The Great Song Dynasty is worthy of being the richest dynasty in Chinese history. Although they had just suffered a heavy military blow and were beaten to the city of Tokyo by the Jurchens, this was obviously not enough to shake the solid economic foundation of the Great Song Dynasty. The strong national strength made the Great Song Dynasty quickly recover from the military disaster, and even the Taiyuan Mansion in Hedong, which had suffered the blow of destruction, also quickly recovered its vitality.

The "gift" given by Zhang Xiaochun was directly transferred from Taiyuan Mansion. Among them, 400,000 yuan was used as military pay; grain, fine Yangzhou white rice and fine corn, a total of 300,000 stones; iron, 1,400,000 catties; salt, 20,000 catties; wine, thirty-seven thousand six hundred urns; Eight hundred horses of silk and seven thousand horses of cloth. In addition, there are some cooking oil, livestock, dried meat, vegetable seeds, as well as horse harnesses, leather for armor making, and bamboo poles for making arrows.

From the analysis of the list of items, there are military equipment and daily necessities, and military salaries are also provided to give enough rations, and the imperial court seems to treat the men and horses of Xishan as a border army guarding the border gates for a long time. Moreover, the above materials were given to Xishan "at one time", as if it were a down payment. In the future, the imperial court will also give Xishan all kinds of material assistance on a quarterly basis, and directly transfer it through Guò Taiyuan Mansion.

To put it bluntly, in the future, the people and horses of Xishan will be raised by the court of the Great Song Dynasty!

"How's it going, satisfied?" Zhang Xiaochun said angrily, "What kind of family background and situation Taiyuan is now, I don't think you need to be a subordinate official, you also know it clearly." If you can make up these things for you, you are already smashing the pot and selling iron, and you are bankrupt. You'd better not make any more excessive demands - in that case, you will be forced to give up the settlement! ”

Chu Tianya put away the folded book with a smile, walked to Zhang Xiaochun's side to stroke his back, and said with a smile: "Don't be angry, Governor Zhang." We are also our own masters, and we all want to do our best to get things done. This time, the gift given by the imperial court was quite acceptable, barely satisfying. ”

"Improvised? Barely satisfied? Zhang Xiaochun was so angry that he blew his beard, "The Great Song Xijun is only treated like this, what do you want?!" ”

"What happened to the Western Army? Can the Western Army win the victory of the Yellow Dragon Valley? Does the Western Army dare to beat me in Xiaocangshan? Chu Tianya smiled, "It's all said, you get what you pay for." It is better for the imperial court to give such a thing to buy Xishan to help Taiyuan Mansion resist the invasion of Jin soldiers than to kill people and set fire to the city after being breached by the Jurchens, and ask for compensation, right? At the beginning, Tong Guan lost countless soldiers and spent millions of dollars to buy an empty city in Yanjing, but the court was not half distressed, and also awarded Tong Guan the title of prince. In comparison, what is the amount of money spent on Xishan? ”

"Flim, I can't talk about you!" Zhang Xiaochun was angry and funny, sighed and said, "Ziyuan, don't be so cynical in front of the deceased. Xia Guan is a straightforward person, and you don't know it. If you have any requests or grievances, you can just say it! Isn't it easy to discuss between you and me? ”

Chu Tianya smiled and said, "I don't have much opinion on the part of money, food and materials. The imperial court was able to give half a year's grain and grass at one time, and then allocated military salaries and grain and grass on time every quarter to fund the Xishan anti-gold, which shows that this time the imperial court is also a little sincere. Then we'll accept it—at least, we'll not be forced to raid the states and counties because of hunger. ”

"Look at what you said!" Zhang Xiaochun shook his head and sighed, "You are clearly supporting the army and self-respecting and blackmailing the court!" ”

"If you have to say that, you can do that. Chu did not deny it. Chu Tianya said indifferently, "We Xishan would rather be real villains than hypocrites." It's better for us to trade with the court at such a clear price than those corrupt officials and corrupt officials who are vegetarian and fake public and private, right? Let's take Liu Tingqing as an example, when he was in Baigou, he lost more than 100,000 troops and the savings of the Great Song Dynasty in Hebei for decades overnight, but he didn't even catch a single hair of the Liao soldiers. In contrast, after we Xishan defeated the Jurchens, we reached out to the imperial court to ask for a little food and military expenses to support our families, is it too much? ”

"Good, good, not too much, not too much!" Zhang Xiaochun was speechless by Chu Tianya, and waved his hand again and again, "Brother Chu, if you still have any requirements, just say it, don't go around in circles, okay?" ”

"There are three more things you must promise me." Chu Tianya is colorful.

