In the Song Dynasty, there was no law or order.

The next day, the story of the fleet returning from overseas spread throughout Bianliang.

Kaifeng Mansion was shocked.

After learning that there was such a rich place thousands of miles away, many people asked about its whereabouts.

Throughout the streets and after dinner, the biggest news was talking about this matter.

A few days later, Zhao Jun took his wife and children to the Cao Mansion in person.

"uncle!"

At the gate of Cao Mansion, Zhao Jun and Cao Miaoxin both saluted Cao Cong who came to greet him.

"We are all one family, don't be so divided."

Cao Cong had already been notified by Cao Xiu and had already been waiting at the door to greet them and warmly welcomed them in.

Nowadays, one of the two nieces is married to the emperor and the other is married to the magistrate. The number one and two figures in the Song Dynasty are both sons-in-law of the Cao family. The Cao family is full of glory.

As the current head of the Cao family, Cao Cong is naturally careful to maintain the dignity of the Cao family and does not dare to neglect at all.

Zhao Jun smiled and followed Cao Cong in.

After marrying Cao Miaoxin, he actually came to Cao Mansion quite often, and he had to walk around every year and festival to avoid making his wife sad.

Cao Cong's house is very large, mainly because several of Cao Cong's brothers died early, and his more than 20 nephews and nieces were all young, so he has been responsible for taking care of the descendants.

They won't move out until their nephews and nieces reach adulthood. Anyway, the Cao family has a big business, so it's not like they can't afford to support them.

After entering Cao Mansion, I did not go to the main hall.

The main hall is a place for talking, so in order to show the closeness of the family, it is natural to go to the backyard.

Nowadays, apart from Cao Cong's second wife, only the youngest son Cao Ren still lives in the Cao Mansion, and the other Cao family heirs are basically independent.

Although there are many servants in such a large Cao Mansion, it is a bit empty. It is not lively on weekdays except during holidays.

They had a meal first and drank a few sips of tea after the meal. Mrs. Cao saw that Zhao Jun was about to talk about business with Cao Cong, so she took Cao Miaoxin, Cao Er and one-year-old Zhao Tan to the next room to chat. .

At this time, there were only two people in the room, Zhao Jun and Cao Cong.

Cao Cong took a sip of tea at this time, looked at Zhao Jun and said with a smile: "Hanlong, you have something to tell me."

"Um."

Zhao Jun nodded: "This matter is very important, so we must communicate with my uncle first."

"you say."

Cao Cong signaled.

"You yourselves know about the three redundant things, and the biggest problem is the redundant army."

Zhao Jun paid attention to Cao Cong's face. Sure enough, when he saw these words, Cao Cong's face stiffened slightly.

But he didn't say anything, but waited quietly.

Seeing this, Zhao Jun continued: "The problem of redundant troops must be solved. This is a national policy that cannot be lost. Taking advantage of the current cessation of the war with Xixia and Liao Kingdom, the Song Dynasty will carry out large-scale disarmament, eliminate the old and weak, and only retain The best people."

"This is for the sake of the imperial court, so it is the right thing to do, but"

Cao Cong hesitated and said: "Should we take it slow? Although the war in Xixia and Liao has stalled now, if we choose to eliminate the sergeants, they may attack again."

"I know what uncle is worried about."

Zhao Jun smiled and said: "Our family doesn't need to speak the same language. The Cao family is actually supported by this industry. Am I right?"

Cao Cong stopped talking.

The Cao family's appearance is pretty average, but even so, by supplying weapons and equipment, taking a free salary, and then letting their subordinates farm and do business for them, they earn hundreds of thousands of dollars every year.

Otherwise, how can we support this big family?

After getting used to this luxurious life, it is naturally difficult to downgrade.

Zhao Jun continued: "Of course the court will not sit idly by and ignore this matter. This year is an era of rapid changes. The concept must be to look forward, rather than just guarding this three-acre land. I will Tell your uncle."

"Yeah, I'm all ears."

Cao Cong responded.

"First of all, the number of soldiers who are old, weak and unable to fight is to be reduced. The imperial court estimates that the number will be hundreds of thousands. Of these 1.2 million people, it is best to reduce them to around 800,000, although I think 600,000 will be enough. , but there must still be some leftovers at the local level.”

Zhao Jun said: "My uncle also knows that there is no peace in the country now. There are many ethnic minorities who do not obey the king's rule. Well, we call them barbarians. The imperial court needs to rely on Jisi Mansion to maintain its rule. However, these people often rebel, so they remain. A certain number of Xiang troops are still necessary.”

Cao Cong frowned and a sad look appeared in his eyes. What should he do if he laid off so many people?

"The imperial court cannot resettle all those who have been laid off."

