After holding a banquet with the generals of Shuofang's army, Zhou Jun summoned the officials from the Ministry of Household Affairs who were in charge of the branch.
After being summoned by the emperor, Wu Qi, the Minister of Hubu, and several officials from the Hubu rushed to the Yizheng Hall to meet the emperor.
Zhou Jun said to Wu Qi: "Our army won great victories in the Battle of Chang'an and the Battle of Baiting. Taking advantage of the fact that the meritorious officials of the two armies are now in Liangcheng, I plan to hold a grand celebration banquet to entertain and
Reward the soldiers and entertain guests from all over."
Wu Qi heard this and was silent for a moment, then bowed and asked: "I wonder how your Majesty plans to host the banquet?"
Zhou Jun thought for a moment. For the Northern Tang Dynasty, it would not be an exaggeration to say that the victory of the two battles of Chang'an and Baiting was a battle of national destiny. It would be natural for them to be more grand, so he said: "According to the standards of a state banquet
Come and do it, and then invite envoys from neighboring countries, and I will also reward the meritorious officials generously..."
Before Zhou Jun finished speaking, he saw Wu Qi's expression was different, so he couldn't help but stop talking and asked: "What?"
Wu Qi thought about it again and again and said to Zhou Jun: "Your Majesty, I am a humble minister. I have something to do..."
Zhou Jun: "But it doesn't matter."
Fifth Qi: "Your Majesty, the national treasury is empty and has almost bottomed out. It may not be able to support a large amount of expenditure."
When Zhou Jun heard this, he was stunned on the spot and asked in surprise: "The treasury is out of money?"
Wu Qi nodded and said: "In November last year, the national treasury still had a little balance. After the end of this year's imperial meeting, all the wealth combined has been less than two million guan."
Zhou Jun: "How could this be?"
Wu Qi looked helpless: "Your Majesty, in recent years, the Tang Dynasty has been engaged in wars in Anxi, Shuofang, Chang'an and Jiangnan. A total of more than 500,000 troops have been mobilized across the country, plus logistics, supplies, food and wages.
Wait, the treasury is already close to bottoming out."
Zhou Jun: "If I remember correctly, the money confiscated from Fan Yang's treasury in Anlu Mountain was enough for the country to use for more than ten years. How could it be used up so quickly?"
Fifth Qi: "Your Majesty, the money confiscated from Fan Yang's treasury is indeed like a mountain of gold, but it cannot withstand such squandering during the war."
Having said this, Wu Qi ordered the officials of the Ministry of Household Affairs to fetch the Kan book and present it to Zhou Jun.
When the latter opened it, his scalp immediately went numb.
You won’t know if you don’t look at it, but you will be shocked when you look at it.
Since Zhou Jun ascended the throne, wars of all sizes in the Northern Tang Dynasty have never been interrupted.
Among them, Li Siye's Battle of Shannan West Road, Guo Ziyi's Battle of Huainan Road, Li Guangbi's Battle of Henan Road, and the subsequent battles of Jiangzhou, Chang'an and Shuofang, the consumption of soldiers, weapons, food and grass, etc. were all extremely high.
Huge numbers.
Moreover, today's wars in the Northern Tang Dynasty are no longer the cold weapon wars of the Middle Ages. The use of gunpowder, muskets and artillery has caused the cost of war to rise sharply.
In a small-scale encounter involving thousands of people, the consumption cost of hot weapons used is even much greater than in the past cold weapons battles between tens of thousands of people.
In addition, in order to reduce the burden on the people and liberate and develop the labor force, Zhou Jun canceled the salt tax and abolished forced corvee. These measures made it even worse for the national finance.
After Zhou Jun read the household records, he was silent for a long time, and then asked Wu Qi: "If the national treasury is depleted like this, why didn't you come and tell me before?"
Wu Qi glanced at Zhou Jun and then replied after hesitation: "Your Majesty established the Privy Council to deal with surrounding wars. This is a time when the country's survival is at stake, so the Ministry of Revenue will naturally cooperate with it. Besides, Your Majesty usually saves money in the palace.
We never act extravagantly. What we have to do is naturally to relieve His Majesty's worries, not to cause trouble."
Having said this, Wu Qi paused for a moment and whispered: "Moreover, the Ministry of Revenue also submitted a memorial stating that the treasury consumption was too large, but the results were minimal."
Zhou Jun recalled at this time that during these days, the imperial court had focused all its energy on foreign wars. The Ministry of Revenue reported that the treasury was being depleted too quickly, but it did not receive enough attention, which is understandable.
Especially in Zhou Jun's own impression, most of the time, he focused on the Privy Council and the Ministry of War. He always believed that the money in Fan Yang's treasury was inexhaustible and that the money in the treasury should be enough for the war.
But facts have proven that war is a bottomless pit that swallows money. No matter how much money you have, it will be spent one day.
After thinking about this, Zhou Jun asked Wu Qi: "What can you do to replenish the national treasury?"
Fifth Qi: "Your Majesty, the way to replenish the national treasury is nothing more than four words - increase revenue and reduce expenditure. The so-called increase of revenue, my suggestion is to restore the salt tax, then re-measure the land, and collect field tax; as for reducing expenditure, the war between Mobei and Chang'an
Once the situation subsides, Your Majesty can open up farmland and let the soldiers disarm and return to the fields to rest and recuperate."
Fifth Qi’s suggestion is to provide corresponding plans for the country’s next financial crisis from the perspective of the Minister of Household Affairs.
However, in Zhou Jun's opinion, Fifth Qi's method of increasing revenue and reducing expenditure is not practical and is not even conducive to national development.
Let’s talk about open source first. When Zhou Jun canceled the salt tax and leased land to farmers, his purpose was to relieve the pressure on the people. Now there are wars everywhere. If he rashly restarts the salt tax and starts to increase the land rent, then the lives of the people in the Northern Tang Dynasty will be different.
It will be more difficult, and there may even be a large number of refugees.
Speaking of reducing expenditure, Wu Qi suggested reducing the scope and intensity of war, minimizing the consumption caused by fighting, expanding military garrison, and allowing the army to redirect its attention to production.
In the history of the Tang Dynasty, this was the most common dual-function positioning of soldiers and peasants in the military production system.
However, Zhou Jun did not intend to invest his precious troops back into agricultural production.
In Zhou Jun's view, soldiering should be a full-time profession.
It is very simple for a country to cultivate a group of farmers, but it is very difficult to cultivate a group of qualified soldiers.
Besides, although the Huihe and Tubo people have been repelled, no one knows when they will come back. Retaining a standing army with peak combat effectiveness is really important for the current Northern Tang Dynasty.
So, having said that, since we plan to retain a standing army, how should we deal with the high costs of maintaining the army?
Zhou Jun touched his chin, first rejecting the increase in revenue and expenditure reduction plan proposed by the Ministry of Revenue, and then said: "Datang is surrounded by enemies on three sides, so it should take advantage of the enemy's offensive to be defeated, defeat the enemy as soon as possible, and secure a strategic buffer area for the entire country.
As the saying goes, if you work hard once, you will be exhausted again, and then you will be exhausted, and the same is true in war."
Wu Qi originally wanted to persuade the emperor to temporarily reduce the scope and intensity of Datang's foreign wars and reduce the country's cost of war.
However, after hearing Zhou Jun's words, Wu Qi immediately understood that the emperor was determined and planned to continue fighting with foreign countries until the surrounding areas of the Tang Dynasty stabilized.