Heilongjiang Province, Aihui City.

Here, it is the garrison of the army under the jurisdiction of Heilongjiang General Yishan.

The envoy visited Muravyov and returned with good and bad news. The good news was that Muravyov agreed to send troops, and the bad news was that half a million taels of silver were needed.

Yishan got the news that he was going to pay and was immediately angry.

His fat big hands trembled, his eyes widened, and he opened his mouth and roared loudly: "500,000 taels of silver, you are going to take the life of the general!" Where do I go to raise it? Say, "Where to raise so much silver?" The preparation of 500,000 taels of silver will be handed over to you, and you will be solely responsible for it. Whether you ask a businessman to prepare or raise taxes, you can handle it. ”

Yishan's nostrils were bubbling roughly, his short and fat body was constantly shaking, and the horizontal flesh on his face was also shaking, all because he was too excited about money.

As soon as he became angry, the envoy immediately wilted.

500,000 taels of silver, where can he go to raise it!

He secretly despised Yishan in his heart, if Yishan was willing to pay, 500,000 taels of silver would not be a problem at all. Because Yishan has money. It's a pity that Yishan loves money like his life and can't pay for it.

At this moment, the envoy had a big headache.

The merchants in Aihui City, and even the merchants in Heilongjiang, are all old foxes who can't slip their hands, and it is quite difficult to get some money out of the hands of these cunning merchants. If taxes are raised, the local people will face difficulties again, and it will not work at all.

For a while, the envoy was in a dilemma and did not know what to do.

Yishan didn't care so much, he waved his big hand very heroically, and ordered with a smile: "Go down and prepare, and gather 500,000 taels of silver as soon as possible." Of course, if you can make up 600,000 taels of silver, and the extra 100,000 taels of silver, we will divide it fifty-fifty. Half of you, half of me, fifty thousand taels of silver for each person. ”

The corners of the envoy's mouth twitched, all of them were on this, and Yishan still wanted to loot money.

Yishan didn't care, and continued: "Ben will send someone to Boli City to contact Muravyov, and then prepare to attack Li Zhen. Now, the emperor already knows about Li Zhen's affairs in Vladivostok, but the emperor is leading the army to fight with Zeng Guofan, and now he can't get out of his body, and he will have full authority to take care of the affairs here. Therefore, this battle can only be won and not lost. ”

"Yes!!"

Make the node head down, and then turn away.

……

In Vladivostok, Li Zhen returned with more than 4,000 soldiers.

Every soldier in the army carries a backpack on his back. When they arrived outside the gates of Vladivostok, countless people went out of the city to greet them. Li Zhen saw the simple faces, with a smile, leaving that sadness in the bottom of his heart, and passing on more joy to the people in the city, so that the people could feel the joy of victory.

The army returned triumphantly, and the army returned to the barracks.

Li Zhen instructed the soldiers to find out the roster of dead soldiers, and ordered someone to find Peng Yulin, and asked: "Old Peng, when I exterminated Gilsky, I remember that millions of silver were seized. We've spent a lot of money on this war, and how much is left? ”

Peng Yulin continued: "The silver consumed in this battle is no less than one million taels. At present, there are about three million left, and counting our own money, the surplus is still a lot, enough for the next use. ”

Li Zhen said: "Since there is still enough money, you immediately post a notice to publish the list of dead soldiers, and each dead soldier will be subsidized with two hundred taels of silver." And exempt them from taxes at home, and give them preferential treatment as much as possible. ”

"Yes!" Peng Yulin replied.

Li Zhen said: "Call Lu Shaochuan and Long Xi!" ”

Peng Yulin turned to leave, and Lu Shaochuan and Long Xi quickly walked in.

Lu Shaochuan said: "Lord Wang, what are you looking for us?" ”

Li Zhen asked the two to sit down and said: "Although there are still weapons in the army, after this battle is consumed, there is not much left, even if it can be replenished with ordinary guns and ammunition." But our own machine guns and other weapons are very lacking. You and Long Xi sailed south to Guangzhou to purchase cannons and machine guns, as well as a large number of guns and ammunition, from the ordnance factory. I hope you will return in the shortest possible time. The less time you consume, the less danger Vladivostok faces, you know? ”

"Understood!"

Long Xi and Lu Shaochuan got up and responded and left soon.

The two left, and Li Zhen also breathed a sigh of relief.

At least, for the next short time, you can breathe a sigh of relief. In one day, Peng Yulin completed the propaganda of informing the families of the fallen soldiers to collect the ashes. Early the next morning, there was already a long queue outside the barracks. Peng Yulin set up a location outside the barracks, and set up ten places so that the people could receive the ashes of their families as soon as possible.

The people lined up and vied with each other to discuss, and the overall atmosphere was a little sad.

After all, it was his own family members who died.

Starting in the morning, continuing until noon, and then continuing after a short break, the soldiers were kept busy. When Li Zhen brought Yang Luchan and Dong Haichuan to come, he didn't alarm the soldiers and came in civilian clothes. Li Zhen came to the place where he received the money and ashes, but what he saw was a scene of quarreling.

An old man who was nearly seventy years old took the package containing the ashes, but returned the two hundred taels of silver and said: "The old son died in battle for the country, for his homeland and relatives, why do he need money? No, I just want my son's ashes. The old man was full of anger and resolutely accepted two hundred taels of silver.

The soldier persuaded: "Old man, this money is a prescribed pension, you can take it." ”

"Don't!"

The old man shook his head resolutely and said, "I took the money, and my son went for the money." You can't ask for this money. The old man left with a serious face, and the soldiers' persuasion was fruitless, so he could only put down the two hundred taels of silver and continue to distribute the ashes and money.

Li Zhen saw this episode, but his heart was not calm.

From the old man's words, Li Zhen felt a solemn arrogance. This is the backbone of a family's male selfless sacrifice for the country and selfless struggle for the homeland. It's not that it's bad to get money, but this old man who doesn't receive money has his own arrogance in his bones.

Li Zhen lingered at the scene for a long time before turning to leave.

The news of the bereavement spread quickly.

Such a high pension made hundreds of people support Li Zhen even more. Next, Li Zhen issued a tax exemption order, exempting the people of Vladivostok from paying taxes for the next three years. Of course, the exemption from taxation was only for the common people who farmed the land, and those who were engaged in business had to pay taxes.

Time passed, and a month and a half quickly slipped through my fingers.

There are only three days until the Chinese New Year's Eve. During this period, Peng Yulin devoted himself to training soldiers, training both the militia and the regular army to be decent.

The soldiers of the army are already on the right track.

On this day, Long Xi and Lu Shaochuan returned by boat, bringing machine guns, cannons, and countless guns and ammunition. Peng Yulin led the soldiers to put all the guns and ammunition into the warehouse, preparing for the arrival of the New Year, which will be the first New Year that Li Zhen spent in the northern country.

ps: Three watches, call it a day! Under the preview, Ming'er broke out, and I'm more or less uncertain, hehe.