The day after Ma Chao left, Gao Fei notified various agencies to hold a court meeting in the main hall.
In the main hall, all the Senate, Privy Council, and Nine Ministers were present except Cai Yong and Lu Zhi who were unable to attend due to illness. In addition, Secretary Ling Chen Lin and Tai Shi Ling were all sitting in the court hall.
Above, the contents of the court meeting were recorded at any time, while Sima Yi and Jiang Qian listened.
Gao Fei, wearing a crown and a dragon robe, was sitting on the dragon chair. He glanced at the civil and military ministers present and said immediately: "Yesterday, I sent Ma Chao as the general to conquer the west to pacify the Xianling Qiang. I am also preparing to personally
The purpose of the Western Expedition is to capture the entire Beidi County of Liangzhou and serve as the front line for the subsequent pacification of Liangzhou."
As soon as he finished speaking, Prime Minister Xun Chen stood up immediately, knelt on the ground, and said loudly: "I risk my life to remonstrate, and I beg the emperor to take back my order. Although there are constant troubles on the northwest frontier, it is not enough to use large troops. As long as the defense is proper,
That's it. Now that the national treasury is empty, the supply of troops is insufficient, and everything is in ruins, it is no longer possible to raise military pay, so it is not appropriate to launch a large-scale war. I think it is not too late to recuperate for a few years, and when the country is strong, it will not be too late to send out troops again."
Tian Feng, Bing Yuan, and Guan Ning stood up together, knelt on the ground, and said in unison: "I second my opinion!"
"Your Majesty! The border is unjust and the enemy will become increasingly rampant. If we wait a few more years, the enemy will inevitably become stronger. It will be extremely difficult to pacify him by then. It is better to send troops now and pacify Helan Mountain with lightning speed.
, occupying the northern land is enough to intimidate Liangzhou and shock the western border!" Jia Xu immediately stood up, knelt down and said loudly.
Guo Jia, Xun You, and Gai Xun also agreed. They all knelt on the ground and advocated sending troops to attack.
Gao Fei took one look at this scene and returned to yesterday's quarrel. While fighting, he advocated recuperation. In fact, he already had an idea in his mind.
From Liaodong to the establishment of the Huaxia Kingdom, more than half of the entire empire's economy came from the mining of gold mines. However, it is extremely difficult to mine gold mines now, because it used to be open-pit mining and mining was very easy, but now it has to be mined deep into caves.
The current mining technology cannot meet the demand at all. This situation occurs not only in gold mines, but also in silver mines, iron mines, coal mines, copper mines and other minerals.
Just a few days ago, a coal mine in Liaodong suddenly collapsed, burying more than a hundred miners alive underground. Although funds have been allocated for rescue, underground operations are dangerous, and the protective measures for each mining pit are not sound enough.
, so safety is the priority when mining, and the output is naturally low.
The other half of Huaxia's economic source is commercial trade. Yunzhou has become the largest trading city outside the Great Wall. In the past, the profits from trade alone could meet the two-year expenses of a state. However, when trade entered the later stage, because the Xianbei people fled far away,
The Wuwan people moved inward, and the Fuyu people
Being too poor directly led to the decline of Yunzhou, a huge trading city outside the Great Wall, and the revenue from foreign trade was greatly reduced. Except for the prosperous Youzhou generation, domestic commerce has not developed in other places.
Relatively few.
In addition, the Huaxia Kingdom built a new capital in Luoyang and spent huge sums of money to encourage the recovery of the Central Plains. There were still hundreds of thousands of soldiers to support, which directly led to a deficit in the national treasury's balance of payments.
The faster it develops, the easier it is for problems to be exposed. Gao Fei knows this deeply, and it will take at least a long time to prosper the country. However, if the Xianling Qiang entrenched in Helan Mountain is not eradicated as soon as possible, once its power continues to grow,
, then it will be difficult to attack.
Although he has dispatched Ma Chao as General to Conquer the West to pacify the Xianling Qiang in the Helan Mountains, the key is to gradually encroach on the entire Hetao area from a strategic perspective. The Hetao area is rich in water resources and has many alluvial plains.
It is suitable for farming and can be developed into a new grain production base. If you control it, you can carry out commercial trade to the Western Regions and exert a restraint on Cao Cao.
Gao Fei's trip to Guanzhong made him see the difficulty of attacking Guanzhong from the front. At this time, he could only walk on two feet, which meant that he had to cross mountains and ridges. However, the road was difficult and the logistics could not be guaranteed. If he attacked Liangzhou from outside the Great Wall,
That's no problem
The biggest advantage of the Huaxia Kingdom is the cavalry. The vast grassland outside the Great Wall is the best place for cavalry to gallop. And now it has mastered many grasslands outside the Great Wall, driving the Xianbei people to Mobei. In such a large place, the use of grain and grass is also very convenient.
easy.
He looked around at everyone and asked: "What do the nine ministers think? You might as well talk and listen."
As a result, the nine ministers each made speeches and expressed their opinions. Most of them agreed with Xun Chen for domestic development reasons, but a few agreed with Jia Xu. After their establishment, the Privy Council and the Senate appeared for the first time.
Extreme disunity in political opinions.
After listening to what everyone said, Gao Fei said: "In that case, you might as well listen to me."
The entire hall was silent, everyone was looking forward to Gao Fei's words.
After Gao Fei stared at everyone, he took a deep breath and said loudly: "I have decided..."
