Steel Dynasty - Chapter 688

[Chapter 687 Superficial Unification]

The weather is getting colder day by day, and the dew on the grass and trees is gradually replaced by hoarfrost. It seems that the long winter is coming again.

The battle report from Chang’an reached Qingzhou through the inn yesterday, and the news that King Zhao was captured immediately caused a stir.

The people cheered, not only to celebrate the victory of the war, but also to look forward to the return of their son and husband from afar.

The officials naturally thought much more than the common people. King Zhao was captured, and the fragmented Great Yu Kingdom became one again. Basically, the Great Yu Kingdom was unified on the surface.

And this unified situation is stronger than when Xiao Wenxuan was there. After all, King Wei, King Yan, and King Liang are all dead, and King Zhao will eventually die.

As a result, the only remaining vassal kings are the King of Chu, the King of Huainan, the King of Yong, the King of Ruyang and the King of Shu.

In the eyes of the ministers, except King Chu, the other vassal kings were no longer a threat.

“Your Majesty, the army is spending a lot of money outside. Now the war is progressing smoothly. We only need to leave one of Luo Hong’s troops to attack Zhao. The rest of the army will return to their respective stations as soon as possible.”

Pang Yukun said loudly in the political hall.

Xiao Ming nodded. During the Western Expedition, the army fighting abroad almost emptied the treasury. Now Xiao Ming truly realized that the so-called war was really about making money.

In addition, he mobilized 390,000 strong men to transport grain, grass and ammunition for this war. These strong men also needed food and drink.

And because of their participation in the war, food production in various states has been affected to some extent this year.

Without young men in their families, many people have to reduce the amount of land they cultivate, and some families even have to waste their land.

However, this is only one of the negative effects of this northern war. What troubles Xiao Ming the most is the former Yan land, Liang land, and the royal land to the west of Yunzhou.

Not only were these captured cities unable to bring him any taxes, but the plunder and wars of the three kings caused the displacement of the people in these areas. Instead, the governors serving in various states and counties asked him to allocate silver and grain to relieve the victims.

In the past, Qingzhou’s treasury was relatively wealthy, but now that the scope of rule has been expanded to the entire north, it is really like water flowing into the sea.

“Accurate!” Xiao Ming spat out two words, “In addition to Niu Ben, let the armies of King Huainan and King Yong return to their respective kingdoms, otherwise my treasury will be destroyed by them.”

Ministers Everyone showed helpless smiles after hearing this. This time King Yong and King Huainan were very active in the war, which made the court very satisfied.

It’s just that the food and grass for the two armies’ expedition were borne by the imperial court. Needless to say, King Yong, Yongdi was very poor now. If there was no money and food, his soldiers would have mutinied long ago.

The King of Huainan spent his own money and food when he attacked Yingzhou, but after marching to Chang’an, he asked the court to provide food and grass.

The King of Huainan was not taking the opportunity to extort money. The Huainan Kingdom was originally a second-class feudal state with limited talents and financial resources. Yingzhou was very close to the King of Huainan and could supply a lot of food and grass. However, he could not maintain the supply of food and grass during the expedition to Chang’an.

Generally speaking, he was self-sufficient in the first half of the war, and became a member of the imperial court after the Battle of Juyongguan.

With nearly 200,000 more troops to feed, this naturally put a heavy pressure on Qingzhou’s treasury. After all, he also spent a lot of money to purchase various mineral resources to manufacture firearms and ammunition.

At the same time, the north was destroyed, and the business chain in the north was also broken, which greatly reduced the profits of the chamber of commerce.

Nowadays, the Chamber of Commerce basically relies on trade with the King of Chu and the Dutch to maintain its profits.

After talking about the withdrawal of the army, Pang Yukun continued: “Your Majesty, this time General Niu has been unstoppable. He has captured seven upper states, fifteen central states, thirty-six lower states, and a total of one county under the state.” One hundred and sixty-three, so many prefectures and counties require a huge number of officials. Qingzhou currently does not have enough officials to send to these places. “

As the saying goes, it is easier to conquer a country than to defend it. Xiao Ming’s army conquered so much land, and then. Then we face the problem of management.

He said: “As Pang Shoufu said, there are indeed not so many officials in Qingzhou now. We are in urgent need of a group of experienced officials to manage these places for me and restore people’s livelihood. Moreover, I have received news that the barbarians have withdrawn from Goryeo. The barbarians will inevitably Launching an attack on the passes along the Great Wall, if the border troops cannot receive supplies in time due to lack of officials, it will be a disaster for Dayu. Now Dayu has more than enough defense but not enough offense. It will take some time to recuperate. “

“Your Majesty, “

In fact, it is very simple to solve this problem. There are many officials in Chang’an City, and when General Niu attacks the states and counties, there are also many local wealthy families who help. These wealthy families often have people who serve in the states and counties, as long as the emperor can appoint them. They, the management of these states and counties is not a problem. “

“I have naturally thought about this problem, but can these officials and wealthy people be trusted?” He was thinking about this issue when he received the war report and found that old officials from various states and counties were appointed. is the only way.

Now he finally understood why when Cao Cao attacked Soochow during the Three Kingdoms period, all the advisers shouted to surrender.

Because they knew very well that if the master changed, the master would still need their help in managing the captured land.

But even so, the official must choose one after another, try to keep the outstanding officials, and let the officials with bad character go home.

“Your Majesty, when I was in Chang’an, I had some knowledge of officials from all over the Great Chongqing Kingdom. Your Majesty is willing to take up this task of selecting useful officials for the Emperor.” Fiji said positively.

Seeing this, Pang Yukun suddenly laughed: “Mr. Fei Ge has always ignored matters that have nothing to do with himself. Why is he so concerned about the appointment of officials now?

” It’s just my duty,” Fiji said with a smile.

Pang Yukun was wary. The appointment of this official was an extremely sensitive matter. If Fiji was allowed to take over all the power, he might gather a lot of officials for himself.

Now that the conservative’s voice in the court was getting bigger and bigger, he became more and more uneasy, so he said to Xiao Ming: “Your Majesty, Feige is old and old, and I am afraid that there are some things that I am not able to do. I am willing to do it for you.” Fei Ge Lao shared the matter. “

Xiao Ming’s eyes looked back and forth between the two of them, and he said: “In this case, the matter of selecting and appointing officials will be drafted by you together, and will be handed over to me for review after it is finalized. “

Yes, Your Majesty,” they both said at the same time.

After a pause, Xiao Ming continued: “Feeling this vassal rebellion, I am determined to learn from Qin’s reforms to strengthen the country, and officials are the top priority in implementing the New Deal. I thought about it all night yesterday and prepared to split up Bowen College. .”

(End of this chapter)