The money is there, but although it is said that the money is paid directly to Zuo Zongtang from the bank, and there is no need to go through the hands of the household department or the Gu Committee in Beijing, but the borrower is not Zuo Zongtang himself, but the imperial court, therefore, how to pay, how much is the first payment, how much is the second amount, all have to be approved by the imperial court, here, there is still a lot of attention.

In determining the amount of military spending, the court officials have a consistent and serious distrust of the army commander, and they always feel that you are "reporting flowers", and no matter what amount the army commander reports, he will beat you on the head, cut you in the waist, and cut off half of it, which is also very common.

This was a helpless move due to the lack of numerical management ability, and the imperial court could not determine the rationality of the budget proposed by the army commander, so it had to bargain as much as possible under the condition of limited financial resources.

In most cases, it is very common for the imperial court to "inject water" into the military budget without wronging the commander-in-chief, but this kind of businessman-like way of formulating the budget will force the two sides into a vicious circle: the military commander knows that the imperial court will definitely beat his own head, so he "injects" more "water" into the budget, in order to stop the waist and slash the waist, and the rest is still needed; As for the imperial court, since it suspected that you had "injected" more "water", it bargained even harder.

Under such circumstances, what should have been the most serious and serious military budget has turned into a pure lawsuit of words and a game of numbers, and in this regard, the "mental method" of the army commander is: No matter how much it is, first get the first amount of money, and then talk about it, once the war has begun, can it still give up halfway? If you want to fight the war, you will have to pay the amount I have quoted. Otherwise. Just fold it. Please ask the imperial court to "be able to do another thing".

This set of coercion methods, to a greater or lesser extent, will be effective to varying degrees, but there are really times when "give up halfway" - that is, the court really can't come up with money; More often, it was the imperial court that was struggling left and right, demolishing the east wall to make up the west wall, and the army on the front line. After eating the last meal and waiting for the next meal, if there is money, they will start fighting, and if they don't have money, they will nest and procrastinate and procrastination, and the battle that could have been fought in one year will drag on for three or five years.

Guan Zhuofan made up his mind that this kind of bad "story" should also be completely reversed from this western expedition.

Regarding Zuo Zongtang's annual budget of 5.2 million taels of silver, Guan Zhuofan not only did not break a tael of silver. It was also said that there should be a certain amount of "redundancy" - a new word. He said, "If you want ten taels of silver, I will give you twelve taels, and if you can't use it up, you can pay it back to me."

After a pause, he added: In the first year, I gave Ji Weng 6.2 million taels of silver.

Zuo Jigao's eyes widened, and he could hardly believe his ears: I ...... How much virtue did I accumulate in my last life? Met such a considerate boss?

Note that Zuo Zongtang's annual budget of 5.2 million taels of silver was not the 3.5 million yuan a year budget when he was in Beijing -- it was the budget for pacifying the rebellion in Gansu.

Guan Zhuofan's move was not to buy people's hearts, nor did he think that the extra one million taels of silver would be wasted, on the contrary, he believed that this was the most economical way to budget.

As a traverser, according to historical data, Guan Zhuofan knew that Zuo Zongtang's annual budget of 5.2 million taels of silver was not too much, and he did not "inject" much "water"; In addition, Xinjiang's geography is far away and different, and there are too many unknowns, and this budget, considering these factors, only focuses on the calculation of the length of distance, and the consideration of "unknown numbers" is actually not very sufficient, so it is reasonable to set aside 20 percent of the "redundancy".

More importantly, if he sticks to the old routine, follows the "unspoken rules" for formulating the military budget, and bargains with Zuo Zongtang, even if he cuts the budget -- for example, from 5.2 million taels to 500,000 taels, 1 million taels, 4.7 million taels, or even 4.2 million taels?

Originally, the rebellion in Xinjiang could be put down within this year, but because of the lack of food and wages, the war was fought until next year or the year after, even if it was 4.2 million taels a year, wouldn't it cost 8.4 million taels or 12.6 million taels for two or three years? Compared to 6.2 million taels, which is more? Which is less?

The most, the most, the most important thing is that next year will be next year -- next year, I will fight with the French, but I can't fight on two fronts, in the north and in the south!

Don't think about opening the film with the French next year, the war in Xinjiang must also be played within this year! This is because I need a brilliant victory of "golden Ou flawless" to "bless" myself -- in the second half of this year, it is very likely that there will be a huge political turmoil, one more victory, one more bargaining chip.

So, no matter what, this year's business, this year's end!

Once the money is in place, all that's left is the question of how to spend it.

"Spending money" -- the most important and core link in logistical support is the purchase and transportation of military rations.

In the Western Regions, a more ideal situation would be to purchase a part of the military rations -- the higher the proportion, the better, and to purchase them locally, so that the cost of transportation can be greatly reduced.

This is the method of Zhao Chongguo mentioned in this book. When Emperor Xuan of the former Han Dynasty, the Qiang people were in turmoil, and the mainstream opinion of the DPRK and China, represented by Xin Wuxian, was the story of imitating Wei and Huo, "Thirty days of food, division of troops and out", and then swept away, but Zhao Chongguo was opposed.

