"This ......" Mei Zhihuan fell into deep thought, Li Zicheng's words are good, although Xiningwei is the stagecoach area of the imperial court, but with the scale of Xining's grassland, it is not bad to produce fifty war horses a year, and there will be no more than one hundred in the sky, and the current Xining army has six or seven hundred war horses, which is a short period of time...... In addition to getting it from Mongolia, there is really no other explanation, believe it for the time being, but what he never forgets is the firearms in Xining, "Then how does Li Qianhu explain the firearms in Xining?" ”

"There is no need to explain," Li Zicheng smiled faintly and said: "This is the secret of the Xining Army, in the entire Xining, there will be no more than three people who know this secret, as long as Master Mei knows, the Xining fire # gun is indeed sharp!" ”

"But...... However, even with such a firearm, if the little Xining wants to confront the imperial court, I am afraid it will ......" Mei Zhihuan still shook his head, his eyes full of disdain, "In the old man's opinion, with these capitals, if you stand on the side of the imperial court, you can give full play to the power of firearms, and you can also give full play to your talents, and over time, the future is limitless......"

"Lord Mei is dedicated to the court, and there is nothing to say in the next place," Li Zicheng threw the last piece of steamed bread into his mouth, chewed it, and saw that Mei Zhihuan still had no meaning to speak, Fang said: "Lord Mei said this completely for his own consideration, if it is for the sake of ...... There are at least two inaccuracies! ”

Mei Zhihuan lowered his head, he also knew that he was using strong words, not to persuade Li Zicheng to release himself, but he really didn't believe that the Xining army could compete with the army of the imperial court.

"First of all, it is not a very good choice to return to the imperial court," Li Zicheng said in a loud voice: "Almost all of the strong armies of the Ming Dynasty are concentrated in Liaodong, but since Nurhachi issued the 'Seven Hatreds', how many general soldiers have died in Liaodong?" Either the Tartar cavalry died or the imperial court, could it be that none of these general soldiers found a way to restrain the Tartar cavalry? ”

Li Zicheng shook his head to himself, "No, those who can fight are constrained, and those who are in power can't fight, how can such a court defeat the Tartars?" Therefore, the Ming Dynasty has been defeated in Liaodong, and in the long run, I am afraid that even Shanhaiguan will not be able to protect it...... Ao, last winter and this spring, the Tartars entered the plug and plundered a large amount of property, and it is said that no less than 300,000 Dingkou were taken away, but Da Ming found a way to deal with the Tartars? Except that Yuan Chonghuan was killed as a scapegoat...... Such a court ......"

“……”

"If I surrender to the imperial court, I will be sent to Liaodong, at that time, will there be a second way out except for defeat and death?" Li Zicheng said: "As a soldier, it is not a pity that the horse leather is wrapped in a corpse, it is a pity that he can't give full play to his ability, he can obviously defeat the Tartars, but the result is that he died of corruption in the imperial court, Wang Huazhen and Xiong Tingbi are examples, Lord Mei won't know about them, right?" ”

"This ......" Mei Zhihuan thought about it, for Li Zicheng, it is indeed not a good choice to take refuge in the imperial court, Li Zicheng's soldiers have strong combat effectiveness, and ten percent were sent to Liaodong, but Li Zicheng is the identity of the army, and the imperial court cannot fully believe it......

"Sun Chengzong is the emperor's teacher, with the title of secretary of the military department, and a scholar of the East Pavilion University, does he have a high status?" Li Zicheng knew that if he wanted to persuade Mei Zhihuan to join the Xining Army, it had reached a critical moment, "but he also couldn't help the impeachment of the so-called Yanguan, and picked a pick, Master Mei said, who else in the Ming Dynasty can be the governor of Liaodong?" Where is the hope of victory? Where is the hope of the imperial court? ”

“……”

"Secondly," Li Zicheng was excited by what he said, took a sip of tea, and suppressed the anger in his heart, "Although Xining is small, how do you know that it can't compete with the imperial court?" Master Mei has already seen that the soldiers of Ganzhou are not excellent, and they fight in a large chariot formation, even if they meet the Mongolian cavalry, they are afraid that they will not fall behind, but in front of the Xining army...... But half a day......"

