The Song-Jin peace talks were essentially complete, and the next step was to raise silver. The annual tribute could be delayed, but the 3.5 million taels of silver needed to reward the Jin troops for this expedition had to be raised, otherwise the Jin would not withdraw.
But the treasury was empty. The Song Dynasty was once a prosperous nation with a prosperous people. But Zhao Ji, a man of extravagant desires, imposed heavy taxes and levies, leading to the Fang La and Song Jiang uprisings. After much difficulty suppressing the uprisings, and the massive expenditures of the Liao and Xia campaigns, the treasury now held less than two million taels of silver.
The Jin soldiers pressed on, and Zhao Huan couldn't help but feel anxious. He had endured such a huge infamy just to trick the Jin soldiers, but now he was stumped by the gold and silver.
Early morning visit to Zichen Palace.
"Wu Ge, have you made any progress in investigating the Six Thieves' assets?"
Commander Wu Ge stood in the court and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, I have investigated. Of these six thieves, Cai Jing and Tong Guan are the wealthiest. Preliminary estimates suggest that these two alone possess a fortune of 16 million taels."
The ministers were in an uproar, there were so many.
Zhao Huan was overjoyed: "How much?"
Wu Ge lowered his head even more: "The preliminary estimate is 16 million taels."
Damn, Cai Jing and Tong Guan, those two old dogs, embezzled so much! Over 16 million taels. Haha, from now on, when the court is short on cash, we can just go after the ministers. We'll establish the Jinyiwei like we did during the Ming Dynasty, and thoroughly investigate the assets of these officials. If we catch anyone embezzling, we'll drag them outside the Meridian Gate and execute them with a single blow. The remaining gold, silver, and treasures won't belong to me. Haha.
"Then what are you waiting for? Send it to me?" Zhao Huan's eyes lit up. Silver, besides women, silver is his life.
Wu Ge didn't understand whether the emperor was truly stupid or just pretending to be: "Your Majesty, the wealth of the six thieves plus the property of Qian Tong and others totals over 30 million taels. But most of those are fixed assets. If we want to liquidate them, including inventory, it will take at least two years."
"What do you mean?" Zhao Huan asked.
"Your Majesty, the total amount of cash seized from these people's homes is less than 300,000 taels. The rest is antiques, calligraphy and paintings, mansions, land, and commercial properties. These all need to be sold before they can be converted into cash."
Zhao Huan understood: "Li Gang, send the copied antiques, calligraphy and paintings to the Jin camp and appraise them according to the market price. If they are not satisfied, we can lower the valuation of these treasures and calligraphy and paintings until the Jin people are satisfied."
Li Gang said: "I obey your order."
Unexpectedly, the Jin soldiers were far from satisfied with the antiques and calligraphy, and refused to give up until they saw silver. Zhao Huan, furious, ignored him. Wanyan Zongwang, also furious, marched to the city again. But they didn't attack the city, nor did they bring siege ladders, catapults, or anything like that. It seemed they were merely demonstrating.
The Jin soldiers below the city pointed at the Song soldiers on the city wall and cursed them.
"Your Great Song Dog Emperor, why didn't you deliver the gold and silver you promised us? The Song Dog Emperor is unfaithful, shame on you!"
"Give me money, give me money. You Song people are like pigs. It makes me angry just looking at you."
"Open the city gates as soon as possible, or I will go in and rob you of your gold, silver, and women."
With a "bang", a Thunderbolt gunner couldn't help but fired a shot.
Several Jin soldiers were killed or injured in an instant. They did not expect that the Song soldiers would dare to fire, so they quickly retreated away.
"Who fired the cannon! Who fired the cannon!" Li Bangde, the younger brother of the Right Prime Minister Li Bangyan, climbed up the city wall in a hurry. Li Bangde served as the Du Yuhou in the imperial guards.
The thunderbolt gunner stood up and said, "General Li, the Jin bandits insulted the emperor and our people. I couldn't bear it, so I fired a cannon at them."
"Come here!" Li Bangde waved his hand: "Catch him."
Two soldiers ran over and pinned the thunderbolt gunner down. The thunderbolt gunner shouted, "General Li, I am innocent. The Jin bandits invaded our Song Dynasty, and instead of fighting them, you wanted to arrest me. I refuse to obey!"
The soldiers nearby all had expressions of resentment on their faces, but they did not dare to show it in front of Du Yuhou.
Li Bangde was furious: "My Song Dynasty and Jin have already reached peace, yet you fired artillery without authorization. Are you trying to provoke a war?"
Thunderbolt Hand remained unyielding: "Since we're negotiating, why are the Jin bandits marching at the gates? They're the ones trying to provoke a war. I've wanted to kill them for a long time."
"Okay, I will chop off your head today!" Li Bangde said as he drew his sword.
"General, no."
"General, he did nothing wrong. It was the Jin who started the fight and started the abuse." The soldiers on the city wall pleaded for mercy for the thunderbolt gunner. Li Bangde had long heard from his brother Li Bangyan that now that peace talks were underway, no friction with the Jin should occur. Those who violated the rules would be executed immediately.
The Thunderbolt Hand knew he was doomed, so he cursed: "Beheading is just like blowing a hat off with the wind. Li Bangde, you bully the officers and soldiers and retreat when facing the enemy. Sooner or later, the Emperor will chop you off!"
Li Bangde was furious and chopped off the Thunderbolt gunner's head with a knife despite everyone's dissuasion.
Li Bangde pointed at the head that had rolled to the ground and said, "Send his head to the Jin camp and tell them that it was our soldiers who fired the cannon without permission. The Song army has nothing to do with it. We have now beheaded this soldier. We hope the Jin soldiers will forgive us."
The thunder gunner's head rolled to the ground, his eyes wide open, still open in death.
Zhao Huan overturned the imperial table, spilling all the soup and water onto the floor. The palace maids and eunuchs were so frightened that they all knelt and begged for mercy. Li Gang stood across from them, speechless.
"What's the name of that thunder gunner?" Zhao Huan stared.
Li Gang lowered his head and said, "This man is Pan Bufeng. He was promoted to the rank of Thunderbolt Cannon Commander Ten because of his bravery during the last siege of the Jin army."
"Promote Pan Bufeng to the rank of Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery, and reward his family with a thousand taels of silver. Bury him with honor!"
Cao Dongsheng knelt on the ground: "I obey your order."
"Li Gang!"
"I am here!"
"Go and cut off Li Bangde's head and send it to the Jin camp. Tell the Jin thieves that I buried the Thunderbolt Cannon Operator with honor. Give the Jin troops three days to withdraw. To prevent such incidents from happening again, the Great Song Dynasty has dispatched Zhong Shidao to lead a 100,000-man army to escort the Jin troops back north."
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