Outside the west city wall of Jinling City, a straight cement road runs from inside the city to Parrot Island on the riverside. The width of the straight road, enough for several carriages to run in parallel, is lined with shops and restaurants, and it is also the busiest out-of-town artery in Jinling City at present.

All of this is due to the Weapons Manufacturing Bureau and the Gunpowder Factory on the Egret Continent in the great river outside the West City. Countless iron ore and coal came from the upper reaches of the river, and timber, sulfur, and saltpeter were transported from the east and south, and stone and grain were concentrated here. There are countless people, coolies, merchants from the north and south, and the ferry port is lively and prosperous, but it is busy but not chaotic.

Because, there are sergeants on duty at the ferry, and there are also officials and officials patrolling back and forth in the busy places to ensure good security outside the city.

This is true outside the city, and it is also true inside the city. The road was widened to 10 meters, and two meters of blue brick sidewalks were added to the side of the road, and tall ginkgo trees dug from outside the city were planted, and sewers were complete, public toilets, and garbage cans were added, so that the whole Jinling City was clean and tidy, and it had a new look.

In addition to the supporting facilities of public facilities, there are also changes in the life style of the city's citizens. Open defecation is almost extinct, spitting has been greatly reduced, there are no flying eagle lackeys, tea shops and restaurants, all the talk is about the new policy, and the increasingly fierce martial style.

From time to time, you can see the officers of the Jinling Lecture Hall wearing military uniforms on the streets, as well as the students wearing the uniforms of the Jinling University Hall and the Jinling Normal School, as well as those new soldiers who have been trained by the imperial court.

Those weak women who were swaying willows in the wind, pitiful, and going out in a sedan chair suddenly became scarce. More women are coming out of the door, they are letting go of the foot binding, and they are no longer going out of the door, not stepping out of the door. Because once they bind their feet, they will have to pay a huge "foot binding tax" just like cockfighting crickets.

All of the above shows that Jiangnan East Road, including the entire Great Song Dynasty, is undergoing a revolution in the New Deal.

The war in the northwest has come to an end, because the official did not publicize it, and the newspapers were indifferent, so that the news of the Song army's occupation of Lanzhou and its advance into Hexi was not known to many people, and the entire Jinling City was also undisturbed.

Autumn is high and cool, the golden wind is slow, Jinling lectures on martial arts, on the teaching field, Zhao Hong walks slowly, the military department Shangshu Xuanxuan, Jiangnan East Road system Wang Gang, Jiangnan West Road pacification Hu Mengyu and others followed.

"Your Majesty, Fan Zhong played on the Hexi Road system, before the deadline, 15,000 Hexi Road troops were stationed in the four counties of Hexi, 50,000 Sichuan troops, more than 150,000 Sichuan immigrants, more than 160,000 original Xixia aborigines, and a total of 380,000 soldiers and civilians. A total of more than 200,000 acres of tuntian, Zhangye County horse farm has more than 8,000 horses of various kinds. ”

After Xuan Xuan finished reporting, he looked at Zhao Hong and asked with a sad face.

"Your Majesty, are you going to use soldiers again?"

Reinforcement of Western Xia, fierce battle with the Mongol army, and capture the Jin people's Lintao Road at any cost, and then the army advanced into Hexi, isn't it just for the war horses in Hexi.

For the sake of war horses and cavalry, offending the three kingdoms of Mongolia, Jin, and Western Xia, is the price too great?

Ambitious and reckless, is the emperor still not satisfied, and is ready to use troops against the Jin State?

And to use soldiers?

Zhao Hong glanced at the ministers with solemn faces and shook his head slightly.

In a world of great contention, the law of the jungle and survival of the fittest, even if you don't want to start a war, you have to start a war.

The mighty Mongol Empire will not let you do nothing, and it will be in a corner of peace.

"Your Majesty, are you going to use troops against the Jinren?"

Wang Gang also frowned and asked softly.