Yes, Li Zicheng is reasonable, Mei Zhihuan is said to be cold in his heart, with the same number of people, the Ganzhou army is no less than the Mongolian cavalry, but in front of Li Zicheng's Xining army, it is simply an autumn wind sweeping away the leaves...... From this point of view, Li Zicheng killed a large number of Mongols and captured their war horses, it is really possible that it is not a lie, and the Mongolian cavalry and the Tatar cavalry should be comparable in strength, so the army of the imperial court ......

If the number is similar, he naturally believes that the Xining army can wreak havoc on the imperial army, but although the Ming Dynasty is declining, its size is still huge, and if it concentrates 100,000 or hundreds of thousands of soldiers......

"Lord Mei may think that the imperial court's army is superior in numbers, let me ask, why doesn't the imperial court concentrate hundreds of thousands of troops in Liaodong?" Li Zicheng felt that the heat was about the same, and finally showed a smile, "Quantity never wins quality, and several so-called victories in Liaodong rely on the city wall to block the advance of the Tartars, can you really kill a few Tartars?" It doesn't matter if the Tartars are defeated or retreated, as long as the people are still there, they will come back in a few days, not only will they return to Ningjin, but they will also come to Jingshi to show off their martial arts and prestige under the nose of the imperial court......"

“……”

"It's the same with my Xining army, as long as I hold the main crossings of the Yellow River, no matter how many imperial army there are, what can I do? Then we will move the defense line eastward step by step, Longshan, maybe more conducive to defense than the Yellow River, right? ”

"Longshan? Thousands of households are ready to go out of Longright? ”

"It's a matter of time," Li Zicheng found that Mei Zhihuan didn't seem to have an appetite, and the meal basically didn't move, "Master Mei, the food is cold, do you want to change it to a hot one?" ”

"Huh? Hon-sama...... Ben-sama is not hungry now, Senho-sama continued! ”

"Haha," Li Zicheng laughed and said, "Besides, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of troops, the imperial court fought on two fronts, can you afford so much food?" ”

"Food?" Mei Zhihuan found that Li Zicheng hit the seven inches of the imperial court, not to mention dealing with the Xining army, that is, facing the Tartars of Liaodong, the food and salary of the imperial court was already tight, how could he mobilize hundreds of thousands of troops, unless he ...... Unless the imperial court abandons Liaodong, but this is impossible, is it possible to let the Tartars come to the city of Beijing again?

"Master Mei estimates that with the strength of the Xining Army, if it is to annex the entire Shaanxi Xingdu Division, how long will it take?"

Mei Zhihuan shook his head, the combat effectiveness of the Xining Army, this is the first time he has seen it, "This ...... I can't estimate it! ”

"The five guards of Ganzhou are the seat of the Xingdu Division, but in one day," Li Zicheng said with a smile: "Don't hide it from your lord, not only Xining Wei, but even the Nian Bo Institute, Zhuang Langwei, and Gulang Institute already belong to Xining, and now the Xingdu Division, how much is left?" ”

"What?" Mei Zhihuan's eyes almost fell to the instep of his foot, "Why don't these Ben-sama know anything?" ”

"Haha, if Lord Mei joins the Xining Army, if such a dereliction of duty happens again, but you have to ...... Military discipline disposed of, I don't know if Master Mei dares to join the Xining Army...... Of course, Ben-sama will not force you, everything is up to you! ”

Mei Zhihuan was cold, and finally mustered up the courage to ......Old man...... Old man...... If you join the Xining Army, what can you do for the Xining Army? ”

"Once Master Mei joins the Xining Army, he first has to use his influence in the Xingdu Division to help persuade these guards to surrender as soon as possible to avoid fighting - the Xining Army is not worried about any resistance to the battle, but they don't want to innocently kill, the soldiers in the guards are all Han Chinese, and the Mongols and Tatars all bully the Han people, I don't want to bully them anymore, let alone a massacre like Ganzhou."

Slaughter? Mei Zhihuan has in his heart, recalling that the Xining Army and the Ganzhou Army outside the city were indeed slaughtered, that is, in the city of Ganzhou, those soldiers who did not have time to have their avatars were also slaughtered, this Li Zicheng ......

"This is natural, when it is the old man's business, it should be the old man's vote to join the Xining Army," Mei Zhihuan nodded, he had no choice, even if he sacrificed his life for the country, such a court...... What's the point? "And then? If the Xining army really occupies the entire Xingdu Division......"

