Chapter 236 Guangxi Affairs [Medium]

Ma Yu explained: "It's not that the forbidden army has eroded so far, but that the water and soil are not adapted, if the northerners are stationed here, when they go back, five out of ten forbidden soldiers will often be able to return to Bianliang City." Therefore, the forbidden army is afraid to be stationed on Guangnan West Road, and they are afraid to be afraid, and the order is down, but if they don't go, they will be beheaded! So the soldiers of the forbidden army below had a countermeasure, and when they arrived in the Jinghu area, they were seriously ill and found a nearby prefecture and county to recuperate. The princes in the court also know that it is just that things have to be passed, otherwise it will be difficult to handle things if they make trouble. So after arriving at the garrison on Guangnan West Road, there were naturally so many people left in the forbidden army. ”

Zhao Yu touched his chin, which was already a little short beard, and felt the tingling sensation of his fingers rubbing against it. Said: "Twenty-seven battalions, a little compromise, this king counts two hundred people in one battalion, how can there be five thousand four hundred people, right?" And the brutal counterinsurgency against Anhua is just the use of local soldiers and horses in Yizhou and Rongzhou, why is there still 5,000 people left in this forbidden army, right? Why is it that there are only a thousand people guarding the land of a state now, which is so shabby! ”

Ma Yu smiled bitterly: "Lord Wang, you don't know anything!" There are 27 battalions of soldiers and horses on Guangnan West Road, but there are definitely not as many as 5,400 forbidden troops, and at most 5,000 forbidden troops. Moreover, there are many places where these 5,000 forbidden troops are stationed. Lord, you've also read the geography, right? To the south of Quang Nam West Road is the country of Yue (Vietnam) and to the west is the country of Dali, both of which are important places for the forbidden army to be garrisoned, so there are 2,070 battalions and 22 battalions stationed in Yanbian Prefecture and counties in these two countries. In addition, it is divided into Gui, Yi, Rong, Liu, and Xiang states, which have many barbarian rebellions. ”

After a pause, Ma Yu continued: "Actually, Rongzhou is better, relying on Guizhou, it is natural to garrison more troops." Yizhou, as a place of rebellion, is currently only stationed with 800 people! In many places, it is necessary to rely on local natives to be stationed. ”

Speaking of this, Ma Yu smiled bitterly and said, "Actually, frankly speaking, the so-called natives are stationed, but in fact, those natives also listen to the tune and don't listen to the announcement. ”

Zhao Yu nodded and said: "This king understands that Rongzhou is a state, but there is only one county, and there are 4,658 households registered in the imperial court, but Rongshui County, the seat of Rongzhou governance, is only rated as a middle county!" Come to think of it, there are quite a lot of local natives! ”

The Northern Song Dynasty divided the counties into eight levels, Chi County: in the capital, Qi County: outside the capital, Wang County: more than 4,000 households, Jian County: more than 3,000 households, Shang County: more than 2,000 households, Zhong County: more than 1,000 households, Middle and lower counties: less than 1,000 households, and Lower County: less than 500 households.

Zhao Yu just said that Rongshui County is a central county, and the population is naturally more than 1,000 households, which is not much. In the Song Dynasty, most of the people in a household were about four (adults), and more than 1,000 households were actually about 4,000 people!

As for the number of other households, they are naturalized natives and natives from Guzhou, but this data is not accurate.

Zhao Yu asked: "How much is the real strength of Anhuaman, this Ma Tiha knows, right?" ”

Ma Yu nodded solemnly and said, "This subordinate knows it, but the exact number is not very clear." ”

After a pause, Ma Yu continued: "Because of the defeat of the official army, the Anhua barbarians are very strong, and many restless barbarians have joined them. Gulao, Daixi, and Puyi have all joined, and Jincheng is even more ready to move. ”

Feng Shenji was taken aback when he heard this, and couldn't help but let out an exclamation on the side.

Zhao Yu glanced sideways at Feng Shenji and said, "What's wrong with this Jincheng?" ”

Feng Shenji suppressed his mind and replied respectfully: "Jincheng is an important place for soldiers, and it is the only way for the southwest of Yizhou to go out to the sea. At the same time, the land is fertile and has the reputation of Yizhou's small granary! That's not all, Yizhou's most famous tribute is from here! The local Han clan is mixed, and relatively speaking, there are still more feudal people, and it is a feudal state. However, the local governor has always been close to my Great Song Dynasty, and he has been favored by the emperor and wants to come...... I'm afraid this news is untrue! ”

Gongjin is not talking about gold, nor gold sand, but copper!

Zhao Yu ignored Feng Shenji's words, looked at Ma Yu and said, "Since there is refined copper there, the barbarians who want to come to this golden city are quite rich!" ”

Ma Yu nodded and said: "Exactly, and because of the pro-Song Dynasty, there are a lot of iron tools there!" ”

Iron tools were an important means of counterbalancing the state in the Song Dynasty, on the one hand, to raise the price of high-speed rail, so as to plunder its resources, and on the other hand, to control its force.

