Horse on the World

Chapter 158 How to Make Money
Li Qing of Dingzhou has been fully operating Shanglinli for more than half a year. Based on the original Shanglinli City Walled City, in a short period of time, a majestic city was built on the ground in Shanglinli. Its majesty and solidity are not inferior to Fuyuan. , coupled with a brand-new design, integrated with the structure of Weibao, the enclosures built by countless villagers have formed a fortress group.Li Qing decided to use the forest as a springboard to continuously harass the grassland tribes. If you gather a large army, I will retreat and hold on. If your tribe disperses, I will continue to attack.There are dozens of tribes standing in forests on the grassland, and it is impossible to gather them together for a long time, and the fragile logistics of the grassland simply cannot afford it.This changed the strategic passiveness of Dingzhou in the past, where it could only defend and it was extremely difficult to attack. It was mainly anti-customer and harassed the barbarians from time to time.After the completion of Shanglinli City, Lu Dalin followed this strategy and continued to attack with well-equipped cavalry, beating up the small grassland tribes within hundreds of miles around Shanglinli, and had to retreat to the depths of the grassland.

Li Qing was well aware of the importance of Shanglinli to Dingzhou. It was the basis for the long-term stability of Dingzhou. Therefore, even though Lu Dalin was not a confidant, he still gathered most of the cavalry in Dingzhou to Shanglinli, and put them under the unified command of Lu Dalin. He also reciprocated, and he had no complaints about Li Qing's continuous placement of his confidantes in the personal guard camp as middle and low-level officers under him, and he wholeheartedly implemented Li Qing's established strategy.

The order to set up a division-level command has been issued. Lu Dalin has become Li Qing's number one general, and Lu Shi has also become the code name of his current army. He lazily called him Master Wang, but was immediately opposed by Shang Haibo, Lu Yiming, Qingfeng and others. Even Wang Qinian did not dare to call him this title. Stationed in Fuyuan, and Lu Dabing was transferred to be the commander of the personal guard battalion. So far, the grand strategy of Dingzhou's left and right wings flying together to threaten the grassland barbarians has been formed. It was Wang Qinian, who had six battalions of 4 people, but they were mainly infantry.

Although Bayar was well aware of the reversal of the strategic situation between Dingzhou and the grassland barbarians, he was helpless. The fall of Shanglinli made him fall into the quagmire when he made a mistake, and watched the situation passively every step of the way Fortunately, the Dingzhou Army's ruthless raid on the small grassland tribes caused these small tribes to lose the grasslands they depended on for survival. In order to survive, they had to migrate to the hinterland of the grassland, but all the pastures on the grassland With their own masters, in order to survive, they can only rely on the big tribes. As the overlords of the grasslands, the Bai people have obtained great benefits in this reintegration of grassland forces, and they have won the biggest share of the pie, and the tribes have become stronger. , has left the Qingbu and the remaining four far behind.This can be regarded as the loss of mulberry elm, and the harvest of peaches and plums is a blessing in misfortune.

Bayar knew very well that the decisive point with Dingzhou must be within one or two years, otherwise, the longer it takes, the more unfavorable it will be to the grassland. After Dingzhou, the blockade of the grassland has reached an unprecedented level. All strategic materials can basically not be obtained from Dingzhou, and can only be maintained by some smuggling. However, iron ore on the grassland is scarce, and it is really difficult to support a protracted war. war.

And the news that Nuoqia and Nafu brought back from Dingzhou made Bayar firmer in his mind. A small Chong County allowed Li Qing to gather such a strong army. Now he owns the entire Dingzhou, with great strength It is bound to rise rapidly. For Dingzhou, the longer the time, the more beneficial it is, but for the grassland, the longer the time, the greater the disadvantages.

Bayar was silently accumulating strength, and it was urgent to integrate the various ministries of the grassland. If a peaceful transition was not possible, then resorting to force and threatening him would not hesitate. It was really a thankless task for him to attack the strong city of Dingzhou, but if Li Qing dared to march into the grassland, then in terms of field battles, Bayar did not think that Li Qing's Dingzhou army had the strength to defeat the grassland.

It was Bayar's idea to show them weak, lure them out of the city to fight, and destroy Li Qing's main force in mobile warfare.

"Three years, within three years, if we can't defeat Li Qing, then we will be the last losers!" Bayar waved his arms, affirming to Huhe, Nuoqia, and several of himself. said the son.

