Chapter 260 A dead Taoist friend is not dead but a poor Taoist
Chapter 260 A dead Taoist friend is not dead but a poor Taoist
The big boss just hit A lightly, and the health bar of Qi Yuanda, the Shandong elite monster, bottomed out.
The next move is particularly critical. Qi Yuanda decided to go to negative altitude.
After falling to the ground, Qi Yuanda said in fear: "My lord... I will obey your Majesty's orders in everything..."
What else can he do? He is now in front of the emperor, surrounded by several guards inside and outside the Confucian Temple. Since he can't go to heaven, and since he doesn't want to go to the west, he can only move like this.
"I know everything about the grain transportation. I said it has always been like this, and it is understandable." Zhu Houcong softened his tone, "After I succeeded to the throne, you have not missed the important matter of grain transportation. It shows that you still have talent."
"...I am loyal and loyal, and I dare not delay the important task of transporting grain." Qi Yuanda's voice came from the floor anxiously.
He was still talented. The emperor's evaluation made him feel really relieved: It seems that not only can he save his life, but he can also continue to be an official?
"Get up first. I'll give you a seat, so you can sit down."
Only then did Qi Yuanda realize that the emperor's gift of a seat just now probably predicted all his subsequent reactions. Now that he had been beaten and expressed his stance, and then sat on the small bench given by the emperor, he really had no choice but to be obedient in everything.
What does the emperor want him to do?
When Zhu Houcong heard him thank Wan'en, he saw him resting half of his buttocks on the small round stool. He glanced at his legs that were shaking due to sitting idle and fear, and the corners of his mouth were slightly raised: "Now let's talk about it. Shandong is going to try out a new method.
What are you going to do?"
"...I should set an example and fully assist Zhang Dutai."
Zhu Houcong smiled first, and then nodded: "Just now, the three people from Linqing Chaoguan were here. I compared the total amount and growth rate of Linqing City's other taxes and Chaoguan income over the years. As for the accounts, there is no need to check them in detail.
Jiang Guanqing told the truth that many merchants used water transport to transport goods to avoid taxes. Therefore, the merchants in Linqing faced each other, and the deed taxes collected by merchants increased much faster than that of Chaoguan. Judging from the population of Linqing and the total volume of goods traded, Qi Yuanda was
"How much tax do you estimate the Customs receives less every year?"
"...Chen...Chen..."
Qi Yuanda wanted to kneel down again, but Zhu Houcong said: "I have already said it. It has always been like this. It is understandable that I am not trying to punish you. The Cao Army has its own difficulties, but I want to know what the actual situation is now.
."
"I estimate... that when the generals of the Cao Army came to Linqing, the total taxable amount of merchants' goods they brought with them every year... was about 150,000 taels?" Qi Yuanda gritted his teeth and said a number, and then he sweated profusely.
He was talking about all the ships of the Cao Army, not just his Shandong Dusi General.
But this number is terrifying. If these are added, Linqing Chaoguan's annual income can triple.
In his worried eyes, the emperor was very pleased: "From this point of view, the Cao Army's transshipment capacity is actually very impressive, and it is by no means limited to four million stone tax and grain per year."
Driven by interests, how did Cao Jun and businessmen communicate and cooperate?
There is a limit for "private goods" that each ship is allowed to carry. After arriving at each bank checkpoint, how did the officials at the bank checkpoint communicate with the Cajun ship inspections?
It is illegal on the surface, and merchants cannot be completely cost-free, so who will collect the money they pay and then manage the entire profit chain?
Seeing Qi Yuanda speak up, Zhu Houcong began to ask him these questions seriously.
After learning more about the inside story, Zhu Houcong said abruptly: "Qi Yuanda, your Shandong general manager, do you have cavalry troops now? How many canal ships are there?"
Although Qi Yuanda had been nervous, he still kept his nerve and answered with a number that could be discussed.
However, Zhu Houcong looked at him for a moment, and then said slowly: "The Cao Army was granted permission to carry some earthen rituals, but the profits from it every year were so huge. The imperial court granted this favor to help the Cao Army maintain the ships and install them.
They raise cao soldiers and hire cao soldiers and cao workers. However, nowadays the Wuwei teaching is spreading more and more widely, and the majority of those who believe in it are cao soldiers, caoding, and cao workers. The reason for this is that they live in poverty."
The emperor suddenly said this, Qi Yuanda already understood the meaning, so his teeth began to chatter slightly.
"Before, we followed the old routine and I don't need to pursue any further investigation. You made money with your boats, soldiers, Ding, and workers but you didn't give them much money. In the future, I just need to be more considerate of their difficulties." Zhu Houcong reminded him calmly.
, "Now I am asking, if you don't answer truthfully, you will be bullying the king in person."
"...I...I am guilty."
Qi Yuanda wanted to kneel again, but Zhu Houcong did not stop him.
According to the situation of the Shandong Dusi General, nearly 70% of the canal ships used actually do not belong to the canal army; each ship now mostly has only a flag armor, a chief register, and a canal soldier accompanying the ship to escort the formation.