Zhao Jun explained: "But letting them go would be a waste of manpower, so I was thinking of raising them in another name. If the generals set up several private firms, the court would also invest in them, and the court would take over the old ones who were dismissed." The weak will be resettled and returned to their hometowns, and they will be given land, and the young and strong merchants who have been abolished can be recruited. "

"What's the use of this business?"

Cao Cong asked.

"It's very simple. Building steel plants, roads, stations, canals, and rivers requires people."

Zhao Jun said: "The imperial court will fund the construction, and the money will be handed over to you, and you will distribute it. This will save the soldiers from having nothing to do in the camp every day. Besides, have you heard about Chen Haizhong and the others?"

"Well, it's spreading all over Bianliang."

Cao Cong nodded.

"The imperial court invested more than one million guan in this trip, but they brought back more than 5 million guan of gold and silver, and more than 2 million guan of copper and iron. The profit was more than seven times."

Zhao Jun said with a smile: "The most important thing about this trading company is to build a fleet, which will be jointly funded by the imperial court and you, to sail overseas. Compared with you living on this little money every year, it is better to make a big fortune, uncle." What do you think?"

"Is there really such huge profits?"

Cao Cong said in surprise.

"That's natural. With the relationship between the Cao family, His Majesty and me, how could I possibly deceive my uncle?"

Zhao Jun replied confidently.

Cao Cong thought for a moment, nodded slightly and said, "If that's the case, I agree with this."

"That's great. Both the officials and I hope everyone can know about this. The redundant army has placed too heavy a burden on the imperial treasury. The imperial court has no choice but to treat everyone badly."

Zhao Jun said: "It may be a little difficult to get started at the beginning. Once we get on the right track, the situation will be much better. I hope that my uncle and all of you will be more considerate."

"Um."

Cao Cong responded.

Then Zhao Jun chatted with him about other things.

For example, he suggested that Cao remodel the existing weapons manufacturing workshop, connect it with the Wu'an Iron and Steel Plant, and change the production method from military industry to civilian use.

Farm tools are now scarce throughout the Song Dynasty. After steel production increases, expanding the production of farm tools can also increase productivity.

Secondly, you can contract for local government projects, such as building bridges and paving roads, digging canals and building dams, etc.

Although this may lead to collusion between government and business.

The problem is that there are currently no contractors in Song Dynasty. If we open a commercial bank first, it can be regarded as a semi-state-owned enterprise. If we strictly control the quality, there should be no problem.

There were other ways to make money, and they were all explained one by one. After chatting for more than an hour, Zhao Jun finally said goodbye and left.

On the way back, Zhao Tan wanted to play with his cousin. Cao Miaoxin slapped him in the face to show his honesty. She turned around and saw that her husband's face was not very good-looking, and wondered: "Husband, what's wrong?"

"You are a general, so you know the problem of redundant troops."

Zhao Jun said calmly: "My uncle and I are just talking about this matter. I hope Jiang Men can get out of the army and transfer to other industries."

"Uncle didn't agree?"

"accepted."

"Then why?"

"But I don't see him being too happy."

"I wouldn't be happy if it were me."

"The imperial court did not block the road, and it also gave them opportunities to engage in other industries. They will only earn more than in the army."

"Ha, husband, you just don't understand."

Cao Miaoxin smiled and said.

"oh?"

Zhao Jun said in confusion: "I don't understand why."

"They always earn a lot every year. Now if we ask them to engage in other careers, who will agree?"

Cao Miaoxin shook his head and said: "People are greedy. For most people, who would throw away the old path before the new path is sure to make money? What's more, even if the new path does make money, why can't it? How about making money from two ways together?”

In an instant, Zhao Jun was awakened.

He immediately understood that it might not be easy to deceive the generals and nobles.

"What do you mean?"

Zhao Jun's mind was spinning rapidly and he said, "Can you create a model?"

"I didn't think too much about it. I just thought that if they could see that the new approach was really profitable, they might agree."

Cao Miaoxin replied.

"Um."

Zhao Jun nodded slightly and said, "The Cao family is this typical example."

There is no one more suitable than the Cao family.

The carriage left slowly. Zhao Jun thought that as long as he made the Cao family a good example and let the generals and nobles see the profits, everything would be fine and the three redundancy problems could be solved peacefully.

However, in the Cao Mansion, after Zhao Jun left, Cao Cong's face never looked very good.

Mrs. Li, the step-wife who accompanied Zhao Jun and Cao Miaoxin out with him, turned around and saw that he was not in a good mental state, so she wondered: "Husband, what's wrong?"

"Oh, it's been such a troubled time."

Cao Cong shook his head.

"What is it that makes my husband so sad?"

