Chu He is not the only one who fights the idea of food in the hands of the villagers.

In these remote mountain and wild places, all taxes are simply converted into grain or silver.

As far as Datong County is concerned, no matter how low the income of the villagers is, the decrease in the output of the fields will not affect the tax figures they recruit, and now they are watching the villagers collect the grain and happily transport it to Changding Township, and the officials of Datong County cannot sit still.

This grain should have been theirs.

There are a lot of people in Datong County, and there are 100,000 people living in Datong County alone, and there are also many mountain people living on the edge of the city.

Most of the villagers in these counties are not engaged in farming, and they have to buy grain from grain merchants.

Nowadays, there are 1230,000 people in Datong County, and many villagers in the vicinity have taken refuge in the city, accounting for almost half of the population of Datong County, and the daily consumption of rice and grain is a huge number.

The grain merchants in the city ran all over the place, and even if the people had money, they had no place to buy grain.

Because of the fear of the influx of displaced people into the county, Datong County implemented the strategy of locking the city, even if the Datong County Order was no longer willing to waste rice and grain, it had to set up a more soup kitchen, barely hanging the lives of the villagers.

If Datong County does not give porridge, the hungry and crazy city residents will break the granary in the county and loot all the rice and grain without waiting for the displaced people or the Yellow Turban Army to kill.

Moreover, in case there are really displaced people or rebels attacking the city, the officials of Datong County will have to rely on the city's citizens to help defend the city, and starving them to death will do Datong County more harm than good.

There are more Dingkou gathered in Datong County than in Changding Township, however, the county is not like Chuhe River to give enough rice, grain, meat, Qianyuanwei and so on to eat, and the soup soup is also less rice and more water, and on the whole, the consumption is less than that of Changding Township.

The original official warehouse in Datong County had some grain in stock, plus 50,000 stone rice grain from the Chu River, and rice grain requisitioned from wealthy households, these 1230,000 people supported most of the year.

In any case, now in Datong County, rice and grain have bottomed out.

Liu Yan, the commander of Datong County, looked at everyone present with some disappointment.

The meeting hall of the county government, the three major directors of the Datong government, many of them are basically there, Hu Tong, the position of the third main book, has long been replaced by Chen Hua, who is from outside, and the second person in Datong County, the county Cheng Su Ke, also does not dare to leave the county seat and flee to other places.

Present at the meeting were seven or eight representatives of the gentry and large households of Datong County, in addition to important officials of the Datong County government.

Liu Yan summoned them to the meeting, naturally for the sake of food.

"Colleagues, this official has summoned you here in the hope that you can think of a way to solve the current predicament. ”

Liu Yan is already sixty years old, his appearance is majestic, he is not smiling, among the county officials, he is considered to be a relatively old level, his voice is low, but it contains considerable strength.

"I think you all already know that the rice and grain in our Datong County have been exhausted, if you can't think of a way, within a month, more than 100,000 soldiers and civilians will have no rice to cook. ”

County Cheng Su Ke also nodded, and looked towards a few gentry and big families: "Lord Liu is right, now that the remnants of the Yellow Turban are in turmoil, completely separating Datong County from the empire, and every time the Southern Barbarians rebel, I am afraid that it will be difficult for the imperial court to give us much help in a moment." ”

"This official and Lord Liu, I hope that our Datong County can work together to tide over this difficulty. ”

Seeing that the eyes of several big families shrank, his voice sank slightly: "Brother Chang, Brother Helian, Brother Wu, and the gentry of Datong County, what our county means is that I hope you can borrow some rice and grain for the time being." ”

"When the tax comes up this year, the county will definitely pay it back, and Lord Liu and the official will also write to the court to commend your contributions. ”

When several gentry and big families heard Su Ke say this, their faces became ugly, and their eyes looked towards Chang Gao.

Chang Gao is a member of the Chang family in Tianshui County, and there are even clansmen who serve in the imperial court, and he is the head of the gentry and wealthy families in Datong County.

Most of the people in the Chang family have long left Datong County, and only Chang Gao, the third master, has left.

The Chang family has a lot of businesses in Datong County, and most of them are field shops that are difficult to realize immediately, and it is difficult to give up.

At that time, I thought that even if the Yellow Turban Army made a rebellion, it was unlikely that it would enter Datong County, a dead end, and Chang Gao stayed, where did he expect that Nanban would also follow the anti-Shu, and suddenly Datong County became an enclave, and he couldn't go if he wanted to.

Seeing that everyone's eyes were focused on him, Chang Gao smiled bitterly, got up and said, "Lord Liu, Lord Su, Lord Chen, it's not that we don't want to donate to your adults. ”

His voice paused: "We have donated tens of thousands of stones before, and with the blockade of the county seat, the grain in the fields outside cannot be collected, and there is really not much rice grain." ”

"Unless you lift the lockdown ban, we will send people out to see the situation in the fields, and when the rice and grain are harvested, we will definitely not be stingy with the food in our hands. ”

Chang Gao began, and the other gentry also complained, either that there was no food stored at home, or that they had to support the family and slaves, etc., and the consumption was very great, anyway, they were unwilling to take out food.

