Late Tang Dynasty Floating Life

Chapter 367
The rainstorm comes as soon as it is said, and it will not stop.

Inside the hall, the sage was having a conversation with Prime Minister Zhang Jun.

"Listening to Qing's words, I almost felt enlightened." The saint said with emotion.

At the same time, he was also a little excited. Zhang Qing has great talent. He thought that there was still a possibility to revive the state affairs, and that was probably true.

Looking at the reddish tea soup in front of him, Zhang Jun was also very excited.

"Your Majesty, there are still loyal people in every town in the world." Zhang Jun said with a smile: "For example, this tea. Although Du Hong, the military governor of Wuchang, was born as an actor, he is loyal and brave to serve the country. This tea, we will do our best for a year. Offering more than a thousand catties can be called loyalty.”

"灉(yōng) Lake contains ointment, and Lie Shengsha loves it." The saint also laughed when he heard it, and said: "I heard that Tubo Zanpu also loved this tea in the past, so I asked many people to buy it."

As the saying goes, "the only tribute in the lake is to pay tribute, so how can it benefit the ordinary".This kind of tea produced in Yuezhou has a waxy surface and a rich aroma. After cooking, the soup is reddish, like the setting sun, and has always been a tribute to the royal family.

"Xuanwu Jiedu Envoy Zhu Quanzhong resigned from the post of Huainan Commander, and refused to take up the post of Xuanyi Jiedu Envoy. He said that one person was in charge of two townships, which would cause criticism. He also sent troops to guard Bianshui Road, and there was no shortage of tribute every year. He is a loyal minister." Zhang Jun carefully controlled the rhythm, trying to direct the topic to where he needed it.

Xuanyi is the original Yicheng, and the Jiedushi has always been Hu Zhen, Zhu Quanzhong's subordinate.

Zhu Quanzhong, in his father's name, please change Yicheng Town to Xuanyi Town.In the past, the imperial court would definitely not agree to this.But Zhu Quanzhong was a rare loyal minister in this troubled world, so he agreed and appointed him as Jiedushi at the same time.

However, Zhu Quanzhong was indeed loyal to the Tang Dynasty, he refused to accept his resignation, and still used Hu Zhen as his envoy.

Now Zhu Quanzhong actually has the post of Jiedu Envoy of Xuanwu Township.Compared with Shao Shude in Lingzhou, it is self-evident who is loyal and who is treacherous.

"It's not appropriate to rely on foreign towns." The saint sighed.

When Zhang Jun heard it, he agreed with his own thoughts, and said happily: "Your Majesty is wise."

"Today, both China and foreign countries are controlled by eunuchs and strong ministers, so what can we do?" The saint looked at Zhang Jun with an earnest expression.

"It's better to strengthen the army to conquer the world." Zhang Jun said with emotion.

There are about 5 people in the Shence Army, of which [-] are soldiers recruited in various towns.In particular, several feudal towns that seem to be able to fight, such as Xuanwu, Hedong, Shuofang, etc., each raised thousands, plus other prefectures and counties, a total of [-] was raised. .

"Is the [-] Divine Strategy Army not enough?" the saint asked.

"Your Majesty, please recruit another [-] troops." Zhang Jun said to him.

The saint choked.It's not that they are worried about the lack of money and food. In fact, the goods can still be squeezed out by gritting their teeth. After all, even Weibo Town is making offerings.During the reign of Guangqi, Chengde Wang Rong had donated a thousand cattle, nine thousand farm tools, and one hundred thousand soldiers.

Therefore, money has never been the difficulty in training the new army, but people.

"Over the past few years, the imperial court has recruited troops twice, with a total of [-] troops. Now that they have recruited another [-] troops, will the generals of the foreign vassals have any complaints?" The saint asked a little uncertainly.

"Your Majesty, don't worry. The Tang Dynasty has a long history, the holy emperor is Yingrui, and the guests of the world are obedient. The magical strategy is about to recruit troops in various towns, and no one has ever obstructed it. It is Li Keyong from Hedong, who also allowed the imperial court to recruit soldiers in Jinyang. Shuofangshuai Shao Shude even said that Xiang Xiaorui, a member of the Hexi Party, selected [-] warriors and sent them to Chang'an." Zhang Jun went on and on, "I judged the three divisions, and I have recently discussed wealth with Prime Minister Kong. Equipment, money and food are sufficient, and there will be no danger of shortage within two years."

In fact, the court is still short of money.At least, the salaries of the officials of the Southern Yamen and Beisi have been in arrears all the time, and even if some are paid out, they are still discounted.

Guanzhong Water Conservancy has not been renovated for many years.

The station system is becoming more and more dilapidated.

Tongyi Avenue, except for the maintenance of the Liangjing Dayi Road, which is still spending money to maintain, the others have been suspended, and no funds will be allocated.

