I've been bullied and humiliated for thirteen years; when I wake up, I'll be bloodthirsty.

Chapter 743 Drag 1 Drag

After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, Huang Sumu was called away by Uncle Fang and the others for a chat. Only then did Lu Yangyang whisper to Sheng Junyao, "Big brother, do you want to ask Mingxiu for help?"

Sheng Junyao smiled, "As expected, nothing can be hidden from you."

Lu Yangyang looked at him.

Sheng Junyao explained to her, "The accounts in the camp are managed by a special person. The person in charge of the border trade is called Ye Chengfeng. The Ye family were criminals during the reign of the late emperor and could not enter officialdom, but Ye Chengfeng himself is a very talented person. Therefore, I kept him in the camp as a military advisor. He also helped me build up the border trade step by step."

"The bulk of the tax revenue from the border trade goes to the imperial court. A portion is used for military expenses, and another portion is used for the management fees of the border trade. This was the rule set by His Highness before. However, in the past two years, His Highness has not been in court, and many people have submitted petitions to transfer all the tax revenue from the border trade to the imperial court, which would then allocate military funds in a unified manner."

Sheng Junyao sighed softly and explained the intricacies of the matter to her.

The original intention of establishing border markets in the northwest was to stabilize relations with foreign tribes through trade, replacing plunder with trade, and reducing or avoiding war. However, initially, no one believed that this measure would actually be effective.

That's why Zong Que was able to seize the opportunity to propose using a portion of the tax revenue from the trade markets for military expenses, thereby reducing the amount of military funds allocated to the Northwest. Under the circumstances at the time, the Ministry of Revenue naturally welcomed the idea of ​​the court reducing military expenditures, as military expenses were a major expenditure every year, and every little bit saved was valuable.

No one expected that the border trade would continue to improve and generate more and more tax revenue.

As a result, the military funds allocated to the Northwest each year began to be delayed and gradually decreased. In fact, in the last two years, after Zong Que left the court, the court has not allocated a single penny of military funds to the Northwest.

He even repeatedly proposed that all the tax revenue from the Northwest trade markets should be returned to the imperial court.

The suggestion itself is reasonable.

The taxes collected from the border trade should rightfully belong to the imperial court, which would then allocate military funds to the Northwest. According to the agreement between Sheng Junyao and Zong Que, all taxes should have been handed over once the border trade stabilized. However, Zong Que was deposed, and the Northwest is now in a very awkward situation.

After hearing Sheng Junyao's explanation, Lu Yangyang understood the current situation.

Many in the imperial court wanted to seize the lucrative trade market, but at this juncture, it has become a hot potato.

Since the entire trade was handled by Sheng Junyao, even if we could take this lucrative opportunity from Sheng Junyao, we would still have to be wary of him causing trouble. But if we wanted to seize the military power from Sheng Junyao, we would have to worry about whether the Northwest would fall into turmoil again.

The northwestern border has always been unstable, with wars raging year after year. It has only recently stabilized thanks to trade, and while initial progress has been made in just a few years, it cannot fundamentally change the entrenched situation that has existed for thousands of years. If it were to return to a state of war so soon after taking over, it would be a net loss, and might even cost lives.

Therefore, even if the emperor wanted to take away the military power in the Northwest, he would now have to consider the situation in the Northwest.

This is where Sheng Junyao is as secure as Mount Tai, but at the same time, even if he can't get a piece of this coveted piece of meat, there are always people who try to trip him up at every turn.

Military spending and taxation are the biggest problems right now.

The imperial court wanted to reclaim the taxes from the border trade and threatened to use military funds as leverage. However, based on the current tax revenue from the border trade, it was enough to support the Northwest Army. This was both a good thing and a bad thing. If a region could be self-sufficient in military funds, the emperor would be the one who couldn't sleep soundly.

Therefore, military spending was repeatedly delayed, but it still had to be paid. The prerequisite for payment was that taxes had to be paid first, and so the two sides were locked in a tug-of-war.

"They can't openly sabotage us, so they're making moves behind the scenes, causing trouble with the accounts. But our current situation isn't that we can't pay taxes, but that if we do, military spending will be delayed or even halved. If this drags on for a year or two, the Northwest Army will be completely under our control. So now is not the time; we can only try to find a way to deal with it." Sheng Junyao said helplessly, "Chengfeng isn't good at accounting, and he's been having a headache over this every day. He came to me to complain, and the accountants show him a hundred or so ledgers every day, but he has no way to explain himself. So when I heard you say that Mingxiu is good at accounting, I wanted to ask you if you could let Mingxiu help him out for a few days to sort out the accounts and prevent anyone from finding fault with him."

“That’s easy to say,” Lu Yangyang laughed. “If Mingxiu knew she could get involved in something this big, she’d be overjoyed! There really isn’t a better way to handle this right now. I’ll call Mingxiu over, and she can help out tomorrow.”

There were some things left unsaid, but both Lu Yangyang and Sheng Junyao understood what was going on.

Taxes must be paid, of course, but not at this time under any circumstances.

Once the funds are handed over, the Northwest Army will be insufficient for military expenses. When it comes time for the Northern Expedition, the Northwest Army will be unable to play any role and will be stuck in the Northwest, unable to move.

They have been preparing for this for so long, stabilizing the Northwest, all in preparation for the Northern Expedition. Now that they have reached this point, they absolutely cannot afford to fail at this crucial moment.

However, the imperial court's proposal to collect all taxes from the intercity market is reasonable. In other words, with no crown prince yet established and the court unstable, all factions are watching the Northwest, creating a strange balance. As long as this balance is not broken, they still have time.

They should delay it for now, until the Chenzhou case is reopened and Zong Que returns to the court, then they will have no more worries.

As the two were talking, Lu Yangyang raised her hand and called Mingxiu over, "Mingxiu, come here for a moment."

"What's wrong, sister?" Mingxiu got up and was about to walk over when a travel-worn young man suddenly stopped in his tracks.