Chapter 166 Northern Expedition

After a few more idle words, Qin Lei brought the topic back to the military affairs of the two provinces, and he smiled and asked Xu Tancheng: "After Shannan is pacified, you should also go back." What are your thoughts on the strategy for rebuilding Lone? ”

Xu Tancheng hurriedly put down his chopsticks and said respectfully: "The prince's strategy is strategic and far-sighted, and his subordinates admire it tightly. ”

Qin Lei laughed and said: "If Xu Fu has anything to say, it's best to ask now, it's not good to hesitate again when you return to Shannan." ”

Xu Tancheng was a little embarrassed and said: "There are indeed a few questions to ask the prince." ”

"Speak."

Xu Tancheng pondered for a moment and said in a deep voice: "According to the reconstruction strategy, the revival yamen will allocate 10 million taels for the reconstruction of Shannan in five years. In consideration, Shannan wants to cancel the domestic tax card and the showdown taxes and fees under various names. Follow the industrial, agricultural, and commercial taxes uniformly determined by the Fuxing Yamen. Wechen is worried that it will be a little difficult to implement this. ”

Qin Lei saw that the other three also nodded, knowing that they had little confidence in the officials under him. His eyes swept over the four of them, and he slowly asked, "What is the name of the appropriation for the revival of the Yamen?" ”

He replied in a respectful voice: "Borrow." ”

Qin Lei nodded and said with a smile: "Since it is borrowed, it must be repaid, how are you going to pay it back?" ”

The faces of the four of them froze, and Zhuo Wenzheng said, "Do you want to pay it back?" ”

Qin Lei said with a smile on his face: "Why don't you pay it back?" ”

Qiao Yuanshan said: "Isn't this revival yamen opened by our own family?" Why do you want to pay it back? ”

Qin Lei realized a few days ago that he was in the matter of reviving the yamen. I was so careless that I ignored the feelings of the four governors about this yamen. In their eyes, since it is a yamen, it belongs to the government affairs system of the two provinces, so the money for the revival of the yamen is the money of the government, and there is no reason to pay it back.

If this problem has not been discovered, waiting for Qin Lei to return to the central capital, the governments of the two provinces, which account for forty percent of the power to speak, will definitely treat the revival yamen as their own money bag, and ask for it at will without giving anything in return. There is no need for many such things, just once, and the revival yamen that he has worked so hard to build will collapse violently, after all, the councilors will not be stupid enough to be treated as fat sheep and persist hard.

Qin Lei still looked at Qiao Yuanshan with a smile, and said without hurry: "Can Master Qiao agree?" ”

Then asked Zhuo Wenzheng: "Can Ling Zun agree?" Of course, Xu Tancheng will not escape such questioning.

Qin Yanwu, who thought he had nothing to do, was also said by Qin Lei: "Do you want to completely annoy all the gate valves in the south?" ”

The four of them were speechless when asked by Qin Lei, yes, no one would use their own money to the government for nothing, and the regulations are very clear, the revival yamen is not the owner of the 70 million taels of silver, but it is just a joint custody for all the deliberations.

Seeing that the four of them were deep in thought, Qin Lei said earnestly: "I think that the biggest beauty of this revival yamen is that it provides a platform for communication between the government and the scholars, so that possible misunderstandings and estrangements between the two sides have the possibility of coordination in advance. ”

After a pause, he said solemnly: "But all this must be based on fairness and mutual trust, you are not only the parents and officials of the two provinces, but also the major matter of reviving the yamen, you must weigh the relationship between the two sides, otherwise this yamen will become an ornament, and the relationship between you and the scholars will deteriorate even more." ”

The four of them said yes awe-inspiringly, and Koji Yanwu asked tentatively, "So we have to strictly enforce those conditions?" ”

Qin Lei nodded and said, "Not only that, but the Fuxing Yamen will also supervise the expenditure of each payment, as well as the implementation of specific provisions. They have the right to refuse to pay the next instalment if they believe that the government's expenditure is unreasonable or even corrupt. ”

Looking at the tense faces of the four of them, Qin Lei knew that these feudal officials who had always been arbitrary must be a little uncomfortable about being supervised by the Fuxing Yamen.

