Dream of the Red Chamber: Start by gaining Zhao Yun's martial prowess, and be ennobled in a sin

After Fang Congzhe finished speaking, the hall was silent for a while.

Although he didn't say it outright, his meaning was quite clear: the wars against foreign powers could be put on hold.

Emperor Jingsheng had been emperor for ten years, and his political acumen was already quite high.

From Chen Tingjing's advice just now and Fang Congzhe's advice now, he clearly sensed the tacit understanding among the court officials regarding the ceasefire and their intention to suppress Jia Jing.

Perhaps it was Jia Jing's series of victories on the front lines, perhaps it was Jia Jing's outstanding military achievements, or perhaps it was my strong desire to reinstate Jia Jing.

This put pressure on the civil service and even created a concern about the military being stronger than the civil service.

Emperor Jingsheng sighed inwardly. Even he could not completely ignore the consensus reached by the civil officials.

Although he can suppress various voices and opinions, this is not the way to govern, and it will only backfire.

Perhaps because of the dream of the wise minister, his trust in Zijie was too obvious, which led to this collective backlash.

Emperor Jingsheng did not speak immediately. He glanced at the officials in the hall and then at the sunlight outside the window.

The sunlight was so bright and dazzling, shining on the window paper that it made him squint slightly.

The icicles at the corner of the hall were still burning, and wisps of smoke rose up, smelling cool but unable to relieve the stuffiness inside.

Emperor Jingsheng's gaze deepened. He composed himself, his face remaining silent and his expression calm and unwavering. He spoke solemnly:

"First, allocate 300,000 taels of silver from my private treasury to the Beijing Garrison. The reorganization of the Beijing Garrison is crucial to the implementation of the new policies and the safety of the nation, and cannot be neglected."

"Then urge the grain tax in Jiangnan this year, and have Minister Gong investigate the deficits in Jiangnan over the years. Make sure that all the deficits that need to be made up are made up, not a single tael of silver less."

The annual taxes collected by the Han Dynasty from the Jiangnan region were mainly land taxes, with rice and wheat collected in kind and in silver during the summer and autumn seasons, supplemented by salt taxes, commercial taxes, etc.

As a major financial center of the Han Dynasty, Jiangnan bore nearly half of the Han Dynasty's tax revenue. In the early years of the Jingsheng era, the annual tax revenue of Suzhou alone exceeded 30 taels of silver.

The land tax was divided into summer tax and autumn grain tax, mainly consisting of rice and wheat, and could be exchanged for silver.

Summer tax is levied starting in June each year, mainly in the form of wheat and paper money. In recent years, it has been mostly converted into silver. For example, Suzhou Prefecture collects about 10 shi of wheat as summer tax annually.

The autumn grain harvest is collected starting in October each year, and rice is the main component.

According to Jing Sheng's "Collected Statutes of the Great Han Dynasty", the four prefectures of Suzhou, Songjiang, Changzhou, and Zhenjiang collected more than 300 million shi of autumn grain annually, accounting for nearly 20% of the total amount collected by the imperial court.

Salt taxes were primarily levied on the salt fields of Lianghuai, with the revenue going into the national treasury.

The area south of the Yangtze River borders the Lianghuai salt fields, and the salt tax is collected by the Lianghuai Salt Transport Office.

In the early years of the Jingsheng era, the annual tax revenue of Lianghuai was about 500,000 taels of silver, part of which was transported through Jiangnan and was also an important source of revenue for the imperial court.

Commercial taxes and miscellaneous taxes were levied at customs and towns.

The Jiangnan region was densely populated with towns and cities, and customs offices and tax bureaus were set up to collect commercial taxes.

For example, the annual tax revenue of Hushu Pass in Suzhou once reached more than 8 taels of silver, making it one of the eight major customs stations of the Han Dynasty. In addition, there were other miscellaneous revenues such as deed tax and brokerage tax.

In addition, there were additional "three taxes" levied in previous years. Starting from the time the retired emperor ascended the throne, in order to deal with the war in Liaodong, an additional "Liaodong tax" was levied.

The tax was increased by nine li of silver per mu, but Emperor Jingsheng abolished it last year.

