Chapter 430 Where does the military funding come from?
The ministers were not surprised that the emperor would make his own strategic plan. After all, Liu Dan was well-known for his love of military affairs.
But directly taking out the strategic plan meant that the emperor had already planned to take action against the Southwestern Yi. Many people even began to suspect that the emperor had a connection with the general.
In a somewhat dull atmosphere, several important officials who participated in the last war in the South slowly unfolded the papers, and Liu Dan said with emotion at the top: "The military book says that we should take advantage of the situation, and I deeply agree with it.
When I was conquering the Hu people and the barbarians on the peninsula in Liaodong, I also encountered a situation where the mountainous terrain was difficult and the cavalry could not enter.
Once the barbarians hid in the mountains, they would come down from the mountains to plunder or harass and destroy at appropriate times of the year. It was extremely annoying and difficult to guard against.
You are all important officials of the imperial court, and you must know that a few years ago my royal brother told me that he wanted to transform Lelang County into a kingdom to protect the Han Dynasty. This was because the imperial court was unwilling to invest large amounts of money and resources to maintain those poor and unproductive counties.
I bring up this old matter again now to inform you all that the war in the Southwestern Yi is the same.
There are hundreds of thousands of mountains in the southwest, separated from each other and surrounded by rivers. The complexity of the terrain and the steepness of the mountains are far greater than those of the peninsula.
If the peninsula cannot be subdued, is it possible to subdue the southwest?
Do not enter the mountains, as there are ferocious beasts and poisonous insects there. The damp air will invade the bodies of the Han army, making them sick.
Pass on my order to prepare medicines for the Han army, as abundant as weapons. I will pray to the heavens to drive away the disease that lingers in the south."
Once the topic of war came up, Liu Dan seemed like a different person. He talked eloquently and had an endless desire to talk.
At this time, the ministers who had received the strategic plan had basically finished reading it, and immediately put away all their disrespect. This emperor on the throne really knew military knowledge!
Emperors who are good at military affairs are born with advantages. Emperors who are good at civil affairs are always worried that their subjects will become more powerful than them, but Emperors who are good at military affairs do not have such concerns.
Looking at the history of Ji Zhao's previous life, those famous emperors, with the exception of Emperor Wen of Han, were all emperors with outstanding military achievements. He who controls violence controls the world. This is the eternal truth of the world.
Although Liu Dan was uneducated and unskilled, the key word he emphasized in the war against the Southwestern Yi was stability. He did not fight crooked battles or use risky tactics, but simply crushed the enemies in an upright manner.
“In the southwest, the mountains are high and the water is deep, and the plains are scarce. There is very little land available for building cities, and there are not many places that the army can reach. Of the tenth of the food and grass transported, only one tenth remains. This was one of the reasons for the defeat in the previous war.
I think that since it is difficult to reach, then we should not go there, but just garrison in the existing cities on the plains, transport grain through rivers and limited roads, and slowly store it.
Not only can we use swords and spears to kill the barbarians, but we can also trade with the barbarians in the mountains with money, food, salt, iron and other things that the Han people have.
We don't want their things, we want their heads, so that they can kill each other.
Those Yi tribes that were willing to submit to the Han Dynasty were recruited and pacified, and volunteer troops that were good at mountain warfare were formed. They were conferred the title of marquis, and their children were sent to the Imperial Academy to study the classics of the Central Plains.
If we do this, we will surely be able to completely resolve the issue in the southwest."
Liu Dan's words basically repeated the policies implemented by the Liaodong Protectorate in Liaodong, especially the policy of mutual slaughter. The more tribes there are and the more identities they lack in a region, the more effective it is.
The reason why the Han Dynasty regarded the Huns as a formidable enemy and had to exterminate them was because the Huns were trying to build a civilization independent of and opposed to the other Chinese civilizations, and they achieved extremely rich results, almost integrating the entire grassland.
Liu Dan's quite normal words made all the ministers in the palace feel very strange.
