The next morning, Liu Xiu said straight to the point: "The battle report sent back from Hanyang, I think you all already know. ”

Wu Han said: "Gongsun Shu sent reinforcements to Kui Chun, but fortunately, the Western Expeditionary Army was victorious, thwarted the reinforcements of the Shu army, and forced the Shu army to retreat to Yan County in Longxi. ”

Deng Yu said: "Your Majesty, Gongsun Shu once again sent reinforcements to Longdi, which made the battle situation in Longdi a lot more variable!" ”

Liu Xiu was most worried about this, he said: "If Gongsun Shu can send the first support army, it is possible to send the second and third support armies, and the battle in Longdi will be much more difficult than we expected." ”

Wu Han shed tears and said: "The war is hard, it is not terrible, what is terrible is that once the war drags on for a long time, our army's food will ...... It's going to be a big problem again. ”

The grain of 200,000 stone is enough for the Han army to eat for two months at most, which has to exclude the Western Expeditionary Army and let the Western Expeditionary Army eat its own.

But the question is, can the war be resolved in two months?

Now, that's completely impossible.

Deng Yu frowned and said: "Now, either our army is withdrawn, or the imperial court needs to send at least another 200,000 stone of grain." ”

Hou Ba was almost angry, he shook his head and said: "Da Sikong transferred 200,000 stones from the emergency food, this is already the limit, where can another 200,000 stones be transferred?" ”

Even if you crush Li Tong, it is impossible to squeeze out another 200,000 stone of grain.

Now Li Tong has gone to inspect the banks of the Yellow River, and he is not in Luoyang.

Liu Xiu rubbed his chin, pondered for a long time, and said quietly: "Zhonghua is right, either withdraw the army, or gather food!" ”

Hou Ba Zhengse said: "Your Majesty, the treasury government can no longer raise 200,000 stone of grain. ”

Even if it is emergency food, there are only 100,000 stones left, where can I get enough of 200,000 stones?

"Minister...... Your Majesty! ”

At the back of the court, someone whispered.

Everyone looked back, and it turned out that Luoyang, who was standing at the end, ordered Dong Xuan to lift the wat board.

Liu Xiu looked at Dong Xuan, waved his hand, and said, "Dong County Order, please have something to say." ”

Dong Xuan stepped out of the ranks, bowed deeply, and said, "Your Majesty, Weichen thinks that the imperial court can no longer withdraw troops. ”

As the saying goes, there are two of them, and there are no three and four.

This is the third time that the imperial court has conquered Liangzhou in the west, if it is still halfway through the battle, and finally forced to withdraw the troops, not only gives Kui Chun a rare respite, but the most critical point is that it hurts his morale too much, and the imperial court will attack Liangzhou again in the future, and the soldiers are estimated to have a psychological shadow, and when facing the enemy, they will also be tied up, and it is difficult to exert all their combat power.

Liu Xiu nodded, pointed at Dong Xuan, and said to the ministers present: "What Dong County ordered said is very much in line with my wishes.

If the third westward expedition still fails to achieve any results, it will not only hurt the morale of the officers and men in the army, but also greatly damage the prestige of the imperial court and the people's will. ”

The issue of grain and grass can be postponed and discussed, and now we must set a certain tone, whether to fight or not.

Liu Xiu's intention was that this time he had to persist in fighting, and Dong Xuan just helped him say what he wanted to say.

Wu Han's eyes flashed, and he immediately bowed to Liu Xiu, and said loudly: "Your Majesty Shengming!" ”

After thinking about it, Deng Yu also bowed his hand to Liu Xiu and said, "Your Majesty Shengming!" ”

Obviously, Wu Han and Deng Yu both supported the imperial court to continue fighting.

Hou Ba also knew that if he retreated again this time, the losses would be huge.

But the problem of grain and grass must be solved, and you can't pretend that there is no such thing and turn a blind eye, otherwise when the grain in the army runs out, the more than 100,000 Beijing division army and the 100,000 western expeditionary army will collapse and the whole army will be wiped out.

Hou Ba frowned and asked, "Then what about the food in the army?"

Who will solve the problem of military rations? ”

Wu Han and Deng Yu both lowered their heads and said nothing.

Hou Ba looked at Liu Xiu, who was also silent in thought.

