Fenghou

Chapter 179
Wang Huai smiled wryly, "Where is the tax collection, it is to beg for alms. Two years after Jianyan, the government will no longer be able to collect taxes. Not to mention paying taxes to the court, even the government itself has no food to support. There are still some official land, and there are some shops in the city, which can collect some rents, but since last year, these rents have disappeared, the land has been left unused, and the shops have been closed.

But so many people in the government have to eat!I had no choice but to go to each Dabaozhai in turn to ask for some money and food to maintain the government's expenses. This time I went to Zhoujiabao and Laoyuzhai, and I got more than [-] yuan of money and more than [-] shi of grain. The officials owed it for three months. Salary, too difficult. "

Chen Qing pondered for a while and asked: "I heard that you took the capital prison with you, did you bring the army?"

"It made the general laugh. The so-called army is fifty archers and yamen servants. This force is not enough to fill the teeth of Zhou Jiabao. They have five hundred elite archers, and they can't even attack the golden soldiers. I took the archers to go Those who carry food are not going to demonstrate."

It seemed that he had a high opinion of Wang Huai, thinking that he could restrain Qinzhou, but it turned out that was not the case at all. The situation in Qinzhou was even more severe than he had imagined.

Chen Qing asked again without showing any signs of expression: "Is it true that Qinzhou has no food at all?"

Wang Huai sighed, "It's really hard to answer this question. The government has no food, the common people don't have any food, and there isn't much food in the market, but you are wrong to say that there is no food in Qinzhou. Many big families have food. There is also food in the fort, as far as I have seen with my own eyes, there are at least a few thousand shi in the Zhou family fort, the key is that people will not give you food for free."

"If I buy it with silver, does Wang Tongpan think I can buy grain?"

"I don't know about the Fortress, but the big family must be looking for it. How long the food can be stored is of course not as real as silver!"

Chen Qing nodded, "I want to chat with the big families in Qinzhou. Can Wang Tongpan make arrangements for me, just in these two days!"

"no problem!"

Wang Huai readily agreed, "The major households in Qinzhou are all in Chengji County, I'll arrange it!"

"Also, can the Qiang people buy sheep?"

"But yes, but the price is relatively expensive. If you go to Hexi to buy a fat sheep, it will only cost a few hundred yuan at most. But Qiang people buy sheep here, and a sheep costs a lot. I bought it last year and I can't bargain."

"There is no problem with the price, but the quantity I need is relatively large, and I want [-] pieces."

Wang Huai thought for a while, "If the need is urgent, I can find a businessman who is very familiar with the Qiang people and take the general there. Five thousand sheep are no problem for the Qiang people."

Chen Qing said happily: "Then it's an agreement. Tomorrow, I will let the logistics general follow the merchant."

The two chatted for a while, Wang Huai stood up and said goodbye, Chen Qing sent him out of the barracks all the time, today's harvest was good, the two grain purchase channels were implemented, which made Chen Qing's heart a little lighter.

As night fell, Wang Huai returned to his own mansion. Wang's mansion can be called the largest mansion in Chengji County. It was built during the Song Renzong era. It has a history of fifty or sixty years ago. It covers an area of ​​more than forty acres. The house is full of pavilions.

Such a mansion was also ransacked by Jin soldiers in the third year of Jianyan. Fortunately, the Wang family escaped in time and only killed a few housekeepers. The house suffered heavy losses. The precious wood that the Wang family had collected for decades was all robbed. Go, the strange stone was smashed, except that the house was not burned down by a fire, everything else was seriously damaged.

Although the Wang family repaired the house, it has not recovered its vitality so far.

As soon as Wang Huai returned to the mansion, the housekeeper stepped forward and said: "The old master told me that as soon as the old master comes back, please go to his place immediately."

"I see, I'll go right away."

Wang Huai's father is Wang Yu, who is about sixty years old. He used to be the magistrate and magistrate of Chengji County, and later served as the general judge of Qinzhou. These three official positions lasted for [-] years. Qing, who later served as the deputy envoy of Shaanxi Road Transit, abandoned his official position and returned to his hometown due to the invasion of Jin soldiers.

Although the eldest son, Wang Huai, is thirty-five years old, the Wang family is still dominated by Wang Yu. It can be said unequivocally that Wang Yu is the real leader of the Qinzhou gentry.

