On the night of April 18 in the sixth year of Xuanhe (1124 AD), Liang Shicheng, Tan Zhi, Li Yan, Li Bangyan, Cai You, Cai Jing, Bai Shizhong, Tong Guan and others came to visit. I looked at the many ministers in the hall and said: Today's East Palace is full of distinguished guests, is there any wind blowing today? After saying that, he laughed, and everyone in the hall smiled when they heard me say this, and the atmosphere became relaxed. Since some of the people here today are still my first time meeting, in order to avoid embarrassing them, I will give them a lighter opening statement to help them reveal their purpose for tonight sooner.

Cai Jing is more familiar with me, so he motioned to me left and right, and I said to Sixiang: Wait and wait, don't enter this lobby without being summoned. The four incense understood, and after saluting, they walked outside the hall, and closed the door by the way. Seeing this, Cai Jing smiled and said: "Prince, I came here today because of the tight financial and tax situation in the imperial court, and the prince is currently preparing for the construction of a new army and the research and development of firearms. After speaking, he took out a brocade box from his sleeve and presented it to me with both hands, and the others also followed Cai Jing one after another, took out the brocade box and handed it over.

It seems that everything still can't escape the eyes of these elves, they know what you need at this time, this is both terrible and useful, no matter how many virtuous monarchs are misled by traitors, such intimacy makes everyone feel comfortable and useful. What Cai Jing said is also true, all kinds of restructuring need to be based on a lot of money, otherwise no matter how good the idea is, it will not be realized. In particular, the development and investment of ordnance, the wages of craftsmen, the incentives of the new army, the grain and grass, and the treatment of the new army, as well as the economic restructuring in the future. I'm worried about this in my heart, how to make money, I didn't expect it to come at night, it's really timely rain.

Thinking of this, I am no longer polite, anyway, these people are not the right coins, since they are all collectively filial, then do not take it for nothing, so I pretended to be polite and said: The prince will laugh and let you break the bank. As he spoke, he took the brocade boxes handed over by everyone and placed them on the table one by one. When everyone saw that I had accepted the brocade box, they understood what it meant, and the heart hanging in their hearts slowly relaxed. The atmosphere was relaxed again, after all, everyone had no psychological burden. There won't be a lot of scruples.

Since you have taken other people's things, you should give you an explanation, and I continued: Your mind is received by the prince, but the prince still has to tell you the question of principle, it is obvious that you are all ministers of the imperial court, and you are also the dependent ministers of the dynasty, first of all, we must maintain the stability of the court, and the basis of stability is nothing more than to maintain national strength and people's strength, and we must not use it excessively.

The prince here also knows very well in their hearts that in the past period of time, due to various reasons, he has done many things that are dishonorable and detrimental to the national strength and the people's strength, but this prince wants to clearly tell you about it, and from now on, if this prince finds out that you and your family members or relatives have done such things that violate the law of the country again, this prince will deal with them seriously. And it is also the new account and the old account are settled together, the dynasty follows the Tang system of law, the Song penal system five punishments and twenty etc. still feel too deterrent, the prince still likes illegal punishments such as the Yi clan, live nails, broken hands and feet, waist beheading and other criminal laws. In this extraordinary period, extraordinary measures must be taken, and the treatment of serious cases must also be taken by the prince. I hope you will do the same.

When everyone in the hall heard this, their bodies were stunned, the prince is too ruthless, the Great Song Dynasty has never been able to punish the sergeant doctor, you are good, the Yi clan, live nails, broken hands and feet, and waist beheading are all used. Fortunately, I waited for the nomination in time, otherwise the consequences would have been very serious. At the same time, they all rejoiced in their choice, this prince is usually inconspicuous, and he is really ruthless more ruthless than anyone else, so he bowed his head and bowed his hand and said: The lower official respectfully obeys the instructions of the prince.

For the people in the hall, I can understand that what they did was partly due to the imperial court, because the old man did not do a good job as a member of the family, and partly because of the system at that time, the excessive protection and preference for literati and doctors and the social status of these people were too high. As the saying goes, things are like people, and people are divided into groups, everything has its complexity, multifaceted and historical limitations. However, it is indeed unfair and deviates from historical conditions to draw unilateral conclusions in general.

After giving the stick, the next step is to give some turnips. I continued: Of course, the crown prince also knows very well that the fact that you can take up your current official position shows that you all have a prominent side and have made one or more contributions to the imperial court. Our dynasty has always been based on the principle of ruling the world with scholars and doctors, that is, this Great Song Dynasty is ours and yours. In the past, no matter how you quarreled in the court, it was for the interests of the court or each other, or for the interests of those behind him and those under him, these princes can understand. But now the situation is different, the Jin people's Jin Ge Iron Horse is going to rush over, rob our Great Song City, slaughter our Great Song subjects, occupy the family property of Er and others, and even insult your family...... So this prince, I would like to ask all the adults here, what should we do in the face of this situation?

