Zong Ying’s brow was furrowed, but he still looked at Han Mo and asked.
“Catastrophe has descended, the iron hooves of the foreign tribes have trampled Bianjing, a thousand years of culture, destroyed in an instant, within the city of Bianliang, blood and fire everywhere, the Great Song’s realm, everywhere are refugees…”
When people are in the rain, they always become sentimental. Even someone like Han Mo, who was usually terrifyingly calm, couldn't help but become a little sad.
These words had been weighing on his heart for too long. At this moment, he treated it as a dream, and spoke them to Zong Ying.
Or rather, he wanted to use Zong Ying’s mouth to speak them to Zhao Zhen…
“This is impossible. Although our Great Song’s national strength has declined slightly in recent years, once Yan Yun is recovered, the court’s territory will increase significantly, and the taxes will naturally increase on a large scale. Besides, our Great Song still has a million forbidden troops. The Khitans are about to be annihilated, who else can break through Bianliang City?”
After a brief silence, Zong Ying immediately began to refute.
Han Mo just smiled, but he had no intention of arguing with him.
Indeed, this was why he had always been unwilling to argue with these literati on this matter.
Not only Zong Ying, but even any official in the court at this moment, their final reaction would surely be similar to his when hearing these words.
Everyone was immersed in the beautiful dream of recovering Yan Yun, completely failing to see the immense crisis after its recovery.
“Didn’t I tell you? It was just a dream, why are you taking it so seriously?”
With a bitter smile, Han Mo regained his composure. He took a deep breath, then casually closed the window, shutting out all the wind and rain.
“Why talk about these things? By the way, let’s get back to the main topic. His Majesty has handed over the matter of raising grain and fodder to the newly appointed Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, Tang Ke!”
“If I’m not mistaken, our Lord Tang is already preparing to borrow money from the wealthy merchants in the city at this moment!”
“How do you know?”
Hearing Han Mo say this, Zong Ying finally looked at him with some confusion.
This was information he had spent 200 guan to obtain. Han Mo had been with Wu Lian’er all night, and when he came today, Han Mo was still fast asleep. Could this guy really have foresight?
“Isn’t this easy to guess? The Ministry of Revenue has so little wealth. Tong Guan used up almost everything when he went on campaign. Even if there’s any left, I estimate it has already become materials for the Geng Yue construction site. Besides borrowing money, does he have any other way?”
Han Mo spoke as he picked up the teapot on the table and poured himself a cup of tea.
Although the tea had long since gone cold, and the water carried a foul, grassy smell, Han Mo was in high spirits due to the good news, and even drank the cold tea filled with grass dregs with a smile.
“I heard that as soon as this Vice Minister Tang took office, he made a military pledge to His Majesty that he would raise at least three million guan in military funds!”
“Tsk tsk tsk, this is truly a grand gesture!”
“Don’t gloat here. Your father-in-law’s business has also been targeted by him. I heard that Vice Minister Tang is currently searching all over the city for your family’s chief manager!”
Seeing Han Mo’s gloating expression, Zong Ying suddenly said with a smile.
“It’s useless even if he finds the chief manager. All the revenue from all the shops in Bianliang City is transported out of the city by carriage every three days, and then sent to other places to open new stores.”
“Really? Aren’t you guys bothered by the trouble?”
Zong Ying had initially wanted to see Han Mo make a fool of himself, but he didn’t expect Han Mo to say something like this.
“Of course it’s true. Don’t forget, this business is still in a state of endless spending. Basically, all the revenue is reinvested in the business. Even if he seizes all the shops around Bianliang, he probably won’t be able to scrape together twenty thousand guan in copper coins!”
As Han Mo said this, he revealed a proud smile.
However, this was not because he was deliberately targeting Tang Ke.
For this business to make money quickly, it required rapid expansion.
Therefore, this meant that in the early stages, all their revenue had to be quickly reinvested in the business.
Even the shareholders would have to wait until the end of the year to receive their due dividends.
“Then it seems our Lord Tang is going to have bad luck this time. He has placed great hope on your father-in-law’s business. If the situation is truly as you say, other merchants will be even more difficult to deal with!”
At this point, Zong Ying was even a little gloating himself.
The reason why these seventy-two principal shops could survive in Bianliang City, surrounded by wolves, was because each of these principal shops had its own powerful backing.
From what he knew, more than a dozen of them pointed to the various royal families of the Great Song dynasty.
The court’s financial situation had been worsening in recent years, and its creditworthiness had also been declining.
Under these circumstances, lending money to the court was like throwing money into a bottomless pit.
Even if the managers agreed, their backing imperial relatives would not agree.
Wealth is hard to part with, and three million guan is not a small amount. Even if it is divided among each family, it is tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of guan.
To snatch meat from their mouths would indeed be a severe test for Tang Ke.
“My lord! Just received news that Cai Zun, the general of Qingxi, has died in battle. Shezhou and Quzhou are in imminent danger. Rebel armies are already active in large numbers in the nearby prefectures and counties!”
As the two were talking, a clear voice suddenly came from outside the door.
“Bring it here for me to see!”
Zong Ying, who had just been gloating, suddenly stood up and quickly opened the door, taking the intelligence they had just gathered from his attendant.
“In just a few days, it has already spread to three prefectures?”
After reading the contents of the intelligence, Zong Ying’s face became extremely grim.
After all, according to their plan, the final cleanup would still fall on Zhao Zhen.
If the situation truly deteriorated to an unmanageable state, wouldn't they be lifting a rock only to drop it on their own feet?
“Alright, no need to look. Do you really think that the ground frozen three feet deep is the result of a single day’s cold? It won’t be long before more bad news arrives. After all, if they don’t prepare thoroughly for rebellion, how dare they launch it?”
Compared to Zong Ying’s worry, Han Mo appeared much calmer.
“That’s true, but if it continues at this pace, by the time the imperial army is deployed, won’t the number of rebels the prince has to face be more than ten times what it is now…”