、、、、、、、、、、

Seeing this, Wei Zheng's face remained the same, and he said slowly: "Lord Chen, it is true that there are more than 10,000 people in Liaodong, but only more than 100,000 of them are immigrants from the Great Sui who came from the Central Plains, and they can be regarded as good citizens who abide by the law and pay taxes. The others were either Goryeo slaves or uncivilized steppe tribe barbarians. The personality is fierce and aggressive, and when he meets someone with a better temper and abides by the law, he may exchange his things with the Han people on an equal footing. If you encounter those hot-tempered and ill-intentioned gangsters, they will start to rob property. It's good if they can do nothing, how can these steppe barbarians collect taxes from them? ”

Speaking of this, he paused for a moment, and then continued: "And the more than 100,000 surnames from the Central Plains were also promised to him by Marshal Yu in the past, and the taxes for farming and doing business in Liaodong would be halved, so that they would be willing to move their families." Otherwise, people are living well in their hometown, why do they come to such a dangerous and cold wasteland outside Liaodong? ”

He looked at Chen Ling at this time, showed a depressed look and said, "Lord Chen, although the lower official is in charge of finance, it is difficult for a clever woman to cook without rice!" ”

After Chen Ling listened, he was also dumbfounded, what Wei Zheng said was indeed reasonable, if the tax was not halved, how could it attract immigrants from the Central Plains to Liaodong? And if no one comes to live in Liaodong, I'm afraid that I won't even receive the two thousand and a half yuan a month. Are they going to drink the northwest wind? It's just that in this way, I am afraid that this money will be issued to the officials in Liaodong, as well as the salaries of the soldiers stationed in various counties, will be a little ineffective, so where will the money come from to build the new city and the new government in Liaodong?

He didn't expect that what Wei Zheng told him was very watery. It is true that there are only more than 100,000 immigrants in the Central Plains, but the residents of the Central Plains in Liaodong Prefecture are far more than that, and there are 500,000 or 600,000 people left behind after the war alone, and if you add the families brought back by the army and the people, I am afraid that it is nearly 10,000.

The aborigines of the steppe tribes and the kingdoms of Goryeo, Je, and Silla have been scattered and reorganized according to the armor protection system, and unified labor and food distribution have been carried out. Their number is more than that of the Sui people, and now the total number of people in Liaodong is far more than 20,000, and may even reach 10,000, which is not at all the less than 10,000 people reported to him before.

At this time, Chen Ling looked at the small and cramped headquarters of the headquarters, and saw that there were skylights on the roofs of several rooms. Living in a place like this is really unbearable for him.

"Lord Wei, the financial problem is almost understood. However, the official is a little puzzled, the tax in Liaodong is so low, even the salary has to be carefully calculated, why did Lord Yu still have the money to build a new city before? Chen Ling asked. This is also where he has always wondered.

When Wei Zheng heard this, he smiled bitterly and said: "Lord Chen, originally the lower officials wanted to tell you about this matter in a few days, but now that you have brought it up first, I will simply give you an explanation: the expenses for building a new city, a new mansion, a military camp, etc., were all sent home by Lord Yu, saying that the elders in the family borrowed a sum of money from the family's budget to the Liaodong camp!" You see, in this account book, there are also records and vouchers of borrowing money at that time. A total of 87,000 pieces were borrowed. Mrs. Red Sleeves came to me a few days ago and asked me when I would be able to return it to Marshal Yu. ”

These words made Chen Ling's face gloomy, and he was annoyed in his heart, but he couldn't attack, after all, the IOU and the account books were all there, and Yu Valve was the number one valve in Guanlong, and with their strength, it was easy to borrow tens of thousands of dollars to give to the younger brother of the family. And Yuming is the son of Yuhuaji, the current head of the Yu Valve, so it will be more convenient to borrow money if necessary.

Judging from the scale of the outer city of Liaodong, it is reasonable to use 87,000 guan, and Wei Zheng did not cheat. But the question is, how can I still get such a large amount of money?

Although before he came to Liaodong, he had expected various difficulties, such as Yuming's original subordinates not cooperating, making things difficult for him everywhere, and soldiers not listening to commands. He has thought of all kinds of countermeasures, but after he came, people were polite to him and never had the slightest intention of doing anything against him. He originally thought that he could already control the situation in Liaodong. But now it seems that it is still far from it.

Although Chen Ling was born as a military general and did not know about political affairs, he also knew that personnel power and financial power were the most critical, and only by mastering these two powers could he establish his prestige. But now it seems that the personnel power is also gone, and the financial matter has stumped him.

If you follow Yuming's original tax standard, I am afraid that my party will even have a big problem with paying salaries, and at most I can barely make ends meet. He originally wanted to make a fortune in Liaodong and leave, but now it seems that it will definitely not work.

And if the tax is raised to the average standard of the Great Sui, it is strange that these immigrants do not riot immediately, and there may even be a large-scale return, then they will receive less tax money. Moreover, the imperial court knew that as soon as he came to Liaodong to take office, he forced the residents to flee on a large scale, so what would the ministers and imperial historians in the court think? What will the Holy One think? Even Pei Ju has to blame himself for not knowing the general situation. If you want to make a comeback, regain military power, and get ahead, only Cheng Nanke has a dream.

