Chapter 475: Northern Expedition Concludes

"Your Majesty, as the commander of the Northern Expedition, Yang Feng has an unavoidable responsibility for the failure of this Northern Expedition. I think that Yang Feng should be beheaded at the Meridian Gate to serve as a warning to others. Read"

Golden Palace.

Zhao Heng had just sat down on the dragon chair.

Dou Wei stepped out, looking indignant.

"I second the motion."

"I second the motion."

"..."

Seeing this, Liang Kai and others immediately echoed.

The powerful families at the banquet yesterday had already decided on a strategy to compete with the royal family.

On this matter, they naturally had the same attitude.

Moreover, even if there was no consensus yesterday, they would take the opportunity to kill Yang Feng.

After all, once Yang Feng died, Zhao Heng's control over the imperial guards would become weaker.

Sitting on the dragon chair, Zhao Heng felt as if his butt was on fire.

After returning to the capital, he immediately felt extremely relieved.

But with it came worry.

He and the second prince were the real culprits for the failure of this Northern Expedition.

But how could he admit that he was wrong?

In this way, the blame for the failure of the Northern Expedition could only be placed on Yang Feng and the Second Prince.

So, he was prepared to let the Second Prince and Yang Feng take half of the blame.

But before he could speak, Dou Wei suddenly attacked.

And Liang Kai and others echoed him, it seemed that the powerful families were determined to kill Yang Feng.

"Although Yang Feng was guilty of dereliction of duty, Dou Xiao, Wang Bi, and the second prince also had unshirkable responsibilities in this war. If they had not repeatedly offered false words, it would not have come to this. In my opinion, Yang Feng's death penalty should be spared, his official title should be stripped, and he should be exiled 3,000 miles to Yanzhou. Zhao Heng said.

Two days ago, he received a memorial from the King of Yan.

The content of the memorial was to protect Yang Feng. In the eyes of the King of Yan, the powerful families would definitely make trouble for Yang Feng.

So, he begged himself to spare Yang Feng's life.

And this was his bottom line.

After all, he knew very well whether Yang Feng was guilty or not.

If he killed him, he would not be at peace.

Zhao Heng brought up Dou Xiao and the second prince, and Dou Wei and Han Zheng looked at each other and stopped talking.

Obviously, Zhao Heng was making a deal with them.

If he They insisted on killing Yang Feng, Zhao Heng must hold them accountable.

It's better to give in.

Anyway, Yang Feng was stripped of his official position and would be far away from the power field of Jinling, and no longer a threat to them.

As for exiling to Yanzhou, Zhao Heng just wanted to save Yang Feng's life.

After all, if it was somewhere else, they would not let Yang Feng live in exile.

"Your Majesty is wise!" Dou Wei said at this time.

He was not worried that the Prince of Yan would use Yang Feng. After all, a minister with a guilty conscience could not be used without the emperor's order, including the princes.

If the Prince of Yan used him, he would just give him a reason to impeach him.

After deciding on Yang Feng's matter, Dou Wei continued: "Your Majesty, although the peace talks have been completed, there is still the matter of marriage. I hope that the emperor will order the Ministry of Rites to prepare as soon as possible and send Princess Changle to Beidi."

"After the court, I summoned Prince Chun. "Zhao Heng said, he dared not be careless about this matter.

"There is also the matter of annual tribute. The Northern Expedition has caused the national treasury to be outspending. The Northern Di people are pressing for the 5 million annual tribute. I hope the emperor can raise it as soon as possible." Dou Wei said again.

Zhao Heng frowned.

This Northern Expedition took nearly three months, and the food and grass alone cost countless.

These food and grass were all paid by the national treasury.

And there will be compensation for the wounded next.

Furthermore, so many soldiers were lost in this battle, and he wanted to replenish them, which required a lot of silver.

Now with the annual tribute, it is even more of a headache for him.

"Do you have any ideas, my dear ministers? "Zhao Heng asked.

He had actually asked Mi Yan, but Mi Yan had no solution.

