After thinking for a while, Ye Mingsheng slowly asked:
"Huo San, how much value do you think you can get out of Gu Shouting?"
In response to Ye Mingsheng's inquiry, Huo Sanxian said very cautiously:
"Let me tell you, your lord, although Gu Shouting has been dismissed from the Yan army by Zhao Fuqu, and the old troops who once followed him have also been dismissed, according to our investigation, these people are still very loyal to Gu Shouting.
Among them is Sun Xingcheng, the current commander under Shen Zhuo in Jizhou. He was one of Gu Shouting's old subordinates. He has always been secretly connected with Gu Shouting. We suspect that the Jizhou defense map in Gu Shouting's hands was obtained from this Sun Xingcheng. Arrived················”
"In situations like Sun Xingcheng and Gu Shouting, there are still a few people in the Yan army. In addition, the Gu family, where Gu Shouting lives, although they have lived in Yuyang, are very influential in the entire Youyan area. The Gu family is in Youyan and many The powerful are all related by marriage, which is why Zhao Fuqu later released Gu Shouting from prison."
"Of course, during the conversation with me, Gu Shouting denied that he represented the Gu family and only admitted that he represented himself. However, according to our investigation, Gu Shouting was quite favored by his father, Gu Zhongshi, the head of the Gu family, even though Gu Shouting's future in Youyan was ruined. , but Gu Zhongshi still intends to let Gu Shouting take over the position of the head of the family, so Gu Shouting can still leverage the Gu family!"
"In summary, I believe that Gu Shouting is still of great value and can be used by our army. However, if we use Gu Shouting, we must treat him to death and not give him any opportunities to take advantage of..." ··········”
Huo San's words made Ye Mingsheng understand in his heart and said:
"There are still two months left before entering the customs. Don't worry. Don't contact Gu Shouting first, and then secretly keep an eye on him to see if he has any contact with the Supervision Department!"
"Yes! I humbly obey my orders!"
Huo San took the order in a deep voice and said:
·······················
·······················
Luo'an, Shangguan Mansion.
"Reporting to the Chief Assistant, General Liu Buyi, who was stationed in Chencang, repulsed 30,000 Xiliang troops!" Chu Yuanshan, Minister of War of the Luo'an Imperial Court, bowed to the Chief Assistant Shangguan Hongyuanhui and reported:
Previously, because the young emperor was still there, although Shangguan Hongyuan, as the chief minister, had great power and monopolized the affairs of the court, he still insisted on handling government affairs in order not to fall into the trap of others. He discussed government affairs with other ministers in the Wenhua Pavilion of the imperial city.
However, now that the little emperor Jiang Rui has been abducted by Lin Shize to Sichuan and Shu, and the two sides are fighting each other, Shangguan Hongyuan naturally doesn't bother to show off. He doesn't go to the Wenhua Pavilion and just summons the ministers to deal with it in his own mansion. Military and political affairs················
Hearing Chu Yuanshan's words, Shangguan Hongyuan suddenly smiled. All he had heard recently was bad news. Either Zhao Fuqu was about to attack Jinyang, Feng Han came to ask for help again, or Li Chengen was in Sichuan. Shu was struggling, and he lost many soldiers and horses in the difficult and dangerous terrain, which made him very anxious.
Now Liu Buyi finally brought him good news and repelled the Xiliang army. In this way, the pressure he faced would be somewhat better!
As soon as the smile appeared on Shangguan Hongyuan's face, Chu Yuanshan said cautiously:
"General Liu Buyi, in addition to sending the victory report of repelling the Xiliang army, he also wrote a personal letter to you, sir!"
"It has been said that the frontline soldiers have been owed wages for more than half a year. If they are not paid again, I am afraid that the hearts of the frontline soldiers will change and the army will change their minds!"
As soon as these words came out, the smile that appeared on Shangguan Hongyuan's face immediately disappeared...
Although Shangguan Hongyuan actually only controlled Yunbin, Guanzhong, Hanzhong, Sichuan and Shu and other regions before, he was able to raise an elite division of 200,000 forbidden troops. The reason was all because of the two magic weapons in his hands. One of them was a small magic weapon. The emperor coerced the emperor to make the princes have a righteous name. The second magic weapon was the powerful fighting power of the imperial army, which no prince in the world could match.
It was precisely with the help of these two magic weapons that Shangguan Hongyuan was able to raise taxes from wealthy areas such as Jiangnan, Huainan, and the Central Plains to support the army. However, Lin Shize's counterattack now can be said to have given Shangguan Hongyuan bone marrow pain. A big blow!