It seems that he is also worried about the imperial court's use of troops abroad.

"I wanted to use soldiers, but the fierce battle with the Tatars, the rewards and pensions of the soldiers, and the occupation of Hexi cost tens of millions of dollars. The people of Sichuan are already miserable. Sichuan will also be responsible for Hexi's resettlement and grain and grass supply for the next two to three years. ”

Zhao Hong smiled bitterly and walked away, also worried.

In the past few years of infighting among the Mongolian aristocracy, the Great Song Dynasty was just right to recuperate and prepare for future battles. Such an opportunity for recovery is precious, and Da Song must not miss it.

"Jiangnan East Road, as well as Zhejiang West Road, are implementing the new policy, and it will be promoted nationwide next year. The price of the meeting depreciated, prices soared, and the people lived in hardship. It will take me three to five years to get rid of the abuses before I can use my troops. ”

The palace is thrifty and can reduce expenditure, but to open up the source, it lies in developing the economy, creating a relatively fair and just social environment through the new policy, and prospering all industries.

And the amount of national wealth hollowed out by corrupt officials and powerful officials is definitely not small, and it can even be enough for him to start another war.

As far as the new policy of Jiangnan East Road is concerned, Jiankang Mansion has jurisdiction over five counties: Shangyuan, Jiangning, Jurong, Lishui and Liyang. The official statistics of more than 4.3 million mu of land have been counted, but since the implementation of the Economic Boundary Law, the area of the newly counted acres of land has reached more than 7.7 million mu, and the difference has reached 3.4 million mu.

Under the land annexation, the people lost their land and became tenant farmers. Haoqiang annexed the land, part of the land was uncultivated, and the people lost their fields, so there was no land to cultivate, and the Great Song Dynasty was a strange thing.

"Hu Mengyu, Jiangnan West Road is the same as Jiangnan East Road, and the fish scale books have been kept. Also, have all the officials and gentry in Jiangxi who hide taxes and hide taxes pay their taxes? ”

Zhao Hong turned around and looked at Hu Mengyu on the side.

The cost of military training is huge, as can be seen from the training on Jiangnan East Road. The salary required by the Jiangnan East Road sailor alone amounted to more than 300,000 yuan. There are 50,000 elite soldiers in Jiankang Mansion, and the annual salary is more than 3 million.

"Back to Your Majesty, the implementation of the new policy on Jiangnan West Road is in an orderly manner, and the taxes for the past three years have been paid, with a total of more than 3 million, which is probably enough to support the new policy on Jiangnan West Road."

Hu Mengyu hurriedly replied.

Jiangnan West Road implemented a new policy, used thunderous means to deal with the recalcitrant conservative forces, and even did not hesitate to kill, and the achievements he made were also inspired.

The success of the implementation of the new policy on the two roads in the south of the Yangtze River, the two Zhejiang roads, and the Sichuan Road will make the implementation of the new policies on all roads in the Great Song Dynasty in the spring of next year.

With the emperor's determination and iron-blooded means, the new policy of the Great Song Dynasty in the coming year is expected.

"Three million runs, the sum of several roads is only ten million runs, for more than 200 million huizi, it's a drop in the bucket!"

Zhao Hong shook his head and sighed.

With 230 million people, it is not easy to change borders.

"Your Majesty, the hidden tax on Jiangnan East Road is almost forty percent, the two Zhejiang Road are in three percent, and the Great Song Seventeen Road is almost two and a half percent, and the tax can be increased by 10 million yuan in a year. This year's local financial expenditures can generally be coped. ”

Wang Gang finally spoke.

Under pressure, the emperor implemented a new policy in the fourth road of the Great Song Dynasty, and the results achieved were amazing, which also proved the necessity of implementing the new policy. As long as you persevere, don't change the order overnight, and stabilize the meeting, it will not be a problem.

