"What do you mean by that?"
Zhe Yourong looked at Han Mo in confusion, not knowing what tricks this brat was up to again.
"Alright, we're all sensible people, let's be frank! How did you get involved with him?"
Han Mo spoke as he pointed to the token on the ground.
"What nonsense are you talking about? What do you mean by 'involved'?"
Zhe Yourong's expression immediately became somewhat unnatural.
"Still pretending? If you say that, then we have nothing to talk about!"
Han Mo simply spread his hands.
If it were before today, he wouldn't have been in such a hurry.
However, with things reaching this point, he had no choice but to try and probe.
Regarding the disaster relief, Prince Xin had done as much as he could. Fortunately, the weather was still relatively mild.
However, the weather was slowly warming up, and it would get hotter day by day.
If it dragged on for another ten days or so, the epidemic might truly break out, and by then, it would truly be a catastrophic event.
Now, he had only two paths before him.
Either Prince Yun or the Crown Prince. He had to bring one of these two factions in.
Only then could the subsequent matters continue to be pushed forward. Otherwise, even if he had iron all over him, how many nails could he hammer?
Crown Prince Zhao Huan had already won over Liang Shicheng, and Wang Fu naturally followed the Crown Prince.
As for Prince Yun, he had Tong Guan and Cai You.
Both sides were now eyeing Cai Jing, and everyone was after Cai Jing's position.
If Han Mo didn't intervene, according to the original historical trajectory, the two sides would soon cooperate. Wang Fu would scheme in the dark, while Tong Guan and Cai You would lead the charge.
In no time, the positions left vacant by Cai Jing's departure would be divided between the two factions.
Prince Xin Zhao Zhen would still get nothing. Neither Wang Fu nor Tong Guan were good people.
Tong Guan was arrogant and reckless, seeking credit and advancing rashly. Wang Fu was insatiably greedy, stripping people to the bone. Whichever of the two gained the upper hand, it would not be good news for the Song Dynasty, which was already critically ill.
If Han Mo wanted to carve out a share for Zhao Zhen in this feast, he had to choose a side to join.
However, which side to align with truly made him hesitate.
Therefore, he also really wanted to see what role Zhe Yourong, or rather the Zhe family, played in this matter.
Zhe Yourong did not speak, only glancing at Chun Tao beside her.
"Mo Ge'er, I'll go to the kitchen and make you something to eat!"
Chun Tao immediately understood and prepared to leave.
"No need for food, I brought some pastries back. Take them and share them with Yan'er!"
Han Mo spoke as he gestured to the food box beside him.
"Mm!"
Chun Tao also knew they had something to discuss. She smiled sweetly, took the food box, and left.
Soon, only Han Mo and Zhe Yourong were left in the room.
"Can we talk now?"
Han Mo asked as he pulled over a chair and boldly sat down.
"What's there to talk about? It's just taking what each needs!"
"What do you mean, taking what each needs?"
Han Mo frowned.
"Do you think the Zhe family, having governed the lands of Linfu and Fengsan three states for generations, should be incredibly wealthy?"
Zhe Yourong took a deep breath, calmed her emotions, and then looked at Han Mo seriously.
"Isn't it common knowledge in the Song Dynasty that all military officials are now swimming in wealth?"
The issue of empty payrolls, exploiting soldiers, and the military engaging in commerce had long been a pervasive problem in the Song Dynasty.
At times, even the emperor tacitly approved of it.
This was partly due to the current emperor's incompetence, but it was also a historical legacy.
Speaking of which, one had to mention the military system of the Song Dynasty.
Unlike other dynasties, there was no concept of retirement in the Song Dynasty.
In other words, for ordinary soldiers, once they joined the army, they never retired.
Those who were physically strong could remain in the imperial guards, while those who were not tall enough or could no longer be utilized would be transferred to the auxiliary troops.
Whenever the country faced a major disaster, the court's relief policy was to select robust individuals from the disaster victims to join the army.
On one hand, there was no possibility of retirement, and on the other hand, there was a continuous influx of new recruits.
This directly led to a very realistic problem: the number of soldiers grew larger and larger, leading to a financial crisis.
As the number of soldiers increased, so did the number of elderly, weak, sick, and disabled soldiers, yet they remained on the army's roster.
The imperial court's annual expenditure on military expenses already accounted for eighty percent of the country's total income.
Under such circumstances, it was no longer surprising for military officials to take empty payrolls and exploit soldiers.
This situation was unavoidable even in the elite Western Army.
Therefore, this led to the first impression that ordinary military officials were all swimming in wealth.
"Do you know how much the military expenses were for the fifty thousand soldiers of the Zhe family in Linfu and Fengsan three states last year?"
Zhe Yourong asked with a cold smile.
"The court's military pay is sixty strings of cash per year for the imperial guards, and half for the auxiliary troops. Is this problem difficult to calculate?"
This question was not difficult for Han Mo. Coincidentally, a recent exam he had seen had answered a similar question, so he blurted it out.
"Yes, sixty strings of cash per year for the imperial guards and thirty strings of cash per year for the auxiliary troops. However, the Zhe family's soldiers only receive thirty strings of 'money orders' (qian yin) per year! As for military equipment and provisions, the Zhe family has to procure them themselves!"
Zhe Yourong's eyes were filled with coldness as she spoke.
Han Mo finally understood. No wonder this Miss Zhe had personally turned to thievery.
After all this talk, she was probably driven by money…
Qian yin, this thing could be considered an upgraded version of Jiaozhi, and also the earliest true paper money in history.
However, the difference between this and Jiaozhi was that Jiaozhi was based on a silver standard.
That is to say, no matter when you held one string of Jiaozhi, you could exchange it for one string of copper coins.
But this thing, the first rule was no exchange!
To put it bluntly, this thing was no different from toilet paper.
If it weren't for the fact that it could be used to offset some taxes, no one would even bother picking it up if it were dropped on the road.
Despite being beautifully printed, one string of Qian yin could only be used as four hundred coins, and this number was decreasing year by year.
There was no other reason than the fact that the total amount issued and the timing of issuance depended entirely on the emperor's mood…
Using this to pay military salaries, Prime Minister Cai was really calculating…
The Zhe family had inherited the lands of Linfu and Fengsan three states since the founding of the empire by Emperor Taizu. After more than a hundred years, even Han Mo wouldn't believe that the court had no defenses against them.
"There are constant battles in the northwest, yet the soldiers cannot even guarantee the most basic military equipment. Little nobles like you have probably never heard of paper armor, right?"
After hearing her words, Han Mo fell silent.
"How much is that worth?"
After a long while, Han Mo finally spoke again.
"What does that have to do with you?"
Zhe Yourong bit her lip stubbornly. Although her eyes were a little red, she refused to lower her head.
"Perhaps, I can double it?"
Han Mo raised his head directly, met her gaze, and said with a smile.