Chapter 1 Crisis 20th Month, Jinyang, Longshan. After Zhang Wen and the other seven old ministers arrived in Longshan, they immediately fell in love with the beauty and tranquility here.

When Yang Qi, the Taishou of the Shangdang, proposed to move the Eldest Princess's Mansion to Jinyang City, none of the seven old ministers expressed their opinions.

The eldest princess was in awe of these seven elders, and did not dare to speak casually, let alone say that she insisted on staying, but the expression on her face revealed the true will in her heart.

The eldest princess pouted and glared at Yang Qi angrily, very unhappy. Zhang Wen and everyone exchanged glances, and then smiled happily: "If the eldest princess's mansion is moved to Jinyang City, a very large mansion needs to be built, but it will cost a lot of money, and everyone knows the current situation in Northern Xinjiang very well, so I think it's better to forget it." Longshan is good here, the eldest princess's mansion will stay here, don't move. Your Highness, look at ......"

"Okay, okay......" The eldest princess suddenly smiled and said happily,

"In the future, where the Hussar General's Mansion is, the Eldest Princess's Mansion will be there." Zhang Wen and the others looked at each other meaningfully, smiled and nodded.

Chen Ji arched his hand and said: "When Sheji is stable and Your Majesty returns to Luoyang, His Royal Highness will return to Beijing, so we should try to save a little bit and not be too extravagant." Along the way, we saw many people living in a hut with several families, living in a tent, with no clothes and food, very poor and poor. At this time, if we build a large number of buildings and temples in Jinyang, we will be unanimously criticized by the whole of northern Xinjiang, which is not good for the eldest princess and northern Xinjiang, and will affect the great cause of the revitalization of the community. His Royal Highness's suggestion was very much agreed by the ministers. "The Eldest Princess's Mansion not only remained in Longshan, but also remained with the Hussar General's Mansion in the future, which greatly surprised Li Hong and the officials of the Hussar General's Mansion.

But Li Hong and the officials in the palace had no intention of investigating this matter, and now they were troubled by the huge financial vacancies in northern Xinjiang.

From the Hussar General's Mansion to Li Hong and Cao Peng's subordinates, they were all racking their brains and thinking about countermeasures, and the heated discussion had lasted for more than ten days.

During this period of time, Zhang Wen, Cui Lie, Ma Riyan and others, accompanied by Zhao Qi and Xu Shao, paid homage to the Martyrs' Hall in Longshan, participated in two debates in the Jinyang University Hall of Hanging Urn Mountain, and chatted with the Jinyang Gate Valve and the officials of the various prefectures, and they also went to the Juzhu Fortress.

I deliberately took a look at the battlefield of the Battle of Yanmen Pass. Several old ministers' disciples and officials who served in northern Xinjiang also rushed to Jinyang to visit them.

More than ten days have passed, and they have not had a formal talk with Li Hong from beginning to end. In the past few days in Jinyang, Zhang Wen and other old ministers have a very good understanding of the situation in northern Xinjiang through contacts with all parties.

Zhao Qi once explained to them that there were many reasons why Li Hong did not attack King Qin of Chang'an, such as that Li Hong did not have the holy decree of the Son of Heaven.

The holy decree that Li Hong has received so far is to ask him to attack Yuan Shao, what can he do? Openly begging Dong like Yuan Shao?

You must know that there are nine generals and twelve lieutenant generals in northern Xinjiang, and there is no holy decree of the Son of Heaven, so you rely on Li Hong's mouth, saying that if you ask for Dong, you will ask for Dong, is this realistic?

The main reason for Li Hong's reluctance to send troops was because of the deep crisis in northern Xinjiang, and the root cause was the financial crisis in northern Xinjiang.

Northern Xinjiang can't even get together enough money to raise soldiers, where is there money to fight? Some people think that northern Xinjiang should abandon the desert and the border counties, so that all the troops can be concentrated to save Sheji.

Actually, it's a joke. There is no war in the desert and the border counties, and it is very quiet. Last year, we spent about 100 million yuan on relief in the desert.

As at this time, the grass in the desert is so fat that we hardly need to give them any more relief. In fact, the more than 2 billion yuan of relief money in northern Xinjiang was given to the millions of disaster victims stranded in various counties, and the displaced people and their husbands were eaten up, and had nothing to do with the desert and border counties.

If we abandon the desert, abandon the border counties, and requisition all the troops north of the Great Wall, the force will be strong, but the next question is, what money do we take to attack Chang'an?

Even if we have money, what about food? The 120,000 troops consumed more food during the war than the soldiers consumed when they stayed in the barracks and basked in the sun.

Coupled with the food consumption of hundreds of thousands of people who transported grain and grass to the army, how much grain will hundreds of thousands of people eat at the end of this day?

