Chapter 1 New Year (Two)

Liu Chong, the governor of Hedong, was Liu Chengyou's uncle. Although he had not asked the court for advice, he sent troops to Hebei without authorization, but after all, he was under the banner of defending the country. Therefore, even if several ministers were dissatisfied with Liu Chong, they could only temporarily pinch their noses and recognize this person's actions and could not give any punishment.

Fu Yanqing, Duke of Wei, never gave much face to the court when Liu Zhiyuan was alive. This year, the Liao Kingdom launched a large-scale invasion of the south, and it was a great blessing for the country to not lead the way for the Khitans. Who in the whole country dared to risk the risk of forcing this person to the Khitans and accused him of sending troops without authorization?

Of course, the little emperor Liu Chengyou was clear about these facts. However, today he suddenly became furious, not to listen to a few ministers who were guarding themselves to explain the reasons for the two armies to act without permission. So, he smiled coldly and asked loudly: "Did you tell me before that our monarchs and ministers will perform their duties? I have given all the power in the world to you, why don't you see me showing you some colors to those who hold troops? Could it be that they still have to wait for them to openly rebel, and then do you do something? This is too lazy!"

After the words came, Yang Bin and Su Fengji were immediately ashamed of shame, blushed and bowed to apologize.

"Your Majesty, I am ashamed!"

"I have to bear the heavy trust of the previous emperor, please punish him!"

Privy Councilor Shi Hongzhao was so angry that his eyes were filled with fire. He clasped his hands into fists. He endured it in his sleeves. Finally, he bowed down and said in a muffled voice: "Your Majesty, since the founding of the Han Dynasty, we have been fighting continuously, the treasury is empty and the soldiers are exhausted. If it were not, if it was absolutely necessary, we shouldn't have done any wars!"

"What a treasury is empty!" Liu Chengyou immediately caught the loophole in Shi Hongzhao's words and insisted on it. "Then I will ask you, where did the salt and iron taxes and spring and autumn taxes go in the past two years? Although I have not practiced frugality since I ascended the throne, I have never made a big project or hunting parade. Why can't the treasury still come up with the money to attack the rebels?"

"This..." Shi Hongzhao couldn't answer, and repeatedly signaled to the Sansi envoy Wang Zhang with his eyes, asking him to come forward to rescue the biggest partner. Unexpectedly, the Sansi envoy Wang Zhang seemed to fall asleep and had no response to his hint. It was not until Yang Bing secretly pinched his thigh that he groaned and said slowly: "Your Majesty, I am old and stupid. I have been eating in the corpse for a while. If Your Majesty asks about finance and taxation, you might as well invite Mr. Guo, the deputy envoy of the Sansi envoy, to the palace!"

"No need, I will summon him alone in the future! Just know what you should do!" Liu Chengyou would not burn the fire onto the head of "his own people", waved his hand, and decisively rejected it. "Anyway, according to you, the treasury has no money to fight, and the soldiers have no strength to fight! Is it right or wrong?"

"I am ashamed!" The four ministers of the life-respecting ministers blushed again, and no one had the strength to continue explaining.

When Liu Zhiyuan, the first emperor of the Great Han Dynasty, was in the beginning of the rebellion to expel the Khitans, in order to reduce the sacrifice of his soldiers, he once issued a letter to the world and asked for a large sum of money to buy the Khitans. After capturing Bianliang, in order to stabilize the situation as soon as possible and avoid other princes taking advantage of the troubled waters, he used the method of high-ranking officials and generous salaries to recruit a large number of grass-roots heroes to resist the Liao rebel army. As a result, the Khitans were indeed driven away, and the situation restored superficial stability as quickly as possible, but Hedong's savings over the years were also spent cleanly on him.

If Liu Zhiyuan was not dead, he would suppress all the princes with his great reputation and create five years of rest and rest time for the Han Dynasty, perhaps the treasury would be filled again. However, the sky was cloudy and the house was leaking. Before Liu Zhiyuan could sit on the throne, he would go west and then turn against Li Shouzhen, Zhao Siwan, and Wang Jingchong. As the war broke out, the expenses seemed to flow. Even if Yang Bin, Wang Zhang and others had the ability, they could only ensure that the court could issue the salaries of all officials on time while supporting the soldiers on the front line. It would be hard to get to the sky if they wanted to save more money and grain for the future!

"I don't want to blame you, I don't want to blame anyone today! Alas--" Seeing that the four ministers of Guru were finally forced to give in by themselves, Liu Chengyou felt very proud. On the surface, he made a generous look, sighed and shook his head and added: "You are all ministers of Guru left to me by the previous emperor, and they are all pillars of the country. I don't want to blame you. I, I am just sad, sad that my Han Kingdom is so weak. It's okay to be bullied by the Khitans, but I was actually beaten by Southern Tang and Nan Chu! And I, I want to avenge my shame, but I have to worry that the treasury is not enough to make ends meet, and I have to worry that the princes take the opportunity to make trouble. I, the emperor, what else can I do to do? What kind of face does I have to meet my father?"