Dong Xuan, who had already been out of the ranks, had not yet returned, he lifted the wat board and said, "Your Majesty! ”

Liu Xiu waved his hand and said, "Speak." ”

Dong Xuan lowered his head and whispered: "Your Majesty, 200,000 stone of grain, Wei Chen can't get it, but let Wei Chen make up 10,000 or 20,000 stone of grain, it's still ...... Still confident. ”

Hou Ba asked puzzledly: "How can Dong County's order make up one or two thousand stones of grain?" ”

"Fundraising."

Dong Xuan said: "There are not a few merchants and scholars in Luoyang City, they are under the care of the Son of Heaven, protected by the imperial court, and earn thousands of family fortunes. ”

Listening to Dong Xuan's words, the eyes of many ministers lit up, and it was a good idea to raise donations.

Wang Yuan stepped out of the ranks and said, "Your Majesty, Dong County's order is reasonable!" At that time, Wang Mang had no food, and he also adopted the method of fundraising to collect military rations. ”

Liu Xiu glanced at Wang Yuan, and the ministers present also rolled their eyes at Wang Yuan.

It's obviously a good thing, how can you let Wang Yuan say it, it's so ugly, is it appropriate for you to compare it with today's reckless thieves?

After pondering carefully, Liu Xiu shook his head slowly, and said meaningfully: "Forcing everyone from the scholar clan and big businessmen to donate money and grain is too damaging to the prestige of the imperial court and the hearts of the people. ”

Dong Xuan hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, you can't force fundraising, you must donate as much as possible, and it is precisely because of this that Weichen just said that Luoyang can make up one or two thousand stones of grain." ”

If high-pressure means are used to force large households to donate money and grain, the food they will make up is far more than 10,000 or 20,000 stones.

Hou Ba continued: "The problem is, even if Luoyang makes up one or two thousand stone of grain, it will be a drop in the bucket." ”

Dong Xuanzheng said: "What if the division is subordinate to all the counties and all the donations?" ”

I can't count on a place that is too far away, and when the fundraising is finished, it will be transported to Luoyang, and I don't know if I have to wait until the Year of the Monkey.

However, the fundraising in the Sili area can solve the urgent need, and the food obtained from the fundraising does not even need to be transported to Luoyang, but directly sent to Chang'an.

In addition, in addition to Sanfu, the Sili area, such as Henan, Hedong, Hanoi, and Hongnong counties, are all very wealthy, and there must be no small amount of money and grain that can be raised.

Moreover, limiting the scope of fundraising to the Sili area will not cause much damage to the prestige of the imperial court.

When Hou Ba heard this, he nodded thoughtfully, thinking that Dong Xuan's idea was good, and raising donations in the Sili area might really solve the urgent need.

Liu Xiu looked around at the people present and asked, "What do you think, what do you think of Dong County's idea?" ”

Hou Ba was the first to stand up in agreement and said, "Your Majesty, Weichen seconded the proposal!" ”

Wu Han and Deng Yu are both unswerving main battle factions, so they will naturally not obstruct this matter.

The two of them arched their hands together and said, "Weichen seconded the proposal!" ”

Wang Yuan said thoughtfully: "What if the money and grain collected in Sili are not enough for 200,000 stones? ”

His words made the hall instantly quiet.

Dong Xuan is just a county order, he advocates fundraising in Sili, which is already overstepping his authority, he doesn't dare to propose a nationwide fundraiser, this matter is too big, and it is not something that he can propose with a small county order.

Just when people were silent in thought, Liu Xiu opened his mouth and said: "If it is not enough, then withdraw money from Shaofu and go to all parts of the country to buy grain." ”

The implication is that in order to support the Western Expedition, he, the Son of Heaven, is willing to pay his personal pocket to buy military rations in various places.

Wang Yuan bowed to Liu Xiu, didn't dare to say more, and retreated.

Liu Xiu Zhengse said: "The matter of fundraising, Hou Situ is in charge, Bao Xiaowei is assisted, and Dr. Li is supervised, and the fundraising in Luoyang is fully responsible for the Dong County Order, do you still have any objections?" ”

"Your Majesty Shengming!"

All the ministers saluted together.

The matter of grain and grass for the Western Expedition was thus finalized.

In charge of this matter is the Great Situ Houba, the deputy director is Bao Yong, the captain of the Si Li, and the supervisor is Li You, the imperial historian.

These three can be said to be Liu Xiu's most trustworthy people.

