The first time I was ordered to attend the imperial meeting was five days after Qimeier Khan left the capital.
After getting up in a hurry in the morning, Li Dan was still in a daze when Tao Niang put her in a black gauze turban, hugged her and kissed her, and then was pushed away: "Sir, you can't complain anymore, be careful if you are late for court. board!"
Li Dan chuckled: "Tao Niang, it's not like Chongzhen today, so I won't spank you all the time!"
"Who is Chongzhen? Is he also an emperor?" Tao Niang has never read any history books. She only knows "The Legend of Privet Chakra" and "Three Kingdoms", which Li Dan asked her to read.
This smile made Li Dan's eyes clear. He took a deep breath and walked outside to stretch his limbs: "Well, the air this early in the morning is quite good! But if those old people have to get up so early, it would be really annoying. ! Let’s go!」
As he walked out, he suddenly had a mischievous thought. He put his weight down and jumped up like a cat. He tapped his feet on the rockery and stood on the top of the rock.
Tao Niang jumped up and shouted: "Sir, come down quickly, don't climb over the wall. You are wearing an official robe!"
Looking at himself, Li Dan helplessly somersaulted back to the stone path. Tao Niang rushed over to help him tidy up, and slapped his thick back angrily: "Let's go!"
Li Dan strode outside. Lu Jiu and Mao Zaidi both held back their joy and hurriedly followed him.
The two-horse carriage surpassed the sedans in the eyes of many envious and jealous eyes, rumbled across the wide Qingfeng Bridge, entered Chengqing Gate, and checked the sign at the head of Shenxing Bridge, so the guards could no longer enter;
Then the carriage stopped at the north side of Chongguang Island under the guidance of Lieutenant Yilong. Lu Jiu and Mao Zaidi also stayed here. Only Li Dan crossed the Chongwen Bridge and walked towards the left gate of Chongguang.
"Hey, brother Li, you're here so early?" Hou Xie greeted Li Dan loudly on purpose.
Li Dan first saluted him and Li Gengsan, who were standing side by side, then looked back at Hou Xie's car and said meaningfully: "The two old generals arrived very early, and their legs and feet are much better than those of the juniors!"
"Ha! Isn't it your car? I took a piece of it with the Marquis of Qingcheng. The Marquis likes it very much. You have to ask them to speed up the construction. At this rate, when will my brother get a new car?"
As soon as Hou Xie finished speaking, several generals clamored to buy cars.
Li Dan spread his hands helplessly: "Generals, if I were Monkey King, I would have been able to conjure it up for everyone, but the problem is that the emperor won't allow it now!"
"Ah? Why is this?" Everyone was shocked.
"After the few cars on hand are built, we will stop working on all cars and rebuild wide-wheel trucks." Li Dan told them with a smile:
"That thing is great. One cart can pull 40 to 50 dan, and one cart can hold up to 10 carts. It can also be used on the flat land and meadows in western Liaoning!
The emperor asked me to add more manpower to the factory to achieve a monthly output of 300 to 400 vehicles, and then send all of them to western Liaoning! Moreover, we want to open another factory in Yanjing! "
Seeing that the generals' eyes were shining brightly, he smiled and said mysteriously: "Now there are ten cars in the library that are being installed with armor plates from the south. Which general goes to lead troops in western Liaoning, I will sell them to him at a discount!
But it’s up to us whether you can go or not. It’s up to you to express yourself, and ultimately His Majesty will make the decision! "
"Hey, Mr. Li, you're not fair! According to what you say, our civil servants have no chance at all?" Someone among the civil servants who gathered around shouted.
"Don't worry, don't worry, His Majesty will definitely send civilian officials to the army. Sirs, whoever goes can get a discount!" After Li Dan said this, he felt someone tugging on his sleeve, and then everyone around him took a step back.
When he turned around, he saw that it was Liu Mu, the commander of the Winged Dragon Guard. He had seen him in the Qianyuan Hall and quickly saluted him.
Liu Mu nodded and walked ahead. Li Dan followed and entered the leftmost doorway of the palace gate. Liu Mu stopped in the middle, turned around and said, "Your Majesty wants me to tell you two things."
"I accept the order..."
