"Brother Song!"
Liao Heng ran down the hall with joy and gave him a warm hug, "You've been wishing me so much! I've been dreaming about you these past few days!"
"Why is the Queen so embarrassed after hearing this?" Song Che said with a smile.
"Hahaha, the Queen is in my arms, and Brother Song is in my heart. They are both people I can't live without." Liao Heng took Song Che's hand and walked up to the hall, and greeted: "Here, come. Add a seat next to me! Brother Song is back and the crisis can be solved!"
"Hey, hey, how can a commoner like Song be on an equal footing with His Majesty? I'd better stand down below, lest anyone criticize me." Song Che glanced sideways at the Korean abbot and shook his head at Liao Heng.
Liao Heng understood and said: "Well, since Brother Song is so polite, I won't force you, but you can sit with me in the dining room later."
Song Che smiled and said: "If you don't get drunk, you won't come back. If you don't get drunk, you won't come back."
Korean father-in-law and gang members are very jealous. He said: "Mr. Song, I had no intention of raiding your home before. I just feel that now that the treasury is empty, it is a good time for you to serve the imperial court. You and His Majesty are brothers, so you won't help me with this little favor, right?"
"Of course I want to help!"
Song Che's voice echoed in the hall, and he said sonorously and forcefully: "Song will help your majesty to pacify the world even if he spends all his family wealth!"
"Okay, okay, since Mr. Song said this, will we have no money if we don't recruit troops?"
"Yes, yes, it must be Mr. Song, it must be Mr. Song..."
"Mr. Song is truly an unparalleled scholar."
There are still many ministers who respect Song Che.
"Mr. Song, please don't talk big. Raising an army of 100,000 people will require hundreds of millions of taels. Even if the family has a big business, can it afford it?" Han Dong said strangely.
"Yes, Brother Song, the 600,000-strong army to conquer the west cost Daliang almost a year's finances. This..." Liao Heng said: "I don't need you to waste all your family wealth, as long as you can use a little more strength. But, you can rest assured that no matter how much money you take out this time, I will pay it back to you with interest next year."
"You don't think of me as a brother when you say that." Song Che said politely: "The whole world is king's land, and what's mine is yours, so why should we borrow it or not?"
He added: "Of course, even if I empty my family's money, I can't fill the gap in the entire Daliang treasury, but your Majesty and your lords, rest assured, I have my own way to replenish the treasury!"
"Since Mr. Song is so confident, can you give us a time limit in front of the ministers and His Majesty?" Han Dong asked loudly.
"Korean father-in-law." He Qiu, who was silent at the side, suddenly spoke, "It's a matter of affection to help, but it's a duty not to help. Brother-in-law, he dares to be the first in the world. He has already surpassed you and me by so many, so why do you need to be aggressive?"
Director Han squinted and sneered, "It turns out that Mr. Song is Mr. He's brother-in-law. No wonder, no wonder..."
"What do you mean--"
"Hey." Song Che raised his hand to signal He Qiu to silence him. He looked at Director Han with a smile: "When doing business, there should be a deadline, so that His Majesty and all your lords can rest assured,"
He held up a finger and said loudly: "Then Song promises to raise no less than 10 million taels of silver for the court before the end of the year! If you can't do it, you can kill or cut him into pieces. It's up to you. !”
As soon as this statement came out, the ministers were divided. There are only two months until the end of the year. On average, it is five million taels per month. Most people really don't dare to boast like this.
"Okay! If Mr. Song can raise the military expenses as scheduled, I am willing to bow to you three times in public!" said Han Dong.
"Hey... My Korean father-in-law is already sixty years old. Wouldn't it be a shame to worship me?" Song Che said with a smile: "Why don't we change our agreement? If I can really raise ten million taels of silver in one month, I will bring your granddaughter with you. My youngest son is going to be married as a baby, how about we become in-laws?"
Director Han looked at Liao Heng.
Liao Heng readily agreed: "Very good, very good!"
"Your Majesty, I arrived at Jinling early in the morning and came to the palace without even having breakfast. I'm a little hungry now." Song Che said, rubbing his stomach.
Liao Heng understood immediately, waved his hand and announced his retreat, pulling Song Che and He Qiu into the imperial study.
Through He Qiu’s dictation along the way, Song Che also gained some understanding of the authorities’ situation:
Zhao Sui was suddenly released, and Jinling was almost caught off guard. Before the government could react, Ma Wei's Xiliang army occupied Chang'an, and a month later occupied Luoyang.
Fortunately, He Qiu had a long-term view. As soon as he learned the news that Zhao Sui had rebelled against Liang, he divided 30,000 of the 50,000 forbidden troops in Jinling and went north to occupy Bianjing first. Then there were 100,000 Xiliang troops stationed in Luoyang. There was a huge disparity in military strength between the two sides, as well as muskets and artillery stolen from the Western Expeditionary Army.
After the Xiliang army occupied Luoyang, Zhao Sui issued two edicts asking Liao Heng to hand over the imperial power, otherwise he would go south to attack Jinling.
At the beginning of the year, the expedition to the west against Hu mobilized almost all the troops in Daliang. Now, the number of troops in the states and roads guarding the cities along the Qinhuai River is only 2,000, and they are still Xiang troops with low combat effectiveness and inferior weapons and equipment. Daliang Navy and border troops are always on guard. Arriving at Dijon, the Western Expedition army was trapped in Lanzhou by the flooded Wei River... The new dynasty had already reached a critical stage of life and death!
"Brother Song, what should I do?" Liao Heng was extremely anxious.
