There was a sound of deliberation outside the door, and it sounded like Wu Baoping and Wu Yuewang. But behind the bed, behind the table, behind the box, under the window, in the corner...... The guards proposed several hiding places were vetoed by Deng Ming, and there was no time to argue, so in a hurry, the guards had to follow the direction pointed by Deng Ming's right hand, jumped onto the table, lightly touched the beams of the room with his arms, and hung himself up neatly.

…… The next day, Liu Yao and Yang Youcai left the barracks with thousands of soldiers and lined up on the school field to wait for the instructors. According to Deng Ming's arrangement, the guards were divided into two teams and took turns to teach the soldiers of the capital battlefield experience, and the personnel lists of both teams were handed over to Liu Yao in advance.

It was Zhou Kaihuang who led the team, followed by Ren Tang, Mu Tan and others. Liu Yao invited these instructors to the high platform, and according to the prior arrangement, when the instructors met with the thousands of soldiers in the audience for the first time, they first told some of their past achievements. This arrangement not only boosted the morale of the soldiers and was inspired by these heroic deeds, but also gave Zhou Kaihuang and others a certain satisfaction in their vanity. Originally, the soldiers in Chengdu had heard of the legends of these people, and when they saw these big men appearing one after another, the atmosphere on the school field was very warm, and the names and voices and smiles of these people were deeply rooted in the minds of the officers and men of Chengdu, and they could no longer be erased.

After the heroic deeds are reported, everyone should go to the army to give guidance. But Liu Yao never saw Zhao Tianba, and he clearly remembered that Jinyi Wei Qianhu should belong to the first team. Yang Youcai counted the number of people, and yes, only nine people came, one less. He took out the list and checked it again, and Zhao Tianba's name was impressive. Despite this, Yang Youcai was still afraid of making a mistake, so he took out the list of personnel of the other team and checked it again: "Li Xinghan, Wu Baoping, Wu Yuewang...... Eight, nine, ten, Zhao Qianhu is indeed not in this team. ”

After Zhou Kaihuang and them came down from the high platform, Liu Yao stopped Zhou Kaihuang and asked politely, "What about Zhao Qianhu?" ”

Zhou Kaihuang coughed, with an embarrassed expression on his face: "He's a little uncomfortable." ”

"What's wrong? Are you not adapted? Yang Youcai asked with concern, a little strange in his heart, if Zhao Tianba was uncomfortable, why didn't he say it earlier? They should have sued us when they came, right? ”

"Well, well, let him tell me." Zhou Kaihuang snorted twice, turned around sharply, and handed over the task of explanation to Ren Tang.

"Why me?" Ren Tang protested.

"Because you were the closest when the accident happened!" Zhou Kaihuang shouted.

"Well, that's how it goes." Seeing that he couldn't shirk it, Ren Tang cleared his throat and said slowly: "Zhao Qianhu fell off the beam last night, smashed the table, and twisted his waist. ”

"What, fell off the beams?" Liu Yao and Yang Youcai exclaimed at the same time: "Zhao Qianhu? ”

"Well, yes, Zhao Qianhu went up very easily, but he didn't expect the beams to be so narrow, and they fell off without holding them steady." Ren Tang shook his head and sighed: "Zhao Qianhu has never been on the beam of the house before, so he has no experience. ”

"What is Zhao Qianhu doing in the room?" Liu Yao and Yang Youcai asked in unison. Zhao Tianba has no experience as a gentleman on the beam, and it is not strange that he fell down, but it is strange why he wants to go to the beam.

Ren Tang groaned and looked around, including Zhou Kaihuang, after all the guards saw his gaze, they all silently took a step back or half a step, making Ren Tang appear more prominent.

"Well, here's the thing, we were discussing in the gentleman's room last night, Zhao Qianhu came a little late, and there were already seven or eight people in the gentleman's room......" Ren Tang began to explain again.

"This is indeed Zhao Qianhu's fault, Mr. has a meeting, how can he be late." Liu Yao commented with some dissatisfaction.

"It's not, it's actually a first." Ren Tang also wanted to defend Zhao Tianba.

But Liu Yao still felt that Zhao Tianba was a little mistaken: "Mr. Ren must have arrived early, right?" ”

"Well, yesterday I was the second," a little smug appeared on Ren Tang's face, but this joy disappeared in a flash: "I didn't know the day before yesterday." Well, where did I go? Oh yes, there is no place around Mr. Deng, and there is no place for Zhao Qianhu...... Well, there was nowhere to speak, so I went to the room. ”

"Just going to the room?" Liu Yao was stunned and couldn't say a word.

