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

In the Li Zheng Hall, Emperor Wei was reading this memorial from Tongzhou. It is indeed an excellent work in terms of diction alone. The ministers explain their views to the king, just like the mirror in this stack of official documents. And she stood at the foot of the imperial steps, holding a mirror in her hand. What was reflected was the undercurrent surging under the king's calm face.

Under the throne, the Minister of Hubu, the Minister, and the officials of the Second Department of Zuozang Taifu were quickly calculating the abacus. The cicadas chirped noisily outside the hall, one wave after another. There seems to be some restless power hidden in the undercurrent.

Not long after Pei Jiaoran was ordered to go to Tongzhou to provide disaster relief, he sent the prince to lead the ministers to the southern suburbs to pray for peace and to offer sacrifices to heaven. At the same time, the former Chengde Jiedushi passed away, and his son Li Weiyue petitioned to inherit the position of Jiedushi. The imperial court did not allow it, and never thought that this guy would actually unite with the Tian family of Wei Bo, Li Gao, the governor of Ziqing, and Liang Zhan, the governor of Shannan West Road, to raise an army in the name of the Qing emperor.

Originally, Pei Jiaoran should also be here, after all, she knows this best. However, there happened to be a flood in Tongzhou, so she asked herself to be the governor and relief envoy. All these things fell on other people in the household department. Make a final calculation of Zuozang's currently available wealth.

Fanning irritably. Even though there were several ice cubes placed in the corner of the hall to cool off the heat, everyone was still sweating profusely. But no one dared to stop.

The prince and the chief officials of the three provinces sat under the throne. From time to time, I looked back at the officials who were settling accounts.

Everyone knows that this time the three towns have bullied the imperial court. If his spirit cannot be dampened, he may soon be able to dominate the imperial court.

"Does Zuozang have enough money to support the Shence Army's expedition?" Emperor Wei immediately asked when he saw the Minister of the Ministry of Finance standing up.

The Minister of Household Affairs glanced at the jade paper in his hand, then raised his head to meet Emperor Wei's gaze, and said after careful consideration: "If we go according to the book, it will be enough. But if the battle continues for a long time, we will not be able to make ends meet."

Hearing the implication of the words of the Secretary of the Ministry of Finance, the prince showed contempt.

Looking down at the report presented to him, Emperor Wei frowned. The Minister of Hubu took the opportunity to look at Wang Yu, and then turned to look at the prince.

"Then you mean it's best not to fight this battle?" Emperor Wei looked sharply at the Minister of the Ministry of Finance.

At this time, Jia Gonglu suddenly took over the conversation, "Your Majesty. I think this war is not not to be fought, but that it should not be fought. Now that the flood in Tongzhou has just passed, other states in the capital also need disaster relief. Taxes for this year and next two years All of them have to be exempted, and those who have already joined the common people cannot be counted. In this way, Zuozang's autumn tax this year will be reduced a lot. The three towns have strong soldiers and horses, and there are also tribes such as Fan, Zhao, Shiwei and others who are keeping an eye on them. Yes. Once this war breaks out, it will be a big expense. What about the country's expenses in the coming year?"

"But the three towns have raised troops." Emperor Wei looked at Jia Gonglu sharply.

Jia Gonglu looked as usual, "We have to appease them. We can get extremely high rewards at the lowest cost."

Glancing at the prince and Wang Yu, Emperor Wei said, "What do the prince and the minister think?"

"I think this battle must still be fought. If the battle is not fought, the three towns can raise troops and threaten them if they want to ask the court for money." The prince took a deep breath, "What's more, the taxes of the three towns do not go to the central government. Who knows how much they have. Money? If the taxes from the three towns can be accounted for, Zuozang and the inner treasury will be able to reduce a lot of pressure."

Looking towards Emperor Wei, he saw his eyes showing admiration. The prince continued, "What's more, I heard that Minister Pei dug a new canal in Guazhou last year, and now the harvest in Guazhou is acceptable. A rough calculation shows that they can be self-sufficient regardless of whether there is war or not. And other states in Hexi This is also the case, so I thought why not take this opportunity to control Heshuo."

"Is it just that? Wang Yu, please tell me." Emperor Wei knocked on the table with one hand and drank tea with the other. "This battle must be fought no matter what. But this time the expenditure must be calculated properly. I don't want them to Returning in vain. We can't let them come to the city and drive me out of Taiji Palace."

He had long wanted to eradicate the three towns. It's a pity that every time this matter is mentioned, the reason given by the courtiers is that Zuozang is short of resources. Even if he is lucky enough to be able to send troops, the people will say that he is militaristic. But the Shence Army returned without success.

This time Pei Jiaoran raised this matter, which coincided with his thoughts. He was willing to agree, but this time someone refused.

Emperor Wei was upset and glared at Jia Gonglu.

"Your Majesty, I have something to say. I hope your Majesty can stand aside." Cen Xi, the servant at the side, said.

As soon as he finished speaking, the prince turned to look at him doubtfully.

Emperor Wei glanced at the prince, Jia and Wang. Everyone immediately understood that the monarch and his ministers might have something to discuss in secret.

The prince stood up and left first, followed by Jia and Wang. Other officials also followed out, and finally the chamberlain left under the leadership of Zhang Rang.

Everyone left one after another, only Jia Gonglu deliberately slowed down his pace. He didn't look back until Zhang Rang caught up.

"Zhang Jujuan, whose idea was it to let Li Xiujing lead Youshence on the expedition this time?" Jia Gonglu's eyes were cold and sharp.

Zhang Rang motioned to the servants behind him to wait aside, while he invited Mr. Jia to go to the verandah, "Can Mr. Jia be able to find other suitable candidates? He is a general, and it would be a waste if he keeps burying his talent. Pei Jiaoran worked hard to help him get a chance to come back."

"I'm worried that the Shence Army will become a sharp sword in his hands. With Cao Wenzhong's tricks, how can he be his opponent?" Jia Gonglu said angrily, and then looked into the distance, "Zuo Shence is Lieutenant Liu again. Zhang Zhi, the two of them have a very good relationship. Bao Buqi will secretly help each other."

"Lieutenant Liu?" Zhang Rang smiled, "Since you think he is an eyesore, let's give him a good place to go."

Understanding what Zhang Rang meant, Jia Gonglu waved his hand and said, "You can handle it yourself and don't bring the matter to me. Let me remind you that Pei Jiaoran has handed over a new memorandum to His Majesty. You have to let the Privy Council keep an eye on it." Write. Don’t act like a normal person all day long. Get involved when you need to.”

"Here." Zhang Rang smiled.

At this time, Emperor Wei was looking at Cen Xi in the palace.

"Servant Cen, what do you want to say to me?"

Cen Xi bowed and said, "I think this battle must be fought. Without fighting the central government, the prestige cannot be established, and any new orders in the future will not be effective in the feudal towns. Not long after the imperial court reduced its troops, three towns rebelled. If the other towns are dissatisfied, , maybe they will follow suit in the future. What will the court do then? Furthermore, in a fundamental sense, the taxes of the three towns can be included in Zuozang. The pressure on Jianghuai will be much less, and many miscellaneous taxes can be abolished. People We will also be grateful to His Majesty."

"It is justifiable to fight at this time, and the people will not think that this is the problem of the imperial court. If we win, the central government can smoothly intervene in the three towns, and the common people will think of the good of the imperial court. If the power is unified, isn't it for the benefit of the common people? If the imperial court is unsettled and the country falls into endless rebellion and internal strife, the country and the country will ultimately be harmed."