"Thishow could the imperial court reach such a state" Zhao Yinhua said subconsciously. When she heard the news, her first reaction was disbelief.
In the eyes of the world, the Han Dynasty should still be that powerful empire, that huge empire with great national power that suppressed all the barbarians. But most people have ignored that this powerful empire has consumed hundreds of years of accumulation over the years. Coupled with several wars to conquer the country in recent years, as well as the emperor's northern tour to seal the Zen, the floods in the Yellow River, the witchcraft chaos, the blockage of trade routes in the Western Regions, and other circumstances, this arrogant empire has reached the end of its power!
"I'm afraid it's worse than we imagined" Huo Guang said unoptimistically. He could feel unparalleled pressure from Sang Hongyang. Huo Guang even suspected that it was these pressures that made an arrogant person like Sang Hongyang put down his hostility to him, and made Liu Che, the hero of the generation, choose to compromise.
Du Yannian and Zhao Yinhua both lowered their heads and fell silent. They had never thought about this situation. Even most people feel that as long as they have an army, they can fight a war, and as long as they have the advantage of military strength, they can win a war. However, many people don't know that sufficient food and logistics are actually more important than the simple number of troops.
"The consumption of grain and grass is actually largely due to the transshipment process. Should we shrink the front line?" Du Yannian asked tentatively after thinking for a long time.
In this era that relies entirely on manual transportation, scattered grain and grass must be concentrated and transported to the front line thousands of miles away. It may be possible to collect enough grain to feed 100,000 people for a month, but the labor required for transportation on the road may consume this grain and grass. Nine times out of ten. Only one or two out of ten can actually be transported to the front line for use by the army.
To solve the consumption of this transshipment process, the usual approach is to build granaries in strategic locations, but now almost all strategic granaries in the Han Dynasty have been exhausted.
"This method is not advisable Now that foreign enemies have entered the country, to shrink the front line is to abandon the country and cities, and let the Han people fall under the iron heel of the foreigners. If the people's hearts are lost, I am afraid that the Han Dynasty will be torn apart before long. ." Huo Guang directly rejected the proposal to shrink the front.
"The cost of food and grass for hundreds of thousands of people is not a small amount. This is really difficult to handle!" Zhao Yinhua also sighed with a frown.
"Sang Hongyang has agreed to help with the food and grass matters, and he should come up with some plans at the meeting tomorrow. We have to rely on him now!" Huo Guang said helplessly, as internal affairs and logistics were not his specialty.
Huo Guang stayed at Du Zhou's house for nearly two hours before returning to his own house, and then fell asleep in a hurry for only a little over two hours. He got up again before dawn and headed to Weiyang Palace. Yesterday's court meeting was held in a hurry after forcing the palace. Today can be regarded as the real court meeting, and starting from today, the entire court meeting will be held under the control of Huo Guang.
Outside Weiyang Palace, when Huo Guang arrived, all the courtiers were already waiting outside Weiyang Palace. As soon as Huo Guang's carriage arrived, nearly a hundred courtiers bowed in unison and said: "Greetings to the general."
Huo Guang, holding a long sword at his waist, walked out of the carriage calmly, and then bowed his hands slightly to everyone in return: "I've seen you, gentlemen."
Nowadays, Huo Guang has all the power in the world, but he still does not forget the etiquette. This seemingly simple return gift has made Huo Guang's image in the hearts of the courtiers even higher.
Don¡¯t be arrogant when you take credit, don¡¯t be rude when you gain power, be a role model for others, and set an example for others. It is no exaggeration to describe Huo Guang.
Then, under the leadership of Huo Guang, the courtiers consciously and slowly walked towards the Xuanshi Hall in order.
