Early the next morning, all civil and military officers, including Bai Yulou, gathered at Qin Xiao's general mansion.

Everyone was surprised to learn that Xuzhou had raised troops.

The saint was kidnapped by Tantai Xuanye. This matter was of great importance. Qin Xiao did not let too many people know about it. Qin Xiao also did not reveal it to anyone present except Yuwen Chengchao.

So when everyone heard that Xuzhou Ye Chaoxuan raised his flag and raised his troops, and launched the banner of reviving Li Tang's country, they almost all thought of the rebellion in three states and seven counties.

Everyone here is fully aware of the serious consequences caused by the rise of troops in three states and seven counties.

If it weren't for the mighty Tang army and Tai Shihong blocking Tusun's iron hoof at the expense of Wuchuan Town, it's unclear whether the Tang Dynasty would still exist.

At that time, the saint had just ascended the throne, the late Emperor Dezong was diligent and frugal in managing the country, the treasury was still sufficient, and the northern frontier army was under the command of Tai Shihong, and the four towns were working together. With these foundations, they could barely block the powerful enemy from the north.

In addition, the situation in Xiling would have been extremely dangerous if General Black Feather hadn't captured the Khan on a snowy night, forcing Utuo Khan to withdraw his troops and reverse the situation.

Everyone knows that if the situation of that year were to repeat itself, the current situation would be much more dangerous than that of then.

Xiling no longer had General Black Feather in charge, but Li Tuo proclaimed himself emperor and held the three counties of Xiling in his hands. The three counties of Xiling that were used to resist the Wutuo people have now become the vanguard of the Wutuo people's eastward advance.

However, the four northern towns did not have Taishi Hong in charge, and Wuchuan had a deep grudge with the Taishi family. They no longer had the confidence that the four towns had to work together. What's even worse is that the Tusun cavalry back then was just a ragtag group of troops gathered together temporarily, fighting against each other.

They are already fighting openly and secretly, but once they are defeated, they will immediately lose their fighting spirit.

But now that the Du'er army has almost unified the Monan region and has strong troops and horses, if it comes back, the threat will not be the same as before.

"I'm afraid this is just the beginning." Bai Yulou and his people have been busy implementing the policy of equalizing land recently, and Qin Xiao tried his best not to disturb him. However, the Xuzhou Incident was of great importance, so he still invited the county governor here today.

"There is something wrong with the decree of Kyoto." Song Shilian had been in charge of the Ministry of Civil Affairs for many years. After Qin Xiao told everyone what he knew last night, he immediately discovered something fishy and solemnly said: "The Minister of Hubu is in charge of the court's money, grain and taxes.

Extraordinary. The tax revenue in the south of the Yangtze River is half the world, so when selecting the Minister of Household Affairs, the court always first considers officials from Jiangnan. When the saint ascended the throne, the person in charge of the Household Department was the Duke of Cheng, the Zhao family. After the fall of the Zhao family,

The Prime Minister of Xiahou also took on the errand of the Minister of Hubu, and until the fall of the Xiahou family, the Hubu family was still firmly controlled by the Xiahou family."

Everyone nodded, and they all knew this.

"If there is a vacancy in the Ministry of Household Affairs, even if the vacancy needs to be filled, the saint should choose officials from Jiangnan." Song Shilian said slowly: "On the one hand, it can appease the Jiangnan families, and on the other hand, it will also help with the tax collection in Jiangnan." He shook his head and said, "No matter what,

, it is impossible for it to be Ye Chaoxuan's turn. And as far as I know, Ye Chaoxuan is not close to the Xiahou family. He can become rich only because of Her Royal Highness the Princess."

Qin Xiao was a little surprised: "He is the princess's son?"

