After a moment of silence, Shen Tang said again, "I apologize to Your Majesty for what Master Zhang said about supplying the army with private grain."
As soon as Shen Tang said this, Zhang Tianhua immediately felt secretly happy, and then heard Shen Tang continue to say, "Your Majesty also knows that our Song Dynasty has an army of about 130,000 in total on Chengdu Fulu Road."
"With an army of hundreds of thousands, the amount of food and grass consumed every day is an astronomical figure!"
"Lin'an is thousands of miles away from Chengdu. It is extremely difficult for the imperial court to allocate money and grain. It was not until the end of last month that the first batch of grain allocated by the imperial court arrived in Chengdu. Moreover, it was only tens of thousands of stones of grain and grass. It’s just hundreds of thousands of silver coins.”
"This number is naturally a lot, but in front of an army of more than 100,000 people, it is a drop in the bucket!"
"Our soldiers of the Song Dynasty fought bravely and fearlessly. Firstly, it was naturally to make achievements and defend the country for the country. Secondly, it was also to satisfy our appetite. If there was not enough food and grass, the army would collapse in a matter of seconds.
In recent years, you should also know something about the mutinies that have occurred due to lack of food and military pay."
"By then, if we really get to this point, let alone pacifying Chengdu and defeating the Tubo people, it will be a good thing if we don't start chaos ourselves first."
Zhang Jun, who was standing at the top, nodded. He had led troops for many years and naturally knew the correctness of Shen Tang's words.
Soldiers are human beings too and need to eat.
No matter what the truth is, it is not as useful as a full meal.
If there is a lack of food and grass and hundreds of thousands of troops go hungry, it will definitely be a big deal.
Seeing everyone silent and deep in thought, Shen Tang continued, "It is simply unrealistic to wait until the court's supplies of food and grass are replenished.
Therefore, I sent an order to Liancheng to collect money and food at all costs to supply the army."
"Because the matter is urgent, I have no time to report the matter to Your Majesty.
Therefore, this matter is indeed my fault!”
"However, in order to raise food and fodder for the army, first of all, our Shen family can be said to have exhausted all the family wealth, and both the Shao family and the Sheng family have also contributed to the country, with a total of more than 3 million in wealth. In addition, During this period of time, all the caravans of these two companies put other businesses on hold and tried their best to purchase grain and rice in the north and south, and transported it to Chengdu Fulu Road as quickly as possible to replenish the army. It is also because of this , our army has always maintained its top combat power."
"I am guilty of this matter, and Your Majesty will punish you yourself.
However, the Shao family and the Sheng family have done great service to the country.
Your Majesty, please forgive me, otherwise, no one will dare to do such a loyal and patriotic thing in the future."
Shen Tang's words echoed in everyone's ears in the hall, and everyone was in an uproar.
Even Zhao Shen, who was sitting on the throne, couldn't help but be shocked! In order to make up for the army's food and grass, these families actually spent millions of their wealth and contributed to the country without hesitation. How admirable and shocking is this?
If such a person is not a loyal person to the emperor, who among the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty would dare to say that he is loyal to the emperor and patriotic?
What Zhang Tianhua said about using private money to supply the army is nothing more than a joke!
Although Zhao Shen did not dare to compare himself to Taizu, at least he was not a confused emperor. He knew exactly how Ma Shao's grain, grass and money were raised. If he wanted to use the power of the imperial court to purchase and transport grain, let alone how much he would lose. The delay is unimaginable.
The army cannot be exhausted in one day. Once the food is out, how can we continue to fight the war?
In comparison, Shen Tang's "selfishness" is even more valuable.
Let’s look at the ministers in the court. They all talk about things when they have nothing to do. However, when the court is in trouble, they all shrink back. How many people are available?
For a moment, Zhao Shen couldn't help but have a lot of thoughts, and his guilt for Shen Tang became more and more intense.
After being silent for a while, Zhao Shen said in a deep voice, "Shen Aiqing is not guilty of this matter! Shen Aiqing was loyal to the emperor and the country, and even gave up her family wealth. This is the mainstay of our Song Dynasty's loyalty! I am deeply moved by this. , If our Song Dynasty had more people with lofty ideals like this, why worry about our enemies not being destroyed, and why worry about our Song Dynasty not becoming strong and prosperous?"
Zhao Shen's words made the ministers in the court have different expressions.
People who are close to Shen Tang are naturally happy in their hearts, but Zhang Tianhua and some people who have other intentions have serious expressions on their faces.
However, by now, Zhao Shen has already made a conclusion on the matter, and it would be inappropriate for him to say more.
Even if Zhao Shen is offended by this, it will not be beautiful.
Zhang Tianhua had all miscalculated, so naturally he was angry and a little scared.
The only thing that comforted him was that the current Lianli City court had sent officials to finally snatch it from Shen Tang's hands.
After losing the money from Lianli City, Shen Tang felt as if he had lost an arm.
Zhang Tianhua's heart skipped a beat when he felt Zhao Shen's eyes looking towards him carelessly.
Obviously, his previous questioning did not prove Shen Tang's guilt.
Moreover, Shen Tang's explanation made Zhao Shen extremely satisfied.
In this case, Zhao Shen naturally dislikes him as the instigator.
Immediately, Zhang Tianhua's heart moved, and he hurriedly saluted Zhao Shen and said, "My lord, congratulations to Your Majesty.
This Lienli City is like a cornucopia, and now it belongs to the imperial government and is under the control of Your Majesty. It will not be long before our country in the Song Dynasty will be rich, and by then, there will be no shortage of military resources for the army to fight."
At this moment, a chamberlain quietly appeared on the side of the hall, and bowed slightly in the direction of the royal authority.
When Wang Quan saw this, he knew that the servant must be in a hurry.
So, I moved slightly and came to the side of the waiter.
Seeing Wang Quan approaching, the chamberlain whispered to Wang Quan for a moment.
However, Wang Quan's expression changed slightly, he whispered a few instructions to the servant, and waved his hand for him to leave.
Returning to Zhao Shen's side again, Wang Quan whispered to Zhao Shen when no one spoke.
Listening to Wang Quan's narration, Zhao Shen's expression changed slightly, "Where is he!"
"Your Majesty, people are already waiting outside the palace. Should we wait until after the court meeting to summon him, or should we summon him now?"
Zhao Shen narrowed his eyes slightly, and said with a hint of chill in his mouth, "At this moment, let them come to the palace."
The ministers in the main hall naturally didn't know what happened. They looked at Wang Quan and Zhao Shen who were whispering, and it was obvious that something unexpected had happened.
Just when they were all confused, they saw Wang Quan step forward and shouted loudly, "Xuan! The guards of Shen Mansion in Li City have come to the palace to pay homage to His Majesty."
The words came out of the palace, and all the servants outside the palace shouted loudly. Almost in an instant, the voice spread directly out of the palace and arrived at the gate of the palace.