Chapter 181: Sovereign and Subjects Share Merriment

"Where did so many Jin troops come from? Are the Jin troops made of iron, that they don't need to rest and regroup? Last time, when their 120,000-strong army marched south, aside from the fifteen *meng'an* left behind at Changshe, their scattered losses were no less than ten to twenty thousand men. Don't they need to replenish soldiers and warhorses? Besides, the Jin have never been able to stand the summer heat for generations, so why have they suddenly changed now? On this matter, I share the same view as Minister Yue and Minister Lü—nine times out of ten, Liu Yu has borrowed Jin uniforms to bolster his own army's prestige and use them for intimidation…"

As Qu Duan entered the hall, he immediately saw a young man in a red robe on the imperial throne, speaking with ease. Knowing this man was the sovereign of the Zhao Song, he forced himself to ignore the pain in his back and prepared to perform a bow. Unexpectedly, the young man on the throne, looking down from on high, merely raised a hand casually and paid him no further attention, not even pausing in his speech, which seemed to be about the affairs of the puppet Qi.

"But if that's the case, I have one thing I don't understand."

Han Shizhong, who had entered the hall first, no longer had the arrogant demeanor he'd shown outside. Instead, he cupped his hands as if nothing had happened. "How many troops does the puppet Qi have now? And how effective are they in battle? What gave them the nerve to take the initiative to attack?"

The Zhao sovereign turned his head to look at a man below the steps—it was Lü Qing, who had been stationed in Nanjing recently, directing the front-line standoff against the puppet Qi.

"There must be 200,000, right?" Just as Lü Qing was about to speak, Zhang Jun suddenly let out a derisive laugh from the side. "With seven or eight large prefectures sitting there, can't one prefecture support 20,000 troops? Throw in some conscripted laborers, make it 200,000 troops, and calling it a million is nothing unusual."

"How can one prefecture support 20,000 troops?" Han Shizhong immediately frowned.

"Of course, Grand Commandant Han wouldn't understand such matters. Otherwise, you wouldn't have nearly sparked a popular uprising in Huaixi." Zhang Jun showed no fear, taking the opportunity to needle him.

Han Shizhong seethed inwardly but, for once, didn't flare up… First, it wouldn't do to lose his temper before the sovereign. Second, this matter had long been settled, and it was indeed his, Han Wu's, fault.

But still, what could he say? If he ever got the chance, he, Han Shizhong, would never let Zhang Jun off.

You see, in the early years, Wang Yuan had deliberately pitted these two against each other to maintain balance for the court. Neither of them was a fool; they just played along. But as time went on, grudges piled up, and combined with the bad habits fostered in the military, truth and falsehood became blurred… Anyway, now Han Liangchen felt that this fellow Zhang Boying couldn't fight worth a damn, only knew how to hoard money, and was he even fit to be mentioned in the same breath as him, the unruly Han Wu?

As for what Zhang Jun thought, that was anyone's guess.

"Of course, one prefecture can't support 20,000 troops, but it depends on whether there's military pay, whether they need to train, whether the soldiers are fed, and whether they get hot water," said Privy Councilor Wang Boyan, who couldn't be bothered with the two of them and simply stood by with his hands clasped. "I recall that when Wang Shan, the former commander of the Imperial Camp's Forward Army, came from Hedong to Dongjing, he had 200,000 troops…"

"That's the truth," Lü Qing chimed in. "Forcibly conscripting men, like the Jin do with a single cudgel—if you do that, forget 200,000, with the population of Jingdong sitting there, you could get 400,000… However, from my observations on the front lines, the puppet Qi does have some units with considerable combat effectiveness, such as Liu Yu's own headquarters in Jinan, and the troops of the puppet Marshal Kong Yanzhou in Yanzhou. Besides that, there's also the puppet Grand Governor Li Cheng in Qingzhou, who is said to be even better at leading troops and managing the army than Kong Yanzhou!"

"I've heard of those two," Zhao Jiu nodded in acknowledgment. "Kong Yanzhou is called 'Little Yue Fei,' and Li Cheng's martial arts are said to be on par with Pengju's… To reach that level, they are naturally figures of note… How many of these core fighting forces do they have?"

"Liu Yu has about ten thousand or so, personally commanded by his son Liu Lin; Kong Yanzhou has fewer, only seven or eight thousand; Li Cheng has a larger territory, so he might have more, but definitely not exceeding the limit of fifteen thousand," Yue Fei replied with cupped hands.

