A small sedan chair walked along the road leading to the square outside the gate of the General's Palace. The twelve palanquin drivers are divided into three shifts, and the next shift is changed every few hundred steps. The sedan chair drivers wore one-colored green cloth trousers and headscarves on their heads, making everyone look so capable and neat. The thin-soled fast shoes rustle on the burnt ash pavement, and the regular ups and downs of the sedan chair are quite coordinated. Five or six family members followed the sedan chair on the left and right, following the footsteps of the sedan chair driver, and in order to show their filial piety, the passengers' juniors did not ride horses, and followed the sedan chair on foot.

This is a shoulder, thick and strong and full of toughness of the bamboo through the old vine in the mountains woven rattan chair, the shoulder has been used for some years, slightly yellow, but it is smooth and moist abnormal. It was early spring, the weather was still a little cold, and the passengers on the shoulders, probably because of their age, accompanied by their children and grandchildren, put a small blanket on his legs. The cloisonne copper hand stove in the old man's hand probably also put some spices, and with the rapid movement of the sedan chair drivers, there was a faint fragrance.

"Since the lord attacked Hue, this general's palace has not been here for many years." The old man on the shoulder was one of the first officers to attach to Li Shouhan, the famous old fox Hu Licheng. Time flies, and the 100 household officials who have entered the ranks of the elderly from the prime of life are now dying of old age. The white hair on the head is sparse, and if you take off the warm hat, you will find that the jade hairpin on the top of the head really took a lot of thought from the concubines and maids to barely tie the remaining white hair together.

"This is the birthplace of the lord, although it has not been used for many years, it is still cleaned and managed. It won't be wasted. The lord is also always thinking about the old ministers who walked out of here with him. "Hu Yuantai, Hu Licheng's eldest grandson, although he has not completely taken over the power of household affairs from his uncle, he has also begun to take charge of family affairs, and today he is the heir of the Hu family to accompany his grandfather to attend the meeting convened by Li Shouhan.

Hu Licheng snorted in his nose. was satisfied with Hu Yuantai's words, "Yuantai, you remember, in this life, there may only be so many opportunities, when you feel that the opportunity has come." You must press all the treasures up! Otherwise, miss this time, and don't know how many years it will take to have a next one. In the words of a scholar, God gives it to the Buddha, but suffers from it. ”

"Grandfather taught me." Hu Yuantai was convinced by his grandfather's words. If it weren't for Hu Licheng's great vision, he handed over all the soldiers and horses under his command before Li Shouhan attacked He Deputy Qianhu, thus becoming the first batch of people from the dragon, and then exchanged tens of thousands of silver for the lives of more than 10,000 Han people who were persecuted by the Ruan family south of Lingjiang, which further established his image in Li Shouhan's mind. How does the Hu family have the decent scenery today?

While speaking, the sedan chair was carried into the gate of the square by the sedan chair man, not far from the gate of the general's mansion in front of him, Hu Licheng kicked the footboard a few times in the rattan chair, and the head of the sedan chair immediately slowed down: "Master, but slower?" ”

"Get off the sedan chair in front of the house!"

According to Hu Licheng's current identity, he is one of the few living people among the earliest group of people from the dragon, and he can be regarded as an elderly and virtuous Qiyue. Li Shouhan had already issued an order that they could enter his mansion directly. You don't have to get off the car at the house gate. It doesn't have to be passed into the house.

"Grandfather, why is that? Isn't the Lord gracious to you? Hu Yuantai was quite puzzled.

"The lord has grace, that is the grace of the lord, remembering the old feelings. However, we cannot go beyond the division between the monarch and the minister. Be blessed! Hu Licheng deliberately bit the sound of the last sentence very hard, so that Hu Yuantai could taste it carefully.

The acting brigade commander of the Guards Brigade on duty outside the palace gate sent He Lin, nicknamed "Living Hades". Seeing that Hu Licheng had arrived, he hurriedly stepped forward to salute. He and Hu Yuantai are old acquaintances, and the two of them met and exchanged a few polite words, Hu Yuantai teased him: "Lao He, now Brigade Commander Mo has already been promoted." When is it time to take off your acting hat? ”

"Huh! When to actually give it, when to return to his own post, to be my chief of staff, it is all the dictatorship of the lord, and we can only carry out the implementation as subordinates. Thunder, rain and dew are all graces. The two of them said a few words haha, He Lin whispered in Hu Yuantai's ear, "The lord was not in a good mood yesterday, be careful." ”

What is it about Li Shouhan that makes him so angry? Looking at the busy people coming and going around the square, Hu Yuantai analyzed it like a sea in his mind.

