Just when the war between the two sides was about to break out, Zhao Zhe had secretly returned to the Forbidden City. The trip took shape for nearly two months. But the harvest is not low, not only subdued the wolf king, a foreign army, but also carefully communicated with Liu Pojun, who has good personal strength and military command, fundamentally dismantled the little mustard of the two, and successfully established a friendship between monarchs and ministers. The most important thing is that there is also the surprise harvest of Yun Bingmeng.

As for the vigorous business between Yan'er and Chen Susu, Zhao Zhe didn't ask too much. It's just that when they were leaving, the two strong women were still negotiating the price of goods with various merchants in the depths of Liaodong, or they were successfully delivered, but they had come to an end and were about to leave for the Central Plains. With Yang Dingshan secretly taking care of him, there shouldn't be any major problems.

Zhao Zhe had the intention to put on makeup and go to the front line to wander around, but firstly, he was desperately resisted by Yang Dingshan and Liu Pojun, and secondly, he had to come back. In this battle, no matter how it is played, I am afraid that it will not be able to completely distinguish the winner within this year. And the long and grand war consumes extremely huge logistical materials. If we rely purely on the meager foundation of the national treasury that barely enough to eat and spend until the end of the year, it will not be able to fill this huge hole at all.

Fortunately, however, when encountering such a large-scale war against foreign aggression, it has a close relationship with the ruling class, and the role of the local sovereign class wearing the same pants will be revealed. It has to be said that in the ordinary process of rule, the local sovereign nobility did oppress the ordinary people, encroach on more people's resources, and so on, which caused anger and resentment. But at this time, only they will stand up, and they must also stand up in terms of money and materials to give strong support to the imperial court. In fact, this is also an extremely reasonable thing, if the country's army is defeated and the invaders are allowed to break into the hinterland of Dazhao, the most unlucky thing is these sovereign nobles with huge assets and a superior life. After all, if the country is finished, a large part of them will not simply say that they are not happy, and those murderous barbarians will not talk to you about courtesy, righteousness, honesty, benevolence, righteousness and morality. At that time, most of the land lords will be noble, and I am afraid that they will not even be able to save their lives and family inheritance. This is not the first time in the entire history that this kind of thing has happened.

Of course, how much blood they can make depends on how Zhao Zhe does it.

This time, Zhao Zhe came back only two days ago. In the Jinluan Palace, he met with some parents of the landlord class who came from all over the country and had representative surnames. At the same time, Yan Yu, the first assistant of the cabinet, and several scholars from the cabinet, as well as the heads of the six ministries, also participated. Sitting on the dragon chair of the Jinluan Palace, Zhao Zhe leisurely half leaned back, drinking the heavy taste of the dragon well, and lightly looked at the group of people below.

In addition to the people of the six departments, the dozens of people from the landlord class of the family were summoned by Yan Yu on order. The original intention was to talk to them about reducing the rent and pressure on the peasant households. Now it is just right, after they have arrived in the capital one after another in the past few months. Da Zhao and Hou Jin actually broke out into a full-scale war. This is not a small fight in previous years, a small matter of fighting the autumn wind, but a major event related to the life and death of the Great Zhao Empire. These landlords are more proficient in state affairs than ordinary people, and they also know the strength of Houjin's [***] affairs. Although most people don't think that this war will be lost, there are many unexpected things in the world, and the Houjin barbarians are not so easy to pinch soft persimmons.

Everyone here understands the truth of cold lips and teeth. But in their eyes, the best way to end this war is not to make a lot of effort to defeat the Houjin State. Instead, they wanted to spend money to avoid disasters, they raised money and treasures, and the imperial court came forward to negotiate with the Houjin State.

This suggestion was not long before they bowed, not long after they bowed. It was put forward by the respected leaders who were elected among the great families. The man's surname is Zhao, and his name is Rui. He is a figure from one of the best families in China, and now he is nearly seventy, known as Mrs. Zhao. It is said that his ancestors were also relatives of the emperor, and later, several of his descendants became the most important courtiers of the imperial court. Even today, there are a total of five clansmen who serve as military or local leaders. It can be regarded as a prominent family and has a long history.

Zhao Zhe did not answer them immediately, but after waiting for the meeting, he made a request. Let people give everyone tea and seats, smile and say that this is not a court meeting, everyone can relax. And he began to drink tea slowly.

The people of the big families are actually beating the drum in their hearts. This time, the emperor ordered Yan Shoufu to summon them, and they probably guessed something. Although the rent reduction will damage their interests to a certain extent, after meeting and discussing with each other, they also feel that they should reduce the rent, firstly, to give the new emperor a face, which is a big gift. Second, they are also afraid that if the exploitation is really too severe, they will repeat the mistakes of the peasants in Shandong and Henan. Therefore, it was unanimously decided to reduce the rent, so that the tenants who depended on them could also recuperate for a while.

