Your Majesty the Empress, I am really not a traitor!

"Don't mention this matter, and to be honest, maybe our thinking is more advanced and we have seen more, but...we can't roughly transfer the things of our world to this world. No matter how advanced My thoughts must always adapt to the environment, and in this respect, I am not as good as others.”

"Tsk, brother, I always feel that you were raped by that empress?"

"Forget it, it's okay that she fucked me, now my only thought is to save my life, and your life. Don't stay at home all the time, you are not a vicious snake player Well, this era is the time for you to show your talents."

Qin Ji chuckled and said.

"Forget it, I can still tell the difference between the game and reality. Realistic state governance is not something that can be solved by a little bit of national policy allocation and distribution data. In short, you are good at this, brother, and you can do the dirty work. As for me, sister, I will be responsible for being a good young lady."

"...You really can play badly."

Qin Ji smiled helplessly, then patted the girl's head, Siyue frowned, and moved away lightly: "Tsk, Baimaokong."

"I......"

Everything seems to be a little unfavorable today, why even my sister is messing with her own mentality?

Chapter 7 Why did His Majesty expand the army?

A monthly court meeting.

This is a routine habit of the Great Xia. His Majesty the Emperor will come to the hall to deal with government affairs on the morning of the first day of each month, and on this day, all officials from the central government must be present.

This is also the most complete day when civil and military officials gather every month. Therefore, many major events will be decided on this day. It is for this reason that on the first day of each month, there will be a large number of envoys, The spies were waiting near the palace, waiting for the officials to come out of the palace and hear some news from their mouths.

However, this kind of situation is rare. The officials of the imperial court are all very strict with their mouths, and there is almost no problem of leaking secrets. At most, they will talk about some irrelevant decisions.

Hundreds of civil and military officials lined up on both sides, quietly waiting for the emperor sitting above to speak.

Xia Yuxiao looked at the civil servants and military generals in front of her, and then turned her gaze to Qin Ji who was standing in the front.

"I have something to discuss with the ministers today."

Xia Yuxiao didn't talk nonsense and said directly.

The ministers bowed their heads slightly, pretending to be listening attentively.

"Since I ascended the throne, the country has been fairly peaceful, but I still can't feel at ease." Xia Yuxiao said slowly, "My country has been established for more than a thousand years, and wars have continued for more than a thousand years. The surrounding countries, the southern barbarian countries, have a hot climate. , Miasma is pervasive, Beidi is a bitter and cold land, Dongyi is small and narrow, Xirong is full of yellow sand, but my great Xia is fertile and wild for thousands of miles, with abundant products. Although the countries bow their heads and profess their vassals, they have never stopped spying on my territory."

When she said this, her eyes flicked across the generals in the court, as if trying to see something from their expressions.

"What does His Majesty mean?"

"The first emperor fought in the four directions for 30 years, and laid down the foundation I see today. However, in my opinion, the barbarians in the four directions must have the ambition to seize our Great Xia territory at the beginning of my ascension to the throne."

"I want to recruit and train new troops to expand the size of the Great Xia Iron Army."

"..."

When Qin Ji listened to this, his head buzzed for a moment, and he looked up at the girl in disbelief.

No, are you crazy?

Just succeeded to the throne, ready to expand the army and prepare for war?What are you doing?Shouldn't it be to suppress the ministers of the DPRK and China, stabilize the surrounding countries, deal with those loyal people under the late emperor, and then consider putting pressure on the surrounding countries?

And do you think Xia is a weak military country now?Before the first emperor started his business, he died in the middle of the road, leaving behind [-] million Great Xia Iron Army... These are just full-time soldiers specially used for fighting, not counting the fact that Great Xia was fighting against the Western Holy Church. And prepare a large number of preliminaries.

[-] million soldiers, my Dibao!You still plan to expand the army, what is this for?Xia Guo is not so rich, is he?

"Your Majesty, I have something to say, but I don't know whether to say it or not."

Qin Ji hurried out and bowed to salute.

Xia Yuxiao glanced at him, and grabbed the armrest of the seat with her palm a little harder: "But it's okay."

If it’s not appropriate to speak, you must say it. If my mother won’t let you talk about it, you might turn your back on her. Hey, forget it, this bastard will kill him sooner or later.

"Since I take the position of Taiwei and command the soldiers of the country, I must naturally think about the country. Your Majesty knows that there are more than one million soldiers in our Xia Kingdom, and there are countless masters from all walks of life. In the battle of Jinbei, our Great Xia Wei Shocking the world, a million soldiers are enough to suppress the barbarians, if you continue to expand the army, I worry..."

"What the Taiwei said is wrong."

A general next to him suddenly stood up and said.

