Every time the emperor has such an order, that is, something big is about to happen, Lin Gonggong did not hesitate, took out a few documents from the cabinet, and took the two inquiries in front of Bai Gonggong, handed them to Maizi and walked out of the courtyard, and Maizi followed behind with the documents.

The emperor recently changed his office and moved to the Yangxin Palace, when Gonggong Lin walked into the Yangxin Palace, in addition to the emperor, there was also the entire Shangshutai in the Yangxin Palace, and even Pan Ji, who rarely went to Shangshutai, was there.

After Gonggong Lin saluted the emperor, he was about to step aside, but the emperor stopped him and asked him to introduce the situation in Yongzhou, Liangzhou.

"Back to Your Majesty, the situation in Liangzhou is a little unclear, the Xianbei people in the north have no movement, the main force of the Xianbei people has gone to the central Xianbei, and the rest are very quiet, even the horse thieves are less. But the movements of the Tubo people are frequent, Xiaoguan Luoyan Pass, Huangsha Pass, the strength of the Tubo people has increased, the specific number, the internal guard has not found out, and since General Fang Da led the middle base battalion to Yongzhou, Liangzhou's troops are very weak, at present, the imperial court has about 25,000 or 6,000 troops in Liangzhou, except for the 8,000 people in Guzang, the other passes are not many. ”

Gonggong Lin spoke in a calm tone, picked up the document from the wheat and sent it to the bookcase in front of the emperor, the emperor did not read it, but listened attentively.

"Compared with Liangzhou, Yongzhou is very calm, the imperial court quickly pacified the Baishan Xiongnu, the Huns formed a deterrent, the emperor monk Shangtai has a report from the king of Taiyuan, the old slave will not repeat, wasting the time of the emperor and the adults, however, according to the news obtained by the internal guard, the Xianbei people are still unstable, and the two sides may have to directly clash, but the internal guard did not get more accurate information. ”

After Lin Gonggong finished speaking, he took a step back, his briefing was very short, and it could even be said to be very thin, the reason was that the internal guards did not know much about the situation outside the Saiwai, and their intelligence came from the caravan walking the desert in Tibet.

After hearing this, the emperor looked up at the ministers, Pan Lian bowed and said: "Your Majesty, it seems that there is nothing wrong with Yongzhou, as for Liangzhou, the minister thinks that the Tubo people are just a threat, and he is not false to increase his troops, but we also have a lot of troops in Liangzhou, since Liangbei is fine, the troops in this area can be transferred to Huangsha Pass." ”

"General Qiu, do you still insist on transferring troops back to Liangzhou?" The emperor looked up at Qiu Yun, Qiu Yun nodded: "The minister has already said just now, the emperor, Tubo is strong, this time, we judge that he is attacking the west in the east, and the purpose is the Western Regions, but if the Tubo invades the border this time, then after they succeed in the Western Regions, the next target will inevitably be transferred to our Great Jin, and it will also have a significant impact on the Qiang and Xianbei people, the emperor, the minister once again suggested that the troops be withdrawn." ”

The minister seconded. Pan Ji immediately followed.

The emperor was silent for a while, then looked up at Zhang Meng and an old man with a white beard, this old man had a simple appearance, there were quite a lot of wrinkles on his face, he was wearing simple civilian clothes, his hair was simply in a bun, and he was wrapped in the same strip of cloth.

Dare to see the driver in such a costume, has proved that the old man is extraordinary, at this moment to see the emperor looking at him, the old man said in a deep voice: "The minister thinks that in Liangzhou to take a defensive position, and Yongbei and the state, when the offensive is taken, the army of the king of Taiyuan should continue to attack, go out to Luoshuiyuan, and deter the Xianbei tribes." ”

The old man's tone was calm, his voice was loud, and he was full of neutrality. The emperor didn't speak, his eyes fell on Zhang Meng, Zhang Meng thought for a little and then said: "General Cao's words are reasonable, Liangzhou doesn't need to worry too much, even if the troops are insufficient, you can also recruit the Qiang and Xianbei people to participate in the war, well, didn't the emperor give Duanmu Zheng an order last time, and told him that the grass people believe that General Duanmu should have started to implement it." ”

The emperor's expression was a little soothing, and Zhang Meng continued: "However, the grass people still suggest that they withdraw from the army, the desert dispute is not a small trouble, the real worry of the court is in the emptiness of the treasury, the emperor, I Dajin can't afford to fight this war now, and it is already a fluke to suppress the Baishan Xiongnu, if you continue to march into the army, the grass people are worried that the grain and grass will not continue." ”

"What about you? The emperor looked at Gan Tang Zuochen and Peng Zhu.

