Jinling City, inside Jinshen Hall.

Yu Zhaoling looked at the southwest war map in front of him, his expression extremely ugly.

All the civil and military officials of the Xia Dynasty, with heavy faces, stood in the hall with bows and remained silent.

The silence in the hall was so solemn that one could not even take a breath.

Yu Zhaoling took a deep breath, looked around at the ministers in the palace, and said in a deep voice:

"The Wuling Prefecture army reported that Yun General Wu Zixu led his troops to invade and was defeated by our Wuling Prefecture army. He suffered heavy losses and has returned to Tianmen Prefecture!"

As soon as these words came out, several people among the officials in the palace quickly answered:

"Congratulations, Your Majesty, on the great victory in Wuling Mansion!"

When Yu Zhaoling, who was sitting on the dragon throne, heard the courtiers' congratulations, his face suddenly darkened.

"A great victory?"

Yu Zhaoling's sharp eyes scanned the people who were flattering him, and he sneered:

"In the prefectures and counties of Anshun, there is only one Yunyang Prefecture left in the hands of the imperial court, and the troops in Yunyang Prefecture are empty. However, thousands of local county soldiers are stationed there, so it is difficult to hold on!"

"All the prefectures and counties in the western part of Shaoyang County have fallen into the hands of the Yun army. Marquis Deyang led his troops to retreat to Hengyang Mansion to prevent the Yun army from advancing into Shaoyang County. However, Yun general Di Qing changed his usual cautious approach and led his troops to attack Hengyang Mansion. Hengyang Mansion was on the verge of collapse.

.”

"Hahaha, you guys, you call this a great victory? It seems that my ministers know very little about battlefield military affairs. They can't even see the current situation clearly?"

The Wuling Mansion battle report that reached Jinling City was indeed a good report. In addition, the one who was defeated was Wu Zixu, who had annihilated hundreds of thousands of Xia Kingdom's border troops. It was natural to publicize it to boost the hearts of the government and the public.

But to be honest, in the battle of Wuling Mansion, the Yun Army's losses were not too great and they only retreated temporarily.

When Yongzhou, Yangping Pass was lost, and most of Anshun and Shaoyang counties were lost, no matter how many victories the Wuling Mansion fought, it would only delay it for a while and be useless to the overall situation. When the Yun army regrouped and marched in three directions to encircle, then

Wuling Mansion can only abandon its defense!

At this time, Yu Zhaoling's cold and gloomy look and tone that hinted of violence made the officials in the palace suddenly become silent.

The people who spoke fell to their knees with a thud, trembling and kowtowing in apology.

These ministers wanted to flatter Yu Zhaoling and whitewash him. But they forgot Yu Zhaoling's temperament!

Holding his nose and announcing the "Great Victory of Wuling Prefecture" was his intention to appease the government and the public. But if these civil and military ministers really took this so-called Great Victory of Wuling Prefecture seriously, it would be too ridiculous!

Xia Guo Situ and veteran Mei Chong stood up to smooth things over and said:

"Your Majesty, I am not good at military affairs. I only know that the situation in the southwest is difficult. Just in case, I can only make plans in advance to prevent the army from being defeated. The Yun army marches straight in to conquer the Central Plains!"

"Now the imperial court has raised 800,000 taels of silver, 80,000 pieces of armor, 20,000 war horses, countless weapons, food and fodder for His Majesty's disposal! In addition, the veteran has ordered the generals to start building armor and weapons in case of emergencies.

need."

When Yu Zhaoling heard what Mei Chong said, his expression softened slightly and he said in a deep voice:

"Old Situ, how much money is left in the imperial treasury that can support the imperial court until the taxes are paid next year?"

When Mei Chong heard this, his face became solemn and he said in a deep voice:

"There have been frequent wars in recent years, and the national treasury cannot make ends meet. After the additional military taxes levied by the nine counties in the south of the Yangtze River were escorted to Beijing, 800,000 taels of silver were able to be allocated... The remaining treasury should be able to sustain it until next year. But if there is another

Unexpectedly, we can only allocate money from His Majesty's Young Mansion."

Yu Zhaoling sighed heavily and said worriedly:

"Although eight hundred thousand taels of silver is a lot, if you have to maintain the war in the north and south while building armors, weapons, and training elites, I'm afraid it won't be able to sustain it for long! There is only less than one million taels of silver left in the young manor...

…”

In order to resist the Turks, the northern border of Xia State maintains a force of more than 200,000 elite troops all year round. Their annual military expenditure requires two million taels of silver.

Now in the southwest, in order to defend against the Yun Kingdom, the Xia Kingdom has also formed an army of similar size. In addition, it must continue to train soldiers and horses and build ordnance.

The Xia Kingdom's treasury, plus the emperor's young master's office, totaled less than two million yuan, which could only last half a year!

It's so difficult, how can we not make Yu Zhaoling worry?

Mei Chong was silent for a while, then gritted his teeth and said in a deep voice:

"The country is in a difficult situation. Please ask Your Majesty to impose taxes again!"

