Not to mention the Lu brothers who were fighting each other in Baishui Manor, after Li Tai led his troops back to Luoxi Administrative Office, he immediately asked someone to transfer a batch of supplies from Shangyuan Manor as the starting capital for Baishui Fengcheng.
The expansion of the army should be done urgently rather than slowly. The sooner you master a considerable armed force, the sooner you can enjoy the corresponding power and benefits.
Li Tai really wanted to distinguish between public and private affairs, or use the court's money to do his own things, but the environment of the Kansai Bafu did not allow it. What the Bafu could provide was only partial policy and positional care, and more practical support.
Not at all.
Not only people like Li Tai who are keen to build their own power, but also many subordinate officials of the Taiwanese government actually maintain a state of destroying their families and providing relief, using private money to fill the financial shortfalls in their ministries, thereby maintaining their power.
To operate normally, let the power you possess exist and continue to develop.
The so-called born from sorrow and died in happiness, to a certain extent, the confrontation between the Eastern and Western Wei Dynasties was not just a duel between Gao Huan and Yuwentai. At least in the case of the Western Wei Dynasty, although it had the inherent shortcomings of the regime, its rule
The depth and breadth were beyond the reach of the Eastern Wei regime.
Take Li Tai himself as an example. If he was in the Eastern Wei or Southern Dynasties, he would never be so selfless as to spend his own money to do things that need to be borne by the government. On the one hand, the power structure of the other two regimes does not have such great autonomy;
On the one hand, there are other methods and ways to achieve success.
However, in the Western Wei Dynasty, everyone from officials to the people was extremely poor. There were so many people watching the rags in Baishui. If you were reluctant to pay, your power would have no place to stand and there would be no way to extend it.
The business momentum of Li Tai's own manor this year is quite good. Although he experienced the twists and turns of the Heba brothers, with Yu Wenhu's intervention, Li Tai did not need to make any actual contributions.
As for the ordnance purchased from people in Hedong, part of the loot from the First World War in northern Shaanxi will be used to deliver it, and the new order will be paid next year. Therefore, this year, Li Tai's own industry is expected to have a total surplus of more than 30,000 pieces of silk.
This is already an extremely considerable amount of wealth. If it were a peaceful world, Li Tai could even disarm and return to his fields, lie down and enjoy life.
But in these troubled times, if you want to protect wealth, you must control power. If you want to control power, this little money is still a drop in the bucket, and you need to continue to work hard.
While he was still on the road, Li Tai had already ordered the news to spread out that he would build a fortification in Baishui and recruit local tycoons as soldiers. In addition, he cooperated with the county's plan to suppress bandits. When he returned to Luoxi Administrative Office,
At that time, many local tycoons had gathered here, wanting to learn more about the inside story and participate in it.
Li Tai received some powerful people from the countryside and told them about his responsibilities. In principle, he could only manage personnel along the Luoshui River Canal and was not qualified to directly recruit people from the countryside.
But if these people can join the Qu Alliance and compile songs into Quhu, they can join the White Water Defense Armed Forces presided over by Li Tai.
"I Have a Picture Book of Ghosts and Gods"
The first reason for adding such a layer of obstacles is naturally to avoid direct conflict with local officials.
Although Li Tai is not afraid of these local chief executives, he cannot indulge in any rural power struggle with them. He must come up with a justifiable reason to give each other a step up, so that even if there is any conflict, there is room for buffering.
The second nature is to strengthen the local influence of the Qu League. The larger the Qu League organization, the deeper it will penetrate into the local area, and the power in Li Tai's hands will have more dimensions to maintain. Even if one day he can't due to the adjustment of his position,
If it continues to dominate along the Luoshui River, it can also maintain its control through the canal alliance.
For those powerful people in the countryside, if they are just curious and ask if there is an obstacle to the Qu Alliance, they are unlikely to join in person. If they are full of enthusiasm, then joining the Qu Alliance is not a big deal.
obstacle.
The previous channel alliance was still based on the nostalgic law of mutual benefit, and its development momentum was not bad. Now with the power in the hands of Li Tai as an endorsement, the number of participants increased sharply. So much so that Li Tai had to open a separate alliance.
The production line is used to print personnel books in Qumeng.
Thanks to the enthusiastic nostalgia, the Qu Alliance soon submitted a list of thousands of people to recruit soldiers to expand the army. Li Tai also selected several veterans from He Basheng's old troops who were proficient in army formation to join the Qu Alliance.
The alliance serves as the governor and presides over the recruitment and expansion of troops.
As for himself, he took some time off to prepare some gifts and returned to Huazhou City to visit Dugu Xin.
Duguxin's mansion in Huazhou City is adjacent to He Basheng's former residence. It was not originally supposed to be, but when Duguxin returned to attend the Grand Parade this year, he asked his family to arrange to move here.
When Li Tai came to visit, the mansion had not yet been moved and renovated.
There is no large mansion in Sakon that is large enough to accommodate Dugu Xin's many families, so this mansion is made up of several nearby mansions. Various materials are piled up in the courtyard, and many people are busy working day and night.
Duguxin had to return to Longbian years ago, so he did not follow Daxingtai to inspect the river defense, and stayed in Huazhou City to enjoy the time with his family.
