As usual, when faced with Liu Chengyou's return after farewell, Queen Mother Li still showed a gentle and virtuous attitude, with kind eyes, and helped Liu Chengyou up. She looked around him, took him to a seat, and repeated: " Just come back!"
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When Liu Chengyou described Xiao Kui, he didn't touch it, but his concern was palpable.
"My dear mother, I miss you." Liu Chengyou smiled, cupped his hands and said, "My son must spend more time with me."
"Don't I know you? I'm afraid it's rare to have free time. It's good if you have this intention!" Mrs. Li said extremely wisely: "But when you return to Beijing, I am relieved. I am an old woman in the harem. The state affairs are in turmoil, and guarding Kaifeng and the court for you is really exhausting both physically and mentally, and I am unbearably tired!"
Queen Mother Li looked relieved. Seeing this, Liu Chengyou quickly said: "Thank you for your hard work, mother!"
Paying attention to Mrs. Li's expression, Liu Chengyou's thoughts suddenly changed and he asked in a solemn voice: "Does anyone dare to be disrespectful to my mother?"
"The princes of the court do not dare to be rude to me. But I am a woman after all. I am short-sighted and it is inconvenient to travel between the front court and the harem to show my face. I will give the city of Tokyo back to you!" Seeing a hint of coldness in Liu Chengyou's expression, Li immediately explained warmly.
His mother's virtuousness actually made Liu Chengyou feel a little guilty, out of some suspicion on his part. Many thoughts flashed through his mind in a flash, and when they came to his mouth, they only turned into an emotional word: "Mom, thank you for your hard work!".
In fact, since Liu Chengyou ascended the throne, the communication between mother and son has unconsciously become formal and empty, high-sounding, and lacks family affection. At this time, hearing the warmth in Liu Chengyou's tone, Li's face could not help but reveal a trace of relief. smile.
"It's getting colder, remember to put on more clothes."
"yes!"
"Where's Brother Meng?"
"Bring the prince up and show it to the officials." Li ordered the maid in attendance, and then said to Liu Chengyou: "In the hundred days, when you are not here, I summoned relatives to hold a simple blessing banquet. Brother Meng Very strong..."
Liu Chengyou nodded, took the child out, and was about to reach out to hold it. But Mr. Li stopped him and washed his hands and clothes.
The baby, who is more than three months old, is very light. Anyway, Liu Chengyou can't tell how strong he is. However, looking at the baby's face, he looks very energetic, and he is indeed in a healthy state.
After shaking a few times in his arms, Liu Chengyou said casually without thinking: "You still don't know how to speak."
"How could it be so fast!" Mrs. Li smiled and gave him an angry look.
"Officials, ministers would like to see you!" During the chat, the chamberlain hurriedly came to report.
Liu Chengyou's expression couldn't help but reveal a little hesitation. Seeing this, Mrs. Li stepped forward to take over Brother Liu, and the child who was moving and struggling in Liu Chengyou's arms immediately stopped.
Li said: "Go! There must be important things to do when the ministers are here to meet you. When you return from the expedition, you must also have many important things to know."
"My son, please leave first!" Liu Chengyou clasped his fists and took two steps back.
Before leaving, he said to Da Fu and Gao who were waiting in the palace: "Please take good care of the Queen Mother for me!"
"Yes!" the two women responded politely.
In fact, there was no need for Liu Chengyou to explain, both the queen and the concubine would do this. Dafu habitually fulfilled his filial piety for Liu Chengyou, and Gao Huaijin followed suit. As for Li's attitude towards the two women, he basically He was not biased and gave warnings from time to time to help Liu Chengyou stabilize the harem so that he would be less disturbed.
...
He hurried back to the Chui Gong Hall, braced himself up, and quickly cleared up his mood. After sitting down to accept the greetings of the ministers, Liu Chengyou looked around and said to the dozen or so ministers: "I owe this time to you for my personal expedition. I will be responsible for the affairs of the country, handling the affairs of the country, and calming the people's hearts so that I will have no worries. I am here to thank you all!"
It is said that after the defeat of Li Shouzhen, the emperor's arrogance became increasingly strong and he acted in a rather independent manner. Therefore, Liu Chengyou's attitude at this time made the officials present unavoidably surprised.
The emperor even bowed out of the ceremony to show face, how could the courtiers respond humbly and humbly.
After making some grand remarks and creating an atmosphere of harmony between the monarch and his ministers, Liu Chengyou asked directly: "I have come to see you, if you have any questions, please tell me directly."
The first person to come out was Wang Zhang. His face was full of hard work and exhaustion. Among all the prime ministers in Tokyo, Wang Zhang had the hardest work. Raising and dispatching food and equipment was a laborious task. Secretary General Finance and Taxation has a lot of chores, and later there will be matters of autumn harvest and tax collection...
It is not an exaggeration to say that he is full of things and has many things to do every day. Liu Chengyou noticed that the white hair on Wang Zhang's head has obviously increased a bit. Sometimes, you can make a judgment by observing an official's behavior, his age, and his hair color. .
Wang Zhang's abilities, style, and political methods may be open to question, but he is still very serious about his work, dares to bear infamy, and has always struggled to maintain the country's financial revenue and expenditure.
First he coughed a few times, Wang Zhang stood up and apologized first: "I have behaved inappropriately, your majesty, please forgive me!"
Seeing this, Liu Chengyou raised his sleeves and said calmly: "It's okay. Wang Qing can sit down and answer the question!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Liu Chengyou did not hesitate to be the most tolerant towards his ministers who really did their work.
"Your Majesty, this Western Expedition to suppress the rebellion cost Tokyo a total of more than 95,400 stones of grain, flour, meat, etc., and more than 16,800 yuan. The capital and prefectures spent a total of more than 50,000 grains. Stone, more than 40 million yuan in money. Arms, supplies, what was used before the army, what was spent on soldiers, what was spent on young men, subsequent rewards and rewards, and what was paid in the river. The details are written in this volume. Your Majesty, please read it. !" Wang Zhang took out a memorial and presented it to Liu Chengyou.
Obviously, Wang Zhang led the Third Division in summarizing this matter, and he was ahead of him.
Picking up the memorial that was submitted to the case, Liu Chengyou glanced at it briefly. His mind was filled with the few data mentioned by Wang Zhang, and he muttered: "There are so many!"
"The country consumes a lot of military supplies..."
"As a result, the imperial court is poor again!" Liu Chengyou said with a headache.
Of course, the Han court has never been rich. He knew that wars cost money, so he was somewhat mentally prepared. But when I heard the specific data, I still couldn't help but feel sick. The mobilization of hundreds of thousands of people and the expedition of nearly a thousand miles, during which the food The loss was huge, but luckily I got a mouthful of blood back in Hezhong Mansion.
Most of the money spent was on the construction of weapons and heavy siege equipment. This was despite the fact that the imperial court was trying its best to squeeze out labor and material costs.
That is to say, the time to counter the rebellion is short enough. If it is delayed for a few more months, the cost will be even more difficult to measure. Not to mention the changes in the current situation and the threats from hostile countries, there will probably be chaos in the Han Dynasty. At that point, Insufficient military supplies basically had no choice but to exploit farmers.
"I will take some time later to read it carefully!" Liu Chengyou put down the booklet and took a deep breath. He looked up at Wang Zhang and said, "How much money and food are left in Tokyo? Is it enough?"
