The north gate set up a soldier and horse camp, the whole street stationed nearly 800 city guards, the remaining 1,000 soldiers camped outside the city, Lord Xie returned to the barracks, turned over and dismounted, and entered the garrison with a calm face.

Several military attachés who traveled with him today were all his capable henchmen and generals, and in the council hall of the executive mansion, Xiong Wenxian, the secretary of the department, walked out of it, and when he saw the captain Wang Ji and his party, he couldn't help asking: "Lord Xie is not angry, but what happened?" ”

Deputy Lieutenant Guo Xing, Commander Du He tilted his head sideways, but Wang Ji touched his nose and said, "In a few days, it will be the death day of the old lady, and the adults may be in a bad mood." ”

Xiong Wenxian suddenly realized that Lord Xie's mother passed away two years ago, and it is rare for adults to be busy with affairs.

I finally praised it once in my heart, although he was born as a military attaché, his temperament was rough, and he didn't have much literary knowledge, but he was a filial son, at this point, he was still a Confucian and teachable.

Wang Ji greeted the old gentleman, and walked in directly, at this time, Xie Chengzu, the master of Xie, was sitting in front of the case, looking at an official document in his hand with a heavy face.

The three of them didn't dare to touch their moldy heads, silently each looked for a teapot and a bowl, drank water, and grinned without any restraint, they followed left and right from the time Lord Xie was still a military commander, and over the years he fought with adults everywhere, made countless military achievements, and killed how many tile-thorn Tartars, saying that it was a cronie, but rather a friend of life and death, or both, the relationship was naturally cordial.

Wang Ji took a sip of herbal tea, glanced at the face of the person sitting in front of the case, and then Guo Xingdu and the two of them snorted directly at him, Wang Ji coughed, walked to the front of the case with a teacup, and was just about to speak, Xie Chengzu put the official document on the table, raised his eyes and looked at Guo Xingdu and the two who were pulling their eyebrows.

Xie Chengzu raised his eyebrows: "The cold winter is approaching, and the barracks have not been built to this day, do you still have the heart to drink tea?" Swept away by his cold gaze like autumn wind, Guo Xingduhe immediately shivered and withdrew his leg propped up on the stool.

But the two of them are wronged!

The barracks were not built, not because the soldiers under them were not strong, but because they had no funds! It is difficult for a good woman to cook without rice, and what can they use to build without silver? You can't just rely on one mouth.

However, the two of them also know the weight of the pressure on the adults now, this Wei Ancheng looks good, but when he took over, he was an empty shell, others didn't know, but they knew it very well, and the treasury book was checked, and the entire arsenal was only 1,800 taels of silver.

For a city, this bit of silver is nothing, but it is a month's worth of grain and grass for the soldiers, and after a month, drink the northwest wind! Coupled with the soldiers and horses brought into the city by the adults, the placement and silver of these soldiers alone are a lot of money, not to mention the eating, drinking, and sleeping of 2,000 people, which one does not want to spend money in vain?

Inside to raise soldiers for a thousand days, drill soldiers and horses, outside to build cities and fortifications, grain and grain, many abandoned fields also need to be reclaimed, equipment and weapons are a huge consumption, all the pressure is on a city garrison.

In the past year, how many times have I gone out of the city, how many bandits have been suppressed, how many thorns have been killed, and all the grain, grass and money I have obtained have been thrown into it, but it is still overstretched, and the city with a dry bottom is like a bottomless pit, which is difficult to fill.

The position of the adult looks at the scenery, but the difficulty of holding the snake and riding the tiger inside, the hardship of it, is unspeakable, a few people have a headache just thinking about it, not to mention that the adult is not in a good mood at this time, and he does not dare to break in this matter, the two saw that the atmosphere was not good, and quickly got up and said that his subordinates retired first, and slipped away.

Wang Ji was still holding a teacup in his hand, and when he saw that the two boys were running faster than rabbits, he couldn't help but curse secretly.

In the blink of an eye, there were only two people left, and he simply put down the tea bowl and said directly: "My subordinates have something to say." ”

Xie Chengzu said lightly: "Bear with it!" ”

"I can't bear it, I have to say it!"

He pulled up a chair and sat down, "My subordinates dare to wonder if the lord has something to do with the daughter of the scholar?" ”

Xie Chengzu raised his eyes, and his sharp eyes swept over.

