Zhao Huan continued, "I have one more request, and I hope all of you ministers will remember it well!"
"Your Majesty, we wish to hear your teachings."
Zhao Huan said menacingly, "I want to execute the royal family of Jiaozhi, exhume Li Changjie's body and whip it, destroy his tomb, and make all his clansmen slaves for eternity!"
During the reign of Emperor Shenzong, the Kingdom of Jiaozhi invaded Guangxi of the Song Dynasty and massacred 100,000 people. This was an irreconcilable feud!
Unfortunately, after a few battles, the Song dynasty began to negotiate peace.
The ministers took a deep breath; this emperor was truly vindictive.
Zhao Huan then asked, "Does anyone else have anything to say?"
Xu Churen and Zhou Chao originally wanted to oppose the war. The Song Dynasty had just undergone a major purge and needed to recuperate. If the emperor wanted to wage war again, what if it caused public resentment to boil over?
But judging from the emperor's demeanor, opposition was definitely futile.
The ministers could only think of ways to satisfy the emperor's demands. There was nothing more to say at the moment; more detailed plans would have to be made later.
"How about appointing Minister Zong as the Southwest Military Commissioner?"
The ministers said, "Your Majesty is wise."
Zong Ze said, "Your Majesty, I thank you and will certainly not fail your trust!"
"The southwest is plagued by miasma, and Minister Zong is already quite old. Li Gang, arrange for several imperial physicians to accompany General Zong Ze to the southwest. Make sure that General Zong is in good health, or I will send them all to the Five Dynasties Gate!"
Li Gang quickly replied, "Yes, Your Majesty!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Although this emperor was a bit reckless, he was not stingy. As long as things were done well, he would reward people with every penny they deserved, and he was even more generous than the previous emperors.
Or rather, they showed meticulous care for ministers who were loyal to the emperor and devoted to the country.
But if things aren't done well, they really will turn their backs on you.
After the discussion, Xu Churen, Tang Ke, Qin Hui from the Council of State Affairs, and Zhou Chao from the Three Departments remained behind.
Zhou Chao said, “Your Majesty, last year’s total expenditure reached 113 million strings of cash. Of this, the Privy Council’s expenditure was 40 million strings of cash, with salaries, military merit rewards, and wounded soldier compensation totaling 27 million strings of cash, and military equipment 15 million strings of cash. The Council of State Affairs spent 40 million strings of cash, of which 30 million strings were for official salaries, and the construction of Youzhou, the relocation of people, and the expansion of Dongjing City were 3 million strings of cash, 1 million strings of cash, and 6 million strings of cash respectively. The Hanlin Academy spent 3 million strings of cash, mainly for building schools, compiling books, and recruiting teachers; in addition, the Academy of Sciences spent 1 million strings of cash, mainly for personnel salaries, books, and tools; the Censorate spent 100,000 strings of cash, mainly for personnel salaries; the Imperial City Guard spent 1 million strings of cash, mainly for personnel salaries and travel expenses; and the Kang Prince’s Maritime Trade Office spent 14.9 million strings of cash, mainly for expanding harbors and ships. In addition, the members of the Imperial Clan spent 10 million strings of cash! The salaries of other officials were 3 million strings of cash.”
"Last year, the total revenue was 70 million strings of cash. However, due to tax cuts and the abolition of corvée labor, tax revenue was greatly reduced. Including the revenue from salt, iron, tea, wine, etc., the total revenue was only 270 million strings of cash. The property of rebels in the Central Plains, the property of court officials, and the property of rebels in the South totaled 20 million strings of cash. The Ministry of Commerce's revenue last year was 7 million strings of cash, the revenue from the sale of land for the expansion of Tokyo was 13 million strings of cash, and the revenue from maritime trade of the Maritime Trade Office was 3 million strings of cash."
Xu Churen's face twitched a few times. As the head of the Political Affairs Hall, the total amount actually produced by the Political Affairs Hall was only 27 million strings of cash. This number was 53 million strings less than the 80 million strings of cash the year before last.
The main problem was that the emperor acted arbitrarily and drastically reduced taxes.
The newly added commercial taxes have not yet been fully implemented in many places.
For example, Shaanxi Road, Chengdu Road, Kuizhou Road, Liangzhe Road, Jiangnan Road, and even Zhongyuan Road, only began implementing the new policy in June.
Hebei Road and Hedong Road suffered heavy losses due to the war, and this year's tax revenue is less than one-tenth of that of previous years.
Xu Churen recalled that in June of this year, the emperor gave him two major tasks: first, the total tax revenue for the coming year should reach 160 million strings of cash; second, the average income of the people in the Central Plains should double.
Now it seems this task is simply...
This is practically a trap deliberately set for him by the emperor, holy crap!
Zhou Chao's tone was quite heavy. With such income and expenditure, the imperial court had already begun to overdraw the money of the Song Dynasty Bank, and the Song Dynasty Bank was running out of money.
If it weren't for Zhou Chao's report, which only stated the total investment rather than the actual investment, the court would probably be finished by now.
Zhou Chao's gaze swept across the emperor's face subtly, trying to discern shock and anger before quickly halting the discussion about conquering Jiaozhi.
But the emperor's face showed no shock, instead beaming with a joyful smile.
"Excellent, Xu Churen, Tang Ke, and Qin Hui, you have all done a great job. I am very pleased. I will also write a letter to commend Prince Kang and praise his Maritime Trade Office."
Faced with the emperor's praise, the ministers were completely dumbfounded.
This isn't right. Shouldn't the emperor be giving them a good scolding with a dark expression at this moment?
This is all? What use are you to me?
If you keep doing this, how will the imperial court function?
Guards! Drag these idiots away and hack them to death!
But the emperor, surprisingly, was very pleased with the report.
This emperor's acting skills are truly superb; he must be furious.
Yet he suppressed his anger and put on a pleasant demeanor.
Several ministers harbored malicious thoughts in their hearts.
But in fact, Zhao Huan was very satisfied with this report.
He knew very well what the entire Song Dynasty had gone through in the first year of the Jingkang era.
The emperor led a group of men, armed with knives, northward to fight the Jurchens.
It was a real head-on clash, with no holds barred, and it was all done by sheer numbers, with a casualty ratio of six to one!
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