After broadcasting the ancient times live, I handed the system over to the state.

"puff--"

"Cough, cough, cough!"

"Cough! Ha!"

There were many people below who were choked and coughed, trying their best to hide their emotions.

Some people turned pale from the choking.

After all, selling official positions is not a good thing. If it really comes down to selling official positions, wouldn't that make them look too incompetent?

Zhao Zhen: "Cough cough cough."

Zhao Kuangyin glanced back at Zhao Zhen with a deathly look in his eyes, but after seeing Zhao Zhen, he didn't say much. He was quite satisfied with this younger generation.

She was easily swayed, but she also possessed the shrewdness befitting an emperor.

Lu Rao did not continue on this topic because it was not very relevant to his main argument, and elaborating on it would not be of much use.

"We can also talk a little about the currency. A new mint was established, and coins were minted, including larger denomination copper and iron coins as well as smaller iron coins."

"Reforms have also been carried out to some extent in areas such as salt."

"The government used the monopoly system, or increased taxes, especially in Shaanxi Road, while in Huai Salt, salt taxes were increased."

"These measures have all increased fiscal revenue to varying degrees, alleviating the court's financial crisis."

Lu Rao showed a table and a bar chart, which showed how much income was earned before and after, and where the income points were.

Very clear.

Fan Zhongyan sat below, and the data in his hand clearly indicated the source of the names, but there was no clear diagram, so he would draw a diagram next to it with a pen.

The pen in my hand is very easy to use and convenient; it doesn't require grinding.

After the advent of the celestial canopy, many people began to study charcoal pencils, pencils, quills and other convenient writing tools. The mainstream opinion was that the brush pen was the most elegant, but a small number of people also liked the convenience of these pens and therefore bought and used them.

Fan Zhongyan had used these pens before, but none of them were as good as those from later generations. The mature industrial system of later generations made these pens all the same.

I wonder when they will be able to manufacture such a pen?

Instead of saying things like Lu Rao, who said that fighting a single battle could nearly bankrupt a family.

After thinking it over, Fan Zhongyan shook his head slightly and picked up his pen again to make some key notes under these materials.

Some are described orally or presented in PowerPoint presentations, with little detail in the accompanying documentation.

They all had to take notes.

"Besides military spending affecting the Song Dynasty's economy and finances, there's another major expense we often talk about: annual tributes, which were also a considerable sum!"

"We're just having a simple discussion here." Even Lu Rao felt that the annual tribute, unlike military expenses, didn't have a significant impact on the Song Dynasty's economy.

Lu Rao compiled a table showing the years, the rulers of Western Xia at the time, and the annual gifts and their contents, making it easy to understand.

In the beginning, during the reign of Li Deming, the Song Dynasty bestowed upon him gifts such as imperial robes, gold belts, silver saddles and bridles, 10,000 taels of silver, 10,000 bolts of silk, 30,000 strings of cash, and 20,000 catties of tea. Before Li Yuanhao became emperor, the annual gifts from the Song Dynasty never stopped, and the amount was quite substantial.

The Tang Dynasty officials below were utterly astonished. This sue for peace was quite generous; if it were them...

After thinking about it, they decided to lead their troops to fight first and then figure things out later. The wealth of the Song Dynasty made them a little envious!

If the Tang Dynasty were next to the Song Dynasty... well, that's something that has happened since ancient times in China!

The people of the Tang Dynasty weren't exactly green with envy, but they still found this piece of fat meat exceptionally delicious, and these Western Xia or Liao people were about to bleed them dry.

Sure enough, when Li Yuanhao became emperor, this annual tribute stopped, and the Northern Song Dynasty closed many markets that traded with the Western Xia.

The more they fought, the less supplies the Western Xia received, resulting in heavy losses for them. Meanwhile, the Northern Song's border defenses were strengthened by Fan Zhongyan and others.

The Song Dynasty can afford to wait, but what about the Western Xia?

Later, the Western Xia began to recover its strength and rebuild its power. After a change of rulers, it became pro-Song again.

These familiar names were passed down through Lu Rao's mouth. The emperor and his ministers of the Song Dynasty were familiar with these people, and they listened to Lu Rao recount their names again and again.

Even though they knew that relations between nations were based on mutual interests, hearing about the Western Xia's repeated pronouncements still gave them a sense of shame that the Song Dynasty had been tricked.

Every time, the Song Dynasty was on the defensive. If their national strength allowed, wouldn't they have wanted to sweep across the Northwest?

How can I tolerate someone else snoring beside my bed?

The emperors and ministers of the Song Dynasty were not entirely devoid of courage.

"...This method of exchanging money for peace did indeed have a relatively small impact on the economy of the Northern Song Dynasty. It was not enough to change the Song Dynasty's fiscal policy and fiscal revenue and expenditure. It was more of a pawn in the game between the two countries," Lu Rao said calmly.

Those below still felt something was off about the statement; the calmer the tone, the more ironic it seemed.

Using money to buy peace...

That's a rather unusual statement.

Zhu Qinggu, who was sitting in the back listening, almost burst out laughing. She didn't know if it was her imagination or if she was an old hand at yin and yang, but she could tell that Lu Rao was using the calmest tone to convey the deepest yin and yang.

Those under the sky were all speechless.

(Using money...? to buy peace.)

(It doesn't really matter. Consider how much military spending is involved; using this little bit of money to buy peace is actually quite worthwhile.)

(That's true, but it just feels a bit strange.)

……

Liu Che waved his sleeve and said, "If it were me, I would rather fight to the end than compromise with money!"

He still clearly remembered the humiliation the Xiongnu had inflicted on the Han!

This is why the Han Dynasty was strong and upright, while the Song Dynasty, although wealthy, was said to have given away too much wealth!

Ying Zheng thought so too. As a king, how could he tolerate such humiliation?

The Western Xia's repeated actions are nothing short of humiliating my dignity.

How can I suppress the remnants of these six kingdoms?

If it were Li Shimin, he would have been patient for a while, reorganized his troops, and waited until his army was strong and well-equipped before the Western Xia dynasty met its end!

He captured all the people from the Western Xia and Liao dynasties and made them dance!

……

"Without the annual tribute, the economy within the territory of Western Xia would be greatly damaged, because the Western Xia people are not good at farming and do not have sufficient conditions for farming. They rely more on animal husbandry. Even if there is agriculture, the scale of agriculture is very small."

"Both nomadic and agricultural industries are relatively weak in resisting disasters, so without the annual tribute, the economy of Western Xia would be unstable, and Western Xia would repeatedly seek peace in order to protect its domestic economy."

"Therefore, the annual tribute was more of a fiscal policy of the Song Dynasty to contain the Western Xia, but it did not have a profound impact on the Song Dynasty's own fiscal policy and economy."