"Lord Mei is a civil official, charging into battle, naturally there is no need to go in person," Li Zicheng had already calculated, "Once the entire Xingdu Division belongs to the Xining Army, I am ready to establish Gansu Province on this basis, and Lord Mei will be the civil affairs official of Gansu Province to raise food and grass for our army and prepare soldiers, how about it?" ”

This is the highest civilian official that Li Zicheng can give, and he did not hesitate to go to Gansu Province independently for this reason, Liang Wencheng is Li Zicheng's most trusted person, and he has been with Li Zicheng for a long time, and now he is only the prefect of Xining.

Li Zicheng didn't believe in Mei Zhihuan's ability, in fact, he still didn't know much about Mei Zhihuan, let alone because of his loyalty, Mei Zhihuan surrendered, in fact, he had no way out, and Liang Wencheng's like-mindedness was obviously different.

But Li Zicheng wants to make the newly recovered areas and the people who are about to conquer understand a truth, he is not good at killing, and there is an essential difference between him and the thieves in Shaanxi, and such a reputation will spread, and when he expands his land in the future, he will encounter much less resistance.

Moreover, the current Xining Army does need some Shilin figures to join to help manage the prefecture and county, and their joining is objectively also expanding the positive influence of the Xining Army.

The Xining Army is still hiding under the wings of the imperial court for the time being, as long as the imperial court does not mind, Li Zicheng will not take the initiative to pierce this layer of eggshell for the time being, but the Xining army will eventually break away from the wings of the imperial court, part ways with the imperial court, and even become a life-and-death rival.

"My lord," Mei Zhihuan pondered for a long time, and arched his hand: "Lord Yiben...... No, according to the opinions of his subordinates, Xining will not establish a province for the time being, and it is better to implement military tuns! ”

Li Zicheng returned the salute, "Why did Master Mei say this?" What is the contradiction between the land of the military cantonment and the establishment of the province? ”

"If it is a province, it will naturally levy agricultural taxes according to ordinary cultivated land, and the tax rate of the imperial court is fifteen taxes and one, and Xining naturally cannot be much higher," Mei Zhihuan looked at Li Zicheng, saw Li Zicheng bowed slightly, and continued: "However, the Xingdu Division is different from the two capitals and thirteen divisions in the mainland, and the land of the Xingdu Division is not a continuous oasis, but an oasis and a desert intertwined, and the area of each oasis actually not large. ”

"What does Master Mei mean, if it is at a normal tax rate, it will be difficult to collect enough grain?" Li Zicheng was secretly happy in his heart, since Mei Zhihuan could tell himself such an important place, then he had already decided that he belonged to Xining from the bottom of his heart, "How did Xingdu Si do it before?" ”

"That's exactly what it means," Fu Huan nodded, "The previous Xingdu Division was very different from the mainland of the Ming Dynasty, and the purpose of implementing the military tun was to let the military households support themselves and feed the soldiers drawn out of the family, so the tax rate was generally ten taxes and two." ”

"So tall?" Li Zicheng frowned, this is obvious exploitation, in case these military households can't afford the onerous agricultural tax...... "Can the military households afford it?" Can you feed your family other than paying taxes? ”

"If the adults are like this, it is really a blessing for the military households," Mei Zhihuan arched his hand and said with a smile: "According to the standard of ten taxes and two taxes, the military households naturally do not have much leftover, but they are different from ordinary people, they are military households, and they can never leave the country, so as long as they can support themselves, they have no complaints, of course, according to the meaning of the adults, if there is a year of grain failure, the agricultural tax can be reduced as appropriate, and the military households should not starve." ”

Li Zicheng thought about it, Mei Zhihuan's method was just an expedient method, when the Xining army was still very weak, the military households could contribute more, but compared with the hungry people in Shaanxi, they at least did not have to starve.

After he passed through the Dadou Ba Valley last time, he also saw this kind of oasis and desert terrain, in fact, there are still many small hills that have not been developed, if you can plant the "Three Farmers of the Americas", the harvest of the military households will be better, Li Zicheng also smiled and said: "Lord Mei's idea is good, according to what Lord Mei said, then the capital division will be called Gansu Town, Lord Mei is still patrolling Gansu, how about it?" ”

"Thank you, sir!" Mei Zhihuan left his seat and prostrated in front of Li Zicheng.