Qin Lei still said patiently: "Every province has the supervision of the Imperial History, why can you accept it?" There is no other reason than that they cannot interfere with the exercise of your power. The same is true of this revival yamen, they can only supervise, not dictate to you. If you can't even meet this condition, people won't be the one who is wronged. ”

After a pause, Qin Lei said a little sternly: "Let me tell you, if it weren't for King Lone who put forward this condition, everyone would not have paid this money!" Why do people take out money for nothing? ”

A few people thought about it, and this is indeed the reason. Besides, their own family is a big matter, and there is no reason not to feel sorry for their own money. Looking at each other, Qiao Yuanshan sneered at Qin Lei and said, "What the prince taught me is that it is the subordinates who have considered it improper. ”

For his left and right arms, Qin Lei still had to appease, he smiled at the four of them, and said warmly: "Our table occupies sixty percent of the right to speak, and we have absolute control over the revival of the yamen." Therefore, this yamen is not competing with you for power, but will give you greater power, at the very least, you can command the gentry of the two provinces. What else are you not satisfied with?"

Only then did the four governors turn their worries into joy, and said things like 'the mouth suddenly opened' and 'the subordinates were dull', which was regarded as admitting their mistakes. Qin Lei just wanted to firmly grasp the south in his hands through this yamen, and as for the rest, just let it be.

Two days later, Qiao Yuanshan and Xu Tancheng rushed back to Shannan with their subordinates. There are still five days left before the mango is planted, and if the people cannot be appeased in time and the summer harvest cannot be organized, the harvest of this season will be complete.

They will be accompanied by an observer group from the Fuxing Yamen, who will be responsible for giving feedback on the situation in Shannan to the council to decide when to disburse the first instalment of the loan.

Soon after they left, Qin Lei was about to go on his way. The second phase of the campaign has begun, Yang Wenyu's Zhennan army overwhelmed Shannan on the whole line, expelled the Maitreya sect to the area of Xiangyang Fancheng, and he will lead 10,000 infantry troops to the north together with Qin Youcai, and after expelling the Maitreya cultists entrenched in various places, then lift the siege of the Xiangyang Lake water army, and finally join Yang Wenyu's department in the Xiangfan area to achieve the encirclement of the Maitreya sect.

On the eve of the expedition, Ruolan was reluctant to give up, and dotted Qin Lei's carry-on outfit over and over again, filling seven large boxes.

Qin Lei, who was watching, lamented: "Ruolan, I'm going to fight, not moving. There's no need to bring this toilet, right? ”

Ruolan listened, thought seriously for a while, and resolutely shook her head: "No, what if you get up in the middle of the night?" It's deeper and heavier outside, and you'll catch a cold. ”

Qin Lei let out an 'oh' and asked again, "What about this wooden barrel?" How much trouble is it for such a big guy? ”

Ruolan said seriously: "After a day of traveling, the master must be tired, take a hot bath, and sleep more soundly at night." As he spoke, he said a little excitedly: "Actually, it doesn't take up space, the slave maid stuffed your basin, foot basin, and bucket into this bathtub one by one......"

Looking at Qin Lei's sluggish look again, Ruolan stopped what she was doing, and said with red eyes: "The slave and maid don't follow you, can you not take your own body seriously." ”

Qin Lei gently pulled up Ruolan's boneless body, hugged it in his arms, and comforted softly: "How come? I'll take good care of myself, and besides, won't Yunshang still have Yunshang with me? ”

It doesn't matter if he doesn't say it, as soon as he mentions this, Ruolan's heart will be infinitely sour, and her eyes, which were already full of steam, finally burst into tears.

