Soldiers pay attention to the timing, location, and people, all three of which are indispensable. The reason why Donglin's army is invincible and invincible is that in addition to the tenacious fighting spirit of Donglin's soldiers, they must also possess the above three points. In folk terms,
Generally speaking, Shao Yan's march east this time was in compliance with God's will. With time, the great cause of restoring the country will be just around the corner.
However, just when the people were cheering and the morale of Donglin's army was high, Shao Yan encountered a big problem, which was the supply of military pay and food and grass. As the army continued to grow and develop, and every battle involved
It requires a huge expenditure of financial and material resources, and the existing inventory of silver in the national treasury is very small. Although during the battle, the Donglin troops were more or less able to seize some munitions from the enemy, but the quantity was very limited.
According to the confessions of those prisoners, when they faced the situation that the city tower could not be defended, they had already moved or destroyed the food and grass in the city, even the food in the homes of ordinary people.
Little Japan is a bit similar, with the "Three Lights Policy" of burning, killing and robbing
As a result, when the Donglin Army captured the city, it was basically an empty city, and it was still a mess. Everywhere Shao Yan went, on the one hand, he had to appease the local poor people, and on the other hand, he had to worry about military pay.
Throughout the ages, workers will go on strike if they don’t get their wages, and soldiers will mutiny if they don’t get their wages. Especially in this era of cold weapons, war is extremely cruel. Even if the court can temporarily delay paying soldiers their wages, it can never let them starve.
Fighting on an empty stomach
In the early morning of that day, the civil and military ministers started a debate on this matter. Some people suggested that the court should resume the corvee taxation of the people. As the saying goes, take it from the people and use it for the people. Some ministers believed that these people were originally from enemy-occupied areas.
Common people, most of them can't even fill their own stomachs now, so why should they pay taxes to the court?
Shao Yan also thought about these issues seriously. A huge country cannot be promoted by any ruler. In a real sense, the common people are the masters of the world. In other words, paying taxes is a matter of time, otherwise even if
Even though Shao Yan had the skills to recover, he could not support the growing Donglin Kingdom.
These civil and military ministers spent most of the day talking, but no one came up with a feasible solution. Shao Yan sat on the throne and sighed in boredom. Strange to say, there were not many 'debates' like this in the past.
Among them, the one who made the most noise was Cao Kun. Today, the old guy didn't mention a word. This was beyond Shao Yan's expectation. He immediately asked: "Cao Aiqing, I don't know what you think about this matter."
?" He deliberately emphasized the last two words. The meaning was very clear. The purpose was to let him, the father-in-law, do some "charity"
Cao Kun sensed the misunderstanding and said respectfully: "Your Majesty, please forgive me for my incompetence. I don't have any good ideas. However, I am more in favor of asking for this proposal from the common people. Is it true that the whole world is not the king's land?"
, the emperor will be the one who will dominate the world in the future. Furthermore, we have worked hard to rescue the common people from the hands of the enemy. It is reasonable for them to pay taxes according to the law. Even if there is a little food left in the family, they should also pay.
Serve as food for the imperial court."
Mom, you are stupid. What is the difference between this approach and Little Japan? Shao Yan originally thought that Cao Kun would donate the family's silver without hesitation. Unexpectedly, this old guy suddenly became reserved. It can be said that he is currently in the DPRK.
, when it comes to wealth, no one can be as wealthy as Cao Kun. Not only does this man have a lot of wealth, but his mansion is decorated like a palace. What's more, it is said that every time this guy travels, he will be followed by more than a hundred servants.
Wherever a person goes, he will be cheered and supported by the people. If anyone sees him and is not polite, he will be covered with bruises at worst, and his head will be lost at worst.
At first glance, it seems that he is not the head of the state. He is even more emperor than the emperor. The reason why Shao Yan did not expose his background was, firstly, for the sake of the queen, and secondly, and most importantly, to keep him.
He is a money tree. If you shake it at any time, you can get ten thousand taels of gold. However, Cao Kun is certainly not a fool. At first, he could donate some silver taels generously. Gradually, his courage also became bigger. Every time he donated
When he wanted money, he would express his intention to the emperor to increase his rank and rank.
Shao Yan took advantage of the situation and gave him a title of earl or something to satisfy this guy's vanity. What's strange today is that the old guy didn't want an official position or profit, and he deliberately tried to sell his reputation. For this reason, Shao Yan
Yan is puzzled
At this moment, General Li Changsheng came out with a rough voice. He glanced angrily at Cao Kun and said angrily: "I said, Mr. Zhang, according to your wishes, the lives of the people are no longer life? That's right.
It is natural for the imperial court to collect taxes from the common people, but these are extraordinary times. The sages and saints do not want to make life difficult for the common people at this time. But it is better for you. Your own family has a lot of wealth, but you only want to take advantage of the common people. You and I are in the same court.
