The main hall of Shangshuling is full of important officials of the imperial court.

Lu Zhi pointed to the map of Youzhou and introduced to Emperor Ling, Taiwei Cui Lie, Situ Xuxiang, Sikong Dinggong, General He Jin, Zongzheng Liu Yu and other three princes and nine ministers that the imperial court had just received information about Youzhou!

"Currently, Zhang Chun and Zhang Ju have gathered 100,000 rebels. Their morale is strong, and the Youzhou army is difficult to stop. Qi Chou, the captain of Huwuwan and the prefect of Zhuojun, have led 5,000 Youzhou troops to Jicheng in Guangyang County.

, preparing to stop Zhang Chun and others in Jicheng, Liu Zheng, the governor of Beiping County, has insufficient troops and is facing the front of Zhang Chun and his two men. He is now gathering troops to defend himself. The governor of Liaoxi County has been killed by two thieves, and the entire Liaoxi County has been destroyed.

Break through.”

Lu Zhi pointed to the map and introduced, "The governors of other counties are leading troops into Yuyang County, preparing to resist the rebels of Zhang Chun and Zhang Ju in Yuyang County!"

Liu Yu couldn't believe it and said: "How is it possible? There are 100,000 field soldiers in Youzhou. Even if Xuande led 30,000 troops into Jizhou, the strength of Youzhou should be enough to defeat Zhang Chun and Zhang Ju!"

Emperor Ling didn't understand either: "Yes, the imperial court has 100,000 troops in Youzhou. Why don't you eliminate these two thieves in one fell swoop? Do you still want to wait until they become more powerful?"

Lu Zhi smiled bitterly and said: "Youzhou cannot afford an army of 100,000. The new governor of Youzhou has cut off all these field soldiers. Now Youzhou only has an army of 30,000. However, Zhang Chun and Zhang Ju have tens of thousands of soldiers in contact."

The Wuwan people rebelled, and the combat effectiveness of these Wuwan people's cavalry is not inferior to that of the Youzhou frontier army, so now the Youzhou army can only defend against the two thieves Zhang Chun and Zhang Ju."

Liu Yu said painfully: "Those are field soldiers. They don't need Youzhou to support them at all. Why should they be disbanded!"

Liu Yu spent more than one billion to install the field soldiers. He originally thought that these field soldiers could be a boost to the Youzhou frontier army, but apparently the wealthy nobles in Youzhou have dismantled this help. They can't afford any excuses.

!This is Liu Yu’s achievement, and it is the thing he is most proud of, but now it has been disintegrated by Youzhou in the first half of the year!

The whole hall of Shangshu Ling was silent. The death of people and the cessation of political power were all too common in the Han Dynasty. It was just that when Youzhou was unlucky enough to need soldiers, they disbanded the army that protected them!

Emperor Ling said coldly: "It's true that he has done something wrong to himself. He ordered the officials in Youzhou to kill Zhang Chun and Zhang Ju within a month. If he can't do it, they will all be imprisoned!"

Cui Lie immediately stopped him and said: "Your Majesty, now is not the time to be vindictive. If this decree is sent to Youzhou, the whole Youzhou may fall. Your Majesty, don't forget that the Han Dynasty is not peaceful yet. There is a Thunder Lord in Mayi, and Zhang Yan in Taihang Mountain

Even more so, Xiliang's rebellion has not been completely wiped out. If Youzhou falls and arouses the ambitions of these bandits, the entire north will be at war!"

Emperor Ling said angrily: "They have the ability to defeat my army of 100,000 in half a year. Presumably, they have the ability to raise an army of 100,000 in one month. With an army of 100,000, they cannot quell a single rebel!"

If you don’t come out, you will die in battle! There are too many such wastes in the Han Dynasty!”

At this time, Liu Yu in turn persuaded Emperor Ling: "Your Majesty, please calm down and put the country and the country first! If Youzhou falls completely, Jizhou and Qingzhou will be in danger, and the northern part of the Han Dynasty will really be enveloped in the flames of war!"

"

Emperor Ling took a few deep breaths and said: "Let Youzhou's soldiers and horses stay in Jicheng for three months. Don't let Zhang Chun and Zhang Ju go deep into the hinterland of the Han Dynasty. Then he asked Lu Zhi: "Where else are there soldiers?

horse?"

Lu Zhi immediately said: "Jizhou already has 50,000 soldiers and horses. When Liu Bei suppressed the rebellion, he brought 30,000 Youzhou troops. Later, Liu Bei even settled in Jizhou. If there are enough weapons and equipment, Jizhou alone can raise 10,000 soldiers and horses.

