Tuoba Gui's spirit perked up and he quickly asked: "How did Murong Chui solve the problem? Cui Taishou please tell me."
Cui Cheng smiled slightly: "It's actually easy, just let the people of Hebei not pay taxes on grain, but instead pay mulberry trees to strengthen the army."
Tuoba Gui was stunned for a moment, then said angrily: "What are you talking about? Aren't mulberries just the fruit of mulberry trees? How can people eat this?"
Cui Cheng sighed: "Because according to the legal system of the Central Plains, in addition to paying grain taxes, people also have to pay cloth as taxes. Therefore, the fields assigned to ordinary people are cultivated on flat land, while mulberry trees are planted on those farmland and mountainous areas. , because silkworms eat mulberry leaves, and silkworms are the source of silk and the output of cloth. It can be said that only when there are mulberry trees can there be silkworms and cloth. This is a basic truth in the world."
Tuoba Gui's anger did not subside, and he said in a deep voice: "What do you mean, Murong Chui does not collect grain, but collects mulberry fruits from the mulberry trees planted by the common people, and lets his subordinates eat these wild fruits to satisfy their hunger?"
Cui Cheng nodded: "That's right, because when Hou Yan was founded, Hebei was in war for many years, the people were displaced, and the fields were barren and uncultivated. However, these mulberry trees do not need fertilization and weeding. They can grow by themselves, and the trees and branches are full of fruits. , you don’t even need people to pick them, they will fall naturally in autumn and are everywhere in the mountains and fields, you just need to pick them up.”
"We in the Central Plains have natural disasters almost every year. Although sometimes there is relief from the court, more often than not, it is good if the court does not come to collect taxes. It does not care about the life and death of the people at all, so we can only rely on ourselves without rice and grain. , they can only eat these wild fruits to survive this kind of disaster. Not only Murong Chui, but when Ran Wei destroyed Shi Zhao and the war in the north left no one to return to farming, there were countless people who survived on these mulberry fruits. . Although the taste of wild fruits is not very good, it can satisfy your hunger and is better than starving to death. If it is more difficult, you can even eat grass roots and bark. Compared with these, mulberries are already considered delicious."
Er Zhu Yujian gritted his teeth: "We warriors outside the Great Wall have traveled thousands of miles and fought bloody battlefields just to come to the Central Plains to eat wild fruits? How is that different from monkeys and squirrels?"
Cui Zhuang shook his head and said calmly: "The Book of Songs says that even an owl's voice will change after eating mulberries. Lord Erzhu, you are men from Saibei, but His Majesty is going to take over the Central Plains this time, and you will follow him in the future." If you settle in the Central Plains and become a farming nation like the Han people, you may no longer be able to cling to the old custom of drinking wine and eating meat on the grasslands, because here in the Central Plains, there are no vast grasslands for you to graze cattle and sheep, so you have to learn to eat grains. Grains, now, you have to endure it for a while and eat these mulberry fruits."
A trace of displeasure flashed across Tuoba Gui's face: "What do you mean, Governor Cui, that my soldiers will have to eat these wild fruits to survive in the past few months?"
Cui Zhuang nodded: "If your Majesty wants to destroy Yan and not retreat, then you'd better do this. Not only that, you'd better send soldiers to search all parts of Hebei, especially the mountains and forests, to collect mulberry trees. It's worth it now." In summer, fruits fall to the ground in large quantities. If they are not collected in time, they will rot in a few days, and rotten fruits cannot be used as food."
Tuoba Gui's face was filled with anger, and he said in a deep voice: "Prefect Cui, please understand one thing. Now all my soldiers have to be put to use, besieging the city to provide reinforcements, and guarding Xinzhanzhou County. No one can be missing, just Even Mr. Helan has been unable to divide his troops to open up food roads for several months. If I had enough troops, would I still leave everyone without food and have to harvest your wild fruits to satisfy their hunger?"
Cui Cheng's expression changed, and he knelt down quickly and said repeatedly: "The humble minister made a mistake for a moment. It is a capital crime. It is a capital crime. Your Majesty, please convict and punish me."
Tuoba Gui's anger softened slightly, he stood up, walked to Cui Cheng, helped him up, and said in a deep voice: "Cui Taishou, I can understand your loyalty, but please also understand the loyalty of my soldiers. Feelings, when you are a soldier, you don’t even have food to eat. You have to eat wild fruits. Not only do you have to eat, but you also have to pick them up yourself. I am afraid that most of my soldiers will abandon me overnight. Here is The Central Plains, the hometown of you Han people, is not the current home of our prairie men. Once they feel that their life is not satisfactory or they are insulted, they will want to go home. If the soldiers have no fighting spirit, then how can we destroy Yan? What if? Our great cause has failed, and if you have taken refuge in the Wei Dynasty at this time, will the Murong family of Yan State let you go?"
Cui Cheng said repeatedly: "It's because I didn't think well. I'm sorry, Your Majesty."
Zhang Gun also followed up and said: "Your Majesty, Cui Taishou is loyal, but he does not understand the customs of the grassland, and does not know the character of the grassland men who drink wine, eat meat, and enjoy grudges. That's why he contradicted him. Please consider him loyal to the Wei Dynasty." For my own sake, please spare him this time."
Tuoba Gui rolled his eyes and smiled: "Cui Taishou is so loyal, what's the crime? After all, you gave the army some ideas to solve the problem of military rations. However, I just said that the army now has combat missions. , we cannot divide our troops to pick wild fruits. Let me see it this way. Now I grant you the post of Cao Shangshu. You can recruit the people of Hebei who are willing to submit to me in the Wei Dynasty. You do not have to be the neighbors of the Lu family or the Cui family. Even if They are refugees who have nothing to eat or drink. You can also recruit them and tell them that if they follow me, Tuobagui, they will have food to eat, and a morsel of wild fruit for our Wei soldiers will be theirs."
Cui Cheng's face flashed with joy: "With your Majesty's words, there is no need to worry about the failure of the great cause. I will mobilize the people of Hebei right away, and I will definitely make the army survive this period. If the Han people know that your Majesty would rather divide If you send out military supplies and care about their life and death, then you will definitely abandon Yan and surrender to Wei, and you will be loyal and obedient."
Tuoba Gui nodded with satisfaction: "Cui Shangshu, don't let me down. And Governor Lu, you can set off now. I don't have many troops here, so I can only let my personal guards help you. After all, The Yan thieves are still strong. If they use cavalry to attack, your Han people will probably be unable to resist them. Where is General Daxi?"
A fierce and brave young general came out and promised: "Da Xijin is here." This man was Da Xijin, a warrior from the Daxi tribe in the Hetao Grassland. He had made many military exploits since he defected to Tuobagui and defeated the Tiefu Xiongnu. Tuoba Gui also handed over his palace guard to his control, which can be said to be the general of the forbidden army, and his life was entrusted to him.
Tuoba Gui said in a deep voice: "I am now ordering you to lead my five hundred personal guards to follow Governor Lu to Fanyang to transport grain. Remember, you must protect Governor Lu's grain team. This ration will be of great benefit to our army." You should know how important it is. Now, come with me to get the Tiger Talisman!"
