Da Tang: Father, can I resign?

Chapter 246 Why do you need to have money before you can spend it?
Li Ming slowly walked to the map hanging on the wall and began to study it with his hands behind his back. He looked almost exactly like his father.

The current situation really proves the saying:

The world is in chaos and the situation is very good.

The huge bomb called "desire for power" that he had buried before he was forced to flee to Liaodong soon exploded.

Li Zhi cooperated very well to usurp the power of the government and officially broke off with his brother Li Tai who led him to do evil things.

Li Zhi used Guanzhong as his base, while Li Tai used Central Plains as his base. The two sides used Tongguan as the boundary and competed with each other.

The princes in each camp joined as partners and were unstable factors with soldiers, money and governing power.

The retainers and generals under these princes were not completely loyal to their nominal masters, but might be loyal to the imperial court or a certain aristocratic family.

One layer inside another, just like nesting dolls.

The dream of returning to the Spring and Autumn Period is that the Zhou emperor was sidelined by the princes, the princes were sidelined by the ministers, and the ministers were sidelined by the retainers...

Well, the late Tang Dynasty in the original world line was almost the same.

The central government was undermined by the feudal lords, the emperor was undermined by the military governors, and the military governors were undermined by their soldiers.

On the importance of doing a good job in grassroots construction.

"The Central Plains is in chaos, and the four sides have the opportunity to make moves.

"If Li Tai and Li Zhi had not fought, and Li Tai had taken control of Chang'an and secured his throne, I would not have been able to make a comeback.

"It's better to be a little more chaotic. This is what it feels like to be a border barbarian..."

Li Ming studied the map and casually took a stack of materials from the bookshelf on the side.

The information was gathered from the Intelligence Committee in Liaodong, the Suppression of Counterrevolutionaries Committee in Chang'an, and the Chang'an Chamber of Commerce headed by Zhi Shi Buzhen.

The three intelligence agencies are located in different regions, have different intelligence sources, different focuses, and their personnel are not subordinate to each other. Therefore, they often give a variety of different, even conflicting, judgments on the same matter.

This is normal.

However, on one matter, the three parties basically agreed on the same thing:

That is, after Li Tai suffered a setback in Tongguan, he obviously lacked stamina.

"With Li Zhi's ability, it is not difficult to suppress the separatist tendencies of his subordinates.

"But Li Tai..."

The current situation of equal strength between the two sides is only temporary.

The vast southern regions have not spoken yet.

Although King Li Zhen of Yue was also the governor of Yangzhou, King Li Yin of Shu was also the governor of Yizhou, and King Li Yun of Jiang was also the governor of Anzhou.

This is equivalent to Li Tai's forces controlling the core areas of Jiangnan, Bashu, and Huguang.

Therefore, the southern region has not immediately and clearly turned to Li Zhi's side.

However, this deterrence is only temporary.

After all, the authority of the imperial court is stronger than the power radiated by the local vassal kings.

Over time, especially when the chaos in the north seriously disrupts the order of social production and life.

The provinces and counties in the south will almost certainly get rid of the military intimidation of those incompetent princes and completely obey the orders of Chang'an under the control of Li Zhi.

What's more, it is still unknown how united the six princes under Li Tai are.

The possibility that those brothers would "repent" and defect to Li Zhi is not only real, but also very high.

"The fourth brother's situation is not good. He gave up when he failed to capture Chang'an in one wave. He is too weak.

"Li Tai was good at plotting, but when it came to serious strategy, Li Zhi beat him completely."

Li Ming observed a second of silence for Prince Wei Li Tai.

The powerful enemy he arranged for Li Tai was a bit too strong.

Li Tai was almost swept away.

It's what that guy deserves. He has been plotting against me time and time again.

However, leaving aside emotions, let’s analyze it purely from the perspective of interests.

Assuming that Li Tai was really destroyed by Li Zhi, the Chinese Begonia was unified under Li Zhi.

This is definitely not a good thing for Li Ming, the separatist force.

Li Zhi may not have the interest or ability to break into Yanshan and annex the entire Northeast.

However, the difficulty for Li Ming to break out of Yanshan and go south into the pass will undoubtedly increase exponentially.

But Li Ming was not in a hurry about this.

Lee Taebi will not fall so easily.

"Given Li Tai's unscrupulous character, I'm afraid he won't just sit there in Luoyang and wait for death."

Li Ming put down the intelligence materials in his hand and moved his eyes to the north of the map.

Xue Yantuo.

That is Li Tai’s hidden backup energy.

Since Li Tai had already had a py deal with Zhenzhu Khan Yinan, he designed a series of conspiracies to kill his father and the king.

Then going a step further, it is not incomprehensible to form a military alliance with the Xueyantuo.

Because Li Er did it too.

When the Eastern Turks stepped on the accelerator and approached the city of Chang'an, Li Er signed the Weishui Alliance with Jie Li Khan, who later became the dance king of Chang'an, and became (plastic) brothers.

Even going a step further, it is not impossible that Li Tai directly pledged his loyalty to Xueyantuo.

Because Li Yuan did it too.