All the ministers in the palace suddenly looked at Mei Chong with astonishment on their faces.

Yu Zhaoling shook his head repeatedly and refused:

"No! The DPRK has just increased taxes from Jiangnan by 800,000 taels. If we increase taxes again, I'm afraid there will be more complaints from the people."

Mei Chong raised his head slightly and said firmly:

"The salt industry is state-owned, and it is a monopoly. Salt officials are set up by the government and the central government to organize people to make and sell salt!"

"Since the founding of the People's Republic of China in Daxia, there has been no ban on private salt production and sales, and only a small salt tax has been levied. Today, private salt merchants are richest in the world, but the court cannot obtain enough taxes from them. The promotion of monopoly shows that the profits of the salt industry are all over the world.

Return it to the court, and the rich harvest will be enough for Your Majesty to train elites to resist the Yun Kingdom!"

As soon as these words came out, all the civil and military officials in the palace looked extremely shocked.

They never imagined that old Situ Meichong, who had been thoughtful and calm in his life, would actually say such advice in the court today!

"What Old Situ said is extremely ridiculous, Your Majesty must not do it!"

"If you compete with the people for profit, you will lose their support!"

"Your Majesty, please think twice about such remonstrances that shake up the country and the country!"

Suddenly, many officials in the palace immediately stood up, refuted Mei Chong's advice with great righteousness, and talked to Yu Zhaoling about the shortcomings of this salt monopoly.

Nowadays, in the Xia Kingdom, every kilogram of salt is only 30 cents per dou, which is inconspicuous at first glance.

But this thing is something that no one in the world can live without. Even if the price is only increased by ten cents per bucket, the Xia State's treasury can immediately increase taxes by hundreds of thousands of taels every year!

It is precisely because of the huge profits from the salt industry that the Xia government only levied a small amount of tax, and countless businessmen among the people gained huge wealth from it.

And these salt merchants, hehehe, it’s hard to say that the master behind them is not in the Jinshen Palace at this time!

"Hehehe, competing with the 'people' for profit?"

A sneer sounded in the hall at an inappropriate time.

Feng Chu, the first-grade embroidered envoy of the current court, Yu Zhaoling Qiandi's confidant, suddenly stood up and looked around at the opposing officials in the palace with a sneer.

Although the Embroidered Clothes Envoy repeatedly ran into obstacles in front of Dongchang and Guanggan, his reputation in the Xia Kingdom was forged by the heads of countless corrupt officials.

Feng Chu suddenly spoke at this time, and the few courtiers in the palace who were the most opposed were immediately pinched by the neck, and were speechless.

Feng Chu immediately turned to look at Yu Zhaoling, cupped his hands and said:

"If you, your lords, insist on objecting, I have a suggestion, which is to raise gold and silver for your majesty to pay for the army!"

When Yu Zhaoling heard this, his brows moved and he immediately answered:

"What advice?"

"I heard that the current Emperor Yun was in trouble both internally and externally when he came to the throne, and the national treasury was empty. Just by confiscating the Buddhist temple properties of Yun Kingdom, and the wealth of the rebellious and corrupt officials in the Yun Kingdom court, the national treasury was abundant, and he has not been in trouble so far.

…”

If Xiao Cheng were in the Jinshen Palace at this time, he would probably slap his thigh and say to himself: No, the secret of getting rich has been stolen!

At this time, Feng Chu sneered again, looked around at the ministers in the palace, and continued:

"If your Majesty agrees, I can take action tomorrow!"

There was almost no hint of threat in his words.

Many of the courtiers in the palace, facing Feng Chu's gaze, no longer felt confident, their expressions were shaken, their eyes were evasive, and they did not dare to look at him.

As mentioned just now, many of the officials in the palace have their own servants in their homes to run the salt business.

This indeed did not violate the national laws of the Xia Kingdom, at most it just took advantage of a loophole.

But before that, they had uprightly opposed the salt industry in the palace. If it was later found out that their family was involved, wouldn't the Embroidered Clothes Envoy seize the opportunity?

The Jinshen Palace was quiet for a moment, and then I heard a minister suddenly say:

"Actually, the current national situation is so difficult, it won't hurt if we make some adjustments!"

"That's right! The quality of private salt among the people varies. When I was a local official, I tried a case where a commoner died after eating poisonous private salt."

"The imperial court specializes in it. At least it can guarantee the quality of the salt, which is of great benefit to the people!"

"Yes, I second the proposal!"

Yu Zhaoling was sitting on the dragon chair. He just glanced at the expressions of the ministers in the palace, and he couldn't help but reveal a mocking sneer.

How many ministers say they are loyal and righteous, but only care about business in their hearts, yet they insist on acting like they are serving the world. It is really disgusting!

Yu Zhaoling sneered a few times, then shouted in a deep voice:

"Old Situ, I will leave this matter to you. I will ask Feng Chu to work with you. If there is any inconvenience, just ask him to handle it!"

Mei Chong and Feng Chu immediately came out of the queue, bowed and saluted, and replied:

"I, my ministers, obey your order!"——
To be continued...