"I'm against it!" Xu Xiang closed the fold in front of him and said without thinking.

In front of everyone is Shi Zhuang's excerpt on continuing to use troops in Xiangxi, which was transcribed by the secretary and supervisor.

"Ladies and gentlemen, according to Shi Zhuang's performance, this time Xiangxi uses troops, the most economical and smoothest state, and the cost is millions. And this is just for us to occupy those cities in Xiangxi with more convenient transportation. But this is just the beginning, and the next cost is the big one. A large number of troops are stationed in these places, and the supplies needed cannot be raised locally at all, and they all rely on external imports; although the economic development of Yueyang and other places is relatively good, the entire Hunan region can still be described as abject poverty. It is simply not able to supply Shi Zhuang's army. ”

Wang Mingyi nodded again and again: "What Chairman Xu said is very true. The place in Xiangxi, even if it is a so-called convenient place with convenient transportation, it is relatively speaking, compared to our side, it is completely heaven and earth, ten catties of grain are transported in, and it is good to be able to leave half of it. This does not take into account other risk factors that may be encountered. According to General Shi's words, occupying the city this winter and next spring, forcing Ding Sheng into the mountains, and then slowly advancing and suppressing, and the time required is calculated in years, and the final cost is only ten times that of the current calculation. This money, now we can't afford it. ”

You Yong disagreed: "Everyone, don't just look at the money, as long as the money is spent on the blade, it is worth it." I think what Shi Zhuang said is very reasonable. If Ding Sheng is allowed to completely gain a foothold in Xiangxi, suppress and appease the natives there, and unite the entire Xiangxi region into a whole, we will be in great trouble. What's more, once places like Guizhou and Yizhou also intervene, things will be more complicated. Right now, there's no better time to do it. Drive them into the mountains and control all the main transportation routes, so that it will be much more difficult for outside forces to get involved. This matter cannot be delayed, and if it is delayed, it will change. ”

"Where's the money?" Xu Xiang stretched out his hand and said, "Where does the money come from?" Ladies and gentlemen, have you all seen the twists and turns in Gansu and Qinghai? So far, there have only been two light snowfalls, according to past records, as well as the judgment of experienced locals, next spring, these two places are likely to have a drought, and these two places, although the water conservancy foundation has been under construction, but the foundation is too thin, it is difficult to fundamentally solve the problem in a short period of time. Once there is a major drought in the spring, there will be big problems with next year's harvest, and the imperial court must be prepared for disaster relief and bereavement, even if it is a work-for-relief, the investment is huge. In my opinion, instead of rushing to clean up such barren land as Xiangxi, it is better to spend more energy on people's livelihood. ”

"The outside is unstable, how can the internal wind be clear?" You Yong said angrily: "Once the opponent forms a strong force in the Xiangxi region, Hunan will be unstable, compared with Gansu and Qinghai, which is more important?" Don't forget, now that Zhu Youzhen of Yizhou is ready to move, Cao Bin is in Xiangyang, and Tian Mantang is in Yiling, they will attack us at any time. ”

Gongsun Changming knocked on the table and said, "I support Shi Zhuang's plan. Xiangxi must be controlled, otherwise, Yizhou and Guizhou will use Xiangxi as the front line to contain and harass us, and once we control the Xiangxi region, the situation can be reversed. Shi Zhuang's plan is already the least costly. Chairman Xu, you have been a local, and you are also a soldier, you should know that if we control those cities, estuaries, and market towns in Xiangxi with convenient transportation, we can do more. With these places as the central point, we can gradually spread outward, and the Yixing Society, culture and education can be carried out at the same time, and I believe that it will play a greater role than just military suppression. ”

"I also agree with Shi Zhuang's plan!" Zhang Hui rarely maintained the same agreement with Gongsun Changming: "It is said that where people are fierce and barbaric, in the final analysis, it is still a problem of ignorance, the ignorant are fearless, in addition, it is a problem of poverty, as long as the livelihood of the people there is solved, so that they slowly become worry-free, many problems will naturally be solved, so hunger and cold steal the heart, you can't expect a stomach to be full, there are always people who are frozen and starved to death to know etiquette, honor and disgrace." So, we have to stay here, and then take advantage of our inherent strengths to grow slowly. The Xiangxi region must not be allowed to become a den of bandits. It's a place with tens of millions of people. ”

"Where's the money?" Xu Xiang said: "It's not that I don't understand this truth, but we can't give up another place for the sake of one place, in my opinion, instead of using troops in Xiangxi, it is better to use troops in Xiangyang, a round of artillery smashed over, it costs less!" ”

"The recovery of Xiangyang is already being prepared." Li Zedao: "But we can't sit idly by in Xiangxi, that place, as Shi Zhuang said, the more time drags on, the greater the trouble in the future." His plan was correct, first occupy the main cities and key roads, and then use elite squads of soldiers and horses to enter the mountains to suppress bandits. Relying on the city, relying on the army, constantly attacking, a small area to recover, the accumulation of small pieces. ”

Xu Xiang sighed, "If that's the case, then you can only reduce the expenses of other places." ”

"Let's think of something else!" Li Ze thought for a while and said, "Wang Mingyi! ”

Wang Mingyi looked bitter and said: "Your Majesty, now I really can't draw out the money, those predictable incomes have already had a whereabouts, and they have been set a long time ago, once they are withdrawn, all the work done in the early stage will be wasted, and the loss will only be greater, and it will bring more losses." ”

"What about loans?"

