Everyone looked at each other, and Ma Liang, the Secretary of the Ministry of Revenue, raised his hands and asked, "I wonder why my lord wants to recruit troops again? Didn't our army already have a great victory on the front line? Where else does my lord want to use troops?"
Ma Liang is the kind of minister who dares to give direct advice. As the Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs, he is the most opposed to military investment.
Liu Cong smiled bitterly and said, "If you don't want to use more troops, there are many reasons why you want to recruit troops. Victory in Huainan is not a problem. The problem is whether Cao Cao will come to retaliate. If he leads the army in person, I am afraid that there will be no less than twenty soldiers."
An army of ten thousand.”
"Pang Tong and Zhou Yu only have more than 100,000 troops now. It's hard to say how many fighting troops they will have after capturing the two places. I need to send reinforcements to resist Cao Cao's possible revenge."
"In the future, we will need a large number of soldiers and horses to march from Wancheng and Huainan. To clear Shanyue and develop Jiaozhou, these things will require soldiers and horses. Now Jingchu's army can no longer mobilize more troops, so I can only recruit troops.
"
Ma Liang continued to admonish, "Lord, your ambition is admirable, but although the country is big, if you are warlike, you will perish!"
Everyone was shocked by Ma Liang's words, and Liu Cong's face turned ugly, but Ma Liang continued, "Since the twelfth year of Jian'an, Jingchu has been fighting every year, first to resist Sun Quan, then to resist Cao Cao, and to expel Liu Bei.
, to conquer the Wuxi barbarians. Last year, my lord personally led the troops to attack Jiangdong. At the end of last year, my lord ordered Pang Tong and Zhou Yu to attack Huainan. The war has not ended until today."
"In addition, there are Lu Meng's troops sent by the Lord to Nanzhong. There are only 20,000 people. Every month, 60,000 stones of grain and grass must be sent from Jingchu to Jiaozhou."
"My lord, Jiangdong has just been conquered for less than half a year. The people of Jingchu have suffered too much with such use of troops. Although my lord's taxes are not high, such frequent military operations have already affected the people's livelihood in Jingchu."
Ma Liang is right. The people of Jingchu, under the call of the government, also participated in the transportation of grain and grass, the construction of passes and other military and livelihood projects.
Liu Cong used Jingchu to resist Cao Cao and capture Jiangdong, all of which happened on both sides!
Too fast, too anxious, Jingchu's treasury has gone from being full in Liu Biao's time to now, almost running out of money. If it weren't for Liu Cong's new policy, which supported so many troops, Jingchu would have
Our finances have long been beyond our means.
Ma Liang continued, "I would like to ask my lord to stop his troops and recuperate, to give the people a chance to breathe for one or two years, and to give us time to implement the New Deal in Jiangdong. After two years, I, Jingchu, will definitely become stronger and stronger. By then, my lord will recruit more troops for the Northern Expedition.
Cao Cao will definitely not be able to resist."
Ma Liang's original intention was good, but it was a pity that Liu Cong was unwilling to wait that long. Fighting for hegemony in troubled times would lead to more deaths. Unifying the world as soon as possible is the fundamental way to end cholera.
Doesn't Liu Cong know that the people are tired? He knows, but if he doesn't take advantage of Cao Cao to attack Huainan in Chang'an, there will be no such good opportunity in the future.
His steps were indeed big, but the effect was obvious. From the thirteenth year of Jian'an to this year's sixteenth year of Jian'an, Liu Cong not only resisted Cao's army from going south, but also quadrupled the territory of Jingchu!
Staring at Ma Liang, Liu Cong looked unkind and asked, "Now, under Gu's rule, how many people are registered in the government?"
Ma Liang was anxious. He knew that Liu Cong was asking this question, but he still wanted to recruit troops. He directly raised his hands to Liu Cong and said, "I risk my own life to remonstrate with you. I hope that the lord can restrain his warlike heart and start a new life with the people!"
Everyone was completely stunned. Before Liu Cong could speak, Jiang Wan stood up and knelt down to plead for Ma Liang, "My lord, Ji Chang also cares about the people, so he spoke unscrupulously. I hope your lord will forgive him."
Fei Yi knelt down next to Jiang Wan and said, "My lord, Ji Chang has a public heart and is thinking about my lord."