"Because he couldn't find a place to talk to Mr. Deng, or couldn't see the things on the table, Zhao Qianhu went to the beam?" Yang Youcai asked incredulously.

Although Liu Yao and Yang Youcai both knew that Deng Ming had no fight, they never expected that there would be no rules to such a point. No matter how easy-going Deng Ming is, he is also the chief of the guards, and even the future monarch's father. Go up to the beam of the house at every turn, is this a military meeting or watching juggling on the side of the road, and go up the tree when you can't squeeze into the circle of people?

"Well, yes, and then it fell off and smashed it on the table, and it almost hit me." Ren Tang is struggling, and he can only stick to the end. Fortunately, Liu Yao and Yang Youcai did not continue to ask, and the instructors went to the army to lead the troops for training.

Three days later, news came that when the envoy from Chengdu arrived at the Sword Pavilion, the Sword Pavilion was still in the hands of the Ming army, but when the Ming army got the news of Jǐng, they immediately went to the nearby Jialing River bank to reconnoitre, and found that a large number of Qing troops were gathering, and the attack on the Sword Pavilion was imminent. After confirming that the enemy was about to attack, the Ming army near the Sword Pavilion immediately abandoned the pass and retreated as fast as possible in the direction of Jiangyou.

"How many of us are in the Sword Pavilion?" Deng Ming asked. He once asked Liu Yao this question, but the Chengdu defenders didn't know at all.

"There are more than 1,000 men, and hundreds of women and children." The envoy who had returned from the Sword Pavilion reported to Deng Ming what he had seen. It sounds like the Sword Pavilion is similar to Chengdu a year ago, and the Ming army has basically despaired of the war, and Ping rì is to farm and hunt, and they don't consider defense and reconnaissance at all, because they know that as long as the Qing army launches an attack, there is absolutely no possibility of holding it.

If Deng Ming hadn't sent someone to the Sword Pavilion to report to him, I am afraid that by the time the Qing army launched an attack, the defenders of the Sword Pavilion would still be in the dark, and they would have been easily wiped out by Gao Mingzhan, and it was more likely that they would have surrendered directly. But after seeing the people coming from Chengdu, these Ming troops rose up with some hope, because the actions in Chengdu showed that the strength of the Ming army in western Sichuan was recovering, and Liu Yao began to have the strength and willingness to ask about the safety of the Sword Pavilion. Although the defenders of the Sword Pavilion were desperate before, since they had been flying the banner of the Ming army for so many years, it showed that they were still unwilling to surrender in their hearts. After discovering that they were not fighting alone, these defenders immediately agreed to retreat to Jiangyou, and hold on with the Jiangyou defenders as appropriate, waiting for reinforcements from Chengdu or continuing to retreat to Chengdu.

"How's Jiangyou going?" Deng Ming asked again.

"There are more people than the Sword Pavilion, and there were originally some people living near the city, but when they heard that the Tartars were coming, they fled up the mountain one after another, and now there are about two thousand men left." The messenger replied. When he brought the newspaper to Jiangyou, most of the local men immediately dispersed and went to the mountains to escape the war.

"Where's the weaponry?"

"Not at all." The messenger shook his head.

Jiangyou, like the Sword Pavilion, did not have much contact with Chengdu, that is, they occasionally reported peace to each other, and their relationship was more like that of allies than superiors and subordinates. In fact, Liu Yao and Yang Youcai also did not have the ability to turn Jiangyou, the stronghold of the Ming army, into the subordinates of Chengdu, because the subordinates would ask the superiors for materials and troops, and Chengdu had no ability to provide food or weapons and equipment before, so it was impossible for Jiangyou and other places to obey Chengdu's orders.

"If we hadn't sent someone there, then Jiange, Jiangyou, Mianzhu and other places would probably have surrendered when they saw the Tartars coming, at most give us a report that they were going to surrender." Liu Yao said to Deng Ming.

"It's not strange, they have no weapons, no troops, no food, what can they do if they don't surrender, and they will die in vain?" To Liu Yao's surprise, Deng Ming didn't seem to hate this kind of soft bone at all, and asked rhetorically: "If Liu Shuai and Yang Shuai are in their position, what are you going to do?" ”

Close "The last will be draped into the mountain, and he will not surrender to the Tartars!" Yang Youcai said loudly. In the history of Deng Ming's previous life, after the guards of Jiange, Jiangyou, and Mianzhu surrendered one after another, he and Liu Yao did just that.

"Yes, so will the last general." Liu Yao thought for a moment and nodded in agreement with his deputy's opinion.

