Chapter 181: War

After this time, the queen couldn't think of any other way to deal with Qi Jiao for the time being, so she stopped for a while. Since Jing Zhenren and Qi Jiao explained the stakes, the two of them have come closer, often sitting together, and sometimes going to the Imperial Garden. The harem was really calm for a while, but soon this peace was broken because Qi Yun was pregnant.

This incident made the entire palace boil, because it had been nearly three years since the Prince's Mansion had no good news. When the queen learned the news, she was a little surprised, because the medicine she had on the emperor over the years would make it difficult for the emperor to have children, but she didn't expect this little noble person to be pregnant with a child. Qi Jiao was very happy, she didn't expect everything to go so smoothly, and Qi Yun was pregnant only once. In addition to being happy, Qi Jiao was afraid that she would accidentally fall into the queen's way, so she took special care of Qi Yunlai, and was very careful about what she ate or used, and never touched the things sent by others.

The emperor is also in a good mood, he has not heard good news for so many years, and he is already very disappointed. In the past, they either couldn't raise it well, or it was drained. He was also suspicious of what the crown princess was doing, but after investigating privately for a long time, he didn't find out what the princess did. Later, when he became the emperor and had no heirs, he was also a little anxious, but this time he finally heard the good news. He rewarded a lot of good things to Concubine Zhao and Yun nobles in Yuxiu Palace, and saw that Qi Jiao took care of Qi Yun very carefully, and he also praised Qi Jiao several times, saying that this is a model of virtuous and virtuous lady.

The most depressed person is Qi Yun, who was deceived into entering the palace, and was forced to stay in the palace after losing her body, and now she is inexplicably pregnant. Moreover, the doctor came to check the pulse and said that because the mother's qi and blood are insufficient, the fetus is not too stable, so it is necessary to pay attention to the fetus and not to exercise vigorously. At this time, Qi Jiao didn't even call Qi Yun to go to bed, and sent people to watch Qi Yun pour bowls of fetal pills every day.

Just when the emperor was still immersed in the joy of having a son. But the frontier was suddenly in a hurry. Originally, the western frontier could be stable for a few years in a great victory led by Li Duan a few years ago, but who knew that a person appeared in an inconspicuous small tribe in the west, who was not only brave and good at fighting but also full of strategy, and within a year, the weather actually annexed several tribes there. A force that should not be underestimated.

This year coincided with a famine year, and they began to harass the border incessantly and loot the things of the border people. And instead of grabbing things and leaving, he captured the border city and killed the officials who defended the city. He also threatened to do so. When the news reached the capital, the young and vigorous emperor was very angry and scolded these barbarians for not knowing the height of the sky.

However, the opinions of the courtiers were divided into two factions, with the civil officials advocating peace talks and avoiding their edges, while the military generals advocated going to war to show the prestige of the Celestial Empire. The civil officials said that the treasury is now empty, and the war is going to cost the people and money. The military attache said that he would not teach the barbarian a lesson, and going to the peace talks at this time really boosted their arrogance. The two factions argued, and the emperor was so angry that he left the hall, not knowing where to go. The queen didn't want to go there. Now the relationship between the emperor and the queen is not as good as before. Jing Zhenren was not convenient during the day, and only Concubine Zhao was more understanding, so she ordered to drive Yuxiu Palace.

Qi Jiao took the car and saw that the emperor's face was uncertain, and asked cautiously:

"Why is Your Majesty in a bad mood today?" said the emperor with a frown:

"How can it be good, the border is in an emergency, but the general civil officials advocate peace talks, a group of cowards, and they lose the demeanor of our great country. Qi Jiao listened to the emperor's words, and the thoughts that had been entrenched in her heart suddenly came up.

"Your Majesty. Originally, in terms of rules, ministers and concubines can't ask about politics, but according to the humble opinion of the ministers and concubines, this war is a matter for military officials, and the opinions of civil officials are so important?"

"How do you know. This war requires money, and the money is in the hands of the household, and when the war starts, how can it be fought if there is no grain and grass here. ”

"I see, it's the concubine who is confused. Qi Jiao was a little disappointed.

"But you did warn me. The emperor said thoughtfully.

"Oh?" Qi Jiao didn't know what the emperor was referring to.

"Since there is a war, only military generals are needed. Replace the civil officials who are not obedient, and this power can be in my hands. ”

"Your Majesty is wise, the barbarian last time was not defeated quickly. Qi Jiao took the opportunity to say.

"Yes, the prince of Qi is brave and good at fighting, and there is such a rare general, but he wants to go to peace talks, and a group of corrupt Confucians mislead the country. ”

Qi Jiao listened to the emperor's words, her heart beat hard, and what she had dreamed of for many years finally had a chance to come true. Thinking that he couldn't sit still anymore, the emperor got up and left here, went back to the Qinzheng Palace, and summoned the father and son of Qi Guogong into the palace.

