The rain was pouring down, pattering on the roof of the carriage and the long stone street.
Han Qian tightened the reins and slowed down his horse, riding close to the carriage, and said: "I wrote a letter to Xuzhou in the afternoon, thinking about bringing Ting'er and Wenxin's mother and son to Tangyi to stay for a few days.
Wait until her mother and son come over and talk about this before officially inviting people to Yangzhou..."
"You have a conscience. Otherwise, if she had stayed in Xuzhou and known about your publicized marriage in Tangyi, even if she didn't say anything, her heart would have been very miserable." Xi Rong turned her head and said.
The maid Xiangyun was sitting behind the car, a little dazed, and she didn't notice the raindrops falling on her face.
As a personal maid, she knows better than anyone the entanglement between Wang Jun and Han Qian and Wang Jun's insistence not to marry over the years, but she deeply regrets it because she knows better than anyone else the relationship between Wang Jun and Han Qian.
What are the barriers between.
This time she came to Tangyi in disguise. She really thought she was here to relax. After all, Yangtai and other places were also in chaos. Although Jiangnan was prosperous, it was not as peaceful as coming to Tangyi. But she never thought that she would just go ashore at East Lake.
Meeting Han Qian unexpectedly, and never expecting to stay as a guest, Han Qian suddenly turned to the topic of finding someone to marry him.
Besides, Han Qian wants to find someone to come to Yangzhou to propose marriage at this time, but the Wang family will definitely agree?
At the wedding banquet of the third prince, who openly humiliated the Wang family with the engagement contract, and who in Fanchang heard Mr. Ruan and Yin Sima mention the engagement again but ignored it and walked away, leaving the young lady alone and embarrassed in Fanchang.
Facing the rumors all over the city?
Thinking of this, Xiangyun felt very angry for Wang Jun.
"You seem to be sure that I won't turn around and leave after hearing your crazy words. How did you guess that I came here for this matter?" Wang Jun rested his hand on the guardrail on the side of the carriage, his skin as cold as snow.
Stretch your forearm into the rain and watch the raindrops fall on your long fingers.
"Emperor Zhu Yu of Liang Dynasty was in Sizhou last year, and drove tens of thousands of cavalry to invade Huaidong, systematically destroying the settlement system that my father had established in southern Chuzhou in the early years. However, King Xin failed to see through his intentions in time, and still carried out the previous orders.
The strategy of strengthening the walls and clearing the field,”
Han Qian wiped the rain off his face and said,
"In the past, if the Huaidong defense line relied on the supply of the entire Dachu, in order to preserve its strength, it would have been no problem to use the strategy of fortifying the wall and clearing the country to avoid the enemy's edge. Even if the settlement system was destroyed, it would only take two or three years to restore it.
That's all, but the mistake was that after King Xin sealed Huaidong, military supplies could only be obtained from the remaining three states and seventeen counties under his rule. The production system was severely damaged and it was immediately stretched. In terms of grain storage, Huaidong
It may be able to support another three or four months, but when the Chuyang counties encounter another major disaster, the grain production in summer and autumn can maintain the top three or four achievements, and less taxes can be collected, which means that the Huaidong Army
There is no possibility of replenishing the grain reserves this year. In this case, even if Huaidong did not directly send officials to Jinling to negotiate, but intended to test Tangyi's attitude first, there is no need to call you here..."
Only then did Xiangyun feel that he was an idiot. He thought, yes, this time the young lady wanted to go to Tangyi to play, but the adults didn't say a word or stop her. It was so obviously abnormal.
You didn't even notice it yourself?
Xi Rong smiled and hugged Wang Jun's shoulders from behind, and said: "Two days before you came here, Han Qian joked that Huaidong's weakness was so completely exposed this time, and he had to pay several wives to exchange for the imperial court.
I want to help, but I don’t expect that Huaidong’s wife hasn’t paid the compensation yet. Mr. Wang, who has always been clever and unwilling to suffer losses, has to pay for his daughter first..."
Embarrassed by Xi Rong's words, Wang Jun changed the topic and asked Han Qian: "Liyang City is intact, but not many households have moved here so far. What do you want to use this place for?"
"I'll give it to you as a betrothal gift," Xi Rong said with a smile, "East Lake City is in a mess, and maybe it won't be able to be built in three to five years, and Han Qian doesn't have the energy to build a mansion in a short period of time.
——When you get married, there is no way I can force you to live in a simple alley!"