With an army of ten thousand and veterans with rich combat experience, as long as Liu Bei leads the army northward, it will be enough to put down Zhang Chun and Zhang Ju's rebellion!"

Emperor Ling thought for a while and said: "I have ordered Bei Zhonglang to raise Liu Bei with an army of 100,000 and go north to quell the rebellion in Youzhou!"

Wang Han, the Great Sinong, immediately said: "Where did the money and food for His Majesty's 100,000-strong army come from? Although this year's war is not intense, it has still been fought from the beginning of the year to now, especially as the number of troops is increasing.

, Not to mention the northern and southern armies, Chang'an has 50,000 troops to guard against Xiliang's rebellion, and Taiyuan has 30,000 troops to guard against Lei Gong. Now His Majesty wants to send 100,000 troops to the expedition. The court really can't afford the money! Your Majesty, please help me from within.

We need to spend 1 billion from the treasury, otherwise Liu Bei would not be able to leave Jizhou even with 100,000 troops!"

Emperor Ling said angrily: "I don't have money, don't ask me for money!"

Wang Han was stunned and said: "In order to raise military resources in recent years, Your Majesty has repeatedly reduced the salaries of the three public officials and nine ministers, and sold various civil and military officials and titles such as Guannai Marquis, Huben, Yulin, Tiqi Yingshi, Wu Dafu and so on. In these years, I

According to statistics, His Majesty received 18 billion yuan from these titles alone, and the money received by the national treasury was less than 8 billion yuan, so His Majesty just took the bulk of it, but at this critical moment, Your Majesty still puts the country and the country of the Han Dynasty first!"

It is true that Emperor Ling has no money. In the past, Emperor Ling bought and sold officials to make money, but he soon discovered that this kind of thing had endless consequences. When these people who spent money to buy officials went to the places, they plundered the places with great ferocity.

He forced the people to rebel, but the money he earned was not enough to fight the rebellion. The big man didn't know what happened these years. As long as there was the slightest disturbance, the people immediately rebelled, without any regard for the difficulties of his father. Now the court

Knowing that rebellions of less than 10,000 people are no longer of concern, let the local government quell the rebellion. Only rebellions that cannot be quelled by the local government will be taken seriously.

So after the lessons learned in the past few years, Emperor Ling changed his strategy and stopped selling his official position, instead selling his title.

You can get money, and you don't have to arrange official positions for these people to force them to rebel against the people. The most important thing is that the official positions are just a carrot and a pit, and it is just a one-time deal. It will take a few years at least, but there is no limit on the title. It's really

You can sell it for as much as you want. A Guannai Marquisship costs 10 million, and you will definitely be innocent.

As soon as this deal came out, the whole Han Dynasty was in a sensation. At this time, the majesty of the Han Dynasty was still there, and the title was still very noble. Dong Zhuo struggled for 30 years and made many military exploits. Finally, he spent tens of millions of money to get a Taixiang Marquis.

Among the entire group of generals in the Han Dynasty, there would be no more than 5 generals who were marquises. From this, we can see the nobility of the title of the Han Dynasty.

Now that there is a chance to become a marquis, all the wealthy people in the Han Dynasty have gone to Luoyang City to buy the title of Marquis of Guannei. Even if they don't have enough money, they also buy some titles such as Zuo Shu Chang, Da Shang Zao, Wu Dafu and so on.

Therefore, Emperor Ling made 18 billion in this wave. Maybe the money came too easily. Emperor Ling was rarely generous and gave 8 billion to Da Sinong with the imperial court on June 4th.

It's a pity that the eight billion money is too short-lived. It has made up for the court's previous debts and supplemented the soldiers' military pay. In addition, the Han army has more than doubled than a year ago, and the expenses have also more than doubled.

, all the money was spent in less than half a year!

When Emperor Ling heard what Wang Han said, he became furious and said, "Wang Han, you dare to spy on me. You are a man without a king and a father. Someone pull Wang Han down and put him in jail!"

"Your Majesty, Da Si Nong is doing this for the sake of the Han Dynasty. Please calm down!"

The three princes and nine ministers panicked and knelt down to plead with Wang Han. Now is the time for war. If Da Sinong is imprisoned, do we still want to fight?

But Wang Han had touched Emperor Ling's bottom line. Wang Han dared to care about his small treasury. In Emperor Ling's eyes, this was a greater rebellion than Zhang Chun and Zhang Ju, so he didn't listen to anyone and directly

Let the soldiers drag him down!

Seeing Wang Han being dragged away, the atmosphere in the hall froze for a moment, and no one dared to speak out.