Last year, the imperial court collected a total of more than one million tea coins, which was more than the 80 coins in the Zhenyuan period.This is not to say that the world is thriving, but that the number of tea-producing counties has increased dramatically, from 52 to 98, and most of them are located in the south of the Yangtze River. The output is also much higher than that, and the tax rate has been increased. [-]% for some, [-]% for some, [-]% for some, and now it is raised to [-]% uniformly.

Salt profit, more than 600 million yuan in the Yuanhe period, dropped by half in the Dazhong period, and now it is less than 70 yuan - the big head of this item is actually in the hands of the commanders, otherwise Tian Lingzi would not have made the idea of ​​Hezhong .

Discussing iron was also a big income in the past, but now it is not discussed, only 30 million yuan.

"Fangzhen private donation" refers to the money donated by the generals of foreign vassals to the emperor's private money in addition to the normal taxes.

At that time, the royal family spent more than one million a year, and the court had financial difficulties, so Dezong could only ask for it from the commander-in-chief.The prime minister advised, "However, there are still several Xuansuo, and the order is still not to let the prime minister know."

In the Yizong Dynasty, the country's situation was in decline, but the royal family's expenditure far exceeded that of the Dezong Dynasty, with more than three million yuan a year.The money Yizong gave to the princess and prince was more than four times that of the Dezong Dynasty, which can be described as astonishing.Therefore, he had to ask the commanders for money.

In the Xizong Dynasty, the expenditure continued to increase, and even Tian Lingzi, who had always been able to make money, was a little hesitant, and unexpectedly persuaded the saint to be frugal for the first time.At the same time, corrupt officials were tortured, and money was made to make up for the shortfall—this actually started from the Xianzong Dynasty, "Wannian County Wei Hanhe took 300 million stolen goods" (probably taking everyone's blame).

Today, he is newly enthroned, but there is a new atmosphere, and the royal family's expenditure is reduced to the level of the Dezong Dynasty, which is one million a year.

In fact, it had to be like this. The war in Central Shu caused the tribute to drop sharply, and the Jiangnan Salary Road, if it weren't for Zhu Quanzhong's protection, would probably have to be cut off, and there was also Sun Ru's rebellion, and the offering was not as good as before.

The offerings from Hebei and Henan were robbed by Li Hanzhi once before, and they were in danger.

In the towns in the northwest of Beijing, the offerings made by Shuofang together amounted to less than [-] cattle, sheep, horses and camels a year, and they were kept in the Shayuan prison in Tongzhou for the sake of the sage's palace and banquets for officials.

This year, Shao Shude paid tribute of one thousand horses, two thousand camels, three thousand cattle, fifty thousand sheep, several thousand skins, some medicinal materials, and hundreds of carts of salt.

Xiaoyu, Longyou, offered [-] cattle and sheep; Li Yanling, Binning, offered [-] silk, [-] cattle and sheep; Fifty thousand mints, [-] bolts of silk; the four prefectures of Fufang added up to [-] mints, [-] bolts of silk, and [-] cattle and sheep.

They are all Shao Shude's henchmen, more and more disrespectful!

Now the prime ministers, almost everyone has been sentenced to three divisions, specializing in money.In the past, at most one-third, and occasionally half, it became a beggar court.

"[-] new troops, where can we recruit them? The war in the Kanto region is endless. I'm afraid it won't be as easy as before." The saint worried.

"Your Majesty, there has been no war in Hebei for many years, and the population is densely populated. Now that he wants to conquer Hedong, Your Majesty may as well issue an edict to take away his titles, titles, and surnames. Heshuo's commander will be happy, and [-] soldiers can be obtained at his fingertips." Zhang Jun Suggested way.

He still can't forget the past when he was begging for the yellow nest.

Wang Duo was the governor of the capital, and Zhang Jun was the judge of the capital.Li Keyong was very dissatisfied with Zhang Jun, and directly in front of the angel who delivered the decree to him, he said that Zhang Jun "is too talkative and can't do practical things. If he is reused, one day he will definitely cause chaos in the world."

Li Ke used his big mouth to speak casually, and Zhang Jun still has it in his heart, and the more he thinks about it, the more he gets angry, and he always wants to get revenge.

Li Keyong was relieved of his duties as the envoy of Hedong Jiedu, deprived of his title of King of Longxi County, and his family was expelled from the clan affiliation—yes, Li Keyong was given a surname by Yizong in his ancestors, and his name belonged to the second son of Daizong, King Zheng Li Miao's lineage, legally speaking, is Li Tang's clan.

This is just the first step.

The second step is to send troops to capture Jinyang and take back the big town of Hedong, so that the financial planning of the imperial court will be greatly improved.