During the Sui and Tang dynasties, among the numerous forces that paid tribute to the Eastern Turks, there was one such force, Li Yuan.

"From the Central Plains to the north, the Hebei region is sandwiched in the middle.

"It is reasonable to speculate that Li Tai's next move is to intervene in Hebei with the support of Xueyantuo..."

He brought the army from the Central Plains, based in Hebei and relying on the Xueyantuo.

Li Tai could continue to fight with Li Zhi.

But the people of Hebei are really shocked.

First, the local bullies fought each other, and then Xueyantuo intervened.

Now Li Tai is also joining the melee, and maybe he will even try to attract Li Zhi to join in the fun.

“With Li Tai’s skills, he will most likely join forces with the Hebei clans to exploit the local people.

"This is not conducive to my fundamental strategy of eradicating the aristocratic families."

Li Ming realized that the Hebei issue could not be postponed any longer.

Now is the best time for me to take action in Hebei.

One is that the Xueyantuo had just started to make trouble, and the locals were still in a state of shock.

If he comes as a savior at this time, he will gain countless people's hearts and prestige.

Second, after his "placement" strategy for some time, the aristocratic families had been attacking and fighting each other, causing the wrath of heaven and the resentment of the people, and their power had dropped to the bottom.

I should also change my strategy in time and take the initiative to attack.

He only needed to expel the Tiele people on behalf of the people of Hebei.

With the remaining power of the Liberator, he could implement a thorough land reform in Hebei, just like he did in Ping and Ying states, and eradicate the economic soil that gave rise to the aristocratic families.

Even the gentry themselves could not say anything. After all, they were the ones who expelled the Tartars. Whatever they said was right.

But if it dragged on, these aristocratic families, after the merger and reorganization of the big fish eating the small fish, really put together a few extremely powerful people, stood firm in this chaotic world, and established stable relations with Li Tai, Li Zhi, and even Xueyantuo.

It would be extremely difficult for Li Ming to take action against them again by then.

From a rational analysis, sending troops to Hebei now is the right choice.

In addition, there is a third emotional reason for sending troops to Hebei:

King Qin comes to the rescue.

"According to merchants who have business dealings with the Tiele people, a few days ago, near the Great Wall in Yunzhou, the Tiele garrison saw someone who looked like Li Shimin and his entourage..."

Li Ming chewed over this information to himself.

Although many people were under the banner of "Fight against the barbarians in the north and welcome back His Majesty".

But at least Li Ming is serious.

He doesn't care what the emperor is like, he wants to save his father.

But Shuobei is so vast that finding someone is like looking for a needle in a haystack. Where can I start?
We can't plow the entire grassland. Even if we transfer all the manpower from the Northeast over there, it still won't be enough.

Therefore, this piece of information, which was heard from others and whose authenticity is unknown, was the only straw that broke the camel's back.

No matter what, it's worth a try. "It's better that Li Er escaped to Yunzhou. I only prepared one table of food, but I can't handle two tables of people."

Li Ming's gaze left the map and returned to the account books and forms piled up on the desk.

We are back to the fundamental problem - insufficient military forces in Liaodong.

Now the Red Scarf Army under his command has tactics, scale, and manpower...

Although there is an influx of people from Hebei into Guandong, it has alleviated the labor shortage in various local industries.

But after all, the foundation is here. With this population size, it is nothing compared with the Tang Dynasty, let alone the Xueyantuo.

Therefore, Liaodong can at most form a field army of two to three thousand people, not more.

These two or three thousand people, spread out across the entire front line, would be no different from scattering sesame seeds on a pancake.

The troops must be concentrated in one direction.

It’s either Shuobei or Hebei.

"I hope the intelligence is correct, I hope Li Shimin is heading towards Hebei...

"He has no other direction to flee except to Hebei, so he can't possibly continue to the northwest..."

Li Ming crossed his arms and muttered.

"I hope you can think more carefully, Brother Ming."

A sinister voice suddenly sounded behind him, which made him jump.

When he turned around, he saw Fang Yize also with his arms folded, looking at him expressionlessly.

"I allow you to come in without knocking, but please don't scare me all the time. I have a weak heart..."

Li Ming muttered and asked half-jokingly:

"What's wrong? Do you think we shouldn't send troops? Your Majesty is in trouble, are you going to watch him die without helping?"

"Brother Ming, if you want to fight, then go ahead. I just have a small problem that I hope you can take into consideration."

Fang Yi used a cold expression to tell the cold truth:

“The treasury is out of money.”

Li Ming was stunned. After thinking for a while, he found the account book of the Finance Committee from the bottom of the mountain of books and turned to the last page.

After taking a closer look, the corner of his mouth twitched and he patted his forehead:
"There are so many things to do, how could I have missed this one..."

If I were to use one word to describe the committee's operations during this period, it would be "spending money like water" -

It costs money to take in refugees, to mine coal, to renovate smelting equipment, and to build ships...

Everything costs money, expenses increase dramatically, and the little fiscal surplus accumulated is quickly consumed...