In states controlled by powerful families, taxes could not be collected.

In states controlled by the royal family, taxes had to be extorted by officials, and the money that eventually entered the treasury could not sustain the huge expenses.

Over the years, he has been living off his savings.

In the past two years, his savings have gradually been eaten up.

Now, the only way left is to increase taxes, but Mi Yan strongly opposes this method.

He believes that this tax can only be imposed on the people in states and counties controlled by the royal family.

The powerful families will not pay taxes either.

In this way, the people in states and counties controlled by the royal family will surely fall into an extremely difficult situation.

Land annexation among the people has reached its extreme, and the powerful families will only distribute the increased taxes to the tenants.

He knew that Mi Yan's words made sense, but Mi Yan could not come up with any other solution.

It is impossible to agree to the annual tribute of Beidi and not pay it, otherwise the war between Dasong and Beidi will surely start again.

"The only way is to increase taxes. "

While Zhao Heng was hesitating, Dou Wei suddenly said.

"That's right, Your Majesty, if we negotiate peace with the Northern Di, the people will live and work in peace in the future. They should pay more taxes to buy their own safety." Han Zheng echoed, "In addition, without this Northern Expedition, the Northern Di would not have been able to negotiate peace, and the military pay spent on the Northern Expedition should also be borne by the people."

Zhao Heng heard this and agreed with it.

And the cost of training troops before fighting the Northern Di should also be included.

In this way, it is three taxes.

"Your Majesty, you must not do this." Dou Wei and Han Zheng successively proposed to increase taxes, and Mi Yan immediately became anxious.

Zhao Heng ignored Mi Yan, he knew that Mi Yan could not come up with any solution.

How to fill the scarce treasury?

Thinking of this, he said: "No need to say more, add the training pay for training, and levy three taxes this time."

Dou Wei laughed in his heart when he heard this.

In fact, asking Zhao Heng to increase taxes was not a conspiracy, but an open conspiracy.

In the current situation of Dasong, taxes must be increased to ease the financial difficulties.

Not only Mi Yan, but even he could not think of a better way.

Unless the powerful families cut off their own flesh, but this is absolutely impossible.

After all, the annual tribute alone is five million taels, and there are also the expenses of the Northern Expedition mentioned by Han Zheng and the training expenses mentioned by Zhao Heng. No one wants to bear it.

"Hey!" Mi Yan stamped his feet when he saw that Zhao Heng had made up his mind.

He was really anxious and helpless.

"Is this the end of the dynasty?" A sentence suddenly popped up in his mind, and he was suddenly shocked.

When the news of the failure of the Northern Expedition came, he secretly thought that something was wrong.

For this Northern Expedition, Zhao Heng almost exhausted the national treasury. With such a disastrous defeat, the royal family must be seriously injured.

In history, there was a prosperous dynasty that once devoted the whole country's strength to three proofs of barbarians.

As a result, a prosperous dynasty was tossed around by the people, and the heroes were divided, and finally perished.

Dasong was already weak, and it would not be able to withstand it.

The increase in taxes this time may be the biggest consequence of the failure of the Northern Expedition.

After deciding on these three major events after the Northern Expedition, Zhao Heng waved his hand and signaled to adjourn the court.

He suffered too much in Qinzhou, and now he had to take the opportunity to make up for it and enjoy it.

Dou Wei and Han Zheng and others looked at each other, and there was a faint smile on their faces.

The people of Dasong can endure hardships very well, and perhaps the increase in taxes will not cause any trouble.

But it is different if they secretly fan the flames.

In his opinion, this time it is a foregone conclusion to take back the military and political power of the state that originally belonged to the powerful families.

The court meeting ended, and the news spread into Jinling City with the people in the court.

Yanjun Merchants.

Dong An was sitting by the window, preparing to sort out the news he received.

At this time, a strong wind suddenly came, and he was startled and hurriedly leaned over to dodge.

I saw a short arrow flying past and piercing the wooden pillar in the room.

There seemed to be a piece of paper wrapped around the arrow.