Emperor Sui Yang

Chapter 645 Lanling Xiao Mian
Although it was difficult to collect Jiangnan's taxes this year, they were still collected, but many shady methods were used.

They haven't paid taxes in five or six years, and they are not used to it if they are asked to pay taxes all of a sudden.

Don't think that ordinary people are easy to deal with. They have not read books and cannot read, so they naturally have their own principles. Their principles are passed down from generation to generation and are different from those of aristocratic families.

Therefore, there are many civilians who refuse to pay taxes, and there are a lot of troubles.

This is why Yang Guang personally sits in Jiangdu to urge the collection of taxes. Giving you tax exemption is a favor, but if you don't pay taxes, I will punish you, which is a threat.

Jiangnan's taxes last year, if all converted into money, amounted to 720 million guan, equivalent to more than one-third of the total revenue of the treasury last year.

But we have to understand that it is so much when converted into money, but the main demand right now is food, so half of these taxes will be used to purchase food in Jiangnan.

One by one, the canals were connected end to end, starting from the south of the Yangtze River and sent to Luoyang along the canal. Lai Hu'er took his personal guards to Zhuojun first. He had to meet Pei Ju as soon as possible to plan the future battle strategy.

Each of the three armies has its shortcomings. Yu Zhongwen in the west leads the proud and powerful generals from Guanzhong. The generals below are more powerful than the others and are difficult to manage. The army in the middle has no shortage of anything, but with Yang Guang, Most of the time, he can command blindly. The high-level generals on the east road are almost top-notch, but the soldiers below are a bit of a mixed bag.

All in all, it's not perfect.

The ten Ying Yang Lang generals also set out on the road one after another. Except for Sima Dekan, Wang Shichong, Liu Dewei, and Yuan Li, the remaining six are puppets. They are six generals with real power.

Wang Jingyu's deputy general was Zhang Zhenzhou, a court official.

Xiao Xuan's deputy general is Chen Leng, the right imperial guard general.

Xiao Xian's lieutenant, Tai servant Cheng Yuanyou.

Xie Wu's lieutenant is Gongsun Shangzhe, the general of Huyalang.

Cai Yuankai's deputy general, the Censor Liu Ziyi, was the uncle of Yingyang Lang General Liu Dewei.

Shen Shuyi's lieutenant was Shen Faxing, the prefect of Wuxing of the same clan.

These six lieutenants are knowledgeable and capable, but the capable have to serve the incompetent. After all, most of the time, it is not your ability that matters.

This Xiaoguo army has 20 generals and [-] deputy generals. The three are Wang Shichong, who called himself King Zheng in the history of rebels, Liang King Shen Faxing, and Xiao Xian, who proclaimed himself emperor.

As for Sima Dekan, he was directly the main participant in Yu Wenhua and regicide.

Xiao Mian stood at the bow of the boat, facing the wind. He was wearing a long, elegant Confucian robe made of cotton.

He is 32 years old this year, in his prime year. His grandfather Xiao Yan, the loyal king of Anping in the old Liang Dynasty, is the biological uncle of Queen Xiao, so Xiao Mian calls Queen Xiao aunt. He and Yang Ming are considered equals.

He is also considered a relative. Relying on family connections, he first became the magistrate of Luochuan County. This county is in Beidi County and Ningxian County, Gansu Province. However, after working for a year, this guy was rated as an excellent one by the Ministry of Officials. He was promoted to Yuhang County as the county magistrate.

He started from Yuhang, took a boat from the newly dredged Jiangnan Canal, and went all the way north. At the Xuyi Wharf at the intersection of the Yangtze River and the Huaihe River, he met his deputy general Tai Pu Cheng Yuanyou.

Taipu Temple is responsible for the royal carriages and horses, and oversees the Hualiu, Chefu, Dianmu, Cattle and Sheep Departments, etc. Yuanyou is in charge of horses. When he conquered Goguryeo, he went with him, defeated Liaodong City, and was in Tuwanxu Under the account.

The [-] Xiaoguo army was only allocated [-] horses, which was decided by Lai Huer, and Yuanyou's duty was to get the [-] horses after arriving in Luoyang, which was not easy to obtain.

Military resources are always hard to come by, and Shi Wansui suffered a lot from this.

"Dongjun Gong (Cui Junchuo) is already waiting for us in Luoyang, but the fifteen thousand horses may not be allocated to us in real terms. We will pay as much as we can, but to the outside world, we have to claim that we have received them all," on the dock, After boarding the ship, Yuanyou entered the cabin, first greeted Xiao Mian, then sat down and said.

Xiao Mian smiled: "Why do you do this? Are there not enough horses?"

Yuanyou nodded: "Your Majesty wants 20 horses, but Taipu Temple can't raise them. When we conquered Goguryeo, many people died in the battle and were disabled a lot. They are useful. There are not many left, and not all horses can be used." Forcing untrained war horses onto the battlefield will only be counterproductive. Xu Guogong cannot make up the numbers, so priority must be given to protecting the central route army, followed by the west route army. As for our east route, we can make do with what we have."

Xiao Xian smiled and said: "It is understandable that pitting cavalry against cavalry is not our advantage in the Sui Dynasty. The Turks were born and grew up on the grasslands, so they are naturally more familiar with the fighting methods of the grassland cavalry than we are. We use infantry as the main force. In fact, The safest thing is, if you meet Duke Rong Guo in the future, how will you explain it?"

"Don't worry about this. Someone above will tell Duke Rong Guo. This is none of our business," Yuanyou said with a smile.

