In the imperial study, Zhao Ji squinted his eyes and listened to Gao Qiu's report. The Jingzhao Army hoped to allocate Jingchuan silver mine to the army as an asset for military support. Zhao Ji was not furious. Gao Shen had reported to him before that the Jingzhao garrison followed Yanshan Prefecture and converted five thousand township soldiers into Changxun township soldiers, which was actually augmented troops and supplemented the insufficient troops on the border of Song and Xia.

Zhao Ji was not stupid. Although he reached a border disarmament agreement with Xixia, the Xixia capital Xingqing Prefecture is only one day away from the border and can reach the border at any time. The Song Dynasty capital is at least five days away from the border. When the imperial guards arrive on Shaanxi Road, the daylily will be cold. Zhao Ji knows this very clearly, so it is extremely critical to maintain his troops in Jingzhao Prefecture and Taiyuan Prefecture. This is also the reason why Zhao Ji acquiesced to Jingzhao Prefecture to increase 5,000 Changxue Township soldiers in a flexible way.

However, it is another matter to allocate Jingchuan silver mine to the Jingzhao Army, which is even more oily and water than to allow the Jingzhao Army to mint money.

"Taiwei, how much does it cost to raise a five thousand troops?" Zhao Ji asked casually.

"Report to Your Majesty, according to the standards of the imperial guards in front of the palace, the monthly salary is 80,000 guan. If it is according to the imperial guards in the border, it will be a little less, about 50,000 guan. In addition to the food and miscellaneous expenses, it will also cost more than 10,000 guan, and at least 60,000 guan!"

Zhao Ji frowned, "I want so much?"

"Your Majesty, the annual military expenditure of the Song Dynasty was the biggest financial burden of the court. I didn't understand it before, but only after becoming the prime minister did I realize that it was not easy to be the head of the family!"

"You are a bastard, does it mean that I don't understand the difficulty of being the leader?"

Gao Qiu was so scared that he quickly explained, "Your Majesty has a far-sighted vision, and of course his vision is not as low as that of the empress."

"Okay, I know what level you are. I understand your little thoughts, so I don't need to explain so much in front of me!"

"Your Majesty has a golden eye, so how can I hide it from Your Majesty?"

Zhao Ji smiled slightly. He knew that Gao Qiu was ignorant when he was young, but he was loyal to him. Putting him in Zhizheng Hall was also a slut for him.

"Since you need 50,000 to 60,000 jin a month, how did Li Yanqing solve the military expenditure problem in the past six months? Is it because of Baoyanzhai's money?"

How dare Gao Qiu say that he depends on Baoyanzhai, wouldn’t he become Li Yanqing’s private army? That would offend the emperor’s strange rule.

"According to Weichen, the spoils of the past six months have been relied on the robbery of the black party. Didn't Your Majesty reward them?"

“So many trophys?”

"It's almost the same! There are more than 100,000 guan and 200,000 sheepskins. According to the market price, it can be worth 200,000 guan. It should have been maintained by this money before, but now it can't be maintained, so I asked the court for help."

Zhao Ji picked up the teacup and took a sip of ginseng tea, pondered for a moment, "What about your opinion?"

Gao Qiu is not a microphone. He is the head of the Privy Council and the prime minister of Zhizhengtang. He is in charge of military affairs in the world. He has absolute authority in the matter of silver mines. Of course, he only has the power to suggest, and the decision-making power is still in the hands of the emperor. The reason why this matter was not passed by Zhizhengtang is because Jingchuan Silver Mine is a military asset and Zhizhengtang has no right to intervene.

Otherwise, even if Zhao Ji nodded and agreed, Zhizhengtang could reject it, the Prime Minister of the Song Dynasty had the right to refuse to implement the emperor's unreasonable decision.

Gao Qiu knew that the officials would ask him about his opinions, so he pondered for a moment: "The Western Xia surrendered to the Jin Kingdom. I am very worried about the border between Song and Xia. I believe it is necessary to increase troops to a certain extent. Previously, I mentioned this matter in Zhizheng Hall. Both Xianggong Cai and Xianggong Wang were unanimously opposed it, believing that the increase of troops violated the disarmament agreement between Song and Xia. The Privy Council happened to receive a request from Li Yanqing. I believe that increasing troops in the long term may be a better way to increase mutiny."

Zhao Ji pondered for a moment and said, "What if military expenses were allocated normally?"

"I'm afraid the imperial court will not be able to pass it, and Xixia will protest."

Zhao Ji did not say anything. He knew that placing money and grain in the court would mean increasing troops. It would cost 700,000 to 800,000 yuan a year, which was also a heavy burden on the court, which was increasingly financially struggling. They had discussed adding new recruits to Yanshan Prefecture before, but Cai Jing strongly resisted. In the end, Wang Fu proposed to allow Guo Yaoshi to mint money to solve the military expenditure problem of the 20,000 yuan new army.

Zhao Ji had already agreed to Gao Qiu's proposal in his heart, but he still had two ideas in his mind that he needed to implement. After repeated consideration, Zhao Ji slowly said: "In principle, I agree with Li Yanqing's request. I can transfer Jingchuan Silver Mine to Jingzhao Army. However, I have two requirements. First, Jingzhao Army can recruit another 15,000 township soldiers to make the number of Changxun township soldiers reach 20,000. Does the Taiwei understand what I mean?"