Qi Guogong was also restless in the mansion at this time, because he was also very conflicted. On the one hand, he felt that it was more appropriate to settle the matter by force, and even if it was a peace talk, he had to win the war before he had the capital to negotiate peace. On the other hand, he was worried that his son would go to war. In recent years, on the whole, the four seas have been peaceful, and the soldiers have been absent from the battle formation for a long time. Moreover, the court attaches great importance to literature and light on martial arts, resulting in fewer people who take the martial arts examination every year, and there are more people in the court who only know how to talk about the past and the present, and there are more and more people who talk about it, and there are fewer and fewer people who are brave and good at fighting, and there are fewer and fewer people who are brave and strategic, so it is incumbent on their father and son to have a war.

But after what happened last time, Qi Guogong felt that it was okay for his son to go into battle to kill the enemy, but it was not possible to strategize, so he couldn't hold his breath and was too anxious. At this time, when he heard the emperor's summons, Qi Guogong couldn't help sighing, it seems that the emperor is determined to fight, otherwise he would not have summoned their father and son at this time.

When he went to court the next day, the emperor's attitude obviously changed, and a group of scholars led by Wang Daxue naturally saw this change in the emperor, and naturally they couldn't force themselves against the emperor. Only the head of the household is still stubborn, and said that many places have suffered disasters this year, and they are still waiting for the imperial court to help, and they really can't raise military salaries at this time.

The emperor was furious when he heard this, and in a fit of anger, he dismissed the head of the household department and ordered the scholar Wang to take care of it temporarily. There were also admonishments among the ministers, and several were also dismissed by the emperor on the spot. At this moment, no one dared to speak anymore, and the ministers could be regarded as having seen the thunderous anger of the young emperor. But no matter what, what Hubu Shangshu said is also the truth, and the emperor knows it, but he just wants to use this battle to establish his authority in the court.

Scholar Wang understood the emperor's heart best, so he stepped forward and said:

"Your Majesty, the old minister has an idea. ”

"Lao Qing's family, please speak. The emperor was overjoyed.

"The so-called take from the people, use it for the people. Now the emperor wants to drive out the barbarians in order to protect the people of our court, and it is reasonable that they should also contribute. You only need to charge a little more on taxes, and that's enough. ”

"What the Qing family said was polite. "When the ministers heard this, they all secretly said that it was not appropriate, this year's year is not good, although it is not said that there is hunger all over the country, but there is no surplus food in the family, and at this time it is necessary to increase taxes, I am afraid it will cause civil unrest. However, most of the ministers of the DPRK and China were all scholars and scholars of the king's ranks, so no one dared to oppose them. Even if there were a few who wanted to object, they didn't dare to speak when they saw the emperor's appearance just now. So the emperor issued a decree to increase the tax by 20%, and ordered his younger brothers to also raise some military salaries.

The officials at the top can just move their mouths, but the officials at the bottom have to directly face the poor people at the bottom, and send people to the door every day to urge them to pay, for fear that they will not be able to make up the time and the manslaughter on the head will not be guaranteed. The people at the bottom are even more miserable, displaced, without food and clothing. Moreover, in the process of confiscation, officials at all levels are even more wantonly embezzlement, filling their own pockets, where will they care about the lives and deaths of the people. This also laid the foundation for the country's turmoil a few years later.

Shandong, which is the territory of King Fu, is not better than in previous years this year, but it is still better than other places. But seeing the emperor's will to come to ask for military salaries, King Fu was also very troubled, after all, this is not an endless granary, there can be so many dedicated to the court. So I asked Li Yi to discuss:

"Zifei, what should you do about this?" Li Yi groaned.

"The emperor is determined to fight, and if he doesn't give the emperor face at all, he will definitely not be able to get down. ”

"But we don't have a lot of money here, so it's really hard to do. It's all given to the imperial court, what if something happens here?"

"Lord Wang, I have an idea. ”

"Speak quickly!"

"This year's annual income is not good, the previous prince has ordered to open a warehouse for relief, at this time it is of course not advisable to tax the people, but the rich households in the city are not affected by the annual success, whether it is a lot of grain or surplus money in their hands, you can think of a way from them. ”

"You mean to collect taxes from them?" King Fu still didn't understand much after listening to Li Yi's words, so he asked again. Li Yi shook his head with a smile and said:

"No one would be willing to take out the money that way, but you can find a way to get them to take it out voluntarily. ”

"So what should I do?"

"First send someone to publicize in the city how to make up military salaries in other places, such as forcibly expropriating how to make people bankrupt or something, and then the prince will issue a notice to borrow money from the rich families in the city, and the more he lends, the more he lends, the prince can give some rewards, such as exemption from some taxes and forced labor in the coming year. ”

"Since it is borrowed, we naturally have to pay it back, what can we use to pay it back?"

"This is the foundation of the prince, of course, to win the trust of the people. It's just that the time and method can be decided by the prince. And when the year is good, the money will naturally be fine. ”

"Well, that's possible. ”

"And you must not give him military salary according to the figures required by the emperor, you must let the emperor know that these are also obtained by the prince with great effort. King Fu nodded in response, and immediately discussed with Li Yi about the manpower. (To be continued.) )