"I, I am guilty of death and death for the entrusted by the previous emperor!" Liu Chengyou mentioned the founding emperor Liu Zhiyuan and four ministers, and they were even more embarrassed to defend themselves. He bowed down again, his face blushed as a date.

"Forget it, I said I don't want to pursue anyone!" Liu Chengyou smiled and waved his hand magnanimously. "You said you don't want me to fight in person, so I will just listen to you. But how to resist the enemy, how to dispatch troops, and how to make the blood debts of the Southern Tang and Nan Chu pay for their blood. You must come up with a strategy as soon as possible, and then put it into practice as soon as possible. How many dear friends, may you agree to this request?"

"This..." Shi Hongzhao, Yang Bin, Su Fengji, and Wang Zhang were asked in disgrace. After a while, he responded with difficulty, "Since Your Majesty intends to try his best, I will follow the order!"

"Okay, let's make a decision. In the future, the king and his ministers work together to create a peaceful and prosperous era!" Liu Chengyou was finally satisfied and laughed and knocked on the bricks and nailed their feet.

It was not until today that he finally tasted a little bit of the taste of the Emperor. How could he not be overjoyed? As for the Nan Tang and Nan Chu who were about to cross the river, it was just the itch of scabies! Liu Chengyou believed that he could solve it by stretching his fingers, and he didn't have to waste too much effort.

When he had a happy thing, he had to share it with people close to him. Therefore, in the following time, Liu Chengyou performed very happily. He kept checking all the chapters of the four ministers of life. Then, he waved his sleeves and announced that today's discussion was over. He asked the eunuch in his personal manner to send the four ministers of life out of the palace for him.

"Your Majesty is resting soon, I will leave!" Su Fengji bowed and bowed, then quickly walked towards the door of the Imperial Study Room. When he raised his legs, he tripped by the threshold and almost fell down.

"Old me, please leave!" "I will give up!" "I will give up!" Shi Hongzhao, Yang Bin, and Wang Zhang also bowed one after another, and then followed Su Fengji with great worries.

The four people originally entered the palace together, but when they left, they were divided into two groups. Su Fengji didn't even say hello, so he jumped on his horse and left first. The remaining Shi Hongzhao, Yang Bin and Wang Zhang pulled the reins of the mount and walked slowly along the Tianjie in front of the palace.

It was not far from sunset, and there were many pedestrians on the street. When they saw the ceremonial guards of the Privy Councilor and the Secretariat, they all hid carefully on the side of the road, then stood on tiptoe, and looked full of respect.

These days, there are a few people in Bianliang who are surrounded by guards and protected by horses. The three people who are called by the guards are the pillars of the entire Han Dynasty. With Shi Shumi, there is no worries about military affairs in Bianliang City. With Yang Zhongshu and Wang Jianxiang, the government will not easily impose levies and taxes. In the troubled times, what is the most urgent thing for the people? Isn’t it because they can have a safe night and pay less taxes? As for whether the emperor can speak in the court, what does it have to do with the people?

Shi Hongzhao, Yang Bing, and Wang Zhang, but they had no intention of enjoying the admiration of the people. They all became spirits. How could they still not discover the real plan of the little emperor Liu Chengyou? However, after repeated thinking, they had to admit painfully that they could not come up with any way to deal with it. At most, at most they were just passively procrastinating!

When the little emperor grew up, he began to show extremely strong power. And the few of them had to make a choice between "returning power to the king" and "continue to take care of their lives" in the shortest time.

If the young emperor had half of his father's ability, even if he was greedy for power and even if he liked to act arbitrarily, at least he could ensure that the country that everyone sacrificed his life to seize would not fall into the hands of others. However, the facts were so cruel that it made people chill all over. As he grew older, the little emperor Liu Chengyou showed increasingly obvious signs of a foolish monarch. If he had monopolized power, not only would the country change, but the few former ministers who were in charge of life would probably not be able to have a good end.

"No, it's absolutely not possible if this continues!" Thinking of the fear, Shi Hongzhao suddenly screamed. He didn't care about how many ears and eyes there were around him. "Sir Guo must be recalled, and everyone will discuss a solution together. Only he has many ideas, and only he can touch His Majesty's temper best!"

"What should I do if I recall him, what should I do if I call him back? I will give it to the Khitans, just like the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun? Or let Fu Yanqing be allowed to cede land and become king?" Yang Bin turned his head, glared at him fiercely, and retorted in a low voice. "At present, we should not be in a hurry to recall Guo Shumi, and we should not be distracted. Instead, the remaining four ministers of our life-threatening court must work together and not give everyone a chance to defeat each other!"

"How is that possible!" Shi Hongzhao shook his head, smiled bitterly, and looked disdainful, "You haven't seen Mr. Su running so fast, and you want to cut off your mat and break off your diplomacy with us. There are also Wang Jixiang, Wang Zhang, Wang Nanle, I'm talking about you. Why did you become a mute today, without saying a word from beginning to end?"
Chapter completed!