Not long after Li Taigang sat down in the front hall, Dugu Xin walked into the hall. Different from his meticulous appearance when meeting outside, Dugu Xin at home was dressed casually, wearing a blue inner robe from Yanju, and a feather cloak hanging down to the ground.
, looks chic and elegant.
"I'm sorry, Boshan. I was just holding the new things in the closet, so I didn't want my clothes to get stained. You are not a stranger, so you came to see me like this."
Duguxin raised his hand to signal Li Tai, who had stood up to greet him, to sit down. He looked relaxed and casual, probably still immersed in the warmth of teasing his children just now, and he also got a little closer to Li Tai.
When Li Tai heard this, he couldn't help but think about it. He knew that Dugu Xin's step-sibling Cui gave birth to a little daughter in the middle of the year, who was later known as Dugu Jialuo, and he sent a congratulatory gift from his family.
At this time, when he heard Dugu Xin complaining that his robe was stained by the urine of this little daughter, Li Tai suddenly felt secretly happy and thought to himself, you should be kinder to your little daughter. When your family is in decline in the future, it will be all thanks to this little daughter.
Pulled again.
The two chatted for a while in the hall, and the noise of craftsmen working could be heard from time to time outside the hall. Duguxin felt a little embarrassed, so he stood up and said: "Moving to a new house, there are many discomforts, it is really not a good place to entertain guests. There are other industries in the village.
Your country home is close to Boshan, would you like to go on a hunting trip with us?"
After hearing this, Li Tai quickly stood up and said with a smile, "I won't bother you. I will treat you as a guest and do as you please."
"Then please wait for a moment while I go in to change my riding clothes."
After leaving these words, Dugu Xin walked out of the hall and went straight to the inner house.
Li Tai waited outside for half an hour before Dugu Xin returned. His whole outfit was brand new. Not to mention the handsome and gorgeous pleated hakama robe, even his hair was styled to a shiny black color, which showed the burden of being an idol.
It's still very heavy and I have to pack it upright every time I go out.
Dugu Xin, who regained his majestic demeanor, didn't look very good. He first raised his hand to signal Li Tai to wait a moment, then he pointed at the slave and scolded him.
Li Tai was a little curious about what happened to make Dugu Xin so angry, but he didn't want to go up and listen to other people's housework. He just stood there awkwardly, tiptoeing and kicking the fallen leaves on the ground.
"Boshan, you are laughing at me. There is no master in the house to take care of me, and my slave actually lost control of my beloved thing. It is really infuriating!"
After a while, Dugu Xin came over angrily, holding an exquisite rhinoceros leather scabbard in his hand. He said with some distress and helplessness: "It would be fine if the other items fell down, but that old sword
The sword is a sword made of solid iron made by a famous master when I visited Hebei in the early years. It is a sharp weapon and has been carried with me for many years. When I went to town in the middle of the year, I suddenly fell in love and accidentally left it at home, but I didn't expect it to be lost..."
Listening to Dugu Xin's nagging complaints, it was obvious that he was deeply saddened by the loss of this precious sword. It is natural that he could miss and regret such a mortal thing. However, Li Tai felt something bad amidst the murmurings and raised his arms without any trace.
Press the hilt of your sword and turn slightly sideways.
"Alas, Su Tie's method is only seen in Hebei, but rarely seen in Guanxi. What's more, my sword has been with me for many years, and it has become familiar with human nature. When I lived in Jiangdong, Lord Liang gave me a piece of rhinoceros skin, and I cut it myself.
It became a scabbard. Now the container is still there, but the knife is gone. It makes people sad to see it. I give it to you, Boshan..."
As he spoke, Dugu Xin handed the rhinoceros leather scabbard in his hand to Li Tai, and subconsciously turned his gaze to Li Tai's waist. At this glance, his gaze became somewhat fixed, and his brows wrinkled slightly, and he turned his gaze after a while.
Looking at Li Tai's face, he hesitated to speak.
Since coming to this world, Li Tai has experienced many embarrassing situations, but this time alone, it made him feel almost social and uneasy, and he didn't want to face it at all.
Looking at Dugu Xin's appearance, he obviously recognized his favorite knife. Although he knew it was in vain, Li Tai still tried his best to cover the handle of the knife with his arm, feeling a little embarrassed to look at Dugu Xin.
There was a silent stalemate between them for a while, and finally Duguxin poked Li Tai's elbow with the scabbard. He didn't ask any more questions, but just said in a deep voice: "Take it, the rhinoceros skin moisturizer is far better than the common leather.
Don’t waste your famous things.”
Li Tai nodded awkwardly, raised his hand to take the rhinoceros leather sheath, took the sword out of the cowhide sheath and put it on. When he was about to buckle it back to his waist, he came to his senses and held up the sword to gesture to Dugu Xin.
Dugu Xin only glanced at it and then looked away. He coughed dryly and then said: "It's not a shame to give a gift for your past efforts. Keep up the hard work. I still have many such famous swords, and I use them all the time."
After saying this, he led the horse, turned over, and rode out. He didn't stop until he reached He Basheng's former residence next door, looking at the half-closed door thoughtfully.
When Li Tai and the members of the Dugu family arrived, Dugu Xin looked at Li Tai again, then pointed at the gate and said: "Why is the defense here so lax? I don't know that my wife lives in Huli? I sent a group of people to come here day and night.