"It seems that he has great ambitions but forgets about the benefits. He has neither broad mind nor long-term vision."
Jiujiang County is not far from Luoyang. Not long after Zuo Li got the news, the court received the news.
In Prime Minister Yang Biao's duty room, Yang Biao, Wang Yun, Huangfu Song, and Lu Zhi said.
Lu Zhi nodded thoughtfully and said: "Prime Minister, Yuan Shao may not be able to defend Jiujiang, and Sun Jian's situation will be critical."
The main forces attacking Jing and Yang states were Yuan Shao and Sun Jian.
Yang Biao's fat face suddenly became serious and said: "What countermeasures does the Grand Sima Mansion have?"
Lu Zhi glanced at Huangfu Song from the corner of his eye and said: "The Grand Sima Mansion is considering calling Gongsun Zan and Dong Zhuo."
Wang Yun's indifferent face immediately turned cold and said: "Gongsun Zan is easy to say, can the Grand Sima Mansion mobilize Dong Zhuo?"
"Yes." Huangfu Songxi's words are like golden words.
Compared with Lu Zhi, Huangfu Song's words undoubtedly carry more weight.
Wang Yun looked at him, paused, and said, "Are you sure you can persuade His Majesty to agree?"
As soon as these words came out, Yang Biao's expression became even more solemn.
"His Majesty has authorized the Grand Sima Mansion to have full authority to deal with it." Lu Zhi said.
Yang Biao's face softened slightly and he said, "What do you need from the Chancery?"
Lu Zhi pondered for a moment and said: "Da Sima's Mansion has already prepared countermeasures for the war in the south. The reason for coming to the Prime Minister's Mansion today is for Jizhou."
Yang Biao was startled and said: "Didn't the memorial from Ying Shao, Zhang Liao and others say that the Black Mountain Army retreated and that there would be no problems for the time being?"
Wang Yun suddenly seemed moved and said, "Is there another rebellion in Jizhou?"
Lu Zhi raised his hand and said to the two of them: "Prime Minister, Prince, Zhao Yun secretly attacked Yudu and Bailuo's lair, robbed money and food, and burned down the stronghold. These two people were angered without money and food, and they will not give up. The autumn harvest is coming, and the Black Mountain Army After fighting for several months, the food and fodder will be exhausted. At this time, instead of retreating, they will become even crazier."
Yang Biao understood, his fat face was as straight as iron, and his little eyes kept blinking.
Although he values 'inaction', he is not really a fool. He understood it instantly, and said in a more urgent tone: "Tell me the truth, how many people are there in the Montenegrin Army?"
Wang Yun looked solemn and nervous, and then said: "The total number of officers and soldiers in Jizhou is close to 50,000. Isn't it still possible to defend it?"
Lu Zhi and Huangfu Song looked at each other, hesitated again, and said: "The Black Mountain Army is complex and widely distributed. It seems to be an alliance but not unified. They basically fight on their own. They act in a disorderly manner and are spread all over Jizhou. Ying Shao We are surrounded by enemies everywhere, so we can neither divide our troops to attack them, nor can we protect the entire territory."
"Ying Shao, Zhang Liao and others, although they have 50,000 troops, no matter whether they defend separately or join forces, they can't stop the Black Mountain Army from plundering Jizhou."
"It is difficult for the Grand Sima Mansion to judge how many Black Mountain Army there are. Judging from the intelligence from various places, every time they go out, they bring their families with them, including men, women, old and young. Each one claims to be tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands. The total By inference, the Black Mountain Army in Jizhou should be more than 300,000, and the young and strong army should be around 80,000."
"If you want to wipe out the Montenegro Army, you not only need money and food, but you also need generals to coordinate and integrate them into one, forcing the rebels to gather and decide in one battle."
Wang Yun listened to Lu Zhi's words and blurted out: "Shouldn't we defeat them one by one?"
Huangfu Song said: "The Black Mountain Army has always fled upon hearing the news, sneaked into the mountains and forests, and defended against the dangers of the official army. The hills at various places are either easy to defend and difficult to attack, or there are so many people that it takes months or even years to break through. , the imperial court cannot waste it in vain."
