Chapter 169: Good News from Dingxiang City
Zhao Yulin immediately disagreed, saying that the Northwest Defense Zone would be expanded, and the army would have to be expanded, which would cost a lot of money. The Shenwei Army was also the army of the imperial court, not his private army.
Even if it were, he couldn't afford to support so many private soldiers now .
Lao Cao was very clear about these situations. He told Gao Jia not to move for the time being. He would take time to go to Chengdu to discuss with Lord Ding. He could never do this again.
But how to do it is not up to Lao Cao alone.
In the imperial palace in Lin'an, there was a fierce quarrel in the court.
The soldiers on the front line were hungry, but it did not affect the eating, drinking and having fun of the dignitaries in Lin'an. The princes gambled, visited prostitutes and played pitch pots. They played the games as usual. The officials took money from the court and ate from the people. They lived a carefree and comfortable life without any worries.
There was a rumor in the taverns in Lin'an that a huge sum of gold was stolen from the family of the old prime minister Shi, but Shi's son did not make a fuss about it. Instead, he secretly ordered the Qiantang County magistrate to conduct a thorough investigation and solve the case within a time limit.
Everyone smiled knowingly. The whole court was filled with Shi's disciples, and they followed suit to empty the treasury. What was that little bit of silver? It was just "small change."
All the soldiers in Jiangnan were transferred to Jiangbei, so when the civil uprising broke out in Jiangnan, there were no soldiers to suppress it, resulting in the loss of tax revenue and the people's livelihood was in dire straits. For their own safety, local tyrants armed a large number of militiamen, and the imperial court simply organized militia groups and allowed taxes to be levied on the people to support the army.
The Censors are ineffective, there are corrupt officials everywhere and they cannot catch any of them. They are only concerned with collecting salaries. This court will collapse sooner or later.
The emperor did take some big actions. First, he set an example by eating only two meals a day to save food for the military.
Secondly, the expenditure of the Ministry of Internal Affairs was drastically reduced, and even the oil lamps in the palace only had one wick.
However, the little money saved is just a drop in the bucket. It is not even enough for them to embezzle. How can it offset the massive expenditure of each war?
Therefore, Prime Minister Zheng Qingzhi had to increase tax collection in Ping'an to fill the growing hole.
In order to suppress the development of Zhao Yulin's Shenwei Army, Shi's son thought of draining the silver from Shu and cutting off the financial resources of Shenwei Army. He submitted a memorial to the emperor, saying that the Shenwei Army in the west was getting farther and farther away, and that it was all a remote and bitter cold land with no use value. He wanted to withdraw the Shenwei Army to the east to guard against the northern barbarians, and all military supplies had to be provided by the Shenwei Army itself.
Lord Wei, who had been promoted to prime minister, spoke.
He said that the Shenwei Army raised its own military funds to expand the territory of the Song Dynasty, which has ensured peace in the northwest and provided a stable source of tax revenue for the Song Dynasty. Why can't we stop the attack of the northern barbarians despite expending our national strength?
If they were to withdraw the Divine Power Army to the east now , the west would inevitably be left empty, which would give the northern barbarians an opportunity to attack, and the northwest would inevitably suffer losses.
Do we need the Shenwei Army to bring their own silver to fight in the east?
If it were you guys here, could you do it?
The emperor found the quarrel too annoying, so he ordered the dispatch of 30,000 troops from Jinghu for emergency response. The reason was that the area was closer to the eastern war zone, had developed water transportation, and it would only take minutes to transport troops and food.
Shi's son immediately refused to do so, and argued that Jinghu was the heartland and weak spot of the Song Dynasty, and must be guarded with heavy troops.
The emperor refused to listen and said that it was settled. He believed that even if something happened in Jinghu, the Shenwei Army would naturally go back to rescue since they were so close. He issued an edict to Sichuan and Shaanxi to jointly defend Jingzhou.