Liu Yan's face was even more gloomy as water, his eyes suddenly became cold, his sleeves flicked, and he said lightly: "Since you don't want to borrow grain, this official will not force you." ”

"However, the official could not watch the people starve to death, so he could only send a large army out to collect taxes. If the people in the city have no food and cause chaos, don't blame the official for not sending troops to quell the rebellious people. ”

Su Ke also sighed and said: "Collecting taxes is a big deal, there are many homeless people outside, and the remnants of the Yellow Turban often appear, so it is a safe policy to send enough generals." ”

"We only have five or six thousand soldiers and horses left in Datong County, and there is still not enough to defend the city, and once the soldiers go out to collect grain taxes, I am afraid that there will be a disaster during this period! Moreover, if the soldiers and generals are not enough to eat, they will not have much energy to maintain the order of the county order. ”

After speaking, Su Ke looked at Chang Gao indifferently, playing with a pair of jade balls in his hand, and said no more.

Chang Gao and others are all in the same place, Liu Yan and Su Ke have said this, if they really don't pull out a dime, even if the people of the city will not make trouble, I am afraid that the soldiers in the city will also pretend to be homeless, copy their family funds, and even kill people.

In this extraordinary period, even if many gentry have help in the imperial court, they are beyond their reach, and when the time comes, it is the homeless people who make trouble and kill people, and no one can blame Liu Yan and Su Ke.

Chang Gao pondered for a long time, and finally nodded.

Before they came, they had actually discussed it secretly, and they knew that they would not be able to pass this level without taking out rice and grain.

"In this way, we can get together again, and take out a maximum of 30,000 stone rice grains, and there is really no way to do more. In addition, we also hope that your Excellency will let our people leave the county seat and urge the tenants to collect the rice and grain in the fields. ”

Liu Yan knew very well what these gentry had in mind.

In fact, these big gentry families have at least tens of thousands of stone rice grains stored in their homes, and they are only representatives of the gentry, and the gentry and landlord class in the entire Datong County have really swept them all away, and it is absolutely not a problem to get 500,000 stone rice grains.

For the gentry class, even if the Yellow Turban Army captures Datong County, it will not attack them easily, at most it will take a part of the gentry to establish their authority, after all, the Yellow Turban Army still needs the help of the gentry class if they want to master the land they have captured.

Liu Yan and Su Ke didn't dare to force Chang Gao to be too much.

In the hands of these gentry, there are basically a large number of private soldiers, that is, among the military generals of Datong County, most of them have an intricate relationship with these gentry, and if they really want to use military generals to deal with the gentry, they may not be able to move.

Although the 30,000 stone rice grain is a little far from Liu Yan and Su Ke's expectations, there is no way to think about it, at least 30,000 stone rice grain can still last for two months.

Liu Yan's face softened, and he said slowly: "This official first thanks you for your generosity on behalf of the people of Datong County. ”

"It is impossible to lift the ban on the city, everyone knows the current situation, the remnants of the Yellow Turban, I am afraid that we will not keep the scourge of Datong County. Once we let our guard down and open the city gates, the Yellow Turban Army will definitely blend into the city and break Datong County inside and outside. ”

"However, the official can let your men leave the county with the warrant. Remember to keep this warrant, if you lose it, don't blame the official for being unsympathetic when you enter the city. ”

Chang Gao and others immediately begged for a warrant, and they did not stay in the county office for long, and left one after another.

Chen Hua, the main book, is actually just Liu Yan's assistant to the county order, and he has been quietly watching everyone perform on the side, but he doesn't say a word.

In fact, he is usually the same, rarely expressing his opinions.

As the chief bookkeeper who was promoted to Datong County from other places, Chen Hua did not have any background identity, otherwise he would not have served in such a remote mountain place.

As the so-called mountain is high and the emperor is far away, Liu Yan has served as the county magistrate in Datong County for many years, and he has already run the county to the point of being extremely strong.

There is a strong county order, which is originally just the main book of the assistant of the county order, and it is impossible to make any sound, so he can only follow Liu Yan's orders.

Speaking of which, Chen Hua is also unlucky.

He has been practicing Wendao for many years, and finally promoted to the Tibetan Essence Realm, usually has a good name, originally thought that he could be appointed as an official and a half position in Yongchang County, how do you know how to offend the powerful, although he passed the recommendation of Zhongzheng, but was transferred to Datong, a place where birds don't.

What's even more unfortunate is that it didn't take long for the Yellow Turban Army to rebel, and I don't know when the Yellow Turban Army came to kill.

He, a Tibetan Confucian student, was under the Yellow Turban army, and he had no way to live, and he couldn't even escape, otherwise even if he escaped, the court would behead him for the crime of abandoning the city and abandoning the land.

