"All in the back of the line, in line. Right away. "At the gate of Jincheng, a long line of old distances, only to see that there are many merchants under the city are lined up there, from time to time you can hear the neighing of mules and horses, the scene is also extremely lively, under the city gate, several scribes and more than a dozen soldiers are maintaining order, and the voice of a small official rang out from time to time.

"The Metropolitan Governor is benevolent and righteous, look, you don't have to pay much money, you can protect us, if something really happens, the Metropolitan Governor's army will avenge us." In the crowd, a dark-faced vendor said loudly.

"As long as you pay taxes once, you can walk the entire Western Regions, and people in various cities dare not collect taxes. If we have any difficulties, we can show our iron plate and ask the local army to protect our safety. ”

"If anyone dares to disobey the order of the Metropolitan Governor and forcibly collect taxes, they will come to the Jincheng government with an iron plate and ask the Metropolitan Governor to punish them. O Governor of Benevolence! ”

In the crowd, from time to time, there were merchants and travelers, pointing at a blank piece of paper on the city wall. This is a new order issued by the Protectorate of the Western Regions, from Jincheng to Yumen Pass, all merchants can receive a token by paying taxes, which is not only a voucher for paying taxes, but more importantly, in case of danger, they can ask for the protection of the local army, as long as they pay a certain amount of money. Moreover, after being ambushed by bandits, the Metropolitan Governor relied on the last place where the token was infested, looking for the bandits, strangling the bandits, and avenging the caravan, and the Metropolitan Governor's Mansion would also give the caravan a certain amount of compensation based on the amount of taxes paid.

Lanzhou Jincheng's measures spread throughout the entire Silk Road in an instant, so that these caravans were in an uproar, and they came to pay taxes and receive iron plates, you know, walking on the Silk Road, not only will there be difficulties of officials along the way, but also bandits, especially in recent years, the merchants walking on the Silk Road do not know how many. Merchants would not risk losing their lives on the Silk Road for a small amount of money.

"The Grand Governor's move is ready to completely take the entire Western Regions into his hands." At the head of the city, Chu Liang, the secretary of the Western Regions Protectorate, was standing on the city wall with his son Chu Suiliang and looking at the qi below, and Chu Suiliang's immature face showed a trace of amazement.

"Only the Metropolitan Governor has such confidence and means." Chu Liang admires his son very much, he is young and has a deep family history, and he also has high hopes for his son.

"The ambition of the Metropolitan Governor is not small!" Chu Suiliang glanced around and said in a low voice, "Father, what do you think of the Metropolitan Governor?" ”

"Why do I say that? The Metropolitan Governor's move can enliven Jincheng, haven't you noticed that Jincheng and even the whole of Lanzhou have changed a lot? There are no bandits in Lanzhou, and although it is not that the road is not left behind, there are still people living and working in peace and contentment. Lanzhou Jincheng has 40,000 elite soldiers and horses, as well as a lot of government soldiers, I heard that Li Jing, the deputy general of the Western Army, is preparing to recruit mercenaries, and many heroes and tribal warriors are included in it, which is also a huge force that can protect the entire Western Regions, isn't it great? Chu Liang glared at his son dissatisfied.

"Although the Metropolitan Governor claims to be in charge of the Western Regions, and the west of Lanzhou is under the jurisdiction of the Metropolitan Protectorate of the Western Regions, in fact, apart from Lanzhou, how many of them are under the jurisdiction of the Metropolitan Governor? Whether it is an official or a soldier, there are very few governors who can stretch out their hands. If the Metropolitan Governor wants to control the entire Western Regions in his hands and form a huge force, he must clench his fists to deal with the Western Regions countries and the Western Turks, so he must achieve absolute control. He didn't have a chance before, but now he has an excuse. These business trips are an excuse. It's a sharp weapon in his hands. Chu Suiliang explained in a low voice: "Once a merchant is killed here, an army will enter that place, and the local army will also be criticized by Li Xin, the generals will be punished, and the soldiers will be annexed; If a local official was embarrassed to travel, the Metropolitan Governor would also remove those who did not obey. After all, there is a criminal law of the Great Sui, and the Metropolitan Governor is on the side of morality, who dares to deal with him. It will not take more than half a year, from Lanzhou in the east to Yumen Pass in the west, it will fall into the hands of the metropolitan governor. ”

Chu Liang's face changed when he heard this, and suddenly, he also thought of this, Li Xin wanted to use the hands of these business travelers to launch a new round of purge operations against the Western Regions, and the targets of punishment were not only bandits, but also officialdom. The thought of that handsome young man, who looked gentle and elegant every time he discussed, did not have any fireworks when he spoke, but there was so much thought in every action, which made him shudder.

And he believes that there are not many people who can see through Li Xin's plan, at least, if he has been reminded by his son, he will not see the real intention of this move clearly.

"It's horrible." Chu Liang couldn't help but whisper.

"There is no better man in the world than this, compared with other people, the governor of the capital is much more benevolent and righteous, and much more wise. After all, compared to other people, the foundation of the Metropolitan Governor is too shallow, and there is no family member to help him. If you want to control the Western Regions, you can only do that. Chu Suiliang's eyes lit up, and he said with some expectation: "The child really wants to see where the Metropolitan Governor will go in the future." ”

Chu Liang nodded, but he was thinking a lot in his heart, in the northwest, it was much poorer, not as prosperous as the Central Plains, he still admired the Central Plains in his heart, but now he was still interested in Li Xin. I also want to know where Li Xin will go in the end. Such a method of controlling the Western Regions is not something that ordinary people can think of.

"I don't know what kind of reaction the imperial court will have after learning about this matter, will the emperor agree with the decision of the metropolitan governor?" Chu Liang asked with some concern.

"The emperor will definitely agree." Chu Suiliang approached his father and said in a low voice: "The child heard that the Metropolitan Governor left his wife in Daxing and became friends with Princess Nanyang and Princess Yuerong. I'm afraid that the governor of the capital has been prepared for a long time, otherwise, he will not be friendly with the two princesses, it is rumored that there are two princesses' dry shares in the Central Plains Yijin Hall, one is prosperous, one is lost, as long as the governor does not harm the interests of the court, the two princesses will definitely make a move. ”

"You respect the general so much, don't sue me, you're ready to become the governor?" Chu Liang looked at his son with some worry, but he knew that his son had a very high vision, and if he respected a person so much, it meant that it was possible to be the other party.

"Aren't Cui Yuan and Cui Xiu under the command of the Metropolitan Governor also father and son? My father and I became the Governor of the Metropolitan Together, and it will surely be a good story in the future. Chu Suiliang said with confidence.