"Tai'an still fights?" Li Zexia asked with the good news in his hand.

Gongsun Changming muttered: "Judging from the intelligence gathered from all sides, the current Tai'an is only afraid that it will be a little difficult to fight. A heavy rain delayed the war for more than a month, so that Zhu Youzhen could prepare in Tai'an, a lot more, now in Tai'an, there are Cao Bin's 3,000 Xuanwu elite, Liu Xinda also led his 3,000 subordinates to retreat here, plus Zhu Youzhen retreated to Tai'an in this month A large number of young men and heavy grain and grass, Tai'an is now not short of money, not short of people. Of course, it can be fought, but it is difficult to say how much time it will take and how many casualties it will take. There's a question of whether it's worth it. ”

Zhang Hui continued: "I mean not fighting. Zhu Youzhen still has some ability, and there is Jing Xiang and Cao Xuan behind him, Cao Xuan and these people support him, obviously, they already have the arrangement of the back hand, if we fight Tai'an, then the Tianping Army, including the Gon Navy, is likely to support Tai'an. And if we want to suppress these two soldiers, we will have to mobilize more troops, which can easily lead to a large-scale war. ”

"It's possible." Li Ze nodded.

"We weren't prepared." Xia He on the side shook his head and said: "This year, there have been three big battles in a row, the soldiers are tired, the people are also tired, these three big battles, just the mobilization of the people will be as many as hundreds of thousands of people, this year's income and expenditure of the imperial court has fallen far below the balance point, Luzhou Weizhou is not self-sufficient, and Hedong basically does not have much income this year, plus the Pinglu Zhudi that has just been recovered, it is obvious that our days in this fiscal year are extremely difficult, and we need to stop and recuperate, at least until the beginning of the next fiscal year, We'll be able to breathe a sigh of relief. ”

"Then stop." Li Zedao: "By next year, Hedong can basically recover, and the land of Ansui can be used for Li Cunzhong's headquarters in Lingzhou, and we can release a large piece of financial resources." Next, it is necessary to immediately prepare for the sowing of winter wheat in Pinglu, and no matter what the harvest is, it will always be able to carry it when the time comes. ”

"Then Tai'an just let it go first?" Cao Xin was a little unwilling in his heart.

"Let's put it first." Li Ze smiled and said, "The officials still have to worry more about selecting enough officials to take up their posts in Pinglu." ”

"This can be drawn from the old district." Cao Xin said: "In the past few years, a large number of grassroots officials in the old areas need to be promoted to mobilize their enthusiasm, and at the same time, it also makes room for those new entrants, who have sufficient experience in local administration, and can better display their skills and feet when they go to places like Pinglu." ”

"After staying in their comfort zone for a long time, are they willing to go to a place like Pinglu to explore?" Li Ze asked.

"If you don't want to go, it is equivalent to cutting off your future." Cao Xin's voice was full of murderous aura, and he said, "Everything has just begun, how can you allow people to slack off?" Every official needs to work hard, and if you can't endure hardship, don't be an official of our Datang! ”

Yang Kai adjusted his sitting posture and said: "The Yixing Society has organized manpower, ready to enter the Pinglu area immediately, they will go deep into the township, and become the most grassroots village Zheng, Lizheng, tax collectors, fast catchers, etc., the people at the bottom, the most contact is these people, we want to let the Pinglu people feel that the officials of the imperial court are very different from the past, this is the most effective way to win people's hearts." ”

"That's a good idea." Li Ze nodded appreciatively, over the years, Yang Kai has become more and more comfortable sitting on these things.

"In fact, in Hedong and Hezhong, we do this, and the effect is very good." Yang Kai said with a smile: "Ordinary people, they only see real officials a few times a year, and in their eyes, these people represent the government." By the way, among the soldiers who were wounded in the Battle of Pinglu this time, we resettled all the members of the Yixing Society on the spot, and they were the first people to enter Pinglu. ”

"Hurry up, we are about to organize the planting of winter wheat." Li Zedao: "This is a concentrated demonstration of our strong organizational strength, as well as the love for the people, seeds, farm tools, large livestock, to be in place in time." The troops stationed in Pinglu had to be joined in this matter on a rotational basis. ”

"Yes!" Yang Kai nodded and said: "After finishing this matter, the next step is to build water conservancy and repair roads in Pinglu, but this still needs the strong support of the imperial court on top of the finances." ”

"As long as you don't continue to use troops this year, you can still deploy it, but it won't be too much, at this point, you still have to be psychologically prepared, try to be self-reliant, and the money can only be used when you need it most." Xia Ho Road.