Xiao Mian nodded: "Before leaving, Dalang (Lai Kai) once met me and told me to put you first when I march in the future. I know that you once accompanied His Majesty on the expedition to Goguryeo and had great military exploits, but I still want to He said that I should be the leader in this expedition."

Yuan You was stunned for a moment, then he laughed and said: "Xian brother has no experience in commanding troops. Although he has the desire to repay the enemy, for the sake of safety, it is better not to interfere too much. This is the decision of Duke Rong."

Xiao Xian said: "There is no second general in the army. Although I have no experience in marching, I can learn. This time I joined the army with the intention of learning. Brother can help and give advice, but I have to make the decision." , not to fight for power, but to accumulate experience, this is also what the younger generation’s aunt told me.”

Who is older, Lai Huer or Queen Xiao?But in fact, Empress Xiao never said this, because Xiao Mian was not qualified to meet his distant aunt. He was chosen by Yang Ming's old uncle Xiao Yu, who thought he was capable.

Yuanyou smiled awkwardly. It was definitely impossible to fight for power. What he did this time was a thankless job. I led the troops, but the credit does not go to me.

He would definitely not be happy to take over this kind of job, but Duke Rong Guo had made it clear that he must shoulder this burden.

"Okay, since my dear brother wishes to have some experience, I'll do as you please. However, Duke Rong's general orders must not be violated. For some minor arrangements, my dear brother can make his own decisions," Yuanyou said.

Xiao Xian bowed and said, "Thank you first, Brother Yuan."

After setting off, not far away, a large boat stopped in front, and someone shouted to Xiao Mian and others to come closer to the boat.

Xiao Mian recognized who the ship belonged to, so he ordered the sailors to approach slowly, and then boarded the deck of the ship with Yuanyou.

"My good brother, is this the fourth time we have met?" The ship owner is naturally Xiao Xuan, the man in charge of water transportation in the Tongji Canal, the last emperor of the Western Liang Dynasty, and the son of Empress Xiao's eldest brother Xiao Cong. This boy is now It's Liang Guogong.

Both of them are considered leaders and equals, but Xiao Xuan's status is definitely more noble. After all, his father was an emperor, and they have the same great-grandfather, Emperor Xuan of Liang, Xiao Qi (cha).

Both of their names have the word "gold" next to them. Uncle Yang Ming's son Xiao Rui is also from this generation.

Xiao Mian hurriedly saluted: "I humble my duty to pay homage to Duke Liang."

"Eh~~~" Xiao Xuan hurriedly stepped forward to help: "Why should a family be like this? You don't recognize me as your brother, right?"

"How dare you, how dare you," Xiao Mian hurriedly apologized.

Xiao Xuan took his cousin's hand and entered the cabin, not paying attention to Yuan You at all.

Yes, the Yuan family in Luoyang is awesome, but you, Yuanyou, are a side branch of the Yuan family. Xiao Xuan's biological aunt is the current empress and the crown prince's mother-in-law.

Standing next to Xiao Xuan is his deputy general Chen Leng. This person is the most capable fighter in the Xiaoguo Army and the highest-ranking general. Among the fourteen guards, General Youyuwei, from the third rank.

After Xiao Xuan introduced his cousin, Xiao Mian also hurriedly saluted Chen Leng with a very humble attitude. After all, this person had real abilities.

During the expedition to Goguryeo, after Yuwen crossed the Yalu River, Chen Leng was the general of the Chinese army in the decisive battle with Gao Dayang.

A few people were chatting, and the conversation came to Yang Ming.

Because when we talk about Goguryeo, we can't do without Li Jing. When talking about Li Jing, we naturally can't do without the prince.

"Does the prince also read military books?" Xiao Mian asked curiously.

In fact, Chen Leng didn't know. He had almost never met the prince in private, but he would definitely pretend to be:

"The prince reads everything. If you have seen the prince, you should know that studying heaven and earth is nothing more than this."

Xiao Xuan had met Yang Ming in private, and Yang Ming was very considerate of him by calling him cousin. Looking back now, it was unwise to approach Yang Xuan in the past. Compared with the second oldest child, there was really a huge gap.

Just listen to him say: "Refining steel, cotton cloth, and improving papermaking technology have now benefited Jiangnan a lot. These are all the work of the prince. He suppressed Yangliang's rebellion and conquered Tuyuhun. The prince led the army in both battles. Why? Do you know how to read military books? It can be said that the prince is well versed in the art of military strategy."

Xiao Mian said with a longing look on his face: "I wonder if I will ever have the chance to see the true face of the prince in this life. After this northern expedition, my brother will help me to be accommodating and allow me to go to the capital on my way back to the teacher. Although I can't see the prince, but Being able to look up at the East Palace and pay homage to the East Palace is a life worth living."

"That's easy to say," Xiao Xuan laughed and patted his cousin on the shoulder: "Leave it to me. I can even think of a way for the prince to summon you."

Xiao Xuan is not an ordinary person. This boy is currently dividing the water transport business of Tongji Canal with the Dugu family. Heroes from all walks of life are giving him some face. As his cousin, he wants to desert halfway to the capital, but he just wants to fight with Lai Huer. A matter of greeting.

As for whether he could see Yang Ming when he went to the capital, he had to rely on the help of the Dugu family.

Dugu Xin and he were business partners and had an unusual friendship, and Dugu Xin's sister was Dugu Feng'er.

Xiao Xian kept thanking him, as if a fan was about to meet his idol, full of yearning.

In fact, due to the continuous reform of the imperial examination, Yang Ming now has great prestige in the minds of the younger generation of the Sui Dynasty.

In a thousand-year-old dark room, a lamp can illuminate. Yang Ming is the lamp in the eyes of scholars all over the world, the guiding light.

(End of this chapter)