"If you keep talking nonsense, I will ignore you." Wang Jun couldn't help but protest.
"Ji Xiyao has been transferred to Tangyi. Next month, the main teachers of the Engineering School, the Medical School and the Martial Arts School, as well as the newly admitted students, will be moved here, and a normal school will be built," Han Qian said, "
Of course, there may only be a thousand or so people in the early stage of the school, and there will still be some buildings that will remain idle for the time being, but we don’t want too many people to move in for the time being..."
The distance between the west gate of Liyang City and the newly built causeway on the east bank of Chao Lake is only thirty-five or six miles.
In other places, this journey may seem far away, but the outer walls of Jinling City are more than twenty miles from east to west, and the distance from the Imperial Palace to Changchun Palace is also more than thirty miles. It can be seen that the distance between Liyang and
The distance between East Lake can be said to be just right.
In the future, the road between Liyang and East Lake will be well built so that carriages can travel long distances. It will only take an hour to go back and forth between Liyang and East Lake.
Liyang is not suitable for building a dock and is inconvenient for the transportation of bulk materials. However, the environment is quiet and densely wooded. The summer climate is milder than that of East Lake and Dongguan, which are thirty or forty miles away. However, it is a good place to set up schools and escape the summer heat.
Good land.
I left the East Lake Camp in the afternoon and headed east while it was raining. I couldn't walk very fast on the road. I was delayed for an hour on the way. I entered Liyang City and walked along the street. When I arrived in front of a house on the east side of the long street, the sky was almost dark.
Although the garrison in Liyang City had already cleared the house and maintained it, Han Donghu still took his guards in to search it before Han Qian, Wang Jun and Xi Rong moved in.
Before Emperor Tianyou crossed the river and captured the Shengzhou Jiedushi Mansion (Jinling), Liyang City was where the Huainan Army's southwest camp was located. Li Yu lived in this house - as were the warships of the Huainan Army at that time.
Take the Yuxi River, enter the Yangtze River from Chaohu Lake, and cross the river from the west side of Shengzhou Prefecture to land.
Emperor Tianyou crossed the river and made Jinling his capital, and later gave this house to Li Yu. However, when Li Yu resigned and retired to Yuzhang, he handed over all the fields and houses given by Jinling, Liyang and other places.
Later, this garden became an official garden under the jurisdiction of Liyang County Government.
Coming from the long street, the house looked a bit shady from the outside, but when the three of them walked in, they saw that there was something special inside. There were several sets of courtyards in front and behind, with a total of hundreds of houses.
Although the pavilion and mezzanine hall are not very high and wide, the blue bricks and black tiles, the pink wall winding corridors and many flowers and trees such as bamboo, durian and begonia complement each other, making it very elegant and quiet.
Large and small meandering ponds can also be seen everywhere in the garden, and there are many koi carps in them. It can be seen that after the recovery of Liyang City, although no one lived in the garden, it was well taken care of. The streets and front yards of the houses were
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There are no weeds or fallen leaves left behind.
There is a wooden building built on a rockery three to four feet high in the middle garden. Wang Jun and Han Qian climbed up the wooden building and had a panoramic view of the long street they had just walked through. They also looked far into the distance to the north of Liyang City.
The Qingcang Mountain looms outside the rain curtain, like a green dragon lying quietly in the rain.
Although Wang Jun had made up her mind to come over and pierce the window paper in person and thought about various scenarios to expose this matter, Han Qian directly exposed it, and all the courage in her heart seemed to be exhausted, but at this time she did not
When I felt good, I stood in front of the window railing of the wooden building, stretching my soft and slender figure, as if I wanted to deeply imprint the beautiful scenery in front of me into my heart.
"This house won't make you feel that you are not used to living in Jianyuan, right?" Han Qian asked.
Wang Jun gave Han Qian an angry look, fearing that he would be laughed at by Xi Yin, so he ignored his words.
"I said, since we all know each other so well, there is no need to find someone to talk about joint betrothal gifts and dowry. How about we directly talk about what kind of betrothal gift Huaidong needs before he can marry you?" Xi
Yi Yi sat casually in front of the long desk in the hall, holding her snowy chin in her hand, and asked Wang Jun.
"I was thinking about being humiliated again when I came to Tangyi this time. When I returned to Yangzhou, I could only guard the nunnery with green lanterns and ancient scrolls. I didn't think of asking my father what the conditions for believing in the king were." Wang Jun took a breath and talked with Xi Rong.
