After rebirth, I joined forces with my mortal enemy to seek revenge.

In order to avoid being locked up and unable to return home, the two simply ate in a restaurant in Chongyifang.

Various delicacies were brought to the table. Pei Jiaoran first scooped up a bowl of red beans and taro and ate it. Under Li Xiujing's expectant gaze, she slowly opened her mouth.

"It is said that there was an old man in the Song Dynasty during the Warring States Period. He liked macaques very much, so he kept many of them at home. The monkeys hung around him all day long and played with him, just like his children. So his left The neighbors all call him "Sniper Gong". This Snipe Gong has been getting along with the macaques for a long time. Humans and monkeys have the same mind. Snipe Gong can distinguish the monkey's joy, anger, sorrow and joy, and the monkey can obey his instructions. But he raises So many monkeys consume a lot of food. Even though they have cut down on food and clothing, it is still not enough. How can an ordinary family maintain such a large expense? So Mr. Ai started to frown every day, wondering how to limit the number of these macaques. , to ensure that the new grain can be stored in the warehouse." Pei Jiaoran took a sip of water and continued: "Until one night, the frowning sniper suddenly had a dream."

"What did he dream about?" Li Xiujing smiled.

Hearing this, Pei Jiaoran frowned and said with a smile, "He dreamed of an old fairy with a white beard. The old fairy said that macaques are not ordinary animals. They will only moan and bark when they are not full. Macaques are spiritual beasts, not to mention that they are spiritual beasts. You have raised them for so long, and it is impossible to keep them peacefully without giving them what they want. If you do not have the conditions to feed them, you have to appease them. After hearing this, the sniper asked, "What do you have?" What's the solution? I really can't think of any good ideas."

Seeing Li Xiujing's eyes full of smiles, Pei Jiaoran continued: "The old god smiled, this is not difficult. There is an oak tree in the village where you live. Its leaves are like a canopy in summer, which can provide people with shade, and it will be full of leaves in autumn. The fruit is called acorns. You pick some fruits and give them to the macaques. First tell them that they can only eat three in the morning and four in the evening. If the macaques are not convinced and get angry with you, tell them to eat four in the morning. , is it okay to take three pills at night? Mr. Sniper didn't believe it when he heard it. The old god said you have to believe me, this can solve your troubles. After Mr. Sniper woke up from his dream, he wrote down the method taught by the old god and picked some oak. He came back to feed the macaques. Three and then four, and as expected, there was opposition, four and then three. The macaques happily kowtowed to him to thank him. From then on, the sniper really no longer had to worry about this matter."

I can hear the meaning behind Pei Jiaoran's story. Li Xiujing raised an eyebrow and smiled, "I guess His Majesty is the sniper, the eunuchs are his macaques, and you are the old god?"

Pei Jiaoran said: "Don't I look like him?"

picture. How could it be different?

Looking at Pei Jiaoran, Li Xiujing gave her a piece of rice cake, "So when you tell this story, do you intend to compete with the eunuchs again?"

"Xuan Yin, you can't just look at one side of things, you should look at their essence. No matter how things change, there is only one essence." Pei Jiaoran raised his lips and spoke slowly, "Right now, the competition between Nei Ku and Zuo Zang is the only one. It will intensify because of my intervention. The Zhongna and Gongshi I have embezzled now is just a negligible amount of money."

How could the competition between Nei Ku and Zuo Zang be suspended due to circumstances? The two will only seek more.

"Once the Zhongna and the palace market are eliminated, the only source of wealth for the eunuchs is to enter the service. Do you want to abolish all the ways to enter the service?" Li Xiujing looked at her and frowned.

"Last time I submitted a petition asking for the young people to be dismissed from the service, His Majesty did not agree. If I had submitted a petition to request that the young people be dismissed from the service, I would definitely be demoted." Pei Jiaoran sneered lightly, with a faint look in his eyes, "Since you want to fight, why don't you let Your Majesty do it yourself? Go be a sniper."

It is a definite fact that Zuo Zangku has no money. If you want to secure the throne, you can only spit out the money from the inner treasury.

"It looks like you plan to take the initiative."

Hearing this, Pei Jiaoran raised his lips and said, "This is the responsibility of the Minister of Household Affairs. If the treasury has no money, why can't we ask for money from His Majesty? Or we should just suffer the hardship of Heshuo's chastity again."

"Heshuo? Qingjia, have you ever heard an interesting story about Heshuo?" Li Xiujing seemed to remember something, and raised her sword eyebrows, "It is said that Commander Wei Bo never disarms his armor when resting, and the Yacheng where he lives also allows his trusted followers to take ten steps. One person is guarding it. Unfortunately, every time when wages cannot be paid, the tooth soldiers will still cause chaos."

"Wei Boya's soldiers have always been arrogant. But it would be great if the imperial court could force the three towns of Heshuo to rebel. Maybe they could be conquered." Pei Jiaoran looked thoughtful.

The imperial court treated He Shuo in a royal manner, which only encouraged his arrogance. Why not treat him domineeringly and make him surrender?

Pei Jiaoran said, "Li Xiujing, if I can provide enough military expenses for the Shence Army, how sure are you that you can regain the three towns of Heshuo?"

Looking at Pei Jiaoran who looked quite serious, Li Xiujing frowned as if he was seriously thinking about how to answer. The reason why Shen Ce's conquests against Heshuo ended in vain in the past was because the imperial court could not fully provide military expenditures. As a result, the conquest army had no choice but to return to Chang'an.

"If things go well, it will take at least a year. If things don't go well..."

Li Xiujing didn't say anything else, but Pei Jiaoran could more or less guess it.

It is obviously impossible to deal with the three towns with the military strength of the imperial court. It is necessary to unite other powerful vassals that are dependent on the imperial court and let them send troops to attack together. But this point also involves eating out of bounds food, and the court must bear the military food supply for these feudal soldiers.

This is not a small sum, but a bottomless pit.

"In the past, Huan Xuanwu made three northern expeditions, but only once captured the former Yan capital. The other two times were due to lack of military supplies, which forced him to withdraw his troops. From the Eastern Jin Dynasty to the end, the emperor could only settle in a corner of the Yangtze River. Since this staff will be needed sooner or later Fight, why not do it early?”

Weibo's commander-in-chief often changed hands, while the other two towns just watched from the sidelines.

"What are your ideas?" Li Xiujing asked

He knew that with Pei Jiaoran's temperament, it was impossible to mention this matter without reason. She must have a plan in mind.

"Bei means wealth, and warriors have soldiers. Bei means martial arts, which is combined into the word Fu. Military tax has been the top priority since ancient times, and money is indispensable for conquest. Shence's army can no longer be reduced, so why not use it to reduce it? Are the troops in the vassal town using the strategy of fattening the gods?"

After the words fell from her ears, Li Xiujing looked at her blankly.

This is a risky move. If you cut down the vassal towns and enrich the emperor's army, the other towns will inevitably be dissatisfied. And if the news reaches the ears of the commanders of the three towns in Heshuo, they will think that the imperial court is going to send troops to attack them. In order to protect themselves, they would raise troops to rebel, and the court could use this reason to conquer them.

If the three towns and two taxes can be collected, Zuozang's pressure will be much lessened.

"This is a good idea. But Qingjia, can you guarantee that there will be no other consequences?"

Although it is indeed a good idea to reduce troops, if this power is not controlled, it can easily lead to disaster.

"No."

Machiavellian tactics are not step-by-step, and she has no ability to make everyone follow her plan. So she couldn't predict what consequences this step would bring.

But she can take herself out.