Zhao Kuangyin took off his sword and straightened his clothes. The cold military armor reflected the cold light and bound the coldness on his body. It was very uncomfortable, but Zhao Kuangyin seemed to be unaware. As soon as he entered the hall, he felt the warmth rushing towards him. His face was immediately covered with a layer of mist.
He stepped forward to pay homage: "Your Majesty, Zhao Kuangyin, is here to see you!"
Liu Chengyou held a porcelain bowl in his hand, scooped out a red date, and put it in his mouth. He looked up at Zhao Kuangyin and saw that his body was cold and a few uncleaned snowflakes were melting.
"No courtesy! Sit down first!" Liu Chengyou raised his hand, then turned around and ordered: "Zhang Dejun, give Marquis Yu of Zhaodu a bowl of ginger soup to dispel the cold!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Zhao Kuangyin thanked him, stood up, and sat down. Zhang Dejun, with quick hands and feet, took out a bowl of the pear and ginger soup cooked in the dining room and handed it to Zhao Kuangyin.
A bowl of hot soup warmed his body and heart. Zhao Kuangyin's complexion became rosier. He spit out a jujube kernel and Liu Chengyou looked at him and asked, "Have the arrangements for the knights from Xiazhou been properly arranged?"
"Your Majesty, I will temporarily concentrate the cavalry troops and return them to the left wing. I have ordered people to monitor them secretly!" Zhao Kuangyin responded.
"Yuen Long is so talented!" Liu Chengyou said: "These Xiazhou knights may also have spies from Li Yiyin, so we must keep an eye on them! From Yuen Long's point of view, how powerful are they?"
After returning to Beijing from the Southern Expedition, Liu Chengyou issued an edict to select elites from all the prefectures and towns in the world to serve as the imperial army. For the army in trouble, the Privy Council also issued an order to select elite cavalry.
Of course, Li Yiyin paid no attention to it. Later, Liu Chong wanted to plan for a permanent settlement in Hedong, so he sent people to Xiazhou with a secret letter, hoping to hook him up as a foreign aid and cooperate with him to fight against the imperial government.
The letter was sent to Li Yiyin intentionally and tacitly. As a result, before he could make a decision, Liu Chong was dismissed from his post and returned to Beijing, where he died of illness in Luoyang. During this period, the situation changed so quickly that Li Yiyin was caught off guard.
What really worried him was the major military and political changes in Hedong. The Baoning Army under Zhe De's command was in the east, and Wang Yansheng was in Yanzhou in the south, clamping down on both sides. There was also the ruthless Shi Hongzhao in Shuofang in the west.
After much consideration, Li Yiyin decided to give in. Finally, hesitantly, he selected a group of cavalry from the army and transferred it to Tokyo. Of course, there were only a hundred cavalry, and another two hundred horses were donated.
After hearing the inquiry at this time, Zhao Kuangyin reported: "I have inspected and found that they are all capable men. They are good at riding and shooting. Their combat power is superior even among the elite cavalry. They can fight one against five!"
"I just don't know how many brave men like this are there in the Difficulty Army!" Liu Chengyou murmured.
"I have met with the leader of the team. According to what he said, there seem to be so many elites in the Dingnan Army. There are as many as five thousand, and those who are slightly weaker are several times as many!" Zhao Kuangyin replied, with a hint of emotion in his tone. A bit of banter.
Liu Chengyou chuckled slightly and said: "If it is true, wouldn't it mean that all the Dingnan Army has strong troops and no weak troops? How many troops does he have in total? This Li Yiyin actually played such a trick on me, intending to tell me , he will definitely make it difficult for his army to be strong and his horses strong, so don’t try lightly!”
Zhao Kuangyin laughed along with him and echoed: "Your Majesty is wise and revealed Li Yiyin's clumsy scheming in one sentence. Xia Sui is barren and it is difficult to raise troops and horses! It is also because the Han Dynasty is getting stronger and stronger, and the army is getting stronger, so the army is doubtful and fearful!"
Liu Chengyou nodded slightly, thought for a moment, and said relaxedly: "It seems that we need to slow down the attack on the troubled army! Otherwise, Li Yi, out of doubt and fear, defected to Hu Liao and Khitan, and the trouble in the northwest will be difficult to deal with for a while!"
"It is hereby issued that the Han troops along Xia Sui are not allowed to cross the border with one man or one horse to invade and plunder to cause disputes!" Liu Chengyou gave the order calmly.
"What about the two hundred war horses?" Liu Chengyou asked again.
Zhao Kuangyin was obviously familiar with all matters, including war horses. After hearing the question, he replied without thinking: "It is winter, although it is rugged, but they are all from Hexi. They just need to be fattened and fat enough to be enough for the army." That’s right! It’s just that all horses are gelded!”
"Haha!" Liu Chengyou smiled faintly and said with restrained expression: "Horses are the foundation of armored soldiers and a sharp weapon of national defense. To level the southern countries, elite infantry is enough. However, if you want to go north to attack the barbarians, you must rely on elite cavalry. We don't have to worry about soldiers, we only worry about healthy horses! However, Yanbei is still in the hands of Hu, and the border states in the northwest have little control. I really suffer from the source of the army and horses.
Earlier, I asked Wei Renpu to conduct an inventory and found that there were less than 40,000 suitable troops and horses in the army across the country, and there were many old and injured horses that were still being used. In the Huaihei expedition alone, nearly 3,000 horses were damaged before and after.
If it were not for the thousands of good horses captured in the battle against the miscellaneous barbarians in Hexi on behalf of the Duke to supplement them, I am afraid that the iron cavalry and Long Jie's two armies would not be able to support one man and one horse!"
