Ten days passed in a flash, and the summer of Jingtai's fifth year gradually faded away. The scorching sun was no longer hot, and was replaced by waves of refreshing cool breeze, which made people feel relaxed and happy. This kind of weather was also suitable for soldiers to suppress bandits.

Tianchenyue has been staying in Jinyang Pass these days, watching groups of new soldiers arriving from Shuntan and Shuntan, and then rushing to various battlefields separately.

Yan Yun's war to suppress bandits has been launched in full swing. The troops are divided into multiple routes and march into the mountains. Because many bandit hiding places have been discovered in the early stage, the war is progressing quite smoothly. The method adopted by Xin Ji and other generals is to

The old soldiers were mixed with new soldiers for training, and these bandits were used as training stones.

In addition, hundreds of elite officers transferred from Beiliang have been deployed, and these new recruits will not suffer too many casualties.

On the top of the city of Jinyang Pass, Chen Yue was standing. At the gate of the city, there was a group of two thousand infantry marching into the distance. This was another group of new soldiers who had just been transferred from Shunzhou and were about to rush to their place.

battlefield.

"Your Majesty."

An old voice reached Chen Yue's ears. Chen Yue turned around with a smile and said, "Master Tong, is something wrong?"

Tong Chengxiang also stayed in Jinyang Pass for a while, gathering the materials and the number of civilians needed to build the fort. Xue Leihan also came from Yunzhou and stayed for two days, mainly to discuss with Tong Chengxiang the subsequent recruitment of civilians.

"Your Majesty, I have something that I don't know whether to say or not." A trace of hesitation flashed across Tong Chengxiang's old cheeks.

"Haha, if you have anything to say, just say it. Your Excellency is the Liaodong Economic Envoy, so there is nothing you can't say." Chen Yue said with a smile.

Tong Chengxiang gritted his teeth and said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, I checked the number of acres reported by various states and counties a few days ago. It seems that it is slightly inconsistent with the actual situation. And this situation exists in more than one place, almost in every county.

"

Chenyue's palms leaning against the city wall paused, and he said softly: "Master Tong, continue."

"At first, I thought that an official falsely reported the land area in an attempt to claim it as his own, but I discovered that this was not the case. Then, I found out that there was an Arms and Preparation Department, and they were hoarding grain, grass and supplies on the orders of the prince. I dare to ask

Your Majesty, what does the Armed Forces Division mean by this?"

Tong Chengxiang bowed and bowed, his tone was very solemn, even a little accusatory.

In fact, his statement was very euphemistic. After serving as an official in the court for so many years, he knew that false reporting of land acres and private harvesting of military rations was a capital crime. Even if you were charged with conspiracy to rebel, it would not be an exaggeration.

Chenyue's eyes flickered, and he slowly rubbed his palms on the city wall. After a long silence, he said, "Master Tong, how much silver has the imperial court allocated to Liaodong Road this year?"

Tong Chengxiang was stunned and didn't know why Chen Yue suddenly asked this, but he still answered honestly: "Five hundred thousand taels of silver."

"Where's the army rations?"

"There is not a single stone. The Ministry of Revenue said that the war has just ended and the treasury is empty. Let us raise it ourselves." Tong Chengxiang said a little discouraged.

"Haha, five hundred thousand taels of silver, not a single stone of food and grass." Chen Yue smiled mockingly: "The Liaodong Road was newly established, and everything is waiting to be renovated. We also guard the northern gate. We need to pay attention to the movements of Yan soldiers at all times.

There are more than 100,000 soldiers entering the army alone. What can these 500,000 taels be enough for?"

Tong Chengxiang didn't answer, but he frowned. In order to save money these days, he used one less copper plate whenever possible. In this way, five hundred thousand taels of silver were spent quickly. In order to maintain expenses,

Many supplies, food and grass need to be supplied from Beiliang Road.

No matter how capable Tong Chengxiang is, it's hard for a clever woman to make a meal without straw.

Chen Yue continued: "Even if the imperial court has no money, the border army must ensure supply, right? Mr. Tong is a smart man. You should know who the two ministers of the Ministry of Hubu and the Ministry of War are, right?"

Tong Chengxiang was stunned. He instantly understood what Chen Yue meant. Those two ministers were both members of the Yuwen family.

"Sigh." Tong Chengxiang, who wanted to understand some of the joints, sighed and said: "At this time, are you still thinking about excluding dissidents? Is the newly conquered Liaodong the stepmother? The lives of the people in Liaodong are not fate.

?”

Chen Yue said with cold eyes: "If we report less than the number of acres in Liaodong and the taxes collected to the Ministry of Household Affairs, they can still allocate a little money to save their face. But if we report too much, I'm afraid that the time will come when the time comes

There is not a single copper in sight."

Tong Chengxiang nodded and said with a wry smile: "That's what the prince said."

"So, we can ask for as much as we can from the imperial court. If one day a war breaks out, and the imperial court has its hands spread out and no money, what will our hundreds of thousands of soldiers eat and drink?" Chen Yue asked calmly.

: "Now, Master Tong, you should understand the meaning of the Arms Division, right?"

Tong Chengxiang sighed: "This is our last trump card."

Chenyue turned around and saluted solemnly: "This matter is of great importance, and it cannot be brought to the table. Telling you will bring risks to you, so please don't blame me."

Tong Chengxiang was shocked and turned pale. He quickly helped Chen Yue up and said shamefully: "The prince can't help it. It's the old minister who mistakenly blamed the prince."

"Mr. Tong, there are indeed many adults." Chen Yue grinned.

Tong Chengxiang waved his hand and said seriously: "But I hope that the prince will tell you the truth in the future. I, Tong Chengxiang, am planning for the people of Liaodong, not for those aristocratic families!"

"Definitely! Haha!" Chen Yue raised his head and laughed.

"Hey, Your Majesty, look at that!" Tong Chengxiang suddenly stared blankly outside the city, where a long line of carriages appeared, guarded by armored cavalry.

Chen Yue rubbed his hands with excitement and said with a smile: "Master Tong, the rice for you is here! Let's go!"

"Pot rice?" Tong Chengxiang looked confused, but still followed Chen Yue down the city wall.

Outside the city gate, an armored cavalry general cupped his fists at Chenyue and shouted: "Zhenliao Military Academy Lieutenant He An comes to see the prince! By order of General Xin, all the gold and silver jewelry seized from the Jin soldiers' hiding place have been escorted. Please

Your Majesty, check it out!”

"Haha, thank you for your hard work. Let's transport it into the city." Chen Yue laughed happily.

"Prince? What is this?" Tong Chengxiang asked in astonishment.

Chen Yue waved his hand and stopped a carriage, opened the lid of the wooden box, and found that it was filled with silver.

Tong Chengxiang's eyes bulged, obviously frightened.

"A great victory in the suppression of bandits. Yue Zhanpeng led thousands of cavalry to raid the Jin soldiers' hiding place, annihilating all the enemy troops, and gained a lot." Chen Yue said happily: "These defeated soldiers all wanted to plunder more when they escaped.

Gold and silver, but they can't spend it in this deep mountain, haha. In the end, they all got an advantage for us!"

Tong Chengxiang suddenly realized it, stroking his snow-white beard and said with a smile: "Tsk, tsk, Prince Emotion is not only training soldiers, but also robbing."

"Ha ha!"

Chenyue laughed and closed the wooden box: "Master Tong, this is the rice you cooked, take it back to Tanzhou and use it!"
Chapter completed!