Compared to Han Sui and others, Ma Teng was an honest man, and he had long wanted to return to the Han Dynasty, so Dong Zhuo was not worried that he would not contribute, but Han Sui was a cunning fox. He was the first to join the Xiliang rebellion.

Everyone else thought that he died for various reasons, but he was alive and well. From this, we can see Han Sui's ability, so Dong Zhuo didn't believe in Han Sui very much!

Jia Xu smiled bitterly and said: "Judging from the intelligence we got, although Han Sui was also harassing the Tengjia Army in Shuofang County, Han Sui took advantage when he had any advantage and ran away when there was no advantage. There was no hard battle at all, and the two sides never fought.

Fight more.

Wang Lei of Shuofang County immediately recruited 50,000 troops after Han Sui attacked Bingzhou. Han Sui is now complaining to us repeatedly, saying that the Tengjia Army has many soldiers, strong combat power, and the natural dangers of the desert. It will be difficult for them to defeat Tengjia.

The Tengjia Army and even the Tengjia Army have plans to counterattack Xiliang, and we need to increase our support, otherwise Xiliang will be occupied by the Tengjia Army!"

Dong Zhuo said angrily: "Han Sui, an old fox, only eats but doesn't work!"

The departure fee Dong Zhuo paid to Han Sui was 100,000 shi of food, and then he would also give Han Sui 100,000 shi of food every month. Han Sui took Dong Zhuo's 300,000 shi of food, but only gave him one Shuofang County to harass.

, and even wanted to threaten him, because he didn't have much food and grass in his hands now. Seeing that this war was going to empty the court, damn Han Sui was still cheating him of food and grass. How could this not make Dong Zhuo angry!

Dong Zhuo said angrily: "Tell Han Sui that if he wants food and grass in the future, he can give me the heads of the Tengjia Army's subordinates in exchange for 10 stones per head. If he can kill 10,000 Tengjia Army's subordinates, the truth will be

Just give him 100,000 stones of food and grass. If he can kill 100,000 people, I will give him 1 million stones of food and grass!"

Jia Xu worriedly said: "Han Sui is not only cunning, but also ruthless. If the Prime Minister really uses this method to seduce Han Sui, maybe he will actually massacre hundreds of thousands of ordinary members of the Tengjia Army, and the imperial court will not be able to do so."

Bring out millions of grains, grass and stones. If the Prime Minister cannot produce these grains, Han Sui may turn against us. Then Han Sui will lead his troops to attack Guanzhong and we will be in big trouble!

Dong Zhuo sneered and said: "I know Lei Gong. He cares most about the life and death of these ant people. Most of the wars Lei Gong has fought over the years have been for these ant people. Han Sui dared to massacre the members of the Tengjia Army, let alone 100,000.

There are thousands of people, and the Tengjia Army will not let him go. When the time comes, Han Sui will no longer need the Prime Minister to urge him. He will try his best to survive! Maybe he will even ask the Prime Minister to support him. When the time comes, the Prime Minister will

Make Han Sui vomit out whatever he has eaten!"

After finishing speaking, Dong Zhuo issued an edict, ordering Liu Ai to supervise Han Sui, and told Liu Ai that as long as Han Sui dared to kill him, he would kill him!

However, Han Sui, Ma Teng and others later played a role in containing the Tengjia Army, which did little to change the current war situation! Moreover, Shangjun and Shuofangjun were also far away from the main battlefield in Youzhou!

Zhu Jun said: "Prime Minister, the main force of the Tengjia Army is now in Youzhou, and Bingzhou is empty. If the Prime Minister mobilizes 100,000 troops from Yong'an County, Hedong County to invade Taiyuan County, and penetrate directly into the heart of the Tengjia Army, they will surely

It will cause chaos in the rear of the Tengjia Army, and the Tiejia Army in Youzhou, which is unstable in the rear, will definitely be defeated. When the time comes, the Tengjia Army will definitely be wiped out, and the Prime Minister will be able to make immortal contributions!"

The direction of attack Zhu Jun mentioned is the direction of Duan Xuan's current attack. However, Duan Xuan does not have enough troops and dare not attack the densely populated Taiyuan County. Instead, he attacks Hexi County. However, the best direction of attack along the Fenhe River Valley is indeed Taiyuan County. It's just that Dong Zhuo didn't dare to leave Luoyang City with too many troops, so he could only turn a blind eye to Taiyuan County!