Lin Shize took away the little emperor, turning Shangguan Hongyuan's advantage in justice into a disadvantage. From being the chief minister of the Zhou Dynasty who intimidated the world, he suddenly turned into a traitor who was causing trouble and plotting evil. In addition, Lin Shize also took away He killed tens of thousands of Forbidden Army soldiers and occupied Sichuan and Shu, an important financial pillar for Shangguan Hongyuan's subordinates...
Under Lin Shize's multi-faceted attacks, Shangguan Hongyuan, who had lost his righteousness advantage and suffered a serious blow to his military advantage, could no longer collect taxes from other places. Without the support of these taxes, Shangguan Hongyuan's second officer More than 100,000 arrogant soldiers suddenly turned into a huge time bomb!
It is not that Shangguan Hongyuan has not thought about dismantling the army and farming, reducing his own financial pressure, and taking relatively safe measures, but at first he could not let go of his ambitions, and always thought of using the army in his hands to fight, as long as he captured Sichuan and killed him first Lin Shize, if he snatched the little emperor back, he would be in full swing, and his prestige and power might even rise to the next level, which would be incredible.
Secondly, although Shangguan Hongyuan has a very high prestige among his own forces, disarmament is undoubtedly a very easy thing to offend in a military group like his, and everyone can share the benefits. It’s a laugh, but if you want everyone to spit out the benefits, it’s a very difficult thing to do.
Moreover, now is a critical time for survival, and we need to unite as one to tide over the difficulties, and disarmament is undoubtedly destroying internal unity...
In the end, Lin Shize, an old fox, did not give him any chance. He took full advantage of the financial difficulties of the Luoan court and directly joined forces with Zhao Fuqu and the King of Qin. The three parties sent troops to jointly contain Shangguan Hongyuan and did not give Shangguan Hongyuan any breathing space to solve the internal problems. opportunity.
Shangguan Hongyuan had no choice but to be forced to fight, and finally formed the current dilemma. Now in order to relieve financial pressure, Shangguan Hongyuan has already managed Guanzhong and Hanzhong for many years, and has won the support and support of the people. Ten years after the tax was imposed on my hometown, the people were boiling with resentment!
Even though Shangguan Hongyuan paid such a high price, the 200,000 forbidden troops and horses were too many. With the people's wealth collected from Guanzhong and Hanzhong, it was impossible to support so many people, so Shangguan Hongyuan could only After reviewing the situation, they chose to give priority to Li Chengen's troops who were attacking Sichuan and Shu, hoping that they would be grateful and take over Sichuan and Shu as soon as possible to change the current predicament.
As for the other armies except Li Chengen's department, they already owe at least three months of military pay, and even some like Liu Buyi owe half a year...
Nowadays, the Luo'an court can continue to maintain its existence, largely because of Shangguan Hongyuan's personal prestige accumulated over decades. However, if this situation of being unable to make ends meet continues, how long can Shangguan Hongyuan's prestige be maintained? No one has any idea!
Facing Chu Yuanshan's questioning gaze, Shangguan Hongyuan just said calmly:
"I know about this."
Feeling Shangguan Hongyuan's attitude, Chu Yuanshan complained endlessly in his heart. Liu Buyi's letters came every two days, each one with harsher wording. Now he had to put a knife on the neck of him, the Minister of War. He wanted money, but his military department didn't even have a tael of silver.
According to the past, the Ministry of Husbandry would give the Ministry of War a sum of money every year to cover the entire year's expenses. But now, not to mention that the Ministry of War has no money, even the Ministry of Household Affairs has no money. Shangguan Hongyuan is now responsible for the finances of the Luo'an court!
Although he was a little worried about offending Shangguan Hongyuan, Chu Yuanshan was still more worried that those crazy poor soldiers had set fire to his house, so he hesitated for a moment and cautiously advised Shangguan Hongyuan:
"Sir, Chief Assistant, do you think you can give me a little more money? If you don't give me some money, I'm afraid something will happen down there..."
Shangguan Hongyuan, who was already upset because of the money matter, when he heard Chu Yuanshan's words again, he couldn't help but frown slightly and ordered to Chu Yuanshan:
"I know this matter well, you don't have to worry about it anymore!"
Although he wanted to persuade Shangguan Hongyuan again, Chu Yuanshan immediately wisely closed his mouth and bowed out after hearing Shangguan Hongyuan's unkind tone.
