It would be much easier for Zaifu, the Household Department, the War Department, and the Ministry of Industry to think about it in one place, and the emperor asked Xiao Yu first, "How much does Qing estimate the cost of the First World War in the Western Regions?" Xiao Yuyu said: "West out of Suzhou, after entering the Western Regions, the land is far away and sparsely populated, it is not easy to raise grain, and Shannan is occupied by bandits, it is even more difficult to transport grain, it is necessary to raise grain from Sichuan and Shaanxi, first transport to Suzhou, and then detour from Suzhou to the northern foot of the Tianshan Mountains, transport to Bancheng, thousands of miles of road, rely on horses to carry people, freight is much more expensive than grain and grass. ”。

"How much?" The emperor is not a soft persimmon who was "born in the deep palace and grew up in the hands of a woman", he has been growing outside the palace before he was ten years old, his identity is ambiguous, he has suffered countless hardships and torments before ascending to the great treasure, and he knows that the key to marching and fighting lies in money and food, and there are many generals who have enough money and food, so that there is the possibility of winning the war.

"Nine to ten times!"

That is to say, if it costs 800,000 taels of silver to raise grain and grass, it will cost 7,200,000 taels to 8,000,000 taels of silver to transport grain and grass to the Western Regions! That's a sky-high price! Not counting the temporary funds that have changed in the middle of the way, a battle will cost more than 10 million taels of silver!

Rao Liao Zhixin made preparations in advance, or was he breathed a sigh of relief by this number!

“…… The annual surplus of the household department is only just getting together. Liao Zhixin is telling the truth, in the past few years, he has reduced a lot of taxes, and he has been using troops against Beirong, plus the restless subject country of Silla, there is no edge for spending, and he can't save any money. If you empty the treasury in a war, what can you do in the event of a flood or famine?

"Does Liao Qing have any other way to raise money?" The emperor turned his head to Liao Zhixin and asked him if he had any ideas for him.

“…… A year ago, the minister gave you a recital, which mentioned the introduction of merchant taxes, and you may not have had any other way but to come from here. ”

Once there is something, whether it is war or other things, the emperors of the previous dynasty first thought of squeezing out two taels of oil from the merchants, to the Qing Dynasty, especially to the current emperor Xiao Huang, he is reluctant to follow the old examples, in his opinion, the merchants communicate inside and outside, contact other parties, bring in what the Qing Dynasty does not have, and bring out what the foreign countries do not have, and communicate with each other, this is the meteorological mind that a big country should have. However, fighting a war is to burn money, and running a long distance is even more money, where is the food without money, where is the courage to come from without food, and this tax has to be levied even if it is not levied.

"Then according to Liao Qing's opinion, how should taxes be calculated?"

"Twenty and one tax." It's not very heavy, I wanted to set a thirty tax, but Liao Zhixin made a rough calculation, and he had to drain those states and counties that had been affected by the disaster, besides, once something was given, it was not so easy to get it back. Among the wealthy businessmen, there are also those who spend a lot of money to get acquainted with the important ministers of the court, the news can not be said to be ill-informed, these people have heard some rumors in the morning, and they will naturally estimate the tax rate in their hearts, most of them are estimated at ten and one tax, Liao Zhixin took a step back, twenty taxes and one, I don't think it will cause a big rebound.

"Hmm." The emperor nodded, indicating that he understood, pondered for a while, and then asked Xiao Yu, "How should this battle be fought, do you have a number in your heart?" ”

"Slow down and rush to attack, and go all at once."

The lonely army is deep, the road is dangerous, the grain and grass must be prepared, this layer must not be urgent, so it has to be slowed down, once it is ready to fight, it will be beaten to death with a stick, and the knife will cut the mess quickly.

"It's good to have a number, let go of it, there is me here in the court." This is the decision of the coach, and the reassurance of the strategizing one.

Raising food before the war is a major event, and the general Wang has to personally go out to supervise it, and he will leave tomorrow. Anyway, the small courtyard of Ju'er Hutong is a place to rest, and no one has to wait for him, so it's not like he just came and left. There is nothing to prepare, get up and fight the horse and leave the next day, at most let the people below give Liao Qiuli a message, saying that he is going to go on a long trip, and this time he will not take him, the military is dangerous, there is no need to take him to the danger.

Xiao Yu came out of the imperial study, and thought all the way, at first his mind could still be on the war, but then he thought of Liao Qiuli, and then thought of him and didn't know how happy he was when he got the letter - but there was no need for someone to pester him all day long, maybe he wouldn't come back this time, and he would become a handful of dry bones by the Wuding River, and he would be liberated forever. A heart was as uncomfortable as a knife, and after all, he couldn't bear it, so he went to Liao's Taikou to find the unsympathetic enemy.

Now Liao Shixiang doesn't take care of things much, the comings and goings of Liao's Taikou are basically taken care of by Liao Yungong, Xiao Yu just showed his head at the gate, and the third child of the Liao family greeted him with a smile, the smiling tiger not only has a hot smile, but also a pair of sharp eyes, and will never let the "distinguished guest" stand at the door for a long time.