Song Che stood by the window with his hands behind his hands. He did not answer directly at first, but asked softly: "Your Majesty, tell me the truth, are you willing to give up the throne?"
Liao Heng was silent for a long time and said firmly: "I don't want to!"
"good!"
Song Che turned around, held out four fingers, and said confidently: "I only need four steps to make His Majesty sit firmly in the country and sit back and relax——
First, comply with the people's wishes and obey God's will.
No matter what kind of struggle, there are four words that must be paid attention to, that is, "the teacher has the reputation."
Presumably the reason why Zhao Sui asked you to abdicate was because you were the acting emperor and he was the legitimate king, right?
Then we first have to find a reason to attack Zhao Sui, but he is the emperor who has inherited the throne. If the finger is pointed directly at him, he will inevitably be criticized by the world;
In this way, we might as well transfer the conflict - the reason why Zhao Sui dares to force you to hand over the imperial power now is that Ma Wei's Xiliang army is backing him. If we can defeat Ma Wei, we can cut off Zhao Sui's wings. It is no longer enough for him to be a king with an empty title;
According to the thinking of a market person, the easiest way to ruin a person's reputation is to 'spill dirty water' on him;
We can ask a bachelor from the Hanlin Academy to write a "pleading against traitors", saying that Ma Wei kidnapped the emperor and commanded the world, intending to seek power and usurp the throne; while we will hold high the banner of 'clearing the emperor's side', wipe out the traitors and bring back the rightful master;"
Having said this, he asked Xiang He Qiu: "Brother-in-law, I wonder if Lingzhi is still running the 'Xilai Ren' troupe business?"
He Qiu curled his lips and said, "She has grown the Xilai people to more than a hundred people, and they are touring in major towns in the south of the Yangtze River. Now the Xilai people troupe is almost a household name."
"Very good." Song Che said with a smile: "Then you go back later and ask her to summon the troupe and arrange a few scenes. The themes will be, 'Ma Wei seeks power to usurp the throne', 'Zhao Sui is captured by Dijon'," Zhao Heng drives out the Tartars', in short, highlights Ma Wei's evil, Zhao Sui's stupidity, and Zhao Heng's wisdom;
After arranging the drama, various troupes, big and small, were asked to tour all over the country.
It is said that drama is like life and life is like drama. Through the way of opera interpretation, it can often penetrate into the hearts of ordinary people. "
"Wonderful, wonderful!"
Liao Heng clapped his hands and praised: "Okay! I will give Lingzhi the title of wife, and she will be paid the same salary as a first-class official. If the opera she arranges can achieve the publicity effect, I will give her an additional two thousand households!"
He smiled at He Qiu and said, "Master He, from now on, Madam Ling will be your equal."
He Qiu knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, Lingzhi is just a village woman from the mountains, so how can she be worthy of this honor? Your Majesty, please take back your royal decree!"
"Huh? You dare to say that my sister is a village girl?" Song Che's eyes widened.
He Qiu kept raising his eyebrows at Song Che.
Liao Heng waved his hand slightly, "Okay, okay, Jun Wuxi, how can you take back what you said, so don't refuse anymore."
"Then I will thank Your Majesty on behalf of my humble wife!"
"Huh? You dare to say that my sister is a bitch?" Song Che's eyes widened even more, "Now she is a first-grade wife, but her status is no lower than that of your prime minister. You have to hold her in the palm of your hand."
He Qiu rolled his eyes, grabbed Song Che's wrist, and broke off the second finger: "Now that the teacher has become famous, what about this second step?"
"Before talking about the second step, I would like to ask your Majesty and the Prime Minister a question first," Song Che asked:
"After our court drove Dijon out of the north, we negotiated many times to welcome back the Emperor, but they didn't agree. But this time they took the initiative to let him back. May I ask, what is Dijon's intention?"
He Qiu said: "It is clear that he wants to undermine the stability of Daliang, so as to make profits and then move to the Central Plains."
"Yes, after understanding this problem, the second step of the plan can also surface," Song Che said: "Since Dijon's purpose is to reap the benefits, then we will make it impossible for him to reap the benefits -
Nowadays, Daliang and Dijon are in a stalemate at various passes in the north. It is difficult to have another conflict in a short time, but it is different at sea.
Dijon is stronger than the army but weaker than the navy. With the combat effectiveness of our navy, we can defeat it in a sea battle;
In this case, why don't we follow the strategy of the Northern Expedition in the past and send naval divisions from the Bohai Bay to harass the Dijon coastline, contain their forces, and drag them into the quagmire of war so that they have no time to look at the Central Plains. "
"What a great move to 'attack the east and attack the west, besiege the city and bring reinforcements'!" Liao Heng praised, but the next moment he had some doubts: "Half of the Daliang Navy has been reorganized into horse infantry since the Japanese pirates were cleared. Even if they can be recalled, the ten The food, maintenance, and military pay for tens of thousands of people are not a small sum of money. How can we afford it now that the national treasury is really empty?"
Song Che waved his hand, "You don't have to worry about money. I will go back to Hangzhou tomorrow, transfer some from the bank, and then ask businessmen to raise some donations in the name of the president of the chamber of commerce. It will not be a problem to raise some emergency money;
Furthermore, this plan is to let the navy harass Dijon instead of letting them attack Dijon. We might as well learn from the Japanese pirates and use small boats to land on the coast of Dijon. After smashing them, they run back to the sea and use our water Dijon could not catch up with the steamer;
If they dare to send a ship to chase them, that would be even better. With the artillery equipped by our navy, we will definitely be able to sink their fleet in the Bohai Bay! "