Wang Ji didn't know how to stop in moderation, and said with a big grin: "If there really is, then the subordinates don't understand what the adults think, she is just the daughter of a prisoner, and now it is in the hands of adults, there is revenge, there is revenge, there is revenge, there is revenge, let it regret it, and it is better to repay it twice, not to knead it with the adult, such a simple thing, the subordinates really don't know what the adult is waiting for?" ”

"Or did the adults not plan to do it in the first place?"

Xie Chengzu slammed the pen in his hand on the table, and was about to scold him to get out, when someone walked in and said loudly: "What daughter of a prisoner?" Who does Lord Xie have a grudge with? If Lord Xie doesn't like it, Cao is also willing to punish him on behalf of the adult, haha. ”

The person who came was nearly fifty years old, with big ears and small eyes, looking like fat, and although his hair was thin, his face was full of oil. It's a pity to kill, since it's a prisoner, it's better to be a military prostitute, not only to be angry for the adult, but also to comfort the sergeant and boost the morale of the army, so kill two birds with one stone, what do you think? ”

There was a moment of silence in the hall, Wang Ji raised his buttocks, pulled away the chair, and scolded the fat-headed, big-eared, smiling Zhizhou hundreds of times in his heart.

Xie Chengzu looked at Cao Wenzong, a smile appeared on his gloomy face, obviously angry, he said: "Cao Zhizhou, if you have time to comfort the soldiers, why don't you think about how to deal with the taxes and silver of the imperial court." After saying that, he picked up the paperwork on the table and threw it in front of him.

That Cao Wenzong was shocked, picked it up and looked at it, and immediately cried poorly, and said that the military household tax and grain were exempted by the adults, and now there is a shortage of treasury silver, not to mention three hundred taels of tax silver, even if you can't get a penny.

Xie Chengzu said: "A year ago, you said that there was a shortage of silver in the treasury, and not long ago the grain and rice were put into storage, you are still these four words, as a governor, there is a shortage of silver from time to time, have you ever thought of a solution?" ”

Cao Zhizhou immediately nodded uneasily: "It's not that the lower officials shirk their responsibilities, it's that although they have received tax grain this year, the gap is too big, and they have been demolishing the east wall to make up for the west wall, and the food in the army is also distributed from the treasury. ”

Xie Chengzu was silent, looked at Cao Wenzong for a long time, then got up, stepped forward to help him up in a few steps, and said slowly: "Cao Zhizhou doesn't need to be afraid, it's just three hundred taels of silver, and the garrison can afford it, but in the future, the matter of grain and grass will need to be taken care of by Lord Zhizhou." ”

"Thank you for your understanding." Cao Wenzong was surprised to see Xie Chengzu's words suddenly soften, but there was still a look of worry on his face, and he said: "However, if today's cold winter and grain and grass are not continued, how can we get all the taxes and silver?" What can adults do? ”

As he spoke, he secretly said in his heart that although the garrison is younger, but his ability to make money is better than others, thinking of the last batch of gold and jade transported into the camp, Cao Wenzong's eyes flashed a trace of greed, but unfortunately, this hairy boy in front of him also has some means, which is actually to prevent a drop of water, so that people can't start, but so what, if he wants to get something, he will always think of it, forcing the young military general in front of him who has little experience to put these silver treasures into his account book and become his bag.

He was calculating Xie Chengzu, and Lord Xie didn't stare at his face, seeing that he showed a smug smile, the expression on Lord Xie's face became more and more kind, "Cao Zhizhou really asked knowingly. He looked at Cao Wenzong's gold-silk dark-patterned satin robe, the extravagant cicada-winged golden silk armor under the neckline, and the fleshy arm that was overfed when he lifted up, and said with a smile: "Naturally, it's a bandit." ”

What better way to make money than by taking the "bandits" who looted the people's blood, sweat and money?

On the other side, Tan Wanqing and Ruizhu cleaned up the octopus that was not rotten, and thanked the fish seller who had been helping, and the two of them walked back with the bamboo basket, Ruizhu said dissatisfiedly all the way: "It's really strange, why doesn't Lord Xie keep left and right, but he ran to the top of the fish and stopped, the egg basket on the ground in front of him was not broken, and the car selling wine in the back did not hit, so he only stepped on our fish, and stepped on several feet, but unfortunately there was only a little ......bit of six catties of fish left."

Tan Wanqing also frowned slightly along the way, although she felt that it was impossible, but there was also a faint strangeness in her heart.