"Hey, I haven't finished speaking yet. Besides, this is an oral instruction and not an edict." Liu Mu grabbed him and said.
"The first thing is that he will appoint you as the commander-in-chief and frontline military envoy.
to suppress the envoy;
The second thing is, this time, let Lu Rui and Zhao Baogen accompany you to protect you. At the same time, Lu Qianhu has the right to command all the light and dark stakes of the Winged Dragon Guard in western Liaoning to facilitate this battle. However, you cannot command him directly. Understand Already? "
"Understood, he assists me, but is not my direct subordinate." Li Dan replied.
Liu Mu nodded with satisfaction and added: "The deputy envoy of the Yanjing left-behind office, Chen Yu, the commander of the Wing Dragon Guard, named Bingde, has already gone to Shanhaiguan to take charge. You can ask him for help if you need help." .
There is also a hundred households named Heli. He is a high-ranking official of the Egu people (a descendant of the Egu people who surrendered). He is responsible for the exchanges of the Seyan tribe. He has gone to Jinzhou. You don’t have to go to him, he will come to you. Li Dan listened and wrote everything down in his mind.
It seems that the emperor has greeted the Winged Dragon Guards and asked them to provide full assistance. But Liu Mu's last words almost frightened him: "According to His Majesty's decree, I will allocate twenty Winged Dragon Guards to guard you. Xiao Zhao will be the leader this time."
"Isn't it necessary?" Li Dan wanted to reject it. The pterosaur guard is a grace that is usually only available to those of level three or above. But after seeing the look in Liu Mu's eyes, Li Dan still bowed and clasped his fists and said, "My lord, thank you for your kindness. I will certainly fulfill my mission!"
When the emperor went to court, it turned out that he did not wear a nine-pointed crown and a large dress as shown in the TV series in his previous life.
There are a lot of jingling sachets, jade pendants, jade pendants, jade bis, seals and buttons hanging on the thirteen-ring belt, and they are marching step by step to the sound of grand music, which is only done during the festival. the situation seen.
In ordinary court meetings, which is now the imperial meeting, Zhao Tuo wore a jade crown and a hairpin of the same texture on his head, a yellow dark dragon-patterned tuxedo and a tunic of the same color, with a white turban with a longevity pattern underneath. Silk fake collar;
The outer suit is a plain blue caged smoke gauze armor, and the feet are cowhide boots with lotus head. Around the waist is a leather belt inlaid with jade plates, on which are hung a goldfish bag, a sachet, a hip-pressing knife and lapis lazuli tassels.
Zhao Tuo seemed to have slept well last night. He was in good spirits, confident and calm. He walked to the throne and pressed his hand down, then sat down first. After all the ministers paid their respects, they all sat down.
The emperor first heard from the cabinet about the progress of spring plowing and the reactions of miners from various places to the new law. Next, the Ministry of Household Affairs and the Ministry of Industry reported on the canal dredging and the repair of two locks, and the resulting impact on border grain transportation.
Then Yang Shi'an of the Ministry of War stood up and informed everyone of the movements of Kerr's major armies. Shangshu Gulin had been ordered to leave the capital for Shenyang to coordinate various forces and perform the duties of the Ministry of War on his behalf.
Although the news of Kergo's southward movement has been circulating for almost a month, this is the first time this has been made public in court. There was silence in the main hall, everyone was waiting for the emperor to express his position.
"Not long after I issued the edict to confer the title of Qimeir Khan, Kerge boldly sent troops to attack Monan. This is unbearable!" The emperor looked at the ministers with dignity:
"I have sent an edict to Qimeier Khan to grant him the military power of Monan. The Governor of the Five Armies, I intend to follow the example of the Tang Dynasty and re-establish the Hanhai Protectorate. Do you have any candidates to serve as the Commander-in-Chief of the Five Armies?"
"Your Majesty," Hou Xie looked at his left and right, stood up and replied on behalf of the Commander-in-Chief of the Fifth Army: "I recommend Tongzhi, Commander-in-Chief of the Right Army, General Yunhui, and Neixiang Hou Deng Zhu to take up this post."
