Qiu Yizhi is a person who comes and goes freely in the Youyan Palace, and the palace guards are all proficient, and Liu Qingzi will not be an exception.

It's just that Liu Qing has always been on an errand in the army, and he is not very familiar with the changes in officialdom, and it is not until today that he knows that the son of the moth, who is very valued by the emperor, is actually wearing a seven-grade official uniform and appeared in the lobby of the Jiangnan Provincial Mansion, and he was immediately so shocked that he almost knelt down.

Seeing this, Qiu Yizhi hurriedly stepped forward and said in Liu Qing's ear in a voice so small that only the two of them could hear: "Don't bow down, don't tell my identity, it's no good." ”

Liu Qing is worthy of being an officer from Lao Youyan, after listening to these simple words, he stopped before he could think about it, his knees did not continue to bend, he arched his hand and said: "It turned out that Lord Qiu was here, and he lost his welcome, and he lost his welcome." The tone is still very polite.

Qian Feng, who was sitting in the hall, was a little strange when he heard it. The Liu Qing in front of him boasted that he was a person next to the emperor, and Ping Suli was very arrogant about himself, and he didn't know what medicine he took today, but he actually respected a seven-grade sesame official.

Qian Feng didn't want to think about it, he just wanted to push out the problem in front of him quickly, so he said to Liu Qing: "General Qian, it is this Lord Qiu, and the two generals behind him, who want to lead his soldiers into the city. Qian Jiedu also agreed to the matter of prohibiting the soldiers from outside the city from entering the city, I don't know what the general's plan is? ”

When Liu Qing heard this, he secretly scolded the "old fox", scratching his ears and cheeks, and didn't know how to speak for a while.

But he heard Qiu Yizhi beside him say: "Liu Jiedu, I heard that you also fought with the emperor, you should know that the morale of the troops is fighting, and like this, the reinforcements who have come to help the war are blocked outside the city, how do you ask us to boost the morale of the soldiers?" ”

With Qiu Yizhi's entry into the mansion, the two Zhonglang generals, seeing that he was a seven-rank petty official, actually dared to scold a third-grade general like this, and they all sweated for him, lest Liu Qing start a fire, and he directly cut Qiu Yizhi with a knife.

Unexpectedly, Liu Qing's face was full of shame: "This ...... This one...... Can I ask Aki-sama to borrow a step? I have a few words to say to adults. ”

Qiu Yizhi replied with a calm face: "What we are discussing is above board, what can't be said in this hall?" If you have something to say, speak it now. ”

Liu Qing listened, nodded and said, "Then the general will say it." The last general will first ask Lord Qiu, according to our dynasty's custom, how much can the soldiers be paid? ”

"Originally, it was one dollar and five cents of silver per person per month, but later after the emperor ascended the throne, he opened up the source and reduced expenditure, and added it to two dollars of silver, what's wrong?" Qiu Yizhi said.

Liu Qing sighed and said, "These two coins of silver...... Isn't it enough! ”

"Why isn't it enough? The food, clothes, and houses that the soldiers ate were all provided by the imperial court, and two dollars of silver per month were enough! ”

"Alas!" Liu Qing sighed again, "Of course, this is true in Guangyang, but this Jinling is the land of gold powder in the Six Dynasties, and the soldiers must have an expense after they are well fed and clothed, right?" Two dollars of silver, which is enough to drink a bowl of tea every day! What's more, these soldiers still have families to support, and the heads of the family, young and old, are counting on a few mouths......"

Qiu Yizhi listened to Liu Qing's words, and was about to scold him for not leading the troops well, and turned his head in the eyes of copper coins all day long, but suddenly remembered that when he recruited troops, he offered two taels of silver, in order to let his subordinates in the countryside be enough to support their families with military salaries, and they would no longer have to worry about the future.

So Qiu Yizhi said: "You are also a person who loves soldiers......

