The emperor's thought process was unpredictable and his ideas were eccentric, which the ministers had grown accustomed to.
Therefore, when Zhao Huan said he wanted to destroy Jiaozhi, the ministers present could only think of banging their heads against a wall.
Especially Zhou Chao, the Minister of the Three Departments, had only been happy for a few days after his purse swelled a little, when the emperor announced war again. Wasn't this just trying to kill people?
Of all the ministers present, Zhou Chao was the one who most wanted to bang his head against a wall every day.
Every month, he receives financial applications from various departments.
For example, the Privy Council would request four million strings of cash from him every month.
Every month.
How much is a year?
Forty-eight million strings of cash a year!
In fact, military expenditures in the late Northern Song Dynasty were no lower than this, generally reaching 50 million or even 60 million strings of cash.
However, that was when the Imperial Guard was bloated and had a lot of vacancies.
This calculation is now based on the Privy Council's assessment after all the Imperial Guards that should have been eliminated have been removed.
Moreover, this is a conservative estimate.
According to the emperor's instructions to the Privy Council, the Song Dynasty's army will be expanded again this year!
Not just the Marines, but the Navy too!
As far as the Zhou Dynasty knew, the emperor was already looking for a candidate for naval admiral.
With so much military spending this year, and now another war, our newly bulging wallets are going to shrink again.
Zhou Chao felt as if his heart was about to stop beating.
Xu Churen felt his heart clench. The emperor would certainly not allow the national treasury to run out of money if it was used for war, but now was a critical moment for tax cuts, and the problem of money would definitely have to be solved by the Council of State Affairs.
Don't you want to find a solution?
Why not provide a solution immediately?
What good is a prime minister like you to me?
What I want is immediate, right now, and with all my might!
Xu Churen could already imagine the emperor's face at that time.
The heads of the State Affairs Hall and the Three Departments began to sweat.
Why would you call on these administrative people to handle a war?
They still want money!
After taking the money, they still forced the Council of State to cover up the losses!
This is fucking ridiculous!
The vacant official positions in the south have already kept Xu Churen and his group of prime ministers up at night, and now they're adding more tasks and deadlines.
This emperor... he simply doesn't treat people like human beings!
Zhou Chao composed himself, who was on the verge of collapse, and answered the emperor's question: "Your Majesty, we'll have to ask Minister Li and Minister Zhong to calculate it."
Zhou Chaohao shamelessly passed the buck, acting as if he wanted everyone to be ruined together.
If the emperor wants to force me, I'll drag you all down with me. Who told you, Li Gang, to always have that sullen face when you come to me for the budget, like I owe you something!
Zhao Huan immediately shifted his attention to Zhong Shidao and Li Gang: "How much?"
Now it was Li Gang and Zhong Shidao's turn to be in a bind, especially Zhong Shidao, who was over seventy years old and was being forced to think about this and that every day by this damned wild emperor.
Perhaps Zhao Huan suddenly had a change of heart and felt that it was not right to put pressure on an elderly man in this way. He then turned his gaze to Li Gang and looked at him with intense longing.
If you didn't know better, you'd think he was a gay guy!
Li Gang thought for a moment, then forced himself to say, "Two million strings of cash!"
When he said those words, the bigwigs of the Eastern Prefecture felt their hearts bleed. They thought, "We've worked so hard to earn this money, and you just casually ask for two million strings of cash."
Zhao Huan was slightly taken aback, then immediately nodded: "Good, a very reasonable number!"
That's utterly unreasonable!
Your Majesty, you didn't think of this, did you?
Where did they get those two million strings of cash?
Did you just make this on a whim?
The emperor continued, "How long is the plan to take to conquer it?"
This time, he wasn't asking about Li Gang, but about Zhong Shidao.
In terms of actual battlefield experience, Li Gang certainly doesn't have as much experience as Zhong Shidao.
Of those present, only Master Zhong was truly qualified to speak on this matter.
Zhong Shidao said, "Your Majesty, Jiaozhi is a small country and not worth worrying about. Yue Fei's army can defeat them in just three months. However, if Your Majesty wants to destroy the country, I have something to say, but I don't know if I should say it."
"Please speak freely, my dear minister!"
"Your Majesty, Jiaozhi was originally part of the ancient Chinese territory during the Tang Dynasty and was under the jurisdiction of the Jinghai Army Military Governor. Your Majesty's current military expedition is merely to glorify this homeland. However, Jiaozhi is extremely hot, plagued by miasma, and teeming with wild beasts and poisonous snakes. It is absolutely impossible for our army to launch a direct attack."
Zhao Huan asked, "In your opinion, Minister Zhong, what should we do?"
"Jiaozhi Kingdom borders Dali and is home to many powerful families. First, we can ask Dali to send troops to help Yue Fei march south. Second, after defeating the Jiaozhi army, we can support the Jiaozhi families in fighting each other. Third, the Song Dynasty can send troops and officials to garrison Jiaozhi and submit to the Jinghai Protectorate."
After Zhong Shidao finished speaking, Zhao Huan nodded repeatedly.
In fact, the emperor didn't decide to attack Jiaozhi on a whim; it was a sudden, impulsive decision...
The southwest was also very important in Zhao Huan's strategy. First, it eliminated the troubles on the southwestern border and restored peace to the people of the southwest. Second, it was a place where a large amount of food could be produced to supply the Song Dynasty.
As for how to govern the Kingdom of Jiaozhi, the key to effectively contain a country is simply to impose strict controls on it financially, culturally, militarily, and economically.
Once the Song Dynasty's paper money was implemented, it was forcibly promoted in the Jinghai Protectorate, which controlled it financially. Schools were then established there, and all students were required to accept the Song Dynasty's education. A powerful army was dispatched under the pretext of maintaining local security, and the area was ultimately made one of the Song Dynasty's granaries.
This will take time, so Zhao Huan needs to start now and complete the first step: take it down!
Zhao Huan smiled as he looked at his ministers and said, "Within a year, can we occupy the twelve prefectures of Jiaozhi? After the occupation, we will send 10,000 troops to garrison Jiaozhi and support pro-Song aristocratic families there. Shi Ziming will start to set up schools there and promote Confucianism. Tang Ke will start to purchase fruits and grains from there in bulk. After the paper money matures, we will forcibly promote its use there. What do you think?"
All the ministers were shocked upon hearing this.
Seeing the ministers' reactions, Zhao Huan was very satisfied.
In fact, this is exactly how the United States played the game in later generations.
Zhong Shidao was only talking about military conquest, but the emperor was talking about completely turning the twelve prefectures of Jiaozhi into a part of the Song Dynasty and supplying the Song Dynasty with what it wanted.
From military intimidation to economic infiltration, then to cultural cleansing, the most insidious tactic was the forced use of paper money.
However, the issuance of Jiaozi was handled by the Imperial Bank of the Song Dynasty, meaning that the Imperial Bank of the Song Dynasty could control the total amount of Jiaozi there at any time and influence the local economy.
If the emperor's strategy can be implemented, then the twelve provinces of Jiaozhi will be completely under his control!
Is this emperor really missing a screw in his head?
P.S.: Still asking for recommendation votes! I just want to know, is there a book list?
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