"It's accurate!" Zhao Tuo nodded. After Hou Xie sat down, the emperor said again:
"I have ordered Wang Qing of the Ministry of Rites to come to Seyan to find a candidate for the concubine for King Ding. The two families are about to turn a century of war into friendship and become relatives. Lu Yan also reached an agreement with the court under the mediation of the ancient minister of the Ministry of War. Settlement and mutual market agreements.
Unexpectedly, this time Kelge actually used the two tribes as his enemies, intending to annex them and then quickly, his wolfish ambition was so great! I cannot bear this great humiliation, so I am determined to attack! "After speaking, he looked at Yang Shi'an:
"The Ministry of War immediately strengthens the defenses of Jizhen and Xuanfu, and mobilizes all the guards to gather forward. Order the guards of Yingzhou to advance to Baimachuan, the guards of Xingzhou to advance to Kuanchengzi, and the guards of Jianchang to advance to Longwang Temple. Beili Village defended.
At the same time, the cabinet sent officials to the above places to pick up the fleeing Seyan people, properly resettle them, provide appropriate relief, and carry out the construction of castles, roads, barriers, and trenches through work-for-relief methods, so as not to worry about starvation.
At the same time, the Ministry of War sent
Send necessary generals to form regiments and train them, and perform scouting and guerrilla missions. After saying that, he turned to the Governor's Mansion of the Fifth Army again: "There is a temporary general guard Seyan outside the border wall. Your Majesty and others can recommend a candidate."
Hou Xie stood up again and elected Zhang Cunli, the right commander of the rear army, and the emperor immediately approved the performance. Everyone can see that His Majesty has come prepared. I am afraid that he has already had a deal with the Governor's Mansion of the Fifth Army, and even the candidates have been decided long ago.
No one said anything until this point, but when the emperor talked about gathering 50,000 troops to western Liaoning, there was quite a commotion among the ministers.
"This is the first batch. The Japanese Preparatory Army in Denglai and the Shenwu Army stationed in Hebei will continue to send reinforcements of 30,000 people to Niuzhuang and Liaoyang." After the emperor finished speaking, the buzzing below became louder.
The imperial censor had to shout loudly: "Quiet!"
Eighty thousand people, everyone can see this posture, they are preparing for a big fight in western Liaoning!
"Your Majesty, I really don't understand why you want to go to war?
If the Kelge people come south, it will only cause losses to Seyan and Luyan. Our army only needs to strengthen the border wall defense, and it makes sense to go forward for defense for tens of miles at most. Is such a mobilization too much?
Is there any exaggeration? Your Majesty, please enlighten me! "The person who spoke was Zhou Zaiyun, the left minister of the Ministry of Revenue. This man was a master of calculations. He had written many books on calculations and was an expert in calculations.
But he can't speak and often offends people. The moment he opened his mouth, the Ministry of War and the Fifth Army Commander's Office were offended, and everyone immediately stared at him angrily.
"Master Zhou, this is inappropriate, right? Do you think the Ministry of War and we are useless, or do you think you are better at commanding the army than we are?"
Li Gengsan asked in a deep voice, shaking his beard. Gu Lin was a junior and could not resist, and Hou Xie had a bad temper, so the old master stood up.
"Um..., that's not what I meant." Zhou Zaiyun also knew that he had said the wrong thing, so he held his neck and defended: "Don't be angry at all. I just want to ask the truth!"
"The fact is that you don't understand military affairs, so shut up!"
"you……!"
Zhao Tuo coughed, and seeing that both of them were silent, he said: "The royal censor, the second minister, has behaved disrespectfully in the palace, please record it!" Then he said:
"What Zhou Qing is worried about is nothing more than mobilizing the army and wasting money and food. However, this time I don't intend to let the Ministry of Revenue suffer losses and try to issue national debt. Liu Daban will tell you the details."
Seeing him nodding, Eunuch Liu took a step forward and explained the methods for printing and issuing treasury bonds, issuance and trading of treasury bonds, which immediately shocked the whole audience.
"It's unheard of for a country to borrow money, it's unprecedented!"
"Where is the face of the Celestial Empire?"
"My lords," Zhao Tuo said loudly, "if you have a better way to raise military expenses, I am all ears."
"Your Majesty, I still have the same question, is this battle necessary?" Zhou Zaiyun stood up again.