"I didn't mince my words, everything I said was true! Jingchu's fiscal revenue this year exceeded that of the previous year, but commercial tax accounted for 60% of it! It has exceeded the agricultural tax! And the agricultural tax was also less than the previous year."
Ma Liang continued to frown, "What does this mean? It means that there are fewer people farming and more people doing business! Agriculture is the foundation of the country. If things go on like this, how will the country support the army?"
Ma Su stepped forward and pulled Ma Liang and said, "Fourth brother, stop talking."
Ma Liang pushed Ma Su away and said, "Now that the economy is booming, if there is no food left, not to mention the soldiers below, even everyone here will starve to death!"
"Businessmen value profits over righteousness. When they become rich, they are more terrifying than the aristocratic families, my lord!"
"That's enough!" Liu Cong finally got angry, "Ji Chang, for the sake of your public spirit, I will not punish you for your crime. You can go back to your home and think about your mistakes behind closed doors."
"Lord! I, my lord..."
"Pull him out! Ma Su, pull your brother out!"
Ma Di quickly pulled Ma Liang towards the door, "Fourth brother, let's go, Fourth brother..."
"Lord!..."
After the Ma Liang brothers went out, Liu Cong continued to ask Jiang Wan, "Gong Yan, what is the population registered by the government?"
Jiang Wan was a minister, so he naturally knew this, so he raised his hand and replied, "The three prefectures of Jingchugui, Jing, and Jiang have a total population of 3.25 million, and the three prefectures of Jiangdong, An, Su, and Zhejiang have a total population of 930,000. Jiaozhou belongs to the Shi
Family management is not included in the official government."
Liu Cong sneered and said, "The huge Jiangdong has a population of only 930,000. Do you believe it?"
"On Chuangu's order, Deng Zhi, the governor of Suzhou, recruited 100,000 troops in Jiangdong. After completing the recruitment, he immediately began training in Wuxian County. The government prepared weapons and equipment and was ready to go north to Huainan at any time."
"promise."
"If there is a tenant from a noble family who wants to serve as a soldier, the noble family cannot stop him. After joining the army, the whole family of the soldier will leave the family and no longer be tenants. The government will allocate land to them in Huainan!"
"promise."
Liu Cong's face was ugly and his eyes were fierce. He wanted to see if these people dared to cause trouble.
After talking about the business, Jiang Wan said to Liu Cong again, "My lord, Ji Chang..."
Liu Cong sighed helplessly, "Gu will not blame Ji Chang and hold grudge against Ji Chang. You all said that he has a public heart, and Gu is not a foolish king."
"My lord is wise!"
"Everyone, go down."
"promise."
Ma Liang is public-minded, but his words are really irritating. No matter how big-hearted Liu Cong is, it is impossible not to take these words to heart. But he still has his own judgment and knows that Ma Liang dares to speak out, and he is also
All my heart is for Jingchu.
After sitting in the study for a while, Liu Cong was a little bored, "Don't report these nonsense to me in the future. The thousands of words are full of flattery nonsense!"
Xing Daorong stood aside and did not dare to speak.
"Let's go to the backyard." Liu Cong dropped the towel in his hand and walked outside. Xing Daorong quickly followed.
"Father? Why are you back?" As soon as he went out, he ran into Liu Biao and Mrs. Cai.
Liu Biao frowned and said dissatisfied, "Why, now that you have made the decision, my husband can't even enter the prince's mansion?"
Liu Cong quickly explained, "That's not what I mean. It's too late for the kid to be happy when you and your mother come back. Xing Daorong, hurry up and tell the kitchen to prepare some good dishes. I want to have a drink with my father and mother. Oh, by the way, let Madam and the others prepare it."
Bring the child."
"promise."
"No need." Just as Xing Daorong was about to take a step, Liu Biao stopped him, then looked at Liu Cong and said, "I heard that you were contradicted by Ma Liang?"
[Author's digression]: An additional chapter was added in response to the request of the reader "your second uncle's uncle". Thank you very much for your continued support.
Thank you sunshine, funny cp, Yang Xiao, hho, I have a candy in my pocket, (I have a candy in your pocket, I wish your wife a smooth delivery, and I wish you both children), thank you to my second uncle, He Kang, Zhuang You
, proactive records, ready-made smallpox...
Thank you to all readers who have watched and followed this book. It is my first time to write, and my writing style and experience are not very sophisticated. Please give me your advice on my shortcomings.