When General Kuroba came to the inn, it was already dark.

Outside the main entrance of the post house, four guards with knives dressed in flowing cloud suits and belts around their waists guarded the main gate like stone sculptures.

The four men were straight, their faces were white, and they had no beards.

Seeing General Hei Yu coming, the four eyes shot straight at him like a blade, and Meng Zimo had already said loudly: "General Hei Yu has come to meet Lord Shiqing, go and report quickly." ”

The four guards immediately bowed and saluted, and one of them had already turned around and rushed forward to report it.

The general turned over and dismounted, and had already led the horse aside.

I didn't wait for a while, but I saw a few people coming out of the post house, the first one was dressed in a black official mansion, wearing an official veil, with a white face and no beard, and his body was slightly fat, and he hadn't approached yet, and he was already full of smiling faces: "The general is here in person, how can this be made, it is really unacceptable, unacceptable." As he spoke, he had already stepped forward and saluted the general.

The general also smiled and said: "Lord Squire is polite, but there will be many things to trouble Squire in the future, without you, it will really not be possible." ”

The official next to the chamberlain smiled and said, "General, the squire has suddenly arrived, and I haven't been too prepared here. I had to ask someone to prepare some coarse tea and light rice, but the squire refused, saying that it would be just a casual treat. ”

The general also bowed his hand and said: "Lord Shiqing has worked hard all the way, I thought that the road was far away, and it would take a few days for my lord to arrive, but I don't want to arrive today, and I haven't prepared here." ”

"Whatever preparation you want, it's your own family." The squire smiled and said affectionately: "Actually, there are generals and lords here, and the court is very relieved, but the court regulations are not good at breaking the rules, so I came by order." General, don't think about it, although the court gave me the position of supervising the army, but I don't know what army to supervise, in the final analysis, it is to come over to give the general a hand, what does the general need, you don't open your mouth, I will ask the court, I don't have other skills, I am thick-skinned, hahaha.....! ”

"The three major gates of Xiling, the Zhen family has no leader, the Yuwen family is ready to migrate into the customs, and the Fan family is also ready, within half a year, they will also migrate into the customs." Du Hu Yao Mubai said: "The matter of these three families is solved, and it will be difficult for other major families in Xiling to make waves." On the side of the Imperial Protectorate, the main thing is to transfer over many affairs controlled by the previous family, and everything will be done in accordance with the laws of the imperial court. Xiling has been in the hands of the family all these years, and the general and I are now going to let Xiling return to the imperial court. ”

"Good, good!" Pei Shiqing smiled and said, "If you two worry about this matter, there won't be any problems." Then he said: "This time I came over, and I also brought the will of the saint, there are three main ones, this one is the fiefdom of the Yuwen family and the Fan family in the Guannei, the saint gave each of these two families a thousand dumps of land, if the Zhen family moves inward, the saint will be treated the same." ”

"Lord Tsugo, I know it's hard for you." Lord Shiqing sighed: "Xiling has been controlled by the family over the years, and the people are in difficulty, so there will be more places to spend money in the future." You said that it was coarse tea and light rice, but when you prepare it, it is inevitable that you will have to break the bank, we are our own family, don't be so polite. He raised his hand and said, "Come on, come in, go in and talk." ”

A few people entered the post house, sat in the elegant hall, and the servants served tea, and Pei Shiqing said: "General, Lord Duhu, what is the situation here?" ”

The general arched his hand and said, "Lord Squire, this matter is about to be discussed with you. The three cavalry of Xiling add up to 2,000 soldiers and horses, plus 3,000 immortal troops, that is, there are 5,000 troops stationed in Xiling. After a pause, he continued: "The Immortal Army only has a thousand cavalry, if there is really a day when the Vedas make a comeback, the cavalry is indispensable, so what I mean, after the Immortal Army is transferred, the remaining two thousand people will also be trained in cavalry and archery, fortunately, there are enough war horses in Xiling, and if two thousand cavalry are trained, there will be five thousand cavalry to be called." ”

"Yes." Pei Shiqing said: "Five thousand cavalry, that is already a strong soldier." ”

"It is the grace of the saints to be able to let them have no worries about food and clothing after entering the customs." Yao Duhu sighed: "The heart of the saint and the Bodhisattva, this is also the blessing of these two families. ”

"This second is the Immortal Army." Pei Shiqing looked at the general: "The sage has given permission, and the general can transfer the immortal army from Woye Town, but the barbarians on the northern grassland have not been honest in the past two years, and the general can only mobilize three thousand immortal troops to come, if Xiling's troops are insufficient, they can only recruit troops locally." ”

The general said solemnly: "Twenty or thirty thousand horses, naturally need a lot of equipment and military salaries, Lord Squire, I have been waiting for you to come over, I want to jointly write to the court with you, hoping that the court can ensure the logistics supply of these tens of thousands of horses." If there is not enough money and food, it is a fool's dream to raise tens of thousands of soldiers and horses. ”

Yao Mubai said, "Not bad." Lord Shiqing, recruiting and training troops, these things are naturally the responsibility of the general, but how many soldiers and horses to recruit, not how many we want to recruit, but to see how much grain there is in the imperial warehouse. ”

"But to build the Xiling defense line, in addition to 5,000 cavalry, I estimate that at least 20,000 infantry will be needed, and the most important thing is to train them in archery." The general said: "The Vedas are good at riding and archery, and they should not fight head-on, but defend as the attack, and the archers are the most important." ”

"I really don't understand this military training." Pei Shiqing said: "The general is in charge of these things, what can I do, the general will order it when the time comes." ”