"The Taiwei has been in a high position for a long time, and he doesn't know anything. The border countries of Daxia have been watching my border lands all the time since the late emperor was old. There have been more than a dozen frictions in the year when the late emperor died. Now Daxia The internal affairs are getting more and more stable, and the general believes that it is reasonable to expand the army. On the one hand, it can deter the Quartet, and on the other hand, it can also respond to the joint invasion of the border countries at any time."

This general, Qin Ji, knew him. His surname was Tie. He was a newly appointed general, and he was also the youngest general among the generals of the Twelfth Army of Great Xia.

"General Tie is justified, but although our treasury is sufficient now, there are still many places to spend money. Besides, how much do you want to expand the army? If you expand the army by 20, then we will lose 20 strong laborers and have to provide 20 people. Can the rations and food of tens of thousands of soldiers be maintained? Can the national treasury guarantee the construction of various major projects across the country?"

Qin Ji stated his views carefully.

"Qin Taiwei, as a Taiwei, you should know that there are constant disputes among countries, and the flames of war are not over. Apart from other countries, there are also different kinds of prying eyes. If Xia Guo does not develop a military, how can he protect himself?"

"Prospering the military is not the only way to go by expanding the army. Naturally, I am in favor of strengthening the military, but I don't agree with expanding the army. We can use the money that was supposed to feed the 10,000 + 10 people to improve our country. In terms of military quality. For example, the paladins of the Holy Church are examples of high-quality soldiers. With their so-called holy magic and supplemented with advanced holy armor, they can fight against a hundred. If the money for the expansion of the army is used to improve Isn't the combat capability of our soldiers wonderful?"

The two were arguing, but Xia Yuxiao, who brought up the topic, just watched the two of them arguing.

There was a hint of a smile on her face, and while she was still watching the two arguing with each other, Qin Ji looked at Xia Yuxiao:

"How do you feel, Your Majesty?"

"Ah? Ah..." Xia Yuxiao was stunned by his sudden question, like a student who slipped away from class and was suddenly called up by the teacher, "I think it's better to say what General Tie said. Of course, Taiwei I can understand worrying about the country and the people. But now, border defense is imminent, and military expansion is the fastest and most effective way."

"Your Majesty really thinks so?"

Qin Ji took two steps forward until he was less than two meters away from Xia Yuxiao, and then saluted: "Your Majesty, I hope you can understand that the empire has not yet been completely calmed down, and some areas are still valuable to Your Majesty." The heart of rebellion, and the catastrophe just happened in Hexi County last year, which affected the surrounding counties, and the people of Li are still waiting for the imperial court to rebuild the county and allocate food... The most urgent thing at the moment is to appease the hearts of the people, and we must not use military force."

When talking about this, Qin Ji raised his head and looked directly at the emperor: "Or is it that His Majesty's intention is not to expand the army and strengthen the border defense, but to increase His Majesty's... army size?"

This sounds like nonsense.

Military expansion means increasing the size of the army, which is quite normal.However, almost everyone present understood the meaning of Qin Ji's words:

"Your Majesty, you are using the reason of expanding the army to increase the army you have personally controlled, right?"

The reason is very simple - in the current imperial court, An Guogong Qin Ji controls the military power of 30 troops, and the rest belongs to His Majesty and those generals.

Although 30 is not a lot compared to the more than 100 million troops in the entire empire, these 30 are all veterans of the Xia Kingdom, all of whom are brave and good at fighting, and many of the officers have followed Anguogong since his predecessor, Anguogong.

The imperial court did not dare to move his military power.

But the imperial court can "expand the army" and expand the army. Qin Ji has no good reason to want the military power of these expanded troops. These soldiers are naturally His Majesty's own.

In other words, in a disguised form, the actual control force on His Majesty's side was increased.

Chapter 8 A middle way

No one spoke.

In other words, no one dared to intervene at this time.

Xia Yuxiao stared at the man in front of her, narrowing her eyes slightly.

"What's the difference? Taiwei," Xia Yuxiao's voice was stern, as if the surrounding air had dropped a few degrees, "Big Xia's army was mobilized by me, and I expanded the army of the world by Do you have any objections to the expansion of our military power?"

"I dare not object."

Qin Ji said, and then looked back at the military officers: "However, there are some things that I have to say: If your majesty has any opinion on me, I have no complaints. But please take the country as the most important thing - which is more important?" , Your Majesty must be aware."

"Duke Qin!" An old man among the civil servants couldn't bear it anymore. He stood up shaking his gray beard. Why do you care?"

