In essence, the set played by Li Kui is the low-profile version of the early stage played by the Planet Stirring Stick UK.

It's just that the British set is to encourage domestic idlers to become pirates, and the stolen money is added to five, and the empire and pirates share it together.

To this end, Britain needs to help the 'pirates' build warships and manufacture the most advanced 'artillery', so as to make the greatest guarantee for the vicious 'pirates' to make a fortune.

The unlucky 'pirate' will of course sink forever at the bottom of the sea, and the lucky 'pirate' will become an Imperial naval officer, or even a general, and receive the title of Imperial knighthood. There was even a time when the British navy was pirated, targeting the trading fleet of Spain, Europe's largest fat sheep.

After relying on robbery and gaining enough national wealth, Britain embarked on the road of maritime hegemony.

And then robbed the colonies all the way, thus going to the era of world hegemons.

This road is suitable for many early modern European countries, but it is not suitable for the Great Song Dynasty.

In this world today, the richest ships on the ocean are all from the Great Song Dynasty. The merchants of the Great Song Dynasty were afraid of being robbed, but there was no one else to rob. Da Song plays pirates, he can only rob his own, and he will definitely not be able to play.

And the British set of methods for stirring up, the Great Song Dynasty can't use it.

The reason why Britain uses European checks and balances is that the world checks and balances.

The main reason is that there are too few British, less than 20 million people, managing a colony with a population of 400 million, and still thinking about dominating the earth, it is difficult to think about it.

However, the Great Song Dynasty is different, the Great Song Dynasty now has a population of 100 million, and the population is definitely the largest unified dynasty. For every four people in the world, there is a Great Song person. The Great Song Dynasty did not need to use British means at all, as long as the population continued to move out, the whole world could be occupied.

Even if you can't occupy the whole world, Southeast Asia, Oceania, the Americas......

Can those sparsely populated vast lands resist the industrious farmers of the Great Song Dynasty?

Therefore, Li Kui seems to use a set of methods in the colony, but it is actually the road of assimilation. If the people of the Great Song Dynasty continued to go out, Huaxia would cut off the development path of all other countries.

Because no nation will be stronger than China. Where there are people, export culture, and after assimilating the locals, completely erase the national mark of the other party. If there is no one's territory, go directly to the land to build a city.

Emperor Zhao Xu was moved, and Li Kui added a lot of questions to his side, which he sounded very reasonable, but was ignored.

For example:

"Your Majesty, now my Great Song Dynasty has no less than 600,000 soldiers and horses, and the annual grain and grass are a huge expenditure. The Xiang army is different from the forbidden army, which is the court's compassion for the displaced people and their livelihood. In fact, there are many more people who did not even get involved in the Xiang army, but died in the natural disaster. ”

"If these people were sent to a place close to Huaxia, where they were given land, farm tools, and kept them safe, would they not be grateful for the grace of the imperial court? In the future, the displaced people after natural disasters will no longer die for a lifetime, but have a place to go. ”

"Secondly, Your Majesty, except for the areas with serious border troubles, the forbidden armies in other places are simply overwhelmed. I want to train them, but I don't have a battlefield to send. Or send it to the battlefield, the enemy is too strong, and can only be sent to death, not only consuming countless money and food, but also hitting my Great Song Guowei, what can I do? ”

"It's okay now, no matter how bad the local forbidden army is, it can't beat the party people, it can't beat the Khitan iron cavalry, and even the Tubo people can't deal with I, so it won't even be able to beat the natives, right?"

……

The emperor was confused and a little annoyed at the same time.

After all, the 800,000 forbidden troops are all barriers to protect the Great Song Dynasty, so when Li Kui says this, it seems to have become useless.

And Li Qingchen, who had been standing on the side, became nervous, and now the forbidden army defending on the northern front is not the useless forbidden army in Li Kui's mouth?

Ning Huajun didn't say anything, and the main generals ran away.

Although after the destruction of the city in Yanzhou, he committed suicide. The combat power of the Koning Army was discounted in the Privy Council itself. The five military towns of Guangxin, Ansu, Shun'an, Yongning, and Amway on Hebei West Road seem to have strong troops. But in fact, no one can say what the combat effectiveness is. Others don't know, isn't Li Qingchen still unclear?

