Yan Zhengzhen frowned slightly and said, "I haven't really gone to talk to him in detail about the Holy Sage."
"Why haven't we talked yet? It's been more than four months. It's time to talk. How long do you plan to delay?" Fang Dunru smacked his lips.
Yan Zheng solemnly said: "Brother Dunru, you don't know my concerns. In fact, I wanted to go to the palace several times to have a detailed discussion with His Majesty, but halfway through, I turned around. I don't think I can act too hastily.
, otherwise I'm afraid it will be counterproductive. This time we have to do something, not just do it, but complete it. We must start and finish, and we can't give up halfway."
Fang Dunru frowned, thought for a moment, nodded slowly and said: "I understand, you are worried that the Holy Spirit's will is not firm. Once you encounter resistance, all your previous efforts will be wasted, right?"
Yan solemnly nodded and said: "Yes, I am worried about this. Although the Holy One called me to Beijing and expressed his absolute support for me and agreed with my analysis of the situation. However, I know that once this matter is started, it will
It will have a great impact and far-reaching impact. It will even hurt the interests of some people. If there are too many people who oppose it, can the Holy Spirit stick to its original intention? So I want to take another look and wait for the right time."
Fang Dunru nodded slightly and said: "Your idea is right. If you can't do it consistently, it's better not to move. If you move, you must do it consistently and never give up. The key here is the attitude of the Holy One. But you said it at the right time.
What kind of timing is that?”
Yan solemnly smiled and said: "Brother Dunru, do you think I have been idle these past few months? Brother Dunru has done a few big things and impeached a group of officials for dereliction of duty, which made everyone in the imperial court pay attention. I
This person who is involved in political affairs is not as eye-catching as you, the censor Zhongcheng."
Fang Dunru chuckled and said, "Brother Zhengsu, I'm not trying to gain attention."
Yan Zhengzhen nodded and sighed: "I understand, brother Dunru, I want to toast you. I know that you are making such a big move, actually it is for me."
Fang Dunru smiled but didn't answer, and just drank the wine in one gulp. Lin Jue filled it up for the two of them.
"You deliberately made such a big noise, but you actually wanted to attract the attention of those people and make them dissatisfied with you, so that I can attract less attention from others. You are trying to protect me. I know it in my heart."
Yan Zheng sighed softly.
Fang Dunru said with a smile: "Don't think so, I don't. I'm just doing my job. Some officials must let them know to restrain themselves. As the censor Zhongcheng, I have the responsibility to impeach them."
He said solemnly: "Brother Dunru, there is no need to explain, and I will not thank you. What you and I are going to do is a major event related to the survival of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Both of you and I must have the consciousness to sacrifice our lives and go to hell.
Therefore, if you and I have the same goal, we can only cooperate with each other. We must work closely to achieve anything. This is your destiny, so I will not thank you. In the future, if I do something for you, protect
You, you don’t have to thank me. As long as it’s helpful for big things, you and I have nothing to say.”
Fang Dunru chuckled, raised his glass and said, "That's exactly what I said. Have another drink."
The two took a sip and drank another glass of wine. Lin Jue on the side slowly poured the wine for them, but huge waves arose in his heart. Although he heard it now, he still didn't understand what they were going to do.
, but what moved Lin Jue at this moment was the close friendship between the two elders in front of him. The reason why Fang Dunru acted violently after he became the censor Zhongcheng was actually just to attract firepower for Yan Zhengsu. And Yan Zhengsu's words
It is even more touching. His words may seem ruthless, but they make people deeply feel his determination for what he wants to do. As long as it is beneficial to the matter, he will not be swayed by any emotional factors. No wonder some people say
Yan Zheng is stubborn and has a stubborn personality. But in Lin Jue's opinion, this is his attitude and belief in doing things, and his indomitable momentum. For some extremely difficult things, I am afraid that only this attitude and belief can ultimately succeed.
Fang Dunru and Yan Zhengsu were already drunk because they drank too fast, but at this moment they were chatting and drinking. Lin Jue was afraid that they drank too much, so each of them only poured half a glass.
He drank wine, but Fang Dunru soon discovered it and scolded him a few times. Lin Jue had no choice but to fill up the wine again.
"In the past few months, what I have been doing is checking various financial and tax accounts, investigating the income and expenditure of the imperial court, and the details of expenditures of various items. This is all what I have done in the past few months.
"Yan Zhengshen was almost drunk, so his face was red and a little white, his eyes were a little blurred, and his speech was a little slurred.
Fang Dunru's drunken state was exactly the opposite of Yan Zhengsheng's. His face was as red as Guan Gong, the smell of alcohol gushed out from his mouth, and he said in a deep voice: "So, what's the result?"
"Shocking, really shocking." Yan Zheng shook his head and said with a painful expression: "Brother Dunru, does he know what my annual income in Dazhou is in silver tael?"
Fang Dunru thought for a while and said: "Twenty years ago, when I was an official in the court, my salary was about 80 million taels. Now, I am afraid it is much worse."
Yan solemnly nodded and said: "Brother Dunru is right. I checked the accounts and found that the annual tax revenue in the past ten years has been decreasing year by year. Last year, the total tax revenue paid for the whole year was only 63 million taels of silver. It is really small.
