I am not an ant thief in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 376, the court once again cannot make ends meet
Yuan Ji shook his head and said, "The number is too large, beyond our tolerance! Although Xuande has been cultivating land for the past few years, the effect of land reclamation in Nanjun is also quite effective."

"Similarly, the Jingzhou army has not been idle in the past few years. They fought with Yuan Shu. King Qin of Chang'an, who ran thousands of miles away, returned to Xiangyang with the entire court, and fought Yuan Shu again not long ago.

Each of these battles consumes a lot of money. Without the support of Nanjun's reclamation, the imperial army would have run out of food and pay, not to mention that we ordered 2000 war horses in Xiliang a while ago, which cost 20 shi of food , and the cost of expanding the farmland this year, the cost of immigration, and the cost of building the palace. Now we can't make ends meet, let alone get 500 million for food!Even 5 shi of grain could not be produced. "

Liu Chong and the others also understand this point. For Liu Bei, moving the capital to Xiangyang City has the advantage of grasping the righteousness of the court, but the disadvantage is that a central court costs a lot. Food, the officials in their hands also need a lot of food to feed. To feed a court is to feed thousands of superior masters. Each of them consumes a lot, which is even more expensive than raising tens of thousands of troops. In history, Cao Cao He couldn't afford to support an imperial court, so he had to downsize the imperial court and move the capital to Xuchang, the place where he farmed.

But now Liu Bei's conditions are better than Cao Cao's, but the cost cannot be reduced.

As soon as Yuan Ji settled accounts with Liu Bei, the Xiangyang court not only had no food and grass, but also owed a lot of money to the merchants. Although the court moved from Chang'an to Xiangyang City, the financial situation has not improved.

It is impossible for Liu Bei to imitate Dong Zhuo's wanton arrogance, so the problems that Emperor Ling faced back then are now in front of Liu Bei, and he needs to solve them with headaches.

Liu Bei even misses Dong Zhuo a little bit now. Although Dong Zhuo was brutal back then, he was good at solving financial problems. The years when the big man was in Dong Zhuo’s hands were actually the healthiest years for finances. At that time, Liu Bei didn’t have to worry about money and food at all. question.

Zhang Fei sneered and said, "It's not that Yuan Shao has a family property of ten thousand. Although the imperial court and the Jingzhou government have no food, the folks have a lot of food. He just uses the money to buy it. Yuan Shao needs the support of our imperial court. Back then, his Yuan family was bigger than the imperial court. If you have money, you can take out a little of the disaster of the people of Yanzhou and solve it."

Liu Biao said: "This is doing something for the imperial court, how can there be any reason to pay for it?"

Zhang Fei sneered, "Sili and Yanzhou still belong to the court?"

"Why don't you discuss it with Yuan Shao, we can support them, but the imperial court wants to send officials to take over the entire Sili and Yanzhou, so he can take charge of the Sili army in his own chariot and cavalry general to fight against Lei Gong!"

Liu Biao was speechless, because he also knew that this was impossible. Now the Han court has no territory directly under its jurisdiction. Strictly speaking, even the court is built on the territory of Liu Bei, a prince. How could Yuan Shao let Chaotian Officials come into his turf.

Liu Bei thought for a while and said, "The court can't ignore the disaster and drought in Yanzhou, but you two have also seen the situation of the court. It is impossible for Jingzhou to support 500 million yuan in food. I can only help him contact the local people in Jingzhou. Let him go to Jingzhou to buy grain, and don’t restrict him from exporting grain. There is nothing else that can be done.”

Liu Chong said helplessly: "Okay, I'll tell Brother Benchu ​​about this news."

After Liu Chong left, Liu Bei summoned his subordinates, told them about the drought in the Central Plains, and asked them what they thought!
Zhang Feidao: "Yuan Shao is much richer than us. Which one of his subordinates is not rich, and the noble families in the Central Plains are even richer. Yuan Shao only needs to let each of them provide 10 shi of grain, and the problem of the victims will be solved. There is no need for us to make a move!"

Yuan Jidao: "At the beginning, I came to the court this time to compete with you, Xuande, for the control of the court. It's just that the severe drought has disrupted his plan, so I have to ask you for help. My opinion is that no matter what the Central Plains If there is a drought in the Central Plains this time, there will definitely be a drought in Hebei, and Lei Gong has no food, so it is impossible to attack the Central Plains. For us, the Central Plains are safe, and it is impossible to fight a big war."

"The most important thing for the imperial court now is not disaster relief, but to find ways to expand its strength. This time we won Yangzhou, and the imperial court's strength has doubled. Now we have to find a way to win Yizhou. As long as Yizhou is in hand, the big man's Half of the country will be returned to the imperial court, relying on the geographical advantage in the south, we still have a chance to fight against Lei Gong."

Yuan Ji's strategy has always been to rely on the south to fight against Lei Gong. In his opinion, even if the land of the Central Plains is not lost now, it will be lost in the future. It is better to use this land, trade space for time, and find a way to unify during this time. The strength of the entire South, develop the economic strength of the South, and make full preparations for the future Civil War!
Jian Yong nodded and said: "Now the Central Plains has become the territory of various princes. The imperial court's support for them is just raising tigers. The most important thing for us is to expand our own strength. Xuande should take advantage of the drought in the Central Plains. It is difficult for the princes of Lu to influence the court, so find a way to seize Yizhou!"

Zhao Yun followed suit and said, "Yun thought that the imperial court could take advantage of this drought to move the victims from the Central Plains to the south."

"The Central Plains will definitely become the battleground between the imperial court and Lei Gong, but Lei Gong has the upper hand in this battlefield. Lei Gong is already strong in military strength and has an advantage in geographical location. This battle will be very difficult. Instead of supporting Yanzhou, it is better to find a way to clear the wilderness in Yanzhou , Transfer the population of Yanzhou to Jingzhou to enrich Jingzhou's strength.

Even if Lei Gong captures Yanzhou, it will be difficult to expand his strength. We must use the Jianghuai land in Yuzhou as the battlefield, and use the advantages of water conservancy and mountains to stop Lei Gong's cavalry! "

Zhao Yun knew the power of the cavalry, and if he wanted to fight Lei Gong in the Central Plains, he would be suicidal. It seemed that he might as well take the opportunity to abandon the Central Plains and leave a piece of land for Lei Gong.

Liu Bei smiled wryly, "I'm afraid Yuan Shao won't give up Yanzhou so easily!"

Huang Zhongdao: "We can't control Yuan Shao's territory. We really need to prepare for the battle of Yizhou. Liu Yan and his son even dared to grant the official position of state pastor to each other privately. The imperial court should send troops to attack Yizhou and waste this opportunity. I'm afraid From now on, the imperial court will never have the chance to attack Yizhou again. The princes from all walks of life in the Central Plains will not watch us expand our strength!"

The drought in the Central Plains this time was a good time for Liu Bei and the others. Only their area of ​​the Han Dynasty did not suffer from disasters. After the autumn harvest, they had enough food and grass to prepare the army for battle.

At this time, the princes of the Central Plains were unable to prevent them from attacking Yizhou. In Huang Zhong's view, this was a godsend opportunity to pass through Yizhou. How could they have the energy to manage the drought in the Central Plains.

(End of this chapter)