The spring banquet will be held soon, and after it ends, the army will regroup and set off.
Qi Jingxuan's biggest headache right now is the issue of military expenses. The national treasury can only sustain the military pay for a little over six months. If they want to wipe out the northern frontier, this war will probably take at least a year to prepare for.
Unlike the southern border, the northern border is vast, even ten times the size of the southern border. In addition, the northern Rong and Di peoples are brave and skilled in battle and often ride horses. It can be said that there is no one in the northern border who cannot ride a horse, even though the army sent by the Qi Kingdom this time may be three times the size of the northern border!
But times have changed. The northern frontier may have already prepared for a desperate battle.
The best tactic would actually be to attack in winter, but the people in the north had no food or supplies and were freezing cold. People from the Central Plains would be even more unable to endure it, and the military expenditure would increase accordingly. In the freezing cold of minus thirty degrees Celsius, the entire army would probably be wiped out.
No wonder the Northern Frontier sent their princess over for a marriage alliance as early as March.
"Summon the Grand Tutor to the palace, and do it quickly!" Qi Jingxuan had no interest in dealing with the mountain of memorials in front of him; he wanted to raise the army's funds first.
He immediately thought of several very capable helpers: the Gu family, the largest merchant family in Qi, the Liu family, and the Zhuang family. Although the Zhuang family was insignificant compared to the Gu family, the Zhuang family's business of grain, cloth, and horses was essential during wartime!
Moreover, most of their family members live at the foot of Xiaobai Mountain, which is the only way to invade the northern frontier. It can be said that they can retreat and defend or advance and attack. If all the food and supplies are deployed at Xiaobai Mountain, the battle can be said to be more than half won before it even begins!
"Summon the Grand Tutor to the palace!" The palace guards immediately rode fast horses to the Grand Tutor's residence to fetch him.
Ruan and Mu came to the Qianqing Palace with the intention of explaining the matter of the secret guards of the Shenxing Division to Qi Jingxuan, but they heard the eunuchs say that the emperor was very annoyed.
She knew this, of course. Qi Jingxuan was a woman after all, with very little battlefield experience. In addition, he had been obsessed with power struggles in recent years and had become lax in his duties in the military. To put it bluntly, he had Qi Jingxuan's body but not his brain!
Her father-in-law tried every means to stop her at the door. She went in and reported to Qi Jingxuan twice, but he still refused to see her. This made Ruan Yumu laugh contemptuously. Originally, she was going to give the Emperor some advice, but now it seems that he doesn't need her at all!
Since that was the case, Ruan Yumu left a few words for Xiao Shunzi and then departed.
Before long, the Grand Tutor entered the palace.
"This old minister kowtows to Your Majesty, long live Your Majesty..."
Qi Jingxuan waved his hand dismissively, "No need, no need. Please have your father-in-law offer you a seat."
"Grand Tutor, in times of emergency, we must act expediently. After the spring banquet, the ice and snow in the north will begin to melt, and our army will soon be setting off. With war imminent, and having only been on the throne for less than three years, I am afraid that the national treasury will not be able to provide sufficient military pay. I implore you, Grand Tutor, for more advice!"
The Grand Tutor, upon hearing Qi Jingxuan's words, remained silent. Several days earlier, the Emperor had raised this issue in court, but none of the civil or military officials had uttered a word.
This is a tricky matter. Anyone with eyes can see that the only way to raise more military funds is to target the wealthy. However, most of the wealthy are powerful and no one wants to share their share.
"Your Majesty, this old minister is powerless to help with this matter! I can only appeal to the ministers to see if we can raise funds."
Upon hearing this, Qi Jingxuan immediately realized that the plan would not work. "No, we must find a way from the prefectures and counties. There are only about thirty ministers in the court, and most of them are old ministers from the previous dynasty. Since I took the throne, the amount of silver has been halved. If we force donations again, our Great Qi will face both internal and external troubles!"
Qi Jingxuan paced back and forth in the hall, unsure of what to do.
Suddenly, the Grand Tutor had a flash of inspiration. "Your Majesty," he said, "could we allow merchants from the prefectures and counties to raise funds? After the spring, aren't we preparing for the imperial examinations? We could open them up to the sons of merchants so they could also have a chance to participate. We could also open up the selection of palace maids to all. What do you think?"
Qi Jingxuan thought this was a good idea and nodded in agreement. "In that case, Grand Tutor, draft an edict and issue it immediately to see what the situation is. If the fundraising is not going well, we can confiscate the property of a few wealthy merchants!"
"Well, this... is the only way to proceed for now." The Grand Tutor actually strongly disagreed, because after the Liu family fell, the Gu family was now the richest merchant family in the Great Qi Kingdom, and the Gu family was his son-in-law, so he had already benefited a lot from it.
He feared that one day the emperor would take action against the Gu family, and at that time, after so many years in office, his reputation would be in jeopardy.
But since the Emperor has brought it up, I have no choice but to go back and have my son-in-law take the lead in raising more donations.
"In that case, Grand Tutor, I'll have to trouble you!" Qi Jingxuan naturally knew this, and it all depended on how the Grand Tutor handled the matter. If he was sensible, everything would be fine.
If they protect and line their own pockets, then after the top ten in the new imperial examinations enter the court, they should really clean up the mess of the officials.
The Grand Tutor reluctantly lowered his head and agreed.
On the way out of the palace, after hearing about this, the students kept reminding the Grand Tutor, "The Emperor clearly knows about the relationship between the Gu family and you. His sudden statement this time must be to manipulate you. If the Gu family doesn't take the lead, then the meaning will be too obvious."
The Grand Tutor shook his head and said, "Shut up, let's go back to the palace and talk about it! There are too many people and too much gossip in the palace, do you think I don't know that? Let's go, let's go!"
Upon hearing this, the student quickly covered his mouth and said, "Yes, yes, sir!"
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