"We don't have much time. We will integrate all the grassland ministries and start a decisive battle against Li Qing!" Bayar said. "Huhe, take your wolf and approach Qingbu. I will announce on this year's Mulan Festival that the grasslands will be unified into an empire. If Qingbu has any objections, then kill him! As long as Qingbu surrenders, the rest Those tribes that follow the wind will never dare to say a word."

Hu He showed an excited expression on his face, "Your life, Da Shanyu!" After the wolf running army returned to the Bai royal court, it repaired and replenished the source of troops. After absorbing some tribal armed forces, the wolf running army has expanded to more than [-] people. The addition of newcomers has reduced the fighting power of Lang Ben, but Hu He believes that with his own ability, he will soon be able to turn these new recruits into sharp fangs of the Wolf Ben army. It is also good for the tribes to try their knives, train their soldiers, and let them see blood.The Wolf Run Army, which has been fought against the Shiwei State outside the Congling Pass for many years, is far behind even the Long Xiao Army of the Great Chanyu in terms of being fierce and good at fighting.

If they can really unify the grassland, then the Bai people can organize into a troop of 20 cavalry. With the destructive power of these cavalry, Bayar believes that it is more than enough to destroy Dingzhou and gain a glimpse of the Central Plains.

"Young Li Qing, it made you proud for a while. In the future, I will definitely let you see how powerful the prairie eagle is!" Bayar sneered.

In Dingzhou, Lu Yiming looked at Li Qing and Shang Haibo with a sad face, "Commander, this time the army has expanded too much, and Dingzhou is really hard to afford. Although the army has farmland, it can only solve a small area. Part of the grain and fodder, and according to your military merit award system and Yongye land system, a considerable part of the land does not have to pay taxes to Dingzhou, which has gone to a large part. Now Dingzhou's finances are struggling. Linli is another huge expense, and it can be said that the days are like years."

"Didn't I bring back millions of taels of silver when I came back from the capital this time? Why did it disappear so soon?" Li Qing asked puzzled.

Lu Yiming smiled wryly and said: "Marshal, this amount of money is limited, and if you use one, you will lose one. Now the lower officials are talking about the income problem. If you don't solve the source of income, how long can this money last? Now the army The money, weapons and equipment, salaries of officials, as well as the ongoing water conservancy and road infrastructure construction in various counties, don’t need a lot of money. All counties extend their hands to the state. I don’t care about this money at all. Dare to use it! The war with the barbarians will start at any time, and in case of a war, the money will flow like water, and finally I have a little money in the treasury, which must be used only when it is absolutely necessary!"

Li Qing nodded. The current income in Dingzhou is indeed limited, but there are too many places to spend money. Lu Yiming, the big housekeeper, is really tough. You can tell that he has endured it just by looking at his haggard face in a short period of time. What a stress.

"How much money can I get from digging money from the land and collecting taxes from farmers? Is there any other way to get money?" Li Qing asked.

Lu Yiming smiled wryly and said: "Dingzhou is a frontier state, and it has always been difficult. How can there be a good way to make money? In the past, the government concentrated on buying a large amount of fur from the grasslands, and after processing it sold it to the Central Plains at a high price. After a year, it has a lot of income. , but now that the hostility between Dingzhou and the grassland is so serious, how can it be possible to receive a large amount of fur?"

Li Qing said with a smile: "Wars are wars. Are there no merchants to do business? Merchants are profit-seeking. As long as there is enough profit, they will not do business."

"The commander-in-chief's thunderous tactics shocked most of the businessmen. Fang Wenshan and Fang Wenhai have learned from the past. Who dares to import supplies to the grassland?" Shang Haibo laughed.

Li Qing rubbed his chin and killed the Fang family brothers. Unexpectedly, there would be this sequelae, "Old Road, tell the merchants that our Dingzhou only prohibits the import of pig iron, weapons, and grain to the grassland, and the rest is not limited. They do business with the grassland people." , as long as the ban is not violated, we are protected, and the goods we sell to the inner city in Dingzhou, as long as they are willing, we can also provide protection and provide government certificates. Whoever makes things difficult for them in the interior, we will uphold justice for them, of course Yes, there is a little protection fee."

