Revitalizing Jiangnan is the top priority that Li Qi has to face now. Leaving aside those who enrich the country and the people, Jiangnan also occupies a very important position in the Jingkang Incident, because once a war breaks out between the Song and Jin Dynasties, so far, the Yellow River
It is difficult for the plains to the north to stop the Jin soldiers. If the natural barrier of the Yellow River is lost again, then Bianjing will be directly exposed to the iron hoof of the Jin army. It is conceivable that everything inside and outside the capital will be destroyed. Then
It depends on the constant support from Jiangnan. It can be said that Jiangnan is the lifeblood of the Song Dynasty. If Jiangnan does not fall, the Song Dynasty will not fall. Therefore, Li Qi must get rid of the disaster caused by Fang La as soon as possible and increase the population.
, revive agricultural business.
Gao Qiu chuckled: "I have discussed this matter with Qi Gong a long time ago. After the new year, I will send people to Jiangnan to open three Cuju courts and eight badminton courts. As for recruiting people, I think I will leave it to Zheng Erlang and the others.
Busy work is the most appropriate thing."
"It couldn't be better than this."
Gao Qiu smiled and said: "You still have the leisure and elegance to worry about such trivial matters. The officialdom in Jiangnan is a dragon's pond and a tiger's den. Your new method will definitely encounter strong resistance there. Whether it can be used in Chengdu is still a question."
Li Qi chuckled and said: "Lieutenant is too worried. They are just the minions of certain people. I am not even afraid of their masters, but I am afraid of them. Whoever blocks me, I will make them miserable."
Let's go, to deal with this kind of people, it won't work to just compromise. They only have a little benefit in their eyes, so they must be tougher, chase them if they can, kill them if they can, and they will never show mercy."
Gao Qiu nodded in agreement and said, "You must have been instructed by the Grand Master to let Chen Dong go down, and that's what you thought."
Li Qicuo said in astonishment: "It seems that the Taiwei also knows Chen Dong very well."
Gao Qiu rolled his eyes and said: "That man is simply a lunatic. How could I not recognize whoever he catches and bites? If he goes to Jiangnan, and you and the Grand Master are his backers, he will definitely get worse and worse."
There’s a good show to watch.”
Hong Bajin saw the two of them starting to chat about court affairs, so he stood up and said: "Li Qi, Taiwei, I still have a lot of things to deal with at home, so I'll leave first. As for the money, I will send it before the New Year."
Go."
Li Qi did not try to persuade him to stay, because he saw that Gao Qiu had no intention of leaving yet and knew that he must have something to tell him. He stood up and stretched out his hand and said, "Uncle Bajin, I'll see you off."
"No, no, the lieutenant is still here. Farewell, farewell."
After Hong Bajin finished speaking, he went out.
"Like his father, he always does things vigorously and resolutely, never sloppily." Gao Qiu smiled and shook his head, then turned to Li Qi and said, "By the way, Li Qi, how are you doing at the Ordnance Supervision Department recently?"
Ordnance Supervisor? Could it be that he came to me to talk about the Ordnance Supervisor? Li Qi was confused and said cautiously: "Everything is fine."
"So how is the expansion of the Ordnance Inspector going?"
Li Qi became more and more confused as he listened, and said: "It's not bad, a few parts have been completed."
Gao Qiu said: "Then how much do you estimate the production of weapons will increase after the expansion of the weapons inspection is completed?"
"I can't say that. The key is to look at the demand of the court. If there is more demand, we will make more."
Gao Qiu snorted and said, "That's not right. Didn't you say you planned to sell weapons before? Why are you now making them according to the imperial court's demand?"
Selling weapons? Could it be——? Li Qi's heartbeat quickened, and he pretended to be calm as he said, "I think so, but now that no one is asking, it's impossible for me to build the weapons first and wait for them to buy them. That's too risky."
Big."
"That's right." Gao Qiu coughed lightly and said, "Do you still remember that you asked me to help you spread the news that I, the Song Dynasty, was selling weapons."
Li Qi's eyes lit up and he said: "Liu Lieutenant, could there be something gained?"
Gao Qiu nodded and said: "I received a letter from Huihe a few days ago. Their king wanted to buy some crossbows and arrows from our Song Dynasty. Oh, and some leather armor. This New Year, their
The envoy will come to Beijing and talk to you in detail. They have only one request, and that is to be quick, so I hope we can be ready this morning."
"Huihe? Why are they so impatient?" Li Qi asked doubtfully.
Gao Qiu said: "Although we, the Song Dynasty, have taken back Yanshan and other places, the war between Jin and Liao has not been extinguished. Not only that, but it has also been fought farther and farther. It has already reached the north, and the war is about to burn out.
We are at the border of Huihe. Facing the well-armed Liao soldiers and Jin soldiers, how can they not be anxious?"