Everyone in the hall said in unison: Fight with them. That's what I wanted, so I continued: This prince hopes that this is all an answer from the heart of Er, if there is still a blade that wants to take the year's coins and make offerings to bet on gold, this prince still advises you not to be naïve. The Jin people were originally a barbaric primitive farming people, and the rise of their Jurchen was in a very short period of time, and the uncivilized ones would not talk to you about humanistic principles, let alone conclude a friendly alliance, in their eyes, there were only interests. Not to mention anything else, the Jin people marched and fought wars, and they were completely compulsory soldiers, without a penny of military pay, and their income was all based on capture, and the others included population, livestock, gold and silver, etc. It is under this almost barbaric system that the Jin have such combat effectiveness, because they are fighting for themselves. Wouldn't it be ridiculous for you to tell them about righteousness and morality?

Everyone bowed their heads and said nothing, as if they were thinking about what I had just said, and when I saw that they were thoughtful, I knew that the goal had been achieved, so I continued: Since you also think that we should fight with them, but this prince, please ask everyone, my majestic Song Dynasty army of nearly 500,000 can't deal with the defeat of more than 10,000 remnants of the Liao State, let alone the Jin soldiers. Our hundreds of thousands of troops are on the front line, because the supply of grain and grass in the rear is not available, we can only withdraw the army in a gray way, and we have lost an excellent opportunity to completely recover the sixteen states of Yanyun. Or do you have to take your own knives to fight with the gold people, what capital and resources do we have to fight with others.

The hearts of everyone in the hall seem to have been struck suddenly, although the words are so straightforward, but they are all facts that happened, many people who were still personal witnesses of the incident at the time, think about it is indeed the same thing, just put these problems on the table systematically, or for the first time, it is usually nothing more than a set of small books in the officialdom.

Liang Shicheng hurriedly looked at Cai You and Tan Zhen, and when they received Liang Shicheng's gaze, they nodded involuntarily. That is to say, I admit that everything I said just now is not sensational, Liang Shicheng has been in Beijing for a long time, and he does not know everything about the things ahead, and the reports they give sometimes only report good news and not bad news. After Liang Shicheng confirmed it, he couldn't help but say angrily: Prince Qiyu, the old minister really couldn't imagine that the Great Song Dynasty was so inferior in military affairs, 500,000 against more than 10,000 remnants of the defeated generals, and there were heavy casualties, it was simply humiliating and shameless. How so? As he spoke, he lowered his head and shook his head.

The others listened, some pondering, some bowing their heads, and some sighing. After a while, Cai Jing reacted, leaned over and said: "Crown Prince Qi, since the reality is already like this, what does the prince think we should do next?" When I heard this, everyone looked up at me. I saw that everyone was expecting my reply, so I replied to Cai Jingdao solemnly: In view of the current situation, we have no other way but to unite and be unanimous.

Liang Shicheng then couldn't wait to ask: Prince, can you make it clear that you are inferior. I continued: To do this, it depends on how you do it, first of all, in the military we must vigorously reform and reform, a strong army is the foundation, without a strong army there is no way to resist the cavalry of the Jin. Secondly, if you want to train an elite and capable army, you can't do without a lot of money, grain and grass to support, and in the face of today's imperial taxes, it simply can't afford to increase the military expenses for the preparation of a new army, so what should we do?

Only by thoroughly reforming the economy, completely opening up the Bianjing Canal, reinstating the Tang Dynasty's sectional transportation law, and resuming the Cao Yun, we will vigorously develop the economic circle along the canal. Only when the economy develops and commerce develops can we have the confidence and capital to train the new army and develop ordnance for the golden soldiers.

The reform of the administrative system is also very important, because the current system is completely incompatible with the development of society. In the end, it is necessary to completely solve the three redundant problems that have plagued our dynasty for many years, that is, the problems of redundant soldiers, redundant expenses, and redundant officials.

After I finished speaking, everyone kept nodding their heads in approval, and from the bottom of their hearts, they did know where the current problems of the imperial court were, and the root cause was still the problem of three redundancies, and if this problem was not completely solved, then everything would be in vain. And the scope of this is too big, and the interests involved are too wide, so no one has ever dared to mention it, let alone dare to do it.

Liang Shicheng said: Xia Guan thinks that no matter how big the difficulties and resistance, we should support the determination of the prince without hesitation. Cooperate with the prince and completely solve the problem of three redundancies, otherwise we will all be trampled on the home by the iron horse of the golden people, not to mention the glory and wealth.

Seeing this, Cai Jing also said: My lord, the restructuring that the prince said will inevitably involve the interests of you and your family or its subordinates, but if we don't reform at present, we will lose time, and in the end we may have nothing, and if we support the restructuring in the present, there may be a little loss, but this is much better than nothing, and the old minister absolutely supports the prince's determination to completely eliminate the three redundant issues.

When I saw it, I said: Today is just a matter of the prince exchanging views with you, and you will consider it carefully when you go back. There is a chance for this prince to discuss with you later. It's not early, and Prince Ben is a little tired. After hearing this, everyone bowed their heads and bowed their hands to say goodbye, leaving by default with their own feelings, maybe tonight's words will keep them awake at night, but it is also a good thing to say it early so that these so-called court ministers are a little mentally prepared.