Sitting in front of the case, he said, "However, Huaidong will be in a difficult situation in the next two years. It needs millions of grains from the outside every year to rebuild the reclamation system, but it is also worried that the imperial court will use this opportunity to suppress the withdrawal of the vassal...
…”
"If it weren't for the unstable factors of Wan Honglou and the Queen Mother, this might be a good opportunity to abolish the Huaidong vassal state."
Han Qian stood in front of the window, sighed softly, and said,
"However, the interior of the court is far from stable. It is best for Huaidong and Huaixi to maintain the status quo first. There is nothing unacceptable to Yang Yuanyan's conditions -"
"Thankfully, otherwise, in order to marry you, Han Qian would probably have to forcibly detain you this time and let the world laugh at you." Xi Rong said with a smile.
Since the Xichuan War, Xi Rong has been following Han Qian, like a concubine or a maid, with a close and trusting relationship. Naturally, she is the most aware of the entanglements between Han Qian and Wang Jun over the years, especially Fan Chang's refusal to marry. In the final analysis, it is Wang Jun who
Jun made great sacrifices to provide the best excuse for Han Qian to return to Xuzhou.
If Han Qian and Wang Jun's marriage were to have another setback, she felt it would be better to use force to resolve it.
Anyway, Han Qian forcibly implemented the New Deal in Xuzhou, and during the Jinling Incident, he further offended all the clan clans, and he was not afraid of one more thing that would make people all over the world talk about it.
Wang Jun smiled and said: "Even if you know Huaidong's needs now, I'm afraid this matter won't be that easy to handle, right?"
"It has to be done even if it's difficult," Han Qian said with a smile, "Now you also understand the situation in East Lake and Xuzhou. Compared with Huaidong, I actually need two to three years to stabilize the foundation here.
——It’s a good thing your father didn’t understand the depth of Tangyi, otherwise he wouldn’t have compensated you, and I would have had to cooperate with Huaidong..."
"Don't think about how many people you have plotted against over the years. If Wang Jun doesn't marry you and force you to show your ambition more openly, who in the world can safely cooperate with you?" Xi Rong said angrily.
All kidding aside, the three of them then sat in the pavilion and discussed how difficult it was to solve Huaidong's current predicament.
Every year, the land tax, tax, tax and many miscellaneous taxes paid by the prefectures and counties and collected into the national treasury through the Ministry of Household Affairs are certain.
If states and counties want to maintain the operation of the military and political system, they must retain a certain proportion; even the portion added by states and counties every year is retained as local expenditures.
Before the Ministry of Household Affairs carried out large-scale land and household registration verification, no place would hand over all taxes honestly, not to mention that now that the aristocratic clans control the power at the grassroots level, they are eager to pay a little less.
In addition, the financial resources that the central finance of the outer court can control are mainly the salt profits controlled by the Salt and Iron Envoys and various taxes and over-taxes including wine, tea and iron.
Some of these taxes are in the form of grain, grain, cloth and other physical objects - most of the time, the municipal tax is collected in kind to offset the tax. Some are in the form of coined currency and are escorted to Beijing for later use.
Even though the states and counties in the south of the Yangtze River remained generally stable and were not greatly affected by the Jinling Incident, the imperial court could only collect 2 million shi of grain, 1.2 million pieces of cloth, and other miscellaneous taxes and donations from the prefectures and counties each year.
Two million yuan fluctuates around.
This is the annual income of the foreign dynasty, and the expenses are calculated by the Duzhi Envoy. In addition to the official salaries and rewards of the courtiers and officials, the largest expenditure is the military expenses of the imperial army and the bodyguards.
In addition, in the name of the Inner Government Bureau, the inner court also controls income from coinage and land rent from Huangtian Villas located in various places, but these are mainly used for the expenses of the inner government and the clan, and have nothing to do with the outer court; this money and food,
Whether and how much to use for emergencies depended on the mood of Emperor Yanyou and the Queen Mother.
To be honest, the internal and external troubles in Dachu have not subsided in the past two years. It is quite difficult for Shen Yang to preside over the central government affairs and barely maintain the operation without collapse.
The in-kind tax that the imperial court can directly collect each year is only more than two million stones of grain and more than one million pieces of cloth. The transportation of these in-kind taxes is also the main responsibility of each state and county at this time.
Even paying salaries to the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty, giving rewards and maintaining such a large system of imperial guards and bodyguards were not enough. An additional part of the land rent harvest from the imperial village was needed to supplement it.