"I remember you said that there are still 40,000 stone of grain in the storehouse?" After Deng Ming received a positive reply, he asked Liu Yao to immediately send someone to escort thousands of stones of grain to Jiangyou, Mianzhu and other places: "Tell them, we have grain here, and ask them to retreat to the capital immediately, these grains are for them to eat on the road, and bring back as many people as possible." ”

"Yes, Admiral." Liu Yao answered the order loudly: "At the end, I will personally go to Jiangyou." ”

"There is Lao Liu Shuai. After the withdrawal of Jiangyou and Mianzhu, the city will be counted, but all the houses along the way will be burned down, leaving no shelter for the Tartars. "Deng Ming gave the order to fight in scorched earth. Anyway, there are no more people on this road, and they can be destroyed without any scruples.

"Yes. What else does the Admiral command? ”

"Not yet." No matter how poor the Sword Pavilion and other places were, the garrison would always have some savings in their hands, and if Gao Mingzhan was allowed to obtain these savings, it would reduce the logistical pressure on the Qing army. Although the Ming army from Jiange to Mianzhu is now powerless to resist, it is better for them to be able to retreat than to surrender, so that Gao Mingzhan will not be able to use the manpower of the surrendered army, and all the supplies need to be transported from Guangyuan to the front line.

Liu Yao and Yang Youcai acted separately, one went to Jiangyou and the other went to Mianzhu. The fact that the two of them were of higher rank and brought food and soldiers with them must have been able to facilitate the timely retreat of the defenders of both places. The two of them said they would leave, and in the afternoon of the same day, they gathered their troops and horses and escorted the grain cart out of Chengdu.

"And the people outside the capital." After Liu Yao and Yang Youcai left, Liu Jinge raised another question: "They have hundreds of thousands of stone meters of grain in their hands, which is enough for the discerning army to eat and be rich for a year, and they must all be moved into the city." ”

Deng Ming nodded yes. However, he did not discuss this issue with Liu Jinge in public, but called him to the yamen, accompanied by a more economically minded Ren Tang.

"Actually, they shouldn't have hundreds of thousands of stones of grain in their hands, and there are probably more than ten or two hundred thousand stones, and the rest has been transported into the capital city by you. But that's it, it's enough to feed the army for a year and a half. Deng Ming said lightly.

Liu Jinge suddenly blushed and had a thick neck, stood up suddenly, and knelt on the ground with a puff: "Despicable capital crime!" ”

"Arise, arise, do I mean to blame you?" Deng Ming hurriedly pulled Liu Jinge, who was full of shame, up from the ground, and pressed him to sit down on the chair again: "It's been almost a year since your father handed you over to me, you went from Padang to Kunming, and then came to the capital, and you haven't even gone back home, how can I blame you?" ”

After reassuring Liu Jinge for a few words, Deng Ming continued: "But I doubt that the peasants outside the city will be willing to enter the city. Especially if they were to bring their food with them, they would think that it was a clever order to collect their food, and they would have to take it all at once. If I were a farmer, I would probably run away with the food, or dig a hole at home to hide. No matter what they do, when Gao Mingzhan arrives, he will be able to find the peasants or the food they have hidden. Even if he didn't find it all, it shouldn't be difficult for him to feed for a few months. ”

"What then?" Liu Jinge was anxious when he heard this: "If Gao Mingzhan is allowed to get the grain in the hands of the people of the capital, then it is useless for Jiangyou and Mianzhu to clear the wilderness." ”

"I have my own opinion. But I must start by saying that you have left too much food for the people. ”

As soon as Deng Ming's words came out, Liu Jinge and Ren Tang were all stunned, and it sounded like they were blaming Liu Jinge for leviing too little tax.

"But Mr. said that we will carry out the benevolent government of ten acres and one stone." Liu Jinge asked tentatively: "I don't dare to take too much from the lowly position, and if it is beyond this range, the lowly position has also found other names." ”

"You're taxing too much. Originally, there was no urgency in this matter, I wanted to wait until I repelled Gao Mingzhan before I told you, but since you have already mentioned it, I will tell you now. I set a low tax to encourage the people to work hard to open up the land, and only by collecting less tax can they be happy to cultivate new land. Deng Ming took out a piece of paper, held up a charcoal pen, and calculated the account for Liu Jinge as he spoke: "In the past, the auxiliary soldiers under the command of Liu and Yang Ershuai were in charge of three acres of land by themselves, and the average annual output was about how many stones of grain, six stones or seven stones?" Even if the seven stones are ready, how much will be left after they have eaten for a year? Even if you drink porridge for half a year, can you have two or three stones left? Now let them go to the wasteland by themselves, as long as a person is industrious, has the tools to take advantage of the farm, and it is possible to manage twenty acres of land, which can pay us two stones of grain. If they have about 40 stone of surplus food at home, even if they eat it with an open belly every day, they will eat at most 10 stone a year, right? There were more than thirty stone of grain left, more than ten times as much as when they were auxiliaries. ”

"But, but ......" Liu Jinge felt that he was completely confused: "But Mr. just said that there is too much food left for the people by his humble position." ”

Ren Tang also didn't understand at all, and interjected on the side: "Sir's words, I can't understand the lowly position, no matter how much of this food is, what does it have to do with us, how can it be more than ten times?" ”

Deng Ming sighed lightly.

