Chapter 42 Dispute

The sun reaches the eaves, like a ridge beast, and the golden sun shines on the imperial city, the holy capital of the Zhou Dynasty, and a piece of gold shines on the glazed tiles and white jade steps. On a normal day, it is morning at this time.Since Shizong Chai Rong led the army to conquer the north, no emperor sat in the palace.Therefore, the ministers only went to the court room, and the prime minister Fan Zhi and Zhao Kuangyin, the inspector in front of the palace, presided over the processing of the papers presented by each ministry.If you have any doubts, the ministers can express their opinions and discuss an appropriate solution.

But today's expression of opinions has become a dispute between several factions with different opinions.The problem mainly focused on two aspects: how to deal with the soaring prices and the shortage of food and salt caused by the tax increase in the Southern Tang Dynasty, and how to deal with the Western Shu soldiers suppressing the border. In fact, these two issues ultimately focused on the dispute between mobilizing troops and whether to mobilize troops, because the fastest and most direct way to force Nantang to lower taxes was to attack Nantang with troops.As long as the Huainan area, which borders the Southern Tang and the Great Zhou, is occupied, all crises can be alleviated.Because the area in Huainan not only has a high grain yield, it can be used to ease the price of grain.Moreover, it is also a place of salt production, and all the salt used in the Southern Tang Dynasty comes from there.In this way, not only the price of grain and salt in Dazhou can be controlled, but also the Nantang Salt Road can be strangled.Then counter Nan Tang by increasing the price of salt, forcing it to lower the tax rate, or provide low-priced grain to Zhou Jing.In addition, occupying Huainan can also obtain the river transportation channel.In this way, from the Yangtze River Road to the east, you can buy low-priced grain from Wuyue Kingdom.

But to deal with the soldiers and horses of the State of Shu, the State of Zhou has no problem in dispatching soldiers and generals.Zhao Kuangyin personally trained the forbidden army under his command to be the most powerful army in the Great Zhou Dynasty. He did not participate in the Northern Expedition this time, and all gathered on the southern line of Shengjing and stood still.But the problem is that the soldiers and horses go ahead without using food and grass. No matter how strong they are, if they want to resist the invasion of soldiers and horses from Xishu, they must not have a large reserve of food and grass.So the problem finally came back, and the food problem must be solved as soon as possible.

Someone suggested that the exit tax and transit tax should also be raised immediately, so that the loss of grain and salt can be recovered from other materials. This proposal attracted ridicule from wise men. Although Dazhou had cattle, sheep, and iron and stone that could be exported for profit, these were only for Xishu, Nanping, and Tubo.Xishu has already gathered troops to commit crimes, so it is definitely not possible to buy it with money, unless it is given away for free or robbed by them themselves.Nanping is too small, and their country is also affected by the tax increase in the Southern Tang Dynasty. It is estimated that it is difficult to have any transactions at present.Tubo is a land of poor mountains, harsh waters and bitter cold, and there are few commercial transactions.Although the Northern Han Dynasty and the Daliao Dynasty also had this need, they would never follow the official path of the Great Zhou Dynasty.Therefore, even if Da Zhou raised taxes, the overcharged taxes would be very little.On the contrary, it will increase the burden on the people even more, causing them to fail to sell what they have, or to sell it at no profit, which will lose the hearts of the people.

Some people suggested to use troops against the Southern Tang Dynasty first to seize the Huainan area.At the same time, the allies Wu Yue was notified to respond to the attack from the southwest, making the Southern Tang overwhelmed.In this way, Huainan can be occupied in a short time and some stored grain can be seized.Then use Jiangdao to step up the purchase and transportation of grain and grass from Wuyue and Nanping. As long as there are enough grain and grass reserves for three months, we can concentrate our troops to deal with Xishu. Some people objected, saying that this method is far away from the water and close to the thirsty.The soldiers and horses recruited from the north have not turned around yet. If they gather troops and horses to attack Huainan, they will have no power to stop the soldiers and horses of Shu.Shu soldiers can seize this opportunity to go straight into the hinterland of Dazhou, and it will be useless even if they occupy Huainan by then.What's more, as soon as the soldiers and horses of the Kingdom of Shu came out, the Southern Tang Dynasty would definitely take advantage of the fire and loot them, and counterattack Da Zhou with a large number of troops and horses.At that time, not only will it be a problem to occupy Huainan, but it may also allow the Southern Tang to seize the land in the east of Shandong.