In the first formal court meeting of the Taisun Supervisor, when all the courtiers had not yet entered the Xuanshi Hall, the first legal heir to the throne of the Han Dynasty, Emperor Taisun Liu Jin, was already waiting for them on the royal steps of the Xuanshi Hall. 's arrival
Huo Guang was the first to see Liu Jin in the Xuanshi Palace. This behavior of a king waiting for his ministers in advance was the first time in history. Originally, whether it was due to etiquette or to maintain the majesty of the monarch, the monarch should show up without delay after the ministers arrived.
Seeing Liu Jin who was already sitting in the hall, Huo Guang was slightly startled. Then he took off the sword from his waist and handed it to a chamberlain standing at the door of Xuanshi Hall.
At this meeting, only Huo Guang brought a sword, because he had the honor of going to the palace with a sword. However, when he saw Liu Jin waiting in advance, Huo Guang also took the initiative to leave the sword outside the palace. The courtiers who saw Huo Guang undressing his sword were all surprised. For this reason, these people looked at Huo Guang again, because everyone thought that they could not do what Huo Guang did. The temptation of going to the palace with swords and shoes was in this feudal era. No one can resist it.
While everyone was still surprised by Huo Guang's actions, more and more courtiers approached the gate of the Xuanshi Palace and saw Liu Jin who had been waiting in advance. At this moment, more people changed their colors slightly, and some veterans even trembled with excitement, their faces extremely excited.
? ?"The king and his ministers are in harmony The king is dedicated and his ministers are devoted to their lives The great man is happy" Some old ministers were shouting crazily in their hearts. They did not say it out loud, but they really wanted to shout loudly at this moment. roared out.
"I will pay my respects to His Highness Taisun" All the ministers took their seats and bowed to Liu Jin. Today's prayer is not just a matter of procedure and etiquette, but a real feeling of sincerity.
"Everyone will be excused, please take a seat." Liu Jin stretched out his hand, already showing the magnanimity of the prince of Han Dynasty.
"Dear ladies, do you have anything to say?" Liu Jin was the first to ask, controlling the rhythm of the court meeting very well.
This is Liu Jin¡¯s first real visit to the court. He is now the legal heir to the throne and the supervisor of the country. He is the king in the eyes of the courtiers and the people.
At this time, no official would stand up and bring up ordinary trivial matters at today's court meeting. Everyone was waiting for a big shot with enough status to really start the court meeting, and in everyone's minds Huo Guang was such a big shot.
"I have something to report." However, the first person who appeared once again exceeded everyone's expectations. This person was not the general Huo Guang, but the imperial censor Sang Hongyang.
Even Liu Jin was slightly surprised that Sang Hongyang still appeared in the court and was the first person to stand up. Based on Liu Jin's understanding of Huo Guang, although his teacher is not ruthless, he is unambiguous in his decisiveness. Logically speaking, if he wants to completely control the court, even if he does not kill Sang Hongyang, he should not be allowed to do it again. It is only fitting that such a prominent status as the imperial censor should appear in the court.
Liu Jin looked at Huo Guang with questioning eyes. Huo Guang was sitting at the head of the hall, his eyes seemed to be staring at the floor in front of him, but he nodded slightly when Liu Jin looked at him.
"Please speak, Doctor Censor." Liu Jin's voice came from the imperial steps, and he sounded polite to Sang Hongyang.
Sang Hongyang stood up and walked into the hall in a few steps. Normally, if a minister has something to do, he can just say it at his seat. If he needs to go to the palace to be so solemn, it must be an extremely important event.
"I have been in charge of the money and grain of the Han Dynasty for many years. Now there are wars at the border and there is no more grain in the imperial granary. If we don't find a way, the frontline soldiers will face a shortage of grain and grass. The situation is critical and imminent. This is what I sorted out last night for nearly half a year. Your Highness, please take a look at the details of the money and food dispatch." Sang Hongyang directly raised the most serious problem at the moment, and he had already sorted out the dispatch details for half a year in just one night.