The counteroffensive on the entire northern front was carried out by the Feilian Army and the Praetorian Guard, plus more than 20,000 soldiers loyal to Renduo, and these 50,000 soldiers and horses were the main force.

The soldiers and horses on the Hebei West Road have been fighting for more than a month, but they have not achieved an inch. There are many reasons for the failure to make an inch, but the most likely reason is that the army of Hebei West Road faced the elite of the Liao State, and only had to be beaten, so they didn't want to take advantage of it at all.

In case of......

"Renjie, do you mean that in case, if the new monarch of the Liao State ascends the throne and stabilizes the royal court, Antun may lose Yanzhou and other prefectures and counties one after another?"

Li Qingchen's privy envoy had a very difficult time, on the one hand, he had to stretch out his hand to interfere with the capital from time to time, and be on guard everywhere. On the other hand, the army on the border is not terrible to lose, but if the whole army is annihilated, will there be a barrier in the whole of Hebei?

Since he asked about Hebei West Road, Li Kui had to say a fair word: "To be able to hold Zhuozhou and Yizhou, with Yishui as a natural barrier, you can attack and retreat." If you can do this, you are already a first-class elite, and the Hebei Forbidden Army can't do it to this extent. However, the teacher can rest assured that the direction of the same state should not be a problem. ”

"Same state...... Isn't it the Fei Lian Army? ”

Li Qingchen was speechless, if the Feilian army could not hold it, then the Great Song Dynasty might not have an army available.

Thinking that because of military spending, the Praetorian Guard had to retreat.

Li Qingchen was also anxious, he was afraid that the whole Hebei would become a mess and eventually erode.

If it was really the Liao army that went south, the damage to the Great Song Dynasty, even if Zhang Ji led the Western Army to destroy the Western Xia, it would not be able to make up for it. For the Great Song Dynasty, even if the Western Xia fell, there were still opponents in the northwest. The Great Song Dynasty and the Liao State were directly opposed, and even the pressure on the northwest was stronger than the pressure on the Great Song Dynasty in the Western Xia.

Nearly 400,000 forbidden troops were dragged by the north, and such a situation was almost a critical situation for the Great Song Dynasty. In particular, as the war escalates, 400,000 elites are not enough, and more soldiers and horses are needed. For Da Song, it seems that he is stuck in a quagmire, and there is no chance to climb up.

However, the temporary financial relief obtained through the reform of the law will not last. If this continues, it will be more and more difficult for the finances of the Great Song Dynasty. The Praetorian Guard worked very well, and Li Qingchen definitely wanted to form a second, or even third, Praetorian Guard.

But without money, nothing can be formed.

For the sake of today's plan, financially we can only choose to open source, use Li Kui's method to integrate the forbidden army little by little, and restore the combat effectiveness of the forbidden army. Thinking of this, Li Qingchen immediately suggested to the emperor: "The minister thinks that Li Kui's suggestion can be implemented, and I also ask Your Majesty to discuss it as soon as possible, and after it is passed, it will be implemented immediately." to form the Second Praetorian Army. As long as the Janissaries were doubled, the minister thought that the threat of the Liao State would be stifled. At that time, it will be the time for my Great Song to breathe. ”

Zhao Xu muttered, "Has it reached such a serious point? ”

"Almost, the main thing is that the Hebei Forbidden Army can resist the Liao army, that is, thirty or forty thousand horses. Other soldiers and horses may be of some use in a tailwind battle, if you really face the elite of the Liao State......"

Li Kui shook his head and said helplessly: "It's not a bad thing, it's already very good." ”

On the Qinghe Plain, when Li Kui and Yelu Hongji fought a decisive battle, he did not know the reinforcements on the two roads of Hebei.

After the decisive battle was over, and Renduo Baozhong converged, it was learned that the 50,000 horses of the Hebei West Route Army were ready to withdraw at this juncture. This made Li Kui very dissatisfied.

