Xu Guo.

Different from the State of Yu, the State of Xu is a typical small country, a weak country, over the years, all by the monarch of the State of Xu, the Xu family has been supported by a family, over the years, the Xu family has been vertically and horizontally, and has been soft everywhere, and finally gained a firm foothold in the territory of the Great Qin State, and it is hard to make a country within a country, and the Great Qin court has no temper, and because the Xu State has been attached to the Great Qin for many years, and handed over the annual tribute in time, in the end it was not annexed by the Great Qin.

But Xu Wenqiang, the monarch of Xu Guo, is an ambitious person, since he ascended the throne, he has been trying to break away from the wings of Great Qin, first postponed the annual tribute, and then did not enter the Hajj to the Son of Heaven on the grounds of illness, Great Qin has always wanted to teach Xu Guo a lesson, but the war in the south has not been settled, and Xu Guo is only a small country after all, so he has not started against Xu Guo.

It's a pity that Daqin's blind forbearance made Xu Wenqiang feel that Daqin could be bullied, and he was so bold that he colluded with the Kingdom of Yu and secretly plotted against him, which was really the way to die.

Wang Yongji said with a pity on his face: "Xu Guo, Xiao Guoer, if Your Majesty gives an order, the minister can lead a large army to level Xu Guo within three days, and cut off Xu Wenqiang's head and dedicate it to Your Majesty." ”

Wang Mang laughed at Wang Yongji's loyalty, but still decided to hold off and figure out the situation before talking.

Soldiers, the heavy weapons of the country, can not be easily moved, a move must be upright, with the power of thunder to shock the world, otherwise the pawn will increase the laughing stock.

Zhao Xin, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, said at this time: "Your Majesty, this year's annual examination of the scholars gradually entered Beijing, the number of scholars is large, far more than in previous years, according to the beginning of the examination There is still a month, the large and small inns in the capital have been full of scholars, and now the late scholars are facing the embarrassing situation of having no land to live, and the ministers ask the court to allocate some funds to build some temporary settlements for the scholars who are rushing to take the exam. ”

"Why did so many people come?" Li Hong immediately opened his mouth as soon as he heard that he was asking for money, but he got the news that the Beijing Inn Hall was not enough for the scholars to live in for the exam, but he really didn't expect so many people to come, but if he wanted money, then he had to ask clearly.

"It's all about the war in the south. Zhao Xin smiled bitterly: " According to the law of the Great Qin, anyone who is hired in the examiner can be awarded an official position by the imperial court within three years, but for many years, the court officials are overcrowded, it can be described as a radish and a pit, the scholars have citizens, but there is no official to do, after a long time, many scholars have lost the interest of the examiners, the two years of war in the south, many officials died in the war, the shortage of court officials is very serious, these are in the eyes, the scholars see the hope of being officials, naturally they are going to the capital in a hurry, in addition, the war in the south has caused the southern families to be eager to show their faces in front of the court, and at the same time rebuild their power in the south, so they have sent a lot of scholars for reference, in short, the war in the south was the fuse, and this fuse made many families and scholars see the future, so they all came to Chang'an City. ”

"Zhao Shangshu said is only one of the departments, as far as the minister knows, before the war in the south, the world has been peaceful for many years, the government and the opposition have accumulated a large number of learned people, since His Majesty ascended the throne, he has made great efforts, and recently there are plans to change the law, many scholars who have the country in their hearts, all want to come to the capital, serve His Majesty, and contribute to the strength of Great Qin, which is the reason for the large number of scholars. Although the eldest grandson Wuji is young, he speaks quite sophisticated, and instantly attributed the large number of scholars to the fact that the world is attributed to Wang Mang, which raised Wang Mang's status countless times.

The hundred officials looked sideways at the eldest grandson Wuji, and they didn't see that this elegant boy was so straight to the point, Wang Mang was very happy about the eldest grandson Wuji's sycophant, and said directly: "Since the scholars are so enthusiastic about the construction of Daqin, then I can't be stingy, Li Hong, do the math, how much money can the household department come up with." ”

"It depends on how much it costs to build a house. Li Hong said with a bitter face, he didn't know the price of rice, and he, the head of the household, was deeply worried about the current financial situation of the imperial court.

"Yu Wenkai, you are the secretary of the Ministry of Industry, and you are an expert in this area, how much do you want?" Wang Mang looked at Yu Wenkai, Li Hong was right, there is a specialization in the art industry, and professional matters should be solved by experts.

Yu Wenkai, who was originally a little confused because of the matter of the river yamen, immediately became a lot more energetic when he heard the emperor ask him about professional matters, pondered for a moment, and said: "How much money does it cost, it depends on what kind of house Your Majesty wants to build?"

"What do you say?" Wang Mang nodded, and Yu Wenkai was really an expert.

Yu Wenkai pinched his fingers and calculated: " At present, the minister here has temporarily drawn up three plans, one is a temporary building, enough to support until the end of this year, but when the cold wind arrives at the end of the year, these houses will all have to be damaged, the second is according to the long-term calculation, the cost is very great, but the effect is very good, enough to make the built house use for decades or even hundreds of years, which is for future generations; the third is to use both the first and the second plan, taking into account the financial reasons of the imperial court, the construction in batches, simply put, the house can be built a little bit, but the foundation must be done, so that even if the house collapses, you can also use the foundation to quickly build the house, and you can also wait for the imperial court to be financially richIt may cost more to reinforce the house than the second option, but it is better to pay in installments. ”

"How much silver is needed for each plan?" Li Hong asked urgently.

"Based on the construction of 1,000 houses, the first plan needs about 10,000 taels of silver, the second plan needs 100,000 taels of silver, the third plan needs at least 30,000 taels of silver in the early stage, and the total construction cost in the later stage is about 120,000 taels of silver. Yu Wenkai said quickly: "Of course, what I said is the preliminary budget, and the specific cost will be determined according to the actual construction situation, but the total amount is not much different from what I said." ”

"Li Hong, what do you think?" Wang Mang looked at Li Hong after listening to Yu Wenkai's words.

Li Hong said directly: "If the ministers take out 10,000 taels of silver, they can also take out 30,000 taels of household departments through gritted teeth, but 100,000 taels of silver, with the current situation of the household department, they will definitely not be able to take it out." ”

"Then if that's the case, let's follow the third plan, after all, it's a long-term thing, 10,000 taels of silver is not a small amount, and it can't be directly lost. Zhang Jian said at this time: "The imperial court can save a little now." ”

The minister also agreed with the third option. Zhao Xin nodded.

"Shang Yang, what do you think?" Wang Mang looked at Shang Yang.

"Shang Yang has no ideas, everything is subject to His Majesty's Holy Judgment!" Shang Yang said with an indifferent face.

Wang Mang's eyes flashed, he pondered for a moment, and said, "I have an idea, the court can build a house without a penny." ”

"......" The officials looked at Wang Mang one after another, and said in their hearts, what kind of madness is the emperor going to be.

"If Your Majesty has this method, it should be the luck of Great Qin, the luck of the court, and the luck of all the people!" Li Hong said busily, as long as he was not allowed to pay for it, he would not bother to care what Wang Mang did.

"I wonder what Your Majesty is going to do?" Zhang Jian asked solemnly.