There are more than 7,000 Cao troops on the books, but in fact there are only more than 2,000 people.
Zhu Houcong nodded: "Shandong bandits, the Cao Army and both sides of the canal have contributed a lot. Qi Yuanda, you didn't suppress the bandits well, and the Cao Army didn't manage them well. You have earned a lot of money after being in Shandong for so long.
."
"...The guilty ministers are subject to punishment."
The mood swings a lot, and I keep going back and forth, and I still have to settle old scores.
"three things."
"I respectfully listen to the edict!"
"First, from the day when the Ming Dynasty Regulations were re-established, after you have completed the payment of the food and salary owed to the Cao army, the remaining profits will be doubled and handed over to Gao Zhong."
Qi Yuanda was in pain, but his heart began to relax again: "I obey your order!"
"Second, find out who is the leader and who is under his command at all the Caoding Cao workers in Linqing. They rely on the canal for their livelihood. You will still use them to transport grain this year."
"yes!"
"Third." Zhu Houcong paused and then said, "Shandong is trying out the new law, and the Shandong General Secretary of the Cao Army will definitely attract much attention. I want you to find out everything about each general in the Cao Army, including cooperating with each general.
A close business family, a large official and gentry family."
Qi Yuanda was frightened. This was because he wanted to take advantage of the fact that he was still the first commander-in-chief of the Cao Army and other general managers would come to ask him about his situation, so as to understand the current actual situation of the Cao Army.
Including charges, including everyone with interests in water transportation.
Looking at the emperor's sharp eyes, Qi Yuanda nodded heavily: "I obey the order! After I return, I will follow it one by one, and at the same time, I will work hard to suppress the bandits!"
A dead Taoist friend is better than a poor Taoist. His Majesty did not do this until he came to Linqing. It was also his own opportunity.
When I am done with the mission, the Cao army will inevitably change drastically.
Now that I have paid the "atonement silver" and have not been demoted, I have a chance. If I grasp it well, I may have a bright future.
Is it necessary to bet on the success of those rebel thieves at this time?
When Qi Yuan walked out sweating profusely, Li Hao and Yang Tingyi walked out of the next room.
When he came out, he apologized: "There are so many missing ships, and I am not doing my best to control them. I am afraid that the Yangzhou, Qingjiangpu, Linqing, Jining, Xuzhou, Xiazhen, and Nanwang branches of the Ministry of Industry were all deceived.
"
"It's normal. You know what you're doing. Just check what needs to be checked."
"The Ministry of War..." Yang Tingyi, who is still serving as the left minister of the Ministry of War to avoid suspicion, is very troubled. "There are already many vacancies in the guard station, and the Cao soldiers are registered in the original guard station, which is even more complicated."
"This matter is not urgent." Zhu Houcong said calmly, "When Huguang drives the rebels to the border area of Fujian and Jiangxi and orders each guard station to dispatch elite troops to suppress them in rotation, the problems of each guard station will naturally no longer be covered up. By then the rebellion will
The general trend is certain, and there is no need to worry about the guards getting into chaos again."
…
As soon as the emperor's imperial chariot arrived in Shandong, it caused a huge shock, but for the time being this shock only spread north and south along the canal, affecting new interests.
On the other side of Hengyang City, the army has completely formed a three-sided siege.
In addition to Huiyan Peak in the south of the city and the camp on the Lei River in the southeast of the city, Hengyang City was already facing the imperial army to the north and east across the river.
In the west of the city, Zhu Qi piled earth into a mountain.
Seeing the mountains getting higher and higher day by day, it was obvious that they were trying to transfer big guns and build a posture to attack the city with weapons.
For Pu Zitong, the good news is mainly three points: there is no shortage of water, there is no shortage of food for the time being, and the road back is safe.
"Gu Shilong cannot afford to be defeated!" Pu Zitong firmly believed this and encouraged his morale every day. "The city has been besieged for so long, and he still dared not cross the river to attack. He only held on to one side of the city in the west, so what was there to fear? He also expected us to abandon the city and flee south, but I
Not Tang Peiyu!"
Zhan Huabi remained silent.
The original Changde guards he brought were responsible for guarding the west of the city. If the enemy's attack focused only on the west of the city, Zhan Huabi's men would be the most exhausted.
It wasn't that he wanted to argue with Pu Zitong, but he didn't understand why Gu Shilong had to be so conservative.
Crossing the river to attack the city would indeed cause heavy damage, but without cutting off the Hengyang defenders' retreat route to the south and putting greater pressure on them, how could they just hand over the credit to Zhu Qi?
The problem is that Zhu Qi in the west only has 5,000 troops.
The Hengyang garrison still owns the land of several counties in the south from Lei River to Chenzhou Prefecture, so it will not be a problem to defend it throughout the winter.
Is the autumn grain harvest finished now? In the affected areas such as Southern Zhili, Jiangxi, Zhejiang, Huguang, etc., problems should be brewing and erupting, and the pressure on the imperial court should be great.
"Captain Zhan, I leave it to you to entrust the west city wall. The enemy has not yet attacked, and the trenches outside the city wall need to be built more quickly. General Yan!"
