Wende Hall.

Zhao Huan summoned Li Gang, Wang Zongchu, Meng Gurao, He Li, Chen Guoting, and Wu Ge, all of whom were representatives of the pro-war faction.

Whether they favored peace or war, each had their own agenda. Zhao Huan deeply understood that the peace faction could not be wiped out, nor could the war faction be allowed to flourish. The key to being a king was to balance the two factions; if this balance was lost, his imperial power would be checked and constrained.

"My dear ministers, I asked you to come here today to discuss something."

Zhao Huan didn't jump in directly, but instead learned to start with nonsense. He'd suffered at the hands of Li Bangyan and Meng Gurao, and had learned his lesson. Whenever he had an idea, he would use his ministers to express it, so he wouldn't have to take the blame.

Officials who can climb to the Purple Palace are all old hands in the officialdom. Reading the words and expressions and guessing the intentions of superiors are the basic skills of every official.

"Your Majesty, what is the matter that you have summoned me to discuss? I hope Your Majesty can give me some advice." Li Gang bowed.

"I have endured hardships and compromised with the Jin Dynasty. But now the time is ripe, and I don't want to endure it any longer." Zhao Huan was testing.

As expected, Li Gang and the others looked at each other, and Wang Zongchu asked, "Your Majesty, do you want to go to war with Jin?"

Meng Gurao was startled when he heard this and tried to stop him: "Your Majesty, Zong Shidao has just completed his deployment. Both General Yue of Shanxi and the Zong family army are adopting a defensive strategy. If we launch an offensive, we will need food, horses, equipment, and military funds."

Zhao Huan looked at Li Gang: "Li Gang, what do you mean?"

Li Gang pondered for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, I believe Lord Meng's words are reasonable. Isn't it a bit hasty to fight a decisive battle with Jin now? We should at least wait until everything is fully prepared."

He Li, standing beside Li Gang, chimed in, "Most of the Liao territory has fallen into the hands of the Jin, which has greatly increased their national strength. If they were to go on an expedition and be defeated, the consequences would be disastrous."

There are always those who fall for it, and indeed, Chen Guoting stood up and said, "Your Majesty, these are secondary. Once the war breaks out, with the current strength of our Song Dynasty, these expenses can barely be covered. But the most important thing is morale! This is not about the ambition of the ministers and others, but the combat effectiveness of our Song Dynasty soldiers is incomparable to that of the Jin thieves. If we rush into battle, the chances of victory are unpredictable."

Zhao Huan was waiting for this sentence, so he said: "Our army's morale is low during the war. What if I lead the army in person?"

Some of the ministers opposed it, while others agreed.

He Li objected: "Your Majesty, the safety of the country is at stake. How can you risk your life in person?"

Wu Ge, the lowest in command, also stood up and said, "I also think it's not possible. Your Majesty, leading the army in person is a serious matter; it concerns the fate of the nation."

Meng Gurao remained noncommittal, but Chen Guoting and Li Gang supported it.

Chen Guoting patted his chest and raised his head, saying: "Your Majesty personally leading the army will surely boost our morale. If we can capture the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, our Song Dynasty will be an iron wall."

Li Gang looked at the crowd and said, "Your Majesty, it is perfectly acceptable if you lead the army in person. The armies have been actively training lately, and their combat effectiveness is much stronger than before. We can also gather the royal armies from all over the country to the capital, and add our own imperial guards. I believe this is feasible."

Chen Guoting looked at Zhao Huan and said, "Your Majesty, if we want to conquer the Jin, we must mobilize the entire nation and only strive for victory. Defeat is unacceptable. Without a foolproof plan, we must not mobilize the army."

Zhao Huan nodded and said, "Minister Chen Ai is right. We must be absolutely certain. I want to reform."

Li Gang and the others looked at each other. Could it be that the emperor wanted to carry out another reform?

Zhao Huan continued, "The Six Bandits have wreaked havoc, devastating the people and weakening the nation. Now that the Song Dynasty is in dire straits, the ancestral system needs some flexibility. I intend to issue an edict allowing local garrisons to recruit their own troops to resist the Jin army."

