One Piece of Song Dynasty

There was no ready-made palace in Yangzhou. Considering that Empress Dowager Meng was old, Zhao Gou, in order to fulfill his filial piety, ordered Kang Lu to preside over the construction of a palace for the Empress Dowager and personally named it Chengqing Yuan. It was temporarily located in Yangzhou Fuyamen. That night, the dinner party hosted by Lu Yihao was also rejected by Zhao Gou. While he asked Kang Lu to take a bath for him, he also took the time to listen to Huang Qianshan, Zhu Shengfei, and Lu Yihao's work reports and issue orders.

Feeling the losses and huge sacrifices brought by the Nandu to the people along the way, the first decree issued by Zhao Gou was to count the population of the Nandu people and exempt the state capitals along the Nandu from Nanyang, Bozhou, Suzhou, Sizhou, Chuzhou, Gaoyoujun and Yangzhou paid taxes, money and food for three years.

"The Jin army has fallen into Tongzhou and Ruzhou, besieged Dizhou, entered Xijing, and broken Tongguan." Zhu Shengfei reported without losing any opportunity based on the intelligence. Zhao Gou pondered for a long time: "The city of Ruzhou has been destroyed, and the official kiln has fallen into the hands of the Jin people. There is no escape. Order Fujian Road and Guangxi to recruit more archers to prepare for border troubles."

After Lu Yihao finished reporting on military affairs, he saluted Zhao Gou and said loudly: "I can only temporarily leave the Yangzhou government office for work, which is really wronging your majesty. I heard that the first thing your majesty did when he arrived in Yangzhou today was I ordered my chamberlain to build the Chengqing Courtyard, but I thought it was inappropriate."

Kang Lu, Zhao Gou and others all looked back at him: "The emperor built Chengqingyuan to support the Queen Mother Longyou, what's wrong with this?"

"If your Majesty has anything to ask me, I will never let my servants answer for me." Lu Yihao looked straight away, his expression serious.

Everyone was shocked and went to see Lu Yihao. Zhao Gou stopped Kang Lu, who was about to glare and said, "If Mr. Lu has anything to say, feel free to say it."

Lu Yihao said: "Your Majesty is filial and filial, and there is nothing wrong with building Chengqingyuan to support the Queen Mother. However, it is very wrong for Your Majesty to order Eunuch Kang to take charge of labor services."

This Lu Yihao could not be the second best to Li Gang. Kang Lu was so surprised that he could not speak. Zhao Gou asked: "What about my opinion?"

Lu Yihao replied: "The budget of Chengqingyuan should be handled by a department; if it is forbidden, it must be demanded from three provinces. The work of Chengqingyuan should be undertaken by Yangzhou Prefecture."

Zhu Shengfei nodded happily and sincerely admired Lu Yihao. Huang Qianshan frowned and looked at Lu Yihao, thinking: This Lu Yihao is not a good person either. Kang Lu glared at Lu Yihao and gritted his teeth with hatred.

Zhao Gou nodded and said, "Go on."

Lu Yihao continued: "Your Majesty ordered the chamberlain to take charge of the work today. Some people think that he has surrendered and come back, so he said that he is here. Your Majesty should abide by the law. If there is any improvement in the future, you should pay it to the responsible person. If there is any law that is cruel to the ancestors, If the minister is not correct in rescuing the minister, he will be dismissed, and the public opinion will naturally subside."

Huang Qianshan was so angry that he was so angry that he stared at Lu Yihao. Zhao Gou said with emotion: "Since Chongning and Daguan in our dynasty, the prime ministers have been fawning with their salaries. They are afraid of losing the will of their masters, so they have no say in political affairs. They have repeatedly violated the laws of their ancestors and tamed the calamity of Jingkang. I am grateful to your husband. From now on, I am grateful to you. Then, you should take it as a warning.”

Lu Yihao saluted and said: "Your Majesty's advice is so consistent that it is a blessing to the world. I would like to congratulate your Majesty: Zhang Jun has reported victory and has trapped and killed the Zhenjiang army thief Zhao Wan; Wang Yuan entered Hangzhou and killed the army thief Chen Tong."

Zhao Gou changed his clothes: "Finally, Zhao Wan and Chen Tong were eliminated from the two evils. They were originally from military schools, but they both became military thieves. Why did they cause chaos?"

Huang Qianshan stood up and said: "When the military thief Zhao Wanqiang invaded Changzhou the day before, Li Gang had already arrived in Zhenjiang, and he actually became a monk and rewarded the rebels with money. Everyone said that during the seventy-fifth day of Li Gang's reign, he hijacked the imperial court, blocked the way to speak, and persecuted Taijian. In addition, the violence in recruiting troops, the harassment in buying horses, and the cruelty in plundering people's wealth have made His Majesty's morality frustrated, and his orders are ineffective. The ministers are unethical, and that's all."