"Prime Minister Long, your old man's words are too much." Qin Ji turned his head and looked at the old minister. "This junior is just clarifying his interests to His Majesty. Since our ancestors founded the country, although our dynasty has abundant military virtues, the state-owned The foundation of the country, why do you want to blindly expand the army? You are the prime minister, and you are in charge of the affairs of the court. These are the national policies of my Great Xia. You should have advised His Majesty, but you have not said so, and you need a younger generation to be in charge of military affairs It is your dereliction of duty to talk about national policy issues."

"Taiwei," Xia Yuxiao smiled, "Don't get angry, the Prime Minister is already old, why should you argue with him? Prime Minister, don't worry, Qin Taiwei's words are reasonable, but loyal words are harsh."

That smile looked beautiful, as if it could melt solid ice. If it was an ordinary woman, I am afraid that countless people would be aroused by her smile and their hearts would be rippling.

But she is the emperor.

Although Xia Yuxiao had already done a good job, those old officials, including Qin Ji himself, could feel that she was just pretending to smile.

How did you ask Qin Ji to know?

It can be seen from His Majesty's slender jade hands that wish to hammer the armrest on the dragon throne into pieces.

"It's my minister's recklessness." Qin Ji hurriedly borrowed the slope to get off his donkey, "Prime Minister, forgive me for taking the liberty of my younger generation. Because of a moment of impatience, I forgot the courtesy of a monarch and minister, and offended your majesty. What the prime minister said is very true. As a minister, I should naturally I understand the truth of being a subject. In the future, I hope the prime minister will correct me more."

Seeing that Qin Ji stepped down, the old man had nothing to say - and to be honest, His Majesty himself was crushed to death, so what's the use of saying anything?

Well, hurry up and give me some face.

"I also ask Mr. Qin not to take the old man's angry words to heart. Mr. Qin speaks generously for the country and the people, and this old man admires him."

The two immediately reconciled.

However, the issue of military expansion has not yet been discussed.

"How about this, between His Majesty and the Taiwei, why not take a compromise?"

A slightly hoarse voice came from below.

It was a middle-aged man wearing a general's armor. He had a scar almost across the entire face, which looked particularly scary, and there was a heavy "hissing" sound in his breathing.

"What's your opinion, General?"

Xia Yuxiao asked.

"The meaning of the Taiwei is to blindly expand the army to labor the country and harm the people; the meaning of your majesty is to expand the army to stabilize the borders and deter the countries. In this way, we might as well make a compromise-under the guidance of your majesty and the Taiwei, we generals, Reorganize the 20 troops of the North Korean Tiger Army and the Red Kite Army, and use these 20 people as a test to gradually implement reforms in military affairs, equipment, and tactics. There are many advisers in our court who are determined to reform, and there are many available methods. It is better to use the 20 as the first experiment. If the effect is very good, it can be implemented in the whole army; if the effect is not good, at most it will only lose some financial and material resources. This will also save the large-scale recruitment and training, and the manpower and material resources of re-equipping recruits and financial resources."

As soon as these words came out, Qin Ji laughed heartily.

This general surnamed Bai is also a veteran, and he is a highly respected and outstanding general in the court. He is also related to the girl Xia Yuxiao. The method he said is indeed a good method. It prevents His Majesty from losing the foundation of the country due to internal strife, and also allows the domestic army to increase its combat power. According to his book Buddha, it is indeed a compromise, and the compromise is just right.

In this way, it's impossible for Xia Yuxiao to insist on wasting people and money, right?

Well done, General!

"The general's words are justified. What do you think, Your Majesty?"

Qin Ji said immediately.

"..." Xia Yuxiao thought about it carefully.

Although this method is not very good - after all, these are still the troops that she can mobilize.But these two troops are actually in his hands. This kind of compromise, from a certain point of view, is also increasing his bargaining chip against Qin Ji in the future.

And...Qin Ji's words are actually not a problem. She knows very well that although Daxia has a solid background, in fact, the expansion of the army by 20 is still a big burden-although it can bear it, Daxia can afford the people who are engaged in production. The burden will also increase by one point.

If it wasn't because she was forced to do nothing, she didn't want to drain too much national power. No matter how many troops there are, if there is not enough economic and manpower support, Xia Kingdom will not be able to continue. In the thousand years of Great Xia, there has never been a In the real sense, she doesn't want to be a foolish emperor.

Besides, it was a half-testing move this time, so it's not surprising that Qin Ji could detect it, but... I always feel that Qin Ji really seems to be thinking about national strength?

Thinking of this, Xia Yuxiao looked at Qin Ji in front of him.

There was a hint of anger in his eyes before——Xia Yuxiao didn't know what the reason for the anger on Qin Ji's face was, but he always felt that there was a feeling of hatred in his eyes...