To put it bluntly, the imperial court did not have enough money and food to support tens of thousands of troops for several months or longer.
Wang Yun understood what he heard this time and said: "Who does the Grand Sima Mansion plan to send to lead the troops? When will they send out troops to conquer?"
Lu Zhi looked at him and said, "I wonder how much military pay the Shang Shutai can provide?"
"this……"
Wang Yun was stunned for a moment, unable to look directly at Lu Zhi, and turned to Yang Biao.
Yang Biao calmly took a deep breath and said, "A few days ago, His Majesty allocated 30,000,000 yuan to Hucao from the central government, as well as 50,000 shi of food."
When Huangfu Song heard this, he estimated that he would understand it in a moment.
The money and food that his second son had robbed must have been exhausted during this period, and the palace may have very little left.
Wang Yun was quiet for a while, then suddenly said: "Then Zhao Yun took away Yu Du and Bai Rao's lair, didn't he get a lot of money? Can't he use it to suppress bandits?"
Yang Biao's fat face remained motionless. He glanced at him from the corner of his eye and said, "The money and food are not enough for the military salary owed by the Forbidden Army camp."
All the more than 100,000 troops in the Forbidden Army camp were sent out. Although the money and food required were basically borne by the local government, the salary actually had to be allocated by the court.
The salary of more than 100,000 people, plus various pensions and rewards, the court owed more and more, it was like a bottomless pit.
Wang Yun turned around and his expression gradually condensed, and he was silent.
In recent years, the imperial treasury has been increasingly in embarrassment. On the one hand, banditry has occurred repeatedly, and on the other hand, taxes have dropped sharply. Already in poverty, raising an army of hundreds of thousands undoubtedly made matters worse.
Since last year, everyone in the imperial court has tried every means to raise money. Up to now, there are still hundreds of thousands of dollars that have not been returned.
The ever-expanding expenditure is like a flood that has opened its floodgates and is hard to contain.
The plan of "increasing revenue and reducing expenditure" means that the revenue is limited and the expenditure is reduced but has no effect.
Wang Yun was silent, and Yang Biao couldn't think of a way to change money for a while. All the means that could be thought of and used last year have basically been exhausted.
Seeing that the two of them were silent, Lu Zhi said knowingly: "By the way, Pengcheng Prime Minister Liu Bei has been found. The Grand Sima Mansion has sent a letter, ordering him to rush to Hanzhong as soon as possible without going to Beijing."
Wang Yun frowned, subconsciously thinking that he was here to ask for money.
"Prime Minister, it's almost time." At this time, the clerk outside the door came to the door and raised his hand.
Yang Biao raised his head suddenly, breathed a long sigh of relief, and said with a smile: "I almost forgot, today's Taixue and Hongdumen major exams, I have to invigilate the exams."
Wang Yun frowned even more, looking at Huangfu Song and Lu Zhi who hesitated to speak.
Huangfu Song and Lu Zhi didn't seem to notice Wang Yun's gaze. Seeing that Yang Biao was about to leave, they had to get up.
The four of them left the prime minister's duty room one after another and dispersed silently.
After leaving the Chancery, Lu Zhi and Huangfu Song asked, "Da Sima, do you want to see His Majesty?"
Huangfu Song's face was expressionless, his eyes were firm, and he said: "I intend to transfer Huang Zhong from Bingzhou to Jizhou. What do you think?"
Lu Zhi thought about it carefully and said: "Bingzhou... Xiongnu, Sanqiang, bandits... it's okay in a short time, but it can't be delayed for more than three months."
After Liu Bian's personal conquest of Bingzhou, the major threats within the territory were basically eliminated. Now Bingzhou is relatively stable, and there is no sign of the Xiongnu, San Qiang, etc. entering the invaders for a while.
And three months is basically the time until the end of the year.
Huangfu Song looked deep in thought for a while, then said: "Okay. Then Xiahou Dun will have to use it."
Lu Zhi hesitated and said, "I still don't trust Liu Yu."
From their point of view, Liu Yu has high prestige, but his ability is really average. Xianbei, Wuhuan and others tried to appease them, but Wuhuan and Xianbei sometimes surrendered and sometimes rebelled, which made Liu Yu tired of dealing with it, and the situation in Youzhou was very bad.