Zhao Chongguo's strategy is:

First, at that time, Jincheng and Huangzhong were cheap, and a single grain was no more than eight yuan, so he suggested that the imperial court should purchase it on a large scale in the local area, so that it could replenish its own military rations at the lowest cost -- if it was transferred from the Guannei, the cost would be ten or even dozens of times; At the same time, this move cut off the Qiang people's food route, and "the Qiang people did not dare to move".

Second, Tuntian, step by step, encroached on the Qiang people little by little.

The second method "Tuntian", as soon as Zuo Zongtang arrived in Shaanxi, he began to implement it before he entered Gansu. However, Shaanxi was very miserable in the rebellion, after the chaos, the recovery of vitality as the first priority, the harvest of Tuntian, first of all, should be used in the local military food and civilian food, there is no spare strength to help the front line in Xinjiang; As for Gansu, it was miserable, not losing to Shaanxi, and it was just settled last year.

As for Xinjiang, the vast majority of the territory. It's not in my hands right now. At least we have to wait until Urumqi is taken. and then captured Karasar and got the most plastered part of northern Xinjiang, so that it can be talked about "because of the grain in the locality".

Therefore, Zhao Chongguo's method will not work for the time being, and he still has to honestly buy it from other places, and then transport it to the front line pound by pound, mile by mile.

Guan Zhuofan and Zuo Zongtang worked together to plan two routes for purchasing and transporting military rations.

Article 1. From naturalization, Baotou in the east, to Mengdi in the west to shoot the platform and the bus, the grain output is relatively sufficient, purchased here, transported to Balikun through Uriya Sutai and Kobdo, all kinds of expenses are calculated equally, and the price per 100 catties is 72500.

The second is to buy in Ningxia, through Dingyuanying, Chahan Temple, and Bashang Tusu Temple. With the naturalization in the first route, the transport team from Baotou will be with Yu Balikun, and the price per 100 catties of feet will cost eight taels of silver.

Calculate it. Relying only on these two routes, there is still a considerable gap in military rations, and Zuo Zongtang compared it on the map and compared the third route:

Purchase in Liangzhou, pass through Ganzhou, Suzhou, out of Jiayuguan, through Yumen, Anxi to Hami, the ancient city.

However, this route, with a total length of more than 7,000 miles, is calculated carefully, and the price per 100 catties is 15 taels, which is more than double the cost of the previous two routes, and Zuo Zongtang can't help but hesitate.

is hesitating, Guan Zhuofan's suggestion is here: although it can't be "because of the grain in the locality" for the time being, it may not be possible to "because of the grain to the enemy"?

Yes? Because of the food to the enemy?

"Because of the grain to the enemy", this is a rather euphemistic expression, in fact, it means large-scale looting.

However, of course, Prince Xuan did not mean this.

Kwan Zhuofan's suggestion was: buy grain from Russian merchants.

The Russians are the most important supporters of Aguba, and they are half of our enemies.

This suggestion, at first glance, may sound incredible, but if you think about it seriously, why not?

In this era, there is no concept of economic sanctions, trade embargoes and the like, besides, the Russians are only supporting Aguba behind their backs, and on the table, the diplomatic relations between China and Russia are completely normal, not to mention buying grain, that is, buying arms, and the Russians are also welcoming it with both hands.

What about the cost?

The quotation of the Russian merchant was that if 10 million catties were purchased at one time and transported to Changji, Xinjiang, each large bag -- 330 catties would be used as a price of six taels of silver.

I, I, this price is almost less than a quarter of our own!

Guan Zhuofan and Zuo Zongtang couldn't help but smack their tongues: This Russia is really a big granary!

Guan Zhuofan even sighed from this: In this world, the distribution of resources is too uneven, we in China, there are so many people, but there is so little arable land, a war, a few catties of military food, racking their brains, patchwork, it is not enough, it seems that even if it is not to recover the lost land, in order to "ensure food security", you have to "peek north".

This is a later word, and I will not press the table for the time being.

Of course, the first line and the second line should be carried out correctly, and you cannot entrust all your food problems to the "enemy."

As a result, in the process of quelling the turmoil in Xinjiang in the future, such a spectacle was produced: the Russians secretly received arms from Aguba on the one hand, and on the other hand, they wantonly sold grain to China.

Although the source of procurement and the route of transportation have been decided, this does not mean that everything is fine, and there are still many specific problems to be solved in order to ensure the high efficiency of military grain transportation.

Regarding transportation capacity, Zuo Zongtang's original plan was to be "half official and half civilian", but Guan Zhuofan strongly advocated that "the people should be the mainstay, supplemented by the officials", and even, "all the people can rely on the people", and the government is only responsible for management and security.

This "people's power" is not to grasp the difference, not to labor, just the opposite, Guan Zhuofan stressed, must be "fair trade", "cash trading"; The foot price set by the government must be attractive enough -- not only to "break the customization", but even higher than the market average.