"He was transferred to Xuzhou as the governor. It was indeed the princess who promoted him." Song Shilian said: "This man is quite talented and has the ability to govern a party, but I have not heard that he is good at financial management. The Ministry of Household Affairs is related to

The empire's finances, and since the Jiangnan Rebellion, Her Royal Highness has been suppressed by the saints. It is very rare for Ye Chaoxuan, who relies on the princess as his backer, to retain the position of Xuzhou governor. It is really unbelievable to transfer him to Kyoto to fill the vacancy of the Minister of Household Affairs. "

"Filling the vacancy is a lie, but luring the snake out of its hole is probably the truth." Huo Mianzhi hesitated for a moment, and finally said: "I used the position of Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs to lure Ye Chaoxuan to Beijing. If I don't go, I will resist the order. If I really go, maybe I will never come back.

Can't get to Xuzhou." Seeing everyone looking at him, he forced a smile and said: "We don't know what's going on, but Ye Chaoxuan may have noticed something, so he took the risk. If he hadn't been forced to have no way out, he would have wanted to start an army.

, will not be the first to take the lead. Now that he has raised the flag of rebellion, it can almost be concluded that he really has no way out."

Bai Yulou caressed his beard and sighed: "If the imperial court can quickly mobilize troops and put down the rebellion in a short time, everything will be fine. I am afraid that the rebellion in Xuzhou will not be extinguished for a while, and chaos will arise in other states and counties."

"What the Lord Governor said is absolutely true." Song Shilian said seriously: "Officials in various states and counties in the Tang Dynasty are either promoted by the princess, or have interests related to the Xiahou family. After the Jiangnan Rebellion, those places who were promoted by the princess

Officials were once suppressed by the Xiahou family. For this reason, these people had resentment towards the Xiahou family and even the saints. Once the Xiahou family fell, officials all over the states and counties who had interests in the Xiahou family were in danger. If someone took the opportunity to incite

, I guarantee that these people will cause trouble along with the Xuzhou Incident."

Everyone knew that Song Shilian knew the officials from all over the Tang Dynasty best, and what he said was also to the point.

The tree fell and the monkeys dispersed, twenty years after the saint ascended the throne. During these twenty years, the power of the Xiahou family was unmatched. There were countless officials attached to the Xiahou family, all over the states and counties of the Tang Dynasty. Now that the Xiahou family has collapsed, these officials are naturally frightened day and night.

It is reasonable to worry about being labeled as a member of Xiahou's party.

Qin Xiao sighed in his heart, secretly thinking that Tantai Xuanye was ambitious and thought that he could control the Tang Dynasty by holding the emperor hostage and controlling the capital. It seemed that he was still short-sighted.

"What do you think we should do?" Qin Xiao knew that the civil servants and military generals here were also very knowledgeable people, and it would not be a bad thing to listen to everyone's opinions.

Everyone looked at each other, and Bai Yulou finally took the lead and said: "General, the more times this happens, the more we must remain calm. No matter how windy or rainy it is, I will remain unmoved. Forgive me for speaking frankly, please don't.

It is said that it is just a rebellion in Xuzhou. Even if there is smoke everywhere in the pass, with our strength, we can only sit on the sidelines and have no spare power to quell the chaos for the court. On the contrary, the more turmoil there is in the pass, the court will have no time to look eastward, and the Liaodong Army will have no scruples.

, will do anything to dominate the Northeast."

"I agree with the Governor's opinion." Yuwen Chengchao finally said: "General, the Liaodong Army has rebelled. As long as we can destroy the Liaodong Army for the court, we are loyal to the court. If there is a rebellion in the pass, the court will make its own decision.

It is a great achievement for us to stabilize the Northeast for the imperial court. From the perspective of the general, the top priority is to quell the rebellion of the Liaodong Army. The next step is to recapture Shunjin City for the imperial court and wipe out the rebels in the city."

Everyone else also nodded.