"The end is here!"
Yan Chunsheng, who goes by the pseudonym Yan Daniu, has recovered from his injuries. Hearing the words, he stepped out in line and clasped his fists, looking very energetic.
"You are good at serving the masses. You will command the brave men recruited in the city and go out to build trenches and fortresses every day!"
"The last general takes command!"
This was a life-and-death job. They had to dig trenches and lay out fortifications outside the west city wall under the eyes of the enemy troops in the west of the city.
There are mounds of earth on that side, and trenches are being dug on this side. One is to make it easier to attack, and the other is to make it easier to defend.
Yan Daniu's original subordinates have been dispersed, and are temporarily assigned to garrison at each gate, and are deployed outside the city wall. If the enemy cannot break through this line of defense close to the city wall, they will not be able to enter the city.
Firstly, the space in the city is limited after all, and it will be overcrowded after entering. Secondly, it will also sharply increase the consumption and instability of materials in the city - now at least they can get water on site outside the city.
After Yan Daniu recovered from his injury, he was assigned the most difficult job today.
How many people are willing to be recruited as brave men and have to go out of the city to do hard labor under the eyes of the enemy?
Magistrate Nabu is responsible for this matter.
By the time the army had laid siege to the city, the prefect could not control that much. Whether he was sending servants inside or outside the city, or whether he was limiting supplies and promising food and wages, more than 2,000 people were recruited anyway.
Yan Daniu once again had a sparse, listless, and fearful team.
"What's your name? What did you do originally?"
After inspecting the team, Yan Daniu pointed at a strong man and asked.
"...Commander, my name is Cai Jia. I used to kill pigs and sell them for meat."
"You look like you have a lot of strength! The commander-in-chief sounds very comfortable. You will be the flag general of the first battalion."
Yan Daniu was patrolling the team, counting some people, and said: "What are you afraid of? I just go out to the city to do masonry and carpentry. You have never seen a war, it is not that easy to start a fight! There are many sentries. If there is a move over there, there will be a move here.
That’s it. Follow me, and I’ll take you back to the city first. You don’t know how to fight, so defending the city will require a lot of hard work!”
He identified many people in his special way, arranged subordinates for them one by one, and also understood the situation of their families as if they were talking to each other.
"I am the one who killed Tang Peiyu, the former commander of the Changsha Guards, at Haoyang Camp. I am the one most valued by the Governor! In addition to your lives, the promised rations, and wages, I will definitely give you back. But.
, you have to listen to me and sell all your strength outside the city!"
"The commander-in-chief said this, I feel relieved!" Cai Jia, who had just become the flag general, seemed to have become a loyal subordinate.
In this way, after a brief training, Yan Daniu led the two thousand or so sparse civilians out of the city and came to a place a hundred steps away from the west of the city and began to work.
Here, we are less than two miles away from the enemy.
Outside the city wall, there are already temporary camps within a hundred steps.
Before the enemy army approaches, the defenders in the camp can consume them for one round. After retreating into the city, the destroyed camp will become an obstacle again. If the enemy troops are not cleared, they will not be able to easily attack the city. If you want to
To clean up, you have to face the massacre of the defenders on the city wall.
Zhan Huabi and Pu Zitong stood on the city wall and looked at the peasants who had begun to work in the distance, feeling quite relaxed.
"If you want to attack in the west of the city, you have to kill at least tens of thousands of people here!" Pu Zitong patted his shoulder with certainty, "If we can dig another trench several feet wide outside the camp, if it were you, you would
Aren’t you intimidated?”
Zhan Huabi nodded and squinted at the shadow in the distance patrolling back and forth in armor: "He is so brightly dressed, so I am not afraid that Zhu Qi will send someone to capture him."
Pu Zitong laughed: "Based on the arrows in his hands, I hope Zhu Qi will lead people to capture him personally. There is a camp behind him. There is no risk of him escaping on his own. He will just leave some civilians behind."
Zhan Huabi looked back to the east, then frowned again and said, "What are they waiting for? How can they break through Hengyang City like this?"
Pu Zitong was full of confidence: "If you want to cross the river, be prepared to suffer tens of thousands of casualties. If you attack the west of the city, you only have to defend one side. Attack the Leishui camp. The five thousand soldiers there can withstand it for several days. Return to Yanfeng.
Go up, and your most elite Qian Hu. What are they waiting for? We don’t need to worry about them. I only know that the Ming Dynasty has no way to break through hundreds of feet and break the city. It is to attack by water. There will be a severe drought this year, and it will be soon.
It’s almost winter!”
Zhan Huabi said nothing more, but still looked at Yan Daniu's figure with his eyes narrowed.
Normally, this is the case.
It is indeed too difficult to attack Hengyang City from the outside.
But what if it was breached from within?
I don't know why, Zhan Huabi has always been wary of Yan Chunsheng.
Even though he is currently taking risks to strengthen the defense capabilities of Hengyang City.
In the distance, Yan Chunsheng turned his head and looked at Hengyang City.
I don’t know where Commander Luo and his second brother are now.