Xu Ping was angry.

Looking at the documents sent by his subordinates, the more he looked at it, the more angry he became.

A few days ago, the Taiping Army's newly recruited No. 1 Command Box Army had arrived, because it was originally said that it would be paid by the sugar cane service, and Xu Ping had already allocated the required money in full to Fujian Road with a flight ticket, and when the army arrived in Taiping, he learned that Fujian had deducted the clothing and settling-in expenses of the recruits when they joined the army. This is the money that understands the cane sugar business, and when people get to the Taiping Army, the cane sugar service must be reissued, and there is nowhere to find it.

The Song Dynasty was a conscription system, and the recruitment of new recruits had to be paid in the name of clothing, shoes, etc., which was roughly about 15 times for the forbidden army and about 6 times for the combat box army, which fluctuated slightly with the difference in time and place, and the difference was not big. One command has a staff of 500 people, and two new commanders and soldiers have been recruited, and 6,000 yuan has been spent on Fujian Road. In recent years, most of the staff in the sugar business have come from Fujian, and Xu Ping has been tired of these small actions in the process of dealing with there.

In particular, in the first half of this year, Wang Weizhong, the former transfer envoy of Guangnan West Road, resigned from his official position and returned to his hometown to serve due to his grandmother's serious illness, and the transfer envoy was replaced by Zhang Pin, the former governor of Fuzhou. With the support of this old colleague, the states on the other side of Fujian Road became more and more unbridled. This time, Xu Ping couldn't bear it anyway, and when the other commander arrived, he must make this matter clear, although if the money is not returned, it will disgust the officials on Fujian Road.

In the final analysis, it is because the current cane sugar business is too rich, this year's sugar output has reached 30 million catties, although the price has dropped to 300 feet, the annual income is still over 10 million, which is equivalent to the sum of several taxes, and everyone wants to take a bite from this big fat meat.

Of course, the bulk of the sugar business was taken away by the three divisions, but it was also millions to keep a little bit casually, and Xu Ping could throw money all over the world when he did things.

Thanks to the income from the sugar cane business, Kou Yang finally came out of the shadow of Ding Wei's downfall, although he failed to enter the slaughter column as he wished, and released the Hebei Road transfer envoy. However, he has been promoted by two ranks, and after two years he will enter the capital again, he is likely to enter the Privy Council or the Political Affairs Hall, and ascend to the two mansions.

The current three envoys are Hanlin Bachelor Yanshu, Xu Ping used to meet the two when they were in Kaifeng, and the impression left by Yanshu was general. Now Yanshu is in charge of the three divisions, because the annual income of the sugar cane business is huge, he intends to be specially promoted by the court officials above Langzhong, and Xu Ping's official position is too low, so he intends to replace it. Prime Minister Lu Yijian refused on the grounds that the sugar service was built by Xu Ping single-handedly, and he was afraid of accidents.

However, the qualifications for the promotion of cane sugar affairs have also been determined, and after Xu Ping left office, the next promotion official should be a court official above Langzhong, and he has served as a governor or a general judge, and his qualifications have been on par with the transfer envoy. And there is no hope for Han Zong to be promoted at the same time, and he has to go to the local government to pass the magistrate's general judgment.

After scolding a few words in his heart, Xu Ping suppressed this anger and continued to think about the new recruit.

The armies of the Song Dynasty were commanded as units, and they all had numbers. There are many names of these numbers, and at first glance they are chaotic, but for familiar insiders, they can roughly know the nature of the army at a glance, and even the place where they are stationed, there are still rules to follow.

Of the two newly recruited commanders, Xu Ping applied for the numbers of Zhongrui and Anyuan. Zhongrui is a rare cavalry number in the south of the Yangtze River, and only the Guangzhou garrison was used at this time. Anyuan is an infantry number, as the name suggests, it is an army along the border or stationed in the barbarian area.

The earliest newspaper numbers on Fujian Road were Baojie and Xinzhaobaojie, which were common infantry numbers there, and Xu Ping fought with them many times in the Privy Council, and it took countless pen and ink to insist on his opinion.

The significance of the insistence is to ensure that the first command box army is cavalry, and the other is to make it clear that although the two command armies are recruited on Fujian Road, they are the local army of Yongzhou, not the army of Fujian transferred here.

These subsections may seem inconsequential, but they can be fatal when it matters most.

In the end, the problem still falls on the money.

It is already the consensus of the people of this era that the Xiang army saves money, especially when there are signs that have appeared in some places, and the combat effectiveness of the Xiang army of normal training and parade is not weaker than or even stronger than that of the forbidden army, both the local government and the Privy Council have maintained great interest in teaching and parading the Xiang army.

There are very few forbidden troops in Yongzhou, that is, there are enough people to guard the official office, and then some small officers are sent out to serve as governors or supervisors, etc., Xu Ping has little contact. In addition to miscellaneous service, the Xiang Army in Yongzhou is all teaching the Xiang Army, as for how unbearable the Xiang Army is as a nursing home, Xu Ping has no impression.

The Song Dynasty's army was chaotic and all-encompassing, and the forbidden army system was relatively closed.

Compared with the forbidden army, the recruiting army is actually a money-swallowing monster. In addition to the six-run shoes and clothes money when the new recruit, the box army also has a monthly money, and the money in hand in a year will be ten times upward. In addition, the army usually manages and trains the army, and the per capita money of 20 yuan cannot be escaped, and the forbidden army has to go up to 50 yuan. That is to say, the cane sugar business is rich and rich, and it dares to recruit troops from 1,200 places, and without the cane sugar business, only 1,000 troops can eat up Yongzhou's financial revenue.

