript appointment. He kowtowed in a serious manner and thanked the Lord for his kindness. When he stood up, he felt that everyone's eyes were on him.
At this time, King Ding came over to join in the fun and congratulated him with a smile: "Sanlang, you are really silent. I was stunned by this decree. I think you are the first one to be appointed in this way by Yijia since the founding of this dynasty! "
"Can you pull it down and congratulate me? I think you are gloating about your misfortune. It's a shame that I asked them to replace all your carriages with nan board. I should have known that camphor wood should be used!"
Li Dan thanked Chitose, then leaned closer and whispered viciously: "Who came up with this idea? Why do you want to work part-time in the Fang Division and choose another division, even the Arms Division?"
King Ding covered his mouth to hold back until his face turned red, and walked away as if he was not a prostitute anyway. Some of the fellow scholars came over to congratulate him, while others were surprised and whispered to each other from a distance.
At this time, even a fool can see that King Ding and Li Dan must have known each other before, and their friendship is not shallow! Someone who knew about Li Dan's background quietly told everyone, and then everyone understood the secret.
There is no way, I don’t have a father to fight for, but what I fight for is the relationship with the emperor. This... I really can’t fight for it!
The number one scholar Dou Qing was a gentleman. He was almost the same in stature as Li Dan, but gentle and humble. Like Qian Min, he was a bookworm. He had a "half-street building" at home, which contained more than 6,400 books and 3,000 books. Multiple scrolls.
At this time, he and Qian Min were chatting enthusiastically, and even made an appointment to go to Tongwen Hall with them. Qian Min took him to find Li Dan and told him: "Li Tanhua is my nephew. He is now in Zhongshu Province. It must be easy to enter Tongwen Hall!"
"So you are uncle and nephew who went to high school together? Oh, this is a great story!" Dou Qing said in surprise.
"The Number One Scholar is also interested in Tongwen Hall? It's easy to handle. I'll take care of it!" Li Dan said, patting his chest.
"Yes, Li Zedong's name will be spread all over the world today. What does a Tongwenguan mean?" Zhou Junlan, the second place winner, came over and said:
"I heard that Tanhua Palace ranked first in the strategy analysis, and I admire you very much! But I don't know how good your poetry skills are. Tomorrow, I will learn from you at the Qionglin Banquet in Xinglin Garden!"
Hearing him speak a little sourly, and obviously unconvinced, Li Dan waved his hands repeatedly: "This little guy, Dan is not outstanding in this field, I don't dare to live up to your expectations."
"Brother Yisheng (Zhou Junlan's nickname), why bother?" Dou Qing said: "What Zedong is good at, you and I can't do. What you and I are good at is not what he is good at. The purpose of recruiting talents in the country is to complement each other. If you seek all-rounders, Qian How many people can there be among a hundred people?"
It turned out that Dou Qing saw that Zhou Junlan was not satisfied with Li Dan and was also contemptuous, so he stepped forward to protect Li Dan. Zhou Junlan didn't want to offend the champion, so she had no choice but to laugh and walk away.
"This man seems to have evil intentions. It would be better for us gentlemen not to confront him." Qian Min warned Li Dan in a low voice.
"As the saying goes, if the water is clear, there will be no fish. As long as we serve as officials with the heart of the world and awe of the emperor's power, even if there is a villain, it will not be a problem for me!"
Dou Qing said proudly that Li Dan saw that he was a scholarly person, but he was an upright person. He thought he was quite lovable and a trustworthy gentleman, so he nodded in agreement.
Next comes the stage where one and three people wear hairpins and ride horses through the streets, which is one of the most satisfying things in life.
Unexpectedly, Li Dan changed his robes and put on a flowery hairpin, but he saw Liu Xi coming out of breath: "We have a decree to announce that Xinke is looking for flowers, and Li Dan, the head of the staff department, will see him at the Qiande Palace."
Everyone was surprised, and officials from the Ministry of Rites encountered this situation for the first time. He had no choice but to watch Li Dan follow Liu Xi and enter the palace again amidst the sound of drum music.
"Hey, this honor really steals the spotlight from the top pick and the second pick!" an official whispered to his colleagues.
However, they were relieved, because this had never happened before, so they prepared two sets of guide cards compiled by the Hanlin Academy (commonly known as the Tiger Head Cards, with official titles written on them to show off one's style).
But the emperor was so playful that the Ministry of Etiquette had no time to redo it, so he had to temporarily replace it with the original sign.
On the left and right sides of the yellow paper were written "Given by Imperial Majesty, Secretary Yuan Wailang" and "Given by Imperial Genius, Chief of Staff Department" respectively.