A chamberlain walked quickly to Sang Hongyang and handed the detailed book to Liu Jin. Huo Guang raised his lowered gaze slightly and looked at Sang Hongyang, who was not far away from him. Instead, his heart dropped by half. Sang Hongyang's actions were obviously prepared. As long as he was prepared, it meant that Sang Hongyang had already thought of a solution. No matter what the final solution was, in Huo Guang's view, having a solution was better than having no solution.
Liu Jin looked at the scheduling details, and his face became uglier as he looked at it. He did not have the foresight of Huo Guang, and he had never considered the problem of the Han Dynasty's inventory of grain and grass. When Sang Hongyang raised this issue and presented detailed data, Liu Jin realized for the first time that his country was already weak. To such a terrible point!
"How could it be so serious? A few years ago, wasn't it said that Aocang's grain had overflowed the treasury and was too much to store? How could it have reached this point in just a few years?" Liu Jin knew that all this must be true. But he still couldn't accept it in his heart.
"Going back to Your Majesty Taisun, in the first year of Yuanfeng, Aocang still had 90% of the grain in stock. However, His Majesty led 180,000 cavalry to patrol the north, and encountered the Qiang people who entered the pass and harmed Longxi. The daily consumption of the hundreds of thousands of troops There were hundreds of thousands of grains and grasses, but after half a year, there was very little left. So when the river burst its banks later, Aocang had no grain to use. Although some was added later, it was all used up again in the past six months. If we want to ensure sufficient food and fodder for the front line now, we have to find another way out!" Sang Hongyang said calmly, because what he said was true.
And many of them Sang Hongyang chose to ignore intentionally. For example, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty's aggressive military campaign reduced the farming population and increased the burden of military consumption. Under this situation, it was difficult to save food at all.
"Look for another way out? What way out?" Liu Jin heard the hidden meaning of Sang Hongyang's words. This imperial censor not only came to expose the problem, but also seemed to have a solution to the problem.
Sang Hongyang stood up straight, glanced at Liu Jin, then bowed slightly and said: "Borrow food, borrow food from the princes and princes in the name of the court."
"What kind of borrowing method?" Huo Guang's voice suddenly sounded, and he asked Liu Jin, the emperor's grandson, first.
When Sang Hongyang heard Huo Guang's inquiry, he turned around slowly, and then said slowly to the courtiers in the main hall: "Reduce the official's salary and lend the prince's annual rent."
Publicity roomThere was silence in the palace, and even Liu Jin, the grandson of the emperor, was slightly startled. Because Sang Hongyang's method directly reached out to the courtiers and nobles of the Han Dynasty. Who was the richest person in feudal society besides the central government? Naturally, they are the princes and nobles who own fiefdoms.
It is easy to understand the reduction of the salary of ministers. The salary of the officials of the Han Dynasty is based on grain. Once this expenditure is reduced, it is equivalent to saving money, and a lot of grain can definitely be saved. And lending the prince's annual rent means borrowing one year's land tax from the prince. Rent is a land tax, which is converted into grain, and tax is a poll tax, which is converted into currency. The total fiefdoms of the entire Han princes were no less than one-third of the country's cultivated land, and their annual tax revenue was also considerable, which was equivalent to a source of income.
Under the open source throwing, it can indeed unravel the urgent urgency, and the most important thing is that the grains of these princes are concentrated, and it can save a lot of transportation in terms of time and capacity.
The method is a good one, but the biggest problem is that this so-called loan in the name of the country has always been borrowed but never repaid. This is actually a way to make enemies of the world's powerful people. Even Huo Guang didn't dare to propose it rashly, but now Sang Hongyang has proposed it.
When Huo Guang looked at Sang Hongyang with doubtful eyes, Sang Hongyang happened to also look at Huo Guang. From Sang Hongyang's eyes, Huo Guangneng could understand a sentence: "I take the blame!"
"I think the imperial censor's method is feasible!" Huo Guang's voice broke the silence in Xuanshi Hall. He knew that the reason why Sang Hongyang came up with this method to separate himself from the powerful people in the world was that there was really no other way out!