As the proposer of this matter and the supervisor in charge of Luoyang's fundraising, Dong Xuan is naturally very dedicated to this matter.

On the issue of dealing with grain prices, Dong Xuan's methods were very tough and his posture was also very high, and he gathered all the grain merchants in the city together to make an example of the chickens and monkeys, and forcibly suppressed the grain prices.

But on the issue of fundraising, his style made a 180-degree turn, his posture was very low, and he personally visited the big businessmen in Luoyang, and he was also very polite in his speech.

Dong Xuan's first visit was the palace.

The head of the palace is named Wang Su, the word Kongcai, in Luoyang businessmen, Wang Su can be called the leading figure, in the city, Wang Su has more than ten shops, in Guo District, Wang Su's shops as many as twenty or thirty.

When Wang Su started his family, it happened to be the period when Wang Mang was in power, and it is said that Wang Su and Wang Mang were related to each other, and the reason why they could rise in Luoyang was because of Wang Mang's support, and later the dynasty was changed, which did not have much impact on Wang Su.

Maybe it really has something to do with Wang Mang, after Liu Xiuding was in Luoyang, Wang Su has always been very low-key, most of the shops in Guo District have been rented out, and he has made every effort to operate more than a dozen shops in the city, but even so, he has made a lot of money and has a lot of money.

Dong Xuan came to visit, Wang Su didn't dare to slack off, respected Dong Xuan as a guest, invited him into the lobby, and let him sit in the main seat, but Dong Xuan refused.

After the two sat down, Dong Xuan had a rare greeting with Wang Su.

Wang Su is fifty years away, has been in the shopping mall for many years, shrewd and sophisticated, and the hair is empty.

After the greetings, Wang Su asked with a smile: "This time Dong County Ling came to the Humble House, there must be something, right?" ”

Dong Xuan waved his hand and said with a smile: "It's nothing, just come and have a look."

How is Mr. Wang's business lately?

Are you having any difficulties? ”

Wang Su waved his hand again and again and said, "Thanks to the care of Dong County, the grass people's business can be regarded as smooth. ”

"Hmm!"

Dong Xuan nodded and said, "Mr. Wang is right, it is indeed a lot of care for your Wang family, the county government and the imperial court." ”

Wang Su is so smart, as soon as he heard this, he immediately realized that Dong Xuan had something to say.

He said with a smile on his face, "Yes, yes, yes!" To Dong County's order, to today, the grass people are grateful. ”

Dong Xuan smiled and said: "Mr. Wang and the reckless thief, it is not clear, it stands to reason that when the new emperor ascends the throne, the Wang family is bound to be raided." ”

Hearing this, Wang Su grinned secretly, bowed down, and didn't dare to breathe.

Dong Xuan continued: "But today's Shengming is unwilling to pursue old cases anymore, and Mr. Wang should be grateful for today's benevolence!" ”

"Yes, yes, yes! The grass people are grateful to His Majesty, and they are unforgettable. ”

"Now that the court is in trouble, and now that it is in trouble, Mr. Wang is willing to help?"

Wang Su looked at Dong Xuan puzzled and asked, "Dong County Order, what do you mean by this?" ”

Dong Xuan sighed lightly and said: "The imperial court's westward expedition did not go well, and Gongsun Shu sent the Shu army to reinforce Kui Chun.

On the frontal battlefield, even if the Shu army and the Long army join forces, our Han soldiers are not afraid, and they can win battles and successes, but ......" Speaking of this, he deliberately paused.

Wang Su hurriedly asked, "Dong County Order, but what?" ”

Dong Xuan smiled and said: "But our army is short of food and grass, which makes it difficult for our soldiers on the battlefield in Liangzhou!" ”

After a pause, he said: "Today in the court, I suggested to the present that I raise food in Luoyang, and I have also granted it today. ”

At this point, Dong Xuan didn't say much.

Wang Su can naturally understand his own words, if he doesn't understand, he is deliberately pretending to be confused.

Of course, Wang Su could understand what Dong Xuan meant, no wonder Dong Xuan suddenly came to visit him, it turned out that he wanted to raise money by himself.

He pondered for a moment and said: "Dong County Order, the imperial court has encountered difficulties, and the grass people are naturally duty-bound, and the grass people are willing to donate five hundred stone of grain...... No, eight hundred stone grain! ”