"Greetings to His Royal Highness King Su, why do you have time to come here today?" The third child is used to seeing people and talking about ghosts, and not long ago he tore his face for the fifth child and others. In the final analysis, it's not because of the words of the fifth child, once the fifth child of their family is loosened, he feels that it is good to have such a "backer", and he can't let it go lightly, so he has to hurry up and make friends. Businessmen, the interests that should be grasped should be grasped in a timely manner.

Xiao Yu can't figure out what the second monk is, what's the matter? It's only been a few days since I gave Ma Wei, why did I give it a hot face again? Moreover, this hot face is not only for "King Su", but also for the "uncle" of the Liao family, is there a fraud?

He was suspicious here, and entered the main hall to sit down and drink tea, and the third child of the Liao family sent someone to call Liao Qiu to leave, which became more and more unreal.

After a while, Liao Qiu left, and the third elder of the Liao family smiled and let them in, "The outside speech is not clean, or the fifth child will lead His Royal Highness King Su to your house?" ”

Liao Qiuli glanced at his third brother, but he didn't dare to look at the person who came over, so he walked straight away, unspeakably embarrassed.

It was so sudden, and before he could figure out what kind of face to put on this person, he came to the door.

Xiao Yu followed him into the house, and the two of them sat on the bed one by a small desk next to the bed, thinking about a long distance from a short distance, and there was always the person who couldn't hold back to speak first:

"Ming'er is going to go out and come to talk to you."

It's not to go to the mountains and rivers, it's to play with life, so I won't take you there.

Liao Qiu's eyelids jumped, and he couldn't help asking: Where to go? Far away?

"It's a little far, you stay in the imperial capital. I'll talk about it when I get back. "If you can't come back, I don't know if you can come back as a ghost, and I don't know if it will scare you if you can come back.

"Can't you really say where to go?" Liao Qiuli suddenly felt a little flustered, for some reason, he was panicking, and he always felt a little ominous. In the past, if Xiao Yu didn't want to say, he never asked where he went, but this time he wanted to ask, just to make the unstable trouble.

"Western Regions. …… I don't know if I can come back if I go......"

"Less nonsense!" Liao Qiuli raised his voice and yelled at him, really angry. He has always been gentle and negotiable, rarely raising his voice, let alone roaring, even shouting less, who has never yelled at someone like this. After yelling, he softened himself, "Do you have to make a 'sign' come out?!" ”

"It's not a sign, anyway, you bother me, it's really gone, aren't you also relieved." Xiao Yu smiled, and laughed bitterly-you refuse to follow me, why bother to provoke me.

"Xiao Yu! Do you have to talk like that?! Liao Qiu was so angry that he named him, he didn't sleep well at night, he didn't make up for sleep during the day, and he had a headache that he couldn't bear it, "You and I have known each other for more than ten years, who do you see me like I am to you?!" Worried about your hunger, hunger, cold and temperature, I tried my best to send you food and clothing to King Su's mansion, have you ever seen me do this to anyone?! Not to mention anything else, I wouldn't want him to die even in the face of a stranger! When he said the word "death", he said that he was sad again, and he couldn't say anything about it, so why didn't he choose what to say? !

“…… Are you not ordinary to me, how is it not an ordinary law? Well? Xiao Yu is calm, even if a heart makes his sentence "unusual" explode, he can suppress the broken heart, and quietly wait for him to take out his heart and show him.

"......" Liao Qiuli glanced up at him, this was the first time he had looked at him like this for a long time, and in a flash, there was desolation, "What are the things you have done to me...... You know for yourself how evil and destructive these things are, and you should know that you think that I am still willing to face you because I am afraid of the power in your hands?! I'm so bad in your eyes?! ……”

“…… I never thought so, I Xiao Yu dared to act, I had already prepared for what I did at the beginning, but I had a bit of extravagant hope in my heart, so I pestered you with a dead face. …… What am I asking for, isn't it to be with you for a long time, never to be separated from each other, and not to be separated from death...... Seriously, if you really don't want to, what can I do with you? I don't have to beg you to have mercy on me, give me a little charity, and don't let me wait for ......."

"Xiao Yu! If you really want to stay long, then don't talk nonsense! How did you get there, did you hear me?! ”

Although he didn't say it explicitly, the meaning has already arrived, there is no need to say more, Xiao Yu is not a fool, of course he understands what is going on, and he doesn't dare to force him anymore, so he softened his words and said something sweet, "I heard it, how to go and how to go back, you have to wait for me." He smiled, a childlike smile, a very simple smile, like who allowed him a thing he had been thinking about for a long time, feeling that it was about to arrive, thinking about it, his heart jumped suddenly, the sweetness and bitterness in the expectation were like the annual rings on the stump, the wisps, sitting in the city of sorrow in a circle, clear, he himself knew, and the person he was waiting for was also clear.