After Chu Yuanshan left, Shangguan Hongyuan sighed slightly. He had led troops to fight for so many years. In fact, Chu Yuanshan didn't need to tell him about the situation on Liu Buyi's side. He understood it in his heart, but the problem was that there was only so much money. !
Shangguan Hongyuan still has more than 200,000 taels of silver in his hand. Although this amount of money seems to be a lot, based on the current progress of Sichuan and Shu, it cannot last for long. And if these 200,000 taels of silver are gone, , he really has no money on hand, and it is impossible to collect taxes from the people. Ten years after the taxes have been collected, the people in Guanzhong and Hanzhong will revolt... ············
Thinking of this, Shangguan Hongyuan made a decision in his heart, with a ruthless look in his eyes, and ordered to the guards on the left and right:
"Get Chen Jingyu for me!"
"yes!"
After a stick of incense, the commander of the Supervision Department and Shangguan Hongyuan's number one eagle dog appeared in front of Shangguan Hongyuan.
Chen Jingyu came over and was about to salute and say hello, when Shangguan Hongyuan over there asked:
"How are the bonds of Tongfu Company selling?"
Hearing Shangguan Hongyuan's question, Chen Jingyu hesitated for a moment and then shook her head and said:
"The sales are not very good. So far, a total of more than 70,000 taels of silver have been raised!"
"Snapped!"
As soon as these words came out, Shangguan Hongyuan was so angry that he couldn't help slamming the table and said with an angry smile:
"Very good, very good! I usually treat you so kindly, but now at a critical moment, you bastards are only willing to give me 30,000 taels of silver to fool me?"
Faced with his own financial problems, Shangguan Hongyuan also thought of many countermeasures to solve or alleviate this problem. However, when he learned that Ye Mingsheng had raised one million taels of silver from all walks of life in Liaoyang by selling bonds, he was in trouble. Although Shangguan Hongyuan is a bit concerned about face and is unwilling to borrow money, it has to be said that as a qualified tycoon, Shangguan Hongyuan is naturally able to bend and stretch!
In the face of the financial crisis, he quickly copied Ye Mingsheng's method of issuing bonds and raising money, and regarded it as an important means to solve the current financial difficulties... ···········
In Shangguan Hongyuan's view, Ye Mingsheng, a little brat who had just won a few battles, was able to raise one million taels of silver by selling bonds in Liaoyang, a place where poor people don't give a damn. This chief minister who has been powerful in the world for decades, in Guanzhong, the center of the world in Hanzhong, sold bonds to raise silver taels, and got millions of taels of silver. Isn't it easy to capture it?
However, now the reality has given Shangguan Hongyuan a hard blow. Compared with Ye Mingsheng's hard and soft approach on bonds, Shangguan Hongyuan is obviously too idealistic. He only thinks that as soon as he comes forward, others will definitely buy it. However, The reality is so cruel.
Seeing Shangguan Hongyuan's angry look, Chen Jingyu continued to introduce:
"During this period, people from Tongfu Company have searched all the officials from all ministries. Although everyone donated some, many of them were twenty or thirty taels. Only the ministers of various ministries and the ministers bought the most. Among them, Cao Shanchang, the Minister of Civil Affairs, bought the most, but he only bought one thousand taels of silver..."
"Hmph! Twenty or thirty taels of silver? Are they sending beggars away?"
"Since you don't eat the toast, you have to drink the fine wine! Then don't blame me for being cruel and unkind!"
Shangguan Hongyuan asked Chen Jingyu in a deep voice:
"How's the investigation I asked you to do?"
Although Shangguan Hongyuan did not say anything specific, Chen Jingyu immediately realized what Shangguan Hongyuan was asking, hesitated for a moment, nodded and said:
"Basically everything has been investigated!"
After hearing this result, Shangguan Hongyuan waved his hand and ordered:
"Then there's nothing to hesitate about, let's take action now!"
Chen Jingyu nodded subconsciously, and after he finished speaking, he hesitated for a moment and then cautiously suggested:
"Sir, these people are the pillars of our Luo'an court, right? Do you want to think again..."
Shangguan Hongyuan snorted coldly when he heard this and said in a deep voice:
"What is there to think twice about? The situation in Luo'an will not change even if I am here! You can act boldly for me. I could turn a blind eye before, but now it's time like this. Since you are not on good terms with each other, I have one intention, why do I keep them?"
7017k