For example, the original customization, Gansu and other places to transport military rations, every 100 li per 100 catties to give the foot price of two dollars, Guan Zhuofan thought that this price was too low, not conducive to stimulating the enthusiasm of the "people", so he made the following revisions: "The customs transfer of grain, military uniforms, munitions, **** foot price, regardless of hiring cars, camels, mules and horses, discretionary 100 catties and 100 miles to give four dollars of silver; Outside the gate ****, 100 catties and 100 miles, give five coins of silver. ”

That is, it has more than doubled.

In addition, Guan Zhuofan and Zuo Zongtang reached the following consensus: "If you want to raise food for the army, you must first raise food for the people, which is an inexhaustible source." Even, "In the case of negotiations between the government and the people, the official must always be willing to suffer, but not too much." ”

In a word, be good to the people.

The reason why Guan Zhuofan advocated "taking the people as the mainstay, with the officials as the auxiliary," and even "relying on the people's strength as much as possible," was because the intensity of the government's management and control over the northwest at that time was far from being comparable with that of the 21 st century, and naturally it lacked sufficient organization and mobilization capabilities.

In addition, if the "official" transportation, there will inevitably be officials in it to take the opportunity to make profits, squeeze the people, the northwest has just been calmed down, so blind toss, it is not ruled out that there will be chaos and a fire in the backyard.

Therefore, Guan Zhuofan would rather throw it all to the "market", as long as the price is enough, he is afraid that no one will want to work? Are you still afraid that you won't be able to do a good job?

In addition, this money has reached the hands of the common people in the form of labor expenditure, which is also of great help to the social and economic recovery of Gansu and Xinjiang after the chaos.

In addition, if it is "official", "customization" is not so easy to "break", otherwise, the person in charge will inevitably be ridiculed. "Relying on the people's power" is different, the price is not enough, people don't like to do it, how can the price increase be done without reason? And the price is clearly marked, no one can say that this money has fallen into my own pocket.

In short, Guan Zhuofan's idea is to increase the intensity of capital investment in exchange for higher operational and logistical efficiency, in order to end the war faster, reduce the overall cost of the war, and make more political capital for himself.

With regard to transshipment, Zuo Zongtang proposed that "easy long transportation is short transportation", that is, military rations are not transported from the purchased places to front-line destinations such as Balikun and Gucheng, but are set up in Suzhou, Yumen, Anxi, Malianjing, Hami and other places on the way, and use the method of relay to "count and unload" one station at a time, and finally arrive at the destination.

The purpose of this plan is to ensure the safety of military grain transportation, but because of the increase in the number of pick-up and unloading, the price of feet will naturally increase, and in addition, in the vicinity of the warehouse, it is necessary to set up corresponding supporting facilities, such as opening factories and shops, digging wells, and storing grass and salaries, so as to prepare personnel and pack horses for rest and rest, and to change the means of transportation, which also costs a lot of money.

Originally, because of the additional budget, Zuo Zongtang was not sure enough that this plan could be successfully passed at the "top", but Guan Zhuofan did not hesitate and immediately approved it. In addition to the safety of transportation, even if we consider it purely from the point of view of cost, it is not necessarily not cost-effective -- the cost of foot prices has indeed increased, but the wear and tear of military rations in the process of transportation has been greatly reduced.

After the implementation of this series of measures, Zuo Zongtang said happily in a letter to Guan Zhuofan: "The packers are coming to hear the wind, and they are fighting bravely to be the first, the wind and sand are not blocked, the cold is not avoided, the transportation channels are unblocked, the flow is endless, and the military food is worry-free!" ”

Before entering Xinjiang, Guan Zhuofan and Zuo Zongtang also did one thing: disarmament.

The ancient cities of northern Xinjiang, Balikun, Hami, and Gaotai in Gansu near Xinjiang, as well as Gaotai in Gansu near Xinjiang, already have officers and troops, and there are quite a few of them, but because these troops have been ineffective for a long time, their morale is low, their discipline is slack, and their combat effectiveness is low.

The garrisons in these places have been reduced, are you afraid that it will affect the strength of the troops fighting after entering Xinjiang?

Unafraid.

Guan Zhuofan and Zuo Zongtang already had a consensus that in the use of troops in the northwest, especially in Xinjiang, in terms of troops, there are not many expensive troops, and the number of troops is moderate, and in the special geographical environment of Xinjiang, they will "command as desired", and the pressure on logistics should also be less.

Liu Jintang, the deputy commander-in-chief of Xinjiang, was young and vigorous, and even claimed: "Winning 10,000 soldiers is enough to run rampant." ”

As a result, Zuo Zongtang carried out drastic reductions in the original garrisons in Xinjiang and Gansu, cutting more than half of them, and the rest were already relatively elite after the reorganization, but even so, Zuo Zongtang did not intend to send them to the front line, and their nature was "defense army", that is, focusing on defense -- defending strongholds and protecting grain routes.

Well, everything is ready.

*

(4,600 words in large chapter)

*(To be continued.) )