On the twelfth day of the fifth day of the ninth year of Jingkang in the Song Dynasty, the imperial city of Jinling was the Chongzheng Hall.

A court debate about the survival of the Southern Song Dynasty is underway.

Today is the fourth day after Zhao Mingcheng's death. After learning that the pillars of his country were gone, Zhao Huan, who was so sad that he almost cried in his bedroom, went to the city outside Nanjing to cry for sacrifice. Zhao Mingcheng's place of spiritual stopping, and announced that he would stop working for three days to express his condolences.

Three days passed today, and Zhao Huan did not hold a formal morning court. He just called a group of important officials and the older princes, plus his wife Zhu Lian and son Zhao Chen to Chongzheng Hall to discuss military and national affairs.

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"You all read Zhao Wenzheng's confession? He said that our population is at least 50% more than that of the Northern Dynasties, our financial resources are at least twice that of the Northern Dynasties, and copper is at least three times that of the Northern Dynasties, and the output of gunpowder is no less than that of the Northern Dynasties. If we can prepare for war, we can at least block the Northern Dynasties' southern expeditions, and even wipe out the Central Plains after winning, what do you think?"

The "Zhao Wenzheng" he mentioned was Zhao Mingcheng. After Zhao Mingcheng's death, he was given a posthumous title of Grand Tutor, Duke Yue, and posthumously named Wenzheng. Later generations would have to call him "Duke Zhao Wenzheng".

"The Relics of Duke Zhao Wenzheng" is also a famous work that has been remembered forever. It is said that it was written by Zhao Mingcheng and written by He Su. However, in fact, the main content of "The Relics of Duke Zhao Wenzheng" was discussed by the court officials who visited Zhao Mingcheng together in Zhao Mingcheng's Zhongshan Villa.

The contents are roughly divided into three aspects.

One is family affairs, which means boasting about how honest the official is, how mediocre the family property is, etc., and then recommending a few sons and nephews to be officials. This is the convention when important officials of the Song Dynasty submitted their letters.

The second is about academic research. Zhao Mingcheng and his wife Li Qingzhao have studied "hot pot", gunpowder, metal and stone for many years, and have a lot of experience. Zhao Mingcheng did not want these knowledge to be lost after his death, so he begged Zhao Huan to sponsor Li Qingzhao to open a Zhongshan Technique Academy, which specializes in the practical studies of "hot pot", gunpowder, casting, and iron smelting.

Third, military and national affairs. Zhao Mingcheng analyzed the comprehensive national strength of the north and the south in the legacy table, and came to the conclusion that the south and the north are strong. Compared with family affairs and academic content, military and national affairs are the main content of the "Zhao Wenzheng Gong's legacy table".

According to the "Legend Table", the national strength of the Southern Song Dynasty is actually far superior to that of the Northern Song Dynasty! Therefore, as long as the court makes up its mind, the monarch and ministers are united, and transform the powerful national strength of the Southern Song Dynasty into military strength, it is no problem to defeat the Northern Song Dynasty.

"Emperor brother, I think that what Zhao Wen said in his posthumous statement has some truths, but in fact it cannot be done." The first person to come forward to pour cold water and sing the opposite tune was King Jing Zhao Qi.

He said: "The reason why the Southeast literati opposed General Tiance was because General Tiance seized tens of millions of acres of land in the north in order to raise the household of 600,000 soldiers.

But why did General Tiance seize the land of the literati and officials to support the government soldiers? It is because he did not directly distribute the land to the government soldiers, and relying on the little land tax, he could not afford to support the 600,000 army. The land in the north was barren, and the medium-sized land tax could be nominally collected. However, since the family of the literati and officials often rely on their power to lose less or lose less official rent, the actual land tax that the imperial court could actually obtain was at least 60 to 70% off. The income tax of tens of millions of acres of land was only more than 10,000, and it was extremely difficult to raise 200,000 real soldiers.

At the same time, the capital of industrial and commercial gathering in the Central Plains was reduced to a deserted place because the Jin thieves invaded and the soldiers and the people fled, leaving only Jingzhao. Luoyang was a little popular, but it could not pay much commercial tax. In this case, General Tiance could only obtain 600,000 brave and brave men. With 600,000 brave men, General Tiance could expel the Jin thieves and restore Yanyun's homeland."

As he spoke, Zhao Qi changed into a painful expression and sighed, "Although our dynasty's wealth is far better than that of the Northern Dynasties, we now only raise more than 200,000 soldiers from both the water and the land. If we want to expand our army to 600,000 or 700,000, we need to add 300,000 to 400,000 troops. And our dynasty's military service costs are more expensive than that of the Northern Dynasties. How much does 400,000 elite soldiers cost? Just attracting the profits of stinging objects may have to spend 20 to 30 million? If we include the expenses of armor, weapons, gunpowder, mules, horses, barracks, etc., tens of millions will be spent. In the future, the annual expenses of military pay, food, fodder, rewards, clothing, etc. will increase by at least 30 million.

This is still the daily expenses when there is no war between the north and the south. If the war really starts, the expenses will be like flowing water! Does the government have that much money?"

Of course there is one thing about money! The pile sealing warehouse under Zhu Lian was saved by no less than 10 million. However, the fiscal surplus of the Southern Song Dynasty court was far from enough to support the annual military expenditure growth of 30 million!