The 50,000 troops south of the Great Wall alone cannot defeat Chang'an, and Dong Zhuo has 120,000 troops, and our troops are not enough.

If you want to fight Chang'an, you must at least have the same number as Dong Zhuo's army, otherwise there will be no return, so checks and balances are necessary, and northern Xinjiang needs enough time to accumulate strength.

This check and balance strategy in Northern Xinjiang was not Li Hong's idea alone, but the result of the collegial discussion of the officials in Northern Xinjiang.

The eldest princess also participated in the collegiate meeting, and she also agreed to temporarily stabilize the situation in Gyeonggi with checks and balances. Zhao Qi said that if the Son of Heaven and the imperial court forced Li Hong to save Sheji at the cost of abandoning northern Xinjiang for their own selfish interests, the consequences would be unimaginable.

This is not just a matter of the chaos in Northern Xinjiang, but a matter of whether our Han Society can be saved because of the abandonment of Northern Xinjiang.

If Northern Xinjiang is also lost, and Sheji is also lost, then it will be all over. Why can't we just wait for the strength of northern Xinjiang to recover, and then strike another blow?

Why don't you do anything that is sure of you, and you have to take risks with social security? Zhang Wen, Cui Lie and others were moved, and they and Zhao Qi, Xu Shao, Yang Qi, and many officials in northern Xinjiang privately discussed the current situation and the crisis in northern Xinjiang many times, but because they had different starting points and different angles of looking at the problem, they also had very different ways and strategies for dealing with the problem.

However, Zhang Wen and others have not expressed any opinions, nor have they said the true purpose of the Son of Heaven and the imperial court to set up the eldest princess's mansion in northern Xinjiang and appoint seven important ministers to assist the eldest princess.

The Son of Heaven and the imperial court set up the eldest princess's mansion in northern Xinjiang, and violated the ancestral system by openly changing the law to give the eldest princess the power to deal with state affairs, which was the first time in this dynasty.

Although it is customary for the queen mother to be in charge of state affairs in this dynasty, the eldest princess also intervenes in the authority of the state, is this a good thing or a bad thing for the Han Sheji?

Zhao Qi asked Zhang Wen and the others about this matter, but they kept silent and didn't say a word. However, there is one thing they have a very resolute attitude, they think that Yuan Shao and the officials who participated in the fight against Dong Dajun are all Han rebellions, and it is okay if the northern Xinjiang does not kill them, but they should not shake hands with Yuan Shao and make peace, this is a blatant disobedience to the holy decree of the Son of Heaven, and a betrayal of the Son of Heaven and the imperial court.

Cui Lie said, as ministers of the court, you should stop it in time, can't you even tell the difference between black and white?

Yang Qi mocked Cui Lie and said, When I saw you coming, I knew that the imperial court was going to give up northern Xinjiang, because you have been actively advocating that the imperial court exchange the land of the frontier for the tranquility of Sheji.

In the past, you advocated giving up Western Xinjiang, but now do you want to advocate giving up Northern Xinjiang? But now we don't distinguish between right and wrong, and like you, we also ask Li Hong to give up the northern frontier.

Cui Lie sneered, if you hadn't driven the victims of Jizhou to Northern Xinjiang, how could Northern Xinjiang have today's crisis?

Northern Xinjiang is in danger, and as a result, we can only watch as the Son of Heaven is disgraced and overthrown, and we are powerless to save it.

Jizhou recovered quickly, but Jizhou's money and food were cheaper than Yuan Shao and Han Fu's gang of rebellions, don't you know?

Also, if you had listened to me and given up the western frontier, how could Sheji have today's disaster? Look at it, can we still control today's Western Xinjiang?

Can Chang'an still enjoy peace today? What does this mean? Explain that my past words are not wrong. It may be a mistake for us to abandon northern Xinjiang today.

But when we look at today's decision tomorrow, perhaps we will be glad for today's choice. Yang Qi sneered: "It's better not to say this in Northern Xinjiang. In the past, Fu Xie yelled in the court to kill you, but it was just a gesture. The hussar general's sword is in his hand today, and if he kills you in a fit of rage, we won't even have time to plead. On this day, Li Hong personally went to the eldest princess's mansion to pay tribute to the eldest princess, and asked the two governments to discuss together, and there were some tricky matters in northern Xinjiang that needed to be solved by the eldest princess.

In addition to the eldest princess's mansion and the hussar general's mansion, there are also hussar generals' mansions in Yunzhong, Jinyang, and Linfen.