When Xu Ping first established the sugar business, the Fujian immigrants recruited only paid 600 yuan a month, and all the people were satisfied and grateful to Xu Ping. Later, the soldiers from Fujian were allowed to stay in the sugar industry, and their wages immediately rose to a consistent level, and they had to set aside their own private land to grow grain and vegetables, so as to appease the people's hearts.

The military is the most expensive labor force in this era, and it is not easy to satisfy them. Stay in the army to receive money and food for life, and you will not retire until you are sixty or sixty-one years old, and after retirement, the court will pay half a salary, and the treatment is slightly worse, which will take care of you.

Xu Ping was making careful calculations in his yamen, but the new recruits from Fujian were reveling.

In the past few years, people from all over Fujian have made a fortune to work in Yongzhou sugar cane business, and the money from here every year into Fujian Road has even caused small-scale local inflation, land prices have risen, housing prices have risen, and the price has risen to find a sister to sing in a restaurant. I don't know how many idlers in Fujian, where the land is narrow and densely populated, one by one looking for opportunities to come to Yongzhou, and after a few years, they can build a house, buy land, marry a daughter-in-law, and live a happy life ever since.

Cai Fuqing is a lucky man, the officials recruited by the county are relatives of his family, so to put it mildly, he finally got the quota to serve as a soldier in Yongzhou. The court's travel expenses, everything is guaranteed, after working in the army for a few years, I heard that you can transfer to the sugar business, and there is such a good thing in the world?

A round of red sun slanted in the west, reflecting the full sky of glow, illuminating the whole world colorful.

Finally everything is done, and you can come out to hang out alone today, Cai Fuqing cleaned up and went out of the camp to face the red sun and breathe a sigh of relief. It is said that this is a remote frontier and a miasma township, but in Cai Fuqing's eyes, everything here is good, and even the soil has a strange fragrance.

"Cai Saburo, here, we are here, come on!"

Following the sound, Cai Fuqing saw Lin Lin and Li Erlang standing under the willow tree on the side of the road, kept waving to him, and hurriedly ran over.

"Brother Lin, Second Brother Li, I didn't expect you to come to me!"

Cai Fuqing saluted again and again, and he was very excited.

Forestry said: "You have already received a letter from your family, we are all fellow villagers, how can we not help each other?" The two of us have been here for a few years, and everything here is familiar, just to take you around. ”

Li Erlang came up and grabbed Cai Fuqing's arm, and said, "Let's go, let's go to eat and drink, just to catch the wind for you!" There are good wines and strange dishes that you don't have at home, just for you to see! ”

Cai Fuqing's face was full of joy, let Li Erlang pull him, and walked forward.

The three of them are not in the same village, but they live not far from each other, their ages are close, and they have had a friendship since they were children.

Walk not far, to the bank of the left river, I saw a trick picked out behind the willow tree, there are a few big characters written on it: "the wine is fragrant through the bottle", behind the sign is a two-story small building, very elegant.

"This is it, the host's family cooks good fish, good beef, and the wine is fierce!"

Li Erlang said as he pulled Cai Fuqing into the restaurant.

Entering the door, there was a pergola covered with flowers and trees, and there were female prostitutes dressed in flowers and branches sitting on both sides, Li Erlang looked left and right, and asked Cai Fuqing: "San Lang, have you become a biological child?" ”

Cai Fuqing shook his head: "Not yet, I have married two sisters-in-law, and the family can't come up with money." ”

"Nothing, how can a husband have no wife! After working here for two years, he married a wife and started a family. Yongzhou is more lively here than our family, not only our Han women, but also the barbarian girls in the mountains, and even the little lady of Dali Jiaozhi married here, so that you will be dazzled! ”

Li Erlang said, looked at both sides, and said in a low voice: "Do you want to find a little lady to come over and accompany the wine?" It's okay to sing a song and listen to it. ”

Cai Fuqing said: "That's it, the two elder brothers are family people. ”

Forestry also said: "Our brothers reminisce, it is inconvenient for outsiders to sit and talk, Erlang forget it." ”

Li Erlang shook his head: "Then forget it, don't make trouble for Brother Lin." To say that Sister-in-law Lin usually looks dignified and quiet, why does she manage her brother so strictly? Look at the one in my family, he looks spicy, but as long as I don't come out to gamble, everything is up to me, how comfortable! ”

The three of them gossiped and went to the restaurant.

Find a pavilion near the window to sit, Li Erlang called the little servant and instructed: "The newly caught fish in the river is big and makes a sauerkraut fish, and then a boiled beef, and you can look at the other vegetables and vegetables." A bottle of the strongest good wine, just take the good one, and the host's money is indispensable! My brother is new from Fujian, and he is doing better, and eating happily is indispensable for your business! ”

The little servant shouted a promise and turned to go.

Cai Fuqing asked curiously: "Is there beef sold in the restaurant here?" Is it fresh? ”

"Put a hundred hearts, all of them are slaughtered cattle on the same day, and the best snowflake beef! No better than his hometown, Yongzhou can't help slaughtering cattle here, although they eat happily! ”

Many of the dishes here are the tastes of the later generations brought by Xu Ping, and they have been improved by local chefs after they came out, which are not only suitable for the locals at this time, but also have a different style, Xu Ping himself loves to eat. As for beef, it is not only Xu Ping's concept in his previous life, but also because he raised it at home and couldn't sell it for money.

Cai Fujian looked out the window, the white sails on the Zuojiang River, the willows on the shore, the pedestrians on the road, and the heart was full of yearning for the future life.

(There are two more shifts in the evening, and the time is uncertain.) The three more promises made by myself have to be completed with tears. ）