In the face of such a major event as the defeat in Xijiang, and a major defeat that concerns the stability of the country, the death of the Jin family, the problems between Jiang Yawan and his son, the secret fight between the queen and the noble concubine... everything is just a cloud!
Empress Dowager Jiang immediately fell ill and convened a court meeting!
"Enough baggage for the Zhenxi Army for three years was burned down?!" Xue Chang almost vomited blood after hearing the news, "How is this possible?!"
No wonder he went crazy - from the time when Empress Dowager Gu was in charge of the government, to the subsequent struggle for power by the second empress, and now as the head of the Jiang family, the reason why he, the prime minister, has a stable position is that he has a good way of making money. Despite the troubles of two generations of relatives, he has always guaranteed the majority of the people. live and work in peace and contentment, as well as the supplies of the two frontier armies.
In other words, the baggage that was burned by the Zhenxi Army was completely saved by him every grain of rice!
One can imagine the expense of food and clothing for an elite like the Zhenxi Army! What is the amount of baggage that is enough for them to last for three years? Just look at the fact that no one in the civil and military dynasties has a good face and you will know the result! With such a huge loss, how could Xue Chang not be heartbroken? !
"It is expected that Han Jishan will not falsely report such a major event... We will discuss the investigation of responsibility later, and first discuss the countermeasures: Now the Zhenxi Army is trapped in Shazhou City. If Shazhou City is destroyed, there will be no danger for more than two hundred miles. The only way to defend is to retreat to Wangcheng!" Empress Dowager Jiang's face was still pale with anger, "But Wangcheng's food and grass reserves are not enough to supply the army! What can you do?"
"After Shazhou is Xiangzhou, you can use Xiangzhou's treasury first to deal with emergencies!" King Huainan said immediately, "At the same time, quickly transfer supplies of food and grass from the treasury to Western Xinjiang in preparation for the war!"
"Although the past few years have been good and the national treasury is very full!" Jiang Tianqi said calmly with an unsightly expression, "However, the war in the west and north started at the same time, and the consumption was not small! The Zhenbei Army came to report two days ago and also mentioned the baggage. Need to supplement! If we give it to the Zhenxi Army, I wonder if there will be any left for the Zhenbei Army?”
The King of Huainan frowned: "Aren't you ignoring the Western Barbarians when they approach the city? If you lose sight of the city, the Western Barbarians will be able to attack - even Xiangzhou will be affected by that time! If you are not careful, the Xiangzhou Rebellion during Emperor Gaozong's reign may be repeated!"
During the reign of Emperor Rui Gaozong, the Zhenxi Army also suffered a major defeat. It retreated from Shazhou all the way to Xiangzhou, and even the city of Xiangzhou was lost. As a result, the Western barbarians massacred and looted in these two states - mainly Xiangzhou, because Shazhou was bitterly cold and had far less oil and water than Xiangzhou. In the end, Xiangzhou's population dropped by as much as 50%, and it would be difficult to recover for decades.
"Aren't Suoman Pass and Luofeng Pass built behind Wangcheng?" Jiang Tianqi reminded in surprise, "These two passes were built after Emperor Gaozong cared for his people after the Xiangzhou Rebellion and built them in the mountains to prepare for unexpected events... If Wangcheng is serious, If we can't hold on, retreating to these two levels is enough to protect Xiangzhou!"
"Those two levels may not be safe!" It was Xue Chang who spoke this time. He recovered from the huge blow and said with a gloomy face, "After all, the Xiangzhou Rebellion happened during the reign of Emperor Gaozong. After so many years, , these two levels have never experienced the threat of troops approaching the city! How can we not relax our war preparations?"
"We can let the Zhenxi Army replace the original defenders of these two passes!" Jiang Tianqi retorted.
