After Feng Shoufu raised the issue of food and grass, the civil servants discussed on the spot how to ensure the supply of food and grass for the army.
The military generals were very straightforward and just said: "There is not enough food, so let's go and rob food from Xihu and Northern Qi." Anyway, this is what Xihu and Northern Qi did, and it was considered normal for them to do this.
But……
Those civil servants who hold themselves to the highest moral standards will not allow them to do this.
"Rough and barbaric, what is the difference between what you are doing and the barbarians of Xihu and Northern Qi? How can we, a huge country, do such shameless things?"
Even if you want to do it, you can't say it like this. You have to beautify it no matter what, so that you have a legitimate reason. Otherwise, Da Qin will be reviled by scholars all over the world, and it will also arouse the dissatisfaction of the people of Xihu and Northern Qi.
Water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it, so they need to be careful in their actions.
"What Lord Wen said makes sense. Da Qin is a country of etiquette. If we go to rob the food of Xihu and Northern Qi, what is the difference between this and banditry?"
"This is a shameless act. Xihu and Northern Qi can be shameless, but we in Daqin cannot. If we join them, what will we become?"
A group of civil servants stood up and echoed these words, reducing the generals to nothing.
When several generals saw this, they became angry, spread out their hands, and said, "You have a way, you can think of it yourself." They thought of a way, but if these people didn't agree, let it go. They also called them bandits and robbers, which was simply unreasonable.
The military generals left the matter alone, and the civil servants did not care. They started discussing among themselves, and soon the results were achieved.
Of course, their result was to beautify the method proposed by the generals, and describe the robbery of grain and grass in Northern Qi and Xihu as helping the people on the border to get back the robbed property.
This property contains a lot of things, and it will naturally be up to them to decide exactly what financial items they will get back.
The civil servants were discussing in a lively manner. Although the military generals were leaving the stalls alone, they were listening with open ears. When they heard that they were still robbing grain from Xihu and Northern Qi, they couldn't help but sneer - they thought they were so smart and capable.
, and it’s not just the method they mentioned earlier.
The generals were waiting for the civil servants to speak out and then be scolded by Lord Wen. However, the Minister of the Ministry of Finance, who did not want to speak on behalf of the civil servants, explained this method. Lord Wen not only did not scold him, but also slapped his thigh, "Okay, okay, I
The sons of Da Qin should protect the property of the people of Da Qin and not let Xihu and Northern Qi become arrogant in our territory of Da Qin. We must scare them this time so that they will never dare to rob us again."
Mr. Wen said what he said was righteous and upright, as if Qin Jiyan didn't accept this reason because he didn't care for the people of Qin.
All the military generals were confused after hearing this, and scratched their heads. For a long time, they couldn't understand why Mr. Wen didn't criticize those civil servants, but praised them instead?
You know, they proposed this method first. Although their expressions are different, the meaning is the same?
What puzzled the civil servants the most was that Qin Jiyan, who had not expressed his opinion before and acquiesced in the quarrel between the civil and military ministers, nodded with satisfaction at this time. Not only did he owe Lord Wen, but he also praised the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, saying that they considered the people and were very happy.
good!
The generals were very aggrieved. They obviously thought about the people, and they were the first to think of this method. Why didn't the emperor praise them?
Of course, it was a grievance, and they didn't have the guts to express their dissatisfaction in front of Qin Jiyan in the main hall.
Starting with military generals and decorated by civil servants, the plan to rob Xihu and Northern Qi's grain and grass was passed, but...
This alone is not enough.
The food and grass in Xihu and Northern Qi cannot be snatched until the war starts, or in the middle of the war. They still need to transport a batch of food to the front line to ensure that the soldiers can go to the battlefield with enough food.
The court already had this batch of grain, but Qin Jiyan didn't want the court to release this batch of grain. He wanted to keep this batch of grain as a reserve grain in case of emergencies.
There is no food in hand, and I feel guilty. Moreover, this year has just begun. God knows whether there will be any natural or man-made disasters. If something goes wrong by then, the court cannot provide food, which will lead to civil strife.
The Minister of Hubu had long known what Qin Jiyan meant, so when he talked about the principle that food and grass should go first before the troops and horses moved, the Minister of Hubu proposed to directly collect grain from various places to save transportation time.
Of course, the method of collecting grain locally will definitely not work. The grain storage in the granaries of each city and town is limited. If the grain is given to the army, the people in the city will most likely not have enough to eat. When the food on the market is not enough, there will inevitably be a shortage of grain.
Prices are rising, and food prices are rising, which will inevitably cause panic.
Something happened and I couldn't think of a solution, so we had to discuss it together. The ministers discussed the issue of raising food again, but this time the generals did not participate. They were not as cunning as the civil servants, but they were not fools. They made a wedding dress for the civil servants.
That's it, if you do it again you'd be hopelessly stupid.
The method has long been in place. The so-called discussion is just a trick to deceive those who are unaware. As the main person in charge, the Secretary of the Ministry of Revenue successfully controlled the rhythm of the discussion, and the results came out after an hour.
The imperial court did business directly with grain merchants and asked grain merchants to deliver grain to them.
As for specific details?
Qin Jiyan handed it over to the Minister of Hubu, and then asked the six departments to cooperate with the Minister of Hubu to work.
Everyone knows the importance of this battle, and the Dangdian said that they will definitely cooperate with the Ministry of Revenue to complete the food collection as soon as possible.
Once the food and fodder are prepared, it becomes a matter of the army.
There are hundreds of thousands of troops on the northwest front, and with the people in Feng Yao's hands, they don't need to send troops to the northwest. And with grain merchants delivering food, they don't need to send troops to deliver food, and they can be ready for war in an instant.
Qin Jiyan appointed Prince Pingxi as the commander-in-chief, asked Feng Yao to assist him, and set off ten days later.
The reason why they decided to wait for ten days later was because they had to wait for the grain merchant to deliver the grain.
Grain merchants can ask ordinary people to deliver grain, but when it comes to security, a well-trained army is better. If the grain merchant is willing, he can follow the team of Prince Pingxi and Feng Yao, which will ensure safety along the way.
There is a guarantee.
"Long live your Majesty, long live your Majesty." As soon as Qin Jiyan's decision came out, the whole court praised Qin Jiyan for his wisdom and benevolence.
Although he knew what the ministers said was false, Qin Jiyan was still very happy as he sat high on the dragon chair and watched the ministers prostrate themselves at his feet, praising his morality with serious expressions.
At least, he did a good job on the surface, and in the eyes of the ministers, he was still a wise and benevolent king!
"All the ministers are safe and have nothing to do to withdraw from the court." Qin Jiyan said a rare sentence, which shocked the ministers below.
You know, Qin Jiyan never said much in the morning. Their emperor mostly sat there and watched them quarrel with a cold eye, and only came out to express his decision after their quarrel was almost done.
And sometimes this decision was proposed by one of them, sometimes no one of them said anything, it was purely the emperor's intention. But when the emperor proposed it at that time, no one would say that he was arbitrary, because...