Mrs. Li was puzzled.

"The imperial court wants to eliminate the disadvantages of three redundancies. Among them, the redundant army is related to my general."

Cao Cong replied.

Mrs. Li naturally did not come from a small family, but was the great-granddaughter of Li Fang, the prime minister in the early Northern Song Dynasty.

In the Song Dynasty, the civil servants, nobles, generals, and clans had deep entanglements and marriages with each other, which had long formed a large network in the court.

Moreover, they still have a lot of seats. Fan Zhongyan comes from an ordinary family and is not a powerful person in the early Song Dynasty. Historically, when facing them in the Qingli New Deal, they were naturally hampered at every turn.

At this moment, when Mrs. Li heard that the court was going to take action against Junjun, she frowned and said, "Is this what my son-in-law is talking about when he comes here today?"

"Um."

Cao Cong walked slowly towards the backyard with his hands behind his back.

The yard was very large, and there were some servants cleaning or trimming flowers and plants around. He lowered his voice and said, "The Constitutional Yuan plans to review the military roster and reduce redundant troops."

"Doesn't this not give us a way to survive?"

Mrs. Li suddenly became unhappy and complained: "The officials and magistrates are still Cao's son-in-law, how could they treat us like this?"

"Give us a way to survive. You know the ocean-going fleet came back yesterday, right?"

"I know it."

"They went on more than fifty ships, more than 6,000 people, spent about one million guan, and brought back gold, silver, and copper worth about 7 million guan."

"so much?"

"Well, the imperial court wants us to form a fleet and go overseas."

Cao Cong walked with his head down, making it difficult for people to see his face.

Madam Li naturally did not notice that Cao Cong had no joy on his face, and said happily: "If so, that's great, isn't this a great thing?"

"No, it's a bad thing."

Cao Cong shook his head: "Let alone the dangers overseas, there is the possibility of overthrow. Even if it goes smoothly, it is not as stable as the army, not to mention."

"What's more?"

"What's more, many things can't stand investigation, I'm afraid many people don't want to."

"What's so troublesome?"

Madam Li was puzzled.

The Cao family naturally occupied a lot of empty salary quotas and also supplied weapons and equipment.

But it would be good to have 200,000 strings of cash this year.

After all, the share is so large, and dozens of generals share it together. It is definitely impossible for each family to have tens of millions. The annual finances of the Song Dynasty are not enough to support them.

So if they can also go to sea, even if it takes five years, they can still get back 7 million, seven times the profit, why can't they do it?

Wouldn't that be better than now?

However, Cao Cong turned his head and looked at him, saying meaningfully: "Many things are hard to say."

"Tell me, what else is hidden between husband and wife?"

Mrs. Li was a little dissatisfied.

Cao Cong had to say: "There are more vacancies than imagined. The court wants to cut 800,000 people. They expect that 300,000 or 400,000 people will be laid off, but in fact, 200,000 will be good."

"."

Although Mrs. Li had heard about the chaos in the generals, she didn't expect it to be so chaotic.

She had to say: "If so, as long as everyone sincerely admits their mistakes to the government, I believe the government will forgive them."

"More than that."

Cao Cong said helplessly: "Many military equipment is either shoddy or even non-existent. Every year, a large amount of military equipment expenses are falsely reported."

"This"

Mrs. Li opened her mouth, not knowing what to say.

No wonder the court gave them such great conditions, and Cao Cong was worried.

Once the court started to take action against the redundant troops, it must investigate the situation.

In the past, the generals covered up each other, and the court's supervision was not in place. Almost no one checked, so they just let them do whatever they wanted.

I didn't expect that the generals were so ruthless.

This is because the Song Dynasty developed new firearms, grenades and cannons in the past few years. Otherwise, if they encountered the Western bandits and the Liao army, with these weapons and equipment and military quality, wouldn't they be defeated?

"And if the emperor and Hanlong knew about these things, they might let it go because the Northwest Army and the Hebei Army won the battle."

Cao Cong said lightly: "But do you know that many generals used to privately resell warehouse weapons to Xixia and Liao, and sell copper, iron, alum and other items to the enemy. And relying on the guards in their hands, they bullied the market and acted recklessly, and even beat people to death and robbed women?"

In an instant, Mrs. Li understood why her husband looked upset.

It's not that the conditions offered by the court are not good.

It's that the generals and nobles have done too many bad things in the past. Once they are found out, given Zhao Jun's inability to tolerate any sand in his eyes, I'm afraid many generals will be killed.

She asked hurriedly, "Is anyone from the Cao family involved?"

"Of course there is."

Cao Cong looked up at the sky and said bitterly, "This is a troubled time!"

As he spoke, his face became more worried and full of sorrow.