Liu Qing replied: "The last general is from the old Youyan Dao, and he can't do such immoral things as eating empty salaries and drinking soldiers' blood. Before the last general went to his post, he heard the emperor say that the Jiangnan Jiedu army was not strong, and only after he took office did he know that the emperor was shengming, and what he said was not bad. Therefore, for the time being, the veterans will be left untouched, and the new recruits will be replenished first to ensure that the number of soldiers is full, and then ......"

Qiu Yizhi heard him talk endlessly about not playing, and hurriedly interrupted: "Who wants to listen to your performance?" It's good that you are in Jiangnan to organize the army, but what does this matter have to do with whether or not to let outside reinforcements enter the city? ”

Liu Qing listened to Qiuyi's words, and hesitated for a long time before he replied: "Didn't the last general think about the hardships of the brothers, fortunately, there were many wealthy businessmen and giants in Jinling City, so he connected several big chambers of commerce and asked them to pay the brothers to increase their salaries, to five dollars per person per month, so that the brothers could barely have enough food and clothing......

Qiu Yizhi is a smart person, and when he heard this, he already guessed eight or nine: "You mean to say that the big businessmen in Jinling City don't want reinforcements to enter the city?" ”

Liu Qing seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and said, "Your Excellency is right. As the saying goes, 'the hands of taking people are short, and the mouth of eating people is short', most of the military salaries in my hands are paid by big businessmen, so I can't refute their face, right? If outsiders are forced to enter the city, maybe the chamber of commerce will cut off the next month's salary, and my brothers will mutiniate if they don't do it well. ”

That's a real problem.

Qiu Yizhi and Lin Shuhan, who was beside him, discussed a lot of effort in a low voice, but still felt that he couldn't just open the door and let people into the city just by being angry, thus damaging the face of the rich people in the city, making Liu Qing sad and difficult to say in the future.

So Qiu Yizhi sat behind a few cases and was silent for a long time, Qian Feng said: "Lord Assassin Shi, I just listened to Liu Jiedu's words, and I think that the crux of this matter is here in the major chambers of commerce in Jinling City. Qian Thorn Shi is the parent official here, why don't you let Lord Thorn Shi come forward to invite these businessmen, and then explain to them below? ”

Qian Feng just wanted to get rid of Qiu Yizhi's hot potato quickly, but he didn't expect him to come up with such a moth. He wanted to flatly refuse in his heart, but only then did he see that Liu Qing, who was quite arrogant and domineering on weekdays, was respectful to Qiu Yizhi, and remembered the rumors in the capital, and he couldn't understand the origin of this subordinate small county order.

In desperation, Qian Feng had no choice but to let go and said: "That's fine, but if you have a word first, the official only invites, and if you have anything to say, it will naturally be said by a few people." ”

Qiu Yizhi agreed, and asked for pen, ink, paper, and inkstone, which was written by Lin Shuhan, and Liu Qing made Liu Qing list the list of big businessmen in Jinling City, and after a while, nearly 20 invitations were drafted.

Because Qian Feng had already agreed to invite the businessman to discuss the matter by himself, Qiu Yizhi was not polite, and asked for the Jiangnan Provincial Customs Defense Seal, stamped the ink-drenched invitation, and asked Liu Qing to immediately send someone out to deliver the letter.

Those merchants saw that it was an invitation sent by the envoy of Jiedu, and the seal of the history of the Dao Thorn was stamped on it, so they dared not to come to the appointment, so they hurriedly packed up their clothes, and rode horses and sedan chairs, and all came to the yamen of the provincial government.

According to the original rules, merchants were invited to the yamen to discuss matters, and even if they did not set up a feast, they would always make a few bowls of good tea to entertain them. But Qian Feng was not very supportive of Qiu Yizhi's affairs, not to mention any wine, food, rice and tea, and even a few chairs were not prepared.

Many of the merchants arrived a little late, so they had to stand in groups on the grounds outside the lobby, like a group of trembling prisoners waiting for trial. Although these people are lowly businessmen, they are also one of the few wealthy merchants in Jinling City, and when they encounter such a situation, they have long been angry, and they are only hindered by the majesty of the Taoist Yamen, so they have not had a seizure.

