Du Wanyuan sent Xu Tong away and returned to Houya.
Liu Hong held the lidded bowl in his hand, used the lid to stir the tea inside, and said, "Is it sent away?"
"Sent them away, more than thirty carts, sixty or seventy servants, and even more boxes. It seems that Mr. Xu, the governor this year, has been plundering the people a lot." Du Wanyuan said .
Liu Hong said sarcastically: "It seems that the rumors about him in the capital are mostly true, but it's just that the people of Datong have suffered a lot this year."
"The student asked the officials in the yamen. When Mr. Xu took office, he not only called for the payment of white bills, but also added several taxes, especially the banditry tax. Many people were forced to sell their sons and daughters. ." Du Wanyuan said what he had found out.
Liu Hong thought for a while and said, "Please tell me later. Stop the bandit tax suppression for the time being and stop collecting it. I am worried that if we continue to collect it like this, Datong will be in chaos."
"Yes, the students will draft official documents when they get back and send them to various states and counties." Du Wanyuan agreed.
Liu Hong put down his tureen and asked, "Do you think the bandits in Daliang Mountain are really related to the Tiger Flag in Lingqiu?"
"This..." Du Wanyuan hesitated for a moment, then said, "Students don't know, but students have heard that there is a deep hatred between Mr. Xu and Liu Dongzhu of Tiger Character Flag."
Liu Hong frowned slightly and said, "Are you saying that Xu Tong deliberately said that the bandits in Daliang Mountain were related to the Tiger Flag, and wanted to use my own hands to deal with Liu Heng of the Tiger Flag?"
"Students think it's not impossible." Du Wanyuan said frankly.
Liu Hong stroked his beard and said, "Go to Fubiao Camp now and find the commander of Fubiao Camp for me."
"When the students came, they saw General Xu from Fubiao Camp outside the Yamen, so they went to bring him in." Du Wanyuan said.
Liu Hong nodded and said, "Go!"
Du Wanyuan excused himself and left the back office.
Not long after, Du Wanyuan came to Houya with an official wearing a scarlet robe of a third-grade general.
"Sir, General Xu is here." Du Wanyuan came to Liu Hong and whispered.
"The last general, Xu Huai, the commander of Fubiao Camp, came to see the governor." Xu Huai lifted his official robe and knelt down on the ground.
If it were Xu Tong, the former governor of Datong, he would naturally not kneel, but the governor Liu in front of him was different. He had served as governor of Datong for many years and had a high prestige.
"General Xu, please rise." Liu Hong stretched out his right hand and gave it a slight lift.
Xu Huai stood up from the ground.
Liu Hong said: "I heard Mr. Xu say before that you went to Daliang Mountain to suppress bandits not long ago. Is this the case?"
"Reporting to your lord, the general did lead troops to Daliang Mountain to suppress the bandits under the orders of Governor Xu. However, the general was incompetent and failed to eliminate the bandits in the mountain. Instead, he lost his troops and generals, and finally had to retreat." Xu Huai lowered his head and said.
The fact that Fubiao Camp was defeated at Daliang Mountain had long been spread throughout Datong. Not many people knew about it, and he had no intention of hiding it. When Governor Liu asked about it, he told the truth.
"This matter is not all your fault. The banditry in Daliang Mountain should have been left to the East Road General to eliminate it." Liu Hong comforted.
As a former governor of Datong, he knew very well what the soldiers of Fubiao Camp were like. They were only slightly better than the soldiers of the Guards Station. Compared with the border troops under the jurisdiction of the General Military Mansion, there was still a big gap. .
"Thank you for your understanding." Xu Huai knelt on the ground again.
"Okay, get up!" Liu Hong said, and then added, "I heard that the banditry in Daliang Mountain is related to the Tiger Flag. Is this the case?"
Xu Huai thought for a while and said: "The general is not clear about this matter, but Mr. Zhang who is next to Mr. Xu has mentioned it to the general several times."
