Xizhou.
The new year has begun, but the Xizhou border is even more chaotic.
Based on the judgment of the chief judge and Wang Shao's encouragement, basically the merchants in Xihe can go and come back whenever they want. The merchants will be more confident and can make more money through smuggling.
But the political hall's decree caused another problem.
According to the decree of the Political Affairs Hall, the people in the Xihe area, who had temporary household registration in the first place, automatically obtained the Song Dynasty household registration. The people were of course very happy, and the foreign businessmen were also very satisfied, because as long as they lived here for a few years, they paid a few If you pay annual residence tax, you can obtain Da Song household registration.
Although this residence tax was the first time that the Xihe government imposed taxes on local people, they were very happy because Wang Shao issued an administrative order and all the money collected was used to protect merchant trade.
However, the Xihe Imperial Court judged that the small tribes of Tubo, Qiang and Dangxiang who later surrendered to the Song Dynasty were not among them.
The chiefs and village owners came to see Wang Shao.
Didn’t we surrender?
Our territory is now all under the control of the Royal Police. Why can't we obtain household registration?
Who are we?
orphan?
They are very nervous because now they completely rely on Da Song's protection.
Wang Shao was also very angry about this, so he ran to find Lu Dajun and Fan Zhen.
"Everyone has surrendered, and they have brought territory and population, so why can't they be included?"
Wang Shao hated seeing the two of them the most in his life, unable to communicate.
Lu Dajun said: "This is the responsibility of Wang Xuanfu. Your memorial did not mention them. The imperial edict only covers the six states that Wang Xuanfu had previously recovered.
This matter of household registration and territory must abide by the law, but Wang Xuanfu cannot just issue it to whomever he wants. "
Wang Shao said: "They are returning one after another. It's not easy for me to write this. I will write a report immediately to explain this issue, but I can give it to them first to avoid them having grudges and to put the overall situation first in everything."
Lu Dajun and Fan Zhen looked at Wang Shao without saying a word.
The meaning is obvious, no need to discuss it.
"Okay, okay!"
Wang Shao said angrily: "I don't ask you for help."
After that, he left angrily.
However, this trivial matter did not trouble Wang Shao. He immediately explained to the chiefs that this was all my negligence. I forgot to include you in the list. He will write it now. Before that, I can use administrative power. , first sign an affiliation agreement with you.
As long as you are attacked, no matter who the other party is, we will definitely send troops to protect you. We are a family, and your business is my business.
The contract has an unparalleled status in the Xihe area, and everyone abides by it, because if the merchants here do not abide by this, then whoever is more powerful will have the final say. Now the strongest here is the Song Dynasty, and they But foreigners, they support the public security and law more than the Han people.
Only in this way can these people be appeased.
Just after seeing off these village owners and chiefs, Ma Tianhao and Lu Bin suddenly arrived.
"What do you two want?"
Wang Shao asked very enthusiastically.
Although he was also a civil servant, he would rather talk about dawn with Ma Tianhao and Lu Bin Bingzhuye than spend a second with Fan Zhen and Lu Dajun.
Ma Tianhao and Lu Bin looked at each other. Ma Tianhao chuckled and said, "Envoy Wang Xuan, we just got news."
Wang Shao asked: "What news?"
Ma Tianhao said: "Then Xixia has closed down trade, which has caused some merchants and nobles in Liangzhou, Ganzhou, Suzhou and other places within their territory to be very dissatisfied. After all, most of the merchants from the Western Regions who go there still want to follow us. Trade in the Song Dynasty, so now those merchants in the Western Regions are taking the route further south, and this also affects the finances of those places."
Wang Shao asked: "Do you want to take this opportunity to sow discord between them?"
Ma Tianhao chuckled: "It's not that simple. Through our detailed work in Xixia, we can provide suggestions to Liangzhou, Ganzhou and other places, so that they can send troops from Liangzhou and other places to destroy the trade between the Western Regions and us? Don't think so. , and can even force businessmen to continue on their path.”
Wang Shao was shocked, "What do you want to do?"
Lu Bin said hurriedly: "Mr. Wang Xuan, please don't get me wrong. In fact, this strategy is not difficult to imagine, but why haven't Liangzhou, Ganzhou and other places done this for the time being?"
Wang Shao said: "Because the tribe over there is dependent on them."
