The anger of the second prince came of course.

He bothered to organize the Moyuan Literary Conference, and it cannot be said that he was completely selfless, but there was nothing to blame on the surface.

Although there are hundreds of literati who participate in the literary meeting every year, very few of them will have the younger generations of the family or the children of official eunuchs, and most of them are poor students like Lang Sanyuan.

They suffer from the fact that they don't have a way to show their talents, and not everyone is good at the imperial examination, but fortunately, Mo Yuanwen will open another door for them to have a chance to make a name for themselves.

The reason why very few people in Beijing attack the second prince on this matter is because the influence of these poor disciples is very limited. If the second prince wants to cultivate cronies by winning them over, not to mention whether there is such a possibility, it will take at least twenty or thirty years.

In the final analysis, whether the second prince is taking this to raise hope, or really thinking about these poor children, at least he gave them a way to go up.

However, if someone doesn't know what is good or bad, he actually hides evil intentions and wants to ruin his hard work, how can this make him not angry?

The prince, who had always been glamorous, pressed his hands on the railing, and stared at the Luo Tuo literati below with cold eyes.

If Lu Shen hadn't come forward in time today, he would have almost made a fatal mistake - instead of exposing the trap in Lang Sanyuan's words on the spot, he would have confirmed his accusation by forcibly driving him away.

The soldiers of the border army fought to the death with the enemy in the north, but the center chose to pull them back. The Northern Expedition that the Son of Heaven shouted for more than ten years turned out to be a lie, otherwise how could Lu Shen be forced to lead his troops to withdraw from Heluo?

This is the core part of Lang Sanyuan's words, if he is driven out of Moyuan today, as long as someone among the scholars who participated in the Wenhui speaks his words, it will definitely deal a blow to the prestige of the Son of Heaven and the center, and at the same time, it is very likely to cause an uproar in the officialdom of Daqi.

This turmoil will inevitably spread to the border army.

Thinking of this, the second prince could barely suppress the anger in his heart.

Although the distance was far away, Lang Sanyuan couldn't see the expression of the second prince upstairs, but he could vaguely feel the fierce killing intent.

He realized that danger was coming, and hurriedly shouted over there: "Master Lu is angry, how can a student have such a rebellious idea?" The students are extremely convinced that His Majesty loves the people, but it is also a fact that the border army withdrew from Heluo under the premise of taking advantage of it! From this point of view, there will be traitors in the DPRK and China, who will use various excuses to obstruct His Majesty's determination to go on the Northern Expedition, so that the blood of the soldiers of the border army will be in vain! ”

With these words, Lang Sanyuan gradually found his state, he looked at the nobles upstairs, and said sadly and regretfully: "As a general of the border army, don't you think that this is the sorrow of the country!" ”

I have to say that this person's words are very inflammatory, and the more than 100 young literati in the hall are at an age when it is easy to get hot, although they dare not be restless because of the existence of the second prince and the palace guards, but there is a vague suppressed mood spreading in the field.

When the second prince was about to have a seizure, Lu Shen suddenly said softly: "Your Highness is angry, and the minister can deal with it." ”

The second prince turned his head to look at him, took a deep breath and said, "There is Lao Luhou." ”

Lu Shen looked at Lang Sanyuan from afar, and said unhurriedly: "Lang Caizi, I understand your grief and indignation. In fact, before the Northern Expedition was launched, I had similar views in my heart as you do now. Your Majesty has been in the palace for 14 years, and the Northern Expedition has been in the old capital for 14 years, but there has been no movement for a long time, which will definitely make most people wonder whether His Majesty and the imperial court have ever thought about using troops in the north, and have they ever thought about washing away the shame imposed on Daqi by the people of the 15-year prospect. ”

Lang Sanyuan seemed calm, and suddenly felt a little uneasy in his heart, Lu Shen's reaction was far beyond his expectations.

According to the analysis of those people, Lu Shen's temperament is straightforward and unbending, and after several suspicions from the imperial court, this person must have a grudge against the center, as long as he can provoke his anger, it can definitely intensify the contradiction between the center and the border army.

However, now hearing Lu Shen's empathetic statement, Lang Sanyuan couldn't help but suspect that those people's judgments were wrong.

Lu Shen continued: "When I asked the Governor of Huaizhou Xiao to find an answer with a question similar to yours, he gave me a very simple but important lesson. ”

He paused slightly, raised his eyebrows and asked, "You are all rich and wealthy people, can anyone answer me a question, how much does it cost for the imperial court to support a foot soldier?" How much money does it cost to provide for a knight? ”

There was silence in the hall.

If these literati talk about the subset of classics and history, they will naturally be able to talk like a river, but Lu Shen's question makes everyone speechless.

Lang Sanyuan's lips moved, he probably understood what Lu Shen wanted to say, but he had no reason to stop the other party, and he didn't have the ability to shut up the dignified marquis.