"You speak first."

"First, in order to appease the heroes of Xishan and the public anger of the people of Hedong, the imperial court must posthumously seal and praise Wang Yu and Guan Shan, the two anti-gold heroes." Chu Tianya said, "Although this is just a superficial effort, it must be done. Otherwise, the tens of thousands of old departments of Qixingzhai in Qingyun Fort alone would not be willing to reconcile with the government. The shadow that shrouded the hearts of the Hedong rebels and the people and the distrust of the government could never be eliminated. ”

"That's fine!" Zhang Xiaochun decisively agreed.

Chu Tianya nodded and continued: "Second, the imperial court will officially issue an edict to the world, recognizing that all the heroes of my Xishan are meritorious people who have made meritorious contributions to the fight against gold, and make an oath that they will never pursue our guilt again, and let the people of the world jointly supervise it." Otherwise, who knows when you'll suddenly stab us in the back? Even if you deal with Seven Star Village! ”

Zhang Xiaochun smiled bitterly, wiped the beads of sweat on his forehead and nodded, "Okay, this is also how it should be!" Who made Xu Han lose his trust and hurt the hearts of all heroes? ”

"Third, I still want to find Governor Zhang for a batch of things and a group of people!" Chu Tianya said.

Zhang Xiaochun was stunned for a moment, and shouted vigilantly on the spot: "Ziyuan, you are not kind to this!" You already have 100,000 people, do you still have to find the imperial court to allocate soldiers and horses? ”

"Don't worry, I don't want soldiers or horses. Are those soldiers and bantams given by the imperial court comparable to the warriors of my West Mountain and the northern war horses we stole from the Jurchens? Give it to me, I'm not happy to ask for it! Chu Tianya said with a smile, "Let me tell you, I want a gunpowder workshop!" ”

"W-What?" Zhang Xiaochun seemed to be a little unresponsive.

Chu Tianya said with a smile: "Chu knows that the Great Song Dynasty successively invented rockets, fireballs, and thistles for military use more than a hundred years ago, didn't it come in handy when he conquered the Southern Tang Dynasty?" During the defense of Tokyo this time, Li Gang used the 'thunderbolt cannon' to scare Wanyan Zongwang enough. If it weren't for that, Tokyo wouldn't be so easy to hold. In addition, there are also a lot of assault guns and fire dragon cars in Taiyuan's arsenal, which I have seen with my own eyes. Since the imperial court has given us iron tools and arrows, how can it not give us firearms? ”

"Then you just want firearms, why do you want a 'gunpowder workshop'?" Zhang Xiaochun wondered.

Chu Tianya smiled: "Then don't worry about it, maybe I want to do something by myself?" In short, I want plenty of raw materials for gunpowder and a group of skilled firearms workers! In addition, since the imperial court gave Xishan more than one million catties of iron, it is necessary for a group of blacksmiths to help us forge weapons. I also want a caster, yes, a caster who casts large metal vessels! ”

Zhang Xiaochun's head is big, "These people don't have Taiyuan, they have to be transferred directly from Tokyo!" Ziyuan, your lion's mouth is too wide, and you're really not afraid of causing trouble to the official family! ”

"Trouble?" Chu Tianya frowned, "He enjoys all the blessings and sits on the wealth of the world, but we people are killing the enemy at the border to defend the Zhao and Song dynasties for him." If he is too troublesome about this little thing, then it is better not to do it, and change to a more diligent one! ”

"Tsk...... You, hey! Zhang Xiaochun was really speechless, so he had to smile bitterly, "It's a big rebellion!" ”

Chu Tianya smiled, "You shouldn't go to join me, right?" ”

"Look at what you said." Zhang Xiaochun sighed with a wry smile, "Do you have any other requirements?" ”

"That's all for now. When I think about it, I'll tell you again. Chu Tianya said with a smile.

