One Piece of Song Dynasty

"This Wan Yanchang, even if he really wants to negotiate peace, he can keep his word." Qin Hui saw that everyone was trying to figure out Wang Lun's words, and asked knowingly. Wang Lun said hurriedly: "Why don't you call me Wanyan Changdong Court? In front of half of the Jin Kingdom, he really wants to negotiate peace with us."

Qin Hui saw Li Xin getting up and pacing, silent and silent. Lu Yihao and Zhao Ding looked suspicious and said hurriedly: "Your Majesty, it seems that the Kingdom of Jin really wants peace talks."

"First withdraw from our territory and then negotiate peace. Otherwise, I will go on the northern expedition this year and cross the Huaihe River first." Lu Yihao suppressed his anger and said. Zhao Ding also nodded: "Wolf ambition"

"I think that since the Jin Kingdom is interested in peace talks, whether true or false, we might as well get in touch and take the opportunity to understand its true intentions." Qin Hui stared at Li Xin and said.

Zhao Liangsi also said: "I also think that we can have some contact with the Kingdom of Jin and understand the other party's intentions first."

Li Xin stopped and said: "The Kingdom of Jin wants peace talks, but Lu Shangshu proposes to advance the Northern Expedition. Whether to continue to defend the country from foreign countries and focus on developing the economy and restoring production, or whether to take advantage of the situation to expedition to the North to restore the Central Plains, I can't decide for the moment. You all Talk about it.”

"I want to say something first. The emperors and queens have returned. I would like to ask you to build an additional palace, as well as the Privy Council, Baisi and barracks of the three provinces. Please give me your permission." Qin Hui did not want Lu Yihao to talk to Zhao Ding, and at the same time, he also bought time for himself. Thinking about how to answer, he quickly changed the topic and got the first answer.

Li Xin waved his hand and said: "Building so many palaces at once is too expensive. Now there are places that need money. I think this government office can be expanded a little, and there is no need for money from the Ministry of Finance."

"The size of the palace is all customized. The government office is too small and does not comply with the rules." Qin Hui retorted seriously. Li Xin asked back: "Customized, I remember that the population in Jingkang was nearly million, and the imperial tax was nearly million yuan. How much is the population and tax now?"

Qin Hui replied: "I have to ask Lu Shangshu."

Lu Yihao said: "It is difficult to count the refugees in various places. There are hundreds of people crossing south every day. As of June this year, the total population of Jiangnan is about million. In the past year since I have been in charge of the Ministry of Finance, the income of various localities and the income of various towns and envoys have not been counted. This year the imperial court's annual revenue converted into Chinese currency is already billion.

Today, there are imperial troops, Xiang troops, and navy troops. The annual military expenditure is billion Chinese dollars, and the expenses of courtiers and officials are billion Chinese dollars. Disaster relief, resettlement, construction in various places and other miscellaneous items still require billion Chinese dollars. Chinese dollars, an emergency reserve fund of billion Chinese dollars must be left, the expenditure will not be less than billion Chinese dollars, and the annual income will be billion Chinese dollars. Without the prince's subsidy, there will be a deficit of billion Chinese dollars a year. currency. "

Li Xin nodded and said: "If we continue like this, we will drag ourselves to death before we can fight a protracted war against Jin. No matter how we customize it, I will decide to add another forbidden troops this year to enhance the defense strength of our army. The times are difficult, and everything has to be customized, which is too harmful to the money and the people."

"Just follow the royal decree and not the customs. All the royalties and taxes are spent on military expenditures, but military expenditures are a bottomless pit." Qin Hui continued to talk, but Zhao Ding suddenly realized: "That's not right. The prince just said that he and the ministers would decide to make peace today. Prime Minister Qin But he brought the topic to the construction of the palace and turned us into a ditch."

Lu Yihao also suddenly realized it and said loudly: "Shilang Qin is so cunning."

"Today we will only discuss war and peace, nothing else." Li Xin was reminded and understood. Lu Yihao immediately said: "The Emperor of the Jin Kingdom has just arrived in Yanshan. The Yanshan army has rebelled, and many people have been implicated. Why don't I take advantage of the civil strife and go to the Northern Expedition first?"