The minister thought that what Mr. Zhang said was very true, even if he still had to fight, the treasury was already difficult to support, and if Tubo invaded the border again, the imperial court would send Liangzhou without military pay and food. "Gan Tang is the prime minister, in charge of the daily affairs of the imperial court, and knows the family background of the Great Jin Dynasty well.

"Otherwise," Peng Zhu took a step forward in front of Zuo Chen, and said loudly: "This year's wind and rain are smooth, although there are still several counties affected, but it is much less than last year, Jizhou, Jingzhou, and Yangzhou have all reported that this year's grain harvest, as long as the autumn grain is in storage, the army will not lack military pay and grain at all." ”

"Lord Peng, although the autumn grain is in storage, we must first make up for the deficit owed by the imperial court," Gan Tang explained: "There are hundreds of thousands of victims affected by the disaster, and the imperial court wants to provide relief to them, Qingzhou, Yanzhou, and Jizhou have all reported, asking for the repair of the river and the prevention of floods, and this silver must be given, as well as the income of officials in Beijing, which has not been issued for half a year." ”

The emperor frowned deeply, the turmoil outside the fortress, Taiyuan Wang Yanqin led the troops out of the fortress, the king of Qin sat in Yongbei, echoed from afar, and quickly pacified the Baishan Xiongnu, but the desert chaos caused by the Xiongnu did not stop, the Xianbei people went into battle shirtless, the western Xianbei was dominated by the Tuoba tribe, the central Xianbei was dominated by the Dugu tribe, and each introduced foreign aid, the Tuoba tribe cited the Tieying tribe of Xianbei in the north, and the Dugu tribe asked for help from the Yuwen tribe of Xianbei in the east.

Eastern Xianbei is different from other Xianbei, Eastern Xianbei is mainly three major tribes, the first is the Murong tribe, the second is the Yuwen tribe, the third is the Duan tribe, these three tribes according to the region, the Yuwen tribe is west, adjacent to the central Xianbei, the Murong tribe is in the middle, there is part of the territory and the central Xianbei and the northern Xianbei connection, the Duan tribe is alone in the east.

Compared with the western Xianbei and the central Xianbei, the best relationship between the eastern Xianbei and the Great Jin is the Duan tribe, in the war to pacify the Xianbei, the Duan tribe was the first Xianbei tribe to make peace with the Great Jin and follow the Xianbei tribe in the later stage of the war, which also made him a rebel in the eyes of the Xianbei people.

Among the four Xianbei, the eastern Xianbei is the most stable, and the relationship with the Great Jin is the best, but the Great Jin also maintained a strong force in Youzhou, and was garrisoned by the fierce general Duan Chang for a long time.

This move did not feel much when the border was calm before, but now you can see the importance of it.

The emperor faintly regretted in his heart, if Fang Hui was here, there would be no such turmoil in the desert, and these Hu people outside the fortress were all killed by him.

After Taiyuan Wang Yanqin led his troops to pacify the Xiongnu in Baishan, while reporting the victory, he further proposed to convene the Xianbei tribes in Luoshuiyuan to achieve the purpose of deterring the Hu people in the grassland and stabilizing the desert.

This request caused great disagreement in the imperial court, Qiuyun Gantang believed that the purpose of the imperial court to send troops to the desert had been achieved, the desert was about to snow, and the troops should be withdrawn as soon as possible and should not go deep into the desert, while the faction represented by Shang Shuling Pan Lian believed that they should agree to the proposal of the king of Taiyuan and continue the attack.

The two sides were in dispute, and their respective reasons were very good, Qiuyun even brought out the danger of Liangzhou, after the middle base battalion was transferred to Yongbei, Liangzhou's troops were empty, although some Hu people were recruited, but the troops were still very thin.

The emperor was well aware of the importance of this matter, so he summoned Cao Huang, the former chariot general who had been kept at home, to the palace to ask for his opinion.