The two went all the way south, sleeping together every day, and their relationship was no longer what it used to be. Seeing Ruolan crying, Qin Lei took out a handkerchief from his arms, carefully wiped the tears from her face, and asked softly, "Who made my little Ruolan unhappy?" ”

Ruolan said in her heart, who else is there besides you, the enemy. Forcefully got up from Qin Lei's arms, wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes, and whispered: "The slave is reluctant to His Highness, not for anything else." ”

Qin Lei thought about it for a while, knowing what the problem was, and couldn't help but secretly scold himself for speaking without his brain. Pulling the girl back into his arms, Wen Yan said: "Xiao Ruolan Moduo thinks that you can't take women with you when you march to war, this is an iron law, and you can't violate it." ”

Ruolan couldn't help it after all, and said in a voice like a mosquito: "That Yunshang ......"

Qin Lei laughed and patted Ruolan's upturned little buttocks, which made the girl blush for a while, and she just didn't follow in Qin Lei's arms, and that little awkwardness disappeared. Qin Lei hugged her tightly in his arms at this time, and said in a greasy voice: "Xiao Lanlan......"

Such a disgusting title, only Ruolan, who was fascinated by Qin Lei, could accept it calmly without goosebumps. She changed into a comfortable position in Qin Lei's arms, and her little nose snorted: "Hmm......"

Qin Lei tugged at her little nose and said softly: "Tell you a big secret, only the two of us know, you have to help me keep it." ”

Ruolan buried her head deep in Qin Lei's arms, and said in a muffled voice: "Don't tell Ruolan, Ruolan remembers the master's words too well, and I'm afraid that the dream words at night will leak." ”

Thinking that the respectful little palace maid at the beginning would now say some sweet and greasy love words, Qin Lei couldn't help but laugh proudly. I didn't wait for Qin Lei to finish for a long time, but I heard his ** laughter. Ruolan finally couldn't help but raise her head and looked at Qin Lei with spring water in her eyes.

The summer shirt was thin, and the girl's angry body had been tired of being in Qin Lei's arms for a long time, which had already made Qin Lei's heart grow grass. At this time, Ruolan was looked at by the affectionate veins, and it was like a little spark thrown into the boiling oil, and the ground burned.

Qin Lei let out a low roar, picked up Ruolan horizontally, threw his hand on the soft big bed, and before the girl's slender body fell, he pounced on it like a wolf.

This is exactly what it is: the candle shadow is swaying, for the sake of being sorry for a long time; was turned red by the waves, and the cross-necked mandarin ducks fell asleep.

Ruolan has long been ignorant of the darkness. I only felt that life and death had been countless times, until I was lying in Qin Lei's arms with relish, and I didn't even want to move my fingers. Qin Lei, who was infinitely satisfied, stroked Ruolan's smooth arm, and said a little apologetically: "Little baby, I'll tell you about the clouds ......"

Without waiting for the word 'dress' to come out, Ruolan gently covered Qin Lei's mouth, she didn't want to hear the name of another woman at this time. After a long time, he said quietly: "The slave is becoming more and more dissatisfied. ”

Qin Lei's heart tightened, and he comforted softly: "There are many beautiful women in the world, and you can't marry them all home." Don't worry, I don't mean anything else to Yunshang. He wanted to say, I won't be sorry for you and Shiyun, but he felt shameless, so he swallowed it forcibly.

Ruolan pursed her mouth, held back the tears she wanted to leave again, and murmured: "The slave knows that only a good person like the master in this world will care so much about a servant girl, and the slave and maid also swear to serve carefully for the rest of their lives and not to make you angry." But the better the master treats the slave and the maid, the more the slave and the maid put their hearts on the prince, the more dissatisfied they are......"

Raising his head with great effort, he said with teary eyes: "Master, don't be so good to Ruolan." Maybe you will be cruel and cold to the slave and maid, and the slave and the slave will know that something is wrong......"

Qin Lei hugged the cranky little girl in his arms again, and said softly: "Do you know what Gu likes Ruolan the most?" ”

Although she didn't raise her head, the girl's small ears were erected.

"Lone likes Ruolan's kindness, simplicity, and nothing will be hidden from me. There is no burden with you, only in you, the lonely does not have to be careful to calculate, to put it in every way, to tremble, and to walk on thin ice. You're my safe haven, you know? Qin Lei said very seriously.

Ruolan was immersed in a huge sense of happiness, hugged Qin Lei tightly, and murmured: "Your Highness, Your Highness......"