"I see. How many do they need?"
"I haven't said anything specific, but I believe the number should not be small."
"Does the emperor know?"
Gao Qiu said angrily: "How can I dare to tell the emperor if I haven't even written a word about it yet?"
"That's true."
Gao Qiu added: "Not only that, the King of Dali also sent people to inquire about this information."
"King Dali? They have no war, so why do they need weapons?"
"Have you forgotten that apart from diplomacy, the King of Dali is basically just a decoration? The real power is actually held by the Gao family. The King of Dali, Duan Zhengyan, has asked me, the Song Dynasty, for help several times, hoping that I, the Song Dynasty, can help him regain it.
Power, but at that time I, the Song Dynasty, had too much time to take care of myself and how could I have time to care about these things. But now Dali is also unsettled and there are rebellions everywhere. I think the king of Dali wants to seize power by putting down the rebellion." Gao Qiu said slowly.
Li Qi nodded and said to himself: "I didn't expect Duan Yu to be such a miserable emperor. It's a pity that he doesn't know the Six Meridians Divine Sword, otherwise he would have shot them to death."
"Six Meridians Divine Sword?"
"Oh, nothing, nothing."
Gao Qiu said: "Then what do you think?"
"What do I think?" Li Qi was slightly startled, then smiled and said: "As long as they are willing to pay, we will sell it."
"Selling everything?"
"I'll sell whatever they want."
"That's not possible. Weapons such as the bed crossbow, the divine arm bow and other weapons are the foundation of my army in the Song Dynasty. How can I sell them? Don't boast so easily. I am worried about this, so I stayed here today to give you a warning.
"Gao Qiu said cautiously.
Brother Qiu is Brother Qiu, so he was very cautious in doing this deal. Li Qi laughed and said: "The Lieutenant doesn't know something. If they want to buy it, I can't help but ask for it. Now I think those weapons are too much in the way."
"How do you say this?"
Li Qi said mysteriously: "To be honest, Lieutenant, our weapons supervisor is currently developing a series of new weapons. When these new weapons are successfully researched, the old ones will naturally be eliminated. Keeping them is a waste. It is better to sell them and take advantage of them."
Since they still have value now, try to sell them at a good price and make the emperor happy."
"New weapons? What new weapons?"
Li Qi said hey: "This - it is still under development. Once it is made, the Taiwei will naturally know about it."
Gao Qiu also knew Li Qi's habit of selling things off, so he didn't ask any more questions and said: "No matter what, you must handle this matter with caution. Remember, you must first seek the emperor's consent."
"I saved this."
Gao Qiu was also reassured about Li Qi and said, "However, if they purchase weapons from me, the Song Dynasty, at the same time, will the weapons supervisor be busy?"
Li Qi's eyes suddenly turned strangely, and he lamented: "What the Lieutenant said is what worries me. Although it has almost been expanded, there are too few craftsmen. If some of the tasks are shared with other state capitals,
The Ordnance Academy, I’m not very reassured.”
"Then you should hurry up and recruit people."
"I'm also recruiting, but there are too few experienced people. If we look for newbies to train them, it will take a long time and I'm afraid we won't be able to catch up." Li Qi said with a worried look on his face.
Gao Qiu frowned and said, "Then what are you going to do?"
Li Qi hesitated for a moment and then said hehe: "Liu Wei, I heard that there are many skilled craftsmen in your house."
Gao Qiu understood it as soon as he heard it and said: "So you went around in such a big circle just to try to trick me!"
"Captain, please don't misunderstand." Li Qi said hurriedly: "I'm just helping you make suggestions!"
Gao Qiu was stunned and said: "Help me? What do you mean by this?"
Li Qi said seriously: "Taiwei, among the imperial guards in the capital, only the upper and fourth armies are still training every day. As for the lower armies, they work and farm all day long."
Gao Qiu hummed in displeasure.
Li Qi hurriedly said: "Captain, you have misunderstood me again. I want to say that I think what the Commander did was right, really."
You kid is clearly taking this opportunity to mock me! Gao Qiu raised an eyebrow and glanced sideways at Li Qi.
Li Qi added: "I'm serious. With the quality of those people, it's too hard to be a soldier. They are definitely deserters. If they go to the battlefield, they will die or be disabled. Lieutenant, you are saving them."
Gao Qiu remained silent. This kind of thing was inherently shady. Of course he couldn't admit it, but he didn't deny it either because he could tell there was something in Li Qi's words.
Seeing that Gao Qiu's expression had softened slightly, Li Qi immediately hit the rails while the iron was hot: "So, I think why the Taiwei doesn't save the people to the end, carry out disarmament, and let them get out of the barracks."
"disarmament?"