Qiu Yizhi was born in Jiangnan Province and couldn't recognize so many people, so he had to turn his head and ask Liu Qingdao: "General Liu, are all the people almost here?" ”

Liu Qing probed and counted outside the door, and said, "Almost, it's about two or three people, right?" ”

"Can you count them?" Qiu Yizhi asked confirmatively.

Liu Qing patted his chest: "That's natural, the last general is also from leading the army to fight, hundreds of people, you can count them with a sweep of your eyes." I can't count these dozen people at the moment? ”

"Good! The sergeants outside are still starving, and we can't wait for these sprinters to sprint their legs, so go and invite these men outside to come in and talk." ”

After speaking, Qiu Yizhi turned his head and waved to Qian Feng, who was sitting upright, and said, "My lord, all the guests are here, let's call them in, right?" ”

Qian Feng saw that Qiu Yizhi's little seven-rank county order, and actually dared to point fingers above the lobby of the Sanpin Assassin Shi Yamen, he was already holding back the fire in his belly, and said angrily: "Didn't the adults invite them in?" And ask me what I have done? ”

Qiu Yizhi then remembered that he was only concerned about getting things done, and he was inevitably a little noisy, putting himself in his shoes and comparing his heart to his heart, no wonder Qian Feng was unhappy. However, now tens of thousands of armies are gathered outside the city in an orderly manner, and if the Japanese attack comes, it will be a catastrophe - in such an emergency, Qiu Yizhi will not care about this humble courtesy.

So Qiu Yizhi didn't hear the sarcasm in Qian Feng's tone, and stepped forward to look at the Jinling merchants who had entered the lobby one after another, and said: "Ladies and gentlemen, please take a look here, it is Qiu Yizhi of Shanyin County." ”

The merchants in the hall were attracted by Qiu Yizhi's voice that was neither humble nor arrogant, and they all turned their heads, and their eyes looked at this small seven-rank county official who was not tall.

But he heard Qiu Yizhi say: "Ladies and gentlemen, Lord Shi Qian invited everyone to come over today, because there is an important matter to discuss with you, because the time is urgent, so even the wine and food have not been prepared, which is really a loss of etiquette." In the future, the widows outside the city will retreat, and the lower officials will calmly make amends. ”

Qiu Yizhi's trick is called "Speak in advance", first say the words, so that the original belly of the rich businessman in the hall was extinguished by these words, and a smile appeared on his face.

Qiu Yizhi continued: "You are all well-informed people, and everyone knows about the attack on my Jinling by the Japanese invaders. The Japanese are ferocious and greedy, and they are indeed not to be underestimated, and my Jinling soldiers and civilians have become frightened birds, if they continue for a long time, if nothing else, your business will also be greatly affected. ”

When Qiu Yizhi said this, a few businessmen who thought they were smart answered loudly: "Is it that the adults want us to raise some military salaries?" ”

"It's easy to say, we are also big Han people, we don't know how to fight, and we should give some money."

"Although the business has been lighter these days, I still have some savings, and it's nothing to take some money out to boost the morale of adults."

The businessmen were saying a word to you and me, but Liu Qing said in Qiu Yizhi's ear: "When you encounter such a thing, it is common for businessmen to raise some donations. The last general hasn't asked them for money, righteous...... It's okay for adults to ask them for some silver taels. ”

Qiu Yizhi nodded, but said in his mouth: "You have the heart of serving the country with your fists, and the lower officials are also very moved. However, after the emperor ascended to the pole, he increased the salary of the soldiers by 50%, and you also donated a lot on weekdays, and the military salary was enough. Even after the war in the future, there may be some shortages in the money and food for rewarding meritorious generals, so I would like to ask you to be generous. ”

When the businessmen heard what Qiu Yi said, they didn't mean to pay the military salary, and they were even happier in their hearts, but they listened to Qiu Yi's words, who were wearing a seven-grade petty official robe but talking eloquently in the main hall of the Taoist Yamen, and said: "However, there is an urgent matter, and I want to inform you of it. ”