Emperor Sui Yang

It can be said that Shandong is worse. Since February this year, there has not been a single rain. As the saying goes, spring rain is as expensive as oil. This season is a critical period for wheat jointing and booting, and the requirement for water is very high.

There has been no rain for several months, and the wheat is already dying of drought.

On the coast of Shandong, as well as in the counties of Qi, Pingyuan, Bohai, Qinghe, Wuyang, Beihai, Jibei, and Dongping in the lower reaches of the Yellow River, wheat is the main food crop.

Last year there was a flood, and this year there was a drought. The gods are hard to save.

Zhang Xutuo is going crazy. The counties in Shandong and Hebei that are close to the Yellow River are having problems. Yangxin County, the capital of Bohai County, has been taken over by Sun Xuanya, the leader of the bandits. Qi County, his headquarters, Bo Mengrang, the master, took five hundred mobs and occupied Linyi County.

In desperation, Zhang Xutuo returned to the army urgently and attacked Linyi. The enemy was defeated in the battle on the outskirts of the city.

"Catch the strong men, my father deposed the six counties of Shandong Province to arrest the ambassadors, but now there are rebels everywhere, and the heads of the six counties are hard to support, and our military salary is not much. If this continues, Qi County will not be able to get out. "Zhang Yuanbei persuaded.

Zhang Xutuo and a group of generals were discussing matters in the hall, and everyone was in a bad mood.

Around Qi County, there have been five rebels who have become popular. Although Zhang Xutuo has sent orders to each county to recruit 2000 guards to join forces with him, the progress is not smooth.

The reason is that they recruited soldiers through Zhang Xutuo's recruitment order, but they were reluctant to send them to Zhang Xutuo, because once the soldiers left, their own safety would be lost.

However, they had to control Zhang Xutuo's demand for military pay, and military pay was Zhang Xutuo's only means of controlling the six counties besides the title of dethroning the ambassador.

Zhang Xutuo understood this truth a long time ago, so he didn't force it. As long as you have soldiers everywhere, the momentum of the rebels can be suppressed. Don't always let me fight in the front and set my ass on fire.

"It's not yet time to catch the strong men," Zhang Xutuo shook his head and said, "Your Majesty has allowed me to recruit soldiers in Shandong, but I still have to post recruitment notices in all counties, counties and villages, and the military salary will be raised. The monthly salary is [-] yuan. Three stones for grain and five bolts of cloth."

Zhang Yuanbei smiled wryly: "With such a high military salary, our current inventory won't last long."

Zhang Xutuo said: "If you don't increase the military salary, these strong men will become rebels. With the ups and downs, it will be even more difficult for me in the future. Sell the brocade rewarded by His Majesty quickly to raise military supplies."

"Half of it has been sold, and the rest is not easy to sell," Zhang Yuanbei said: "At this moment, there are not many brocades that are willing to spend money on grain. We defeated Meng Rang in Linyi and took it back. Those supplies, those robbed families, asked us for it."

"Fuck!" General Xiong Bao said, "We took it back with our lives, why should we give it to them?"

Zhang Xutuo raised his eyebrows, and said: "at this moment, people's hearts are the most important thing. Wang Thief and others cheated people's hearts, so they were able to sit big. If I don't pay back, there will be chaos in Linyi, and some food will be withheld. , and return the rest to them.”

Zhang Yuanbei shook his head helplessly.

On the contrary, a young general in the hall said with a respectful face: "The envoy understands righteousness, and the general admires it. If I seize the people's wealth looted by the thieves, it will be a disgraceful act. In the current situation, comforting the people's livelihood is the most urgent task." .”

Zhang Xutuo couldn't help laughing and said: "I thought you were a rough person, but I didn't expect you to be meticulous. You came in time for the crisis in Linyi this time. The chaos in Shandong is a disease, but for the people in our army, It is also an opportunity, as long as you follow me well, you will be indispensable to the credit in the future."

Cheng Yaojin laughed: "The last general who joins the envoy is just trying to secure his wife and son."

"Then you think too much," Zhang Xutuo couldn't help laughing and said, "I haven't even reached that point, but it's good for you to have this ambition."

In Dong'e County, there were no more troubles. Cheng Yaojin saw that there was no chance of meritorious service. He heard that Zhang Taishou of Qi County was exercising the right to recruit soldiers in Shandong, so he brought 300 people to join him.

Then, Zhang Xutuo ordered the people to say: "Send a message to the chiefs of the counties and counties that Liaodong City has been taken, and my master of the Great Sui Dynasty will return to his master at the latest in August. Let them appease the local area and spread this good news to the world." All townships, think of it as a deterrent."

This method is still quite effective. Some people who did not follow the rebellion will hesitate when they hear the news, and those who have already rebelled will be afraid.

A slogan over there can attract tens of thousands of people, but Zhang Xutuo's side can't get so many people with money and salary.

The imperial court in Shandong has already lost the hearts of the people, and it will not be easy to restore them.

Of course, Yang Ming couldn't do nothing.

Liu Su, the former servant of the Ministry of Industry, is now sent to Southwest Xingtai by him to serve as Minister of the Ministry of Industry and Technology, and cooperates with Gao Shilian of Honglu Temple to collect money in the name of building a temple.

Money can always be obtained, but it cannot withstand the soaring price of food. The previous ten dollars can only be spent as three dollars now.

The key is to get food.