Du Wanyuan on the side said: "It seems that Mr. Xu made this up out of thin air. It was just to deal with Dongzhu Liu of the Tiger Character Banner that he spread the word that the banditry in Daliang Mountain is related to the Tiger Character Banner."
Liu Hong tied his beard with his hand and nodded slightly.
I agreed with Du Wanyuan's statement in my heart.
"Sir," Xu Huai said, "Since Lord Xu took over as the governor of Datong, Fubiao Camp has not received pay for several months. It was only the day when Fubiao Camp went to Daliang Mountain to suppress bandits that it received one month's pay. Now Fubiao Camp There is no more rice to put into the pot, so I would like to ask you to pay tribute to the soldiers of Fubiao Camp for the sake of the general who has followed you for many years."
With that said, he kowtowed to Liu Hong.
Liu Hong frowned and said with a hint of dissatisfaction: "This Xu Tong actually owes you the salary from Fubiao Camp. Didn't he receive the money from the bandit suppression? Why doesn't he pay you?"
The Fubiao Camp is the governor's personal army and is also an army under the governor's personal control. From a relationship perspective, the Fubiao Camp is more important to the governor than the border army is to the governor.
In the past, when he was the governor of Datong, he would rather delay the payment of the border army than the payment of the Fubiao camp.
Du Wanyuan, who was standing next to him, sighed: "Master Xu's appearance is a bit ugly. He doesn't even spare the salary and money of his own soldiers."
The Fubiao camp had not been paid for several months, and it was obvious that Xu Tong had manipulated them.
The salary money allocated by the Ministry of Revenue was divided into two parts in Datong. One part was sent to the border army and several border fort guards through the General Military Mansion, and the other part was distributed to Fubiao Camp through the governor's Yamen.
If the Fubiao camp is in arrears with wages, the problem can only arise in the governor's office.
Liu Hong said to Xu Huai who was kneeling on the ground: "You go back first. I have just taken office and many things have not been straightened out. After things are straightened out, I will make up for it for you at Fubiao Camp."
"I would like to thank you, sir." Xu Huai stood up from the ground, bowed and said, "I will take my leave."
Liu Hong nodded.
Xu Huai took a few steps back, then turned around and left the back office.
"Sir, when the student was making the handover with Master Xu's staff, he noticed that the governor's office had no money left. I'm afraid it would be difficult to collect the money for the Fubiao camp for the time being." Du Wanyuan reminded.
Liu Hong thought for a while and said, "Isn't there a bandit suppression tax? First, collect a bandit suppression tax from Datong merchants to maintain the normal expenses of the governor's office and the salaries of the Fubiao camp."
"I'm afraid the merchants in Datong have all paid the bandit suppression tax. If we collect it again, I'm afraid it will cause dissatisfaction among local merchants." Du Wanyuan said worriedly.
Liu Hong said: "Xu Tong left me a lot of mess. Money is needed everywhere. I can only turn my ideas to those businessmen. But ordinary people have been plundered by Xu Tong for so long. How can they have any money in their hands?" Silver is available.”
"The students will arrange for the police officers to go to the merchants in the next two days to collect the anti-bandit tax money." Du Wanyuan agreed.
Liu Hong added: "Keep an eye on this matter yourself, and don't let the people below get their hands on it, seek personal gain, and use the banner of the governor's Yamen to bully good people everywhere."
"Student understands." Du Wanyuan nodded.
At this moment, the Yamen servant ran in and reported: "Sir, Mr. Zhang wants to see you."
Liu Hong put down the bowl in his hand and said, "Please come in, Mr. Zhang!"
The officer retired.
Du Wanyuan said: "General Zhang arrived just in time. As soon as Master Xu left, he came to visit you."
"If he doesn't come, I will send someone to find him." Liu Hong said.
Du Wanyuan hesitated for a moment and said, "Sir, is it about Daliang Mountain?"
Liu Hong nodded and said: "The bandits in Daliang Mountain killed two famous scholars, one of whom was an aide around Xu Tong. This shows how arrogant these bandits are. I will never let such a group go." Bandits bring disaster to Datong."