Hearing the emperor's sigh, Zhao Kuangyin immediately stood up and asked for instructions: "Your Majesty, the horse administration should be reinstated. Although the northwest states are not yet stable, they can be used to herd and train military horses. In the Central Plains and Hebei, the court can also follow the old system and encourage herding. keep!"
"I have this intention!" Liu Chengyou looked at Zhao Kuangyin with some sparkle in his eyes: "I have been appointed as a bachelor to organize the political affairs of the previous dynasty, and I want to implement whatever is feasible according to the country's situation! Within the territory of the Han Dynasty, the most The only places suitable for animal husbandry are Longyou and Hexi, but the land is sparse and the people are sparse, the borders are not peaceful, and they are often invaded by barbarians...
After the beginning of spring, I intend to send Yuen Long to inspect the northwest border defense, inspect its situation, and screen the pasture land for selection. By the way, take a look at the southwest border defense, the movements of the Shu army, and the situation of Qin and Feng for me!"
After listening to the emperor's instructions, Zhao Kuangyin was deep in thought, but his body reacted instinctively, and he cupped his hands and said, "Yes!"
"Within five years, I will have enough troops and horses to arm a hundred thousand cavalry!" Liu Chengyou calmly set a goal that was not easy to achieve. After all, the restrictions were considerable.
"Your Majesty's ambition lies in the north!" Zhao Kuangyin couldn't help but glance at Liu Chengyou and thought in his heart.
The goal of pursuing Ma Zheng was clearly to fight in the northern part of the country. Now the focus of the Han Dynasty's national policy was in the south, but its ambition was towards the north, and there was no slack at all.
In the Sansi Yamen, Zhang Yisu, who was promoted to Duzhi Judge, executed an edict and handed it to Xue Juzheng, the Prime Minister in person.
At the end of the fifth year of Qianyou, all matters need to be summarized. The Third Division is probably the most complicated and busy organization among all the imperial offices. Xue Juzheng couldn't help but smile bitterly as he looked at the piles of official documents that were piled up. For a while.
He finally understood why Wang Zhang aged so fast and his body was so depleted in a few years, which was reflected in this series of official documents. Of course, the country's financial situation was difficult at the beginning, and Wang Zhang's weight was It is also one of the reasons why it is best to do things yourself.
In comparison, Xue Juzheng's life was easier, but only in relative terms. However, the sense of accomplishment when he felt the taxes, land, money and grain of the country gradually coming into his hands and sorting out the statistics was still very intoxicating.
"What's the matter?" Xue Juzheng looked at Zhang Yisu and asked.
Zhang Yisu submitted the edict to the case and explained: "The Chongzheng Palace has issued a new edict. Your Majesty wants to restart the horse administration. Let the three departments do the accounting and prepare the money and food for the initial investment!"
Nodding, Xue Juzheng looked at Zhang Yisu and saw that his face was pale with a strange look, as if he was sick. A blush came up, and after holding it back, he finally couldn't help but coughed a few times, and hurriedly took it.
He took out the silk and wiped his mouth.
"I've been rude to you, sir. Please forgive me!" Zhang Yisu apologized after he recovered.
"It's okay!" Xue Juzheng looked at his sick look and couldn't help but said with concern: "Zhengfang, your health is not good, so you shouldn't work too hard. If you can't support it, you can take leave and go home to recuperate!"
"Thank you for your kindness! It's nothing serious. It's an old problem! I have been suffering from the disease for many years and it happens like this every winter. It's not surprising!" Zhang Yisu shook his head, coughed slightly, and said, "Now it's the right time in Siyanei.
There are many things to do, how dare you avoid hard work because of illness!"
Xue Juzheng couldn't help but sigh, and thought to himself that with such a good son-in-law, the prince would have a successor, but his sick body made him feel pitiful.
After coming back to his senses, he browsed through the edict, raised his head, and said with a wry smile: "Restarting Ma Zheng will be a big expense! Your Majesty has repeatedly increased policies. If it were not supplemented by Huainan taxes, I am afraid it would be difficult.
Of!"
"Your Majesty has a promising master. Under his encouragement, I can only do my best and follow his footsteps!" Zhang Yisu had been a close minister beside Liu Chengyou for a while, so he was not surprised.
"Since last year, the imperial court has been carrying out major affairs, such as the southern expedition, the attack on Shu, and the restructuring. The expenditures have been huge. Repairing the city and relieving the winter disaster have all been a waste of money and food. Spring is about to begin, and the salaries and wages will be lowered, and the spring uniforms of the army and soldiers will be replaced.
.....The Shangyuan Festival celebration is probably indispensable. The autumn tax revenue will be lost again..." Xue Juzheng listed them one by one, as if he was confiding his bitterness: "Now
, and started the horse administration again, hey, I can feel the hardship of the prince's day!"
Seeing this, Zhang Yisu chuckled and said: "My lord, there is no need to worry too much. Your Majesty is not in a hurry for success, and horse administration is not something that can be accomplished overnight. There is enough time for preparations!"
Xue Juzheng nodded, thought for a moment, and said to Zhang Yisu: "I would like to trouble Zhengfang to lead your staff to discuss this matter first and draw up a charter. Your Majesty issued an edict directly, but we have to do our best.
!”
Zhang Yisu responded: "Yes!"
Xue Juzheng sighed slightly and exhaled a breath of white steam. He picked up another memorial, which was about the preliminary financial rectification of Guanzhong. His concentration was somewhat relieved. Since the mid-Tang Dynasty, Guanzhong has given people the impression of being war-torn, dilapidated, and barren.
But in fact, after several years of recuperation since the founding of the Han Dynasty, the population, cultivated land, and tax revenue have all recovered and developed significantly. In particular, the prefectures and counties on the Weihe Plain have shown a trend of revival.