However, what I never expected was that while waiting for the emperor to summon me, I heard that the situation in Liaodong was getting tighter and tighter, and in the end, a big war between the two sides was about to break out. This made them all anxious, and they all discussed together how to deal with this matter. In the end, it was unanimously recommended that Mrs. Zhao, a respected senior, propose peace to the emperor. They believe that the Houjin barbarians are just uncivilized natives, and all they need is some money and food, at most some beautiful women. They had heard every year that the barbarians would cross the border to fight the autumn wind and grab some money, food and sundries. But this time, it seems that the emperor sent troops to exterminate their people. angered those barbarians, and only then did they exert their strength to fight Da Zhao to the death.

There are a lot of resentments in my heart that the emperor is troublesome, so let them grab some if they love to rob. The losses won't be too big anyway. However, if you want to say this kind of thing, you don't dare to say it. Now there is a shortage of money in the treasury, and they all know it. If you want the emperor to come out with money to sue for peace, it is absolutely impossible, not to mention that the emperor looks a little belligerent now, but even if he is not warlike, he can't take out so much money and food? Anyway, if there is a war this time, it is impossible for the emperor not to ask them for money and food. It is also better to use money and food to level the barbarians directly, which will save a lot of soldiers from dying, and everyone will be happy. The landlord class carefully discussed it, felt that this plan could be accomplished, and their hearts were full of confidence, and everyone contributed money and grain to solve the war problem for the emperor, and the emperor must not agree.

Therefore, at the beginning of the meeting, the case was raised. But the emperor is a little unsure of this matter. I didn't dare to look up at him, but I knew that he was pondering, but I didn't know what idea he would come up with in the end.

"Sum?" After a long while, Zhao Zhecai laughed, his eyes didn't know when, he had already narrowed into a slit with laughter, took a sip of tea, and said in a kind voice: "What about Aiqing?" Tell me about it, what do you think? ”

"Your Majesty, now that the national strength of my Great Zhao State is empty, and it has just experienced a civil strife. It is not worth it to spend the national power on the Houjin barbarians. He Hongqing, a scholar, stepped forward and said: "The minister advocates peace, at least in the last few years, it is best for my Da Zhao not to start a war lightly, and give the people a chance to cultivate and recuperate." He still has a reason not to say it, anyway, the money for this peace is shared by the landlords of the world, and there is no need to take it out from the treasury, so why not do it?

"Joke, the wolf ambition of the Houjin barbarians has repeatedly invaded the territory of Liaodong in our dynasty. And this time, because of the loss, the army was massed violently to attack. If you fail to give them a head-on blow, but instead bend your knees and sue for peace, it will certainly encourage the arrogance that follows. Another university scholar, Xi Yongtai, raised his eyebrows and retorted eloquently: "Since the founding of the Taizu Dynasty, my Great Zhao has always been famous, how can I be so bullied by the barbarians?" ”

These two scholars, although they are both cabinet members, do not like each other, and they can be regarded as old rivals. In government affairs, I always have to oppose any opinion you make.

"As the saying goes, soldiers are not tired of deceit, and now our dynasty is the time when the national strength is the most empty. Why don't you seek perfection for the time being, wait for our emperor to work hard, and take down the Houjin Barbarian Kingdom in one fell swoop after recuperating and recuperating. Why gamble on Da Zhao's safety in order to compete for a breath of leisure? He Hongqing rolled his eyes at it and said with a pun: "National affairs are not child's play, and we must be cautious." ”

Xi Yongtai was just about to say something. Zhao Zhe waved his hand with a smile: "Okay, okay." I know all your opinions, do any other Aiqing have opinions? ”

The fat figure of Shen Yijun, the head of the household department, took a step forward and said, "Your Majesty, now that the treasury is empty, it is indeed not the time for war. If the family is willing to pay to settle the dispute, it is the best. But as he spoke, his eyes were directed towards Zhao Zhe.

Zhao Zhe also understood, and said with a smile: "Since many Aiqing like to seek peace and stability. I'm not a domineering and unreasonable person. However, after that, the Jin Barbarian Clan was strong, and his appetite must not be small. Old Zhao, how much money can you family members make? But in my heart I was secretly worried. It turns out that these big families are much more afraid of death than their own emperor, hehe, the more afraid of death, the better, and there is no discussion about slaughtering. This time we're going to have to make them bleed hard, and as for making peace, uh, fuck off.

(To be continued)