Zhao Jiu finally frowned slightly.

Seeing this, Zhang Jun below cautiously stepped forward: "May Your Majesty be informed, when I was in Xuzhou in the past, after subjugating Yizhou, Li Cheng sent someone to send me his regards. It's possible this man could be persuaded to surrender…"

"Minister Zhang misunderstands my meaning," the Zhao sovereign on the throne finally let out a laugh. "Although I cherish talent, I don't want just anyone. Since Li Cheng has become the Grand Governor in the Jin's puppet court, how could I still want him? As for Zhang Rong of Liangshanpo in Dongping Prefecture, although he didn't come to Heying either, and has been dragging his feet about coming to see me, saying something about being free and unfettered in Liangshanpo, at least he holds firm on matters of principle. I don't hold that against him…"

The several military chiefs below quickly straightened up, and a few familiar faces finally turned their heads to properly look at Qu Duan, who was standing in the corner by the palace gate.

"In fact, this is precisely why the traitor Liu dares to take the initiative to deploy troops and try to stir up trouble," Wang Boyan interjected at the right moment, making a formal summary of the previous question. "Think about it, since this scoundrel has declared himself emperor, from his perspective, he must know clearly that from now on, there can be no coexistence with the Imperial Song. Therefore, he will inevitably spare no effort to oppose us… Whether it was issuing a manifesto and sacrificing to Chen Dong right after his enthronement, or later honoring Confucius and holding imperial examinations, or today's willingness to actively mobilize troops—one spring and one summer, it seems that the Song and Jin combined don't make as much noise as his single Jinan Prefecture… Isn't it because he has no choice?"

Everyone nodded in succession, feeling that Minister Wang's words were of a high caliber. First, he hit the nail on the head, and second, his tone had even started to resemble the sovereign's—truly impressive.

"So, there's no need to discuss this further," the Zhao sovereign on the throne said, nodding and giving clear instructions. "If he dares to make a move, you three, Ministers Zhang, Yue, and Lü, on the front line need not report back; just fight back directly. But it must be fast, ruthless, and steady, and don't be greedy… In short, remember this one thing: the Jin are the real enemy. Don't get bogged down in Jingdong like sinking into a quagmire, giving the Jin an opportunity for nothing!"

Zhang Jun, Yue Fei, and Lü Qing formally stepped forward, then solemnly cupped their hands and acknowledged the order… It seemed this topic was about to be concluded.

"What were we talking about?" Zhao Jiu asked expressionlessly, turning his gaze toward Lü Haowen and Xu Jingheng.

"Warhorses, troop quotas, and military expenditure," Xu Jingheng said, sparing no words.

"Right, warhorses, troop quotas, and military expenditure," Zhao Jiu nodded, as if he had genuinely forgotten these matters. "Let's just talk about warhorses… Liangchen had already said most of it before he left the hall. Keep some in Guanxi, and send a round number of ten thousand here… Among them, the Rear Army will be the reserve, so they won't get a share; then the Center Army has Li Yanxian, Wang De, and Wang Yan's three units, so they'll get a larger share, four thousand horses. The Forward Army, Left Army, and Right Army will split the remaining six thousand equally… How about that?"

Everyone exchanged glances but had nothing to say… On such matters, arguing would be endless. Besides, the Zhao sovereign had initially wanted to centralize their use, but no one had accepted that, and no one knew which unit would get the cavalry division if it were actually formed.

This was already a relatively fair plan, and everyone had made compromises.

And so, seeing that everyone had quietly accepted the plan, they continued the discussion.

"Speaking of troop quotas for each army, they are tied to military expenditure," the Zhao sovereign continued, speaking with ease from the throne. "According to the calculation Liangchen gave me before he left the hall, to support one cavalryman in the Central Plains, including both man and horse, it costs one hundred strings of cash a year. So, if these ten thousand cavalry come, that's a full one million strings a year, right?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, that is correct," Han Shizhong said, bracing himself.

"And this also requires levying specific goods for military use… isn't that right?" the Zhao sovereign pressed on. "Things like ox sinew, fodder, and so on?"

"Yes…"

"If we don't count cavalry, just ordinary armored soldiers, how much does it cost to support one elite, battle-ready armored soldier per year?" The Zhao sovereign's arithmetic was terrible today.