The King of Northern Yan has always been known for his martial spirit and brutality, but now he actually looks like a wise and holy ruler. It's like a notorious prodigal suddenly telling you to be frugal. Anyone would find it strange.
The general was about to laugh out loud. So far, the emperor's performance had been much better than he expected. The glorious days of military merit and honor would continue. He said loudly, "Your Majesty is wise. Following your strategy, we will achieve a great victory in the southwest. No one in this world can threaten the existence of the Han Dynasty. We will defeat all enemies until all the barbarians submit and come to Chang'an to sing your name!"
The general's words really touched Liu Dan's heart. He looked at the general with satisfaction. Just as he was about to speak, he heard a voice that sounded a bit out of place, "Your Majesty, where can we raise the military funds? The treasury is empty now."
As the saying goes, a penny can make a hero fall. How can you fight a war without money?
As soon as these words came out, the atmosphere in the hall stagnated. Previously, Emperor Xiaoding decided not to go to war for the time being because there was no money or food in the treasury. Now the emperor wants to go to war again. He has made a lot of lofty statements, but where will the money come from?
Liu Dan frowned upon hearing this and said, "How could a big man be without money?
When I was in Liaodong, the merchants there were all very wealthy, and the people had abundant money and grain.
Chang'an is the most important place. The imperial court collects taxes from all over the country. How could it be out of money?
Is there anyone who is unwilling to pay taxes?
Is someone deliberately delaying or evading taxes?
Where are the Grand Minister of Agriculture and the Grand Minister of Commerce?
Can you tell me what is going on?"
Sang Hongyang, who had been waiting for a long time, walked out excitedly. He smelled the scent of wealth and glory from the emperor and felt the scent of himself reaching the pinnacle.
"Your Majesty, I, Sang Hongyang, have reported that there is indeed less money and grain in the treasuries of Chang'an and Guanzhong, but the Han Dynasty has a lot of money and grain, so it is not difficult to raise military funds. There are many policies in the court that are in name only and are not implemented with care, so the profits obtained are very small.
For example, the salt and iron industries were state-run, but in reality they were privately owned. The imperial court mainly supervised the prices and quality of salt and iron, but it was not in control of them from beginning to end.
This is a ten-point profit, merchants get eight points, the court gets two points, so..."
Just as he said this, Emperor Liu Dan slammed the table and stood up, angrily saying: "What? Merchants get 80% and the court gets 20%?
Is this the world of the Han people or the world of merchants?
Salt and iron are both important tools of the imperial court. Is it reasonable to use my things to make money for them?"
Although he looked angry on the surface, he was secretly muttering to himself that it was impossible for him not to know about this. He was the King of Northern Yan, and he also had a share in this private salt and iron business.
If he were still a prince, he would naturally oppose the official camp of the imperial court, but now that he is the emperor, he naturally wants to take it under the official camp, especially since it concerns his military expenses.
Seeing this, Sang Hongyang was delighted and said, "Your Majesty, this is of course unreasonable. I have a plan in place. As long as the plan is done properly, the annual revenue of the court can be greatly increased in just one year. The military expenses you want to conquer the southwest are easy to meet. Not only the southwest war, but even if the Xiongnu revive, we can still meet the supply."
Upon hearing this, Liu Dan was overjoyed and said, "The Minister of Agriculture is truly a great talent, but isn't one year too long? There are faster ways to raise military funds. I can wait, but the people of the world cannot."
Sang Hongyang actually wanted to propose the oral composition directly, but after returning home last time, even some of his fellow Legalists told him not to bring it up for the time being. The sequelae of that thing were really unscrupulous, and they were worried that they would be suppressed by other schools such as Confucianism, Taoism, and Mohism. After all, the Legalists now had only a few big cats and small cats, and were no longer at their peak during the Qin Dynasty.
Sang Hongyang pondered and said, "If Your Majesty feels that this time is too long, then you can check the collection of commercial taxes over the years. There are many unscrupulous merchants in this world, and there must be many who evade taxes. If the unpaid taxes are collected, it will be easy to meet the military expenditure needs."
As soon as Sang Hongyang said this, many people changed their expressions.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