Now Huaidong is short of millions of shi of grain every year. The imperial court can no longer directly provide so much grain, but even if it takes money and silk to buy from the private sector, based on the high grain prices in Jianghuai in the past two years,
It takes two million yuan every year...
When the central government's finances are so tight, do the inner and outer courts really have to squeeze out so much money and food from their teeth to reinforce Huaidong, and are they willing to ask King Xin to mortgage all his underwear?
Although the court is not only not monolithic, but is even severely divided, no matter which party King Xin cooperates with, the additional expenditures in the next two to three years will be as little as two to three million yuan and as much as four to five million yuan.
A huge obstacle that cannot be avoided.
Even if Han Qian wants to cooperate with King Xin Yang Yuanyan, they must discuss and find a way together to see how to overcome this obstacle under the obstruction of many courtiers and without touching the fundamental interests of Huaidong.
This is really not that difficult.
This is not just because Han Daoming is the internal support and Han Qian and King Xin join forces to put pressure on Jinling.
Of course, with Wang Jun, who knew the thoughts of Huaidong generals such as his father Wang Wenqian and Xin Wang Yang Yuanyan, Han Qian could more clearly sort out the intricate entanglements of interests within Huaidong.
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Shi also told Wang Jun the secrets involving Wan Honglou, Han Jun, the Queen Mother and even Li Zhigao's life experience, so that she could prepare to help him with detailed countermeasures.
Knowing so many secrets, Wang Jun didn't look too surprised. He held Xue Ni in his slender hands, his round chin, and looked at Han Qian with his beautiful eyes and said, "If you really want to marry me, maybe you can invite Prince Shou to Yangzhou to discuss marriage." , so that my father can regain some face..."
"Yang Zhitang?" Han Qian leaned against the window sill, folded his hands in front of his chest, and raised one hand to support his chin as he pondered.
"Even if King Shou doesn't know the more detailed situation, he should be extremely wary of Lu Qingxia and Li Zhigao. Shen Yang, Yang En and others may be more loyal to His Majesty, but for King Shou, if His Majesty is affected by the gods, The old subordinates of Lingsi have too much control, and His Highness Prince Xin, who is also the late emperor’s surviving son, may not be another better choice for him.”
Wang Jun looked at Han Qian and said,
"As you said, without Lu Qingxia and others controlling the Queen Mother behind the scenes, King Shou and many people in the court might have more firmly supported the withdrawal of the vassal, but King Shou should now hope that Huaidong can maintain the status quo. And His Highness King Xin may have secretly asked someone to talk to King Shou, but King Shou is not sure that he can make this happen..."
Han Qian nodded and said: "Or maybe he doesn't want to make His Majesty suspicious of him right now, and he doesn't want to take the lead in doing this - and maybe it was this old fox who proposed the marriage contract between you and me? "
"My father went to Chuzhou to meet King Xin in mid-July. Ruan Yan came forward to talk about this matter. How did King Xin think of this matter, but he didn't mention it. Maybe it was King Shou who came to mediate..." Wang Jun When thinking deeply about the problem, the beautiful eyes give people a slightly confused feeling, and the beautiful eyebrows are also slightly frowned unconsciously.
"If Prince Shou had really been involved in this matter, he wouldn't be able to refuse if he asked Prince Shou to come out and propose marriage. And in front of His Majesty, Prince Shou could also use the excuse that he couldn't refuse the request. It wasn't him. Take the initiative to make peace with Huaidong. Of course, the whole thing can just move forward the cooperation that we have not yet reached with King Shou, and it can be regarded as killing one stone. However, if Lord Governor Wang knows that his daughter is so eager, he will put his elbow on it. Turning this way, I really don’t know what he feels like in his heart." Xi Rong said with a smile.
Wang Jun reached out to hit Xi Yin, but Xi Yin was so agile that he easily dodged it by turning to one side.
Han Qian pondered for a long time and said to Wang Jun: "Whether Yang Zhitang is involved in this matter or not, we are just guessing. Even if I send someone to test it, Yang Zhitang, an old fox, is very wary and may just shirk the marriage proposal. , it would be bad to be too hasty. However, before Tangyi and Huaidong do this, there is one thing they can do together to lay the foundation..."
"What can we do first?" Wang Jun asked.
Han Qian said: "Tangyi will reclaim more than 100,000 acres of land in June and July, and clean up tens of thousands of old houses. I want to arrange for people to go to Yangzhou to sell these fields and houses at a low price of 1/20%, but as long as people can come over, , all the proceeds from the sale of fields and houses can be used as money lent to Huaidong by Tangyi branch to purchase grain..."