Now that Li Dan is not participating in the official parade, everyone in the Ministry of Rites is relieved.
He hurriedly followed Liu Xi to the Qiande Hall. After signing up, Li Dan looked up and saw that half of the room was filled with military attache robes.
The rules of this dynasty are similar to those of the previous Song Dynasty (Northern Song Dynasty). Purple is used for the first to second ranks, scarlet is used for the third and fourth ranks, green is used for the fifth and sixth ranks, and brown is used for the seventh rank and below.
In terms of style, civil servants wear dark official uniforms, tied around the waist with a belt. The materials of the belts are gold, silver, jade, and wood, matching the color of their respective uniforms. The head is covered with black gauze, and the hairpin is made of the same material as the plate.
The military attache wears an arrow-sleeved coat with a pull-on belt, and a leather belt to tie the waist. The buckles and hooks are made of gold, silver, jade, and copper, which also match the color of the clothes.
Wearing a leather bean beam crown on the head, the hairpin is made of the same material as the belt hook. Therefore, whether it is a civil servant or a military attache, and roughly what level the other party is, you can tell them at a glance from a distance.
Most of the people in this room were dressed as military attachés, and there were five or six civil servants who smiled and nodded slightly when they saw him coming in. Li Dan guessed that these people should be officials of the Ministry of War. Judging from their clothes, they included the minister, the left and right ministers, and the ministers of each room.
"Tanhua Lang is here? Sorry, I am discussing matters in Monan with the Ministry of War and the Fifth Army Commander's Office, so I have to call you here."
Zhao Tuo waved Li Dan over and introduced him to Hou Xie (the left governor, Lin Dachong, was ill) and other generals. He also introduced the Minister of War, Gu Lin, the left minister Yang Shi'an, and the right minister Qian Gong.
There is also Li Dan's immediate boss, Fang Si Lang Zhong Cai Ying. He is a fair-skinned guy with a mustache and small eyes, who looks a bit sneaky.
"Just now, the Zhifang Division said it had received the latest report. An insider in the caravan reported that they heard that thousands of cavalry from Mobei had appeared in Harai, and Seyan had already issued an alarm and asked all ministries to Warriors assemble." The emperor introduced Li Dan.
He did it so naturally that most of the ministers didn't expect it and exchanged looks with each other in surprise.
Li Dan was dissatisfied with such lackluster information. He frowned, raised his hands and asked, "May I ask Master Cai, when did you receive this report, and where and when did the caravan hear about it? "..
"From the border to the capital, setting off to the border..." Cai Ying rolled his eyes and counted with his fingers like a god: "They should have heard the news forty days ago!"
"Forty days?" Li Dan immediately turned to the emperor: "Your Majesty, maybe Kelge is already attacking Yidu City by this time. We can no longer hesitate. We need to mobilize our troops immediately to prepare for war. At the same time, the envoys to Seyan must also leave quickly. !」
"Are you worried?"
"I'm worried that Zha'eqi Khan won't be able to resist. Now we not only have to recruit him into the group, but we also have to find a way to let Seyan hold off Kerge and give us time to arrange and mobilize!"
"Well, I'll take care of that! So, do you still think they will come in via Cullen's way?"
"Your Majesty, as long as he continues eastward, he will aim at western Liaoning. As long as he wants to enter western Liaoning, he can only take this mountain pass." Hou Xie said:
"Of course, he can also go southeast and cross the mountains. That would be much slower, and it would be dangerous to get too close to the border wall.
I thought Ye Bihan would use a quick word to make a fuss about his attack this time, and he would win before everyone could catch their breath. What he was afraid of was that something unexpected would happen in the middle, for example, he would be held back somewhere! "
"What the old general said is extremely reasonable!" Li Dan agreed: "I have three suggestions. First, send more manpower to the grasslands to find out the news; second, immediately mobilize troops from Western Liaoning, Southern Liaoning, and Dengzhou to attack Xingzhong, Yizhou, and Gathering in Hongzhou..."
"That's already the border." The speaker was former military commander Sun Anguo: "How can we ensure food and grass when the army is mobilized? It's a desolate Dadianzi with hundreds of miles of uninhabited people!"
"Senior, don't worry. I'll think of a solution. I can even help with military pay. The key now is to be fast! You also know the speed of the cavalry. If we don't get ready ahead of them, we will be very passive later!"
Li Dan nodded to Hou Xie: "The right governor also said just now that this guy just wanted to catch us off guard, but he probably didn't expect us to notice it so quickly.
