As the saying goes, behind the red doors, meat and wine go to waste, while on the road, people freeze to death.

No matter how poor the country is, no matter how much the common people suffer from life and death, some people will always have a feast. Besides, except for the Zhao Emperor's family, which is in a state of decline, no one else is so poor that their entire family is reduced to only four or five people, their savings are looted, and only a large ancestral house remains.

Even if they were as impoverished as the Zhao Emperor is now, they could still produce and consume enough to afford a meal.

Back to the present, after this court meeting, which was made earthy by the presence of several Grand Marshals, everyone dispersed. The Zhao Emperor went to enjoy the imperial banquet with Yue Fei and Wan Qixie, while the others in the hall, except for Qu Duan, who was ignored by everyone and probably needed to go back to the Capital Province to handle some procedures, then rent a house, order takeout, feed the horses, and so on, all had their own destinations...

Han Shizhong took the initiative to grab Prime Minister Lü Haowen, intending to drink at his house, and didn't forget to call on Lü Qin; Wang Yan took the initiative to follow Prime Minister Xu Jingheng to the Xu residence; even Grand Marshal Zhang Jun rarely exchanged a few heartfelt words with his long-unseen godfather, Wang Yuan, and then the two of them slowly walked towards Hubo Yan Wang's residence together.

After a few rounds of wine, as the sun began to set, these Grand Marshals, who had something on their minds, naturally directly inquired about the situation in a somewhat earthy manner.

"Prime Minister Lü, has the national treasury really reached this point?"

Under the shade of trees in the emperor-bestowed Prime Minister's residence, with red flowers and green leaves, Han Shizhong, still wearing his jade belt, rarely struck a careful pose. "Is it really that bad just because the two Hebei and Shandong provinces are gone, and then Guanzhong and Huaibei, as well as Jingxi, are a bit chaotic... Even so, it should still be half of what it used to be, which is five or six million in annual revenue, right? Why is it only two or three million?"

"Can you hide such things from people?" Lü Haowen put down his chopsticks, utterly speechless.

"How can you calculate it like that?" Lü Qin, who had just put down his wine glass, was also speechless. "If I say something that you, Liangchen, won't like to hear, Grand Marshal Zhang would never ask like this at Prime Minister Wang's place... At least they have some common sense about finance! The national economy is interconnected, like a living person. How can you keep half if you suddenly cut it in half? If you break a leg, doesn't it bleed?"

Lü Qin was a veteran who had fought on the battlefield together, and his words were so direct that Han Shizhong couldn't help but feel embarrassed.

"Grand Marshal Lü is right." Lü Haowen had his usual good temper, but he explained to the other party casually. "For example, most of the national treasury comes from commercial taxes. But don't commercial affairs require north-south travel? Silk from Jiangnan used to be sold to Hebei, but can it still be sold now? If you want to find new sales channels, doesn't it take time? And business is all about safe transportation. When war breaks out, it has the greatest impact on people's hearts..."

Han Shizhong seemed to understand something: "Indeed, the Emperor has only had two years on the throne, and the southeast has only been peaceful for half a year..."

"That's right," Lü Haowen sighed softly in front of the rough man, but he also spoke directly. "In the first year of Jianyan after the Jingkang Incident, chaos broke out everywhere in the southeast. Under the smoke of war, the Imperial Song Dynasty was in danger of being destroyed. At that time, would anyone dare to go out and sell large quantities of goods? Later, Lord Li calmed the area down, but it only lasted for half a year. Last year, starting in the autumn of the second year of Jianyan, the Jiangning army rebelled again, and it has continued to this day. Where can people's hearts be stable and transportation be safe? And this year, it looks like it will be good for a while, but who dares to say that it will continue to be peaceful after autumn?"

"It's the Jin people." Han Shizhong finally realized.

"It is indeed the Jin people." Lü Haowen sighed slowly. "The Jin people come every year, and when the Jin people come, the situation worsens. Not to mention the places directly ravaged, even the rear is difficult to maintain a stable mind... Haven't several disturbances in the southeast arisen along with the Jin's offensive?"

Han Shizhong continued to ponder.

Lü Haowen also simply spoke bluntly: "Before the Jingkang Incident, the southeast had more than 20 million in revenue. By the middle of Jianyan, even if it could be collected, it was only about 10 million. This is what turmoil causes. And in theory, as the situation stabilizes, these revenues should be able to slowly return to their former state, and even increase a bit because of the influx of refugees from the south and the gradual increase in population... But one premise is that the Jin people cannot attack, and there can be no more disturbances."

"So the central government would rather increase taxes to raise troops?" Lü Qin asked cautiously. "Once taxes are increased, Jiangnan will inevitably become unstable, and there may be disturbances. But if taxes are not increased, we won't be able to stop the Jin people, and it will also be unstable? But if we stop the Jin people, we will eventually be able to recover gradually?"

"Grand Marshal Lü's words have hit the nail on the head." Lü Haowen gave a bitter smile. "Increasing taxes is certainly not good, but the key is whether the front line can win after the tax increase... Not to mention winning, as long as the Jin army cannot cross the Huai River, and the situation remains in a stalemate as it did last time, then with the general trend of people wanting stability, the finances will gradually recover. And with the Emperor's lack of personal desires, any tax increases will inevitably be reduced back; but if we can't stop them, then not to mention the stories on the front line, even the rear will inevitably be more chaotic... This is gambling on victory or defeat."

