There are more and more people in the conference room, and there are more and more acquaintances. Everyone started under Wu Feng. Although they belong to the military and political lines, due to the weak power of Wu Feng when he started in Qingyang, many At that time, there was not much separation between the military and political affairs. Everyone was very familiar with each other and the relationship was quite harmonious. Seeing Xiao Tang, Wang Liao, Feilding and others, the generals thought it was a comprehensive meeting, but seeing that in the later stages, except for the army generals, no other local officials even came to the capital city like Molun. Local officials guarding important positions were not present, and the generals stationed in Yinchuan and Taixuan Mansion also rushed back to attend the meeting. As soon as the generals began to mutter, they were confused about the real intention of the meeting. He Zai, could it be that he has just returned from India and is about to launch any major military operation
"Master Liang, what is the content of today's competition? It seems that there are many people participating, but they are a bit nondescript. We are the masters of the army, but we have a government system?" Long Zi Ziqing, who is as careful as his hair, I have long noticed that there is something unusual about this meeting. Judging from the identities of the participants, it does not look like a purely military meeting, nor does it look like a comprehensive meeting, which makes people a little confused.
"Haha, I'll find out soon. I don't know either. Mr. Li has not been seen since he returned from India. Maybe there is some important arrangement?" Liang Chongxin only vaguely felt that it should be related to Yinchuan in the north. , because among the eight prefectures in the northwest and northern Luzon regions, only the city guards of Yinchuan and Taixuan Prefecture attended the meeting. Fielding, the guard of Daxuan City, is also the deputy commander-in-chief of the defensive theater of Taixuan Defense Prefecture, and Liang Chongxin also Liang Chongxin knew roughly what he and Wang Liao were talking about, and his arrival was not surprising. The arrival of Yinchuan City Guard Zhou Tinggui and Yinchuan First Guard Division Commander Jin Zecheng together made him feel a hint of war.
I have long heard that Mr. Li has been seeking to regain the Ganlan Fortress north of Yinchuan, so as to completely cut off the southward passage of the Sisluo people, but because the time has not been ripe, there has been no movement. Recalling that he also met the special envoy of the Mote people at the Jiedushi Mansion, Liang Chongxin already had a rough impression of the content of the meeting. However, he felt a little puzzled by the large scale of the meeting. Ganlan Fortress only had only Does Sun Yuanhui's division really need to go to war in such a big way? Seeing that even Xiong Daoyuan, the commander of the Third Northwest Independent Division, was among the participants of this meeting, in addition to the troops stationed in the Western Region, Northern Luzon and the Pangzhe people. Almost all the army chiefs have come here to participate in this meeting. Is it just for the recovery of Ganlan Fortress
The meeting was announced to start with a hint of confusion from Liang Chongxin. What made everyone's eyes brighten was that there was actually a young woman sitting behind the coach this time. People familiar with it immediately recognized that she was one of Wu Feng's personal guards. Qin Shuangying, a disciple of Xueshan Mountain, was surprised that she was allowed to attend such an important meeting. Logically speaking, even a personal guard would not be allowed to appear in such a place due to different responsibilities, even if her relationship with the coach was not normal. To actually appear on such an occasion today can only mean that this woman's identity has changed.
Wu Feng was not in a good mood. Lin Yuexin's departure made him very disappointed. It was only after Lin Yuexin left that he realized that he was so affected by her that he tried his best to eliminate this influence. , but the more this happened, the more clearly her voice and smile appeared in his mind, and eventually he had to admit that he might have fallen in love with that woman. Fortunately, the heavy work back in Qingyang made him so busy that he didn't have much free time, but he knew that it would be difficult for him to get rid of this relationship and he didn't know where he would go in the future.
The meeting was chaired by Ling Tianfang. However, the theme was not clearly defined, which made everyone present feel a little strange. Liang Chongxin gave a brief report on the Battle of Panzha in the Western Expedition. He also introduced the experience and lessons of this battle to other generals present, which was well received by the audience. The generals were envious. Immediately afterwards, Xiao Tang made a report on the harvest of the Western Expedition, immediately pushing the meeting to the climax: "This time, the Northwest Finance Office has received a total of 60 gold and silver items shipped back from India. Nine carts. Among them, there are forty-five carts of gold, twelve carts of silver, four carts of diamonds, gems and some rough materials, five carts of antiques and jade, and three carts of other miscellaneous items.”