Dong Zhuo looked at the vast map of the Han Dynasty. Surrounding the entire Bingzhou area, the Youzhou area was full of wars. Among them, the situation in Youzhou was already in danger. Juyong Pass had been breached. If the Lei Gong army was not blocked, the entire Youzhou area would be destroyed by the Tengjia Army. The cavalry swept across, after all, the Yanshan defense line had been breached by Lei Gong, and Zhu Jun said that the method was indeed a way to change the current weak strategic situation of the Han Dynasty!

Dong Zhuo looked at Li Ru and said: "Wen You! Do you want me to lead an army of 100,000 to attack Taiyuan County?"

It is impossible for Zhu Jun to gain Dong Zhuo's trust. Even Jia Xu and Dong Zhuo don't trust him very much, so he wants to hear Li Ru's opinion!

Li Ru thought for a while and said: "Prime Minister, I am more worried about our logistics than attacking our subordinates. Counting Han Sui, Ma Teng and their armies, the imperial court now has to maintain the logistics of an army of 400,000 people. It will take two months for the imperial court to maintain its logistics." The treasury is now less than half empty. Although winter is about to come, my subordinates think that since Lei Gong has broken through Juyong Pass, it is impossible to retreat, and a stalemate with the Tengjia Army is inevitable."

"I'm afraid this war will not be over in a while. Although Jizhou and Youzhou still have food and grass, they have to maintain an army of 300,000 to fight. The food warehouses in Jizhou and Youzhou will be exhausted quickly. Soon these 400,000 troops will be exhausted. All the food and grass needed to be supported by the court. In other words, the court's money and food, even if consumption is reduced, can last for up to 3-4 months. Compared with attacking Taiyuan County, my subordinates feel that the Prime Minister should still find a way to raise and maintain the 400,000-strong army. Money and food, if the army runs out of food and grass, Tengjia Army will win and occupy the entire Youzhou without a fight."

Zhu Jun and Jia Xu were both shocked when they heard Li Ru's words. They really hadn't thought about the food and grass matter, because according to their expectations, the war would last until it snowed at most, and it wouldn't be delayed for too long at all. But now Lei Gong has broken through. After arriving at Juyong Pass, it is obvious that even if it snows, Lei Gong cannot retreat. If Lei Gong does not retreat, Huangfu Song's army will not be able to retreat. The prolongation of this war is inevitable! The supplies consumed in one month of fighting and half a year of fighting are Totally different!

But this is because the war cannot stop. During the reign of the late emperor, it was difficult for the court to maintain an army of 100,000 for battle. The suppression of the Xiliang rebellion was also intermittent. It was always suppressed but not eliminated because the court lacked money and food!

But Zhu Jun and Jia Xu knew that the entire court had been busy killing each other for more than a year. After finally waiting for Dong Zhuo to defeat Yuan Shao and the others, the governors in the world were finally frightened and turned over their taxes with a guilty conscience.

But the war between Dong Zhuo and Yuan Shao affected several states after all, and they were all the richest states and counties in the Han Dynasty. Even if other county governors paid taxes, the overall tax revenue of the imperial court was still reduced to a historical low, not even 1 billion. Arrive, and this little money is not enough for half a month of war!

The current strength of the imperial court is not as good as that of Emperor Ling's period, and even the price of goods is not as good as that of Emperor Ling's period. The price of a piece of grain has tripled, which means that the 1 billion money in Dong Zhuo's hands is only equivalent to 300 million money in Emperor Ling's affairs, and This is also the reason why Dong Zhuo consumes money so quickly. Inflation is too fast.

Even during the Ling Emperor period, he was unable to mobilize an army of 400,000 to fight, let alone the current period when Dong Zhuo is in power. If we cannot find the source of money and food, especially the source of food and grass, this war will really not be sustainable! The situation in Youzhou

It’s really doomed!

Dong Zhuo and Li Ru were shocked at what he said. Now he only has 2 million stones of food and grass in the entire Luoyang City. It is impossible to sustain an army of 400,000 with this amount of food and grass. If the food and grass are cut off, the armies in other directions can still retreat, but in Youyou

The state's 200,000-strong army will definitely be wiped out by Lei Gong. Now the situation of the imperial court is really in danger!

Dong Zhuo immediately ordered a little Huangmen: "Go and invite Yang Situ, Zhang Sikong and Yuan Wei here!"

Not long after, Yang Biao, Zhang Wen, and Yuan Wei all came to the Chancery!

Dong Zhuo said: "The truth is that I need your help. Now the imperial court has 400,000 troops fighting against the Tengjia Army, and Juyong Pass in Youzhou has been captured by Lei Gong. This war will be impossible to end for a while.