As an official, it’s not that I have any intention to target you. Although I, Li Changsheng, am a rough man, my conscience is not big enough to be eaten by a dog.”
Cao Kun was very angry and said angrily: "General Li, don't you know that this is an extraordinary period? Even so, the rules set by our ancestors cannot be changed. Those who should pay taxes should pay taxes, and those who should do corvees should do so. We can't do it because of
You ignore these for objective reasons, do you understand what I mean?" At this point, he rolled his eyes at Li Changsheng and said softly, "Huh, a little general dares to criticize me, doesn't he?"
Although the voice was soft, every word reached Li Changsheng's ears. He immediately rolled up his sleeves, waved his big hand, and said: "Cao Kun, I, Li Changsheng, respect you so I call you the father-in-law of the country. Don't think that you are the emperor's father-in-law.
I don't dare to do anything to you. As for the scandalous things you have done, I don't even bother to talk about it. Ask every minister present, have you bought and sold officials for so many years?"
"You——, how can this be unreasonable?" Cao Kun became more and more angry, with veins on his face twitching. He immediately stepped forward and said to Shao Yan: "Your Majesty, Li Changsheng is framing this old minister. The old minister has been loyal to the late emperor and the emperor all these years, and he has never
He, Li Changsheng, has done anything detrimental to the state, and he is obviously jealous of the old minister. The old minister was framed today, and his heart feels like a knife. If the emperor mistakenly believes the slander, the old minister will retire and return to his hometown to enjoy his old age." As he said this, he raised his hands
Take off the black gauze hat on your head and place it respectfully on the ground
This move caused a commotion in the audience. Li Chang became more and more angry. If Deng Bingtang and Zhang Baihu hadn't pulled him away, he would have pushed Cao Kun to the ground and taught him a lesson in front of everyone.
Cao Kun publicly proposed to resign from his official position. It seemed realistic, but in fact he was retreating in order to advance. Shao Yan had seen too many scenes like this on TV, and he saw Cao Kun with a sullen face, looking aggrieved.
, Shao Yan was angry and funny, and then stood up, slowly came to him, put his black gauze hat on again, smiled slightly and said: "The Cao Qing family must not make such a joke with me, you are Dong Lin
You are the mainstay of the country and my father-in-law. With your help, I feel very secure."
"Your Majesty, Cao Kun is hypocritical, you must not be deceived by him," Li Changsheng shouted from the side.
"Presumptuous" Shao Yan turned around, glared at him fiercely, and said: "Cao Aiqing is a veteran of two dynasties in our dynasty. I can trust him. Also, no one here can slander him. Li Changsheng, if you dare again
Your mouth is not blocked, I will have your mouth sealed now."
Li Changsheng was anxious and angry. Cao Kun changed his aggrieved expression and showed a faint smile: "Your Majesty, your Majesty, thanks to the Emperor's great love, I am just the word 'mainstay'. I really feel ashamed." After a pause, he said again: "I want to
After that, I still have some silver in my house, and I am willing to give it to the court for emergency purposes."
Shao Yan smiled and nodded, then looked at the ministers around him and said, "Has everyone heard it? Mr. Cao is very loyal to me, Dong Lin. He has given you a good start. Of course, the donation is purely voluntary.
, I will not force anyone to do anything.”
The ministers looked at each other, even though they were reluctant in their hearts, but on the surface they did not dare to offend the emperor, and Cao Kun was the leader, so they had no choice but to express their willingness to donate their family's silver.
In this fund-raising activity, Shao Yan mainly targeted corrupt officials. For upright officials like Deng Bingtang, he would ask Bai Ruxue to return the full amount of money to them in private. After all, the money was for their settlement expenses.
, if all were donated to the court, they would not be able to live their lives in the future.
Afterwards, Shao Yan asked Mu Ying to make statistics. During this donation, the ministers donated a total of 100,000 taels of silver. Although this was an extremely considerable amount, at best it was only enough to support the frontline officers and soldiers for half a year. If the troops
Expanding rapidly, I'm afraid it won't even reach half a year
That night, Shao Yan summoned Zhang Baihu, Wang Xin, Li Changsheng, Zhang Huaide, Chang Yixiao and other generals to the side hall for discussion. At the meeting, Shao Yan went straight to the meeting and proposed to speed up the march and asked all generals to march within three months.
The original capital of Luojing must be captured, because only in this way can we effectively solve the problem of shortage of food and military supplies. If you don't have money, grab it from the enemy's hands. If you don't have food, take it from the enemy's belly.
