Chapter 164: A high official(1/2)
Liu Chengzong’s top priority is to figure out the ins and outs of this matter.
Just in time, He Yong, who had received He Renlong's approval, came to deliver the Tang Bao Di newspaper. Liu Chengzong immediately asked He Yong to send all the previous two months and give him money every month.
He Yong handled this matter very efficiently. He drove the carriage directly to Crouching Tiger Mountain and took away twenty-five taels of silver from the Lion Camp.
Liu Chengzong carefully read through the Di Baotang newspaper, and he felt that Master Chongzhen seemed... crazy.
Before Hou Jin entered the army, what he said and did was really like an emperor, with grace and grace.
After Jin joined the invaders, his temperament changed drastically.
It wasn’t just scolding, but just quarreling with whomever I caught, and scolding me for whatever I caught, and Huang Taiji was sent directly to menopause.
As for the money, it's quite simple. To put it bluntly, the capital has no money.
Therefore, we have to find a way to collect silver and transport it to Beijing. All the Qinwang troops gathered in the capital. The mutiny wave has passed, and all those left behind are starving loyal soldiers. From the Jiubian reinforcements to Guan Ning, at least five months are owed.
Military pay.
If you ask others to work hard, you have to pay.
Therefore, the imperial court had to find ways to collect money. The old taxes owed by the local government could not be paid, and more and more people were unable to pay the new taxes. Last year's taxes were only one-third of the rated amount.
We can only find another way. The original Chu salary of 800,000 taels was renamed Guizhou salary after the She'an Rebellion. Now that things are a little more stable there, half of it will be transferred to the capital.
There are also retention fees from the ministries of industry in each province, totaling 1,317,960 taels.
This money is difficult to collect, and no official in their right mind will be willing to hand it over in the whole province.
This money reaching the capital means that the local government has no ability to prevent, prevent or organize subsequent disasters.
The imperial court also knew that the money was difficult to collect, so it sent young officials from the capital to get the money to the capital, that is, imperial envoys.
The silver that Tianhou mentioned was transported to Yulin Town via Hexi Road is the money from Shaanxi.
It's important to understand the ins and outs of this matter.
But after he figured out the matter, several captains were less interested in the money.
The Sky Monkey, who screamed the most enthusiastically at first, seemed to have entered the sage time after a few days. He held his chin and shook his head: "Forget it, after thinking about it, I have nowhere to spend the money... Gold, silver and jewelry, what's the use of me?"
?"
Liu Chengzong raised his hands and laughed. It seemed that his education of the monkeys was very effective.
In fact, what the monkey in the sky said was also the most embarrassing part of the uprising in northern Shaanxi in the late Ming Dynasty.
The economy of most regions has been disrupted by drought, and the use of free money in this area is really limited.
The temptation is indeed not big.
But Liu Chengzong still waved his hand: "You can't say that. The Lion Camp can only say that there is no shortage of gold and silver, and we don't pay salaries, so I plan to give some pocket money to the brothers every now and then."
"Pocket money."
The monkey in the sky pondered these words and raised his hand to scratch his shaggy head: "Where are the flowers going?"
"You can spend it anywhere. I think this money must be robbed. It doesn't matter why we were robbed. What is important is that this money cannot fall into the hands of the emperor."
Liu Chengzong was very serious when he said this. He pointed towards the north in the Chinese military tent: "When the emperor has money, he can pay the border troops. Once he pays these people, they will come to deal with us."
In fact, Liu Chengzong felt that the Lion Camp did not need this money very much, but Chongzhen did not need it even more.
Huang Taiji, the tour guide of the Jianzhou tour group, has returned to Shenyang. What kind of money will he give to Chongzhen?
Zhong Hu, who was standing aside, said worriedly: "This money sounds like a lot of money. If you take it away, I'm afraid it will also trigger a conquest by the border troops."
"That's right."
Liu Chengzong pointed at Zhong Hu: "Then do you think it would be better for the border troops to take care of us after receiving their military pay and having enough to eat and drink, or should the brothers take the money and fight them again?"
Zhong Hu scoffed and said angrily: "Then you will definitely starve!"
"That's it, but I think it's possible... forget it."
Halfway through Liu Chengzong's words, he felt that he needed to plan the things in his mind in detail, so he did not continue, but said to the monkey in the sky: "Jiusi, you have an acquaintance in Yichuan, so let's ask about the money."
It’s up to you.”
When the Sky Monkey nodded in agreement, he then ordered: "Ask how much it will cost, have an approximate amount, and how many people will be escorted."
"Don't go back to two carriages to transport four large boxes. I thought there were two or thirty thousand taels, but when I opened them, I found two hundred taels. The next day, I read the newspaper and found that the Yan'an thief Liu Chengzong killed 500 officers and soldiers and robbed the officials of 300,000 taels.
, that would be interesting."
Everyone laughed, and the monkey in the sky didn't waste much time, and went out to do things after receiving the mission.