Could it be that the mobilization and collection of Qinwang's soldiers and horses in the north did not go well? No, it won't! Hu Yuantai immediately vetoed this question, and he accompanied his grandfather all the way from Guangzhou to Hue, and from Hue to Ha Tinh, walking thousands of miles along the way, and all villages, towns and cities were mobilizing in a tense and orderly manner.

The newly formed soldiers and horses of the towns were assembled from their original garrisons and received the artillery, horses, and vehicles that were distributed, and the various detachments that had been added to the original structure were being tempered and familiarized with the original mixed brigades. This is true of the towns, as well as of those units that have been newly upgraded from garrison brigades to mixed brigades.

Each mixed brigade and garrison brigade will be selected from the backbone of the first commander and above to the battalion officer and the officer of the standard unified level, and handed over to the management of the military department. Together with the graduates of the Lecture Martial Arts, they will join forces with the Zhuangding teams in various places and reorganize into a new garrison. As soon as the battle at the front is necessary, these garrisons will quickly move to the front. Either as a replenishment of the main force after the battle is damaged, or as a vigilance and combat mission in the secondary direction. After a few battles, these new units will also become an iron-clad team.

Think of the small streams of strong men flowing from all over the villages, gradually converging into the cities, turning into rivers, and then merging into the stations of the provinces and provinces, and turning into a rushing and roaring river. With such an efficient mobilization method, Hu Yuantai is also a conceited person who has read thousands of books, but he has never encountered something that he has never encountered after looking through the classics and military books.

Could it be military salary? Thinking of this, Hu Yuantai's heart couldn't help but sink suddenly. He also learned from the correspondence between several uncles who were on business in Xingyuan that the lord's military expenses for going north this time were huge. The budget has reached a total of 70 million silver dollars! Moreover, this is only the estimated cost, and it is also unknown whether it can meet the needs of pacifying the Central Plains this time.

However, Hu Yuantai's mind suddenly came up with his grandfather's teachings just now, and there were only so many opportunities. If you catch it, you can soar, but if you can't catch it, you don't know how long you have to wait. Thinking of this, he secretly gritted his teeth, as long as the Hu family can continue to become a close person in the eyes of the lord, it will be to repay all the family property. What is it!

"As long as the thieves in the Central Plains are pacified, the rebels in Liaodong are exterminated. This world is supported by our lord, and at that time, the lord wants not to be the emperor, but I am afraid that God will not agree! ”

After thinking about it for a while, Hu Yuantai waited for his grandfather to come to the meeting hall of the General's Mansion.

It's already full.

Although there are many people, they also sit in a good manner. The civilian officials are seated according to the department and region, and the military attaches are seated according to the military structure system, which is quite neat and orderly. Just keep a few positions in the front row that are close to Li Shouhan but not by his side. For an elder like Hu Licheng.

As soon as he sat down, before he had time to greet everyone, Cheng Qiguan shouted at the door, "The lord is out!" ”

With a "boom", the people in the conference hall stood up and waited for Li Shouhan's arrival.

"See the lord!" As Li Shouhan appeared at the door surrounded by several important ministers, the people in the council hall fell to their knees.

"Lao Hu, didn't you say it. Don't kneel at your age. Stretched out his hand to help Hu Licheng, the oldest person on the scene, up. Li Shouhan also reprimanded Hu Yuantai a few words. "Your grandfather is so old, and you still let him kneel, there is a mistake, what should I do?"

Hu Licheng said that he didn't dare again and again, and the two sides each said a few polite words, and everyone sat down under Li Shouhan's instructions.

"Gather all of you today. It is a matter concerning the future of our army in southern Guangdong and the fate of tens of millions of people in our southern and central regions, Fujian, Taiwan, and Luzon. ”

Listening to Li Shouhan's solemn statement, everyone present couldn't help but be refreshed. Listen with 120,000 points of spirit.

"As you all know, the biggest thing I'm busy with now is preparing to go north to the Central Plains to sweep the Liukou, and then go north to sweep up the rebels in Liaodong. Give the people of the world a peaceful world. There is a way that the soldiers and horses go first before the grain and grass are moved. For this reason, this king has been carefully calculating with An Tianhong An of the Husi Department these days, Liu Junlin and Liu of the Guanyin Account, and a large group of people from the Military Department and the General Staff Department to carefully calculate how much military salaries will cost and how to raise these military salaries. ”

When everyone heard this, they were a little confused, they had also heard about the 70 million yuan military expenditure, how to bring it up here.

