Qinzhou.
At this time, under Liu Yuzhi's urgent order, county magistrates from all over the country had already gathered together.
He is the governor of Qin. Under the decree, the county magistrates dare not delay. In the hall, a group of officials were all wearing county magistrate uniforms. After seeing him, they all bowed their hands and saluted: "Master Liu."
"Okay, it's an emergency, let's not talk nonsense."
Liu Yuzhi went straight to the point, looked around and said: "Right now, our officers and men of the Qin Army are fighting bloody battles with the Xirong on the front line. Food and grass matters are a top priority. If the war is unfavorable because of this, we and other officials will be unforgivably guilty."
His words were very straightforward. When the officials heard this, they first looked at each other, and then the Ganshan County Magistrate stood up, cupped his hands and said:
"Master Liu, according to the government order, the wasteland has just been reclaimed, and the reclaimed land is not in the spring plowing season, which means that people everywhere will have no harvest this year. Especially in our county, the people's rations are still insufficient. Even if a forced conscription is launched, I’m afraid it’s just a drop in the bucket.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Liu Yuzhi said: "Forced conquest will inevitably arouse people's resentment. If the people's resentment comes together, it will not be conducive to the future governance of Qin. More importantly, if the people have no food, it may cause some unrest. Therefore, we need to find a A compromise."
"What do you mean, sir..." an official asked.
Liu Yuzhi said: "In the past, there were many powerful people in various counties who took over fertile land. Over the years, how many people have they exploited? It all comes from them!"
"But this... there is no reason, sir." Ganshan County Magistrate said.
Liu Yuzhi glanced at him and said seriously: "The family and the country are in trouble, this is the reason! You are officials, no matter how rich and powerful they are, they are also citizens. Can you understand what I mean?"
"this……"
The Ganshan County Magistrate wanted to say something else, but Liu Yuzhi said again: "Considering the situation in Ganshan, two thousand stones, is there any problem?"
"Sir, this." Ganshan County Magistrate was a little anxious.
As a result, Liu Yuzhi raised his hand to stop him before he finished speaking, and then looked at the Yangping County Magistrate: "Yangping County, three thousand stones, is there any problem?"
He was so direct and his tone was unquestionable. The Yangping County Magistrate couldn't help but swallowed, secretly glanced at Liu Yuzhi's face, and then said weakly: "Yes...yes, I will obey your order."
"Yulin, two thousand stones..."
He arranged the tasks one by one, and when he arrived at Fengyang County, the county magistrate Jiang Yi stood up first, cupped his hands and said, "Sir Chang Shi, Fengyang County can produce ten thousand stones of food and grass."
What? When the officials heard this, they couldn't help but look at him.
You must know that Qin is very poor now. The people have no harvest. The wasteland has just been reclaimed. It is already very difficult to produce thousands of stones of food and grass, but Jiang Yi only asked for ten thousand.
Liu Yuzhi couldn't help but look at him, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he nodded and said, "Okay, since Mr. Jiang is so confident, I'll leave it to you."
As he spoke, he glanced at the crowd and said, "Remember, this matter is extremely urgent and there must be no slack. If you do not complete the assignment of the state capital, you can resign to the prefect yourself."
This...when the officials heard this, they couldn't help their Adam's apple sliding and secretly swallowed their saliva.
"Now everyone goes back and prepares quickly."
"As ordered——" Everyone bowed and left.
After they dispersed, Liu Yuzhi hurried back to the Ordnance Department in person.
Today's Ordnance Department has recruited a lot of workers, and it can be described as lively and busy. With Xiao Yuan's strong support and funding, it has been divided into several departments. Some places are making swords and armors, and some are making war swords and armors. Forge a strong bow and crossbow.
Hearing that Chang Shi had arrived, Ji Ping, the chief of the Ordnance Department, couldn't help but rush out to greet him.
When the two met, before he could speak, Liu Yuzhi asked directly: "Have the new batch of arrows been made?"
"According to your instructions, the Ordnance Department is working day and night, and preparations will be completed tonight." Ji Ping replied.
"Okay." Liu Yuzhi nodded: "The governor, in running the army, pays special attention to bows and crossbows. Without the Qin army's arrow array, there will be one less weapon to kill. Therefore, there must not be any mistakes in this batch of arrows. After loading them into a cart, , I will check it personally."
"Yes, yes, Sir Chang Shi, you can rest assured..." Ji Ping replied repeatedly.
While the two were talking, Ye Cheng quickly came over and said anxiously when they met: "Oh, Mr. Liu, I've been looking for you for a long time."
"Oh? But are all the four major businessmen here?" Liu Yuzhi asked.
"Exactly, I'm waiting for you in Zuichun Tower." Ye Cheng replied.
"Okay, let's go." Liu Yuzhi was extremely busy. He had just finished explaining to the county magistrates and came to the Ordnance Department again. Before he could stand firm, he ran to Zuichun Tower again.
Ye Cheng followed him and couldn't help but said on the way: "Master Liu, now our army is in urgent need of food and grass, and these powerful men are so rich, but they are all resisting and unwilling to contribute. Why did the governor attack Xirong? Isn't it for this reason? Peace in Qin? In order to protect these people? Let me tell you, why not let the Wuwei Mansion surround them with heavy troops and arrest them all! Suppress them with force! Let’s see who dares not to give them!"
"Nonsense!" Liu Yuzhi glared at him and said, "In this case, he is no different from a bandit. From now on, whoever dares to come to Qin to do business will inevitably cause a large number of merchants to flee."
"Then...what should we do?"
"Don't worry, they will take care of it themselves." Liu Yuzhi smiled slightly.
Zui Chun Tower.
This is the largest restaurant in Qinzhou. In the private room, the dishes are served one by one by the waiters. Four businessmen are already waiting. These four people are all wealthy businessmen in Qinzhou, with huge wealth and business all over Qinzhou.
But no matter how rich they were, Qin Governor Shi and his second-in-command invited them, so they had no choice but to come to the banquet.
While waiting, one of them frowned slightly and said with some worry: "In the past, I wanted to invite Liu Yuzhi out for a meal, but was unable to do so. Now he invites me to wait instead. This is a bit strange."
"Yes, it seems that the situation is not good..." someone else added.
The four people were discussing in low voices. At this moment, footsteps were heard outside, and Liu Yuzhi walked in quickly.
Seeing this, the four people stood up quickly, put on smiles, and saluted each other: "I have met Mr. Liu."
"Everyone is polite, please take a seat." Liu Yuzhi returned the salute with a smile on his face.
Everyone sat down one after another. The four merchants looked at each other first, and then one of them took the lead and said, "We are honored to be invited by Mr. Liu today, but I don't know what your instructions are."
Liu Yuzhi glanced at several people and said bluntly without mincing words:
"To be honest, you must also be aware of the current situation in Qin. The people are poor and taxes are difficult to collect. Our army is in urgent need of the support of this batch of food and grass. If there is no follow-up supply, the war will be unfavorable. Therefore, I would like to ask you to donate generously. …”
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