A sip of tea smacked in his mouth for a moment, and swallowed it with a grunt, Xue Ping put down the teacup in his hand, looked at Xiang Zhen opposite, and said with a smile: "General Xiang, how do you feel after being in Wuyi for a few days?" ”

"It's hard to put into words." Xiang Zhen nodded: "I have benefited a lot, and the wealth of Wuyi is far beyond my imagination." ”

"Not only Wuyi, but also Zhenzhou, Zhaozhou, Dezhou, and Cangzhou, although other places are not as good as these places, but in recent years, the days have been like sesame seeds blooming, and they are getting higher and higher." Xue Ping said: "The financial resources of these states are more than enough to support the army of one guard, although the other places are worse, but generally speaking, with the financial resources of the two states, it is also possible to raise the strength of one guard." ”

Gao Xiangsheng added on the side: "General Xiang, what Xue Shangshu said about raising the strength of the first guard is raised by the method of our side, which is very different from your side. ”

Xiang Zhen was silent, in the past few days, he had a basic understanding of the salary, welfare, pension and other policies of the army on the Wuyi side.

"So Xiang Shuai thinks that our side has to deal with Zhang Zhongwu in the northeast, and we have to guard against Tubo in the northwest, and if we are stretched thin in terms of troops or financial resources, then we are wrong." Xue Ping said: "In the words of Li Xiang, the imperial court is not short of money. ”

"But the palace newspaper published by the imperial court every year, although we are far away in Lingnan, we can also see it, it seems that the imperial court is in debt every year!" Xiang Zhen was a little curious.

Tian Lingzi on the other side said with a smile: "General Xiang, you don't know anything about this, this is just a kind of business segment." Li Xiang once said that piling up money in the treasury is the most stupid means, and only by using the money and letting the money run non-stop can money make money and become an invincible tool. The imperial court is not afraid of arrears, and the imperial court is most afraid of losing credit. As long as the credit is there, no matter how much you owe, you are not afraid. If there is no credit, no matter how much money is piled up in the treasury, it will be nothing more than some dead things. ”

"The Shangshu of the Imperial Court is not only a woman, but also a concubine of Li Xiang, I'm afraid this is a little unreasonable!" Xiang Zhen picked up the tea bowl, took a sip, and said. Tian Lingzi's truth about money, he didn't quite understand, in his opinion, how could the money earned not be piled up in the treasury, if there was no money in the treasury, how to reward the soldiers in the war? How can we ensure food and grass?

Although he thought so in his heart, now the Wuyi Imperial Court did seem to be very rich, and in fact, he was irrefutable, so he could not refute it, so as to pick a topic that he thought was easy.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he said this, none of the people in the room felt funny.

This surprised Xiang Zhen.

Tian Lingzi shook his head slowly and said: "General Xiang, you are far away in the southeast, and you don't know the inside of the court, but Tian has gone through several household books, but what can convince me Tian is really only this woman in your mouth." ”

Xue Ping also said: "The imperial court can have today's weather, and Xia He Xia Shangshu's financial management ability is indispensable." Even we respect her, and please be cautious to the general. ”

Xiang Zhen was stunned, and only after a while did he arch his hand with some embarrassment: "Xiang Mou lost his word." ”

Xue Ping waved his hand: "Those who don't know are not guilty, General Xiang, you have come all the way, and you are also deeply touched when you think about it, and General Gao has also made our thoughts clear to you, I don't know what you think?" ”

Xiang Zhen pondered for a moment before he said: "Everyone, with all due respect, the struggle for power has always allowed no room for retreat, either you die or I die, isn't this kind of practice your own destruction?" Now in the imperial court, the military and political power are in the hands of Li Xiang, the army, only Li Xiang's orders are obeyed, finance, and this Xia Shangshu is in control, one day in the future, even if Li Xiang does not have the heart of the top, his subordinates, will not have the heart of luck? ”

"That's why we need the Xiang clan and the southeast!" Xue Ping said lightly: "As long as there is a strong force outside, you can maintain balance." If Li Xiang is allowed to fight slowly like this, first destroy the pseudo-Liang, and then go down to the southeast, it really comes to this point, then no one can stop Li Xiang from taking the position. Only when the southeast joins in, so that Li Xiang has no excuse to start, and confines all disputes to the court and politics, can it be possible to stop Li Xiang. To the generals, with all due respect, above the military, there is no hope for you. ”

"Is Xue Shangshu so confident?" Xiang Zhenxin was unhappy and asked rhetorically: "The north has the advantages of the north, the south has the characteristics of the south, and it can dominate the wind and clouds in the north, but in the south, it may not be invincible." ”

Xue Ping lowered his eyelids, he didn't want to argue with Xiang Zhen about these senseless arguments, Gao Xiangsheng smiled silently, Tian Lingzi laughed dryly, and the atmosphere in the room was extremely embarrassing for a while.

The door was pushed open, and Han Qi walked in with a happy face.

"Han Shangshu, why are you late?" Gao Xiangsheng stood up and asked with a smile.

"Great victory on the front!" Han Qi laughed and said: "Qin Zhao broke Linzi, Pinglu general Liu Santong led his troops to surrender, Chen Changping, Li De led 5,000 cavalry soldiers into two roads, inserted into the hinterland of Pinglu, Pinglu had no intention of resisting, where the soldiers and horses arrived, they surrendered one after another, and now, the remaining troops of Pinglu, under the leadership of Zhu Youzhen, the third prince of the puppet Liang, all retreated into Tai'an. Qin Zhao led the main force to advance towards Tai'an. ”

"In this way, Pinglu can be regarded as pacified." Tian Lingzi said happily.

