The next day, Zhou Xian ordered people to call Tongzhi Wen Zhitong and asked him about the specific situation of Laizhou City. From him, he learned that the total population of Laizhou City is currently 20,000. Among them, the soldiers occupied about 4,000, and the soldiers in the camp were about 3,000, and the rest were the soldiers in the garrison.

Laizhou Guard, one of the three Laizhou Guards, was located in Laizhou City. Before the Wuqiao Mutiny, most of the guards were basically lost in the battle of Kong Youde's besieging Laizhou City. Originally, according to the organization of the guards, there was a commander, two commanders and the remaining commanders were the turn of the commander. But after that war, Laizhou Guards had not recovered their strength, nor had they promoted the post of only one commander who had survived, and only allowed him to command the remaining guards of Laizhou Guards as his original identity.

Laizhou City was built according to the military town model, and its degree of solidity was no less than that of most Central Plains cities. In addition, except for about 4,000 soldiers in the city, most of the remaining people were relatives of these soldiers, and the morale of the army and the people in the city were all concerned about the official army. Therefore, unless a large army invaded, there would basically be no problem with the defense of Laizhou City. This is also the fundamental reason why Laizhou City became the second strongest city in the East Three Prefectures except Laiyang City.

Zhou Xian asked Wen Zhitong about the land, population and some situations of the criminal prisons in other counties in Laizhou. At the beginning, Wen Zhitong could still answer, but as Zhou Xian's inquiry became more and more detailed, he felt more and more difficult to answer. Finally, he called the prosecutor in charge of the criminal prison, as well as the judge in charge of grain transportation and water conservancy to answer Zhou Xian's questions.

Their full-time job is obviously more fluent than Wen Zhitong in answering this matter. Through them, Zhou Xian basically has a general understanding of the overall situation of Laizhou.

Zhou Xian pondered for a moment, looked up at Ma Dingyuan and said, "Prime Minister Ma Tong, how much food and how much gold and silver are there in the Laizhou Treasury?"

Ma Dingyuan bowed and said, "Report to the guru, there are about 10,000 stones of wheat, grain, beans, 1,500 taels of gold, 20,000 taels of silver, and 300 pieces of brocade and silk in the Laizhou treasury."

Zhou Xian nodded and said, "The Laizhou is famine and countless people are displaced. On the way, I saw many victims rushing towards Laizhou City. Ma Tui, you take out five thousand stones of grain from the treasury and distribute it twice a day. Then take out one thousand taels of gold and ten thousand taels of silver, and send people to the wealthy Jinan Prefecture to buy all the grains. From tomorrow, in Laizhou City, I will not see anyone starving to death because of lack of food."

Ma Dingyuan's face was slightly stunned and he looked up at Wen Zhitong.

Wen Zhitong smiled slightly and said, "Master, you just came to Laizhou and probably don't know the situation. This is the only little inventory left in the treasury. Not only do the salaries of the officials rely on it, but the salaries of the soldiers in the army must also rely on it to maintain them. So far, the 3,000 soldiers in the city have not paid the salaries for four months. If they drag them down, it may affect the morale of the army. Therefore, the only remaining gold and silver must not be moved."

Zhou Xian knew that the salary arrears were serious in the late Ming Dynasty, but he thought that it was only the border army, but he did not expect that even the battalions and soldiers in the city would be like this. And the oweds lasted for four months. The salary of a battalion soldier for a month was totally converted into silver, which should be about seven taels, and the 3,000 soldiers per month was 21,000 taels. In other words, the remaining gold and silver in the treasury currently can only pay the wages of these soldiers for one month.

He frowned and asked, "How come he owe so much?"

Wen Zhitong sighed and said, "The salary of general soldiers should have been taken out in the treasury and then provided by the court. However, since the end of last year, the whole country had a severe drought, and the court used troops everywhere, resulting in the cut off the supply of the court. Laizhou is very poor, and the drought continues and various taxes cannot be collected, which leads to the current embarrassment. The remaining gold and silver are prepared to prevent emergencies, so they have not moved."

Zhou Xian nodded to express his understanding. He lowered his head and thought, "The victims should be in charge, and the soldiers' salaries should be paid. The key is where he can get the money from!"

"Prime Minister Ma Tong, we cannot ignore the victims. I think this is how you do it! You call 8,000 stones of grain from the treasury and no longer move the gold and silver in the treasury. At the same time, in the name of Laizhou Prefecture, we call on the rich gentry in the city to donate grain and money to help the victims. And the military pay of the soldiers cannot be delayed anymore, let's pay for one month first!"

Wen Zhitong looked surprised and said, "Master Zhou, if this happens, the treasury will be completely empty!"

Zhou Xian thought for a while and said, "Wen Tongzhi, I suddenly thought of a solution. Can you help me refer to it? In two months, the new grain will come down, and the treasury will be full at that time. If you borrow money from wealthy families in Laizhou in the name of the government, you promise that in addition to returning the principal, you will also add 10% of the interest rate in three months. Look, will they agree?"

Wen Zhitong's eyes opened slightly, and he was a little surprised by Zhou Xian's bold idea. He thought for a moment and said, "Master Zhou, this method is feasible, but is there a 10% interest rate silver a little too much? You should know that all the tax silver in the treasury is recorded. If you give them so much, it will be difficult to deal with it in the future. Besides, once the above investigation is made..."

Zhou Xian waved his hand and said, "If the superiors pursue it, I will bear all the responsibility alone. Wen Tongzhi, you must know that I have to do it. In this chaotic era, the prestige of the government has never been very high. If we cannot induce it with great profit, how many people are willing to lend their own money to the government!"

Wen Zhitong stopped and bowed and said, "I understand, but how much do you plan to borrow from the magistrate?"

Zhou Xian said: "Fifty thousand taels. Zhou just came here and was not familiar with the gentry and wealthy businessmen in Laizhou. I would like to ask Wen Tongzhi to do this. If we need our government to come forward to do anything, come to me."

Wen Zhi Channel: "Don't worry, my subordinates will do this."

Zhou Xian nodded and turned to Ma Dingyuan and said, "Prime Minister Ma Tong, the matter of providing relief to the victims will be temporarily left to you. You will be the one who needs to dig a stove and set up a placement site. If you need soldiers to maintain order, or help you resettle the victims, go directly to Gao Tuizheng and ask him to send the servants under his rule to you."

Ma Dingyuan bowed and said, "If you go down, arrange someone to do it."
Chapter completed!