"Fifty strings of cash plus about ten *shi* of grain…" Han Shizhong replied cautiously. "That has to include the soldier's family's expenses."

"And what about over at Grand Commandant Zhang's?" Zhao Jiu continued to ask.

"About the same, I suppose?" Zhang Jun, for once, answered similarly to Han Shizhong.

"Minister Yue…"

"If it's full military pay and daily training, then naturally it's as Grand Commandant Han said: fifty strings of cash plus about ten *shi* of grain," Yue Fei answered honestly. "But of course, this is a rough figure."

Zhao Jiu nodded repeatedly: "So, suppose we carefully select and fix the Imperial Camp's various armies at 200,000 armored soldiers, and then, taking Zhang Jun's memorial as a guide, boldly set the cavalry at 30,000. That would be thirteen or fourteen million strings of cash a year, plus three or four million *shi* of grain… That would require the entire economy of the Southeast to recover to its pre-Jingkang level, and then be completely drained to afford it… isn't that right?"

Everyone shook their heads, but no one dared to pick up the thread. Even Qu Duan shook his head from below, sighing inwardly that this Zhao Song sovereign truly didn't understand human nature and customs. And Qu Da hesitated for a moment, wondering whether, for the sake of those twenty lashes, he should step forward and remind the sovereign.

"Not enough!" At that moment, Wang Yuan, the Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Camp, rarely spoke up. "Your Majesty, forgive me for speaking bluntly, but Your Majesty's calculation is only accurate on paper. In reality, the cost is much higher… Because the amount of revenue collected is one number, what is transported to the army is another, and what is actually distributed is yet another… I'll be bold: if Your Majesty truly wants to support 200,000 elite troops of the Imperial Camp and maintain 30,000 cavalry, it will require 25 million strings of cash annually, plus 5 million *shi* of military grain. Without that, it's impossible."

Zhao Jiu's expression didn't change; he merely nodded slightly, his tone as usual: "So, you lot are skimming off half of it by padding the payroll and bleeding the soldiers' funds?"

Qu Duan in the corner was dumbfounded, and the several grand commandants below were momentarily awkward and speechless.

Wang Yuan had no choice but to explain carefully: "Your Majesty, it's not purely padding the payroll… The losses during transport along the way, and the use of conscripted laborers, are the major expenses. And even when it reaches the army, the officers' pay can't be calculated at a mere fifty strings."

"That's the truth," Zhao Jiu nodded in acknowledgment. "I was wrong… You lot skim off only thirty percent by padding the payroll and bleeding the soldiers' funds—truly impressive."

No one below dared to respond anymore, not even Wang Yuan.

"But if that's the case, wouldn't 25 million strings of cash plus 5 million *shi* of grain drain all the revenue from the Southeast and Bashu, and then eat up the grain from Jingxiang as well?" Zhao Jiu sighed deeply. "In that case, I'd be fine. I could go shoot a few rabbits at Genyue to supplement the household expenses. If that's not enough, I could become a kept son-in-law at the Wu or Pan households, borrowing some grain to get by. After all, there are only four or five mouths in my family, so we'd always have enough to eat… But what about the civil and military officials in Dongjing, and the officials in the hundreds of prefectures and armies across the realm? What would they eat?"

"Your Majesty!" Qu Duan really couldn't hold back. "You've only calculated the Imperial Camp's troops. Doesn't Guanxi get any military pay? Is Chang'an not to be defended?"

"Oh!" Zhao Jiu seemed to have just realized this, pointing at Qu Duan with an expression of sudden understanding. "Right, this newly arrived Commander Qu is right. Actually, considering transport losses, it would be more worthwhile to supply Guanxi directly with the money and grain from Bashu, and raise forty or fifty thousand troops there… But if we calculate it that way, wouldn't the Imperial Camp here, even with all the realm's revenue, be unable to support 200,000 armored soldiers?"

"Your Majesty… the Two Huai are still there. Don't forget to count the revenue from Huainan," Xu Jingheng reminded him coldly. "Huainan is prosperous; it can offset Bashu."

"Right," Zhao Jiu nodded, then spread his hands. "You see, the problem comes back again. I still have to go to the Wu and Pan households to beg for handouts and be a kept son-in-law."