, but the imperial court cannot sustain the campaign of these 400,000 troops!"

Although Yang Biao, Zhang Wen, and Yuan Wei knew everything about the current situation in the court, they thought about it in their hearts and knew that Dong Zhuo was right.

During this period, the price of food in Luoyang City remained high. The highest price was when Yuan Shao established the Kwantung Alliance Army. At that time, the price of one stone of food was as high as 1,000 yuan. Later, Dong Zhuo defeated Yuan Shao's Kwantung Alliance Army, and the price of food in Luoyang City dropped to around 300 yuan.

When fighting against the Tengjia Army, it was raised to 500 gold, and it was still rising slowly. With such a price of food, no matter how much money the court had, it would not be enough!

Of course, they looked at Dong Zhuo expressionlessly, wanting to see how he wanted to solve the food crisis next!

Dong Zhuo continued: "To maintain this 400,000-strong army for half a year's campaign and millions of civilians to feed, the imperial court must at least prepare 10 million shi of grain, or even 15 million shi of grain. Now we have to find a way to get this."

1,500 stones of grain, if we can’t find this much grain, Youzhou will definitely be captured by the Tengjia Army!”

Yang Biao and Dong Zhuo were still in their honeymoon period. During this period, the Concerned clans occupied all the counties in Yanzhou, and even the land east of Hedong began to be invaded by the Kanxi clans. It can be said that Yang Biao has now completely replaced Yuan Wei and become the number one in the world.

The status of the head of a powerful family.

So he first asked: "How does the Prime Minister plan to raise these 15 million shi of grain?"

Dong Zhuo said: "Although the money received by the imperial court is not much, the grain and grass should still be in the local area. The prime minister plans to have Yanzhou give 3 million stones of grain and grass, Qingzhou to give 1 million stones of grain and grass, Xuzhou to give 2 million stones of grain and grass, and Yuzhou to give 3 million

Jingzhou has provided 2 million stones of grain and grass, plus Youzhou and Jizhou have provided 4 million stones of grain and grass. This amount of grain and grass will be enough to sustain the army for half a year!"

Yang Biao was surprised and said: "Prime Minister, this year there has been great chaos in the Central Plains. Qingzhou, Yanzhou, Xuzhou, and Yuzhou have all experienced the turmoil of the Yellow Turban Army. Now the court does not reduce taxes and has to collect so much grain. This is not to force rebellion against the Central Plains again."

People! Moreover, these places are thousands of miles away from the Youzhou battlefield, so how do these grains and grass reach Youzhou?"

Dong Zhuo said: "Grain and grass from Yuzhou and Jingzhou are transported to Luoyang City, and Qingzhou, Yanzhou and Xuzhou are transported directly to Youzhou!"

Zhang Wen stopped and said: "Prime Minister, this year the entire Central Plains has been destroyed by millions of Yellow Turbans. There is already a shortage of food. If we continue to collect food from the people, I am afraid that the Yellow Turbans in the Central Plains will rise again, and then the court will have to face

The Tengjia Army and the Yellow Turban Army are attacking from both sides!"

At this time, Li Ru snorted coldly and said: "Everyone knows the difficulties. Otherwise, how could the Prime Minister summon you all? What is important now is to find a solution to the problem. Otherwise, how will the battle be fought? It is impossible to let the soldiers go hungry.

Fight with the Tengjia Army!"

Yang Biao, Zhang Wen, and Yuan Wei also felt that this matter was very difficult to handle. Anyone who was not a lunatic would not collect taxes from the people at this time. The people of the Central Plains had no money and water, and further squeezing could only

It is a source of fire, but the expropriation of the nobles will definitely arouse the hatred of the nobles in the world as soon as word spreads. They don't care about the crisis of the court, they only care about whether their own interests have been damaged!

Yang Biao thought for a while and said: "The imperial court has a lot of money, so why not go to Jizhou to buy grain, so as to avoid the pain of thousands of miles of transportation!"

Dong Zhuo sneered and said: "The noble families in Jizhou and Youzhou are willing to provide food? And they can provide 15 million shi of food? You must know that we are fighting hundreds of thousands of Tengjia troops. We need not only food and grass, but also a large amount of food."

The consumption of weapons, armor and equipment, these all cost money to make. To satisfy the 400,000-strong army, it will cost more than one billion every month. If the wealthy nobles of Youzhou and Bingzhou are willing to pay 200 yuan for 1 stone.