Early the next morning.

In the end, Ruolan didn't ask Qin Lei why he took Yunshang north, but the haze that had been entrenched in his heart for a long time was gone. The relaxed mood made her whole person more bright, and made Yunsheng, who listened to her instructions one by one, laugh secretly.

How could Yunshang, who is deeply versed in medical science, not know why the ruddy and delicate face on Ruolan's face comes from. This kind of understanding made her dare not look at Qin Lei's equally radiant handsome face.

But I can't help but want to see it.

To put it mildly, the number of boxes loaded into the car was finally reduced to five, but the big wooden barrel was still forced to be stuffed by Ruolan.

After seeing the car loaded with her own eyes, Ruolan personally put on a black gold-inlaid mighty battle armor for Qin Lei, and then hung a black cloak embroidered with a huge golden dragon. The girl's movements were so reverent and careful, like a young wife who sent her husband on a journey, lest her husband's armor was not properly worn, and he could not withstand the enemy's sword; I was afraid that my husband's robe was not tied properly, and he couldn't stop the cold in the middle of the night.

Although she was reluctant, Ruolan still held back her tears and gave Qin Lei a parting smile.

He left Qingcui Villa with this affectionate smile, and took away all the girl's feelings.

Jingzhou City University Campus.

This time there was no traffic, only knives and guns; This time, there was no bustle of cars and people, only the slaughter of soldiers on the battlefield.

Qin Lei, who was dressed in military uniform, stood on the earthen platform with the golden sword of the Son of Heaven in his hand, calmly looking at the tens of thousands of soldiers under the stage who were ready to go. On the other side of the earthen platform, there are thousands of Jiangbei fathers and elders who came to see them off. Among them are the wives and children and parents of the soldiers, but more are the common gentry of Jiangbei Province. They looked forward to the restoration of tranquility in Jiangbei day and night, and as soon as they heard the news that the Zhennan army was going to march north, they rushed from all directions to see off the king's division.

After a long time, he said loudly: "The soldiers of the Zhennan Army! ”

"In!" Under the leadership of Bo Xian Saiyang and Qin Youcai, more than 10,000 men responded to Qin Lei at the same time.

The loud voice went straight into the sky, which lifted the spirits of the gentry and the people who saw them off.

Qin Lei nodded with satisfaction, stretched out his right hand, pointed straight at the crowd on the right, and roared loudly: "Do you know who these people are?"

Without waiting for anyone to answer, Qin Lei continued to roar: "They are seventeen years ago, saving every grain of grain and taking out every copper plate. With the power of one province alone, support your father and brother against those who have been defending against Nankou for nine months. ”

The Qin people are still martial, and most of the sons in the army inherit their father's business, so almost everyone in this Zhennan army has fathers, brothers and relatives, and they died in that singing and crying battle. And in the farewell crowd, there are countless elders who have experienced that scene back then.

As soon as Qin Lei said this, a feeling like a soldier suddenly lingered in everyone's heart. Between those who saw off and those who went on the expedition, there was a feeling of blood connection.

"But now, our common enemy, Nanchu. With sinister intentions, he provoked chaos in the territory of Daqin. In the name of Maitreya, they have deceived the people, incited rebellion, and turned our common home into a hell on earth! What are we going to do? ”

"Counterinsurgency! Counterinsurgency! Counterinsurgency! "The first time I heard that there was the shadow of Nankou behind the Maitreya Sect, the soldiers of the Zhennan Army and the people of Jiangbei who hated Nanchu to the bone roared at the same time.

"That's right! Counterinsurgency! Sacrifice the blood of the enemy to the relatives who died in vain! Awaken the lost people! As he spoke, he shouted with all his might: "Pull out the flag!" ”

When Bo Xian Saiyang, who was dressed in silver armor, heard this, he shouted: "Get the order!" "Hold the two high flagpoles firmly in both hands. As soon as he raised his waist, he pulled up the Yujiang military flag of the Zhennan Army from the stake and carried it on his shoulder.

"Let's go! Swing down the North Kou! ”