So some people suggested to deal with the soldiers of Shu State first. If the four prefectures of Qin, Feng, Cheng, and Tier can be taken down, not only can a large amount of products be obtained, but also the Shu road will be blocked, so that the State of Shu will no longer have the opportunity to penetrate directly into the hinterland of the Great Zhou Dynasty. .However, to do this, the treasury must be opened first, and all the silver deposits must be taken out to buy grain and grass at high prices from the Southern Tang Dynasty. This suggestion was also rejected by many people, because once the treasury is empty, there will be no follow-up guarantee.At this time, if the four states cannot be taken in one fell swoop, and a stalemate or see-saw situation arises, Da Zhou will soon be unable to hold on.In addition, if Nan Tang seized the opportunity to raise the tax rate again, those treasury silver would be nothing more than a drop in the bucket, and they would all fill Nan Tang's gluttonous desire.And at this time, it is necessary to prevent the Southern Tang Dynasty from taking advantage of the situation to invade Da Zhou, and Zhou Xingfeng from Chu, he might use Nanping or take Nanping directly, and then attack Da Zhou.

So after discussing and arguing for a long time, everyone finally came to a generally accepted conclusion.In the current situation in Dazhou, it is impossible to use troops and raise taxes. The best way is to have a huge fortune outside the treasury to solve the current predicament. "My lords, are you joking? In the end, we came up with such an idea. There are huge wealth outside the national treasury. As long as your lords take the lead, officials from all over the country follow, and donate all their wealth, this predicament will be overcome. It’s over.” Fan Zhi’s words are not really asking everyone to donate all their property, if that’s the case, not only the market will be disrupted, but the officialdom will also be involved, and the consequences will be even more precarious.The reason why he said this was just to express his anger euphemistically. Such a person is too incompetent and too boring.In the current situation, the eunuchs and maids in the palace know that they can solve it with money. If they really want to make a fortune, do they need to bother so much?

Everyone fell silent for a moment, they could all hear the weight in Fan Zhi's words.Zhao Kuangyin sat on the side without making a sound, just looked at these high officials and generals coldly and contemptuously, feeling ashamed to be a courtier with such people in his heart. At this moment, the guards of the inner city shouted a message from far outside the court room: "If the forbidden army is dispatched abroad, there is an urgent matter to ask to see General Zhao in front of the palace." The guards stood guard fifty paces away.If there is something urgent, you can only call loudly.If you take a few steps closer to Chaofang, you will be decapitated for eavesdropping on state secrets.

Zhao Kuangyin didn't say anything to everyone, stood up and walked out.I just hope that the silent atmosphere created by Fan Zhi can enlighten some people. After he went out, he saw his younger brother Zhao Kuangyi waiting for him a hundred steps outside the Chaofang, so he walked over with a blank expression: "When the Chaofang is discussing, what is the urgent matter for you? And you are pretending to be an imperial guard Expatriate." Zhao Kuangyi pulled Zhao Kuangyin to a remote place at the corner of the palace wall next to him. This place was sandwiched by the wall at right angles, and the wall stretched for a hundred steps. No one could get close to eavesdrop on their conversation.

Zhao Kuangyi leaned closer to his elder brother and said in a low but steady tone: "Xue Kang led the Eagle and Wolves to attack the gates of a river, three lakes and eighteen mountains on the outskirts, but they suddenly disappeared a few days ago. There is news from the dark spot, saying that Xue Kang led the trusted players of the Eagles and Wolves to cross the border and go deep into the center of Chudi. Does the elder brother know about this? Did he report and ask for orders in advance?" "I don't know. But the general's orders are not accepted. He may have encountered some urgent matters. As a general, he should know how to be flexible. It seems that there is nothing to investigate." Zhao Kuangyin was born in a military family and has also traveled through the rivers and lakes. , so I didn't think there was anything strange about Xue Kang's matter.Zhao Kuangyi came to find him in a hurry, and he was making a fuss over a molehill.