Liu Chengzong saw Chengyun smiling happily and said: "Chengyun, I also found something for you to do."
"What's the matter, brother?"
"Now there are book offices in every outpost. The Sky Monkey is going to the south, He Yong is in the north, and many leaders from northern Shaanxi have also entered Shanxi. I need you to go from village to village, starting from Yanchuan, and collect the household registration of each village.
Register the land."
"Log in, register?"
Chengyun was stunned and asked: "There are only these few villages left, what else can be registered?"
"Even if there is only one left, we have to register it. The population, land, hydrology, and products, I guess there are no big households now."
Liu Chengzong shook his head and said: "As an old man with high morals and high moral standards, if the whole village is willing, if they meet other thieves in the future, they will report my name as Liu Shishi, and no more people will die in northern Shaanxi."
Chengyun was stunned for a moment, then nodded and said, "Okay, I understand."
He was in a daze not because Liu Chengzong started to draw up territory, but because no more people could die in northern Shaanxi.
This is Liu Xiangyu’s self-rescue plan.
At that time, Liu Chengzong had just returned home, and his second uncle said that he would save himself, predicting that there would be no food in northern Shaanxi to support the army, and bandits would invade Shanxi in large numbers.
But Liu Xiangyu's prediction was only accurate to this point. He also said at that time that by the time the bandits entered the Jin Dynasty, the imperial court should have recovered its senses.
It was said that the emperor's sage would exempt the land of Qin from taxes, issue edicts to provide disaster relief, said that the gentry would build trenches and forts, build water conservancy projects for irrigation, and all townships and counties would take in the refugees and gather them together.
When the bandits return, they will have a place to live, and they will no longer cause chaos.
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None of the latter ones are accurate. The court has not recovered, the emperor has not exempted from taxes, and the gentry... There are no gentry left in northern Shaanxi.
Cheng Yun was stunned because he heard Liu Chengzong's intention and wanted to unravel the things that his second uncle failed to predict accurately.
But Cao Yao didn't know about this, so he asked: "What's the use of registering people? Next time the officers and soldiers come, they may be surrounded and suppressed. When they come, we still have to run. Do you want the people to follow you or not?"
?"
"Of course not."
Liu Chengzong shook his head and said: "I don't want to draw up territory, but I want to understand this land, find all the living people, try to have a better relationship with them, and find a way... to let them live."
"The money we want to rob should be used to build water conservancy projects. Large water conservancy facilities will not be repaired for a while, but we can do some small ones."
But he knew in his heart that under the conditions where drought has become a trend, it would be difficult to change it through small efforts.
So he just wanted to save the lives of the remaining people. After all, if they stay here until now, they may not plan to leave during their lifetime.
Liu Chengzong couldn't do anything more, he could only try his best to protect them from man-made disasters and endure natural disasters.
"The officials can't get out of the city gate. Moreover, many places north of Yanzhou only have county offices and no magistrates. We will act as a middleman. If the river cuts off in the future, we will move them to other places and gather them together."
."
"When I'm here, they don't have to pay food to the court. When I leave, they can delay as long as they can. Maybe I'll come back after they delay."
Cao Yao understood, nodded one after another and raised his hand: "Anyway, I still won't pay food to the court."
"By the way, even if you don't pay food to the imperial court, all officials and common people can survive. As long as you don't work for the imperial court, I won't harm them."
Wang Wenxiu tugged his beard and asked: "Where are those leaders coming back, King Gao Chuang who is not stained with mud?"
"They have all entered Shanxi. No one will be fat when they come back. If they come back naked from Shanxi, they will steal the three melons and two dates from the people..."
Liu Chengzong thought for a while and realized that this was indeed possible. He said: "If the little leaders are too hungry to do anything, we will help them survive. If there are those who like to kill people for fun, we will help them reincarnate."
"As for the big leader who can be named, King Chuang will not do this. I don't think he is that confused if he is not in trouble. King Huntian and Zuo Guazi may be recruited. If they are not recruited, it will be fine. I think we can talk about it."
"Lion, I still don't understand, why?"
The monkey in the sky asked doubtfully: "Just doing a good deed?"
"This is not just about doing good deeds. Think about it, if we robbed food, we could eat it ourselves, so why did we rob money? We have nowhere to spend it. To put it bluntly, I just want my brothers to drink some wine. I can't find it anywhere.
There’s so much wine.”
Liu Chengzong explained: "My head is a little confused. How should I put it? Unite the villages along the river and water. This village has sheep, and that village has grain. If there is no surplus, forget it."
"If we have some extra money, we can give some pocket money to the war auxiliaries, and set up camps around the outposts. We can occasionally take a vacation, go to the village to eat mutton, drink a few sips of wine, and settle down with their families. Then the local people will also have money.
, then there will be a market again.”
Liu Chengzong said and sighed: "The people who follow me are all honest people. We can't always keep them in a circle and make them suffer."
Liu Chengzong never thought about harvesting grain. At most, he only looked forward to the negligible farm surplus.
To be continued...