Gao Qiu exclaimed, then frowned, pondered for a moment, and said, "Keep talking."
"Yes." Li Qi continued: "Those people are refugees recruited by some imperial courts. Their quality is extremely low. They can be described as a mixed bag. However, every time the imperial court recruits a group of such soldiers, the burden on the national treasury will be heavier.
, it is not good for the country and the people. Of course, there was no way at the beginning. They were also affected by the disaster and could not make a living. If the court did not arrange for them, disaster would inevitably happen."
Gao Qiu said: "Since you know this, why do you still propose disarmament?"
Li Qi said with a look of admiration: "This is all inspired by the Taiwei."
"I?"
"Yes, the Taiwei is wise and brave, and he is really foresighted in coming up with a way for him to have enough food and clothing by himself. Now that the treasury is tightly closed, the military pay is naturally insufficient. However, the Taiwei lets them earn some money by themselves to supplement their family income. In this way,
Come, it can not only appease them, but also reduce the burden on the treasury. It really kills two birds with one stone. Li Qi was deeply impressed by the Taiwei's resourcefulness."
Gao Qiu had never thought so far before. He just wanted to make money. Now after hearing what Li Qi said, he felt that he could be called a saint. He couldn't help but feel a little proud, and he laughed: "You kid is really - haha, say
Talk, keep talking."
As long as you are happy. Just when Gao Qiu was feeling proud, Li Qi suddenly changed the subject and said, "Captain, I have something I don't know whether to say or not."
"That's it."
Li Qi coughed slightly and said: "I can understand the Taiwei's thoughts, but how can the common people in the world understand the Taiwei's painstaking efforts? They still take it - they still take it."
Gao Qiu said sullenly: "What else do you think it is?"
"I told you, Lieutenant, please don't be angry?"
"explain."
"They also used it as a lieutenant to line their own pockets."
"What!" Gao Qiu slammed the table and said angrily: "It's really unreasonable, it's really unreasonable."
Damn it! You are so greedy and you don't let anyone talk about it. You are really too arrogant. Li Qi secretly despised him, but said: "Captain, people's words are terrible. If these words reach the ears of the emperor,
That’s really unexplainable.”
"They dare?" Gao Qiu said domineeringly.
Li Qidao: "They don't dare to do it for the time being, but this is always a hidden danger. I think the captain should handle it with caution."
Gao Qiu then remembered how Wang Fu fell, which was also because of the enemies he had made at the beginning. He really had some scruples in his heart and asked: "In your opinion, what should we do?"
Li Qi pretended to think deeply and said: "Disarmament. Rationalize their existence."
"rationalization?"
"That's right. The Taiwei can completely request the Emperor to lay off the army, and then build factories, such as straw mat farms, puppet factories, etc., so that they can become rational craftsmen under you. Then they can naturally help the Taiwei.
, there is no need to hide anymore, and the Taiwei does not need to worry about those idle gossips."
Gao Qiu pondered for a while and said: "Now the number of the Forbidden Army is much smaller than before. If the army is further reduced, then only the Fourth Army will be left. How can this be done? Moreover, so many people will be cut off at once.
People, where can I find things for them to do? If the arrangement is not good, it will be self-defeating."
Li Qi smiled and said: "Lieutenant, these are actually easy to solve. First of all, while disarmament, we can also expand the army. It's not about having too many soldiers, but about being good. Now whether those lower armies exist or not, it doesn't matter at all. They are all
How can they go to the battlefield to face the enemy if they use random weapons and lack of training? Why don't we select some of the physically strong soldiers to join the Fourth Army."
"No, no, the Fourth Army has strict regulations. If they could enter, they would have already."
"Even if this is the case, we can also form them into an affiliated army of the Fourth Army, let them receive the same training as the Fourth Army every day, and strive to develop a strong team. As for those who are left, Taiwei
There is no need to worry anymore. Taiwei can change your workshops into factories and plan production in a unified way. This can also save a lot of useless work. The Zhou family silk and satin shop is the best example. In addition, Taiwei should know that now it is not possible
Compared with the past, it is the stage of business recovery, so a lot of manpower is needed to support it. My printing shop can't recruit men, so it has begun to recruit women. There is also an armory supervisor, and you can also find some skilled craftsmen there, and
Also, the casinos in Jiangnan and the Cuju league that I just mentioned don’t require people, so the lieutenants don’t have to worry at all. As soon as they leave the military camp, as long as they strive for their own success, they will never be without food." Li Qi said in one breath.
After finishing, I couldn't help but gasp. Although the Upper Fourth Army has been trained like an army, there are too few people. Army expansion is imminent. In fact, disarmament is just a reason for Li Qi to expand the army. He really feels that the existence of the Lower Army is a waste.
, it will be of no use at all, and it may be a waste of time.