Dingwu frowned and said: "I also looked at the archives of the warehouse a while ago, and the money and food are still very sufficient, why is it consumed so quickly?" ”

Ma Hong immediately said: "What the Holy Lord said is extremely true, when the Holy Lord ascended the throne, there was indeed enough money and food in the warehouse. After a pause, he looked up and said, "It's just that in recent days, there are too many places where you need money and food." There are tens of thousands of horses on the front line of Yanshan, and there are tens of thousands of garrisons in Wuping Mansion, in addition, although tens of thousands of young men in the Tiangong have been dismissed, there are still tens of thousands of people left, and these people all have to eat, drink and Lazar, and the daily consumption is not a small number. After a pause, he said: "Especially those barbarians, they ask for a lot of food, not only for people to eat, but also for their war horses, and the horses eat more than people." ”

Dingwu's face was even more solemn, and Ma Hong said cautiously: "When the soldiers eat food, the minister also asked the saint, and the saint said that the soldiers should be fed as much as possible, and they should not be treated badly." Although the minister knew that the consumption was too large, he also thought that when the autumn harvest was held, although there were not many grain fields in Hexi, some grain could still be collected, and in addition, Anyi was a place where grain was produced. At this point, he did not continue.

The imperial court has always counted on the Anyi granary to replenish the consumption of Hexi, and has high hopes for Anyi, but no one could have imagined that it was the time of harvest, Anyi not only did not transport a grain to Hexi, but took refuge in Chu Huan, without asking, Chu Huan will definitely ask for grain from Yuan Chongshang, and the granary that was originally used to support the Qin State has become Chu Huan's rice bowl in the blink of an eye.

Although all the ministers present did not speak, but they were able to achieve such a position, after all, they were not fools, and they knew that although Feng Yuanpo had stored a lot of money and grain, but now Hexi had to raise seventy or eighty thousand soldiers, as well as tens of thousands of war horses, and the daily consumption was an incredible number, not to mention that the Yanshan front line was fighting fiercely, and the daily logistics supply was even more astronomical.

Although Dingwu is the monarch of Qin, the only resources that can be used now are the land of Hexi, Anyi is reversed, Xishan is occupied, and the resources of these two provinces have been taken away by Chu Huan, and these resources were the basis for Dingwu to revive Qin.

The loss of Anyi and Xishan is not only a huge disaster in military strategy for the Qin State, but also a huge disaster for the revival of the Qin State.

At present, Hexi has 50,000 regular soldiers and horses, as well as tens of thousands of young men and women who are being trained, and behind these numbers is the need for huge food and money to support.

Dingwu knew very well that relying only on Hexi could not support so many soldiers and horses.

There was a dead silence in the hall, no one dared to speak, everyone could see that the most dangerous thing in Hexi now was not necessarily a strong enemy, but the strength of Hexi itself, which could not be consumed for a long time.

"Yao Chong, I will allocate 300,000 taels of silver to you first." After being silent for a long time, Dingwu finally said: "There is no room for loss in the Hexi Corridor, and I order you, as the commander of the army, to lead the army to the Hexi Corridor and prepare to resist the Northwest Army." ”

Although Yao Chong knew that 300,000 taels of silver could not fundamentally solve the problem, but in today's predicament, Dingwu could still allocate 300,000 taels of silver, which was already very generous.

"Obey." Yao Chong arched his hand.

An extreme tiredness hit Dingwu's heart, and his face looked extremely tired, and he raised his hand and said, "You all go down first, and I will be quiet first." The ministers retreated, but Dingwu stopped Ma Hong, "Ma Aiqing, you stay first." ”

Ma Hong was already about to leave, and when he heard Dingwu telling him to stay, he was stunned for a moment, but Dingwu had already signaled Zhao Quan beside him to push him down, obviously in this hall, Dingwu felt very depressed, and motioned Zhao Quan to push himself to the back garden.

Ma Hong looked at Lin Yuanfang, and saw that Lin Yuanfang was also looking at him, and made a look, Ma Hong's expression suddenly became solemn, but seeing Lin Yuanfang's cold face, Ma Hong hesitated, and there was not much, he followed Dingwu far away, Lin Yuanfang looked around, and also followed Ma Hong, tiptoeing over.

The fallen leaves are withering, and the flowers and trees in the back garden are already depressed and dilapidated.

Zhao Quan pushed the wheelchair and sent Dingwu to the back garden, Ma Hong approached lightly and stood aside with his hands bowed, but Zhao Quan was standing on the side of the wheelchair with a saber in one hand.

After a long period of silence, Ding Wu finally said, "How long can it last?" ”

Ma Hong was stunned for a moment, but soon understood the meaning of Dingwu's words, thought for a while, and then cautiously replied: "Two months at most!" ”

"Two months?"