His movements. Also, how long Seyan can hold him off is also the key! "
Gu Lin was very surprised as he listened. He had not yet figured out why Li Dan, a newcomer from the south, was so familiar with grassland affairs, and it seemed that he, His Majesty, and Hou Xie should have known each other for a long time.
Although he is not as good as his father in military command, he still has a good eye for people as a civilian official. "Li Tanhua, you just said you had a way to raise military pay and food? What are you going to do?"
He asked: "You know, preparing rations for tens of thousands of troops in a hurry is no joke!"
"Dan would like to ask, Sir, how many troops can be mobilized to the front line in the shortest possible time this time? How much military pay and food will be required?"
Gu Lin and his subordinates discussed a few words on the ground, and then reported to the emperor: "Let the Ningyuan guard go out from Lizhou, and the Guangning Zhongtun guard go out from Xingzhong. The two troops together have 5,000 people.
The total strength of the Guangning Guards, Guangning Tun Guards, Gaizhou Guards, Haizhou Guards, Dongning Guards, Shenyang Zhongwei and Liaodong Town's direct troops is 30,000;
The Tieling Guards and Liaohai Guards have just completed training and have 8,000 people. These two teams can be transferred to Lizhou. "
"I would like to give you a suggestion, Lord Shangshu. You can urgently mobilize the two guards from Jinzhou and Fuzhou to the north. Let the Japanese troops from Deng, Lai, Weihai, and Yantai enter Jin, Hai, and Gai as reinforcements. At the same time, move the two guards from Ping and Funing into Jinzhou. defense."
Li Gengsan said with his eyes slightly closed, it can be seen that the situation map of the Bohai Rim region is all in the old man's mind.
"But even so, there are only more than 50,000 people. Can this battle be won?" Someone whispered, and the emperor frowned, obviously he was also worried. "And it's spread over such a long front..." said another general.
The emperor looked at Li Dan, but Li Dan was looking at Gu Lin: "What if we add the mobilization needs of the two routes in Shandong and Hebei Pass?"
"There are close to 80,000 people. If the war lasts for three months, it will require at least 145,000 shi of food. This does not include the cost of fodder and beans for livestock, nor does it include the cost of bows, arrows, crossbows, gunpowder, etc. , We still have to transport these long distances to the front line!" He said and sighed.
"Well, then even if we add up all these, 1.2 million taels will be enough, right?" Li Dan asked.
Gu Lin stared: "Of course it would be enough if I had it, but where can I find so much money? Why can't the Ministry of Revenue strangle me to death?" Everyone laughed.
"Master An, a scholar, how can I pinch you?" The emperor also laughed out loud, and then his expression suddenly changed when Li Dan said something.
"That's enough for one and a half million taels. Your Majesty, please mobilize the troops. I will discuss with Your Majesty how to provide this money right away."
"You said one and a half million, but don't take my word for it!" Zhao Tuo turned around and walked into the back of the palace to "change clothes" and said viciously to Li Dan who followed him: "The palace doesn't have that much money. You Do we need to demolish this hall and sell it for money?"
"Well... it won't be worth so much if it's demolished!" Li Danman looked up at the main hall seriously and said, "Actually, your Majesty has something better, just use it as a mortgage and then issue treasury bonds to the merchants. "
"What do you mean?" Zhao Tuo didn't turn around.
"As long as the Ministry of Revenue can come up with 400,000 taels right now, the troops can start taking action. You first discuss with Mr. An to mortgage Huangzhuang as security and ask him to allocate funds to the Ministry of War for emergency response;
Then we will issue treasury bonds to the businessmen and get the remaining 1.1 million taels from them. "
Zhao Tuo asked what Mingguo bonds were, and he was both angry and funny: "Businessmen are not stupid. You print a ticket on paper and ask them to come up with money. Isn't this a joke?"
Besides, if it can be solved with just a few pieces of paper, why go to all that trouble? Wouldn't it be solved just by printing some votes? "
"Why doesn't Your Majesty seal it?"
"How can you print the meeting ticket at will? It is something printed by a bank. You can exchange it for money or cash with your colleagues anywhere you go, or you can use it as banknotes. The imperial court is not a bank, how can you print this? ?" Zhao Tuo had an expression on his face that said, "Don't think I don't understand."
"The key to the bank's ability to print banknotes is that everyone thinks or knows that they have coins or cash in their treasury, right?" Zhao Tuo thought about this and thought about it.
head. Li Dan went on to say:
"So, if the court wants to borrow money from a businessman, it must find something as collateral that is recognized as valuable and scarce and that he can really get his hands on!"
