As the story of the Xiang Imperial Army's suppression of bandits in Jianghuai gradually spread, the elders of the Jianghuai state governments were also actively contacting each other, hoping that Ye An could send the Xiang Imperial Army to suppress bandits under his jurisdiction.
There is another more important reason for this. Zhuo Guojun, the governor of Chuzhou, made a fortune. Although the money did not go into his pocket, it made the local government more generous.
In the Song Dynasty, almost all the taxes of the state governments were turned over to the court, and the money retained by the state was not much. In the eyes of the people, the money was not enough to spend on various matters in the state.
The richer state capitals are better off, but if the state capitals are still poor, they will even have to default on the salaries of their own state officials, or pay them with sundries.
Although Jianghuai has fertile land and a large number of people, the expenses are huge! Local water conservancy, government expenses, city repairs, and labor recruitment are all free of charge?!
So Ye An and his subordinate Xiang Imperial Army immediately became the favorites of the various states, and they all hoped that the Xiang Imperial Army would give them a share of the pie when they went to suppress the bandits.
Wu Zunlu was very dissatisfied with this. The Xiang Imperial Army was currently stationed in Tongzhou, and they were eating and drinking from him, but in the end he could not receive a penny.
Although the imperial court gave money to the Xiang Imperial Army, which was eventually used to buy grain and grass in Tongzhou, Wu Zunlu did not see any extra money flowing into the government offices of this state. This was what dissatisfied him the most.
Of course, it was not all without gain. Visitors from the yamen in other state capitals would send him some local products from the lords of the state capitals, just to facilitate him or to lobby for them.
This is not what Wu Zunlu wants. What he wants is how to benefit Tongzhou, not himself.
Essentially, he was also working for the benefit of Tongzhou, which was not wrong. Fan Zhongyan was annoyed by his nagging, so he could only help him go to Ye Anna to make a case. Even if he did not benefit Tongzhou, he would still have to let other states to some extent.
The government should give Tongzhou some hard-earned money.
So Lao Fan invited Ye An to a banquet on a frosty night in October to enjoy the chrysanthemums under the lamp. Of course, the most important thing was to ask Ye An to give Wu Zunlu face. After all, the governor of the state had already lowered his face and asked for help, right?
In the Song Dynasty, banquets were a very normal thing for officials, and they could spend public funds for any reason. This was how the minister's money in the yamen was used.
Appreciating chrysanthemums under the lamp? This can also be said!
Ye An looked at the delicious banquet on the table, and then looked at the bright lights inside the house and the darkness outside the house, and sighed for a moment: "We have something to talk about, and there are not many things to appreciate under the lights."
Wu Zunlu smiled awkwardly, and then said: "Isn't this a reason to invite Marquis Ye to a banquet? Tongzhou is an important coastal town, and there are also salt fields like Lifengjian. Along the coast, you can reach Qiantang, Hangzhou. It can be said to be..."
"It can be said to be a traffic hazard!" Ye An said it for Wu Zunlu before he finished. After speaking, he looked at Fan Zhongyan and said: "What Wu Zhizhou said is reasonable. Yangzhou and Jiangning can be reached along the river, so the court should take it seriously.
Heavy!"
Wu Zunlu's words were stuck in his throat. He didn't know what Ye An meant, so he could only echo: "What Ye Hou said is absolutely true."
Lao Fan glared at Ye An dissatisfied, then drank the wine in front of him in one gulp and said, "Don't show off in front of us, just say what you have to say!"
Ye An stopped covering up and looked at Wu Zunlu and said: "Wu Zhizhou, it is impossible for the imperial army to stay in Tongzhou for a long time. Jiangning Mansion is its final destination. Have you ever thought about what would happen if the army was established in Tongzhou?"
"Tongzhou founded the army?!"
Wu Zunlu and Fan Zhongyan were shocked. They never thought that Ye An would have such a crazy plan. After reorganizing the Jianghuai Xiang Army, he would also build another army in Tongzhou.
Seeing the surprised look of the two people, Ye An smiled slightly: "I heard that there are many water thieves on the Yangtze River. They even dare to rob the government's salt ship, let alone the people and merchants on both sides of the strait. If Tongzhou has a navy..."