This time, he decided to withdraw the army, but also to let the Hebei Army understand a truth, the credit is to fight with his life.

If you don't work hard, you want credit, and there is no door.

However, Li Kui also made some arrangements, as long as Zhuozhou was controlled in his hands, and as long as Yixian and Yizhou were controlled in the hands of the Song army, the Liao army went south was still an empty word.

Zhao Xu frowned tightly and asked Li Kui: "After the Praetorian Guard and the Feilian Army withdraw, Li Qing, do you think An Xuan and Wang Jin can hold Yanzhou?" ”

"It's hard. In fact, the Janissaries were helpless, and the artillery was left without shells and enough gunpowder to fight in the field. If the Praetorian Guards with strong firepower are placed in the city to defend the city, they can only be beaten passively. At the same time, the season was also very unfavorable for the Janissaries. After the onset of winter, the rain and snow increased, and the disadvantages of gunpowder dampness became more and more great, and even if there was plenty of ammunition, the field battles of the Janissaries were very limited during this season. ”

"It is unlikely that the Liao Kingdom will go south in the short term. But after the fall of next year, it will be difficult to say. Li Kui said worriedly: "If the 50,000 horses on Hexi Road can wake up in time and retreat to Zhuozhou and other places, it will be better." I'm afraid that when the Liao State reacts, it will be difficult for these 50,000 horses to retreat. ”

Zhao Xu was really frightened, and turned his head to look at Li Qingchen: "Is this really the case?" ”

Li Qingchen is also helpless, there is one of the soldiers and horses in the world, and if you can think that Li Kui can use less than 30,000 horses and break the Liao army's more than 100,000 troops, Li Kui can do it. Zhang Qi couldn't do it either. Let An Dian and Wang Jin these two wastes, even if Yelu Hongji does not personally lead the troops, can they beat Brother Xiao Chang and deal with Yelu Chen's slaves?

!

It's good that these two goods can escape alive.

The emperor waited for the answer, and Li Qingchen had to tell the truth: "It may be more difficult than what Renjie said." ”

Emperor Zhao Xu suddenly became anxious, and said loudly: "In that case, why don't you withdraw your troops soon?" ”

"Your Majesty, I don't know if the Liao Emperor Yelu Hongji has ......?" Li Kui asked.

"No news yet." Zhao Xu also wished that Yelu Hongji would die, which could be regarded as revenge for his father.

But if Yelu Hongji didn't die, he wouldn't have anything to do.

Time is very short, and if the Great Song Dynasty wants to rise, it must open up the war machine. It is obviously not appropriate to increase taxes. The taxes of the Great Song Dynasty were very heavy, and it seemed that the Great Song Dynasty had effective control over commercial taxes, salt taxes, and rice prices.

What can be hidden below is that the main object of taxation in the Great Song Dynasty is still farmers. The agricultural tax and the poll tax alone accounted for a little more than half of the tax tax of the Great Song Dynasty. Coupled with forced labor, the continuous annexation of land, and the heavy pressure of private borrowing, the peasants could no longer bear the greater pressure of taxation. small table

As a result, if there is a tax increase, even if it is an increase in salt taxes or something, it is the farmers who will be hit. Today's rural areas of the Great Song Dynasty are extremely fragile.

Riots at every turn are enough to show that the peasant stratum has been exploited to the point of collapse in the Great Song Dynasty.

On this day, the court meeting of Zichen Hall was extremely weird.

It seems that both the ministers and the emperor are a little perfunctory.

After the end of the court, Zhang Dian, Su Zhe, Cai Bian, Li Qingchen, and Zeng Bu ...... One by one, they all stayed.

They all got the news that the imperial court was preparing to open overseas fiefdoms, which could allow merchants to buy fiefdoms.

After the emperor walked from the corridor of the Purple City Hall to the Vertical Arch Hall, the ministers also followed.

When he came to the place, Zeng Bu found a tall figure, at first he thought he had seen it wrong, rubbed his eyes, and found Li Kui who was still here.