"Your strategy is inappropriate." The sage, who had always been obedient to Zhang Jun's words, had to interrupt, saying: "Ke Yong has made great contributions to the recovery of Chang'an, and has always been respectful, with constant tributes, inappropriate, inappropriate."

As soon as Zhang Jun heard it, he knew that the fire hadn't arrived yet, so he stopped talking and talked about another matter: "Shao Shude, the governor of Shuofang, please set up Weibei Town, which governs Fu, Fang, Yan, Dan, Tong, The six states of China..."

"Huh! Shameless!" The saint became angry when he heard it, and said: "Baosai and Baoda are the two towns of the country, and the country's Pingfan is also! Tong and Huazhou are also the gates of Jingdong! How can you give it to others lightly? The first emperor allowed him Being the governor of Shuofang and Hexi towns is already a kindness, but I am still not satisfied, so don't pay attention to such thieves."

Zhang Jun frowned secretly.

If you want to conquer Hedong, without the cooperation of Shuofang Army, it will be a lot of trouble.Especially a few months ago, Shao Shude led an army of 20 to force Li Keyong to retreat. He was majestic, and his military strength should be no problem.

It's just that he didn't expect that the sage had such a bad impression of him. Did he neglect Jinshang when he welcomed the former emperor back to Beijing?
"The King of Lingwu County built Yulin and Woyang Palaces for His Majesty. Over the years, he has conquered east and west and regained Helong. He has also made great contributions. When the former emperor bowed down, he also led the army to kill Tian Lingzi and Yang Fugong..." For his own big plan, Zhang Jun had no choice but to pinch his nose and cover up for Shao Shude, although he also felt that this person's loyalty was quite limited.

"It's really good to kill Tian Lingzi..." The saint's tone softened a little.

He was whipped by Tian Lingzi in public, and his dignity was lost. The saint still doesn't want to think about it.Shao Shude's killing of this official was quite in line with the wish of the saint.

"I would rather give Hao Zhenwei the two prefectures of Tonghua than Shao Shude." The saint was still unwilling to hand over these two prefectures.

Zhang Jun thought about it, and decided to avoid this matter for the time being, and then find an opportunity to speak up later.Shuofang Town, he really wanted to win him over, as long as he could take back Hedong, everything would be worth it.

"Your Majesty, the matter of Jingyuan Town must be decided early." Zhang Jun reminded.

Yuan Shi took [-] Shence troops to station in Yaowu Town in Pingliang County. When he heard that the imperial court wanted to give him the post of Jingyuan Festival Commander, he refused to accept it.He is not young anymore, he knows the risks of this matter, and he doesn't want to go into troubled waters - three thousand soldiers in his hand, most of them are street youths, and the Jingyuan army is a frontier army, can this matter be done?

And Yaowu Town is actually the outer town of the Shence Army.

There are many such outer towns in Guanzhong, but most of them are deserted.For example, Castanopsis City used to be an outer town, and so was Yudole City, where Yang Yue was once stationed.

The imperial court wanted to gradually expand the sphere of influence of the Shence Army by restoring these outer towns, and then control more territories.But I didn't expect that the first new outer town would not go well, and Yuan Shi didn't want to be the commander-in-chief of Jingyuan.

"Who does Zhang Qing think can be the commander-in-chief of Jing?" the saint asked.

"Dean Xu Yuzhi can take this position." Zhang Jun recommended.

Dean is the title of Yushi, Shiyi, Buque, and Yuanwailang, and it can also be used to call each other.

"If Master Jing doesn't want to, there's nothing he can do."

"Naturally select the elite of the Shence Army to escort President Xu's officer." Zhang Jun replied.

"Good!" The sage said, "This matter will be discussed in the Ming Dynasty."

"Your Majesty is wise." Zhang Jun congratulated.

Across the wall, Ximen Zhong sat back in his chair with a cold face.

"Li Keyong is right. Zhang Jun has no skills. He speaks loudly. He will be punished for his grievances, even if he is overthrown." After eavesdropping for a long time, Ximen Zhongsui was also very speechless to the two monarchs and ministers.

If the affairs of the country are done according to their way, it will definitely be a mess.

I still want to enjoy a few more years of blessings, but you are only looking for trouble for me?Now he deeply doubts whether it is correct to embrace the longevity king as the emperor.

Shao Shude, the king of Lingwu County, he is too familiar and understands too well.

That is indeed an ambitious man, but he is also a powerful ambitious man, and he is close at hand. If there is a change, the emperor may not even have time to go on tour.

This kind of people, either destroy him, or show grace to stabilize him.How can you be so messy?
"Call Liu Jishu, Liu Gongjian, someone needs to find him." Ximen Chong then ordered.

We have to deal with King Lingwu.The sage is ignorant, Zhang Jun doesn't have a lot of money, and in the end this mess has to be cleaned up by their Beisi.

(End of this chapter)