"Lord An, you are in charge of the household department, so I will tell you where the money will be spent."

An Tianhong, whose hair was also more silver than black hair, took out a piece of paper from the book, cleared his throat, and began to talk to everyone.

"There are so many of them that I won't go into them all. Pick out a few numbers and ask you to listen to them. An Tianhong took out the reading glasses on the tortoiseshell shelf and put them on the bridge of her nose, and began to report to everyone present.

"I have the most firearms in my Nanyue army. Take a firecracker soldier as an example, the cost of a firecracker is one yuan and seven corners, including various accessories and maintenance grease, and the price is four yuan. A military uniform, trousers, turbans, soft hats, leggings, cost octagonal, as a price of one yuan and two corners. An iron helmet and a cuirass cost three yuan, and the price is seven yuan. Cowhide copper buckle belt, medicine box, cowhide backpack, shoes, the cost is two yuan, and the price is five yuan. A life-saving package, the cost is five cents, and the price is one yuan. There are also bedding, dishes and chopsticks and other miscellaneous items, which are priced at one yuan. The gunpowder, projectiles and other items carried with you are uniformly priced at three yuan. In total, the weapons, clothes, shoes, socks, backpacks, bedding, dishes, chopsticks, life-saving medicines, etc., on the body of a firecracker, were worth twenty-two yuan and two silver dollars. This is only equipment, not counting the monthly military salary and food expenses. ”

A fully equipped soldier would have cost so much silver, which really shocked the people present. The so-called relationship between cost and price, that is, the cost of production by the manufacturer plus profits, taxes, etc., is the number of prices.

"We have to transport hundreds of thousands of horses and horses to the Central Plains, and the freight and supplies along the way, the shoes and socks of the soldiers, the forage for the war horses, pack horses, and horses, all of them cost money."

"Also, now that the Central Plains is ruined, even if you take the silver, you may not have a place to buy it. Our soldiers are all accustomed to eating and raising their mouths, how can they bear this? ”

At this point, a chuckle erupted in the room. Thanks to the iron farming tools and primitive pesticides and various fertilizers, the grain harvest in various parts of the Nanyue Army has been bumper year after year. There is more grain, and there are more chickens, ducks, geese, dogs, pigs, sheep and other livestock raised naturally, and in addition, it is adjacent to the sea, and all kinds of fish are not required to be supplied. You can't justify letting those soldiers who eat at home go to war with oily corners of their mouths and no oil or water in their stomachs.

But. In order to meet the supply consumption of these hundreds of thousands of people, it is necessary to transport them northward on a large scale.

"Come on, come on, Lao Hu, this is about your family and Lao Li's family. When the two of you are together, the lord will requisition ships to transport troops and food. Rest assured, you will be given the shipping fee! ”

"As long as the lord wants to use it, it doesn't matter if he lets our old Hu go into battle! I have ordered more than 30 sea vessels of various sizes in several shipyards, all of which can be used to supply the army! "Don't hurry up and make a statement at this time. When?

In this way, these 70 million military expenses really have a source. However, there are also those who have a heart who have begun to silently calculate, since the lord requisitioned and transferred the Shunfeng ships jointly set up by the Hu family and the Li family to pay freight and purchase all kinds of military supplies, then the purchase of all kinds of carnivorous forage, requisition of horses and other things, I think it will cost a lot of money. This is clearly our opportunity to make a fortune!

Material consumption. Cities in various states and counties along the way were rebuilt, and roads and bridges were renovated. Isn't the relief of the dying people ravaged by war and famine all the money to be spent?

People are already planning how to get a piece of the pie in this war. "The inland has been plagued by famine and war for many years, compared with Nanzhong, it is much cheaper to come to labor, it is estimated that three meals a day, and a few buckets of grain per month can be hired!" Some people are already thinking about how to minimize labor costs.

Li Shouhan didn't care about the dirty thoughts in the hearts of the Foxconn bosses in front of him. After listening to An Tianhong's report on the huge military expenditure budget, his face changed.