Before Zhao Huan's answer was met, King Qi Zhao Mo immediately answered the question: "How could we have so much money? If we really can support six or seven hundred thousand elite troops, why not attack the Central Plains in the north, recover Jingdong and Hebei lost territory?"

Where can I dare? The ministers and the sects present couldn't help but think that Zhao Huan had a late cowardly disease, not to mention six or seven hundred thousand soldiers, but not one million!

King Xu Zhao Di said: "Now the imperial court's annual income is only 60 to 70 million yuan, which seems to be a lot, but it is necessary to raise so many officials, maintain the soldiers from all over the country, and so many large and small workers. From time to time, half of the income will be spent. Only more than 30 million yuan can be used to raise soldiers. At present, the Land and Navy still have a surplus, but if you want to expand the army for 400,000, you must have to impose excessive taxes!"

The Southern Song Dynasty had a lot of taxes, but the cost of taxes was actually not low. In order to receive so many taxes, the Southern Song Dynasty court had to support many officials and also to support wing soldiers. The 150,000 new army of the Southern Song Dynasty court generally did not care about local security, so the Southern Song Dynasty court still supported more than 100,000 soldiers to help suppress and collect taxes. Otherwise, the South Song Dynasty's unscrupulous merchants and poor and lower-middle peasants would not be willing to pay taxes honestly.

Although the scholar-official and landlords of the Southern Song Dynasty could help "educate", they had no force. If they really caused civil rebellion, they would not be able to deal with it and would have to ask for troops from the prefectures and counties.

In contrast, the Yingtian and the various routes ruled by Zhao Kai did not need so many officials and wing troops. The strong farmers in the Yingtian and the various routes became the soldiers of the palace, while the farmers who were not strong enough were controlled by the soldiers of the palace. Even if there was a thief, they were not enough to block the soldiers in the township, let alone those merchants who had no force.

Therefore, once Zhao Kai's camp and fields are reorganized, there is no need to maintain a huge wing army, and only a small number of officials can maintain their rule.

Of course, the Northern Song Dynasty still required a large number of officials and soldiers to transfer the route, and the management cost was relatively high like that in the Southern Song Dynasty.

King Zhao of Yi shook his head and said, "Even if he levies a lot of money, he may not be able to collect so much money. When the court receives a penny, the people below have to pay at least two or three cents. Moreover, the rich and gentry have the laws of evading taxes, but the poor people often have to pay double taxes. If they really want to increase their income by tens of millions, I am afraid that the poor people will rise up and rise up according to my opinion. If they really want to raise 600,000 or 700,000 soldiers, we have to implement the same system of government troops as the Northern Dynasties and use land to support soldiers!"

The Southern Song Dynasty now relies on everything. Although the literati and officials were more responsible after taking full control of their affairs, it does not mean that they are willing to bear more taxes and are not responsible or unwilling to pay taxes. This matter is the same everywhere!

The scholars and officials did not pay taxes. Where did the taxes for tens of millions a year in the Southern Song Dynasty come from? Of course, it was the poor and lower-middle peasants who paid it! Therefore, the life of poor and lower-middle peasants in the Southern Song Dynasty was very hard. If the Southern Song Dynasty court wanted to collect twice the tax, it would be hard to say whether the people below would rebel.

Because most of the scholars and officials in the Southern Song Dynasty actually had no force!

Therefore, if the Southern Song Dynasty wanted to establish an army with a large number of people, the easiest way was to establish a military system.

He went out with Wang Zhaofeng and said, "Brother, we can't build the government military system like the third brother. Even the third brother has no intention of bringing the government military system to the southeast! If we do this, the gentry and wealthy families in the southeast will have to surrender to the third brother!"

Yes, the literati and officials of the Southern Song Dynasty opposed Zhao Kai because they opposed the government military system. If Zhao Huan also wanted to establish the government military system, why didn’t they surrender to Zhao Kai? After all, Zhao Kai did not intend to promote the government military system to the south!

Zhao Huan's brows became tighter and tighter. Although his younger brothers were not good brothers, what he said was also correct!

The few soldiers in the Southern Song Dynasty could not defeat Zhao Kai, so if they wanted to expand their army, they would have to impose excessive taxes. Once the imposition was imposed, the local scholars and officials in the Southern Song Dynasty could not handle it at all. When Zhao Kai did not come, the people rebel first. Then the people in the southeast would welcome Zhao Kai's king's army together!

If you don’t want to impose excessive taxes and expand your army, then you will only have the system of government troops!

But if the government system is established, it is better to surrender to Zhao Kai for the Southeast scholars and officials.

In other words, if you engage in excessive taxes, poor and lower-middle peasants will join Zhao Kai! If you develop a military system in the government, landlords and gentry will join Zhao Kai! If you don’t do anything, Zhao Kai’s army will be finished immediately when he arrives!

"Official family," Zhu Lian, who was sitting next to Zhao Kai, finally spoke at this time, "A step back, the sea and the sky, all the third uncle wants is money and status. You can still be the lord of a country behind closed doors, the ministers in the court can continue to be officials, and the kings can also divide the country. Wouldn't everyone be happy?"

Why are everyone happy? Zhao Huan thought: I am not happy at all!

He looked at the ministers and sect kings below. The princes were all flirting with each other, and they were not good kings at first glance. The ministers were all stunned and didn't look like good ministers.

Zhao Huan thought to himself: Could it be that Zhao Mingcheng, a domineering civil servant who is suspected to be Zhao Kuangyin, will no one be able to protect my country again?
Chapter completed!