Lu Bin nodded and said: "But after the previous negotiations between Wang Xuanfu and those tribes, the tribes in the northwest are cooperating with us in trade. After all, they have the advantage. In the past, many merchants did not go there. If If Xixia sends troops, those tribes will inevitably turn to us. Then Wang Xuanfu will unite the tribes in the west in the name of protecting trade. This will not only weaken Xixia, but also force Xixia to deploy heavy troops in the west. , thereby reducing the pressure on our side."
Ma Tianhao said: "In the future, we can also use this to alienate the relationship between Ganzhou and Suzhou and their courts. The businessmen there are also looking for money!"
Wang Shao's eyes flashed. After a while, he laughed and said, "That's a good idea. Haha. Okay, okay, let's do it."
As he said that, he suddenly thought of something, "Just wait a moment."
He turned around and went to the back room, and quickly took out a few articles, "You take them and print them, and then let the merchants send them to Xixia."
When Ma Tianhao heard this, he knew that they were promoting the Public Security Bureau. They were already using smuggling and secretly promoting it with some Xixia businessmen.
After all, businessmen like this system.
Wang Shao is a scholar after all, so he prefers this strategy. When he has nothing to do, he writes a few articles himself.
Daming Mansion.
Su Shi and Fan Chunren, who had just arrived here, first met with Song Shouyue, the commander of the Palace Front Division, who was reorganizing their troops here.
"The palace commander should know that the Ministry of Household Affairs has just issued a decree to change the household registration to a new one." Fan Chunren said.
Song Shouyue nodded, but there was confusion in his eyes. What does this have to do with him?
Fan Chunren added: "Our procuratorate will use this name to conduct a general survey on the various forbidden troops in Hebei."
Song Shouyue frowned slightly and said, "This is your duty, why do you have to tell me?"
Su Shi smiled and said: "This is to avoid misunderstandings. Since the current president of the court was the president of Hezhong Prefecture, he established an unwritten principle that new laws will ignore old matters.
We are very aware of the situation in the military camp, so we hope that the palace commander will explain to the generals in advance that we are only conducting a re-census, and we will not pursue any previous matters. "
This refers to empty wages.
Fan Chunren said: "But if we do it again in the future, we will definitely pursue it to the end."
Song Shouyue nodded, but thought in his heart that these two prosecutors were indeed as rumored, and they were not easy to mess with. They planned to use the imperial army to establish their power when they first came here.
But in fact, there is his contribution in this. Fan Chunren and Su Shi are not stupid. If Song Shouyue hadn't turned many forbidden troops into royal police, they wouldn't have dared to investigate!
Something went wrong this time.
Although the imperial court issued several military-related arrangements in succession, especially requiring the strengthening of armaments in the Hebei region, it could not be said to have changed the country's overall strategic policy.
Because this is all about defense, not preparation for sending troops.
However, in the opinion of the prime ministers, starting from this year, we must pay equal attention to both internal and external aspects. After all, the tree wants to be quiet but the wind will not stop.
You say, once you are born, you are familiar with the second time. After a year of running in with the president of the court, Wen Yanbo and the others quickly adapted to this new system, that is, they have to take the initiative, and the power of the Political Affairs Hall is actually greater than they imagined. Be big.
Today Wen Yanbo suddenly came to Han Mansion to visit Han Qi.
"Is Mr. Han feeling well?"
"It's still the same!"
Han Qi looked at Wen Yanbo, who was about the same age as him but energetic, with envy in his heart, and asked, "I wonder why Mr. Kuan is here today?"
"Liao."
Wen Yanbo just said it bluntly.
Han Qi was not surprised. Although he lived in seclusion, he was still aware of the affairs in the DPRK. He said: "My strategy to control the Liao is still the same, which is to rectify the armament and strengthen defense, but at the same time, I must try my best to maintain the relationship with the Liao Kingdom. Friendly relations."
Wen Yanbo asked: "Is it the same now?"
Han Qi nodded and said: "Although the national power is increasing day by day, and I also know that the officials have arranged for the palace commander to use the name of the royal police to rectify the military discipline in Hebei. But I think that we still have no ability to destroy the Liao Kingdom or recover the Yanyun Empire. Six states.
To organize such a large-scale war, we need a commander who is good at fighting, but currently our country does not have such a person. In addition, we have no war horses. If we want to attack, the risk is extremely high. If we are not careful, we may make the same mistake again. I, the Song Dynasty, can no longer bear such losses.
