However, now he does not even qualify for weakness. As a de facto prince, in troubled times, weakness means destruction. As if he had a huge stone tied to his arm, Li Xu raised his hand, "Ziming, you come and draft the order to close the checkpoint!" Give it to me to use when you're done! He said in a strange tone, as if it wasn't his own voice coming out of his throat.

"Guo Fang, early tomorrow morning, you will take two thousand soldiers and horses to inspect the junction of Hengshan, Zhao County and Hedong!"

Without waiting for everyone to respond, Li Xu raised his voice a little more and added the order, "Retreat and draw a thousand stones of grain from the treasury to the pass." Let the generals guarding the pass give three days' rations to each of the displaced people who have arrived at the pass, and no deduction shall be made! ”

"That might attract more people to beg for food!" Cui Qian thought about it and reminded loudly.

"We can't do nothing!" Li Xu stood up with his hands on the table, trying his best to look domineering. "That would lose the hearts and minds of the people. So be it! He commanded loudly, ignoring anyone's obstruction, "That's it for today, and the rest of the matter will be discussed tomorrow!" ”

Everyone rarely saw Li Xu's attitude so strong, so they froze for a moment and got up to leave. As a coach of one side, although Li Xu's performance today was not perfect, he had already made compromises to everyone. So, everyone didn't think there was any need to push him too hard.

When the last few footsteps disappeared in the corridor, Asahiko sat down slowly, supporting her head with her hands. He knew what he had done, and within a month, maybe thousands, maybe tens of thousands would die because of his order today. His heart was full of guilt, but there was nothing he could do.

Zhou Daniu approached quickly with a pot of tea, poured out the tea that was already cold in front of Li Xu, and replaced him with a new cup of tea. "Dashuai has actually done a lot better than others. If there is a famine here, the Hedong officials will definitely not let anyone escape to their rule! Nor will I give any alms......."

"You go and rest, too." Li Xu waved his hand to him gently. Only his closest subordinates understood his confusion. But no one could help him solve this confusion. "By the way, bring me the official documents that I haven't finished today, and I'll go through them myself in a while!"

Zhou Daniu took the official document, then turned around and left. With the sunlight slanting in from the window, Li Xu slowly looked through it alone. There are hundreds of wastes waiting to be rebuilt, so the affairs are quite complicated. But the biggest problem is also a money word. Officials need to be paid, soldiers need to be paid, city walls and defenses need to be improved, ditches and rivers need to be repaired, and all kinds of money need to be invested.

"I don't know how others have solved it?" Asahiko rubbed the corners of her forehead and thought distressedly, "Will they also feel confused and panicked?" ”

The answer seems to be no. In Youzhou under Luo Yi's rule, the tax rate and talent were almost double that of Boling, and there were constantly bankrupt people fleeing to Shanggu, and even to Fox Lake, where snakes and insects were rampant and fierce beasts were rampant. After the Li family in Hedong raised troops, in order to ensure the supply of the army, they also scraped the place clean. For these strong men, the people can only flee and are powerless to resist.

Dou Jiande's governance style was relatively soft, the taxes he levied were not high, and the land endowment was also set according to the six counties. But Dou Jiande continued to expand his power, and every time he conquered a county seat, he exterminated some of the rich families inside. Coupled with Dou Jiajun's lack of attention to equipment and defense facilities, the life of the leaders under his command may be far easier than that of the officials on Boling's side.

Just thinking about Dou Jiande's way of governance, Xu Zi casually copied another official document from Zhao County. The content made him cry and laugh. In fact, a local official who served as a county magistrate under Dou Jiande wrote a letter to the officials of Zhao County, who was close to his rule, to ask for advice on the experience of Tuntian and raising the people, and hoped to cross the border to discuss it in person without causing misunderstanding. The officials of Zhao County did not dare to agree, so they wrote an official document and submitted it together with the other party's letter.

"This guy surnamed Cheng is a good person!" Li Xu read the letter from the courtiers of the Dou family and thought with a smile. The leader of the letter was obviously from a martial artist, and the regular script was tense, but the meaning expressed in the letter was very sincere. This person believed that since he had changed careers and became a magistrate, he had the responsibility to be a magistrate. If you fail to settle the people under your rule, you will not only betray the trust of your lord, but also drag down your neighboring allies.

Compared with Li Yuanji, who forced the people to abandon their homes and businesses in order to collect military rations, the knowledge of the officials surnamed Cheng is more than a cut higher. "What if you guide the displaced people from Hedong to him, he has been in war for many years, and there should be a lot of wasteland!" Suddenly, Li Xu had a whimsical idea. He stood up, found the map on the table on the left side of the council room, and carefully examined the official title of the county order surnamed Cheng. At first glance, I was secretly taken aback. However, in the rest of the month, Dou Jiande's power has swelled nearly twice. Not only did the two counties of Pingyuan and Qinghe be included in the bag, but even Xiangguo and Wu'an, which were close to Zhao County, nearly half of the territory fell into the hands of this person.