"Back to the Holy Lord, according to the current consumption, after two months, the household department will have no food to allocate." Ma Hong said: "Now that Yao Chong is leading 30,000 people to the Hexi Corridor, the transportation consumption along the way will only be even greater, and it is likely that it will not be able to support it for even two months." He smiled bitterly and said: "The minister was originally good, if Anyi could transport the grain and grass over in time to replenish the grain depot in Hexi, then there would not be the current situation!" ”

Dingwu said lightly: "I don't want to listen to the difficulties that have become facts, I just want to know, if my soldiers withstood the offensive of the Liaodong people in Yanshan for two months, will they collapse next because of the inability to supply logistics?" ”

Ma Hong lowered his head, uncomfortable all over his body, but he didn't dare to speak.

"Why don't you speak?" Dingwu looked at Ma Hong coldly.

Ma Hong knew that since he was targeted by Dingwu, and as the head of the household department, he was in charge of money and food, and he couldn't escape if he wanted to, so he could only stubbornly say: "Shengshang, the ministers think that we are short of money and food, and the Liaodong Army may not be rich." They have a large number of soldiers and horses, their strength is only above our army, and their consumption is much greater than ours! ”

"Oh?" Dingwu frowned and said: "You mean that we want to expect the Liaodong people to retreat without a fight because of the lack of logistics supplies, and they must withdraw their troops within two months?" ”

It was cold in late autumn, and Ma Hong felt a chill all over his body at this time.

"Even if the Liaodong Army really withdraws, what about Chu Huan's side?" Ding Wu sighed, "Chu Huan has a little rest, there is plenty of money and food, can we also expect him to retreat outside the customs due to a shortage of logistics?" ”

A cold sweat was already breaking out on Ma Hong's forehead, but fortunately Dingwu sighed lightly: "I don't want you to come up with a strategy to retreat from the army, you are a household secretary, and you are good at money and food, I only hope that you can come up with a way to raise more money and food." ”

Ma Hong hesitated for a moment, and finally said cautiously: "Saint, the ministers have indeed thought of many methods, but Feng Yuanpo's taxes in Hexi are not light, and they have been forcibly levied many times, if the imperial court continues to levy taxes, the ministers are worried!" ”

"Worried about what?"

Ma Hong could only stubbornly say: "The minister is worried that it will provoke a civil uprising." ”

"I didn't ask you to go to the people to ask for taxes." Dingwu said lightly: "I want you to go to the gentry in Hexi to ask for money and food." ”

Ma Hong raised his head and looked at Dingwu, who sneered: "After I ascended the throne, I was lenient and merciful to them, and did not punish them. Now is the time of national crisis, and it is time for them to share their worries. ”

Ma Hong instantly understood what Dingwu meant, and asked, "Does the Holy Lord want to requisition money and grain from the Hexi gentry?" ”

"I know that the Hexi gentry have always been in cahoots with Feng Yuanpo, and after the opening of the Hexi Trade Field, the Hexi gentry have benefited a lot." Dingwu said slowly: "The Gaomen clan in Hexi, under the protection of Feng Yuanpo, has accumulated a lot of wealth, and I feel that they should also do something for the country. ”

Ma Hong hesitated and did not answer immediately.

"You can go to them, and say that the court has borrowed money and grain from them." Dingwu looked at Ma Hong, "If there are anyone who doesn't want to share the hardships with me, you can list their names and put them in my hands." ”

Ma Hong thought for a moment, and then stopped.

Dingwu naturally saw it and asked, "What do you want to say?" ”

"The minister has nothing to say, and the minister will do what he is told." Ma Hong said busily.

Dingwu said: "Ma Aiqing, you are an important minister by my side, I trust you very much, and I rely on you very much, if you have any worries, just say it." ”

Ma Hong hesitated for a moment before taking a step forward and said in a low voice: "The ministers don't dare to say anything, but the ministers still remember that when the Southeast Tianmen Dao rebelled, there was a shortage of money and food, and the court was!" ”

Dingwu said: "I remember that at that time, the household department was still Hu Bufan's errand, and the household department proposed to the court to buy grain with an IOU, which also caused a catastrophe in the southeast, and the gentry in the southeast betrayed the court and turned to Tianmen. ”

Ma Hong raised his hand and wiped the cold sweat on his forehead, and said: "The Holy Lord is wise, that's exactly the case, so the ministers are worried about being in Hexi!" ”

"Are you worried that borrowing grain from the gentry of Hexi will repeat the old scene, and the gentry of Hexi will also betray the court and cause turmoil like the gentry of the southeast?" Dingwu stared at Ma Hong and asked.

Ma Hong was nervous, lowered his head, and said, "The ministers are worried about this. ”

"You can think so, and it makes sense." Dingwu said calmly: "It's just that today's situation is very different from that year. I know that you are not an immortal, and you can't change money and food, so it is naturally difficult for you to raise money and food, but you can't reach out to the people. It's just that there is no silver, so how can the soldiers on the front line fight? Until now, I can only ask those people for money and food. There is no money and food, strong enemies enter the country, it is difficult to resist, ask them for money and food, even if they are dissatisfied and rebel, it is much easier to deal with them than to deal with Chu Huan and the Liaodong people. His hands were already clenched into fists, and his voice was cold: "Whoever doesn't want to share the hardships with the Empire, I will let him destroy him first!" ”

Ma Hong only felt a chill all over his body, and couldn't help but shiver.