Although the offensive is insufficient, if the training of soldiers is strengthened, military discipline is rectified, and the defense of the Liao Kingdom goes south, it will be more than enough. Therefore, the final result of going to war with the Liao Kingdom is that both sides will suffer losses, so why bother. "
Wen Yanbo said: "Does Mr. Han still remember that when Mr. Fan was fighting against Xixia, he proposed a strategy and achieved good results?"
Han Qi pondered for a moment, "Build a fortress and actively defend to destroy the enemy?"
Wen Yanbo nodded, "Yes, the Liao Kingdom is currently in turmoil, while our country's national strength is booming and the government is clear. If both sides lose, but as long as we can bear it in the end and they can't, then they will perish."
Han Qi said: "But Fan Gong's strategy only weakened Xixia, but did not destroy Xixia. In addition, in the northwest, we can build fortifications based on the terrain, but in Hebei there is a flat plain. It is impossible to block the entry of the Liao army's cavalry. It is possible that even if we can hold key fortresses, this will cause great harm to the people of Hebei."
Wen Yanbo said: "The failure to destroy Xixia is also because Fan Gong's strategy was not completely implemented. As for the people of Hebei, if we do not regain the sixteen states of Yanyun, the people of Hebei will never have peace. Moreover, now we can use the financial resources of the country to Come support Hebei.”
Han Qi said: "I think now is not the time."
Wen Yanbo said: "But we have to be prepared for this. The Liao Kingdom has repeatedly pushed forward, increased the annual currency, and encroached on our territory. I don't think such a relationship can last for long, so we have to make other plans."
Han Qi stroked his beard and said, "But this is just a middle-of-the-road strategy."
Wen Yanbo said: "If it can bring down the Liao Kingdom, this is the best strategy."
After coming out of Han Mansion, Wen Yanbo went to the Political Affairs Hall, and the officials below handed Wang Shao's letter to Wen Yanbo.
After reading it, Wen Yanbo thought for a while and said, "Go and invite the Minister of Household Affairs and the Third Secretary."
"yes."
The highest royal court.
"I didn't expect that the president of the court was so relaxed. The day's work was completed in less than an hour."
Xu Zhiqian put down her pen and stretched.
President Zhang Da was grinding his ink aside, "Wouldn't it be better to relax a little?"
Xu Zhiqian said: "It's better to go home and stay."
"OK!"
Zhang Fei put down the tools on his hands and said, "After get off work, go home and see your son."
Xu Zhiqian glared at him: "How can you do this?"
Zhang Fei smiled and said: "No matter how hard I work, I can't make a splash with my own efforts. If the country wants to be strong, it must rely on the system. Nowadays, the public security organs and the law are becoming more and more perfect. It's time for them to play their part, and they can't do everything." They all rely on me alone, and I don’t have the ability.”
Xu Zhiqian said: "I can't defeat you, you can always find some fallacies to make excuses."
At this moment, a civil servant stood in front of the door and announced that Mr. Zhao asked to see him.
Xu Zhiqian suddenly jumped up and ran to the side to stand.
Zhang Fei laughed and asked the civil servants to invite Zhao Bian.
After a while, Zhao Pian entered the room and bowed to each other. Zhang Fei asked Zhao Pian to sit down again and asked, "I wonder what the reason for Mr. Zhao's visit is?"
Zhao Pian said: "Dengzhou submitted a complaint, and they relied on the judgment of the chief judge of Xizhou businessmen not long ago. I am powerless, so the chief judge has to make a judgment."
After that, he handed over a complaint.
Xu Zhiqian immediately stepped forward and handed the complaint to Zhang Fei.
Zhang Fei opened it and saw that it was about a weapons case.
The Song Dynasty Security Department in Dengzhou recently seized a crossbow transaction, and the purchaser was a maritime merchant. The Erbi they hired took the judgment of the chief judge on the protection of Xizhou merchants as an example. He believed that the risk of maritime transportation was extremely high, and it Having a strong crossbow is for self-protection.
Zhang Fei said: "If I remember correctly, our government has relatively loose control over weapons."
Xu Zhiqian rolled her eyes quietly, how embarrassing!
Zhao Bian said: "In the past, it was relatively loose. Sticks, knives, bows and spears could all be traded. However, the families of the common people in Kyoto were not allowed to keep weapons privately.
However, with the popularity of police stations, the provisional law has stricter controls in this area. Although transactions are still allowed, both merchants and buyers must register. But whether it was before or now, crossbows and armor were strictly prohibited. "
Zhang Fei pondered for a while and asked, "What do you think, Mr. Zhao?"