Pei Shuqing frowned and said, "So difficult? ”

"Lord Shiqing, to resist the Woods, it is not the fierce soldiers who are ruthless, but the concerted efforts of Xiling from top to bottom." The general Zhengse said: "Without the support and support of the people of Xiling, it is a fool's dream to resist the iron hooves of the Wutuo." The people of Xiling have been in hardship for many years, I have talked with Yao Du Protector several times, we must reduce taxes, let them breathe a sigh of relief, the people's taxes will be reduced, and the family will increase taxes, but in the end there is still a shortage of money and food, and twenty or thirty thousand horses will be recruited in Xiling, and the current strength of Xiling is simply not enough to support. ”

"Yes, yes, yes." Pei Shiqing nodded again and again: "The soldiers and horses have not moved the grain and grass first, and I also understand this truth." He asked, "Lord Duhu, how many soldiers and horses can be supplied by Xiling's taxes?" ”

Yao Mubai said: "Lord Shiqing may not know that over the years, the Xiling family has wantonly annexed land, and there is not much arable land in Xiling, but half of it has fallen into the hands of these families. Naturally, they will not pay taxes, but they will impose all kinds of taxes on the people, which can be described as the people's livelihood. In addition, there have been natural disasters in recent years, and the wind and rain are even more unsmooth, and the people have not eaten the last meal, and they are miserable. Although the three surnames of Xiling have fallen, but the entire Xiling family has not fallen, the land they occupied, it is impossible to spit it out for a while and a half, even if the taxes are collected in the future, after all kinds of expenses are spent, the money and food used to raise soldiers are not much, and the five thousand soldiers and horses are quite reluctant. ”

If there are no soldiers available, how can we build a defense in Xiling? The general's expression was solemn: "Now that we have returned to Xiling, we must not let Wutuo Tieho see him Xiling again." ”

Pei Shiqing groaned slightly, and suddenly said: "General, I heard that the Yuwen family is going to donate all the industrial and family assets to the imperial court, but is there such a thing?" ”

Pei Shiqing sighed: "So the general means that we want to ask the court for money and food?" ”

"There is no money and food, and there is no way to feed the soldiers,

As soon as these words came out, the general and Yao Mubai changed color at the same time.

"Lord Squire, this ..... Where does this begin? Yao Mubai broke out in a cold sweat on his forehead, and said in shock: "The warehouse of the Duhu Mansion is empty, you know, the Duhu Mansion has been in name only these years, and the salaries of the officials have to be allocated by the family." It will take some time to take back the big and small affairs controlled by the family, especially Hu Cao, who has a lot of accounts, and I am afraid that it will not be clear for three or two months. The sage had a decree before, the general supervised the military, and I raised money and food to ensure logistics, and in the future, the salaries of officials of all sizes and the salaries of the three cavalry of Xiling and even the salaries of the Changsheng army transferred over will only reach out to the capital protection mansion, and the lower officials will step up the income of the Yuwen family's assets, just to cope with various expenses, and the Yuwen family and even the Fan family's family assets will be put into the treasury, and this side can still last, if it ..... If even these are transported back to the imperial court, this ..... What should I do with this Xiling? ”

The general and Yao Mubai glanced at each other, nodded and said, "This is indeed the case." In addition, the Fan family is also ready to donate most of the family wealth, and when the time comes, the money they donate will be collected from the Hufu Hucao, and with this silver, it can be supported in a short time. ”

Pei Shiqing shook his head and said, "The general misunderstood. After a pause, he finally said: "Before I left for Xiling, Her Royal Highness the princess explained to me that she wanted to transport the confiscated family assets back to Kyoto. ”

If you can't even feed these thousands of people, how can you talk about recruitment?

The general has supreme prestige in the heart of the Immortal Army, and if he has no salary for a while, he may be able to stabilize it, but if the salary of the Xiling Three Cavalry is in arrears, the soldiers will never agree, and if it is not good, there will be a mutiny.

He knew very well in his heart that as the protector of Xiling, Xiling would reach out to his side if he spent money, not to mention other places that needed silver, if the salaries of officials and servants could not be paid, there would be great things, and the salaries of Xiling soldiers and horses would not be paid, and the consequences would be even more unimaginable.

The general's face also became very solemn, and he asked, "Lord Shiqing, is it the princess's intention to bring the family's wealth back to Kyoto, or is it the will of the saint?" ”

"This ......!" Pei Shiqing hesitated for a moment, and finally sighed: "General, Lord Duhu, do you know that July of the next year will be the sixtieth birthday of the saint?" ”

The general and Yao Mubai looked at each other again, and Pei Shiqing said slowly: "You also know that the saint is the reincarnation of a Bodhisattva, a Bodhisattva heart, and for many years, he has been thinking about the country and the society and working hard. The 60th birthday is approaching, and Her Royal Highness the princess wants to build a royal temple for the saint, and then the saint can also use the temple to pray for the blessings of the people in the world, which is a great good deed. As far as I know, the construction of the royal temple, repeatedly cut the construction costs, in the end still need more than three million taels of silver, but the treasury simply can't come up with so much silver, the princess is filial, personally raised silver, knowing that the Xiling family donated family funds to the imperial court, so the silver was put into the cost of building the imperial temple. He looked at the general and Yao Mubai: "Not only the Yuwen family and the Fan family, but I was also ordered to collect donations from other major families in Xiling, who have not shown filial piety to the saint for more than ten years, and now it is time for the time." ”