Waiting for the gentry to leave, Su Ke frowned slightly: "Lord Liu, 30,000 meters of grain is also a drop in the bucket, if there is no food, if we don't wait for the remnants of the Yellow Turban to come, we will be in chaos ourselves." ”

"We have to find a way to collect the grain tax in the second half of the year. ”

Li Yan sighed: "In the past, it was the township that was responsible for collecting grain taxes. Even in normal times, there are many things to resist taxes, but now the remnants of the Yellow Turbans are in turmoil, and the displaced people are pouring into Datong, and the villagers have no intention of farming, and the output is less, if they pay the grain tax, there is not much left, and they are not willing to pay taxes. ”

"All townships and localities have spontaneously formed escort teams, and I am afraid that it will not be possible to collect grain taxes by relying on the township alone. ”

Deng Qing, who was engaged in the county military officer, suddenly said: "Lord of the county order, the lower officials don't see it as good as this, send two thousand soldiers to serve on a mission to assist the township in collecting grain taxes, whoever dares to resist the tax will be killed." As long as you kill a few thorns, others will definitely not dare to resist taxes!"

Liu Yan glanced at Deng Qing coldly: "Two thousand soldiers, two thousand generals alone, can you tax the grain?"

"The Qianyuanwei of Changding Township will not be afraid of our two thousand soldiers! Especially now in Qinghe Village, they have even spread the news that they will buy rice grain for three taels and one stone, and trick the villagers into transporting rice and grain to Changding Township!"

The crowd fell silent.

They know the affairs of Changding Township, when the county ordered 500 elite soldiers and horses, they pretended to be bandits to rob the grain team of Qinghe Village, and the result surprised everyone, the 500 elites of Datong County were not the opponent of the grain team of 100 people!

After that, Datong County secretly investigated the situation in Qinghe Village, and was immediately surprised, only to know that Qinghe Village actually had thousands of hidden guards.

Moreover, the two gangs of bandits that appeared in Changding Township were more than 1,000 people, and they clearly had an inexplicable relationship with Qinghe Village!

One hundred Qianyuan guards killed Datong and five hundred elites lost their armor and suffered heavy casualties, but what about a thousand Qianyuan guards? Or a thousand Qianyuan guards plus two or three thousand bandits?

Deng Qing, the official in charge of military affairs in the county, said with a gloomy face: "Qinghe Village is collecting rice and grain at this time, I am afraid that it has bad intentions...... If it is not solved in time, it will definitely be a yellow turban remnant!"

Liu Yan waved his hand: "In fact, at this time, Qinghe Village trained people to accumulate rice and grain, which was just for self-preservation, and Deng Zhi did not need to be alarmist. If there is really rebellion, he will not send 50,000 stone of rice grain. ”

The soldiers under Deng Qing's command were defeated by Qianyuanwei, but they had a big grudge against Qinghe Village, their eyes rolled, and they said: "Lord County Commander, if you want to know if Qinghe Village has any objections, it is actually simple. ”

"Isn't Chu Wen the head of Changding Township? As long as the county magistrate gives an order and asks him to collect the taxes of Changding Township on his behalf. ”

"As long as Changding Township does not rebel and pays the taxes, we can issue a military service order and send a part of the Qianyuan Guard into the county seat to strengthen the strength of the county order. ”

Chen Hua, the main bookkeeper, finally spoke: "Even if Changding Township pays the tax, it doesn't mean that it has no objections. ”

"Dare to ask Deng Zheng, if Qianyuanwei is recruited to the county seat, in case Changding Township has a different heart, under the cooperation of the inside and the outside, the soldiers and horses of our county town may be able to withstand it?"

Deng Qing smiled coldly: "Qianyuanwei is the people of our Datong County, and he is willing to be driven by the Chuhe children of Qinghe Village, which is nothing more than interests. If the county commander gives them a higher salary, the subordinate promises to let them join us. ”

"As long as the news comes back, there will definitely be more Qianyuanwei to the county seat, and under the influence of one another, there is no need to worry about a Qinghe Village. ”

Chen Hua asked again: "Qianyuanwei's salary is extremely high, two or three times higher than the private soldiers of other big scholars, and now it is said that another 2,000 people have been recruited, even if they are thrown into our Datong County, where will we get the money, silver, rice and grain to support them?

Deng Qing said with a smile: "If Qianyuanwei arrives in Datong County, what will Changding Township do with so much rice, grain, money and silver?"

"Since Qianyuanwei is sharper than our Datong County generals, it is normal to get a higher military salary, and when the imperial court quells the rebellion, it will be necessary to restore normal military salaries. ”

Chen Hua took a slight breath of cold air, this Deng Qing is really ruthless, not only thinking about annexing Qianyuanwei, but also wanting to take the money, silver, rice and grain from Qinghe Village.

Deng Qing glanced at everyone and found that Liu Yan and Su Ke didn't say anything, and then said: "I heard that Zhao Muqiu's mother's family in Qinghe Village opened a wine shop in our Datong County. ”

"Now that there is no grain to make wine, the wine shop is closed, and life is not easy, in order to show our sincerity, the lower officials suggest that they can be taken to the county government to be placed and cared for!"