Li Ming closed the account book, closed his eyes and took a deep breath, saying:

"No, the battle must be fought.

"If our Heavenly Soldiers don't take action to save Hebei from the dire situation, the local people will explode."

We can't always sit on the mountain and watch tigers fight and reap the benefits, we still have to contribute what we must.

If you don't show your abilities and gain favor in times of crisis, you will not be able to rule the arrogant and generous people of Yan and Zhao in the future.

"That's easy. If we spend more money on medicine for the war, we can spend less money on other things."

Fang Yize changed his mind without changing his expression.

Li Ming couldn't help scratching his head:

"But where can we save money? Resettlement of refugees? Or coal mining and shipbuilding?

"These expenses cannot be saved. They are necessary to maintain the economic cycle of Liaodong..."

Fang Yi glanced at him and gave him a hint:
“Certain expenditures that I thought were ridiculously stupid.”

Li Ming: "There is such an expense?"

Fang Yize: “Yes, and quite a few.

"For example, the finances of our Pingzhou and Yingzhou are spending money to buy land from the landlords in Youzhou, Yunzhou and other places."

Li Ming: “Is this stupid?”

Fang Yize said: "It's stupid, because those lands are all in Hebei, not in Liaodong. They were either conquered by the Tiele people or destroyed by internal fighting.

"Brother Ming, you don't think that land can be transported from Hebei to Liaodong like other commodities, do you?"

For the first time, a gleam of concern appeared in his calm eyes.

Is there something wrong with Brother Ming who cares about him?

"This money should be spent. Alas, we can't just think about the economics, we also have to think about the politics."

Li Ming defended.

Although he kept saying things like "the ultimate solution to the gentry class", "fight the landlords and divide the land", and "labor brings freedom".

However, if it is to be implemented, it cannot be as extreme as in Pingzhou, and the social impact must be considered.

After all, he is now a candidate emperor who has served as regent and aims to conquer the world. He is no longer the young and foolish man he was back then (last year).

He has put on a tuxedo, so he has to be careful about his table manners when eating human beings.

Compared with violent land expropriation, buying the landlord's land with money is obviously much more elegant.

This will partially dispel the hostility of the vast landlord class across the country and prevent them from causing any trouble before they come to power.

"Hebei is in chaos right now, and land is being sold at rock-bottom prices. Normally, those local tyrants would not sell their land, so it would be a shame not to pick up this bargain.

"And they took the money to buy weapons and armor from us, which is like transferring money from one hand to the other."

Li Ming defended himself.

Fang Yize looked at him and decided not to dwell on this issue anymore.

“If cutting costs doesn’t work, then increase revenue.

“Increase taxes.”

"Increasing taxes won't work. We just agreed to a 70% profit split last year, but now you're going back on your word. The people will be furious." Li Ming shook his head decisively.
“Moreover, taxes have been raised right after we accepted the refugees. The locals will put the blame on the refugees, thinking that the taxes were raised in order to support them.

"If this happens, the conflicts between locals and outsiders that were so hard to control will erupt again."

This is how policies are introduced. One move affects the entire body. There is a reason for any expenditure and it cannot be cut at will.

After a long time, it has turned into a pile of shitty code. Outsiders think it is very stupid, but they cannot solve it. If they spend a penny, there may be a bug somewhere, so they can only continue to make do with it.

We can neither increase revenue nor reduce expenditure, but we have to increase the expenses of fighting the war for no reason.

A skilled cook cannot cook without rice. Fang Yize was at a loss. He shrugged and spread his hands:
"Then tell me what to do."

Li Ming crossed his arms and pondered for a while, then asked a soul-searching question:
“Why does the treasury have to have money before it can spend it?”

Fang Yi stood in awe.

This is simply a top philosophical problem that transcends nature and breaks the law of conservation of matter. If it can be perfectly answered, all disputes in the world will naturally be eliminated.

A good cook can't cook without rice.

"Brother Ming, don't you think of a way to create some money out of nothing?" Fang Yize said sarcastically with an expressionless face.

Li Ming looked at him meaningfully.

Just when Fang Yize felt that his head was about to be hit hard.

Li Ming curled his lips and gave him a slap:
"You don't have money, so you can't lend it?"

"what?!"

Fang Yize was shocked:
"Brother Ming, do you want to borrow money to support the army to fight?"

How big a butt do you need to be able to borrow so much money?
Li Ming gave him another slap:
"It's not me who borrowed it, it's the government office that borrowed it!"

"Borrow from the government?" Fang Yize was completely confused and blurted out:

"The government is not a human being, how can it borrow money? Would anyone lend money to an institution that is not a human being?"

Xiaofang feels that this matter is abstract enough, both in terms of its original meaning and its extended meaning.

"Of course. The government is also made up of people, and they have credibility."

Li Ming rubbed his palms:

“If you have credit, you can cash it out.”

Fang Yize scratched his head as he listened.

I always feel that what Ming Ge said may make some sense, but it is unlikely to make some sense.

Li Ming patted Xiao Fang's shoulder:

"Tomorrow, we will issue government bonds."

(End of this chapter)