"Okay, about financial matters, let's find another time to discuss, and then the autumn tax will be collected, and the commercial tax in the second half of the year will be more than in the first half of the year, so let's make a few sets of plans over there." Li Ze waved his hand: "Let's discuss the next thing." ”

"The next year's event will be about the capture of the Pinglu Army." Gongsun Changming looked at the file in his hand and said: "When we broke through the Yellow River defense line, we captured more than 30,000 Pinglu prisoners of war, and in Linzi, when Liu Santong finally surrendered, there were nearly 20,000. These are not counted wounded soldiers, how to deal with these people? According to our past practice, all captives were required to serve a certain period of labor before they could return to the status of natural persons. ”

"I don't recommend it." Zhang replied: "Zhu Youzhen has relocated more than 100,000 Pinglu people, and most of them are young and strong, what is most lacking in Pinglu now, that is, labor, these people, I suggest dismissal." Let them go back to their hometowns. Most of these people were originally strong men captured by Hou Xiyi. ”

"I think that's the best thing to do." Xia He said: "These people are all young and strong, they are absolute laborers, and after returning to their hometown, it will be of great help to us to rebuild Pinglu in the future." ”

"The soldiers may be released and sent back to their hometowns according to their own pretexts." Li Ze nodded and said: "Send the list of these people to the local government, and when they are dismissed, make it clear to these prisoners that they must return to their hometowns within the specified time to report to the local officials, and those who do not return on time will be included in the ranks of fugitives, and once they are arrested, what awaits them is hard labor." ”

"Yes." Gongsun Changming said: "Those officers, what are you going to do?" ”

"Send it to the Western Regions under Yuan Chang's account to listen to it." Li Ze said with a smile: "Yuan Chang and they are making rapid progress in the Western Regions, and the territory that can be effectively controlled is getting bigger and bigger, but the manpower is becoming more and more insufficient. ”

"Li Xiang, these people were sent to the Western Regions, and they were only afraid that they would be resentful, where would they go, and they would not be afraid of bad things?" Zhang Hui was a little worried.

Gongsun Changming smiled: "Zhang Shangshu, you don't understand this, right?" There is a saying, let the fellow see the fellow, the tears are full of eyes, this time, it is thousands of miles, in that place, you can see the Tang people, that is a rarity. Wherever you can trust, you can only trust your kindred. Those who are not of my race will have different hearts. When they get to that place, what these people can rely on is the people we are, otherwise, they will die very quickly. ”

"Mr. Gongsun has a point, in the future, all the criminals here will be sent to the Western Regions Army for use. If they have made meritorious contributions, they can be forgiven for their sins, they should be promoted, they should be rewarded with money, and if they die somewhere, they can be regarded as fulfilling the obligations of a Tang Dynasty. Li Ze laughed.

"So from that level?" Cao Xin asked.

"Captain and above! The lower the level, the sooner it passes, and the higher the status, the later it passes. Li Zedao.

"Understood!" Cao Xin said with a smile.

Officers of low rank first went over to listen to their use, and now in the realm of the Western Regions, it is very easy to make meritorious contributions, and the personal military quality of these officers is still very high, and if they make meritorious service, they will no longer be criminals, and they can even resume their official positions. Where it is, it is easy to get promoted, and it is easy to get rich. As for the pioneers who go anywhere, Li Ze is not afraid to let them get rich. If they give what others cannot, then they naturally deserve what others can't.

When those high-ranking officers arrived, the positions of the two sides were reversed. In the past, they did not want to give up their former high position, and those people now naturally refuse to bow to these people again, and the two sides will inevitably have contradictions.

This effectively prevented these people from regrouping in the Western Regions and becoming a scourge. When these people can't be united, they can only rely on the imperial court, Yuan Zhou is not a stupid person, how to take advantage of the contradictions between them, it is not difficult to think about it.

As long as they are properly handled and effectively balanced, these people will become a powerful force in the Western Regions.

As for those criminals, Li Ze didn't care even more. It's a skill to survive there, and it's not a pity that you can't survive.

"Next, everyone has to work harder."

"Li Xiang, Lingnan Xiangxun has been in Wuyi for several days, when do you plan to meet him?" Zhang Hui asked.

"Not busy." Li Ze smiled coldly: "Of course you must see him, now let's cool him for a while, otherwise, he still thinks how important it is to divide them?" I'm waiting for Xue Ping and Han Qi to give me an explanation. ”

"Say?" Zhang Hui was stunned.

"Yes, that's right!" Li Zedao: "This matter, in a big way, is of course helpful for us to defeat the pseudo-Liang and flatten the feudal towns, but what they did was wrong. Do they think that if they create an established fact, I will definitely pinch my nose and admit it? It's so beautiful. ”

"You want them to pay a price?" Gongsun Changming said with a smile: "I think this is a good opportunity, we can recognize the Xiang family's matter, but there must be someone responsible for their actions." I've always wanted to take down these two eyesores, and now here's my chance. I'd like to see which of them will stand up this time! ”