"Your Majesty!" Amidst a moment of silence, Yue Fei was the first to be unable to bear it, raising his head to speak. "For the Imperial Camp's Forward Army, if Your Majesty supplies each armored soldier with fifty strings of cash and ten *shi* of grain, I will absolutely not ask for a single coin more…"

"I am the same," before Zhao Jiu could speak, Han Shizhong and Zhang Jun, almost in unison, stepped forward and bowed their heads.

And with Han and Zhang having done so, Wang Yan and Lü Qing also made the same pledge.

Zhao Jiu shook his head repeatedly: "Some of you, I truly believe; others, I can't bring myself to trust… Liangchen?"

"Your servant is here," Han Shizhong bowed his head.

"I give your Imperial Camp Left Army an establishment of 50,000 men and the military supplies for 50,000 armored soldiers. When the time comes for battle, and 50,000 Jin troops arrive, and I order you to hold the line, I'm afraid you'll only be able to lead 30,000 armored soldiers up there, right?" Zhao Jiu said dismissively. "And Boying, I give you an establishment of 50,000 men and the supplies for 50,000 armored soldiers. When the time comes, you might be able to field a solid 50,000 troops, but how many of them will be armored, and how many will have been trained? If I truly believed your words, I'd probably suffer a great loss… But then again, how could I possibly trust you? We've known each other for a while now. Why do you two have to play these tricks in front of me?"

Zhang and Han were almost mortified.

"Your Majesty should not be too harsh on the two Grand Marshals either." Lü Haowen finally spoke up at the right moment. "Given the current situation, Generals Han and Zhang are at least capable of fighting, and it's not as if these funds were embezzled by the two Grand Marshals themselves. From the Commanders and Deputy Commanders all the way down to Company Captains and Squad Leaders, everyone gets a share... The decay of the state's military administration is a malady accumulated over a hundred years. Relatively speaking, there's no need to be too harsh on the two Grand Marshals!"

"I am well aware of that, which is why I spoke to them so frankly." Zhao Jiu remained unconcerned. "It's not that I'm pressuring them to do anything in particular; I'm simply explaining the state's difficulties to them."

Just as Zhang and Han were about to speak again, Xu Jingheng beside Lü Haowen spoke up sternly once more:

"Your Majesty, there are only two paths forward for this matter... One is to raise taxes in the Southeast and increase levies in Jingxiang; the other is to maintain fewer troops. That is all."

Zhao Jiu fell silent, and the various Grand Councilors and Grand Marshals below also remained silent... In truth, this was also a cliché. Even now, Lü Yihao, upon arriving in Yangzhou, had directly sent a proposal for a targeted military surtax in the Southeast and the Two Huai regions, because he had long known that to support an army, one had to raise taxes. Otherwise, with the tax revenues severely damaged after the Jingkang Incident, it was simply impossible to support so many troops.

After a long pause, the Zhao Emperor finally let out a wry laugh and spoke: "The Jin army's Eastern and Western Routes are a standard twenty Wanhu units. If we don't maintain two hundred thousand troops, how can we resist the enemy?"

Many below instinctively breathed a sigh of relief, because they knew this sentence was the most crucial one of the day.

"But if that's the case, only by agreeing to raise taxes in the Southeast and increase levies in Jingxiang can we barely manage..." Zhao Jiu indeed said this, but then continued without pause from his throne. "And the reason I summoned you Grand Marshals here today is not only to set the troop quotas for your armies, to allocate the warhorses from the Northwest, nor to talk about the puppet Qi... I truly haven't taken those matters to heart. What I want to do is precisely to calculate this account clearly in front of you!"

Having said this, the Zhao Emperor in his large red robe suddenly rose from his throne, then spoke solemnly: "I ask you Grand Marshals to remember this: there are some things I can endure out of necessity, but that does not make them right. I will endure again in the future! That is the first point! And everything you eat and use comes from the blood and sweat of the people of the Southeast, Jingxiang, Bashu, and the Two Huai. If one day they rebel, you may attack them, you may punish them, but you must remember clearly: they were all driven to it by you and me! That is the second point!"

Having said this, without waiting for the Grand Marshals to kneel and beg forgiveness, Zhao Jiu directly turned and walked down from the throne dais, then turned and exited through a side door.

Shortly after, Yang Yizhong, who had followed the Emperor out, returned and said: "His Majesty's oral instruction: he shot two extra rabbits this morning. Staff Officer Moqi and Grand Marshal Yue are to stay for a meal. The rest of you Grand Councilors and Grand Marshals are dismissed."