After discussing for a while, everyone agreed.

Meng Gu Rao said, "Your Majesty, it is naturally good for the localities to recruit their own troops. However, to prevent a recurrence of the separatist regimes of the Tang Dynasty, Your Majesty can set a time limit for the recruitment. Issue an edict to all regions, limiting the recruitment period to only three years."

Zhao Huan agreed deeply: "Meng Aiqing is right. I think we can defeat the Jin army in three years."

Wang Zongchu frowned. "Your Majesty, there's one more thing. If we use military force against Jin, we must also be wary of Western Xia, the Tibetan tribes, and Dali in Yunnan. We must especially deploy heavy troops to defend the Western Xia border."

Li Gang nodded. "Yes, Xixia has submitted to Jin. If we declare war on Jin, Xixia will surely be ready to attack. The court should send a general to defend them."

Zhao Huan was shocked. He hadn't even considered this. If a war broke out with Jin, Xixia would have to be guarded against.

Chen Guoting stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, I recommend someone. I am an old friend of Zong Ze, the commander-in-chief of the Hebei Volunteer Army. You can have him lead the troops to Shaanxi to defend against the Western Xia."

Zhao Huan said happily, "I'll issue an order right away!" Then he became a little worried: "However, General Zong Ze has expressed some dissatisfaction with my peace talks with Jin. If he claims to be ill, I'm afraid he may not be willing to go."

Chen Guoting smiled faintly: "Old Zongze is as straightforward as I am. Leave this matter to me, and I can guarantee that he will be happy to go."

Zhao Huan was delighted and said, "Then I'll leave this matter to Chen Aiqing to handle."

Meng Gurao looked unhappy and sighed. Zhao Huan hurriedly asked, "Why are you sighing, my dear Meng?"

Meng Gu Rao said frankly: "Your Majesty, if this is the case, I'm afraid the Ministry of Revenue doesn't have that much money."

Zhao Huan frowned. Money again. Actually, governing a country is just like living life: without money, nothing can be accomplished.

"How much is left?" Zhao Huan asked.

Meng Gurao calculated with his fingers: "It will probably cost another five million taels of silver."

Zhao Huan was shocked: "So many?"

Meng Gurao gritted his teeth and said, "At least four million taels, any less is impossible."

Zhao Huan slowly opened his tightly closed eyes: "I will take care of the money issue!"

He solved nothing. Zhao Huan was now in a state of panic. Taxes could not be increased any further, or else there would be a civil uprising. So, he would target corrupt officials and wealthy businessmen.

Xiongzhou. Shuhu Ximeng never waited for Zhuotuo Tangren and Shi Dunzhu. The two seemed to have disappeared out of thin air.

However, another piece of news came from the county government office. The new chief of criminal justice, Zhan Yunpeng, was assassinated and the yamen held a funeral ceremony today.

Shu Hu Ximeng had to participate in this kind of event, so he brought Wuleqi to the county government office.

When Shuhu Ximeng arrived at the county government office, he found that Jiao Zifu and the county magistrate Fang Rucheng had already arrived.

Jiao Zifu was dressed in mourning, his face filled with grief. He leaned on the coffin and cried, "Brother Zhan, you died tragically. How can I explain this to the Emperor?"

Jiao Zifu cried loudly, but no tears came out. Fang Rucheng, who was standing beside him, had a gloomy face and said nothing.

Shuhu Ximeng was surprised. "What happened to Zhan Tixing? I only met him once, but I was impressed by his character and wanted to follow him. I never thought he would be killed like this."

When Jiao Zifu saw Shuhu Ximeng coming, he hurriedly grabbed Shuhu Ximeng's hand and said, "Master Shuhu, you are finally here. Master Zhan was innocently killed by this murderer. We will find the murderer and avenge him!"

Shuhu Ximeng was filled with righteous indignation: "Revenge! We must take revenge!"

The acting was so bad that even the nearby Wuleqi couldn't stand it anymore. Wuleqi felt an itch on the back of his feet and when he looked back, he almost peed his pants.

Lai Fu came up behind him quietly and sniffed. Wuleqi was shocked. Wasn't the dog dead?