"Alas, it seems, there are only a few years of hard life here. The matter of moving to the new government has only come to an end! Chen Ling secretly complained in his heart. As for Wei Zheng's debt to Jian Xincheng to borrow from Yuvalve, he has already made up his mind to rely on it to the end, and he can't pay it back if he sells him anyway. And I don't know how long I'll stay in Liaodong.

After handing over the accounts, Wei Zheng was about to say goodbye, but he saw Cheng Yanjin running over in a panic and shouted at Chen Ling: "Lord Chen, something is wrong!" The Khitan barbarians have sent troops to attack the villages near our Liaodong City again, saying that they will fight the grass valley! ”

"What? How dare they attack Liaodong City? After Chen Ling heard this, he was also shocked. At the beginning of his arrival in Liaodong, he heard that the tribes on the grassland often came to the civilian settlements of Liaodong to plunder, but generally they only dared to fight grass valleys in some villages and towns at the junction.

"Yes! It is indeed very rare to attack the vicinity of Liaodong City, but generally once or twice a year, and it is often the most powerful tribe in the grassland tribes that come to plunder, and the troops often have tens of thousands of troops. Cheng Yanjin was also carrying the Xuanhua axe, and said with a panicked expression.

Chen Ling was relieved when he heard this, the grassland barbarians with only more than 10,000 people should not pose a threat to Liaodong City. He had heard that there were more than 100,000 troops in Liaodong City, and although many of them were now scattered in various cities, there were also 20,000 troops stationed in Liaodong City. Moreover, these officers and soldiers are still the elite troops of the Zuoling Guard, and against these steppe barbarians who have no armor, are all wearing animal skins, and are holding inferior weapons, wouldn't the Sui army be able to easily kill the enemy to the ground?

"General Cheng, then you should quickly go to battle with the two generals Luo Shixin and Qin Qiong! I heard that you are all generals of General Zhang Xutuo. Presumably, the combat effectiveness of the subordinate unit is amazing, and it has the majesty of General Zhang's Bafeng Battalion! This officer immediately gathered my own soldiers to come to the rescue! We should be able to defeat them easily against the Khitan barbarians who are only more than 10,000 people! Chen Ling ordered. He also wanted to win a big battle as soon as he came, and win a good reputation in front of the soldiers of Liaodong.

Cheng Yanjin smiled bitterly at this time and said, "Lord Chen, I'm just afraid...... I'm afraid it won't work! ”

Chen Ling's face changed suddenly, and he said nervously: "Why not?" ”

Cheng Yanjin took two steps forward, got close to Chen Ling's ear, and whispered: "Lord Chen, it is true that there were 10,000 elite soldiers in Liaodong City, but at the end of last month, there was a rebellion in Jihe Silla, so Xingying transferred 20,000 soldiers from Liaodong City to quell the rebellion. At present, there are only 10,000 soldiers in the city, and they are all recruits from the people. The combat effectiveness is very poor...... Moreover, they have not been paid for more than a month, and everyone has no intention of fighting, and now it is all up to the last general and several generals to rely on their previous prestige to barely suppress the mutiny. If they go into battle to meet the enemy, they are afraid that they will flee as soon as they enter the battlefield! ”

"What! No military pay? Isn't there still eight in the treasury? You can send it down to help first! Chen Ling was immediately anxious when he heard this!

Cheng Yanjin spread his hands at this time, and said with a distressed expression: "Lord Chen, how can you have enough money!" A soldier's salary for a month is a penalty, and 10,000 soldiers are worth a thousand a month, not counting the salaries of other cities and government officials......"

"Ordinary soldiers hang money a month?" Chen Ling was shocked when he heard this: "According to the regulations of the imperial court, isn't every soldier paid a monthly salary?" How did you double the bar? ”

Cheng Yanjin sighed: "No, there is no way!" After the second expedition to Goryeo, no one wanted to be a soldier anymore. It took a lot of effort to recruit new soldiers, and General Yu also announced that he would exempt the whole family of soldiers from taxes, so that he could recruit 100,000 new soldiers. ”

Chen Ling was really anxious like an ant on a hot pot. He immediately sent his retinue to inform his younger brother Yuan Liang and his subordinate Chen Zhiyong, asking them to gather the 5,000 Zuowu Guards he had brought with him to prepare to meet the enemy. Then he and Cheng Yanjin went to the newly built military camp in the inner city to see if they could persuade these 10,000 Zuo Lingwei soldiers to fight.

When he arrived at the barracks, he found that these soldiers gathered in a pile in pairs were full of ruffians, squatting on the ground with spears and no intention of standing up. Several of his subordinate officers stepped forward to shout and curse, but they were beaten by these soldiers and their noses and faces were swollen. It seems that these Zuoling Guard soldiers are really not easy to mess with.

Just when Chen Ling was pondering how to make these people who had already heard the sound of horns in the distance, he saw a group of Khitans dressed in animal skins and wearing fur hats riding horses, holding machetes, spears and other sharp weapons, holding bows and crossbows, and rushing towards Liaodong City with strange screams in their mouths......

...