Not to mention Jiangdong and Zhejiang, the people in Yangtai and Taizhou are not without surplus food.
Yangzhou and Taizhou were originally the land of plenty, and they had not suffered any major military disasters in the past ten years.
During the Jinling Incident, King Xin sent troops to occupy Yang and Taizhou, and also tried his best to win over local forces. He only needed to pay taxes normally. It was far from the later one or two months when the Chuzhou army was preparing to withdraw to the north bank. He also tried his best to win over the local forces. The other states looted and looted without any scruples.
The people in Yangtai and Taizhou not only have food reserves, but also not too little.
However, the problem is that civilians, especially the Shijiang clan, have surplus grain in their hands. In addition to paying normal land taxes and levies, the Huaidong Army cannot directly grab grain in their own area unless it is absolutely necessary.
——If we really want to get to this point, we might as well kneel down and take the initiative to ask the court to withdraw the feudal clan.
Even if a temporary increase in taxes is imposed, more of it will eventually be borne by the common people, further exacerbating internal conflicts and unrest.
Of course, if the Huaidong Army can have enough money, not only can it purchase a certain amount of grain in Yangtai and Taiyang, but it can even send people to Run, Hu and other places with more abundant grain to purchase grain.
After all, Huaidong was still under the jurisdiction of Dachu. The Huaidong army suffered from military disasters and floods. Even if the imperial court did not provide assistance, it would not restrict Huaidong from purchasing grain in Jiangnan counties.
The same is true here in Tangyi.
The food in Tangyi is extremely scarce. The newly cultivated grain fields have not yet harvested. Even if there is a harvest this autumn, we must first meet the food needs of the generals and their families in the coming year, and provide food for military and industrial work.
, will all require outsourcing for a long time.
At present, in addition to the 20,000 shi of japonica rice and 30,000 yuan allocated by the Privy Council every month, Tangyi also purchases six or seven rice grains every month from prefectures and counties where grain prices are relatively low, and even from Yuzhou under the rule of Changxiang Hou Wangyi.
Tens of thousands of stones of grain and grain were brought to Tangyi to meet consumption.
Such a huge amount of consumption was mainly due to the fact that the Han family continued to sell their fields and houses in Xuanshe and other places, and purchased grain and other materials from Xuanshe and Shezhou to send to Tangyi.
The in-kind tax collected more than 800,000 pieces of Qianyang cloth and 4 million kilograms of seed cotton.
The in-kind taxes in Dachu were mainly based on grain, grain, and cloth. Cloth and silk, as daily necessities, were sometimes even harder currency than gold, silver, and copper coins.
Han Qian used work in lieu of taxes in Tangyi. When he hired generals to do small jobs, he mainly used grain as payment. However, when paying for the labor requisitioned from Guangde Army and Jiangzhou, he used Qianyang cloth as payment.
The laborers were not unhappy at all.
In Jiangzhou and Guangde, Zhou Pang was in charge, and Chen Jingzhou was in charge. Han Qian even used Qianyang cloth to replace the grain stored in the warehouses of these two places. However, the prince of Changxiang was more willing to use Xuzhou to get the high-quality and low-priced Qianyang.
Cloth is exchanged for grain...
At the same time, Chishanhui's transportation capacity has gradually recovered. As long as there are no major changes in the future, only more than 800,000 pieces of Qianyang cloth and 4 million jins of seed cotton can be exchanged for 600,000 to 700,000 shi of grain for Tangyi.
At this time, coupled with the support of the entire Han family, many things in Tangyi can start simultaneously.
However, the problem for the Huaidong Army at this time was that not only did they have limited food reserves, they also could not afford much money.
The paddy fields in the south of the Yangtze River are worth ten yuan per mu. Tangyi sells the fields and houses in Huaidong at a price of one-tenth and two tenths. If they really sell them in Yangzhou, they can get almost twenty yuan.
More than ten thousand yuan was lent to Huaidong for the purchase of grain. No matter how low the land price in Tangyi was, the households in Yangtai and Taizhou would not be tempted, but the households in Chuzhou who fled the war and whose homes were set on fire even never
The situation on the north coast of the Huaihe River and the refugees fleeing south from Sizhou and Sizhou are different.
Although this can only postpone the crisis for a month or two, it also buys more time for subsequent resolution of the problem...