"I don't know. I have to ask Kerge about this." Zhao Tuo was a little unhappy and said coldly: "Whether he wants to enter Liaoxi or threaten Liaoyang, I and all the ministers will do it. I couldn’t win, so I had to prepare for the worst.”
"But if he never entered Liaoxi, would it be worthwhile for the court to spend so much time and effort?"
Zhao Tuo frowned, his expression a little ugly. At this time, a voice said: "I have a question for Mr. Zhou." Zhao Tuo looked for the source of the voice. He saw someone in the last row of civil servants raising his hand, and his expression immediately softened: "Yes!"
Li Dan stepped forward, reported his name first, and then turned to Zhou Zaiyun: "I would like to ask Mr. Zhou for advice."
"How dare you, Tanhua Lang, please tell me." Zhou Zaiyun wondered when this little man ran out with a smile. What did he want to ask?
"May I ask, sir, did the Ministry of Household Affairs, which was responsible for transporting tribute rice via waterways from the south of the Yangtze River, say anything about it?"
"some."
"Does this float happen every year, and is there a fixed number of floats every year?"
"This...of course not, it's slightly different every year."
"But when the customs calculates the carrying capacity, it will still be over-calculated by a certain amount, right?"
"Exactly."
"Since the amount of drift varies every year, why do officials calculate the drift in fixed increments when measuring? Could it be that they can predict it?"
"Of course not!" Zhou Zaiyun shook his sleeves angrily:
"The so-called actual amount of rice that is floating is only known after the shipment arrives. When officials measure the surplus, they are to ensure that the amount of tribute rice delivered to each warehouse in the capital is correct. Even if there is a slight floating of rice in the middle, the total amount will not be affected! "
"Then this is a way to prepare for a rainy day. Is it okay for me to understand this?"
Zhou Zaiyun nodded.
Li Dan turned to the Ministry of War and the Fifth Army Governor's Mansion: "You sirs and generals all understand what floatation is, and how to charge an increment in advance to prevent the floatation from causing losses to the total amount of tribute rice delivered to the capital. ? Do you know how Tobe prepared for a rainy day?"
Everyone either nodded or cupped their hands and said, "That's it, I have been taught something!"
"But..., what does Li Tanhua's question have to do with the army gathering in western Liaoning?" Zhou Zaiyun was puzzled.
"What he means is that the Ministry of Hubu has plans for preparing for rainy days, and the Ministry of War also has plans for the Ministry of War. Is that right?" Sun Fu (the right minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs) smiled and explained to Li Dan.
"Thank you, Mr. Sun!" Li Dan learned from his brother that Sun Fu was a young official who was close to Yangzhong and one of the people whom the emperor had more trust in. After bowing to him and thanking him, he said to Zhou Zaiyun:
"The area in western Liaoning is vast, and the distance between the two cities can be hundreds of miles. However, Kerge's cavalry is obviously faster than our infantry. When he has already entered the Daqingshan court and then mobilizes his troops, I am afraid that on the way to the front line, the cities and fortresses will be destroyed. All have been lost.
The Ministry of War's mobilization of troops to western Liaoning is a kind of military preparation for a rainy day, which is very normal. "
"Hmph, but they cost tens or millions of taels of silver to mobilize troops!" Zhou Zaiyun said.
"Didn't His Majesty just say that the National Debt Law can be used to absorb private funds without having to spend too much money from the national treasury?"
Li Dan secretly cursed in his heart. If you talk more, I will ask you how much value you collect every year, and how much of it is actually used to offset losses? Let’s see how you explain the destination of the extra grain collected every year!
Unexpectedly, Zhou Zaiyun was a straight man. When he heard Li Dan talk about the national debt, he immediately followed his words and turned his focus to the national debt: "I don't understand. If the country has money, it will do things, but if it doesn't, it will not do anything. Why should it borrow money from the private sector?" ?」
"You old man is really pedantic. People's hooves are about to step into my house, and you are still here to instigate such sesame things!" Hou Xie finally couldn't help but jumped up and shouted loudly.
"Having said that, Zhou asked the old general, what if he spent a million taels of silver and each of them didn't come at all? Could it be that the old general was selling iron to repay the debt for the court?
And there are those two cents of interest, where will this money come from? "Zhou Zaiyun was also angry. He clapped his hands together and made a "pop" sound without caring about any disrespect before the emperor.