At this rate, Dou Jiande's surface power will soon surpass himself. Even a rogue leader seems to be more successful than me as a prince. Li Xu felt a little frustrated, and at the same time a little nervous. If it goes on like this, I'm afraid Luo Yi won't go south, and Dou Jiajun will have to go north. The six counties are the land of four wars, and they really live up to their reputation! ’

A gentle pressure came from his shoulder, which quickly pulled him back from his frustration. Turning back with a smile, Xuzi looked at Shang Xuan'er's concerned eyes.

"Why are you here?" Xuzi asked in surprise. It is rare for the two of them to appear in the chamber at the same time. Even when there is an exchange between government and military affairs, it is best to do so at home so as not to confuse the brothers.

"Sister Qiao said you were a little upset!" She smiled, revealing two very nice dimples on her face.

Sister Qiao is the name of Mrs. Zhou Daniu. As the commander of the guard, Da Niu's home is next to Li Xu's mansion, so his wife naturally became a handkerchief with Qi'er. There are some things that are inconvenient for the big cow to come forward, and they are often detoured through their wives. Qi'er and Li Xu understood the doorway, and tried not to break it.

"It's not a big deal, I've already figured out some eyebrows!" Li Xu smiled and took his wife's hand and explained softly. "There has been chaos in the east of the river recently, and the people have been fleeing to Hengshan and Zhao County. The two counties can't be settled, so everyone is a little worried. But Dou Jiande's side has just laid a lot of places, and there is a shortage of people......."

"Dou Jiande will be very happy! Thank you very much! "Ying'er thought about it and reminded from her own perspective." In the troubled times in the past, when the princes of all walks of life fought each other, they would definitely do everything possible to reduce the number of people under the rule of the other party! ”

"The key is that Zhuo County does not dare to resettle a large number of displaced people. Otherwise, as soon as the Turks come, they will be displaced again. And our summer harvest this year was interrupted by Luo Yi, and we don't have much surplus! Li Xu patted Qi'er's hand and responded in a low voice.

After calming down, he could understand what Ying'er meant for the first time. Population means the source of troops and taxes, and it is indeed a very short-sighted act to drive away the people who have come from afar in the name of the prosperity of Muliu County. However, the reason why Cui Qian and Zhao Ziming insisted on Li Xu to keep the displaced people out of the wall was because they were limited to the strength of the six counties themselves, rather than seeing the long-term benefits.

"Let's squeeze some food out of our own homes, and let the big families in each county donate a little. With you, the chief manager, taking the lead, others dare not donate! The hand that Qi'er placed on Li Xu's shoulder was slightly strained. She understands the rules of those wealthy families better than Li Xu. Those people don't care if the weak live or die, but they don't dare to disobey the orders of a strong man. At least until more powerful people appear in Hebei, they don't dare.

"It's not fair to them to do that!" Li Xu's eyes lit up quickly, and then they became dim again. He didn't want to erect more enemies, especially when surrounded by strong enemies, and the damage from within was often more harmful than an attack from the outside.

"Lang Jun can exchange with them!" Qian'er pinched Li Xu's shoulders and proposed.

"What do I exchange for them?" Xuzi raised her head and asked in surprise.

"You are now the head of the six counties, and you can make them official!" Qi'er replied with a smile, "Many casual jobs don't need to come out to do things, and they don't need to pay money, but they can greatly satisfy people's vanity!" ”

"Isn't that all over the place becoming officials?" Li Xu didn't expect that there would be such a way to collect money, and his eyes were bigger than eggs.

"They have become officials everywhere, and they are better than them doing things for others?" She pursed her lips and snickered. Compared with the father who proclaimed himself a general as soon as he joined the army, and named his two elder brothers as county dukes, and worshiped Wenwu as a general and county guard at every turn, her husband really didn't know how to be a prince. "Back then, His Majesty lost the support of the soldiers because of his stinginess to give people official titles. The lessons of the past are right under your nose, so why should you repeat them? ”

"That way, money and food will not be a problem!" Li Xu was so happy that he pulled Ying'er over and hugged her tightly in his arms.

"I will give the order tonight to let all the people who have fled in." Holding the warm fragrant nephrite, he felt filled inside. Why bother to transfer the dingkou sent to Dou Jiande? The friendship between the two sides is far from unbreakable!

"Lang Jun can arrange them on both sides of the Sanggan River and form a village in the way of a military camp!" She quickly looked around, noticed that there were no outsiders, and then sat down in her husband's arms with a smile.

"Yes, I'll send some weapons over and let them defend themselves." After solving a big problem, Xuzi's mind became more and more flexible, "It's better to rely on others than on yourself." The Turks are nothing more than herdsmen, and there is nothing to fear. If you have a knife in your hand and don't know how to resist, no one can save them! ”

"Hmm!" She nodded, her neck curved into a graceful arc.

That arc attracted all of Xuzi's attention. He bowed his head gently, pressed his forehead against his wife's neck, and soaked in tenderness and warmth from it.

When the wind and rain come, two wild geese fly with wings, and it is always easier to break through the sky than to be alone.

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