"Such a large amount of expenses, naturally, cannot be paid by Nanzhong. In that case, wouldn't it be a waste of the hard-earned money of the fathers and elders of Nanzhong? For this reason, the king wrote to the imperial court. The cabinet was asked to hand over the customs duties of Shanghai, Denglai, Anqing, Tianjin, and Guangzhou to the management of our Nanyue Army, and to supplement the military expenditure of our Nanyue Army with tariff revenues. This can be regarded as following the precedent of the national dynasty. ”

The precedent of the national dynasty mentioned by Li Shouhan is the so-called three major expeditions and the military expenditure of the Liaodong war that began in the Wanli period.

At that time, Mao Ruizheng had "Wanli Three Major Examinations" with Dongyi Examination, and Qu Jiusi had 14 volumes of "Wanli Martial Arts Records". "History of the Ming Dynasty" contains: "Ningxia used soldiers, and spent more than 200,000 yuan. In the winter, North Korea used troops, and in the first and last eight years, it cost more than 7 million yuan. In the twenty-seventh year, Banzhou used soldiers, and spent two or three million dollars. The three major levies are one after another, and the country is in great need". Another volume of one hundred and twenty-three "The Biography of Wang Dewan": "In recent years, Ningxia has spent more than 180,000 yuan on soldiers; the Battle of Korea, more than 7.8 million; The Battle of Banshu, more than 2 million". Based on this, we can roughly calculate that the country's military expenditure during the past eight years amounted to more than 1,160,000 taels of silver.

Although the three battles were victorious, they also caused huge losses in the manpower and material resources of the Ming Dynasty. The official "History of the Ming Dynasty" of the Qing Dynasty contains: "In 20 years, Ningxia used troops and spent more than 200,000 yuan. In the winter, North Korea used troops, and in the first and last eight years, the cost was 8,835,000 taels, and the practical rice was hundreds of thousands of hundreds. In the twenty-seventh year, Banzhou used soldiers, and spent two or three million dollars. The three major levies are one after another, and the country is scarce. ”

Although the three major Ming armies were victorious, the military expenditure was very huge, which caused a heavy burden on the finances of the Ming court. But in fact, since the beginning of the Wanli period, the Ming court only spent more than 60 million taels on the war against the Houjin, far exceeding the three major expeditions. The actual military expenditure of the three major levies was allocated in full by the silver of the Inner Treasury and the Tai Warehouse, and after the end of the three major levies, there was still silver in the Inner Treasury and the Tai Warehouse, which was far from reaching the point of breaking the muscles and bones.

And the so-called internal silver, that is the Wanli Emperor who has been infamous for hundreds of years, ordered eunuchs to go to various places to work as mine supervisors to levy mining taxes, and accumulated bit by bit. It is similar to the customs duty silver used for palace expenses and military training expenses in Chongzhen's inner library at present.

However, the official document requesting the imperial court to temporarily hand over the management of the above-mentioned customs to the Nanyue army undoubtedly threw a horsetail grenade into the thatched pit, causing the entire imperial court to blow up the nest. Not to mention the dung of the people, all kinds of flies and maggots crawled out and called in unison.

"Is Li my Ming official or a feudal town?"

"If it is based on Li's matter, I am afraid that Tang Xizong will lead Li Ke to reappear with the story of pacifying the Yellow Nest!"

Comparing Li Shouhan to Li Keyong of Shatuo, and comparing the current situation, Li Zicheng and Huangchao at the end of the Tang Dynasty, this intention can be described as extremely sinister. No emperor wants to be the unlucky one himself.

Sure enough, this statement touched the most secret and darkest thought in Chongzhen's heart, you know, he was extremely worried that this Li Shouhan would become the Cao Cao of the Ming Dynasty! Even if it's not Cao Cao, King Wen of Zhou can't do it, King Wen of Zhou's son Ji Fa has taken down the song of the court!

Therefore, in response to Li Shouhan's request to advance customs duties to the military expenses of the Southern Guangdong Army, the imperial court adopted another way of replying.

In a perfectly packaged brocade box, there were seventy beautifully made Chongzhen treasure notes with a denomination of one million silver dollars.

In addition to the 70 million yuan Chongzhen treasure banknote, there was also a holy decree issued to Li Shouhan, the Duke of Liang Guo, ordering him to control Zuo Liangyu's entire army and provide food, grass and military pay for Zuo Liangyu's soldiers and horses.

"All expenses will be paid from the soldier's 70 million military expenses." (To be continued.) )