Chengdu inner city, in the imperial palace.

Liu Bang returned to the palace and went straight to the residence of a concubine in the harem. He grabbed the concubine's hand and pulled her into the room. After venting his anger, he left the harem feeling refreshed.

Arriving in the front hall, Liu Bang sat down, breathed a long sigh of relief, and began to sort out the gains and losses on the tower today.

He began to review.

Carefully recall what happened on the tower.

This is Liu Bang's habit.

Even if a big incident happens, he may be angry at the time and may make mistakes at the time, but after careful review and analysis afterwards, he will correct his fallacies and prevent the same mistake from happening again.

Liu Bang recalled Wang Can coming out to shout, recalling Han Xin coming out to shout, recalling Wang Can digging a hole for him...

Scenes appeared in his mind.

After Liu Bang thought about it all, he finally murmured: "Wang Can, Wang Can, you are deliberately provoking me. I'm afraid, it has two meanings. The first is to prod me into fighting. Once I go out to fight, you don't have to attack by force.

; The second meaning is to undermine my military morale and disrupt my morale. You are so cunning!"

At this moment, Liu Bang thought carefully and found that what happened during the day was unsolvable.

The only way is for him to ignore Wang Can.

Because when it comes to talking, he can't beat Wang Can. Even Xiao He, Zhang Liang and others can't beat Wang Can's mouth.

He could only ignore Wang Can.

"Wang Can, Wang Can, next time you want to talk to me, I will never be fooled."

Liu Bang clenched his fists and made a decision in his heart.

"Someone is coming!"

Liu Bang gave an order.

A chamberlain came in and saluted Liu Bang respectfully.

Liu Bang ordered: "Send an order to the imperial kitchen to get a bowl of chicken soup. I'm a little hungry."

"Here!"

The chamberlain immediately went to deliver the order.

Not long after, a eunuch brought the chicken soup that had been cooked for a long time.

Now that the weather is getting colder, Liu Bang feels much better after a bowl of chicken soup, and his whole body is filled with warmth.

At this time, the chamberlain said: "Your Majesty, in two days it will be difficult to serve chicken soup."

Liu Bang raised his eyebrows and asked, "Why?"

The chamberlain replied: "There are two reasons. On the one hand, there was a war in Chengdu and the surrounding area was completely blocked. Many people did not want to do business anymore and kept food for themselves. The same is true for chickens. It is not easy to buy chickens."

"On the other hand, the imperial kitchen said that money is tight. Now the whole country is cutting back on spending and money is not abundant. Because a lot of money is used to make weapons and fight wars."

The chamberlain was also a little nervous when he spoke.

Afraid of being angered.

After Liu Bang heard this, he sighed, "What's all this?"

During a war, he could barely drink chicken soup.

But thinking about the great sacrifices he made in this battle, especially the loss of Bajun, Guanghan and other places, and the fact that he is now trapped in Chengdu, it is normal for problems to arise.

However, there is still no shortage of food.

This is where Liu Bang is quite satisfied.

At least, Chengdu has enough food.

Although the food may not be very good, at least you won't go hungry.

Liu Bang waved his hand to ask the chamberlain to step back, rolled his eyes, and then ordered: "Send the order to see Xiao He."

"Here!"

The attendants outside the palace received the order and immediately went to inform them.

Not long after, Xiao He entered from outside the main hall. After saluting Liu Bang, he said, "Your Majesty has summoned the minister. What is the important matter?"

At this moment, Xiao He hasn't rested yet.

Xiao He's face was full of exhaustion and haggard.

When the war came, Xiao He had too many things to deal with. He needed to make decisions on all matters, and he was really busy.

Liu Bang said: "Thank you for your hard work, my dear!"

Xiao He said: "Your Majesty is serious. This is my duty, and I don't have to work hard."

Liu Bang changed the topic and said: "Prime Minister, now the national treasury is empty and there is insufficient money. What can you do about this?"

Xiao He said: "Your Majesty, although the treasury is empty and the national situation is difficult, as long as we survive this current difficulty, it will eventually pass. As long as we wait until Li Tang's army arrives, all problems will be solved."

Liu Bang said: "But we can't let it go, knowing the problem but not solving it."

Xiao He said: "Your Majesty, please give me instructions!"

Liu Bang stood up from his seat and said in a deep voice: "Prime Minister, this is a matter of life and death. Since the whole country is resisting Wang Can, it is natural to mobilize all the forces. All the people in my Han Dynasty should support me in resisting Wang Can.

.”

Xiao He rolled his eyes and said: "Does your Majesty mean to impose taxes? Your Majesty must not do it. The country is in a difficult situation now, but once taxes are imposed again, the people may be in chaos. Once the people are in chaos, Chengdu will lose its foundation.

.”

"You're worrying too much."

Liu Bang flicked his sleeves and smiled softly.

No matter what he does, there is no way he will be taxed.

Xiao He asked: "What is your Majesty planning to do?"

A cold look flashed across Liu Bang's eyes, and he said: "If we can't collect taxes from the people and increase the burden on the people, we can only ask the wealthy gentry and wealthy businessmen in the city to donate. I remember that in Chengdu, there is a Hu family in the west of the city, south of the city, and north of the city.

, there are wealthy merchants in the east of the city and in the city, and they are all wealthy merchants of the Han Dynasty."

"You immediately mobilize your troops and ask them to stay temporarily with some money and food."

"Let's do this right away."

"After all, you were very busy during the day and had to go up to the tower to deal with Wang Can. Now, only at night can you have time to solve this matter."

Liu Bang said: "This matter must be completed tonight."

After Xiao He heard this, he did not dissuade him.

Now that the situation is unfavorable, we can only take action against the businessmen.

Scholars, farmers, industry and commerce, businessmen cannot afford to lose money early. Now that the country is in dire straits, we can only cut our flesh from the businessmen.

Xiao He said: "Your Majesty, I will make arrangements immediately. However, how much money and food should each merchant donate? There must also be a regulation on this matter."

Liu Bang asked: "What do you think of a family with 30,000 shi of food?"

"Disaster!"

Xiao He shook his head and said: "If a family gives out 30,000 shi of grain, it is equivalent to killing a wealthy businessman. According to Weichen, it is no problem for a family to give 20,000 shi of grain. At least, their resistance will not

Too big."

Liu Bang said: "Then twenty thousand shi!"

After a pause, Liu Bang said again: "The money that each family has to give, I am considering, is 50 million yuan per family. Each of these big families has countless wealth, hundreds of millions of money. Let them donate 50 million yuan.

Tens of millions of dollars, this is not a difficult task.”

Xiao He said: "Your Majesty is wise, I will take care of it immediately."

"Go for it!"

Liu Bang waved his hand.

Xiao He bowed his hands and bowed, then exited the main hall, then walked to the office, summoned the officials in the office, and asked them to move quickly.

…

To the west of the city, the Hu family.

The head of the Hu family is named Hu Wei, and he is a big businessman. His business mainly involves cloth and tea. In addition, he also has some mineral deposits and is making a steady stream of money.

The Hu family is rich, but they are not taken seriously in the Han Dynasty.

Just like this, after Guo Jia entered Chengdu, he soon instigated Hu Wei to rebel and made Hu Wei submit to Shu.

The Hu family's residence is located in the west of the city. It covers an extremely large area, nearly three hundred acres wide, and is luxuriously decorated. It is a true mansion.

At this moment, the backyard study.

Hu Wei, Guo Jia, and Shan Xiongxin took their seats.
To be continued...