The Grand Sima Mansion had been worried that Liu Yu would be defeated, and Xianbei and Wuhuan invaded the border areas on a large scale.
There is almost no danger to defend Youzhou. Once Xianbei and Wuhuan enter, you can drive straight in, all the way to Jizhou!
Just as Huangfu Song was about to speak, he saw Xu Yan coming in a hurry. In the panic, he dropped the memorials in his hand one after another, and picked them up again in a hurry.
Lu Zhi stepped forward and said, "This is Xu Huangmen?"
Xu Yan held a bunch of memorials in his arms and said quickly: "Da Sima, is Lu Gong going to the palace?"
Lu Zhi nodded and said: "Jiangdong and Jizhou are in chaos, and we are about to enter the palace."
Xu Yan shook his head repeatedly and said: "Empress Tang in the palace is about to give birth. At this time, you two should not enter the palace."
Huangfu Song and Lu Zhi were both startled. When Cai Wenji gave birth, the whole world was shocked. They actually didn't know that Tang Ji was about to give birth.
Xu Yan didn't say much and hurriedly left.
After taking a few steps, he turned back and said, "By the way, Grand Sima, Duke Lu, and Yanzhou Mu Ding are about to arrive in Beijing. What arrangements should be made?"
Ding Yuan impeached Wang Lang, originally intending to target Wang Yun, but as a result, Yang Biao made a sudden move, and Ding Yuan was "reassigned to another person" to Beijing without being given a specific official position.
Lu Zhi put his hands behind his back and said, "Shouldn't it be Shangshutai who is responsible for the placement?"
Xu Yan held a pile of memorials, some of which were not very stable. He raised his thigh and said: "The suggestion on the Shangshu desk is to be a servant. There is a vacancy on the Yushitai for a censor. Does the Grand Sima Mansion need it?"
Lu Zhi immediately understood, glanced at Huangfu Song, and said: "There is no shortage in the Grand Sima Mansion for the time being."
"The villain knows."
After Xu Yan finished speaking, he shook the memorial in his arms, turned around and left quickly.
Not long after leaving, he hurried back and said with a wry smile: "The villain is confused."
After saying that, he awkwardly lowered his head to search, pulled out a memorial, handed it to Lu Zhi and said: "This is the memorial of Cao Cao, the mighty general."
Lu Zhi reached out and took it, and Xu Yan left without stopping.
Huangfu Song, Lu Zhi watched him walk around the corner, then lowered his head and looked at the memorial in his hand.
After reading it, Lu Zhi said: "Cao Cao requested to send troops to Jizhou. What does Grand Sima think?"
"No." Huangfu Song said.
Lu Zhi was thoughtful and said as he walked: "Gongsun Zan is stationing troops in Ruyin. Will he be Zhang He's opponent?"
Zhang He has become famous recently. In Jiujiang, he relied on 10,000 people to hold off 30,000 troops for nearly half a year. He also blocked Sun Jian, who took advantage of the opportunity to sneak attack, back to Wu County. Now he has completely driven Yuan Shao out of Jiujiang and Jiangxia, causing great confusion in the government and the public. for vibration.
Gongsun Zan had been having a very rough time in the past two years. He could be said to be majestic and achieve great results against Xianbei, Wuhuan and the Xiongnu. However, when he entered the interior, not only was he ineffective, but he suffered repeated defeats.
Especially when he lost to Ju Yi, his reputation was greatly damaged. There was a lot of criticism from the government and the public, thinking that he had "a false reputation".
Huangfu Song nodded and said: "Give him another chance and order him to join forces with Yuan Shao to march into Jiujiang."
The two of them said as they walked into Da Sima's Mansion together.
At this time, a large group of people gathered in Yong'an Palace.
Tang Ji's shouts were heard inside the door. Outside the door, Queen Mother He, Liu Bian, and Cai Wenji holding Liu Shao were all staring worriedly.
Compared with the last time Cai Wenji gave birth, this time, everyone was less nervous, but hearing Tang Ji's painful screams was still heart-wrenching.
Sorry, it's a little late. Someone came to see the house early in the morning, so it was delayed for a while.
First update, please vote~
(End of chapter)