Zhang Xiaochun grinned, patted Chu Tianya's back and smiled bitterly, "Ziyuan, the lower officials can do their best for you, in the final analysis, it is all for the sake of resisting gold and saving the country and protecting the country and the people." I hope you will be sympathetic to the good intentions of the lower officials, and in the future, don't make it too difficult for the lower officials. ”

"Don't worry, Chu has his own score in his heart." Chu Tianya smiled meaningfully, "Actually, then again, Governor Zhang, if it weren't for someone in Chu who made such a big move in Xishan, I'm afraid the imperial court wouldn't have used you to preside over the important military and political affairs of Hedong again, right?" …… In the final analysis, isn't it because Xu Han has too many enemies, but there is a friendship between you and me? The two of us are simply dependent on each other! ”

"Well, this one! ......" Zhang Xiaochun touched his beard in embarrassment, neither recognizing nor denying it.

The two tacitly glanced at each other, each showed a wolf smile, and tacitly agreed not to mention the matter.

After entertaining a rich banquet, Zhang Xiaochun said goodbye and left. Chu Tianya showed the "list of gifts" to the leaders, and everyone was overjoyed!

"In this way, in the future, all the heroes of our Xishan will also be able to eat the imperial court!" Meng De said with a smile, "The official and bandit are a family, this is really rare!" ”

Bai Xu also smiled: "It's also thanks to Brother Chu's skillful skills, and he took advantage of the negotiation with Zhang Xiaochun." Now we have changed from a thief to a righteous protector. By the way, it should be - General! ”

The crowd burst into laughter. Meng De said: "Brother, since the imperial court wants to confer the title of general and general, it is better to accept it." Although we don't care about this kind of false name, it is conducive to expanding the influence of Xishan among the people and paving a smooth road for the future great cause. For example, in the past, when we recruited troops and bought horses, it was a rebellion by bandits, and at most it could only be regarded as a rebellion; Now it's different, we are the 'generals' of the imperial court's pardon, and if the name is right, then the word is good. ”

"Why not? Of course you have to accept it! Chu Tianya said with a smile, "The imperial court is to make us the emperor, so we must accept it!" ”

"Haha!" Meng De, Bai Xu and the others were stunned for a moment, and immediately burst into laughter.

This makes it clear that Chu Tianya said to Zhang Xiaochun before that it was not rare at all, and that a "general" was just a negotiation skill. How can there be no reason not to want this door-to-door benefit?

"Tomorrow is the Dragon Boat Festival, and it is a good thing that I got such a benefit from the imperial court before this, and then reached a settlement agreement with it." Chu Tianya said, "I guess that sooner or later, a bigger war will break out between Song and Jin. Wanyan Zonghan will not be reconciled, and sooner or later he will definitely attack again. Therefore, our time is actually very tight, and we must do our best to train our soldiers and horses and strengthen our defenses. In addition, in order to defend Taiyuan like this, we must also try our best to reach a tacit understanding with Zhang Xiaochun. If Yan Zonghan goes and returns, he must have learned the lessons of his previous failures. He'll become more ferocious and cunning, not as easy to deal with as he was last time. ”

"Brother Chu is right." Bai Xu nodded and said, "The top priority is that we first stabilize the internal affairs of the rebel army, clarify the real core leader, and then have the brothers wholeheartedly assist." Only by uniting as one heart and one mind can we fight against the Jin people. ”

"If you want me to say, tomorrow's Dragon Boat Festival will not only elect the 'big leader', but also arrange the seats for all the leaders of Xishan and distinguish the superior." "In private, brothers can be in harmony without distinction or inferiority. But when it comes to a formal occasion or when it is decided to do something serious, you still have to have the backbone of the master, and you can't make a quarrel with each other, and you can't make a protracted decision. ”

Xiao Sheng agreed. Bai Xu said without hesitation, "In the previous Seven Star Village, it was because the core was not clear and the brothers took into account their personal feelings that the verdict of major events was affected, and finally it was bitter. This kind of 'emotional' sounds like a matter of affection and righteousness, but in fact it is a kind of 'abolishing the public for personal reasons'. Therefore, Xiaosheng Jianyì, first of all, from the title, we must change the habits of bandits and bandits, do not mingle with each other, and must distinguish between priority and priority, respect and humility. Therefore, the 'big leader' elected tomorrow is, of course, to be called 'general' to the outside world, and it is no longer allowed to be called 'king' or 'leader'. Inside, the brothers should no longer call him 'big brother' according to the practice of the old cottage. ”

"What should I call it?" The crowd asked.

Bai Xu turned his head to look at Chu Tianya, and said sonorously: "Of course it is-Lord, Lord!" ”