"Exactly!" Han Qi said with a smile: "As long as we take Tai'an again, then we will form an absolute superiority over the Tianping Army, and at the same time, we can also form a substantial threat to the Gunhai." ”

"You can't fight again this year, can you?" Tian Lingzi said: "This year, we have fought three battles in a row, although the northeast has subdued Zhang Zhongwu, the northwest has defeated Tocharo, and this time we have also consumed a lot, but we ourselves have consumed a lot, I saw Xia Shangshu of the household department two days ago, and she is still worried?" ”

"It's definitely not going to be a fight." Han Qi nodded and said: "A heavy rain made this battle take a month longer than expected, and it also made Zhu Youzhen pick up a big bargain, a large number of soldiers and civilians, and wealth were plundered by him and taken away from Tai'an." Next, the officials and the household department are going to have a nerve-wracking situation, and at the next court meeting, I am mentally prepared to be scolded by the two of them. ”

"Natural disasters and man-made disasters, this is no wonder Qin Zhao!" Tian Lingzi was dissatisfied. "Who would have thought that it would rain so heavily, this has never happened in previous years."

"That's not where the key is." Han Qi put away his smile, looked at Han Qi and said, "The key is Qin Zhao's casualties. With more than 5,000 elite casualties, do you think the household department will jump to its feet? The Imperial Observatory has already sent someone down. ”

Speaking of this topic, several people in the room became nervous.

"Are Qin Zhao's hands and feet clean?" Xue Ping took a deep breath: "Whether it's the internal guard, or the Yixing Society, the nose is very smart." ”

"It shouldn't be a big problem, Qin Zhao has been planning for a long time." Han Qi sat down and said to Xiang Zhen: "This matter will finally fall on Jin Shiyuan, who will be ordered to retire by the Ministry of War because of a command error." General Xiang, after they arrived in Lingnan, they thought that they would play a huge role in Xiang Shuai's integration of the southeast region. ”

Gao Xiangsheng said with a smile: "General Xiang, when they arrive in Lingnan, you might as well compare this army with yours to see who is more powerful." Jin Shiyuan's troops are not the top in Zuo Xiaowei, the most capable of fighting in Zuo Xiaowei are Li Hao's subordinates and Cheng Xu's subordinates, Jin Shiyuan's troops can only rank fourth in Zuo Xiaowei, because the soldiers and horses led by Qin Zhao are also a little more powerful than Jin Shiyuan. ”

"It's definitely going to be a lesson." Xiang Zhen nodded to himself: "If we really lose, our Lingnan Army will be able to ask questions shamelessly and absorb good things for our own use." ”

"That's good!" Han Qi nodded again and again, looking at Xiang Zhen for a while, as if the Lingnan Army couldn't even compare to a fourth-class army in their mouths. I was just ruthless in my heart, and when I returned to Lingnan, I must teach this group how to behave.

"Xiang Shuai still needs our support?" Han Qi sat down and asked bluntly.

Xiang Zhen owed, and said: "Father also has some understanding of the imperial army, and is quite interested in many weapons and craftsmanship of your army, I hope you can give great help in this." ”

Han Qi frowned: "Be specific." ”

"My father wants to get the imperial court's heavy trebuchets, crossbows and other manufacturing techniques, as well as armor manufacturing technology, and of course, it is better to give us the whole process of smelting iron and steel. As you know, we have our own iron mines, as well as our own iron factories and arsenals, but in terms of quality, there is still a big gap with the equipment of the imperial army. In fact, in the entire southeast, we are still a little better, and if we can go further in this, it will be of great help to us to integrate the southeast, which is much more reliable than supporting one of our armies. ”

Several people in the room glanced at each other, and Han Qi said: "We can't give you the process of iron-smelting and steelmaking you want, because this is the overall responsibility of the general supervisor, and we can't get these things, but the weapons, the Ministry of War has backups, such as hydraulic hammers, these technologies should be available to the Ministry of Industry, right?" ”

Xue Ping nodded: "How to use the technology of hydraulic power has also been recorded in the Ministry of Industry, and there is no problem with this." ”

"These technologies can be given to you, but whether you can use them well is still a question." Gao Xiangsheng said lightly: "For example, our large trebuchet, all the spare parts are standardized, the same parts on different trebuchets can be replaced with each other without any obstacles, General Xiang, there are many technologies involved here, and it is impossible to completely digest them in a short period of time." ”

"As long as we have him, we can always eat him thoroughly." To the truth. "Han Shangshu, when I landed in Haixing, I saw a Sea Falcon-class battleship, how to make such a battleship, I think there is a record for the Ministry of War, right?"

"You want to build a warship like this?" Han Qi gasped: "General Xiang, not to mention the technology needed to build such a warship, Lingnan, do you have the financial resources?" I'm afraid that if you are given the technology, you will not be able to build it, and in the end it will take a lot of manpower and material resources but nothing will be made, in my opinion, it is better to put these things on what you can do, so as to maximize the efficiency. As far as I know, in the southeast Zhujie Town, the water division is not very strong, and with the current strength of the Lingnan water division, it is enough to crush them. ”