Just like a handful of salt being withdrawn into a boiling oil pan, countless oil stars splashed up. There was a burst of sighing and smacking in the hall, followed by a buzzing of whispers. Obviously, this news greatly stimulated everyone present. Everyone is nervous. Everyone knows that this western expedition to India is nominally to punish the Pangzha people for harassing Northern Luzon, but in fact it is due to the excessive consumption of wars in recent years, which has put the northwest finance in an extreme state. In an embarrassing situation, the economic foundation of the northwest and northern Luzon is far different from other parts of the empire, and the surrounding environment has also deteriorated sharply. The northwest is no longer allowed to accumulate strength through the normal development of Liangdao, especially as the situation in the empire changes three times a day. Everyone here felt the urgency of the situation, so they became the first to use special means to obtain funds to strengthen themselves. Everyone knew that the expedition to India was very fruitful, but no one knew the specifics. Except for the chief official of the Finance Department, even Wu Feng himself was not very clear about it. He only knew that the harvest was huge, far exceeding what it was before the war. imagination, so this meeting was specially arranged for Xiao Tang to report the situation to encourage the military morale of the generals. After all, without a stable and strong logistical support, no matter how elite the army is, it will be difficult to maintain it for a long time.
While almost everyone was excited and admiring the madness, some impatient people couldn't hold back their temper and shouted impatiently: "Master Xiao, you have said so much, we are all warriors, and we don't know about India's gold and silver." How many imperial gold coins are they worth? Tell everyone directly how much our Northwest got from them this time, right?"
It was Kang Jianguo who spoke. Since he and Xiao Tang were old acquaintances who came to the northwest together, he spoke a little casually. Xiao Tang's mood at this time was difficult for anyone to destroy. What's more, Kang Jianguo's words also represented the aspirations of the vast majority of military generals. These people were experts in marching, setting up camps and charging into battle, but they didn't know much about the currency exchange relationship. They What I want to hear is the simplest and most direct result.
"Haha, don't be anxious, everyone. Xiao Tang is about to explain one by one. Well, preliminary estimates suggest that if the gold seized this time can be converted into imperial gold coins, it should be around 50 million imperial gold coins. This is the price exchanged through the imperial bank. If we If you smelt and mint your own coins, you should be able to get 60 million imperial gold coins!" Xiao Tang's face was red, and although his eyes were bloodshot, his energy was very strong, and he couldn't tell that he was someone who stayed up until early morning for several days in a row. .
The imperial coinage is customarily undertaken by the Royal Smelting and Minting Workshop under the General Administration of Finance. Since the minting of gold and silver coins must use a considerable amount of precious metals as raw materials, the control has always been quite strict. Imperial law stipulates that those who mint coins privately , regardless of the circumstances and consequences, all three tribes can be punished. They are listed as top unpardonable crimes as rebellion and treason, which shows the degree of control over them. However, hundreds of years after the empire was founded, with the development of the economy and the turmoil of the social situation, many wealthy families and desperadoes colluded and began to secretly get involved in this sensitive industry. Most of them purchased gold and silver from foreign countries, and then imitated the empire to cast them. The workshop carries out smelting and casting only for various reasons. Most of the gold and silver coins they cast are prepared in accordance with the proportions stipulated by the empire. They are not much different from the products of the royal smelting workshop. This also makes the credibility of the empire's gold coins higher. This guarantee is ensured, so even in the Central Continent, imperial gold coins can still circulate. But even so, the profits were huge, attracting groups of people to continue risking the annihilation of the three tribes.
Xiao Tang's loud words were like a heavy hammer hitting everyone's heads, and they were all stunned. Fifty million imperial gold coins, oh my God. What kind of number is this? The generals here may not know exactly how much fiscal revenue there is in the northwest, but they do know that the average monthly consumption of an infantry division is about 120,000 imperial gold coins, and that of a cavalry division is higher, about 150,000 imperial gold coins. Around ten thousand imperial gold coins, the mixed division is somewhere in between. It only costs 800,000 imperial gold coins to form a new light infantry division, and it only costs about 2.4 million imperial gold coins to form a new light cavalry division at most. These are all things that military generals can roughly estimate. Fifty million imperial gold coins is enough to form a new legion army and maintain it for five years, which is more than enough!
And government officials like Wang Liao, Zhou Tinggui, and Fielding are more aware of the impact of this number. How many things can be accomplished by building ditches and canals, building schools and hospitals, paving roads and bridges, and building urban facilities. The conference hall suddenly became silent. Almost everyone was stunned by Xiao Tang's words. They even forgot how to react. Even those who were experienced and deep like Ling Tianfang and Liang Zongxin, steady and heavy like Mu Lige, Kamapov, as fierce and brave as Kang Jianguo and Xiong Daoyuan, were all impressed by Xiao Tang's few words.
Wu Feng, who was a little absent-minded at first, was also shocked by Xiao Tang's words. Before that, he only knew that the number was huge, and the specific amount was not clear. Xiao Tang was busy doing calculations these days and had no time to ask him. Report, knowing that the total number had not been calculated before the meeting, and that he was not too interested in it, he directly asked him to come to the meeting to give a report. No wonder Xiaotang looked a little weird at that time. I thought he was overworked these past few days and his expression was a bit off. It turned out to be this reason. He, who had some self-control, felt excited after hearing this number. Fifty million, fifty million! Oh my god, the total amount of support the empire gave to Northwest and Northern Luzon is only over 10 million. I took great risks and worked hard to get it. It seems a bit light. How could a simple trip to India get such a huge bargain? It seems that God really cares about me!