"Your Majesty, you can't take out any more loans this year." Wang Mingyi shook his head again and again: "In order to support this sudden war, we have borrowed a large amount of money. At present, the state fiscal expenditure has reached the limit, and no matter how much it is, it will exceed the red line, and we have always been operating in debt, and once the red line is crossed, it will easily lead to financial collapse. ”

Li Ze frowned and thought for a moment, nodded slowly, and said, "Since this is the case, then we can only let go of some industries." Let go of the wine-making industry, auction the wine-making license, and release a year's reserve grain from the state's grain reserves. How much money can be raised by auctioning off a hundred winemaking licenses across the country? ”

"According to past experience, the annual right to operate a liquor brewing license is 50,000 silver dollars. But Your Majesty, it is easy to let go and difficult to take back, and a large number of wine-making is released, and the impact on grain is great. After all, the income from brewing is more profitable than simply buying and selling grain. In addition, a large number of liquor on the market will also have a great impact on the current official liquor price. Wang Mingyi said.

"In terms of food, what does Sinong Temple say?" Li Ze's gaze turned to Liu Xin of Sinong Temple.

"Your Majesty, after the establishment of the Northeast Construction Corps, millions of acres of new land have been reclaimed in the Northeast this year, which is enough to make up for the needs of winemaking. New grain corn has been planted on a large scale in the Construction Corps, and wine can be made with corn. This new grain is not very well received by the people today, but it is very good for making wine. Liu Xin said: "In terms of food supply, you don't have to worry too much, now the whole country has two years of grain reserves, and the northeast, with the increase in population, can at least reclaim millions of acres of land every year." And as the new fields become more mature, the yield will only increase every year. In addition, field potatoes, potatoes and other varieties have now begun to popularize, other staple foods such as rice, wheat breeding has been getting better and better, the yield of a single field is increasing year by year, Liu someone dares to pat his chest and assure, as long as I Datang does not suffer a large-scale famine, there will never be a food shortage. Fluctuations in food prices will also be kept within acceptable limits. ”

"In this way, we have already settled at least half of the cost of using troops this time." Li Ze's mood improved, and he continued: "In addition, I suggest that mines and other industries can also be appropriately opened, auctioned, and allowed private capital to enter these industries, now every year our steel, copper, tin, coal, etc. annual demand has increased greatly, and the supply exceeds demand, resulting in a sharp rise in prices, allowing private capital to enter these industries, first, to meet the supply of the domestic market, balance the price, and second, to auction these mines, can also raise a lot of funds." At the same time, these industries can also bring us more tax revenue. ”

"Your Majesty, grain, salt, etc. have been released, if the mines are released again, it is equivalent to us will let go of almost all the important weapons of the country, although we can temporarily raise a large amount of silver, but in the long run, the country has given up the right to monopolize, and the loss will only be greater." Zhang replied: "I think we need to be cautious. ”

"Supply and marketing cooperatives from the beginning of the establishment, to now more than ten years, from the initial supply and marketing cooperatives to us to bring us a huge benefit of the difference, now the supply and marketing cooperatives have become increasingly rigid, we open an industry, the profitability of the supply and marketing cooperatives will shrink a point." Li Ze looked at Xu Xiang and said: "But the revenue of our country's finance has not decreased, but has increased every year, what does this mean?" It shows that the liberalization of these monopolies will not cause much loss to the country in terms of financial resources, but will promote the country's economic prosperity. In the past, the supply and marketing cooperatives were dominant, which led to many problems. Xu Xiang, I heard that you are preparing to take a knife against the supply and marketing cooperatives? ”

"Yes." Xu Xiang nodded: "The supply and marketing cooperatives have developed to this day, and the internal operation has been extremely rigid, as Your Majesty said, as long as there is external competition, they are not opponents." With more resources and more sufficient manpower, they were defeated by private business, which in itself is abnormal, and it needs to be vigorously reformed, and if they can't help the imperial court, then there is no need for them to exist. ”

"It's too early to do so." Li Ze said with a smile: "Although his historical task has almost been completed, the warehousing, transshipment and outlets all over the world that he has established in the past ten years are still very important." In economically developed areas, they are indeed shrinking day by day, but in remote villages, economically backward areas, they are still irreplaceable, businessmen seek profits, these places cannot make money, they are unwilling to go. So it's better to take your time. ”

"Yes, Your Majesty. Supply and marketing cooperatives are huge, and it is impossible to fit all of them. They are still an important part of our business system. Take your time to reform and cut it! Xu Xiang said.

"Now that everyone has reached an agreement, then the military council can order Shi Zhuang to act according to the plan. This winter and next spring launched a large-scale offensive against Xiangxi, driving the remnants of the Ding clan into the mountains. Li Ze stood up and said, "All ministries and offices should quickly draw up their own plans according to the spirit of today's meeting and start implementing them!" ”