"Don't be anxious, General Hou. Mr. Zhou doesn't understand why we need so much money and in such a hurry.
Mr. Zhou also didn’t understand. In fact, he had just said that the national debt would be guaranteed by the salt tax revenue from the Changlu Saltworks. In the future, the pastures, cultivated land, and orchards in the occupied area would be sold or leased, and the interest would be deducted from the proceeds.
In this way, it is true that the court can borrow money from the private sector without having to spend a large amount of money. The private sector not only has a good reputation when lending money to the court, but also earns a large amount of interest. Things that are beneficial to both parties should not face much resistance when moving forward.
In addition, the meaning of His Majesty the Genius actually includes two levels: to provide support in front of the West Road, and to prepare and assemble on the East Road; to support Seyan on the West Front, and to expand territory on the East Front! What kind of ambition is this?
We can use one team to complete two tasks, isn't it a good deal? "
"Opening up new territories and expanding territory?" All the civil servants were stunned for a moment. Is there such a statement in it?
"You didn't hear it?" Li Dan looked at everyone, then took the paper from Liu Kan's hand, opened it and looked for it:
"Look, here it says that the Liaoxi armies are to deploy along the lines of Lizhou, Yizhou, and Hongzhou and advance to Kulun, and be ready for a joint battle with the invading enemy on the line from Daqingshan to Wudan.
May I ask Mr. Zheng from the Ministry of Civil Affairs, are the above places the cities where our dynasty has officials and guards? "
Zheng Shou shook his head: "No, these areas were occupied by the late emperor during the Northern Expedition, but before he could set up an official government, the former emperor died on the way, and the army turned back, and then Seyan reoccupied them. Nowadays, they are all places where E and Han people live together. Seyan appointed officials to manage it."
"Thank you, Mr. Zheng!" Li Dan thanked him and asked with a smile: "Do you understand, sir? Your Majesty obviously wants to fight against Kerge, but secretly wants to recover the land of these three states and two counties. This is not to expand the frontier. Is it earthy?”
"Oh, that's it!" All the civil servants suddenly realized, and smiles immediately appeared on their faces. Since ancient times, the expansion of territory by emperors has always been a major matter of civil and military affairs, which is worthy of praise and difficult to stop.
Zhou Zaiyun thought for a while, then cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty is ambitious and I admire it. But I only hope that your Majesty will think twice before acting and not start provocations, so as to avoid the lessons of the three expeditions in the late Sui Dynasty (referring to Emperor Yang's three expeditions to Goguryeo, which wasted national power)."
"I am very grateful for Zhou Qing's loyalty. Before the meeting, I not only consulted many important ministers for their opinions, but also informed the Queen Mother." Zhao Tuo knew that Zhou Zaiyun was also a veteran of three dynasties, so he brought the Queen Mother out to speak:
"Kerge's cavalry traveled hundreds of miles a day. If Seyan and Luyan hadn't fought desperately to stop them, they would have crossed the Coco River (Qingcheng to Daning line) by now.
That's why I decided to prepare for the battle. On the one hand, we must try our best to break Kerge's edge so that he will not dare to peek into our western Liaoning.
On the other hand, we took the opportunity to establish a tributary-affiliated vassal relationship with Seyan and Luyan. At the same time, as Li Qing said, we must try our best to make the territory expanded by the late emperor truly belong to the Celestial Dynasty. This battle is of great importance, and I hope you will do your best to help me in order to succeed! "
The ministers in the palace all stood up and bowed in response: "I will work hard and march forward for His Majesty!"
Originally Hou Xie wanted to be the military commander in western Liaoning, but Li Gengsan dissuaded him.
In the end, the Fifth Army Governor's Office recommended the relatively young and experienced Shi Hao to this position. He has now been promoted to the deputy governor of the Left Army Governor's Office (third rank), and holds the title of Right Guard.
Li Dan had met him once in Fuzhou. Unexpectedly, he was an acquaintance this time, and he was very happy.
Then, as expected, the emperor issued an order asking Li Dan to serve under Shi Hao as a member of the army and the general governor.
"Throw in monthly tickets, recommendation tickets, and reading tickets. I'll take whatever you have!"