When Zhao Gou heard this, he closed his eyes and said nothing. Lu Yihao said: "This is the truth. Li Gang recruited troops, bought horses, and collected people's wealth, which caused great disturbance to the army and the people. No wonder the thieves took the opportunity to rob."

Zhao Gou pondered again for a moment, opened his eyes and said: "Recruiting troops, buying horses, and collecting people's wealth are all dismissed. Recruit all the people in the future to go to Yangzhou, discuss their merits, reward them, and discuss the next strategy of resisting the Jin Dynasty and quelling the rebellion. The Prime Minister has something else to do. "

Zhao Gou was eager to have an in-depth talk with Lu Yihao, so he asked Huang Qianshan. Unexpectedly, Huang Qianshan had already made up his mind and would never let Zhang Jun stay with the emperor, so he pretended to be excited and said: "Your Majesty, Zhang Jun is well versed in the spicy tactics of impeachment. Today, Han Shizhong's majesty has been greatly reduced, and he has also been knocked down by the domineering generals. This is a wake-up call. I do not avoid relatives when promoting talents, and I beg your majesty to reward Zhang Jun for compiling the Jiying Hall and promoting him to the magistrate of Xingyuan."

Zhao Gou was greatly surprised and pondered unconsciously. Zhu Shengfei and Lu Yihao were also stunned. Huang Qianshan added another sentence: "Zhang Jun is my student. Your Majesty, it's not easy for your majesty to refute this thin-faced minister."

Zhao Gou waved his hand and said: "Prime Minister, please go down first. Let me think about it before talking."

Huang Qianshan was greatly embarrassed and had no choice but to bow to Zhu Shengfei and go out. Zhao Gou watched them go out, thinking about how to start a long conversation with Lu Yihao.

"Your Majesty is asking for money from me," Lu Yihao asked tentatively.

The main dilemma the imperial court currently faces is that it is financially stretched. In order to satisfy the greed of military generals and the growing military expenditure, it has to find other financial sources. Zhao Gou turned to look at Lu Yihao and nodded: "Since I came to the throne, most of the court's supplies have come from my husband. Zhao Ding also said that he has benefited a lot from co-managing the household department."

Lu Yihao said: "Since your Majesty came to the throne, I have only paid six million yuan in taxes from Jiangnan and Sichuan. Your Majesty is so complimentary, and I am extremely ashamed."

"I still vaguely remember that Xianggong Lu seemed to disapprove of the Northern Expedition to Yanshan in the Liao Kingdom," Zhao Hua said, recalling the past.

Lu Yihao sighed and said: "When I conquered Yan, I was the transport envoy for Yanshan Mansion. I once reported to the Supreme Emperor that the imperial court was far away and its power was difficult to defend. Even if I exhausted all my resources and wealth, it would not be enough to deal with the aftermath."

Zhao Gou nodded and said: "My husband is indeed a capable minister. What is the income of our government in the best years?"

Lü Yihao was worthy of being an economic expert and immediately replied: "Grain is measured in stones, money is measured in silk reels, silk is measured in pieces, and gold and silver threads are measured in two pieces. In the fifth year of Emperor Zhenzong's reign, his annual income will be ten thousand; in the first year of Emperor You's reign, he will be worth ten thousand; in the first year of Emperor Yingzong's reign, he will be in peace. In the second year, my annual income was ten thousand, but my expenses were huge, and I lost ten thousand that year. After that, my annual income dropped to ten thousand, but my expenses continued to increase. All the money I had accumulated over the years was almost wiped out."

"With all the family treasures, Yi Hao is indeed a capable minister. Tianxi earns ten thousand every year, it's amazing how much he can earn this year," Zhao Gou sighed with emotion. Lu Yihao replied: "Ten thousand taels more. Nowadays, two and a half coins are equivalent to one tael of silver. This year, the silver received is less than taels."

Zhao Gou immediately became discouraged: "Wan is still less than half of the Tianxi year. How can this amount of tax be spent when we are using troops now?"

"The royal family's internal funds and the salaries of hundreds of officials are still unavailable. All ten thousand yuan has been used for military expenses, which is only a drop in the bucket." Lu Yihao frowned and nodded.

Zhao Gou asked again: "How much does it cost for the imperial court to raise troops every year?"

Lu Yihao replied: "Based on the calculation of ten thousand soldiers, the soldiers' meals, summer and winter clothes, armor and weapons, and horse fodder are at least ten thousand yuan a year in normal times. If it is now a war, plus rewards, pensions, and civilian labor, it will be ten thousand yuan."

Zhao Gou frowned: "If the imperial court raises ten thousand soldiers, it will be 4 min."

Lu Yihao is a resolute leader of the war. He nodded and said: "We can't restore the Central Plains without tens of thousands of elite soldiers." lv