The second aspect is easy to say, the first aspect, as far as Zhao Yu knows, but it makes people deeply feel its huge profits. A pound of iron can be exchanged for ten pounds of copper ore! And ten catties of copper ore, to say the least, can smelt two catties of copper! One pound of copper is near Guangzhou, and it is worth one hundred and fifty copper coins! It was more expensive in the north, and in the first year of Baoyuan, Xia Zhu asked the imperial court for permission to enter the millet to atone for his sins in order to collect military salaries and food. To put it bluntly, it is to give money to make up for one's sins, and the price given is one pound of copper or five buckets of millet.

The price of grain in Shaanxi is relatively expensive, at least 50 wen per catty of millet! In other words, the price of one catty of copper has reached a high price of at least 250 wen a catty. And what about iron? The price of Guangnan West Road is slightly more expensive, 50 wen a catty! Throw away firewood, labor and other expenses, just this business, let alone five times the profit! And copper can not only be sold, but also used to mint copper coins, and the price is guaranteed.

Zhao Yu looked at Wang Ranbo and asked, "The deputy envoy of the transfer should know how much Rongzhou tribute is traded every year, right?" ”

Although Wang Ranbo got Zhang Shixun's hint that he wanted to pull Zhao Yu's hind legs, it is also a technical job to pull the hind legs, and it is impossible to pull it all the time, so it is too obvious. Therefore, Wang Ranbo did not make any small moves on this small question, and answered very honestly. "The barbarians are backward, so there is not too much copper ore, but it is also a lot, only 10,000 catties of copper ore per year!"

Zhao Yu calculated in his heart that there was a lot of copper ore in this 10,000 catties. Moreover, the copper ore in Jincheng Prefecture is of high quality, so it can also produce forty percent of copper. That's 4,000 catties of copper!

This can also mint money by yourself, and there was a lot of private money in the Northern Song Dynasty. This is also related to the large copper content of copper coins in the Song Dynasty, and the copper content of a copper coin reaches seventy percent, and Zhang Fangping, the minister of the Song Dynasty Shenzong, said so to Song Shenzong. Ten coins of melting, one tael of refined copper, and five times the profit of making utensils!

It can also be seen from here that ten copper coins are only one or two coppers! According to the government's coinage specifications, you can get 640 yuan, which is not much. How do you think Wang Ranbo and Feng Shenji are so nervous? That's it, anyway, this place is an important place for soldiers, so you have to pay attention to it!

"I need to send someone to appease one or two!" Zhao Yu opened his mouth and commanded.

Ma Yu smiled bitterly: "Back to the words of the prince!" This official has sent an official to Jincheng Prefecture before, but the envoy sent back to report that Jincheng Prefecture has an ambiguous attitude, and I am afraid that it means to sell for goodness! ”

Zhao Yu frowned slightly when he heard this, knocked his fingers a few times, and said, "Let's put this matter aside for the time being!" As the so-called three armies have not moved the grain and grass first, how about this grain and grass? ”

At this time, Zhao Yu was not looking at Ma Yu, but Wang Ranbo, the deputy envoy for transport. Cao Keming, the former transfer envoy, was anxious because of the killing of Zhang Huaizhi by the soldiers, and the government affairs were basically handed over to Wang Ranbo to manage. Therefore, although Wang Ranbo is the second-in-command, he is the actual person in charge of the Guangnan West Road Transshipment Division in the past few months, and naturally no one is more in charge of the current grain transportation situation on Guangnan West Road than him.

Wang Ranbo looked left and right, and said, "The grain and grass are important matters, and they must be secret!" ”

Zhao Yu realized that there were too many people in the White Tiger Hall! Nodding his head, he said, "What the deputy envoy said is that this king has been overlooked for a while!" ”

Zhao Yu put aside this question for the time being, briefly inquired about the situation in various places, and asked the others to retire. Only a few powerful figures were left, such as Wang Ranbo, the deputy envoy of the transfer and the governor of the Guangnan West Road, Ma Yu, the soldiers and horses of the Guangnan West Road, Yan Wenying, the counselor, Feng Shenji, the commander of the forbidden army in Guizhou, Chen Guangying, the commander of the first battalion of the forbidden army on the west road of Guangnan, and Li Shouzhong, the commander of the second battalion. Including Zhao Yu, there were only eight people in total, and according to their positions and ranks, they sat down on the left and right.

"Deputy Envoy for Transport, now tell me how much rice and grain are in stock? How much more money is silver? Zhao Yu looked at Wang Ranbo and asked calmly.

Wang Ranbo hates the title of Zhao Yu, the deputy envoy of the transfer, although he is indeed the deputy envoy of the transfer, but you don't have to carry a deputy word all the time! When speaking, there is inevitably a trace of dissatisfaction. "Lord, the grain is easy to say, although the autumn grain of last year has been sent to the imperial court, but this year's summer harvest is also coming, and if it is not enough, you can buy it! The price of grain on Guangnan West Road is low**, and a bucket of rice is only ten cents! ”

Zhao Yu couldn't help but smack his tongue secretly when he heard this, although he had long known that the price of Guangnan West Road was low, he couldn't imagine that it was so cheap, a bucket of rice was only ten yuan! One stone of rice is only a hundred dollars! In Bianliang City, one stone of rice has reached the point of more than 400 yuan! The price gap is more than four times!