Zhao Bian said: "Although the maritime merchants are right, crossbows are indeed very beneficial to ship warfare, but they will also threaten national security."
Zhang Fei thought for a while and said: "I will send people to consult the naval generals later. If they can prove the necessity of the crossbow for maritime transportation and confirm that the crossbow is only used to protect maritime transportation, I will also be inclined to Find them not guilty, because outside, they can only protect themselves.”
Zhao Pian said: "What about national security?"
Zhang Fei said: "That is an issue that the political affairs hall should consider. Nowadays, maritime trade has increased a lot of tax revenue for our country. The court must also provide protection to those maritime merchants, so of course this policy must be changed."
At this moment, Li Si suddenly came to the door and winked at Zhang Fei.
Zhang Fei just nodded slightly, knowing that someone must be coming from the palace.
Zhao Pian understood, "Since the Chief Justice is very busy, I won't disturb the Chief Justice."
Zhang Fei said: "When this matter is found out, we will go to the Legislative Council to discuss it with Mr. Fu."
Zhao Peng nodded.
After Zhao Pian left, Zhang Fei assigned the task to Xu Zhiqian, and then hurried to the palace.
When they came to the attic, they saw Zhao Xu pacing back and forth, seemingly very angry.
"Zhang San has met His Majesty."
"No need to be polite."
Zhao Xu waved his hand and continued to pace.
After seeing this, Zhang Fei asked curiously: "What is it that makes His Majesty so angry?"
Zhao Xu threw the memorial in front of the door in front of Zhang Fei, "Read it for yourself."
"yes."
Zhang Fei picked up the memorial and saw that it was the memorial handed over by Wen Yanbo, which contained three suggestions.
The strategy of destroying Liao.
territorial law.
Military Pay Act.
Zhang Fei asked: "Although some of this is debatable, it won't make His Majesty so angry, right?"
"Can you look at things carefully?"
Zhao Xu was so angry that his face turned red.
"yes."
Zhang Fei looked at it carefully again, and then discovered something fishy inside.
The reason lies in the final military pay bill. The military pay bill is to increase the pensions and pensions of soldiers in the border states. The money comes from the internal treasury, but Zhang Fei thinks that this will not make Zhao Xu angry, because the internal treasury will not make Zhao Xu angry. The treasury already had this function, but one of them was to require the emperor to disclose the accounts of the treasury so that the national finances could be planned in a unified way at critical moments.
"Your Majesty is angry because of the internal storage, right?"
"Although our national strength has been booming in recent years, there are still many things that have not been completed. The public security law has not been popularized in Shu, Huguang and other regions, so they are eyeing my inner treasure. It is really unreasonable."
Zhao Xu was both aggrieved and angry.
Zhang Fei immediately said: "Your Majesty, just ignore them and use the money from the inner treasury to do whatever they want in the outer court."
Zhao Xu sat down and said, "None of these old ministers are good. They are now demanding the treatment of border state soldiers. This is to deal with the Khitan. Of course it is reasonable. Now is the time to use troops. If I If you don’t agree, then who will resist the Khitan?”
Zhang Fei said: "Then agree to increase military pay, but not disclose the internal treasury accounts."
Zhao Xu waved his hand, sat down, and said excitedly: "It's not that simple. Don't you understand?"
Zhang Fei was confused, "I, I..."
He really couldn't understand.
"You have to look at this in conjunction with the first two suggestions."
Zhao Xu said: "The policy of destroying Liao, the territorial law, and the disclosure of internal treasury accounts actually mean that we must be tougher on the Khitan and not retreat. At the same time, they are also on guard against me!"
Zhang Fei looked at Zhao Xu doubtfully.
Zhao Xu said: "You really don't understand, or you are pretending not to understand."
Zhang Fei said aggrievedly: "I really don't understand."
"you."
Zhao Xu said: "The territorial law is to prevent me from secretly ceding land to the Liao Kingdom, and the disclosure of the internal treasury is to prevent me from secretly giving money."
"ah?"
Zhang Fei was shocked and said angrily: "Who do they look down on?"
Zhao Xu said: "Isn't that right? They are simply insulting me."
Zhang Fei said: "This is an unfounded charge. Your Majesty does not need to pay attention to them." But he was thinking in his heart, why are they so guarded against the emperor? It seems that the Zhao family has done this kind of thing before.