Gao Qiu hurriedly said, "Your Majesty is wise, so the total number of troops on Shaanxi Road will reach 60,000, so you are not afraid of the sudden attack of Xixia."

"But Li Yanqing is a little too young, so I'm a little worried and worried about letting him take charge of the 40,000 troops of Jingzhao alone!"

Gao Qiu's heart was shocked, what does it mean? Is the official plan to change generals? That's bad.

Zhao Ji glanced at Gao Qiu meaningfully. Did this bastard think he didn't understand his intention? He just wanted to turn the Jingzhao Army into his sphere of influence.

"What I mean is that it's better to arrange another military supervisor."

Gao Qiu suddenly breathed a sigh of relief. It turned out that it was not because of Li Yanqing's ability, but because it was not worrying about him. It was a common practice to send military supervisors. If the military force exceeds 30,000, the military supervisors must be sent. Even if the official forgets, as the Privy Councilor, Gao Qiu will raise this matter, not to mention that the official family took the initiative to propose it at this time. Gao Qiu hurriedly said, "Your Majesty is wise!"

Zhao Ji took a few steps behind his hands and said lightly: "I remember that King Kang is the one who stayed in Jingzhao!"

"It's His Highness Kang!" Gao Qiu became nervous.

"Let King Kang take the lead!"

Gao Qiu sighed in his heart, and the position of the prince became unstable again.

There are several silver mines on Shaanxi Road, the largest silver mine is located in Shangzhou. Jingchuan silver mine can only be considered a small mine. It can refine 5,000 kilograms of coarse silver every month, and refining can earn about 30,000 taels of silver ingots. According to the market price, it is equivalent to 60,000 jin of money. Li Yanqing's idea of ​​this silver mine is because the output of this silver mine is just enough for him to support the army, and this silver mine belongs to the military, so it is natural to assign it to the Jingzhao Army.

But Li Yanqing did not expect that his request caused trouble. Not only did the emperor approve that the number of soldiers in Changxun Township could reach 20,000, but he also sent King Kang Zhao Gou to Jingzhao Prefecture to take up his actual position. Jingzhao stayed behind, which was the highest military and political leader of the entire Shaanxi Route.

On the third day after Zhao Gou took office, Li Yanqing accompanied Zhao Gou to Jingchuan Silver Mine. Jingchuan Silver Mine is located in Yunyang County, Yaozhou. The entire silver mine consists of more than 30 hills. These hills are distributed within a radius of thirty miles. Looking down from a high altitude, it looks like a huge lotus. In the center of the lotus is Mengdian Town, the main logistics site that supports the silver mine.

Although there are only 300 miners in the silver mine, there are at least 300 miners and their families. Thousands of people must rely on the town for food, drink and consumption. Mengdian Town has flourished because of this silver mine.

"Your Highness, it's getting late, and it's not convenient to go to the mine. Why not rest in the town for a night and we'll go to the mine tomorrow morning." Li Yanqing suggested with a smile.

Although it was really good, Zhao Gou was obviously not too happy. It was difficult to see his smile these days. Zhao Gou nodded, "You make arrangements!"

In fact, Ma Shan had already made arrangements. As a local snake, it was extremely necessary to rely on a prince, not to mention that this prince was his superior, in charge of the entire Shaanxi military and political affairs.

They stayed in a shop called Jiaolin Inn, and all the unrelated personnel were cleared out. Only the shopkeeper and two friends were responsible for serving King Kang and Tongzhi.

Zhao Gou was in a bad mood and just moved in and asked someone to invite Li Yanqing to his room to drink and talk.

"Your Highness seems to be in a bad mood these two days?" Li Yanqing asked with a glass of wine for Zhao Gou.

Zhao Gou sighed and asked, "Why do you think my father sent me to Jingzhao Mansion?"

Li Yanqing smiled and said, "I have considered this issue too. If it is for the purpose of fighting for the throne, then Your Highness Yun will not stay in Daming Mansion. I personally think it should have nothing to do with the fight for the throne!"

"What's the reason?"

"It should be an act of the officials who want to replace the eunuchs and supervise the army with princes. In the past, princes were generally young and had no support for the officials, so they could only use eunuchs to supervise the army. As a result, some eunuchs deceived their superiors and concealed their subordinates, causing public resentment. Now, as the prince gradually grew up, replacing eunuchs with the title of prince may become a new attempt."

Zhao Gou shook his head, "When I left, my father summoned me. He told me that the heirs of the imperial throne must be both morally and capable, and must go to the place to comply with the people, instead of staying in the deep palace all day to plot against the plot. I can feel that his tone is still very dissatisfied with the emperor."

Li Yanqing sighed secretly in his heart. Zhao Gou was still a little younger. Isn’t it a test for the emperor to send him to Jingzhao? The Song Dynasty has never sent a prince to local governments, but he is afraid that the prince will support his troops and lead to the split of the imperial power. Why would Zhao Ji be an exception? Putting King Kang in Jingzhao is more of a test for him. If he cannot stand the test and shows too many imperial power, then life in the future may be sad.

But now these words cannot be said to Zhao Gou. Li Yanqing pondered for a moment and said with a smile: "Is Your Highness just because of this bad mood?"
Chapter completed!