When necessary, all forces that can be combined can be combined, such as bandits, robbers, and even death row prisoners in prison. The premise is that these people must be unconditionally incorporated into the Donglin Army, actively participate in training in various disciplines, and obey the superior generals.
instructions, failing which, military law is engaged
Perhaps in the eyes of some people, Shao Yan's move was undoubtedly a sign of seeking medical attention due to illness. However, today, he could only give it a try. In his words, it didn't matter who he was or what he had been before.
Whatever you do, as long as you dare to risk your life, all of them will be incorporated into my army.
Practice has proven that his decision was correct. The bandits, bullies, gangsters and death row prisoners who were recruited were all brave and good at fighting. In just one month, they defeated Jin Dingguo's two elite divisions.
——Wu Gang and Wu Feng wiped out more than 30,000 enemies in total and captured ten cities.
Unfortunately, after rounds of battles, almost all the five thousand men and horses of this temporarily formed "death squad" were killed. Shao Yan asked the generals to write down their names so that they could provide compensation to their families in the future.
…
The cold winter finally fell asleep and was replaced by the beautiful spring. The spring season always brings endless joy to people.
This morning, the warm sunshine shone on the earth, and the warm spring breeze blew gently, making people feel refreshed and pleasant. After Shao Yan finished his work, he changed into civilian clothes and prepared to go out for a walk. For more than three consecutive days,
Yue, he has locked himself in the palace all day long. To be honest, he has been too busy during this period. He needs to go outside to breathe fresh air. This time, he does not plan to bring anyone with him when he goes out. As everyone knows,
As soon as he tiptoed out of the royal study, he saw Princess Hongyu sitting in the corridor outside, looking at him with a smile.
This girl was wearing a purple dress today, with her waist tied up. She looked very energetic, her little face was red, especially her naughty smile, which was really endearing. She was holding a small white fan in her hand.
, at first glance, she looks a bit like a graceful lady.
"Brother Shao Yan, are you going out?" Seeing Shao Yan's light steps, Xiang Hongyu guessed. She gently shook the fan in her hand, walked over with a smile, and said with a naughty pout:
"Take me with you"
In Shao Yan's opinion, this girl is the naughtiest in the whole palace. She doesn't listen to anyone except her sister Mu Ying. Moreover, this girl has a lot of clever ideas and likes to tease people the most. Shao Yan is sometimes teased by her.
It makes me laugh or cry, but overall, this girl is pretty good, cute and smart
Seeing her expectant eyes, Shao Yan chuckled and pretended to be curious: "Did I say I wanted to go out? I just wanted to take a walk in the back garden." As he spoke, he puffed up his chest and acted as if nothing had happened.
look
Xiang Hongyu looked at him dubiously and said, "Is it like this? Then why are you dressed like this?" She secretly laughed in her heart, she was caught red-handed by me, and she still wanted to lie to me?
This girl is very clever. He can't hide anything from her. Shao Yan shook the clothes on his body and said with a smile: "I am used to wearing dragon robes on weekdays. Occasionally I change into common clothes, but I feel comfortable all over."
Xiang Hongyu arched her eyebrows, pursed her lips and said, "Brother Shao Yan, you are dishonest."
"I'm dishonest? When did I become dishonest?" Shao Yan said with a hearty smile.
"You are dishonest if you don't tell me the truth." Xiang Hongyu circled in front of him with her hands behind her back, then secretly looked around, and then whispered: "Brother Shao Yan, otherwise, you
Take me with you and I promise not to tell anyone else."
Seeing this girl bargaining with him, Shao Yan couldn't help laughing and said, "I've already told you, I just want to take a walk in the back garden."
A look of loneliness suddenly flashed across Xiang Hongyu's face. She waved her fan lightly and sighed deeply: "Brother Shao Yan, you don't have to make it up anymore. In fact, I know even if you don't tell me, during this time
In addition to going to court every day, you just shut yourself up in the imperial study room. You are busy all day long. It is rare to have free time. You should think of taking a rest outside." Halfway through, she took a deep breath.
, and then said: "Brother Shao Yan, you don't know, I am also bored these days, and my sister won't let me go out to play. Hey, it's so boring."
This girl looked worried, and she really looked a bit like an old woman of seventy or eighty years old. Shao Yan couldn't help but smile and said: "Do you really want to go out to the palace to play?"
Xiang Hongyu nodded and Shao Yan said: "Okay, for your sister's sake, I will take you out to play once."
"Really? That's great." Xiang Hongyu jumped up with joy. However, the joy on her face quickly dimmed, and she said angrily: "Brother Shao Yan, what you mean by this, if it weren't for
Sister, you won’t take me out to play, right?”
"It's a joke, I am the emperor, do I need a reason to take you out to play?" After saying that, Shao Yan took the lead and walked forward with his head held high.
"Brother Shaoyan, wait for me." Xiang Hongyuhou followed anxiously...