"Brother, just listen to me. Zhao Pu, the counselor of the Forbidden Army's Strategy Office, just came back from visiting his relatives. He told me as soon as he came back that he learned from his fellow disciples in his hometown 'Shan Academy' that there has been a rumor going around in the world recently. The secret of the huge treasure appeared in the land of Chu. If you get it, you can get huge wealth, rich enemies and many countries. It is said that many countries have sent people to secretly deal with this treasure. The general dipper of the river, three lakes and eighteen mountains also threw Ziliang Iron Bridge I don’t care about the general rudder, and I took refuge in the officials of the Southern Tang Dynasty, and now I have brought people into the Chu land. There are also many masters sent out from the Wuwenyuan Pavilion in the Shu Kingdom, and they want to get the secret of the treasure at any cost. There is also Xue Kang who brought people into the Chu land , His purpose should also be to go to Ben Baozang in secret. Now, instead, Wuping Jiedu envoy Zhou Xingfeng, who controls Chu, hasn’t moved yet.” "Zhao Pu is back? Great, I have something to discuss with him. And you just said that the chief rudder of the Three Lakes and Eighteen Mountains is no longer in charge?" This news made Zhao Kuangyin think of something. Zhao Kuangyi nodded: "Zhao Pu is amazing. He said that you must have something to discuss with him urgently, so he asked me to bring you a letter. He also said that after reading this letter, it doesn't matter if you two meet or not. Now, just do everything mentioned in the letter. He just waits for the order to be delivered in the court." Zhao Kuangyin held the letter in his hand but did not open it. Instead, he pondered for a while and said, "According to Xue Kang's personality, he should not do such a thing. His family members are still in Shengjing, and they will not An undetermined, unknown true or false wealth throws away the family and career. But since this is said, we really can't stand by and watch the show, and we should go on stage and sing two verses to dominate the stage. And the current situation in my big week is really not good It is too stable. If we can really get that wealth, it will immediately stabilize the situation and provide guarantee for the implementation of our master plan to conquer the Liao Dynasty. Even if we don’t get it, we can’t let any other country get it. Because no matter which country gets it Yes, it will be a big disadvantage to me for a long time." "Brother, what do you mean..." "You immediately take the tiger and leopard teams to Chudi in disguise, and you can invite the 'thousand-mile boat' to help when passing through Nanping. The two masters of the 'thousand-mile boat', Dai and Zhang, were once used by the enemy to use the 'black-eyed soul-calling crow' "Trapped in Guishui Bay in Jiulin Ridge, I used the 'Golden Dragon Navigating the Nine Heavens' to break the 'Wu Mu Soul Calling Crow' and rescue them both. Although there are not many martial arts masters in this gang, they Walking and swimming on land makes the boat have unique skills. Moreover, there are many disciples, and they all do the work of delivering letters, express shipments, and salvage, and the information is fast and accurate. You can use the "thousand-mile foot boat" to stare at the secret of the treasure, But just follow and don’t take. When they open the treasure according to the secret, you can act again. What we want is wealth, not secrets. Let others be busy in the front, and in the end we just grab what we really want from others.” "I understand, what about Xue Kang?" "Xue Kang, although he usually abides by military orders and discipline, he doesn't really obey me, and even intends to replace me. This time he didn't report his private behavior. Maybe it was urgent, or he wanted to take it for himself. The first work, so that you can be promoted to the top of me. So after you go back, you spread the news that Xue Kang led the escape in pursuit of wealth. In the end, no matter whether he can get the wealth, you must find a way to get it. His charges have been settled. If there is really no way to restrain him with crimes, then..." "I'll kill him." Zhao Kuangyi seemed to know what Zhao Kuangyin wanted to say.