The video takes us to ancient times; Li Er transforms into the Tongtian Emperor of Shu Han.

"Zhao Heizi, Yue Fei is already thinking about helping you recover the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun, what are you still dawdling about?"

Old Zhu casually urged him as usual.

"The immortals gave you such a generous reward, while Yue Fei received nothing. He was confident, so what are you dawdling about?"

Zhao Kuangyin: "..."

"The army has reached the walls of Youzhou. In three months at most, Old Zhu, you will have no more reason to mock me!"

How could he be so incompetent?

What Yue Fei could do, he certainly wouldn't be much worse.

At most, he prefers a steady and pragmatic approach, aiming to recover the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun without leaving any hidden dangers within his own ranks.

For Yue Fei, however, he had no choice but to take a desperate gamble.

Or rather, he only has this one year, this one chance to send troops.

Once Zhao Gou realized something was wrong, he returned to the palace.

With an emperor emeritus looming over him, no matter how ambitious Zhao Shen was, he would never have the chance to make Yue Fei go mad a second time.

This expedition, with its 180,000 troops, is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

After recovering Bianjing and the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, Yue Fei could use the battle report to claim credit for everyone, and Zhao Shen would have enough confidence to refute Zhao Gou.

If not...

Then, whether it's him or Zhao Shen, they will become a laughing stock for thousands of years throughout history!

Therefore, he could only take this opportunity to go completely insane!

Zhao Kuangyin was outside Youzhou City. He watched as Yue Fei sounded the horn of counterattack against the Jin people in the sky, and he also launched his own offensive.

He said that he would join Yue Fei to wash away the shame of the Song Dynasty!

At this moment, the sky is divided into two images.

The Jurchens in front of Yue Fei, and the Liao people in front of Zhao Kuangyin.

As the sky darkened and after rounds of deliberation, they finally found an opportunity to completely wash away the shame that had tarnished the Song Dynasty in their own way!

"Tsk tsk tsk, I didn't expect Zhao Heizi to be so quick."

Old Zhu chuckled lightly.

Although his tone was joking, it was clear that he was very happy to see such a scene.

"Why aren't you criticizing the policy of militarism now?"

“When it comes to me, you all keep cursing me.”

Although Liu Che quite enjoyed watching such scenes, he was somewhat dissatisfied with the double standards people were applying to him.

"Can you compare yourself to him? This is a war of reconquest, taking back the land that belongs to the Central Plains. You've already defeated all the surrounding small countries and still want to fight. You just want to provoke trouble and destroy other countries."

"Emperor Wu of Han, you certainly made great achievements in conquering cities and expanding the territory, but don't you really think you went a bit too far?"

Li Er was somewhat speechless in the face of Liu Che's dissatisfaction.

This guy really has no self-awareness at all!

"Haha, Li Er, your description is really apt."

"Even after we've subdued them, you still send Han envoys to stir up trouble. If you kill the envoys, you'll send troops to attack and destroy the country at the drop of a hat. If you don't kill the envoys, those envoys you sent out are truly inhuman!"

Liu Che: “…”

"How can you say that's inhumane? I send envoys to various countries to educate and civilize the barbarians!"

"Oh? So you slept with the Empress Dowager? Plotted to seize power and hand over the entire country to the Han? Is this how you civilize the barbarians?"

"..."

"Or is it that we want to kidnap the Xiongnu Chanyu's mother to strengthen the Han Dynasty's prestige and civilize the barbarians?"

"..."

"besides……"

"do not talk!"

Liu Che waved his hand repeatedly.

I didn't feel anything when they were sent out, and I didn't feel much when the immortals took stock. Why does it seem so outrageous when it's put on the celestial screen?

Fortunately, the view from the sky was captivating enough.

Seeing that Li Er's words had not attracted much attention, Liu Che breathed a sigh of relief.

He looked at Huo Qubing with some doubt.

"Was the messenger I sent out really so incompetent?"

"Your Majesty is overthinking it. Our Han envoys bear the responsibility of educating the barbarians, so it is understandable that they sometimes need to do extraordinary things. After all, barbarians are difficult to subdue and educate, so it is not unreasonable to use more drastic methods."

Huo Qubing looked very serious.

"Is that so? Then I am relieved and I believe you!"

The two, one big and one small, looked up at the sky again.

As everyone predicted, Yue Fei's offensive was unstoppable, and the Jin soldiers could not withstand his onslaught.

However, the situation in the Song Dynasty was far from as good as they had imagined.

The reason why the Qin Dynasty was able to support hundreds of thousands of eager Qin soldiers under the military merit system was because it was able to sustain itself through war.

Every time they conquered a country, they were able to plunder it to fill the national treasury, and then use the money in the treasury to reward their soldiers, thus achieving a virtuous cycle.

However, Yue Fei and his Yue Family Army were essentially trying to recover lost territory and restore the land of the former Song Dynasty.

In this situation, one cannot plunder each place conquered; instead, troops must be sent to pacify the people.

The faster the restoration progressed, the emptier the Song Dynasty's treasury became.

Even before they reached Bianjing, the Minister of Revenue knelt before Zhao Shen, weeping, saying that he could no longer continue in his post.

If Yue Fei continues to fight and reward us like this, and if he really manages to conquer the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun, the Song Dynasty's tax revenue for the next ten years might not be enough!

Heaven have mercy, ever since he was brought in as a probationary official, he has been working diligently every day, trying not to put any money into his own pocket. He even wished he could add some money from his own pocket to the national treasury!

But the more he tried, the more desperate he became.

Under the military merit system that Yue Fei made such exorbitant demands, the Song Dynasty's finances were like a huge hole that could never be filled, no matter what methods he used!

"My dear minister, do not be alarmed. Is the national treasury empty?"

Zhao Shen asked in a gentle tone.

"The national treasury still has some money."

"Then why are you in such a hurry?"

"But based on the Grand Commandant's system of rewards based on military merit, even if we give out all the money left in the national treasury, it won't be enough, let alone the little money left in the national treasury! We won't even be able to cover the taxes for the next two years!"

The Minister of Revenue had a mournful face.

And this is only if taxes are collected from the recovered lost territories starting next year.

Otherwise, let alone two years, even five years would be tough!

"That? My dear minister, you don't need to worry. The Grand Commandant has also discussed the shortcomings of the military merit system with me."

"The current situation is something that both I and he anticipated."

"Before we recover the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun, we must bear all the pressure ourselves, after all, they are all subjects of our Great Song Dynasty."

"But after recovering the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun, the annual tribute and payments owed to them over the past decades or even centuries should be returned with interest!"

"If we add this amount of money, do you think it will be enough?"

Zhao Shen asked with a smile.

"This...the annual tribute paid to the Jin and Liao people over decades or even centuries is countless. If it could all be recovered, it would naturally be enough, but..."

"After using it for so many years, is there really anything left?"

"Most families should be able to accept slaves as payment for debts, right? After all, they all have hereditary titles, so how can they not have a few servants in their household?"