But even so, the two sides remain divided.

The opinions of Shangshutai were divided, and the ministers of the DPRK and China were also divided, and the ministers were divided one after another, some in favor of continuing the offensive, and some in opposition.

According to the emperor's intentions, since the Baishan Xiongnu have been stabilized, then it is time to take advantage of the victory to attack, force the Xianbei people to quit their troops, and stabilize the desert.

But at this time, the king of Qin sent one after another recitals, resolutely demanding the withdrawal of troops, and for this reason, he sent a letter of tens of thousands of words, discussing the reasons for the need to withdraw troops from several aspects.

The King of Qin commanded the troops on the front line, and his attitude was very important, and the imperial court could not ignore it.

"When will the autumn grain be put into storage?" the emperor asked, Gan Tang's heart sank, and he sighed softly: "Your Majesty, it will take three months for the autumn grain to be stored at the earliest, and after three months, the desert has already snowed. ”

The emperor was silent again, and Peng Zhu asked: "Now it is certain that this year is a bumper harvest, since this is the case, then you can send the grain near the imperial capital to the army first, and the vacant ones can be replenished by the autumn grain." ”

Gan Tang shook his head slightly, and still said calmly: "Lord Peng, this time to send troops to the desert, it is the imperial court in the case of insufficient preparation, hurriedly dispatched troops, can pacify the Baishan Xiongnu, it is a great luck, there is this victory, the government and the opposition have also explained, the emperor, now there are many displaced people in the world, land annexation is becoming more and more serious, these problems are threatening the stability of the Great Jin, the emperor, the desert outside the Saiwai is not an urgent task, the number of displaced people is increasing, it is the most important." ”

As soon as these words came out, the palace suddenly quieted down, most of the areas this year were smooth, but the number of displaced people did not decrease at all, and there was even a tendency to increase, the emperor was very puzzled, or Zhang Meng explained to him.

There is no tax for the royal family, and the taxes of the imperial court have to be added to the commoners, and the commoners have no choice but to sell the land to the scholars, and they either become tenant farmers of the scholars, but although the tenants do not have land tax, they still have a poll tax, and there is more rent paid to the owner.

"The displaced people are not afraid," Cao Huang said lightly: "Lord Gan is alarmist, and for the displaced people, the local officials should be instructed to arrest and send them to their hometown." ”

"How to send them out?" Peng Zhu objected: "How much silver does it take to send a displaced person? Does General Cao know? Now there are more than 100,000 displaced people in the vicinity of the imperial capital, and there are hundreds of thousands of displaced people in Qingzhou and Yanzhou! How much silver is needed to send all these displaced people back to their original hometowns? Second, after the displaced people return to their original hometowns, they have no land and no houses, so how can they survive? They can only become displaced people again!"

Cao Huang glanced at him lightly, and said calmly: "Pedanc, homeless, Taizu has already set the rules, there is no official road guide, you must not leave your hometown at will, there is no road guide, the light one, the rod is thirty, and the heavy one is assigned to the border plug, for these Diao people, when the border plug is issued, they are allowed to open up wasteland or graze in the border area, which can enrich the population of the border plug, and come to the border to reclaim the land, and also provide food nearby, so as to avoid the pain of long-distance transportation." ”

Peng Zhu shook his head, and was about to refute, but Qiu Yun interjected: "Lord Cao's words have a certain truth, as far as I know, whether it is Liangzhou or Bingzhou, there are a lot of wasteland, but these lands are barren, and the yield is three to forty percent lower than that of the mainland, and most of the good land is occupied by the local gate lord clan, so if you want to settle the displaced people on the border, you must provide land, cattle, and seed farming tools, etc., and the cost is also not small." ”

Cao Huang frowned when he heard this, and did not speak again, Pan Lian sighed at this time, and did not speak again, the emperor was really difficult to decide, on the one hand, he wanted to continue the attack, but the treasury of the imperial court was empty, the weather outside the fortress was cold, and I am afraid that it would snow in about a month, and most of the ministers of the DPRK and China were opposed, which made him very hesitant.

"Let's go back first, and let me think again. ”

The ministers withdrew, and the emperor stopped Zhang Meng, as well as Mu Gonggong Lin Gonggong.