Zhao Changping was still working in the Ministry of Household Affairs at the moment. After receiving the emperor's call, he did not dare to neglect, so he arranged his official uniform and entered the palace. (Due to caching reasons, please visit the browser directly.\nCOM website
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After meeting the emperor, Zhao Shangshu bowed his hands in salute.
"Old minister Zhao Zhi, pay homage to Your Majesty."
The emperor looked up at him, motioned for him to sit down, and said with a smile: "Among the nine ministers in the imperial court now, you are probably the youngest, Qing Zhao. Why do you start calling yourself an old minister?"
Shen Yi had just arrived in Jiankang, that is, in the sixth year of Hongde's reign. At that time, Zhao Changping was still the Minister of Household Affairs. He was in his forties and close to fifty, and was considered in his prime.
Now, in the blink of an eye, seven years have passed, and the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue is already fifty-six years old, with a lot of white hair on his temples.
He lowered his head slightly and said with a smile: "Your Majesty is making fun of you. I am already fifty-six this year, and my hair is half gray."
The emperor was stunned when he heard this, then sighed and said, "I remember that when I first came to the throne, Zhao Qing was still in his prime. In the blink of an eye, more than ten years have passed."
Zhao Shangshu couldn't help but sigh with emotion.
"I, this group of people, have watched His Majesty grow up day by day. Now that Your Majesty has become a wise king and a holy master, I and others are very pleased."
"What Mingjun Holy Master?"
Emperor Hongde shook his head slightly and said with a smile: "It is not in line with Zhao Shangshu's temperament to flatter the horse."
Zhao Changping smiled and said: "I sincerely feel that as long as your Majesty can be consistent, no one will be able to erase the word "Ming Jun" from the history books in the future.
When the emperor heard this, he felt something in his heart. He rubbed his temples and sighed: "Being a wise king is really not an easy task."
The profession of emperor...has its own particularities.
If you want to do this job well and be a "wise king", you must first be a workaholic.
Because if you want to grasp the power of the court and not be ignored by the people below, there are too many things to deal with, people to see, and things to do every day.
And once you slack off even a little bit, part of your power will be lost from your hands.
If you continue to show off and indulge in pleasure, then in many aspects, it can only be a mascot.
Many emperors in history were like this.
The young man succeeded to the throne and forged ahead with great ambition. He wanted to do his job well and become a saint king who would go down in history.
However, most of them only lasted for the first ten years.
Better still, only twenty years.
Because being a so-called wise king is really hard work. After a person reaches middle age, his energy cannot keep up. If he slacks off a little and messes up once or twice, he will taste the fun of messing up.
Later, it may get out of hand.
The more typical ones are Li Laosan and Kang Laosan.
However, there are very few emperors who can truly achieve this.
After sighing with emotion, the emperor asked Gao Ming to serve tea, and then said with a smile: "Okay, God of Wealth, let's get down to business."
"I came to you today to settle a score with you."
Zhao Shangshu was stunned for a moment, then realized and said: "Your Majesty... is there going to be a national war?"
Emperor Hongde tapped the handrail with his fingers and said quietly: "We are not sure yet, but depending on the situation, if we don't fight this year, we will definitely fight next year and the year after that."
He looked at Zhao Changping and said with a smile: "There may be a fight this year. Since this is possible, the imperial court must make corresponding preparations."
"After all, when the war breaks out, it can't be like now, where Shen Qi has to raise even the military rations."
Zhao Changping lowered his head silently and said: "Your Majesty, I have said a long time ago that the money and food left by the Ministry of Revenue can support the national war for about two years."
"In the first half of this year, I presided over a purchase and spent money to fill up the grain depots in various places. I also sent people to inspect the various prefectures and counties to confirm the grain in each warehouse..."
"Until last month, the amount of food left in various local warehouses, plus Jiankang's grain depot, was about three million dan."
"Based on one pound of rations per person per day for each military household, plus all the civilians accompanying the army, this food is enough to feed an army of 300,000 for more than a year."
"If a war breaks out, the Ministry of Revenue can squeeze out some food from other places and urgently purchase some. Sustaining it for two years will definitely not be a problem."
The emperor thought for a while, and then said quietly: "I'm afraid not all the grain depots in these places are full. Maybe the officials from the Ministry of Revenue leave in front of them, and the grain depots in the back will be empty."
Greed is part of human nature and cannot be changed.
Upon hearing this, Shangshu Zhao sighed slightly and said: "Back to Your Majesty, I have already considered this and the amount reported to you has been calculated. If we look at it according to the accounts of the Ministry of Revenue, the remaining grains in the granaries in various places are added to
Together, there should be 4.5 million shi."
Having said this, he paused and said in a low voice: "If there is a war, these grains will be military rations. Anyone who dares to touch them will immediately be the fault of the three Yi tribes! When mobilizing grains, even if the warehouse is empty, those silverfish will find ways to
Replenish these grain depots!"
"I've seen too many people who want money rather than their lives."
The emperor squinted his eyes and did not continue, but said with a smile: "Starting from this month, the Ministry of Household Affairs will start to adjust the grain, send part to Jiankang, and then send part to Huai'an Prefecture, and give it to Zhang... um..."
The emperor rubbed his head and said, "I remembered it. I left it to the custody of Zhang Jian, the prefect of Huai'an."