The emperor waved his hand in frustration and called for the court to be dismissed.
At this moment, a eunuch was running and cheering loudly: Great victory in the Northwest, great victory of the Shenwei Army.
The eunuch took the memorial, opened it with trembling hands, and then read it aloud: General Cao reports, a great victory in the northwest, the Shenwei Army fought against the northern barbarians, and after defeating the old Jin troops in Gongchang Prefecture, they completely defeated Kuoduan's 100,000 troops, and captured more than 30,000 Jin troops including Guo Chongma and Cao Yong, and the troops are heading straight for Jincheng.
Jincheng is the seat of Lanzhou. This is where the Song army is going to recover Longdong and enter the Hexi Corridor.
The emperor was sitting on the dragon throne and was overjoyed when he heard the eunuch reading out the victory report. He suddenly stood up, opened his arms and shouted: Look everyone, my left and right arms, the pillars of the court, they really lived up to my expectations, the Northwest Army will recover all the lost territory for a hundred years.
The eunuch in attendance reported excitedly: General Cao said that the report was written in Dingxiang City, which was named by the late emperor, and it must have arrived in Jincheng by now.
The emperor was delighted and all his previous sadness was gone. He ordered a big banquet to celebrate.
The palace was quickly decorated with lights and colors.
Zhao Yulin was far away in Fengxiang Prefecture and had no idea that Lin'an was celebrating because of the capture of Gongchang Prefecture in the northwest. He saw Cao Youwen and Gao Jia off and went back to visit Ma Linger, because he had not seen his woman since he came back.
Zhao Yulin heard Wu Yuqi talking while he was still outside the house: Brother Yulin, you're the same. You came back and went to accompany Mr. Gao to drink and talk without coming to see your sister first?
Ma Linger said with a smile that Brother Yulin had a lot of things to do, and a man should have something to do. As long as something big happened, Brother's spirit would immediately come up and he would be very motivated.
Wu Yuqi said jokingly: That's right, brother is very motivated, look how he has caused his sister to gain at least ten pounds.
Ma Linger laughed and scolded Wu Yuqi, asking her what the girl said?
Are you also thinking about how to gain weight?
Both women burst into laughter.
Zhao Yulin didn't know what they were so happy about, so he went into the room and asked the two girls what they were laughing at, "Did they find a treasure?"
Wu Yuqi said resentfully: Of course, Sister Ma Ling is pregnant, she is not only a baby but also better than a baby.
He went over to look at Ma Ling'er's belly in surprise, and the woman smiled and lifted his head with both hands, saying that it was too early, and that he had been vomiting due to back pain these days, and they found out after asking the imperial physician to feel his pulse.
Zhao Yulin immediately asked everyone to sit down and have a good rest. What to do?
Call Chen Chen to Guanzhong?
Wu Yuqi stood behind him angrily and hit him on the back, saying that Chen Chen was also pregnant and it was all because of this bad guy.
Ma Linger said happily that Wu Yuqi looked like a little shrew. She got along with her brothers just like that. Brother Yulin really put a lot of effort into her.
Wu Yuqi blushed, said she was going to do some work in a favorable location, and turned around and walked quickly out of the house.
Ma Linger went over and sat on him with a feeling of complete happiness, feeling as sweet as if she had just drunk honey and said, "I never expected that I would have two babies all of a sudden."
Zhao Yulin hugged the woman and caressed her, saying that it was normal, that this age was the right time for childbearing, and if the baby was born, they should take good care of it.
Ma Ling said that she still had to go out and work, and learn from Xiaomin's lesson, eat well, exercise well, and ensure the birth of the baby safely.
When Zhao Yulin heard Ma Ling mention the deceased Chen Xiaomin, his heart ached and he buried his head deeply in the woman's chest.
In the evening, the guards reported that Shen Baiyi, a wealthy businessman from Chang'an, had come to visit.