"This is the truth. What do you want to use as collateral? The scarce things in this palace are the golden nanmu and the gold foil on it." Zhao Tuo replied half-jokingly.
"Hey, your Majesty, can you be more serious? I'm talking about Changlu Saltworks and Dongping Iron Mine!"
"What?" Zhao Tuo almost shouted: "Oh, I understand! You mean to use the salt and iron industry monopolized by the imperial court as collateral, and then borrow money from merchants? This..."
"Your Majesty, don't hesitate. When the Kerrs invade Liaodong, it won't be a matter of borrowing 150,000 yuan!" Looking into Li Dan's eyes, Zhao Tuo admitted that he was telling the truth. Now both sides want the word "quick". Whoever is late will be unlucky.
"Another way is to use the salt courses in Hebei, Shandong and Shuntian Prefecture as a guarantee, and pay it back in three years with two cents of interest." After Li Dan finished speaking, he added in a low voice:
"Two points of interest is very low. People generally start with three points of interest, and the law stipulates that it should not be higher than five points.
However, first of all, our mortgages and collateral are very strong, and the private sector cannot compare with them. Secondly, no private sector can borrow so much and on such a large scale!
Thirdly, the government prints the national debt notes and allows creditors to bring the notes to the four capitals and the Chief Secretary's Customs Bureau to handle the transfer procedures. The new creditor delivers the purchase price in person, and the Banknote Customs Bureau collects the deed tax and completes the transfer of the bond. .
In this way, the bond becomes a negotiable security. "
"What do you mean? How much can this bond be sold for, how much do they want to sell it for?" Zhao Tuo was confused.
"Yes, if the war is fought well, the bond's value will double. If the war is not fought well, the creditor can sell it and transfer it at a low price."
"Speculation?" Zhao Tuo immediately remembered this word.
"Your Majesty, businessmen can't afford it early because they have no profit. What's wrong with giving them a chance to speculate? It's better than letting them privately raise food and oil prices, right?"
The corners of Zhao Tuo's mouth slowly raised: "Li Sanlang, don't you see how bad you are! In that case, why don't we get more bonds in the future?"
Li Dan thought you were the bad one! "Your Majesty, national bonds can be issued as a supplement to the Ministry of Revenue's finances. However, these things cannot be issued indiscriminately. After all, there is still interest that must be cashed out. If it cannot be cashed out, it will be a big disaster!"
"Then, if you make two cents profit this time, where will the money come from?"
"Have you forgotten? After this battle, we will take back all the land from Kulun to Lizhou. Along the Liutiaogou Valley to the foot of Wudan and Daqing Mountains, there will be more than millions of acres of cultivated land and pasture?
Wouldn't it be easy to use it to repay the two cents? Not only did he have the martial arts skills to open up new territories, he could also immigrate tens of thousands of people from the Central Plains, he also greatly weakened Kerge, and became relatives with Seyan. You have achieved multiple things with one stone, Your Majesty! "
Li Dan followed suit, and a confident and satisfied smile appeared on Zhao Tuo's face.
"Please make a quick note, and I'll take care of it at the household department." He raised his head slightly, narrowed his eyes, and looked ambitious.
The emperor had already prioritized all the important tasks in his mind, and thought about how to arrange the relationship between the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Household Affairs, as well as how other departments such as the Ministry of Rites should cooperate before and after the battle.
When Li Dan left the palace, all the boasting and gossiping on the street had ended. Lu Jiu didn't see his young master riding a white horse and wearing red flowers, and he looked unhappy as a boss.
"Okay, don't show off!" Li Dan said with a smile: "I was called away by the imperial edict. You don't know how many people are envious of me. Do you know that this is called the Holy Family? It means that His Majesty likes your young master. "
"I don't understand this. Lu Jiu knows that everyone else is happy, but where is my young master? No one has seen it!" Lu Jiu didn't buy it, and he didn't care about the horse walking aimlessly on the street.
"Where are you going?" Li Dan was amused and shouted out of the car window.
Lu Jiu finally came to his senses and saw that the place around him was a bit strange. "Hey, it seems we've already passed by!" he shouted, and quickly asked others to find out that this place had already passed Huiluanmen, and even crossed Xueyan Bridge.
See him and think about it
Li Dan quickly stopped him. Although this car is flexible, if you want to make a U-turn on the city streets, won't it block the road? "Forget it, keep walking to Sihaiju, Xiangjun Road!" He told Lu Jiu. I have been busy since the Lou family came to Beijing, so I might as well stop by and see them today.