This layer of window paper was broken, and both Fan Zhongyan and Wu Zunlu were enlightened. The Song Dynasty had a navy in Fujian, but there was little usable water combat power in the Jianghuai area.
If Tongzhou had taken the first step to report to the court to request a water division, that would be a step ahead!
In particular, there are many bandits on the water, but it is difficult for the state governments to eradicate them. Even if they are found, they will not be able to fight. After all, water is not land and they cannot be attacked by infantry.
If we build a navy, purchase warships, and train more, it will be a great deterrent to the water pirates on the Yangtze River, and it will not be difficult to destroy them.
Water bandits are not poorer than bandits and bandits. Some water bandits live on islands in lakes. Chaohu, Hongze Lake, and Taihu all have water bandits, and it has been difficult for the country to eradicate them.
"Well, what Ye Hou said is reasonable. There are many river pirates in the Jianghuai River, and Jiangnan and Zhejiang are even more troubled by them. It will be of great benefit to Tongzhou to build a navy!"
Fan Zhongyan touched his chin and nodded slightly. He could tell that Ye An could always be one step ahead and find the problem from different places, which could not only meet the needs of interests, but also solve hidden dangers.
But Wu Zunlu was overjoyed and said: "Very good, very good. When Wu was in Tongzhou, he heard that the water bandits on the Yangtze River were in trouble. If he follows Ye Hou's method, he might be able to relieve the country's worries!"
Of course he was happy. After all, if the navy was built in Tongzhou, it would not only provide the people of Tongzhou with opportunities to make a living, but also benefit Tongzhou.
On the contrary, Ye An was a little worried and said: "Does Tongzhou have the craftsmen needed to build naval ships?"
Wu Zunlu was stunned and then laughed and said: "Marquis Ye doesn't know something. The sea-going ships produced in our Haimen County, Tongzhou can go to the South China Sea, and the ships from Jiangkou Town can travel on the Yangtze River as if they were walking on flat ground! Sea-going ships and river ships are not out of the question!"
Ye An still has great faith in the shipbuilding technology of the Song Dynasty. God knows how smart the Song people were, and they could actually build ocean-going ships to Africa!
Moreover, the ships of this era have already appeared in the narrow sense of the word, driven by water wheels. A pair of water wheels is called a "car". The water wheels on a huge vehicle can reach as many as thirty cars!
The three of them discussed the details of the new naval battle at the wine table. Both Ye An and Fan Zhongyan had their own considerations about the plan to build a new navy in Tongzhou, but Wu Zunlu was thinking about the people of Tongzhou.
Ye An was thinking about the future security of the Song Dynasty's maritime borders and maritime trade, while Fan Zhongyan was more concerned about the stability of the Song Dynasty. For a civil servant like him, whether it was land or water bandits, it was a turmoil for the country.
Instability factors that harm the people.
After a banquet, Ye An didn't even care about seeing the chrysanthemums. After getting on the ox cart, he wandered to the Jinglue Envoy Yamen. Ye An, who was on the ox cart, was not drunk at all, so he just sat there quietly.
in the darkness.
Jianghuai seems to be calm at the moment, but the activities of the Bailian Society have begun to become more and more rampant.
This is what a cult-like society is like. The less active it is, the sluggish it will be. The better people's lives are, the less room for development they will have. They need to constantly deceive people and use various gimmicks to confuse people, and finally let these
People are trapped in it and cannot extricate themselves in order to achieve the purpose of brainwashing.
Regardless of whether the people in Tongzhou are poor or rich, there are people who believe in the White Lotus Society. Even though Ye An was transferred from Tokyo to become a physicist, some people still choose to be loyal to the White Lotus Society.
For the entire Jianghuai, Tongzhou's influence is too small. The White Lotus Society in Panlong Mountain is quietly moving. Ye An did not expect this, and he did not even have a good way. The believers of the White Lotus Society disguised themselves as common people and blended into the crowd.
It is difficult to identify, and the White Lotus Society after being broken into parts is even more difficult to encircle and suppress.
The biggest problem is that the White Lotus Society has not launched a rebellion now, and a large-scale siege of the White Lotus Society's believers is meaningless. What Ye An lacks is a title, a title that completely characterizes the White Lotus Society as a cult.