All the ministers held their breath, listened attentively, and all their eyes were focused on Gao Fei.
"I have decided to issue national bonds and send troops to the west."
As soon as this sentence came out, I felt a lot of joy and a lot of worry.
Xun Chen said reluctantly: "Your Majesty, the treasury cannot spend so much money to send out troops for the Western Expedition at this time. Do we have to empty the treasury and spend huge sums of money to fight this war? Soldiers' pay, food and grass all cost a huge amount.
If the treasury is empty during the war, how will the entire country function in the future?"
Tian Feng also hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, I firmly oppose sending troops to the Western Expedition. I can't eat a fat man in one bite. Please think twice, Your Majesty."
"Your Majesty, I second the proposal!" Bing Yuan, Guan Ning and others said together.
"Dear ministers, I will not touch a penny from the national treasury. Didn't I just say that I will issue national bonds!"
After hearing this, everyone looked at each other in confusion. What was the national debt? How could they understand it?
Seeing that everyone was confused, Gao Fei immediately explained what national debt was. After the explanation was clear, everyone suddenly understood. After careful consideration, they felt that this method was indeed feasible. In the end, Gao Fei overcame everyone's opinions and used the temporary issuance of national debt as a means.
, allowing the Ministry of Revenue to issue treasury bonds according to his wishes, with a term of five years, and set a high rate of return.
After the court meeting ended, Gao Fei stayed alone with the four Taiwei from the Privy Council and said to them: "This time I want to march westward and conquer the North. However, the lack of troops has always been a headache for me. Taiwei Guo
, your wife is the princess of the Huns
Lord, I would like to ask you and your wife to go to the Xiongnu garrison and conduct an open recruitment of Xiongnu warriors. You and your wife will be responsible for commanding the soldiers and horses recruited. They will cross the river from Shangjun and attack the north. I will then appoint Wei Yan to accompany you and accept the invitation.
You exercise moderation.”
After hearing this, Guo Jia felt extremely honored. This was the first time in his history that he had led an army alone on an expedition. He immediately clasped his fists excitedly and said, "I obey your order. Your Majesty, I have one more thing to ask of you. I want to take the Detachment of Women with me. No.
Do you know?"
Gao Fei smiled and said: "No, the Detachment of Women has other wonderful uses. I want to stay by my side as a surprise force!"
Guo Jia stopped talking and stepped aside.
Gao Fei then said: "Gongda, you and Wang Wenjun, the Minister of War, are going to Dongyi to recruit troops. Wang Wenjun is familiar with Dongyi. He also accompanied Hu Yu to pacify the Three Han Dynasties and was quite prestigious there. You are here to recruit troops as a mercenary."
Soldiers, the salary of soldiers is half of that of soldiers in our country. Dongyi has a large population and is relatively poor, so hiring them to fight wars and guard the border is the best candidate."
"I obey the decree!"
Gao Fei glanced at Jia Xu and Gai Xun, and said with a smile: "Two great lieutenants, this time I will go on a personal expedition, and you will go with me."
Jia Xu and Gai Xun were both from Liangzhou, and they knew Gao Fei's intentions. Gai Xun, in particular, still had a certain prestige in the minds of Hu and Han in Liangzhou. The two men immediately nodded in agreement.
Gao Fei couldn't attack Guanzhong from the front. He could only attack from the side. He wanted to take advantage of Cao Cao's unsteady foothold in Guanzhong and beat a side drum first to let Cao Cao know that he was always paying attention to his movements. Moreover, there were already ten rooms in Guanzhong.
Jiukong, if Gao Fei can encroach on the Hetao area step by step, it will be equivalent to cutting off an arm of Cao Cao.
After the court meeting, the imperial edict to issue national bonds was first posted in Jicheng City. Jicheng is now the commercial center of the entire Huaxia Kingdom, with countless wealthy people. Once the imperial edict was posted, it immediately caused a big commotion in Jicheng City.
There was such a sensation that as many as a hundred people went to the Ministry of Household Affairs to purchase government bonds that day, and the amount purchased by each person was still very large. In just one afternoon, these speculative businessmen had purchased an amount equivalent to the annual output of a gold mine.
The high returns on government bonds are the key to attracting wealthy businessmen to buy them. In extraordinary times, this is undoubtedly the fastest and fastest way to make money.
The next day, Gao Fei asked someone to hand over part of the money to Guo Jia, and asked Guo Jia to take his wife Ji Lisi and Wei Yan and more than ten followers to rush to the Xiongnu garrison with heavy money. Xun You and Wang Wenjun also took their accompanying officials.
Rushing to Dongyi, Gao Fei took Jia Xu and Gai Xun to Shuofang, with Tai Shi Ci as the vanguard general and an army of three thousand women who went ahead last night.
………………
In Shuofang Mansion, Linrong City, Pang De stood on the city wall, looking at the Qiang cavalry swimming outside the city, with a sad face. For a month in a row, this group of Qiang people often broke into the border and harassed them with dozens of small groups.
Every time he sent out troops, the enemy would retreat. As soon as he returned to the city, the group would come back again and make him miserable.
"General, the emperor has sent a handwriting, please take a look at it, general!" A soldier held a small note and presented it to Pound.
After Pang De took it, he took a look and said angrily: "Ma Chao is the general who conquers the west, and I am subject to his control? Why does the emperor pay so much attention to a prince who has perished?"