"Open source is still throttling, open source is particularly important. The root cause of the poverty and weakness of the Great Song Dynasty is that the land area is too small. 2.8 million square kilometers has fed 70 million people. The Great Song Dynasty needed to expand its territory and transfer the population crisis. ”

Zhao Hong sighed faintly, the courtiers listened to it in their ears, and they were used to it. The new words in the emperor's mouth, they are used to it.

"Your Majesty's words are extremely true. In all dynasties, in the last days, it was all a struggle for population and land. The land could not feed the people, and the rise and fall of dynasties was premised on the loss of population. If you want to get out of the predicament, it is inevitable to expand the territory, just like seizing Hexi, benefiting the country and the people. ”

Hu Mengyu echoed Zhao Hong's point of view.

Just like the Song army occupied Hexi and immigrated to Shibian, Sichuan can relieve the pressure of millions of people, and people's livelihood should also be improved.

"Hexi is still too small."

Zhao Hong suddenly turned his head and looked at everyone.

"Do you know how much arable land there is on Hebei Road north of the Yellow River?"

Hebei Plain, a horse Pingchuan, a grain production area, but unfortunately it was cheapened by the monarchs and ministers of the Northern Song Dynasty.

With the expansion of the Great Song Dynasty sailors overseas, Borneo, Australia, the Indian Ocean, and Africa, all of which could be reached by the Great Song Dynasty sailors, would be reclaimed and explored. In less than ten or twenty years, the demographic crisis of the Great Song Dynasty will be naturally resolved.

"Your Majesty, the minister has checked the old files, the east and west roads of Hebei, and more than 600,000 hectares of cultivated land. If the canal can be reopened, there will be even more ploughland. ”

Wang Gang thought for a moment and spoke.

"600,000 hectares, the people, the merchants, the military and the military each occupy one. In terms of five guan per mu, just Shangtun, the imperial court can get 100 million guan, and the crisis will be solved. ”

Zhao Hong said it slowly, and his heart was stirring.

The homeland is difficult to leave, compared to the overseas almost half sold and half sent, if the two rivers are captured, just Shangtun can solve a lot of financial troubles.

"Your Majesty, are you going to use troops against Hebei? Never! ”

Xuan Xuan hurriedly persuaded Zhao Hong.

The battle of Shukou has just ended, and everything is waiting to be rebuilt, so you can't use all your troops and start the army again.

"The Tatar army crisscrossed the north of the Yellow River, and wherever the iron cavalry went, the people were killed, the children of gold silk, cattle, sheep, horses, and livestock were swept away, the houses were burned, and the cities were in ruins. Hebei is dilapidated, and there are not many people, so it is not the time to use soldiers. ”

Zhao Hong stared at the students who were practicing in the martial arts hall, and said with a smile:

"Do you think that after the Tatar army retreated, the Jin people would be indifferent?"

Several ministers looked at each other and laughed.

When the Mongolian army retreats, the Jin people will definitely see the needle and wait for the opportunity to take back Hedong and Hebei. However, with the current strength of the Jin people, self-protection is not enough, and it is probably whimsical to want to fight back and recover the "old land".

"Hedong and Hebei are already in ruins, and if I use troops, I need to use about 150,000 soldiers to compete with the Tatar army. I am afraid it will take two or three years to prepare for the training of 150,000 troops, armor and weapons, and the heavy grain and grass needed after occupying Hedong and Hebei. ”

Zhao Hong thought about it and said it.

It's easy to lay and hard to consolidate. The two rivers are ruined, and there must be enough food and grass and time to recover. Hundreds of thousands of troops, perhaps only by transferring them from overseas, could support the Northern Expedition.

"Your Majesty Shengming!"

All the ministers nodded yes.

The Hebei Plain is conducive to the Mongolian cavalry to fight, and without an army of more than 100,000 people, I am afraid that it will not be able to control the field.

The emperor's appetite is getting bigger and bigger, and this is to fight hard and compete with the Mongols for the world.