"That's not possible!" Xue Chang didn't even think about it. "Four years ago, Ruan Qingyan submitted a document requesting the repair of these two levels. He listed the current conditions of these two levels - even the gates are in dilapidated condition, let alone other places! But Due to various reasons, the funds have not been allocated. Even if the Zhenxi Army replaces the original defenders, how can it be safe? Especially if the food and grass are not solved, how can the army defend it? "
Jiang Tianqi frowned: "Is there such a thing?! Why aren't these two levels repaired? The national treasury didn't seem to be very tight four years ago, right?" The tone was quite unpleasant, obviously suspecting that Xue Chang was trying different ways to support his students.
Yi Taizhang, the Secretary of the Ministry of War, responded: "What Prime Minister Xue said is true - the main reason is that when the Gu family was in power in the past, the guards at Suoman and Luofeng were all Gu family members, and they relied on the Gu family's support. I also thought that Shazhou and Wangcheng were blocking the way, so I had to demolish the two gates and sell them for money..."
"Then why don't you allocate funds for repairs?!" Jiang Tianqi asked again impatiently.
He used to be Yi Taizhang's subordinate, but now he is only on the same level as Yi Taizhang. His tone was so harsh in public, as if a superior was scolding a subordinate. Yi Taizhang couldn't help but have a flash of displeasure between his brows. He was just worried about the current power of the Jiang family and said calmly: "Because these two gates have almost been demolished, the repairs are definitely not a small number. Although the national treasury was not very tight at that time, there was already a war in northern Xinjiang. , just in case, this expense has been temporarily suppressed - this is what I reported to the Duke of Qin after discussing it with Prime Minister Xue, and the Duke agreed! "
Hearing that it was a method approved by Duke Qin, Jiang Tianqi gave up, but his brows remained furrowed.
"With the current grain reserves in the treasury, how much can be allocated to the Zhenbei Army and other places to supplement the needs of the Zhenbei Army?" Empress Dowager Jiang frowned when she heard this.
Only Xue Chang can answer this question: "It's just the beginning of the new year, and it's still early for the autumn harvest. It can only be allocated to the Zhenxi Army for two months at most! The rest must be raised from local treasury!"
"Two months?" Empress Dowager Jiang looked unhappy. It was only the beginning of February, and two months later it would be April. Even including the time it took for grain and grass to be sent to Western Xinjiang, she might not be able to survive the autumn harvest! What's more, when the time comes for the autumn harvest, it doesn't mean that it will immediately become food for the Western Army. After all, it still has to be harvested, collected, escorted to Beijing, stored in the warehouse, and then transferred...
"Approximately how much can each government treasury raise? How much time will it take?"
Xue Chang's answer was still not very optimistic. It was mainly a matter of time. Although the distance between Beijing and Shazhou was far away, fortunately, the food and grass in the treasury were all ready, and the mobilization and operation arrangements could be started as soon as the decree was issued. But the local treasury is in trouble. For the sake of the court, they dare not refuse to give, but it is hard to say whether they will give more or less.
Moreover, it is impossible for every local treasury to send people directly to Shazhou - in Xue Chang's considerations, these are secondary. What he is most worried about is that under the current political environment in Darui, this sudden invasion of conquests Food will definitely bring a catastrophe to the people at the bottom: "The imperial court levied a levy, and it was sent down to the common people at all levels. I am afraid that it has been said ten times. In this way, the emergency policy has become a harsh government. How can we not lose the support of the people?! The defeat of Western Xinjiang Although the loss of the Zhenxi Army's supplies also involves the country, it seems to be only a small gain and loss at present. Once the common people are disturbed by this, it will affect the stability of the country! "
"Especially, it's almost time for spring plowing. If we disturb the people at this time, I'm afraid..."
Empress Dowager Jiang frowned deeply when she heard this. She knew very well the character of those members of her family, and she knew very well that Xue Chang's worries were definitely not groundless!
... It cannot be said that the Jiang family party are all corrupt officials. The main reason is that the current political situation is that as long as you rely on the Jiang family, there will be people to speak out if you violate national laws. With great power and no control, how can greed not arise? Of course, there are some who can hold on to it—but the majority cannot!