At this time, Liu Yu stood up and knelt down and said: "Your Majesty, Duan Xi's campaign against Xiliang during the Jianning period cost the military 4.4 billion. The Xiliang rebellion during the Zhongping period has cost the court more than 6 billion until today. And Zhang Niujiao in Jizhou,

Zhang Yan's rebellion cost the court 5 billion yuan, but even now the court has not wiped out Zhang Yan. Without money, His Majesty is still the emperor, but without the country, His Majesty cannot keep the money in his hands.

I beg your majesty, who has great power in the country of Han, to use Wan Jin Tang’s money to replenish the military resources.”

Emperor Ling said angrily: "Liu Yu, you are so bold!"

Other ministers also knelt down and said: "Your Majesty, please put the country, the country and the country first!"

Being forced by his ministers like this, the Ling Emperor was furious, but he knew that now was not the time to be angry with them. He rolled his eyes and thought of a good way!

Emperor Ling: "Okay, I will replenish the treasury with 1 billion yuan!"

Liu Yu and others were surprised and said: "Your Majesty is wise!"

Luoyang City, Yuan Mansion!

Jian Shuo, who was beside Emperor Ling, found Yuan Wei.

When Yuan Wei saw Jian Shuo, he saluted and said, "Greetings to the angel!"

Jian Shuopi smiled and said: "I can't bear the courtesy of Master Yuan. I have some private matters here today!"

Yuan Wei also said expressionlessly: "Please let the angel speak clearly!"

Jian Shuo said: "Now that the treasury is empty, Your Majesty has given these Taifu's disciples and former officials a chance to make meritorious service. As long as they pay 10 million in atonement money, the imperial court will no longer hold them responsible for their crimes."

Yuan Wei was surprised and said: "But these people's homes have been confiscated. Where did the money come from?"

Jian Shuo smiled and said: "It depends on whether the Taifu attaches great importance to these disciples and former officials, otherwise he will always find money! Taifu thinks about it carefully, and the Za family has resigned!"

After Jian Shuo left, Yuan Shao appeared and asked, "Father, what is this eunuch doing in our house?"

Yuan Wei smiled bitterly and said: "Your Majesty wants us to redeem people for ten million per disciple!"

Yuan Shao was surprised and said: "Who can take this out!"

There are more than 30 disciples and former officials of the Yuan family imprisoned this time. It would cost more than 300 million to redeem them. Even if the Yuan family has a great business, it will be difficult to come up with so much money at once!

Yuan Wei gritted his teeth and said: "Sell all the stored grain and find a way to raise money. If it's not enough, sell some shops!"

Yuan Shao was shocked and said: "Father, our house is no longer empty!"

Yuan Wei said angrily: "Short-sighted, without these disciples and old officials, our Yuan family can still be regarded as the top family of the Han Dynasty! You must remember that money and land are not the foundation of our Yuan family. The foundation of our Yuan family

It’s these disciples and old officials, giving up some branches and leaves to strengthen the foundation is what you should do, otherwise you will never want to achieve the three virtues in your life!"

Yuan Shao lowered his head and said: "Sir, I know I was wrong!"

Yuan Wei continued: "You must do this yourself, and you must bring out all the disciples and former officials of our Yuan family safely!"

Yuan Shao said: "My child knows!"

The news that the Ling Emperor conveyed was not limited to the Yuan family, the Yang family, the Xu family and other families whose disciples and former officials were imprisoned. The Ling Emperor sent people there. These family heads had no choice but to accept the Ling Emperor's blackmail and pay money to redeem their people, especially

It was the Yuan family that paid the money first. If they didn't pay, the disciples and old officials would lose their hearts. How could they lead the team in the future? The disciples and old officials of the powerful noble family made the Ling Emperor more than 3 billion, which instantly made up for the funds given to the treasury.

!

After Yuan Wei and others learned about what happened in the court, they even said helplessly: "Our Majesty is really a genius businessman, but he is not a good emperor!"

Bingzhou, Mayi!

Although there is a slack period for farming in Mayi in August, the tribesmen in Mayi still have no free time.

The engineering team is really busy connecting the various counties in Mayi with rails. The entire Dingxiang County and nine counties in Mayi have been connected by rails to Mayi Unilink, which has formed a small rail network in the entire Mayi.

All the merchants who come to Mayi are attracted by this rail network. With the rail network, the transportation volume in Mayi is not only large, but also the speed is faster. The original three-day journey does not take even one day with the rail network in Mayi. This speed is very fast for caravans.

It's so convenient, but it's a pity that the tracks are only within a 300 radius of Mayi.

And now after occupying the three counties of Yunzhong, Wuyuan, and Shuofang, Mayi's rail carriages began to slowly extend towards the three counties of Yunzhong. However, this road is not as flat as the Datong Basin, and the workers who continue to build the road will encounter no small trouble.

!
To be continued...