"Bashu has the convenience of water conservancy, fertile fields and thousands of miles, and there is no shortage of food, but it is all in the hands of local wealthy families. Right now, the imperial court is in urgent need of food. They just find a reason to kill a few families and seize their properties to provide for Shandong," Li Mi said. Ruthless man, that's what he said.

Yang Ming couldn't help laughing and said, "This is a bad strategy, does Xuan Sui have a better strategy?"

Don't you always like to figure out a three-way strategy when you encounter problems?Let's hear it all.

Li Mi said: "Weaving accusations for crimes is the best policy, cleverly setting up names is the middle policy, and paying taxes in advance is the worst policy."

Do you really have three strategies?Yang Ming said: "Why do I feel that paying taxes in advance for the coming year is better than accusations of weaving?"

Li Mi laughed and said: "This is an extraordinary period. The court is in a very urgent situation. The prepayment of taxes will be delayed and inconvenient. The only way to solve the problem is to use thunderous means to steal money from the family. In fact, it is a crime of weaving. I'm afraid it's too late."

The powerful clans in the Central Plains have absolutely no control over Bashu. If this method is applied to the powerful clans in the Central Plains, it will not work. The various families are too deeply involved. There is me in you, and you in me. If you move one, you will be involved.

So in the past, when targeting an aristocratic family, you can only touch a certain small house of a certain branch of the family, and you cannot touch the family of the other family.

And even if he moved, it was a secret plan, and he would not say it blatantly on the stage.

Yuan Wendu shook his head and said: "Those three strategies of yours will not work. The chaos in Shandong has already started a prairie fire, and the army in front of me, if all goes well, will return at the end of August, which is less than four months. It can only be tough, after these four months, you are now getting food from Bashu, let alone whether you can get it, the transportation alone will cost a lot of money, and it will take a long time, so it is not suitable."

Yang Ming said directly: "What if we can't make it through these four months? Or after four months, will the rebellion still not be resolved? When things happen, you have to think about it. Shandong is short of food right now. You can't just ignore it and let them stand on their own. Isn't that right?" What the court should do."

"It's the minister who didn't think carefully, what His Highness taught you," Yuan Wendu said hastily.

There was silence in the hall, and everyone's face was solemn.

In fact, they are not very worried about the current situation in Shandong. What they worry about is that the chaos will become more and more serious. After all, the military newspapers from Shandong have not had any good news in recent days.

"For the present plan, Your Highness might as well send a letter to Zhang Xutuo to make him act cheaply," said Chen Shuda of Jialing Temple.

Yang Ming was taken aback for a moment, frowning in thought.

This is a cheap thing to do, but it is complicated, which means that Zhang Xutuo can do everything in the local area.

He can rob rich people and even common people, and he can also set up various names to collect money. This is a huge test for the human nature of cadres. If there is a conscience, there is still room for doing things. If there is no conscience, it will be a bad thing.

In doing so, the imperial court will lose a burden. Zhang Xutuo has more power, but he has to bear his name.

"This method is feasible," Li Mi agreed, "at an extraordinary time, you should take an extraordinary action. If Shandong continues to quarrel, Hebei, Jianghuai, and the Huaihe River will all be affected. Your majesty's envoy is to delegate power to Zhang Xutuo. If your highness makes another Hello, he will be more convenient to act."

Li Gang nodded and said: "I also agree that long-term pain is worse than short-term pain, and persistent diseases need strong medicine. Zhang Xutuo is safe in doing things. I believe he will not mess around here."

Yang Ming pondered for a moment, and said: "It's better for someone to keep an eye on him. What he can do and what he can't do must be restrained. I can tolerate him robbing the rich, but he will never allow him to oppress the people again. Who would like to Go to Shandong."

"Xuanling will do my part," Fang Xuanling stood up and said, "Qi County is the hometown of the minister, and I still know about it. I am willing to go to Shandong and assist Zhang Xutuo in suppressing the rebellion."

Their family's ancestral home is actually in Qinghe County, and Qinghe County and Qi County are neighbors. His father Fang Yanqian's generation moved to Zhangqiu County in Qi County.

In fact, it means that we can no longer share the industry in our hometown and expand outward.

Fang Xuanling wanted to go because he had a little selfishness and acted cheaply. This was the greatest decentralization, which meant that Zhang Xutuo could forcefully expropriate money and food from any family. If you didn't give it, I would convict you.

But in Zhangqiu County, there are a lot of fields and properties of their family. If he goes, Zhang Xutuo will not attack their family.

In this way, Zhang Xutuo will definitely get a bad reputation in Shandong, but it doesn't matter, this is a handle that can be used to check and balance Zhang Xutuo. In the future, when the rebellion is put down, it will be good to transfer him to another place.

"Okay!" Yang Ming nodded and said, "I'll send you three hundred guards and send you to Shandong. You take my letter and transfer ten boats of grain to Xingluocang in Luoyang, take them to Shandong, and tell Zhang Xutuo that Shandong is pacified." On that day, I will give him the title of marquis."

"The minister takes orders!" Fang Xuanling said.

Then, Yang Ming looked at Liu Hongji again, and said:
"Ning Huizao, you are in charge of the arrangements. Don't live in the official post. Go to Jinyang Building. Food and drink are served. He can do whatever he wants, but he is not allowed to leave Beijing. No matter what excuse he wants to see me, he will give it to me." I block."

"Don't worry, Your Highness," Liu Hongji said with a smile, "He just said that he is dying, and I won't let him leave the capital."

Everyone laughed. (end of this chapter)