"If the spring plowing is not good, the autumn harvest will be affected! When the time comes, the situation will be even worse, and the consequences may even affect the Zhenbei Army!" Can you consider negotiating a peace?"
This sounded really depressing. Yi Taizhang, who had just helped him prove it, said with displeasure: "Although Prime Minister Xue's remarks were based on the unsustainability of food and grass, are they too much? Not to mention other things. Let's talk about the Western Man and the Northern Hu, which one is not a greedy person? Especially with the defeat of the Western Army, the Western Barbarian is very powerful. Although the Northern Hu has been defeated, they will definitely feel hopeful after hearing this news! If we propose peace at this critical moment, aren’t we just throwing ourselves into a trap and letting them speak freely?”
"The defeat of the Zhenxi Army was due to the destruction of the supplies by spies. The incident was too sudden and the whole army was caught off guard!" Xue Chang said calmly, "It is not a real defeat! As long as the food and grass are supplied and the morale of the army stabilizes, I think it will come It will not be difficult to counterattack! By then the Western Barbarians will be frustrated. At least if Northern Xinjiang proposes a peace proposal, we will not suffer a big loss!"
Originally, Beijiang had always been at a disadvantage, but Jiang Tianchi wanted to achieve all the results in one fell swoop, but was unwilling to suffer too much, so he adopted a strategy of moving forward slowly and steadily, which was very time-consuming. The past two years on the Beihu side can be said to be miserable. If peace talks can be held, they would be happy to do so. Darui's defeat in Western Xinjiang can indeed bring them hope, but as Xue Chang said, if the Zhenxi Army fights With a beautiful counterattack, Beihu's hopes were shattered and he would definitely talk about it.
Jiang Tianqi's face was gloomy: "Zhenbei Bocheng inherited the ambition of his ancestors and planned for many years to achieve today's situation. Could it be that he failed in his efforts like this?!"
It was the plan of the Duke of Qin to completely kill Beihu, and then the Marquis of Jibei. Now that the Duke of Qin is still lying in bed, the Marquis of Jibei has already taken the first step, and the peace of Northern Xinjiang will no longer be seen.
Jiang Tianchi finally took advantage of the opportunity of his uncle's death to trick Beihu and gain the upper hand. If he just pays for Xijiang and misses the opportunity to completely eradicate Beihu, not to mention the sacrifices of the two generations of the Jiang family. Considering the struggle in life, considering that this kind of opportunity may not come again in the future, it is no wonder that Jiang Tianqi cannot accept it.
Moreover, Jiang Tianqi was keenly aware: "Xue Chang's nice words are clearly trying to excuse that kid Qiu Jinglan!"
Listen to the meaning behind his words!
"Four years ago, Ruan Qingyan wrote a letter asking for the repair of the two passes", "The defeat was due to the destruction of the supplies by spies", "It was not a real defeat", "It is not difficult to counterattack"... The final transition to peace talks was not just in He hinted to everyone that they cannot be blamed for the defeat of the Zhenxi Army this time. They can only blame the spies for being too cunning. Moreover, if Xue Chang's suggestion is followed and the Zhenxi Army really counterattacks sharply, Jiang Tianqi guarantees that Xue Chang will definitely He will hold on to this point: "It is true that we were defeated before, but our subsequent counterattack can be considered a crime and meritorious service!"
Jiang Tianqi never expected Qiu Jinglan to get through so easily!
"In short, first transfer the grain and grass that can be allocated to the Zhenxi Army from the treasury to Shazhou, and order them to defend Luofeng Pass no matter what!" I have said before that the political ability of Empress Dowager Jiang is just that, so listen to it It is also difficult to make a decision. After all, she has so many years of experience in being pushed to the front of the stage, and she still knows the priorities, "We must not let the Western Barbarians enter Xiangzhou!"
The Ministry of Household Affairs and the Ministry of War went to handle this matter together - now that the Zhenxi Army's dilemma of having no rice to cook has been dealt with, the next step is to discuss the investigation of responsibility!