Wang Ranbo: "I'm afraid that the tax is not very good, because there is a shortage of money on Guangnan West Road, especially those barbarians, who are basically bartering, so the money collected must be converted, and the annual tax revenue in previous years is about 80,000 yuan!" This year, under the influence of the Anhuaman rebellion, I am afraid that there are only 70,000 people, or even less! The summer harvest is a little less than the autumn harvest, I'm afraid there are only less than 30,000! ”

Zhao Yu's brows couldn't help frowning slightly, less than 30,000? Zhao Yu, who had been on Jingdong East Road, knew the situation of Jingdong East Road at that time, and in Qingzhou alone, the annual tax was already 20,000 yuan! Because of the sea trade in Dengzhou, there are 6,000 commercial taxes a year!

It's no wonder that Feng Shenji was so nervous when he heard that there was something in Jincheng Prefecture before! Although Zhao Yu followed their tone, he just felt that Jincheng Prefecture was a strategic place! Now it seems that Jincheng Prefecture occupies a certain proportion of the tax revenue of Guangnan West Road.

The finger bones tapped lightly on a few cases, and Zhao Yu asked: "What is the situation in the granary, this king wants to be detailed!" ”

In this matter, Wang Ranbo did not dare to be ambiguous. "Most of the grain and grass stored in most of the states and counties on Guangnan West Road have been transported to Guizhou, and there are about 10,000 stones! Enough to support an army of 10,000 for nearly a month! At the same time, the summer harvest has begun, and grain from all over the country will be sent to Guizhou in an endless stream, and the war can start for a year! ”

Zhao Yu ignored Wang Ranbo's part, Wang Ranbo's part's words were very misleading.

Zhao Yu has fought, where do you not know the army's food consumption? That's right, because in the war, a soldier consumes almost one stone of food a month, and 10,000 stone of food is indeed enough for 10,000 soldiers to need a month, but that's only theoretical! His subordinates still need to consume the people who need to transport grain on the way, and it is inevitable that there will be losses, and it is impossible to use all the 10,000 stone grain, so there is still some way back. In case a merchant raises the price of grain, Zhao Yu will have the opportunity to suppress it, and after the defeat, he will also have the capital to make a comeback.

"How many troops can be mobilized in Guizhou now!" Zhao Yu looked at Ma Yudao.

Before Ma Yu could speak, Chen Guangying, the commander of the forbidden army stationed in Guizhou, was already busy opening his mouth and said, "Lord Wang, there are only 200 people in my department. And it's a northerner, not familiar with the local language, and the coordination is not good, this war is sent to our department, I'm afraid it will delay the prince's big event! ”

Zhao Yu didn't know how many times he frowned today, he had already scolded Kainiang in his heart, suppressed the anger in his heart, and said, "Whether your ministry wants to send troops or not, put it down for the time being!" ”

Chen Guangying is not a person who doesn't know what to do, although Zhao Yu didn't agree, but he was afraid of causing trouble to Zhao Yu, so he only promised at the moment and sat back honestly. If you don't look closely, I'm afraid this guy is a wax figure!

Ma Yu looked at Zhao Yu and smiled wryly, as if to say: Lord Wang, you saw it! They are all a bunch of arrogant soldiers, and the team is not easy to bring!

"Matthith, continue with the question just now!" Zhao Yu said with a black face and a hard face.

Knowing that the anger in Zhao Yu's heart was not directed at him, Ma Yu didn't feel anything, nodded, and said: "According to the statistics of the lower officials, there are two battalions of soldiers that can be mobilized at present, both of which are soldiers and horses of the Yangshuo army, and the real people are about six hundred!" In addition, there are about 300 feudal soldiers who can be mobilized, but the prince needs to guard against the rebellion of the feudal soldiers! The reason why Zhang Huaimin was defeated at the beginning had a lot to do with the defection of the feudal soldiers! ”

Hearing this, Zhao Yu's heart moved, and asked: "Although Zhang Huaimin has been killed in battle for half a year, this king only knows that he was led into the mountains by An Huaman and died in an ambush, but the details are not very clear, Ma Tizhi, tell me what the situation is?" ”

Ma Yu shook his head and said: "In that battle, Cao Zhuan did not send the lower officials to participate, the lower officials were in Xiangzhou at the time, and the things he knew were a bit hearsay, but they were not completely true. If the prince wants to know the details, the lower official will go to find someone to come and explain the situation at that time for the prince! ”

Zhao Yu nodded and said, "That's fine!" But where is the man now? ”

Ma Yu replied: "It's not far, it's one of the people in the White Tiger Hall just now, I think it's just a rest in the military camp in the city, it's far away, it's about a quarter of an hour!" ”

Zhao Yu said: "Well, there is not much time to delay, so it will trouble Ma Tizhi to govern you!" ”

Ma Yu confessed and got up to leave.

Zhao Yu didn't waste this time, but briefly discussed with the others, if you want to attack Anhuaman, how many troops should be sent at least, and you should fight Anhuaman, etc. (To be continued.) )