"The fur on the prairie needs to be sold. The nobles on the prairie are used to enjoying the luxuries of the Central Plains. If the grass is gone, it will be very uncomfortable. The original Dingzhou has been fighting intermittently for nearly two years, and the commercial roads are blocked. The ordinary herdsmen on the prairie Daily necessities are definitely in short supply, and if a businessman dares to do it, the profits will be huge. Taking a step back, if businessmen dare not do it, why don’t we do it ourselves?”

Li Qing racked his brains to think of a way, and when he thought of a person, his eyes lit up, "Old way, the salt used on the grasslands is usually bought from the Central Plains. Now that the two families are fighting, the salt will definitely be in short supply. We can smuggle it." In the past, even if the price of salt was ten times higher than that in the Central Plains, those barbarians would have to buy it, right?"

"Salt is also an embargoed item!" Lu Yiming was taken aback. Just now, the commander-in-chief said that it was not allowed to violate the ban, but he wanted to do it in a blink of an eye.

"Hey!" Li Qing sneered, "Food can be collected, but will Bayar collect salt? What are they used for? To take a salt bath! Salt can be sold, and it must be an exclusive monopoly of our government to increase the price. High, although the amount of salt is not large, it is indispensable for a day, and the grassland has a large population, so the profit is huge!"

"But where did we get so much salt?" Lu Yiming spread his hands and said, "We don't produce salt in Dingzhou, so we can only buy it from Fuzhou. Be alert!"

Li Qing and Shang Haibo looked at each other and smiled, "Lao Lu, to tell you the truth, we are doing something in Fuzhou. If it succeeds, the salt will not be a problem, and the result will come soon." Shang Hai Boshen is mysterious and authentic.

Lu Yiming is also an extremely smart person. Hearing Shang Haibo's tone, combined with some internal information he had seen these days, he immediately understood what happened.

"Old Road, don't worry, the difficulties are temporary, and the financial situation will improve soon. Dingzhou's measures to absorb refugees have been extremely successful. The initial investment may have been larger, but the rewards are also great. Don't keep your eyes on it. Regarding the taxation of farmers, use your brains in other places to invigorate the economy. There are many ways. Farmers have money in their hands, where to spend it, it is not used in our Dingzhou. Money can only be circulated It will be more and more, and you can introduce some policies to stimulate the consumption of Dingzhou people, don’t worry that they will hide the money at home.” Li Qing originally wanted to popularize some market economy knowledge for the two, but after seeing The expressions of the two of them just let it go. Just when they heard the word consumption, both of them were at a loss.

Li Qing dialed Lu Yiming, saw that although Lu Yiming looked better, but still in a heavy state, he couldn't help laughing and said: "Okay, let me tell you the truth, I am ready to let the craftsman The camp also does a little business, earning some extra money for Dingzhou. We have tens of thousands of craftsmen in the craft camp and have developed a lot of good things, but their daily consumption is not small, and they can’t do without making money! They should be allowed to To support ourselves is not only to support ourselves, but also to bring us the greatest benefits.”

Li Qing's words were shocking. Shang Haibo had never heard Li Qing reveal his words before, and he knew the inside story of the craftsman camp. Many things developed there were top secret in Dingzhou, how could they be sold?

"No way, Commander, although there are some things in the craftsman camp that can make money, the most valuable thing is the weapons they develop. Once these things are sold, we in Dingzhou will no longer take advantage of weapons and equipment. Although we can get some money to quench our thirst, it is tantamount to digging our own grave and letting us shoot ourselves in the foot in the future!" In desperation, Shang Haibo was at a loss for words.Xin Dao Even if we are poor enough to be poor, we are too poor to take up these weapons to rob our neighbors, and we cannot give sharp weapons to others, so that we will suffer in the future.

Li Qing smiled mysteriously, "Don't be afraid, we can sell, and we must sell the best, most expensive, and most profitable things! For example, the Liannu cabinet! I believe that those aristocratic families in the Central Plains will see such good things, even if we Ask a sky-high price, and they will rush to buy it."

This time even Lu Yiming didn't do it anymore, although he was so poor that he was about to go crazy, he absolutely couldn't do this kind of thing, "Marshal, I'll try to find another way to raise money, these things are absolutely unsalable. "

Li Qing raised his head and said triumphantly: "You don't understand now, let me explain it to you slowly!"

(End of this chapter)