Zhao Yulin racked his brains and remembered that he once saved a Guanzhong merchant named Shen Baiyi at Dingjun Mountain in Hanzhong. At that time, the merchant was forced to burn himself to death by a fake monk.
Could it be him?
Zhao Yulin ordered the man to be brought in. When the two met, they found that it was indeed Shen Baiyi from Dingjun Mountain. This man had grown into a sleek and ruddy man.
After the two sides greeted each other, Shen Baiyi introduced the young lady next to him.
Haha, after this guy returned to Guanzhong, his two former wives felt that they were raped by thieves and were too ashamed to stay at home, so they both went to Mount Zhongnan to eat vegetarian food and recite scriptures. This guy couldn't stand the loneliness, so he immediately married a delicate little wife.
Damn, they are really rich. Zhao Yulin was moved and took him to the teahouse to chat.
As soon as he entered the house, Shen Baiyi asked his servants to carry in five large boxes. When they were opened, they were full of shining silver.
Zhao Yulin and Ma Ling looked at him in confusion and asked: What do you mean, brother?
Shen Baiyi said with a smile that he wanted to thank the lord for saving his life, and secondly, the Shenwei Army won a great victory in the battle of Gongchang Prefecture, so couldn't he give silver as a reward to the troops?
Ma Linger said with a smile that the army had many soldiers and many mouths to feed, and they were in short supply of money, so of course it had to happen. The Third Young Master didn't even have time to thank her.
Zhao Yulin smiled and asked the captain of the guard to find the logistics officer Tan Yousan to collect the money and put it into the account, and then invited Shen Baiyi to have a drink in the flower hall.
This guy really has the potential to be a businessman. After three glasses of wine, he asked Zhao Yulin directly if there was any good business to make money.
Nowadays, the Shenwei Army has set up cooperatives in various states and counties. Although the opening of the joint trade in goods along with the baggage transportation has played a stabilizing role in ensuring the people's living needs, it has had a great impact on traditional trade, forcing businesses of all sizes to make small profits but sell in large quantities. The past era of huge profits is gone forever.
After Shen Baiyi returned to Guanzhong to recuperate, he found it difficult to make money with his previous methods. He happened to learn that the Shenwei Army had won a victory in Gongchang Prefecture, so he found a reason to come to Fengxiang Prefecture and talk to Zhao Yulin.
He looked around and asked Ma Ling if there was any business that cost a lot of money.
He said that Brother Baiyi would spend several large boxes of silver at a time, and that his business must not be a small "small business" of buying ten or twenty horses.
Ma Linger thought for a while and said yes, but she didn’t know if it was appropriate.
Zhao Yulin told her to imagine whatever she wanted but to feel free to say it.
Ma Ling said that Fengxiang was the ancient city of Qinyong, and nowadays it had become a hub for people traveling from the south to the north. The city had long been overcrowded, so why don’t we expand a new city, move all the government offices of Fengxiang Prefecture there, build the general’s mansion that needed to be resettled, and attract people who were willing to settle here? Wouldn’t everyone be happy?
When Zhao Yulin heard this, he knew that Ma Ling'er was also going to engage in real estate development, because only real estate development has large investments and high returns.
He thought it was feasible and was still thinking about it. Ma Linger went on to say that after the new city is built, we can repair and restore the old city like we did with the old Zhouba in Yibin. Wouldn't that be much easier?
Zhao Yulin thought her idea was good, but the money had to be spent like a mountain.
He looked at Shen Baiyi and asked if it was okay.
Do you dare to do it?
He said that this business was very big, and one should not expect it to be a highly profitable one, but it was a place where one could spend as much money as possible.
Shen Baiyi said that he never thought of building a city, but it is indeed a huge business.
Zhao Yulin said, how about this: the Shenwei Army will invest half of the shares, and the money spent on building the city wall and moat will be considered as government investment. How about the income and expenditure from selling things on the streets in the city be considered as livelihood?