Zeng Bu was surprised: "Li Kui, why are you ......!" ”

"Master Zeng, I'm back!" Li Kui smiled very brightly, in the face of Zeng Bu, a guy who couldn't slip his hands, Li Kui wanted to start several times, but he didn't have a chance. It has to be treated with care.

Zeng Bu looked around, as if everyone else was used to it, and suddenly felt angry in his heart, it turned out that he didn't know.

As the head of the ministers, Zhang Dian said: "My Great Song Dynasty is now in a predicament, and the battles with Liao and Western Xia are all in a critical period. Now that the tax is raised, I am afraid that the people will be in dire straits, and if the tax is not raised, the officers and men of the border army will fall into the dilemma of not continuing to spend on the military. Today's plan can find another way and adopt an open source approach. ”

"How to open source?"

As a conservative, Su Zhe does not have hatred for Wang Anshi and others. Rather, it is just a matter of standing on a different standpoint in governance.

And the biggest benefit of Wang Anshi's change to attract Emperor Shenzong is open source.

However, the open source of the reformers actually increased the burden on the people. This is an indisputable fact. To be more precise, it is to exchange the money that the people were originally exploited by the local nobles for the imperial court to collect.

This kind of open source will inevitably be strongly opposed by the scholars.

When Su Zhe heard Zhang Dian say open source, he immediately became vigilant and decided that Zhang Dian wanted to make trouble.

But Zhang Dian didn't pay attention to Su Zhe and others at all, and said that most of them were Li Kui's theories. Open up overseas fiefs, give merchants the qualifications to buy fiefs, and cultivate overseas fiefs at the same time.

But in order to increase the attractiveness, the emperor also fought hard, and at the suggestion of Li Kui, he expanded Zongzheng and turned it into a noble house, managing the sense of loss that he was still unable to be an official after a businessman who paid a lot of money obtained a knighthood.

This is attractive and can also increase the attractiveness of overseas fiefdoms.

If you spend millions of yuan, and end up as a slut, the businessman will not be stupid.

But if it costs a few million and you can get related to the emperor, the money is definitely worth it.

Zhang Dian felt that what he had said was almost enough, and immediately asked: "The old man thinks that the Ryukyus are divided into five points, and the total price is 20 million yuan." In addition, Liaodong is also used as an overseas fiefdom as a bidding target...... There is no price limit. ”

As soon as he finished saying this, someone roared angrily: "Rebellious ministers and thieves, selling the credit of the imperial court like this, wouldn't it shake the foundation of my Great Song Dynasty?" ”

Zhang Dian originally focused all his attention on Su Zhe, and he felt that only Su Zhe was the most likely to cause trouble.

But when he heard the voice of opposition coming from behind him, he looked back and saw Zeng Bu's embarrassment that he raised his arms and shouted that he couldn't stop later, obviously because he had a long-standing grudge against him. Finding that he was being targeted by Zhang Dian, Zeng Bu was a little weak-hearted, and his eyes drifted to Lin Xi and said, "Lin Shangshu, you say two words!" ”

"Your Majesty, the minister thought that the minister was far-sighted, and the minister seconded it!" Since Lin Xi and Xing Shu got together, they have been snubbed by Zhang Dun.

It stands to reason that even if you want to show your determination, it shouldn't be Lin Xi.

Zeng Bu was next to Lin Xi and asked in a low voice, "Why?" ”

Lin Xi's eyes drifted to the beams of the house, and he said leisurely: "My family runs a shipyard." ”

Overseas fiefdoms, if they are really built, all the shipyards of the Great Song Dynasty will benefit. The same is true of the Lin Xi family's shipyard. Besides, he is a native of Fuzhou, and Ryukyu is across the sea from Fujian Road, so even if there are merchants who want to buy overseas fiefdoms, at least most of the people who buy Ryukyu are merchants from Fujian Road.

He can't get along with the people in his hometown, and it's true that he is an official outside.

But he should go back to his hometown!

Even if he doesn't return to his hometown, what about the people of the family?

Therefore, Lin Xi is the least likely to oppose the present, at least all Fujian Road officials will not oppose overseas fiefdoms, such as Cai Bian.