If the price is sold to the imperial court, the truth is that I am willing to spend the 3 billion!"

Yang Biao stopped talking. Now the entire Han Dynasty is short of food. Originally, Youzhou and Jizhou were the places with the lowest food prices in the Han Dynasty. But with the war, the price of food in the two places quickly soared to 1,000 qian per stone. Dong Zhuo's price was simply not worth it.

Someone will buy grain and grass for the court!

Zhu Jun thought for a while and said: "The price of food in Jizhou and Youzhou this year is not high. If profiteers hadn't bought low and sold high, the price of food would not have soared to the level it is now! The imperial court can issue an order to

Increase tax revenue to replenish the national treasury, and even confiscate the property and food of these profiteers to replenish the national treasury!"

This is already the best way Zhu Jun can think of. The people at the bottom can no longer squeeze out the oil and water, the wealthy nobles cannot move, and the war has to be fought, so they can only move some relatively weak businessmen. Although they are among the wealthy nobles,

Protective umbrella, but when the court needs to kill pigs, the wealthy nobles do not want to become pigs themselves, so they can only throw out their men!

Yang Biao thought for a while and thought that although this would cause some losses to the noble family, it would already be reduced to the minimum level, so he said to Dong Zhuo: "Prime Minister, issuing an edict is related to the stability of the Han Dynasty and the ongoing political affairs."

In the war in Youzhou, it can be said that if you are not careful, it will cause social turmoil. We must plan well in advance and make a complete strategy!"

Dong Zhuo nodded. Of course he knew that this kind of thing must have the support of Yang Biao and the others. Otherwise, if he had a few disciples and former officials in his hands, how would he be able to carry out the policy of informing and ransacking the homes of these big businessmen!

However, Dong Zhuo still seriously warned Yang Biao and the others: "This matter is important. Once the news leaks out, the Han merchants may hide their property overnight and flee in all directions. So from now on, your every move will be monitored by the Prime Minister. If you hinder the Prime Minister,

If you follow this policy, I can only order your disciples and old officials to harvest grain and grass in the Central Plains according to the quantity just mentioned. Although the Central Plains will be in turmoil, the big deal is that I will close the eight passes of Luoyang and stay in seclusion! In short, I can survive.

Go down, but that may not be the case for the noble families in the Central Plains!"

Dong Zhuo has now mastered the knack of communicating with the nobles. He knows that the nobles are people who only care about fighting but not eating. If you treat them well, they think it is appropriate and will not miss your good deeds at all. But you must be ruthless.

Give them a good lesson and they will be obedient!

Dong Zhuo was warning Yuan Wei not to cause trouble. If he dared to affect the implementation of the warning order, Dong Zhuo would dare to abandon the entire Central Plains to see who could be more afraid of whom!

Yuan Wei just looked at Dong Zhuo and didn't say anything. Since the Kwantung Allied Forces failed to attack Dong, Yuan Wei has kept a much lower profile.

Then Yang Biao, Zhang Wen, and Yuan Wei summoned their disciples and former officials to discuss the issue of the injunction. The imperial court was about to fight the Thunder Lord, and the imperial court was short of money and food. However, the vitality of the Central Plains was severely damaged, and it could not collect any money or food.

.

The noble families in the Central Plains were even more frightened by the outbreak of millions of Yellow Turban thieves this year. Hundreds of noble families in the Central Plains alone were massacred. Such bloody events told the noble families all over the world that the common people had been squeezed to the extreme.

If they continue to be squeezed, the people of the world will perish with them, and their Wubao will not be able to protect the safety of their family. These ordinary people they look down on are now really capable of perish with them.

When the people really have the ability to hang the nobles, the nobles will really care about the voices of the people, so even for their own safety, they cannot continue to squeeze the people of the Central Plains.

Yang Biao and Zhang Wen discussed it for several days. Although many ministers were reluctant to part with their money bags, facing this unprecedented war, the Luoyang civil and military officials of the imperial court discovered that now the entire Han Dynasty could get these money bags.

The only group that has money and food left is the merchants.

After several days of fierce debate, Yang Biao and the others unanimously passed the indictment order. They only controlled the scope of the impact. In order to avoid social unrest, the indictment order was temporarily only implemented in Nanyang County of Sili, Yanzhou, Jizhou, Qingzhou, Yuzhou and Jingzhou.

.These are places where merchants gather and there are many powerful people. Moreover, these places are close to the battlefield, making it easy to collect money and food and transport them to the battlefield!
To be continued...