As he spoke, he looked at Zhao Shangshu and said with a smile: "If I remember correctly, this prefect of Huai'an is the direct grandson of Prime Minister Zhang and a student of Zhao Qing?"
"yes."
Zhao Shangshu lowered his head and said: "Zhang Yian is my student. Although his temperament is not particularly calm, he is very tenacious when doing things. There will be no problem in transferring the grain to Huai'an Mansion."
"Okay, then let's do it."
The emperor said softly: "Don't do it too openly, just treat it as a routine food adjustment by the Ministry of Revenue, and then..."
"If the council asks..."
Zhao Changping understood, lowered his head and said: "Your Majesty, since the Huai'an Army was established, the Ministry of Revenue has not distributed much food to them. There has been a shortage of a lot in more than a year. The purpose of transferring food at this time is to make up for this gap."
When the emperor heard this, he clapped his hands and said with a smile: "Qing Zhao, you are more thoughtful, so let's use this excuse."
After Zhao Changping was praised by the emperor, his expression remained respectful, neither sad nor happy.
After being silent for a while, he asked: "Your Majesty, Shen Yi, the Minister of War, is my nephew. Can I ask how he is doing?"
The emperor was a little surprised: "He didn't communicate with you..."
At this point, the emperor's words stopped abruptly. He slapped his head and laughed dumbly: "Yes, he is now surrounded in Xuzhou City and has no way to communicate with the outside world. To send a letter to me, he still has to go out of the city to fight.
It will take a while to deliver it."
Having said this, the emperor looked at Zhao Shangshu and said with a smile: "Don't worry, Qing Zhao, Shen Qi is very well now. He will soon occupy Xuzhou and become king. The people of Qi can't do anything to him."
Having said this, the emperor looked to the north and said with a smile: "Now, he is surrounded in Xuzhou City and is not at ease. He occasionally sends troops out of the city to seek bad luck for the Qi people."
Zhao Shangshu lowered his head and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for telling me."
The emperor stood up, walked up to the God of Wealth, patted his shoulder and said with a smile.
"You, Ganquan Academy, have produced a remarkable person."
"The revival of my great virtue may come from him."
………………
Xuzhou City, on the east gate tower.
Mr. Shen is holding a telescope and looking at the enemy in the east.
The emperor was right, he was indeed going to seek bad luck for the people of Qi.
Originally, after he occupied Xuzhou, logically speaking, the Qi people would definitely attack Xuzhou City for the sake of their emperor's face, even if it cost them human lives.
But now, more than a month has passed, and the progress of things is somewhat beyond Shen Yi's expectations.
For almost a month, the Southern Expeditionary Army besieged the city of Xuzhou without attacking it. So far, although they have fought many siege battles, the thunder was loud and the rain was light every time.
Not on a large scale.
After Master Shen looked at the Qi people's camp in the north for a while, he frowned slightly and said, "Qi people have always been arrogant and arrogant. Why have they changed their gender now? I can't bear this kind of loss!"
The East Route Army was in charge of the east city wall. At this moment, Su Ding stood behind Shen Yi, lowered his head slightly and said: "They were frightened by you, Mr. Shen. They knew that if they came to attack Xuzhou, they would die, so they cowered and surrounded them.
Instead of fighting.”
Having said this, Su Ding gritted his teeth and said: "I hate that our Huaihe Navy in the south has not moved yet. Now, most of the troops of the Southern Conquest Army are outside Xuzhou City. If the Huaihe Navy
Being able to go north and capture cities and territories is as easy as searching for something."
Mr. Shen shook his head and said with a smile: "What you said is too easy. Zhao Lu is not as free as our Huai'an army. I have an imperial edict to act cheaply and can cross the river to attack Qi at any time, but he does not."
"To mobilize troops without permission is to be considered as treasonous."
Having said this, Mr. Shen still looked eastward.
That's where Zhou Shizhong's big tent is located.
Shen Yi looked at it for a while, shook his head and said, "This guy surnamed Zhou, I don't know when he learned the magical turtle skill from Zhao Lu."
"However, he has made such a big mistake. It's amazing that the Northern Qi court can still allow him to be like this..."
After muttering a few words in a low voice, Shen Yi looked back at Su Ding and asked, "We have been in Xuzhou for more than a month. Among the enemies on all four sides, which side is weaker?"
"North."
Su Ding answered without hesitation.
He lowered his head slightly and said: "Although my subordinates are not responsible for the north, I have communicated with General Ling and the others. The Qi people in the north should not belong to the Southern Army..."
"They are reinforcements transferred from Northern Qi."
"The combat effectiveness is much worse than that of the Southern Conquest Army."
Hearing this, Shen Yi frowned again.
"There's no use going north to break out..."
"inappropriate…"
He rejected this idea in his mind, then suddenly his heart moved and he turned back to look at Su Ding.
"General Su, I suddenly had an idea."
Su Ding lowered his head slightly: "Mr. Shen, please tell me."
Shen Yi looked up to the east, and then smiled: "General Su, you said that if from today on, all four gates of Xuzhou City will be opened..."
"How is this going to turn out?"
Su Ding was stunned for a moment, then his eyes brightened, and he looked at Shen Yi: "Mr. Shen, this is a good method. It can provoke the Qi people to attack the city, but it is somewhat dangerous..."
"I don't think it's anything sinister."
Mr. Shen’s eyes were dark.
"Just in time, let's take a look at how far the Northern Qi court can tolerate Zhou Shizhong..."