Wang Yu was reading a book in the room when the eldest son Wang Huai's voice came from outside the door, "Father, do you want to see me?"

"come in!"

The door opened, Wang Huai came in from the outside, knelt down and bowed to his father, "Greetings to my father!"

Wang Yu waved his hand, "I told you, your knee is injured, so you don't need to salute in the future."

"My child remembers."

"Sit down! Don't stand there."

Wang Huai sat down, and Wang Yu immediately asked: "The Song army entered the city today, do you know?"

Wang Huai knew that his father must be looking for him for this matter, which is a big deal.

Wang Huai nodded, "I already know about it, and I visited their chief general an hour ago."

Wang Yu frowned, "Who is he? You didn't know him before you went to visit him?"

"Reporting to my father, Du Min of the state government knows this person and introduced me to the situation. This person is Chen Qing who blocked the Jin soldiers at Jiandao Pass."

"It was him!"

Wang Yu suddenly realized that Chen Qing had a great reputation on Xihe Road. He fought tens of thousands of golden soldiers at Jiandao Pass. At the end of last year, he captured Pingliang Mansion, killed more than [-] golden soldiers, and opened a warehouse to release grain. This incident shocked him. The entire Xihe Road.

"What is his intention in coming to Qinzhou?"

"Father, he was personally appointed by the emperor as the envoy of the Qinzhou system last year. This time he led [-] troops here, which means he has officially taken office."

"Are you sure it's the envoy of the Qinzhou system, not the envoy of soldiers and horses?"

"I'm sure, the boy has seen the appointment letter from the Ministry of Officials with his own eyes, and he has also seen the official seal."

"Do you know what it means to make an envoy?"

"The boy is going to ask his father for advice."

"Zhizhi envoy is the military and political supervisor. That is to say, Qinzhou will no longer appoint Zhizhou. He is your immediate superior. Of course, the premise is that the court must recognize your general judgment. This is a troublesome matter."

Wang Yu sighed, "Regardless of whether you have worked for the Jin people or not, you are an official under the rule of Jin Bing, not appointed by the court. This is a taboo of the court, and it is generally difficult to get the court's recognition."

Wang Huai shook his head, "If the court refuses to admit it, I'll be fine if I don't become an official."

"You can't say that. Your passing judgment is the key to safeguarding our family's interests. If you didn't pass the judgment, Jin Bing would let our Wang family go?"

Wang Huai was silent for a moment and said: "Chen Qing told me that he didn't care if I was appointed by the court, the key is that I should be able to do things."

"What does he mean when he says yes?"

"His biggest headache now is food. The main topic we are talking about today is the issue of military rations."

Wang Yu frowned, "The food problem is not easy to solve!"

"He is willing to pay for it, and it is in silver. He seems to have a lot of silver in his hand."

"Needless to say, it must have been snatched from the golden men of Pingliang Mansion, but with silver in hand, things will be easy to handle."

"Father, he seems to hope that I can help him solve the problem of the fort. Although he didn't say it clearly, I can feel what he means."

"The problem of the fortress is even more difficult to solve, even if you have money."

Wang Yu was also relieved, and said to his son: "It seems that Chen Qing is very pragmatic, but you have to be smarter and ask him to send someone to be a recorder to join the army, so that he won't interfere with the usual government affairs. His mind will be entirely on the military."

Recording affairs and joining the army is the head of the six Cao officials, and the power of government affairs is second only to the general judge. Wang Yu is indeed a veteran who has been in the officialdom for many years. He knows how to balance the relationship between his son and Chen Qing.

His son holds the power of government affairs, but Chen Qing is the envoy of the system, and the military and government are in charge. Taking Chen Qing aside in government affairs will only be a way to bring disaster, and giving Chen Qing the second position in government affairs will not only save his own Power can also make Chen Qing feel at ease about government affairs.

Wang Huai understood his father's painstaking efforts, nodded and said: "My child understands."

After a pause, Wang Huai said again: "Chen Qing asked me to invite the gentry from Qinzhou for him, how should father arrange it?"

Wang Yu thought for a while and said, "Just arrange it in Tianshui Restaurant, our Wang family treats guests, and treat it as a clean-up for him!"

(End of this chapter)