Lu Shen didn't expect to get an answer from these literati who were not familiar with ordinary affairs, and raised his tone slightly: "Let me tell you about the cost of the imperial court to support a foot soldier. Taking the Huaizhou Army infantry as an example, the soldiers were given two stone per month and one tael of military salaries, which was only the most basic expenditure. Before the Northern Expedition, the Huaizhou Governor's Mansion had two battalions of the Ninth Army, with a total of more than 114,000 soldiers, 230,000 stone of food per month, and a total salary of about 140,000 taels. The sum of these two items alone would cost the imperial court nearly two million taels a year. ”

"Huaizhou, Jingzhou, Chengzhou, and Taiping Prefecture, the four frontier governors' mansions, the Beijing Army's Southern Ya, Northern Ya, and Forbidden Army, as well as the Xiang Army of the Jiangnan Prefectures, do you know how much silver is needed to support this? And as I said just now, these are only the most basic expenses, in addition to the expenses of armaments, armor, clothing, medicinal materials, etc., as well as miscellaneous labor, auxiliary soldiers, civilian husbands, craftsmen, and lang and other expenses. ”

"It takes about five times as much money to train a cavalryman as a foot soldier, and I don't have many cavalry, but it's still a huge expense. Governor Xiao told me that roughly speaking, a foot soldier needs to be supported by fifty people, and it must be people who are healthy enough to work. ”

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is only the cost of feeding the army in peacetime. If it is in wartime, taking into account the requisition of civilian husbands, the transportation of grain and grass, and the reward and pension of soldiers, military spending will rise sharply, and may even reach more than six times that of peacetime! ”

In the huge hall, only Lu Shen's calm but resolute voice echoed.

Many people couldn't help but look thoughtful.

Lang Sanyuan swallowed a mouthful of saliva with some difficulty.

Lu Shen said slowly: "Lang Caizi, do you understand now why the imperial court did not launch the Northern Expedition until fourteen years later?" ”

Facing the forced gaze of countless eyes in the hall, Lang Sanyuan muttered: "The student understands. ”

"I am from the frontier, and I am not as knowledgeable and talented as you, but I know how much effort Your Majesty and the princes of the court have put in for the Northern Expedition of the border army."

Lu Shen's expression was very serious, and the anger on the face of the second prince next to him faded at this moment, and there was a hint of gratitude in his eyes.

"The soldiers of the border army sacrificed their lives for the country, I have witnessed it countless times on the battlefield, but the center, especially the two governors, gave strong support to the border army, which cannot be ignored."

Speaking of this, Lu Shen's eyes shot at Lang Sanyuan extremely sharply, and said word by word: "Ben Hou is now clearly telling you that the reason why the Huaizhou West Route Army withdrew from Heluo was that Ben Hou specially asked His Majesty to withdraw his troops after discussing with Governor Xiao Dadu. As for the reason for the choice of battlefield, there is no need for Ben Hou to tell you. ”

"Whether you are naïve and ignorant of the sufferings of the world, or you are instructed by others to try to sow discord between the center and the border army, this marquis must take this opportunity today to tell you: Your Majesty and the Zaizhi have never forgotten the people of the North, let alone the shame of the past, and the Northern Expedition will not end until the blood debt is repaid!"

"Well said!"

The second prince couldn't help but raise his arms and exhale, and the audience responded like a cloud.

Lang Sanyuan's body trembled uncontrollably, and he wanted to open his mouth to argue, but he was annihilated by the angry literati in the hall.

"Thou art no different from that of a beast!"

"Ill-intentioned, wolf-like ambition!"

"This is a national thief!"

"Punish him!"

Lang Sanyuan was beaten back a few steps by this surging sound, and sat down on the ground in a hurry.

The second prince's cold tone sounded at the right time: "Someone, drive this person out of Moyuan!" ”

"Whoa!"

The palace guards waited for a long time, and at this moment they could finally show their skills and effortlessly set up Lang Sanyuan and walked out.

After all, today is the Feng Yawen Society, the second prince doesn't want to fight and kill, just expel this person, and the Weaving Department will definitely not ignore this ill-intentioned Luo Tuo literati, I believe that he will be invited to the blue-gray yamen later.

……

Imperial Palace, Guanyuntai.

A bright yellow figure stands on the side of the railing, quietly looking at the floating clouds in the sky.

The Warp Weaver lifted Qin Zheng's footsteps and hurriedly climbed the steps, came behind the Son of Heaven and bowed his head and said, "Your Majesty, there is news from the Moyuan side. ”

Li Duan said calmly: "Speak." ”

Qin Zheng briefly recounted the controversy that had just occurred in Moyuan.

Today, Moyuan seems to be just holding a literary meeting, but because Lu Shen's participation has already been closely watched by all forces, the Warp Weaving Division will naturally send top players to monitor the whole process.

After Qin Zheng finished speaking, seeing that Li Duan had not responded for a long time, he asked respectfully, "Your Majesty?" ”

Li Duan exhaled slowly, and then said softly, "I really didn't expect those words to come out of the mouth of a young man in his early twenties. ”

Qin Zheng probably understood the seemingly calm but surging mood of the Son of Heaven at the moment, and also sighed: "Although the Marquis of Shanyang is young, he understands His Majesty's difficulties better than those literati. ”

"Yes, it's not easy for me, it's not easy for the border army, it's not easy for the Manchu ministers, it's not easy for everyone."

Li Duan's eyes narrowed slightly, his gaze was gentle, and he said: "The fact that he can say this is enough to prove that I am not looking at the wrong person, and I have high hopes for him." ”

Qin Zheng was silent.

Li Duan said slowly: "I want to use this meeting to see their thoughts, but Moyuan may not be peaceful today, you must make proper arrangements, and you must not let the second child and Lu Shen encounter danger." ”

"Your Majesty, please rest assured, the minister has already made arrangements."

Qin Zheng bowed, and a strange emotion appeared in his heart.

Unexpectedly, in the heart of the Son of Heaven, Lu Shen's status was already on par with the prince.

Li Duan didn't say anything more, looked up at the clear and vast sky, and there seemed to be thousands of miles of picturesque rivers and mountains in his eyes.

(End of chapter)