How pitiful."
Fang Dunru said blankly: "Why did it fall so fast? It was all swallowed up by that group of moths. Those privileged people who don't have to pay taxes have to swallow tens of millions of taels of tax revenue every year."
Yan solemnly nodded and said: "This is the policy shortcomings that you and I often talk about. There is no need to mention these. Let's just say that last year's 63 million taels of fiscal and tax revenue, logically speaking, this number is actually quite a lot.
Supporting the annual expenses of Dazhou should not be a problem. However, guess what? The annual expenditure deficit is as high as 20 million taels. Yin eats a lot of food, and all this year's money was spent last year. And this year's summer tax has not been levied yet. As the saying goes
After a hundred years of accumulation, there is only so little left. Tell me, is this shocking?"
Fang Dunru stretched out his hand and patted the table. There was a clatter of food and wine on the table, and he shouted in a deep voice: "How could this happen? Can it continue like this?"
Mrs. Fang and others heard the noise in the yard and hurried back to check. Lin Jue hurriedly explained that it was the husband who slapped the table. Mrs. Fang said angrily: "Why are you so drunk?"
"Go, go, women, don't interrupt." Fang Dunru waved his hand and shouted.
Mrs. Fang was about to argue, but Lin Jue hurriedly stepped forward to pull her away, explaining in a low voice: "Talking about unhappy things, Mrs. Fang should be more patient. Besides, she also drank a lot of wine."
Mrs. Fang sighed: "Your teacher is very bad-tempered now. If I had known earlier, he would not have come to the capital to be an official. How good would it be to be in the academy? He is safe and sound. Now he comes back all the time with a dark face, as if someone owes him money."
"
Lin Jue repeatedly comforted him and asked Lu Wu to chat with his wife to relax. When he turned around, he heard Fang Dunru saying angrily: "How does the Third Division manage financial and tax expenditures? Not to mention having a balance, at least to ensure the balance of income and expenditure.
Let’s be fair. If you eat only what you eat, won’t the national treasury be empty?”
Yan Zheng said solemnly: "Brother Dunru, don't be angry, this is not a matter that can be solved by anger. But what Brother Dunru said is absolutely right. I asked the Third Division, and the Third Division Envoy Zhang Jun, Lin Bonian and others all said,
There's nothing they can do about it, and they can't control the situation."
Lin Jue was slightly stunned when he heard the name of his second uncle, Lin Bonian. Lin Bonian was the deputy envoy of the Third Department, and he was probably to blame for this incident.
"Zhang Jun calculated an account for me, which shocked me. Do you know how much we spend on military expenditures every year? You won't believe it when you tell me, that's enough for every year.
Seventy percent of all fiscal and tax revenue. Based on an annual income of 65 million taels of silver, the annual military expenditure is as high as more than 40 million taels. This is a huge chunk cut off." Yan Zhengshen shook his head and said.
.
"So much? Our military expenses actually cost so much? How many soldiers and horses do we have, and why do we spend so much money?" Fang Dunru was so surprised that he sobered up a little.
"Our imperial army of the three yamen in the capital of the Great Zhou Dynasty actually only has more than 200,000 soldiers and horses. Plus some other soldiers and horses, there are about 250,000 soldiers and horses in the capital. To the northwest, in order to control the northwest wing soldiers of the Xixia tribes
Hundreds of thousands. The direction from the northeastern Liao Kingdom border to the capital is the focus of defense. There are 180,000 border troops stationed in the most borderland area where the Sixteenth Prefecture of Yanyun is located, and there are soldiers and horses deep in important cities such as Taiyuan Prefecture, Daming Prefecture, Luoyang City, etc.
About 200,000. In addition to the garrisons in various state capitals, my country now has a full 1.3 million regular soldiers and horses, as well as some regiments and local warriors."
"So many?" Fang Dunru said in shock: "If it is such a huge amount, it will cost tens of millions of taels a year. I'm afraid it will be necessary. But the question is, is it too much for us to raise so many soldiers and horses? In my opinion
The current situation of the Great Zhou Dynasty is that the number of imperial troops guarding the capital remains unchanged, the northeast and northwest are stabilized, and the number of local soldiers and horses to maintain public security and prevent local pirates and bandits is enough. In total, it will be reduced by 4 to 500,000.
There are enough soldiers and horses. One million soldiers and horses are enough to ensure the stability of our surrounding areas and the stability of the entire territory. This number of redundant soldiers is too large. If the army can be reduced by 500,000, no, even 300,000, it will not only be too much
With 300,000 laborers, we can save at least tens of millions in expenses."
Yan solemnly nodded and said: "Why not, that's why we have to change this situation, we can't continue. In the past, in order to maintain stability, the imperial court was afraid that the refugees would cause chaos, so every time in years of famine, when refugees began to appear in large numbers, they would recruit them into the army.
, a way to raise them. Although this expedient can prevent the refugees from becoming homeless due to famine and natural disasters and eventually causing rebellion, it also greatly increases the burden on the court. These people are completely dependent on the court to support them. What's more,
, these people are not qualified soldiers at all, and they have no fighting ability at all in a war, so if this approach is not fundamentally changed, it will not work."