"Li Heng, the governor of Xiangyang, just defeated the puppet Qi in Yangshidian and recovered Ruzhou. At this time, the Northern Expedition has five benefits." Zhao Ding continued. Qin Hui understood. The two of them cooperated tacitly and were obviously prepared. Li Xin deliberately asked: "What are the five benefits of the Northern Expedition at this time?"

Zhao Ding gave five reasons in one breath: "Now the country has more than troops stationed at a monthly cost of nearly billion Chinese dollars. If the king's army does not come out, it will be trapped. Cross the Yangtze River and make an expedition to the north, capture the puppet Qi's savings to consolidate the border. Huainan is solid, and the people's strength will be broad. This is one benefit. Our army will bluff first, and Liu Yu will divide his troops and refuse to defend. Then I will attack from the east and west, and Liu Yu will capture. This is two benefits. In recent years, the Jin army has repeatedly attacked our Sichuan and Shaanxi provinces, and is not as good as our army. First defeat the puppet army and remove one of its arms, then the Jin army on the western front will retreat. This is three benefits. As soon as our army comes out, all the gold and silk obtained will be rewarded to the army, and the problem of military pay will also be resolved. This is four benefits. Make Huaibei orderly. I am the defender, so I can prepare for myself. Then the military strength will increase, which is the five benefits. In this way, within three or two years, the Central Plains can be conquered."

"What Zhao Ding said makes sense." Li Xin nodded. Qin Hui couldn't help but became anxious. Before he could speak, Lu Yihao continued: "Today, Wu Jie has troops. Zhang Jun, Yue Fei, Yang Yizhong, and Liu Qi each have troops. Han Shizhong has troops, and Wang De has troops. There are forbidden troops in other places. Taizu only had regular soldiers in the world. Today I have soldiers. The Northern Expedition is at the right time."

"Your Majesty's use of troops at this time violates the basic national policy that in order to resist foreign aggression, one must first settle the domestic affairs," Qin Hui couldn't help shouting.

Lu Yihao said sternly: "The talks between the Jin and the Jin are all just a pretense. As long as the Jin is in the north, we must use troops just like Chao Cuo of the Western Han Dynasty said about the seven kingdoms. If you reduce it, you will rebel. If you don't, you will rebel. I hope the prince will make a decisive decision and achieve great success. Not to mention our army today. The soldiers are all the elite of the Central Plains, but I am afraid that as time goes by, it will be difficult to carry out the Northern Expedition again."

Li Xin deliberately clapped his hands: "The Kingdom of Jin is in the north. It is said that the army should be deployed in the end. With soldiers, how can anyone sit still and stand still in all directions?"

"I also want to make the Northern Expedition, but do I have the capital? The army has not been reorganized and the economy has not improved yet. Wang Yechen's original intention remains unchanged and he is determined to advocate peace." Qin Hui felt that the situation was not good, so he simply made a desperate move and expressed his opposition clearly. Lu Yihao smiled and said: "When Jiangnan recovers its economy, won't we be so old that all our teeth will fall out?"

Seeing the battle and the imbalance of power between the two sides, Zhao Liangsi echoed: "Your Majesty, I also advocate peace. Now is not the time to show off. The advantage of the Jin Army's cavalry is not something our army can resist. Moreover, Han Shizhong's troops have just crossed the river and have not yet arrived." To establish a firm foothold in the Huaihe River, and Jiangnan has just been pacified, it still needs time to stabilize, so I think peace talks are the most important thing."

When Qin Hui saw Zhao Liangsi coming out to stand up for him, he hurriedly came out and said, "Your Majesty, what Zhao Shangshu said is what I think. It is by no means a good opportunity for the Northern Expedition. It is better to negotiate with the Jinren."

Seeing that the heat was almost over, Li Xin said: "Okay, what you both said makes sense, but since Jin Guo showed his kindness to me first, I should take the opportunity to understand its true intentions before making a decision. It's just a matter of talking, and war preparations still need to be made. Be prepared to prevent the Jin army from taking advantage of the peace talks to attack us. Mr. Zhao issued an order to the military department to recruit new soldiers in Zhejiang and Fujian starting today.

Zhao Ding bowed and said, "Yes, Your Majesty."

Li Xin said: "Since Wang Lun can come back, then he will take the trouble to visit the Kingdom of Jin again."

Wang Lun was shocked: "Oh, Your Majesty, you still have to go."