After hearing this, Zhao Xu felt a little guilty, "This is just the reason why I am angry, but there is another point that makes it difficult for me to refute. Speaking of which, it is all your fault."
Zhang Fei looked innocent and said: "Your Majesty, what does this have to do with me?"
Zhao Xu said: "You helped me plan it at the beginning. Try to collect commercial taxes from various places to the internal treasury, and agricultural taxes to the national treasury. Now that the finances of various places are increasing, it seems that there is more."
Zhang Fei asked curiously: "Then that's too much. How much too much?"
Zhao Xu fidgeted with three fingers timidly.
Zhang Fei said: "Three million strings?"
Zhao Xu said: "If it's three million strings, can they care about it?"
"Thirty million strings?" Zhang Fei said in surprise.
Zhao Xu nodded.
"Why so many?" Zhang Fei said:
Zhao Xu said: "When the establishment of the Ordinance Department of the Second Government was abolished, Academician Wang transferred all the benefits from the New Deal from Sinong Temple and Taifu Temple to the Neicang Treasury. In the past three years, the tax revenue of various places has increased sharply. Although the new tax law is calculated based on total income, when filing taxes, they will indicate the source of income. Therefore, the Third Division and the Taxation Department still calculate all taxes that previously belonged to the internal treasury into the internal treasury. Those tax items used to be It’s not much, so no one cares, but now it’s almost becoming a major source of tax revenue.”
Zhang Fei said depressedly: "Your Majesty, you are so rich, and you asked me to pay for the establishment of an army weapons supervisor in the northwest."
Zhao Xu immediately said: "Isn't this what you asked for yourself?"
"Me." Zhang Fei thought about it and said: "Forget it, it's useless for me to have so much money anyway. I might as well give it to His Majesty and use it to expand the territory."
Zhao Xu hummed: "I save all this money to expand my territory, not for my own enjoyment. As you know, many ministers in the DPRK are conservative and unwilling to fight."
Zhang Fei nodded, "Of course I understand His Majesty's difficulties, but I can't help much with this matter, and the Supreme Court cannot interfere with the finances of the Neicangtreasury."
Zhao Xu sighed: "It would be great if everyone thought like you. Just tell me, should I disclose the accounts of the internal treasure house?"
Zhang Fei immediately said: "To be fair, whether this should be done or not depends entirely on your Majesty's own opinion."
Zhao Xu was silent for a while, and then suddenly asked: "What do you think of this plan to destroy Liao?"
Zhang Fei said: "I think this is completely consistent with our plan, and it is also the best strategy, because our country has always been short of war horses, and the Liao Kingdom occupies a favorable terrain and has insufficient financial resources to make up for this. The risk of attacking is too high.
War is extremely depleting of national power. Once the power of the Liao Lord is weakened, he will be unable to suppress domestic instability. Coupled with our infiltration, this may be our only choice. "
The Han and Tang Dynasties had the advantages of the Han and Tang Dynasties, and the Song Dynasty also had the advantages of the Song Dynasty. If the Song Dynasty wanted to fight like the Han and Tang Dynasties, Zhang Fei had no confidence at all.
Judging from previous battles, they were often cut off and then directly surrounded and annihilated.
War horses are still very crucial.
Zhao Xu struggled for a while and said, "But once the accounts of the Neizangku are made public, our actions in Xixia will be known to them."
Zhang Fei said: "It doesn't matter. Opening the accounts does not mean that Your Majesty loses the right to use it. Your Majesty can allocate this part of the tax revenue to the expenditure of the Security Department of the Song Dynasty. As for the details, they are set as top secret. Then They can't find it anymore.
In addition, His Majesty can also stipulate that only the tax revenue accounts will be disclosed, and His Majesty's income from gold and silver mines and farms in various places will not be disclosed. "
Zhao Xu nodded slightly.
Although he was unwilling at all costs, Wen Yanbo, an old fox, wanted to disclose the accounts of the internal treasury to defend against foreign enemies. Didn't you say that the purpose of saving money was to fight the war? That's fine, let's do it. You publish the accounts. , we do unified planning, you put all the money into the internal treasury, how can the country formulate a unified strategy?
The key is that it is indeed a bit too much.
Zhang Fei suddenly thought of something, "Your Majesty, I happen to have a way to make money here. It would be best for your Majesty to do it."
Zhao Xu hurriedly asked: "What is the way to make money?"
Zhang Fei said: "Selling weapons."
"????"