Jinyang's Hutian Zhonglang General's Mansion, Hedong's Diannong Zhonglang General's Mansion, Hetao's Tuntian Captain's Mansion, Changshan's Diannong Governor's Mansion, Yantie's Governor's Mansion, Supervisor's Imperial History Mansion, Taiyuan, Hedong and other seven counties south of the Great Wall.

Except for Xian Yufu of the Mobei Metropolitan Protectorate and the nine county guards north of the Great Wall, almost all of the officials of Northern Xinjiang participated in the collegiate meeting, and more than 30 people filled the main account.

Bo Sunzi, the lord of the Hussar General's Mansion, first briefly described the military and political affairs in Northern Xinjiang this year, and then directly cut to the topic.

This year's financial expenditure in northern Xinjiang is about 1.5 billion yuan, and according to current estimates, there is a huge gap of 1 billion yuan in northern Xinjiang's financial endowment, what should we do?

Where does this billion money come from? Then, Cao Peng, Wang Rou, Jin Cao Peng, Tang Yun, and Xie Ming, the governor of Yantie, successively gave a detailed explanation of this year's tax revenue and various expenditures in northern Xinjiang, and explained to everyone the origin of the billion-dollar shortage.

Then the Hussar General's Mansion Governor Shi, Jinyang Xingyuan Director Li Wei took out several solutions agreed by the Hussar General's Mansion.

The easiest way is to embezzle the funds used in the tuntian. Some officials of the Hussar General's Mansion, Zhao Qi, Zhang Baiqi, Tang Fang, Zhao Jian, and Guo Yun, the Taishou of Yanmen County, who was in charge of Pingcheng Tuntian, immediately raised objections.

If you can't make up for the misappropriation of Tuntian's funds, what will happen to your future Tuntian? Especially next year, if northern Xinjiang will implement fallow, the relief population will increase sharply, where will this money come from?

Zhao Qi said that the use of funds in Tuntian is directly related to the survival of northern Xinjiang, and this money cannot be touched. Those that have already been misappropriated should also be made up one after another.

If we cannot divert the funds used in the tuntian, then we can only reduce the military and political expenditures in northern Xinjiang. However, the expenses of the northern provinces have been reduced, and the salaries of officials have been reduced beyond any lower.

If the hard-working officials are allowed to go hungry, then the trouble in the north will be great. The expenses of the Northern Frontier Army have been drastically reduced, and the salaries of the soldiers have also been halved and cannot be reduced any longer.

If it continues to be reduced, not only will the army not be able to fight, but even the garrison will become a problem. Neither of the above methods worked, and the imperial court was unable to subsidize it, so the only way left was to reduce the army.

The financial shortfall in northern Xinjiang mainly comes from the huge expenditure of 120,000 border troops, and the reduction of half of the army can reduce the expenditure of at least 400 million yuan.

At present there are 70,000 troops north of the Great Wall and 50,000 troops south of the Great Wall. The armies south of the Great Wall are now dealing with the unpredictable situation in various places, so the only way to do this is to reduce the troops north of the Great Wall.

However, if the border army north of the Great Wall is greatly reduced, the deterrent effect of our Han on the Hu tribes will become smaller and smaller, and considering the current turbulent situation in the Han Dynasty, the consequences of reducing the border army will be very serious.

The idea of reducing the army was almost unanimously opposed, and even the eldest princess, who was sitting on the upper seat and was dazed by the hearing, stood up excitedly, waved her little hand and said: "Can't reduce, can't reduce, without the army, how can you go to Chang'an to save Your Majesty?" Li Hong, Xu Rong, Li Wei, Zhu Mu and other officials in northern Xinjiang insisted on reduction.

Li Hong said that the northern Xinjiang should reduce at least 30,000 to 50,000 troops. After the army is reduced, we will arrange these troops to Hetao Tuntian, which can also play the role of border defense and deterrence.

Zhang Fan said that the financial gap in northern Xinjiang is one billion dollars, and even if the 400 million dollars are removed, there is still a financial gap of 600 million yuan in northern Xinjiang, can you solve these 600 million yuan?

Because the eldest princess and many officials in northern Xinjiang opposed the reduction of the army, the collegial discussion immediately reached a deadlock. Zhang Wen and several old ministers sat on the right side of the eldest princess, and remained silent, Yuan Peng suddenly approached Zhang Wen and asked quietly, "What do you mean by this, general?" Do you want to force us to agree to the agreement between him and Yuan Shao, so that Northern Xinjiang can continue to maintain this kind of checks and balances? Zhang Wen frowned and pondered: "Although we have privately hinted to the boss, Zi General (Xu Shao) and others that the imperial court opposes the contact between the general and Yuan Shao, we have not clearly expressed the same meaning to the general. Hasn't the general been in contact with Yuan Shao and Han Fu? Is it still necessary for him to ask the princess for permission now? ”

"In my opinion, the general's strategy of reducing troops must have deep meaning." Chen Ji interjected in a low voice on the side,

"Is it possible for the general to cut down on his troops? A billion-dollar financial shortfall, a staggering amount. Where? Zhang Wen's brows jumped suddenly, and he blurted out: "Jizhou." Jizhou pays at least 600 million dollars in taxes every year. Zhang Wen, Yuan Peng, and Chen Ji thought of something at the same time, and they all looked at Li Hong, who was sitting on the left side of the eldest princess.