Therefore, when the imperial court was short of money, its first thought was always Jiangnan, because Jiangnan was the core of the Han Dynasty's finances and taxation.

This explains why Emperor Jingsheng prioritized implementing his new policies in the Jiangnan region and why he dispatched Grand Secretary Gong Dingzi as Imperial Commissioner to oversee the administration in Jiangnan.

This is because Jiangnan is too important to the Han Dynasty's finances and taxes!

Upon hearing Emperor Jingsheng's words, Prince Teng quickly bowed and expressed his gratitude!

Fang Congzhe, on the other hand, straightened up. He was from Suzhou Prefecture in Zhejiang Province, the leader of the Zhejiang Party, and represented the interests of the gentry in Jiangnan.

Emperor Jingsheng's demands for payment and investigation of deficits in Jiangnan were undoubtedly an expression of his dissatisfaction with the advice he had just given.

However, isn't the emperor afraid that such harsh treatment of Jiangnan will provoke discontent among the gentry and incite popular uprisings?

And why can't we even mention Jia Jing and the war in the Northwest?

He had only made a few indirect remarks, and yet the emperor had reprimanded him so harshly?

Before the people in the hall could think further, Emperor Jingsheng continued in a cold and stern voice:

"The Cabinet will draft a memorial in the next few days regarding the potential disasters in Henan and other areas. The court should prepare in advance and take measures to deal with them."

"As for the war in the Northwest..."

Emperor Jingsheng paused for a moment, gently tapped his finger on the imperial desk, pondered for a moment, and then said:

"After months of continuous fighting in the Northwest, the soldiers have worked hard and made contributions to the country."

"The Marquis of Champion has won nine battles in a row, pacifying the grasslands and making the might of our great Han army known far and wide. The Tartars have fled far away, and his achievements are immeasurable!"

"Today, Zijie submitted a memorial to me, indicating his intention to withdraw his troops. However, I believe it would be best to let him stay in the Northwest for a while longer."

"Firstly, Zijie needs time to reorganize the military affairs in the Northwest, and we cannot give up halfway."

"Secondly, the false Qing and the Hunxie have launched an attack without cause, invading our Han territory and killing our Han soldiers and civilians. Although they have sent envoys to negotiate peace, they have no sincerity and show no remorse."

"If we fail to teach them a lesson this time, these barbarians, who fear power but do not know gratitude, will likely come back to provoke our great Han!"

"To give an explanation to the soldiers and civilians who died tragically in my Han Dynasty, and so that the court can confidently implement new policies and develop national strength in the future."

"I am determined to have Zijie lead the war on the nine borders, and to give the false Qing and the Hunxie a head-on blow, so as to force them to agree to our peace terms."

Emperor Jingsheng raised his voice slightly at this point, tapping the imperial desk in front of him as he spoke in a loud voice:

"I want all the enemy forces on the nine borders to know that those who offend our Han Dynasty, no matter how far away, will be punished. This is not just empty talk!"

After Emperor Jingsheng uttered these words, the hall fell silent.

His words conveyed two meanings.

Firstly, Jia Jing already intended to withdraw his troops and was by no means the kind of person who held military power and harbored ulterior motives, as the officials in the court claimed.

This was to preserve Jia Jing's reputation and ease the civil officials' hostility towards him.

Secondly, he was determined to fight another battle in the Northwest to promote peace through war.

Given Emperor Jingsheng's current prestige, once he has made this decision, no one else has any room to object.

However, we can also tell from Emperor Jingsheng's words that this is the last battle, mainly a military coercion to ensure the smooth progress of the peace negotiations.

The civil official understood this and his expression showed a hint of joy.

Emperor Jingsheng picked up the teacup handed to him by Xia Shouzhong, took a sip, glanced at the expressions of his ministers, and then said:

"Now the grasslands are pacified, and the century-old border troubles in the northwest have been quelled by Zijie in a single battle! This victory will be remembered for generations to come! It has greatly boosted the morale of our army!"

"Now that all the ministers are here, let us discuss the rewards and honors for Zijie and the generals of the Northwest. What titles should they be granted? A decision must be made today!"

Upon hearing Emperor Jingsheng's words, the ministers were immediately alerted, knowing that the main event was about to begin!