After learning about Deng Ming's approach, many Fengjie officers did not say it to their faces, but privately thought that Deng Ming would not succeed, and Deng Ming also heard this kind of rumor. The officers believed that although the production of the military tun was low, it was easy to control; If the Chengdu model is adopted, the officials at all levels will be cheaper in the end, and the various losses imposed in the levy will likely exceed several times the regular tax, and finally the peasantry's enthusiasm will also be reduced to the point of being similar to that of the auxiliaries. Moreover, the Ming army has not yet obtained the bulk of the output, which is worse than the effect of the military cantonment system.

"Okay, let's start at the beginning. zhèngfǔ, that is, the official government, what is the final work to be done? Deng Ming asked.

Liu Jinge thought about it sideways for a long time, and felt that many things were very important, and all kinds of work complemented each other.

And Ren Tang replied tentatively: "Is it fair to prosecute the prison so that the people will not be wronged?" ”

"Of course not." Deng Ming shook his head and said, "The most important job is to earn money and collect grain. ”

"Ahh Liu Jinge and Ren Tang exclaimed at the same time, especially Ren Tang, who felt that Deng Ming's words were simply deviant to the extreme.

"Without money and food, you can't raise soldiers, you can't make weapons, you can't feed your army, you can't resist foreign enemies, you can't suppress bandits, you can't collapse and the people will be wiped out. Therefore, zhèngfǔ has to earn money and collect grain, and other things, from fighting wars to fighting wolves, nothing can be done without money and food. ”

Deng Ming's words made Liu Jinge nod again and again. Ren Tang's mouth opened wide, although he wanted to refute a few sentences, but he didn't know where to start.

Deng Ming continued: "However, unlike ordinary merchants who make money, zhèngfǔ makes money by encouraging people to work hard, so it is necessary to reward those who are diligent and willing to work, and the more hard-working people, the easier it is for this zhèngfǔ to earn money and collect grain." Instead of rewarding hard-working people, heavy taxes discourage them from doing their jobs. Especially for the peasants, only by having a light agricultural tax can we produce more grain, feed more craftsmen and soldiers, and let us have an army and weapons. ”

Liu Jinge listened carefully and felt that Deng Ming's words were very reasonable, but Ren Tang felt that he had found a problem and said: "But the agricultural tax is light, how can you collect money and grain?" Light taxes encourage peasants to produce, and heavy taxes increase income, which is not the best of both worlds, right? ”

"In fact, you can have both, because there are many ways to get the grain, and it doesn't necessarily depend on taxes." Deng Ming laughed: "Taxation to the extreme, that is, this method of Juntun." However, even if it is to treat the auxiliary soldiers who are farming, they must also be given rations or salaries on a monthly basis, even if they are given a small amount. If you want to earn a higher level, you can only use intimidation or deception to make people work without pay, and at the same time reduce the consumables such as clothes and food to a minimum standard, and the government will allocate them as needed. ”

"This lowly office knows." Liu Jinge answered, and at the same time, Ren Tang also nodded heavily.

"You know?" Deng Ming originally thought that distribution according to demand was a very advanced distribution model, and it also had a high status in philosophy, which was by no means understandable or imagined by people in this era. He just mentioned it casually, but he didn't expect Liu Jinge and Ren Tang to look very familiar: "How do you know?" ”

Could it be that these two are also traversers? Deng Ming suddenly thought in his heart, and then laughed at this ridiculous idea for himself.

"Of course I know," Liu Jinge and Ren Tang replied in a natural tone: "Isn't this the stuff of Tartar?" The only thing the minions had to do was to work, to work incessantly, and if the tartars felt that the minions needed clothes and rations, they gave a little; If you don't think the slave needs it, you don't give it. ”

"Well, yes, it's the coating system." Deng Ming was silent for a long time, and finally nodded in agreement with difficulty: "In addition to collecting heavy taxes, I have another way, while implementing low taxes, I can get the grain into the hands of zhèngfǔ." ”