Qin Xiao smiled and said: "Yes, let's do our duty, which is to be loyal to the imperial court." Looking at Huo Mianzhi and Yuwen Huaiqian, he said: "Huo Juncheng, Master Yuwen, the autumn harvest is coming, my

I mean, is it possible to have more contact with the grain merchants in the customs and purchase more grain and grass? The weather in western Liaoning is not very good this year, and the harvest is not good. The grain harvested in western Liaoning alone may not be able to satisfy everyone. We must prepare for a rainy day and buy more grain.

Some inventory.”

Everyone was amused, but they also understood what Qin Xiao meant.

Although the weather in the Northeast this year is far from smooth, it is not weak either. Judging from the growth of the rice fields, even if it is not a good harvest year, there will be no shortage of grain and grass harvested.

Qin Xiao ordered the purchase of grain and grass from the pass, just to grab more grain in his hands before the world was in chaos. The so-called don't panic when you have grain in your hand. If the world is in chaos, grain will be more precious than gold.

Huo Mianzhi immediately said: "The lower official is about to report this matter to the general. The autumn harvest is around the corner. In addition to the government's grain harvesting, the private grain trade will also become lively. The Central Plains has always been a grain-producing area, with Jianghuai being the most important.

This year is considered to be the best harvest in many years. I heard that there will be a bumper harvest in the Jianghuai area, and in the Yuzhou area, the weather is good and the harvest will be good. If we send people to buy grain, we should be able to stock up a batch of grain and grass here.

"

"Don't send people in the name of the government, let alone buy food in the name of Long Ruijun." Bai Yulou said immediately: "General, I'm thinking of a way to try."

Qin Xiao immediately said: "Master County Sheriff, please speak!"

"Tax offset with grain." Bai Yulou said.

Everyone present looked at each other, unable to understand what Bai Yulou meant for a while.

"Can you please elaborate, Lord Sheriff?"

"It's actually very simple." Bai Yulou said: "Now the trade routes of the Heishan Trading Ground are completely controlled by us. I heard that the trade there is very prosperous. The supply of goods in Fucheng has been cut off, and the needs of the northern tribes can only be met.

It is supplied by the Heishan Trading Center. The general has long ordered that the Heishan Trading Center must have genuine goods and strictly control both the goods and the prices. Therefore, the northern tribes have great trust in the Heishan Trading Center, and the transaction volume is also increasing day by day.

huge."

Qin Xiao nodded and said: "If this continues, the transactions in the trading field will indeed become more and more prosperous."

"The general has just set the tax ratio." Bai Yulou said: "The official believes that most of the commercial taxes collected from the Black Mountain Trading Center will eventually be used to prepare grain and grass. In this case, can we let the merchants at the trading center

Use grain to offset taxes? These merchants have huge business connections in the customs. They directly contact and trade with grain merchants in the customs. They purchase grain and grass in the customs at low prices. After transporting it to western Liaoning, they can offset the taxes they have to pay at the market price. In this way

First, they can get part of the profit from the price difference, and we don't have to send people to purchase food in the customs, and the transportation and other costs are no more than what we have to bear ourselves, which is beneficial to both parties."

As soon as these words came out, everyone present showed excitement. Yu Wen Chengchao was the first to clapped his hands and applauded: "What a good plan, what a good plan. The idea of ​​the general and the governor is really a good plan. Now this is the best plan.

There is no need for us to purchase grain within the customs and cause rumors, and secondly, using grain as a tax credit will definitely allow a large amount of grain to be transported from the customs to western Liaoning, and we do not have to worry about the problem of logistical food shortages."

"Experts do what they do." Feixin, who had been silent all this time, also laughed and said: "We are not businessmen. If we really go to the pass to buy grain, many things may not be handled well. Now we only need to let the merchants do the transactions themselves and take the money directly.

Grain tax deduction is really a clever move." Xiang Qin Xiao said: "General, all we have to do is to build a few more granaries in western Liaoning. The autumn harvest season will soon be here, and a large amount of grain and grass will be shipped. I am only worried that there will be no food by then.

Place to hoard.”
Chapter completed!