Li Hong tilted his body and whispered something to the eldest princess with a smile, the eldest princess had a smile on her face, her delicate face was slightly red, and her expression was very happy.

The two seemed to be talking about something happy. Zhang Wen sighed secretly, hesitating in his heart. Could it be that Li Hong wants to get the holy decree of the Son of Heaven and occupy Jizhou?

But even if Li Hong did not have the holy decree of the Son of Heaven, with the rebellious behavior of Yuan Shao, Han Fu and others, he could have sent troops to occupy Jizhou in the name of counterinsurgency.

He turned his head to look at Yuan Peng, and suddenly realized a problem, and understood why Li Hong did not send troops to attack Jizhou.

Today's Yuan valve is actually split into three parts. The crusade led by Yuan Shao to depose Dong Zhuo was the side of today's son, the crusade led by Yuan Shu against Dong Zhuozun was the side of today's son, and the side of obedience to Dong Zhuo led by Yuan Peng to serve the Son of Heaven.

Today's gate valve family, as well as many Confucian scholars in the world, are actually divided into three parts like Yuan Valve.

There may be people in Yuan Shao's army who respect today, but with Yuan Shao's slash, everyone is tied to a rebellious rope, and everyone has to fight for their own survival from then on.

Jizhou Mu Han Fu and Jizhou's large and small gate lords and bureaucrats belong to the people who want to fight for their own survival.

There is armed force in northern Xinjiang, but there is no financial endowment, once the war cannot be fought for a long time, it will be a tragic thing, not only losing watermelons to improve food, but also losing sesame seeds to sustain survival.

Just like Dong Zhuo today, he obviously has more than 100,000 troops in his hands, but because his stomach is empty, he is forced to be trapped in the land of Gyeonggi and cannot move.

Thinking of Dong Zhuo, Zhang Wen suddenly remembered Yuan Kui and Yuan Shao

"Undertaking the edict", this moment, he suddenly realized. Zhang Wen felt suffocated in his heart, and suddenly he was dizzy and out of breath for a long time.

Does Li Hong really want to give up being today? Are we really going to repeat the mistakes of the past and be cut off like Hu Wuban?

In the evening, Li Hong invited Zhao Qi, Xu Shao, Yang Qi, Wang Han and the seven elders of the Eldest Princess's Mansion to his military tent for dinner, accompanied by Xu Rong, Li Wei and Zhu Mu.

Because it is in Li Hong's private military tent, it is equivalent to being in Li Hong's house, so all the bosses are very casual, and they naturally praise Li Hong's simplicity and humility when they talk and laugh.

The dishes on the table were simple, but a few of the elders were no longer surprised. In northern Xinjiang, except for the rich men and heroines, everyone is poor.

Li Hong has always treated all the elders with the courtesy of a disciple, with respect and very cautious words. Zhang Wen was probably influenced by Li Hong's attitude, and after hesitating for a long time, he couldn't help but ask,

"Zimin, do you have any thoughts about Jizhou?" As soon as Zhang Wen said this, there was a sudden silence in the big tent.

Li Hong, Xu Rong, Li Wei, and Zhu Mu smiled curtly. Li Hong arched his hand and said, "I'll just wait for the adult's words." ”

"You want to fight?" Zhang Wen asked involuntarily. Li Hong shook his head,

"Can't fight. If I wanted to fight, I would have done it a long time ago. If we attack Jizhou now, Yuan Shao and Han Fu will definitely let the Yellow Turban Army in Qingzhou and Montenegro meet, and let the Yellow Turban Army wreak havoc on Jizhou, so that even if we defeat the Yellow Turban Army, all we get is a ruin. ”

"Zimin, what do you mean......" Zhang Wen asked hesitantly,

"Are you sure what Yuan Shao did?" Li Hong looked at the old and serious faces, and said with a wry smile helplessly: "If there is no money and food this winter, Northern Xinjiang will not be able to support it." Between the Son of Heaven and Sheji, we can only choose one. The atmosphere inside the tent suddenly became tense.

The curtain of "General ......" suddenly opened, and Pound rushed in.

"General, General Jade urgently reported that Duan Xuan and Niu Fu suddenly led an army to attack Hedong." Jump to