"Your Majesty, Chuzhou Tang News, Chuzhou civil strife. Li Quanzhong did not continue with military rations, and there were many complaints. Guoanyong, Zhang Lin and other five people killed Li Quan's brother Li Fu and Li Quan's second son, and killed Li Quan's concubine Liu, and sent the head letter to Jinling. His Majesty cut off the salary of the loyal and righteous army in Chuzhou, and Li Quan showed weakness to the imperial court, how should the imperial court deal with it, and asked His Majesty to make it clear. ”

Xuan Xuan's report brought about the matter of Huaidong Li Quan.

"Xuanqing, what do you think of the matter in Chuzhou?"

Zhao Hong kicked the ball to his own soldier.

Li Quan surrendered to Mongolia, thinking that he was unaware of the ghosts, but Zhao Hong knew that he ordered to interrupt all the money and grain supply of Li in Chuzhou, which was faster and more ruthless than in history, thus causing civil strife in Li Quan. He didn't expect that Li Quan began to ask the Song court for food and wages.

"Your Majesty, the army in Chuzhou is in turmoil frequently, and the place is ruined, it is better to reject Li Quan and wait and see what happens."

The imperial court has successfully trained soldiers, and Xuanxuan seems to be much more radical.

"Xuanqing, just do what you say. Li Quan will wave his troops south at any time, let Du Gao defend on the front line of Yangzhou and Taizhou, and at the same time let Meng Heng lead his troops into the west of the canal and form a horn with Du Gao. Then the coastal control was adjusted so that the sailors entered the Huaidong Sea and waited for the opportunity to destroy Li Quan. ”

Zhao Hong frowned and gave the military order, and he had a headache.

Li Quan, a-stirring stick, couldn't beat Xiaoqiang, made him really speechless.

He did not want to start a war on the Eastern Front, he wanted to accumulate strength and prepare for a large-scale war in the coming years.

The great power game has been fierce for a long time, has limitations, and eventual reunification is also an inevitable and law of history.

Now it seems that he can only break with Li Quan.

"Your Majesty, the matter of changing boundaries is related to the people's livelihood and the country, and it is urgent. Please also ask Your Majesty to decide! ”

Zhen Deok so once again gave a lecture on the matter of changing boundaries.

It seems that the emptiness of the imperial treasury, the proliferation of counterfeit money, and the depreciation of Huizi have made him restless.

"True father, in the winter of the sixteenth year of Jiading, the last court meeting before the imperial court festival, you and I used counterfeit money for breakfast, do you remember?"

Speaking of the past, Zhao Hong was very emotional.

Before he knew it, he had been on this plane for three years.

"Your Majesty, the minister remembers. Your Majesty is going to take action against counterfeit money? ”

"If you want to change the border, you must first eradicate counterfeit money and trace back to the source. How did the household department check about the counterfeit money? ”

In fact, in Zhao Hong's heart, he is more inclined to expand his territory and transfer the depreciation of the Huizi and the population crisis. In terms of open source or throttling, open source is obviously more effective.

"Back to Your Majesty, the source is still on the paper. Once the paper from the paper mill leaks out, counterfeit money becomes much easier to counterfeit, and it is difficult to distinguish the real from the fake. If the problem of counterfeit paper is eliminated, counterfeit money will not be easy to proliferate. If the household department does not inspect effectively, His Majesty will punish him. ”

Without good paper, the most realistic text and layout are easily legible. The reason why counterfeit money is difficult to detect lies in the quality of the paper.

"The Ministry of Household Affairs and the Anti-Corruption Department handed over and they went to investigate. The matter of counterfeit banknotes is solved, and then the boundary is changed! Those bold rats, it's time to show up. ”

I heard that Li Quan, who was divided from Huaidong, was also printing a meeting, which really made people speechless. As long as the source is cut off, Li Quan and the popular fake meeting of the Great Song Dynasty are not a pile of waste paper.

As for eradicating counterfeit money, it is not a matter of a day or two. The people's hearts are only merciful, and it is still necessary to set up a special organization to target and crack down.