The Flourishing Tang Dynasty: Beginning with Marrying Yang Yuhuan

Chapter 251: Local and Imperial Court

Li Jingyu said: "The duties of the Dou Lu Army, in addition to defending against foreign enemies, also need to watch over the Pangcheng tribe in the south. Usually, we have to investigate and send troops to patrol. This will cost more money. Of course, we can also stay in the barracks and do nothing, but if we really do nothing, and something goes wrong, the court will blame us."

Li Siye smiled meaningfully and said, "The extra 10,000 shi of grain consumed is enough for your 4,000-man army to use for more than three months. Deputy General Li, we are all military men. You are not trying to deceive me with such general talk, are you?"

"How dare I!" Li Jingyu quickly denied it, and at the same time he was surprised.

In his opinion, Li Siye was just a rough man, brave but not wise. Why would he suddenly calculate these details?

But Li Siye gave him more surprises than that.

Li Siye continued, "As far as I know, last year the Dou Lu Army loaned grain to merchants and asked them to sell it in other places that were short of grain to earn the difference in price. I don't know where the grain you loaned to the merchants came from."

"This..." Li Jingyu didn't know how to explain it.

"Also," Li Siye continued, "the grain you consumed is only data on the books. On the books, Shazhou had a good harvest last year, and the grain price was already low. Then the wealthy merchants in Shazhou suddenly dumped the grain, which further lowered the grain price. After the grain price was lowered, the government office purchased grain again."

The so-called "He Lian" means that the government pays money and the people pay grain, and the two sides negotiate and then trade. In simple terms, the government pays money to buy the people's grain for the army, but it is compulsory.

The original intention of this policy is to benefit the country and the people.

Because if it is implemented normally, it can not only ensure the food supply of the army, but also complement the Pinglian (the Changping Warehouse mentioned in the previous article) to stabilize food prices and feed the people.

But the intention is good, but its use is another matter.

Before Tianbao, the policy was generally implemented normally in all parts of the Tang Dynasty. After Tianbao, the imperial court became corrupt and various places followed suit.

The overly brainless local officials would, based on the mandatory nature of the Helian system, force the people to buy grain at low prices, then report the market price to the central government for money and make a profit from the difference.

Those who were more gentle and smart joined forces with local wealthy businessmen to lower the price of grain before buying it. After buying the grain, they raised the price and reported it to the central government.

But in either case, this is just the tip of the iceberg.

There are many ways to make money in different places. For example, the government can use the Helin to buy more grain and then lend it to merchants. Or it can buy grain from wealthy merchants at high prices and then split the profits equally. There are countless other ways.

Li Siye didn't know the details of these things. After he told Li Jingyu what he knew, he looked at him coldly.

Li Jingyu felt uneasy when he was looked at, and said, "The general is talking about the government office, which has nothing to do with the army."

"Really?" Li Siye asked back, but didn't continue.

The two were silent for a while, and Li Jingyu became even more panicked.

Li Jingyu looked at Li Siye, and suddenly sighed heavily, saying: "Since General Li knows, I will not hide it. The previous incident of soldiers storing valuables from the Western Regions not only happened in Beiting, but also in Hexi, and it was even more serious in Hexi. In Beiting, His Royal Highness Prince Shou raided the homes of illegal wealthy merchants and got some money back for the soldiers, but no one in Hexi cared. These losses must be earned back from other sources, otherwise the soldiers will be hard to tame without money."

Li Siye agreed with Li Jingyu's words, but he kept Liu Yan's suggestion in mind and did not answer.

Seeing that Li Siye did not answer, Li Jingyu paused and said, "Also, let me say something that I shouldn't say. We, the border troops, have been in this bitter cold place, risking our lives, and only get 12 stone of grain a year. But the soldiers in the capital get 36 stone of grain a year, and their rewards are also more than those of the border troops. Under such circumstances, the border troops will naturally have to find ways to increase their income."

Li Jingyu got up, opened the door, looked at the snowflakes flying outside, and continued, "General Cen Shen once wrote a poem: 'The north wind blows the white grass to the ground, and the Hu sky snows in August.' We didn't kill people, set fires, or rob. We just tried to make a little money so that the soldiers would have food to eat and clothes to wear to calm the soldiers. Is that wrong?"

Li Siye stood up and said with his hands behind his back, "Whether it is wrong or not is not for me to decide. I only ask what I should ask."

After saying that, he strode out the door.

When he got outside, Li Siye felt that the wind and snow were getting stronger. He rubbed his hands and said secretly, "The weather in Hexi is colder than that in Qixi." Li Jingyu watched Li Siye walk away. The more he thought about it, the less confident he felt. So he hurried out to find Wang Huailiang, the military commander of the Doulu Army.

Wang Huailiang was both the commander of the Doulu Army and the governor of Shazhou.

After the collapse of the local military system and the implementation of the recruitment system, the Tang Dynasty conducted a series of explorations on the recruitment system.

Among them, one of the results of the exploration was that the governors of some states where military towns were stationed also served as military envoys of the military town.

The reasons for this result are similar to those for the Jiedushi.

The Jiedushi was in charge of the military and political affairs of the vassal states, while the military envoys under him were in charge of the military and political affairs of the states.

The advantage of this is that local governments have greater autonomy and can better mobilize local resources to deal with complex and ever-changing border wars.

The disadvantages are also obvious, that is, they will resist each other in the later period. In the big picture, the feudal lords are divided, and in the small picture, there are also many military leaders within the feudal lords.

At this time, Wang Huailiang was pacing back and forth in the room.

Although he did not personally go to accept Li Siye's interrogation, it was more difficult than going there.

When he saw Li Jingyu coming, he asked quickly, "What's the situation?"

Li Jingyu shook his head and said with a wry smile: "I don't know."

"What does 'I don't know' mean?" Wang Huailiang was anxious and confused. "Good is good, bad is bad. You have been talking for a long time, how can you not know?"

Li Jingyu said: "Li Siye's attitude is unclear. He just asked but did not express his opinion. I am wondering if it is because we did not give him money?"

"You are so obsessed with money, aren't you?" Wang Huailiang glared at Li Jingyu. "Li Siye is one of the closest generals to Prince Shou. He gave up his bright future to get a small profit from you?"

"Then why is this?" Li Jingyu couldn't figure it out.

Wang Huailiang pondered for a moment and said, "Given Li Siye's temperament, he would not act this way. He should have been instructed by Prince Shou. In other words, not expressing his opinion is Prince Shou's intention."

Li Jingyu said: "What does Prince Shou mean by this? Either don't investigate, or investigate thoroughly. How can it be possible that..."

"Alerting the snake!" Wang Huailiang interrupted Li Jingyu, guessing what Li Heng was thinking.

"Then what should we do?" Li Jingyu asked.

"What can we do? Can we still rebel?" Wang Huailiang said to Li Jingyu, and after thinking for a long time, he said, "We have done what we should and shouldn't do. If we try to make up for it now, we will only make more mistakes. It's better to cooperate with Prince Shou."

Li Jingyu was startled and asked, "Does the military envoy want to make this a big deal?"

"That's right." Wang Huailiang nodded. "It's hard to check the military accounts, but we can tell who is loyal and who has ulterior motives through this incident."

Li Jingyu thought about it and said, "I understand."

Wang Huailiang said, "If you understand, go ahead and do it."

"Yes." Li Jingyu took the order and retreated.

(End of this chapter)