Han Shizhong nodded slowly, but then shook his head slowly: "In that case, the Emperor is still extremely difficult, and he is indeed a bit annoyed with me and Zhang Jun... I heard that although Yue Fei is young, he is as austere as the Emperor. Is that why he caught the Emperor's eye?"

"There's nothing that can be done about it." Lü Haowen stroked his beard slightly, sighing. "I just said that the Emperor has few personal desires, and you said that the Emperor is austere, but that is still not enough to match the Emperor's current posture... In fact, many old dignitaries have returned to Tokyo these days. Seeing the Emperor in such a situation, some people simply say that the Emperor is practicing self-discipline and biding his time."

Han Shizhong was most concerned about this matter, so he asked carefully again: "Therefore, is the Emperor really annoyed with me for the military's extravagance?"

"Not really." Lü Haowen came back to his senses and immediately shook his head. "Liangchen is a great general of the country, the best general in the world. How could he really be annoyed with you? The special war tax was also agreed upon by the central government after a long discussion. It's just that the Emperor is indeed in a bad mood today because of the matter of finances and military expenses... Besides, the Emperor is determined to resist the Jin, and even someone like Qu Duan was spared just because he maintained the situation in northern Shaanxi. How could he be really annoyed with Liangchen, who has made great contributions to the country?"

"To be honest, Prime Minister, whether the Emperor is really annoyed or pretending to be annoyed, I feel a bit... apprehensive after the Emperor showed his anger today." Han Shizhong pointed to his chest.

"Isn't apprehension normal?" Lü Haowen didn't take it seriously. "That is, after all, the Emperor... If Liangchen is sincere, I won't say much about fighting wars. Liangchen is naturally a model of loyalty to the country, but you should also put some effort into military discipline, otherwise that Yue Pengju will sooner or later surpass you... You just asked whether Yue Pengju is favored by the Emperor because of his austerity, and I can also answer you, no! The Emperor doesn't care about these small things. It's because Yue Pengju's troops have exemplary discipline! Do you know that after the suppression of the rebellion in the southeast, Yue Pengju escorted the southeast's finances to the capital again? His troops' discipline was extremely strict. At first, Privy Councilor Lü mentioned it in his memorial from Yangzhou, and no one dared to believe it, but when the wealth arrived in the capital, the accounts were clear, and not a single penny was lost. Only then did it shock the court, making everyone know that this man has the demeanor of an ancient famous general."

Lü Qin then chimed in again: "In fact, Pengju is also really outstanding in using troops and recognizing people, but he is not yet known to the world. He once fought under my command for more than a month, and I was deeply impressed."

Under the flowering trees, Han Shizhong sighed, but then bowed his head again and said: "Prime Minister Lü, Grand Marshal Lü, thank you for the reminder. I will naturally try my best to manage my subordinates and save the Emperor some trouble when I get back. But there's more than just that today. I have a private matter here, concerning Yue Pengju. Originally, I was prepared to handle it privately, but after what happened today, whether I bring it up or not, it seems like I'm a petty person who's jealous, which is really embarrassing. Therefore, please help me advise on it... To be honest, Yue Pengju's original wife, I don't know when, drifted into my army with the refugees and married a captain. This was only discovered last month, but she has been married for a year. How should I deal with this?"

Lü Haowen and Lü Qin didn't understand at all at first. On the contrary, because they had been talking for so long, their mouths were dry, and they were both eating and pouring wine at this time. But after a long while, the two of them were stunned... Who has ever encountered such a thing?

Leaving aside Han Shizhong's encounter with such an embarrassing situation and being caught in a dilemma, on the other side, with the summer breeze blowing gently, as the saying goes, "Two hands can't pull it all out, the summer wind blows and it grows again..." Inside the vast Yanfu Palace, in a stone pavilion by a small lake overgrown with weeds due to the lack of manpower, the increasingly irritable Zhao Emperor was still losing his temper and showing his displeasure to someone.

"You're saying that my Grand Marshals and Jiedushi were your family's former tenant farmers?" Inside the stone pavilion, everyone stood with their hands tied, while Zhao Jiu, the only one sitting, stared at the person standing in front of the pavilion and sneered.

The person in front of the pavilion was Han Qi's grandson, Emperor Shenzong's maternal grandson, and also considered a cousin of Zhao Jiu's body. It was Han Shu, the current head of the returning Plum Blossom Han family. He had just entered the capital today and was summoned to the inner palace, but he was greeted with these words. At this moment, he was almost shaking like a sieve, and he didn't know how to respond.

"Your Majesty..." Yue Fei sighed helplessly when he saw this and could only clasp his hands in supplication. "Your subject was born into poverty, and my father and son were indeed tenant farmers of the Han family for two generations. Moreover, if the Han family hadn't promoted me when I was in the countryside, I might not have been able to work as an archer to support my family. The Han family does indeed have kindness towards my family, and there is no falsehood in this matter."

"I know there is no falsehood in this matter." Zhao Jiu still sneered, but he still stared at Han Shu and said, "But some things, although they are true, what does it mean to keep saying them to everyone? From Yangzhou to Tokyo, you've been saying it all the way, as if you're afraid that others won't know that my Grand Marshals used to be your family's tenant farmers? The Zhao family's empire was still yielded by the Chai family, but I haven't heard the Chai family tell everyone about this, right? What are your intentions? Is it that only your Han family is noble, the number one prominent family in the Song Dynasty, with disciples and former officials all over the world? Han Shu, are you trying to be Yuan Shao or Yuan Shu?"

Han Shu completely couldn't bear it when he heard the last words. He knelt down in front of his cousin in public and kowtowed repeatedly.