In Jizhou, Yecheng, in the Yuan Mansion, Lin Mo rubbed his temples and clenched his chin in a daze with despair.
The North Country is simply a mess, and it is not an exaggeration to describe it as internal and external troubles.
I originally thought that taking Yuan Shang and ordering Beiguo to do so would allow me to be like a fish in water in Beiguo. However, judging from the current situation, it is more like a fish in a soup pot.
The power of the Beiguo family far exceeded Lin Mo's imagination. He even felt that he could not control the situation and it would lead to chaos.
This matter also starts with the annual taxes, land acres, and titles sent by the counties in the North.
At that time, Lin Mo discovered a very strange problem, that is, the county's tax revenue, registered acres, and population were hugely different from what he knew.
With this number, it is absolutely impossible for Yuan Shao to support hundreds of thousands of troops from the Northern Kingdom. If the above figures are simply used to enrich the treasury, then the entire Jizhou plus Qingzhou can support no more than 150,000 troops.
The question arises. Yuan Shao boasted an army of 700,000 at his peak. Where did he get the food, grass and troops?
After asking the Xin brothers for questioning, they discovered that more than half of Yuan Shao's so-called hundreds of thousands of troops were serfs or private soldiers raised by aristocratic families from the four states of the North.
Also presented to Yuan Shao were countless weapons, war horses, and provisions.
This is the strength of the family. If everyone works together, they can launch a powerful leader Yuan Shao.
However, everything has advantages and disadvantages, and the advantages are obvious. As the leader of the world's noble families, the Yuan family can follow the example of Liu Xiu, the son of the plane, and embrace the strength of all parties to strengthen itself.
The disadvantage is that you have to be suppressed by the aristocratic family and be influenced by them. This kind of suppression does not necessarily have to be an open conflict, but more about the improvement of the family's power.
The simplest example is that in a county, aristocratic families annexed land, and in turn absorbed the people, turning these people into serfs of the aristocratic families, and equipped with weapons, they became government soldiers.
As the aristocratic families annex more and more land and absorb more and more people, the taxes that the government can receive will become smaller and smaller, because the people absorbed by the aristocratic families will not be registered by the government, so naturally they will No more taxes required.
In essence, this is the core reason for the disaster of party control.
Because all the big and small aristocratic families were carving up the Han Dynasty's cake, the imperial power was challenged, and the eunuchs were pushed to the front to suppress the nobles as a last resort.
But Yuan Shao was able to resolve this conflict relatively well. The reason was that the Yuan family itself was the largest family, and he could easily make these fattening families work for him.
The problem is that Lu Bu doesn't have this kind of background. The more the family eats, the less he can eat.
Moreover, the tendency of annexation and the absorption of refugees in the North is far more serious than that in Xuzhou and Huainan. The tax revenue of the two states' treasury is only about the same as that of Xuzhou.
After careful investigation, Lin Mo discovered that it was himself who caused this situation.
The Quyuan plow invented in Xuzhou allowed people to open up wasteland in unowned land outside the city. Due to the increased efficiency and a series of policies that benefited the people, they were able to feed their families.
Especially after the advent of chemical fertilizers, there was even a situation where farmers had a surplus of grain. The direct effect of this situation was that Xuzhou's tax revenue was greatly increased, and the government had ample money to expand Lu Bu's military strength.
However, the channel through which the curved shaft plow and keel waterwheel entered the Northland was through the aristocratic family. They rushed to build the curved shaft plow and went to open up wasteland in the unowned land outside the city. Anyway, there were too many serfs at home.
It's really not enough. Storage is just a matter of one meal. As long as the autumn harvest comes, the harvest will eventually exceed the expenditure. This directly makes the aristocratic family's merger trend prevail outside the city, and further intensifies the number of people the aristocratic family absorbs.
Correspondingly, the taxes that the treasury can collect are even lower.
In Xuzhou, the advent of Quyuanli gave the people hope of living, and successfully gave Lu Bu the upper hand in the collision with the aristocratic family.
However, in the Northern Kingdom, Qu Yuuli became an accomplice for the aristocratic families to annex land and absorb the people, and at the same time further weakened the control of the Lord of the Northern Kingdom.
This gave rise to the first question that gave Lin Mo a huge headache: how to make policy decisions?
The three counties of Xuzhou and Huainan have preferential policies in terms of taxes, registration, etc., and they also have the upper hand in getting along with aristocratic families.
So, what about the North Country?
Originally, taxes were low, but if we had to go the way of Xuzhou, we might end up having to make ends meet.
If one day we encounter a natural or man-made disaster, we have to beg the family to open a position.
Moreover, under this situation, it can be foreseen that Lu Bu will definitely be in a weak position in the future when getting along with the aristocratic family in the Northern Kingdom.
This kind of weakness cannot be changed by Yuan Shang's identity, because all this was done with the tacit approval of the old Yuan family.
The worst thing is that the Northern Family has begun to make moves.
At first, some aristocratic families took the registers of serfs, grain and grass signed by the Yuan family in the past, and demanded the return of the soldiers and horses lent to the Yuan family. The reason was that the autumn harvest was about to begin, and there were not enough people in the house to collect grain.
Isn't this nonsense? Lin Mo knew that this was just an excuse. It was purely a challenge to express his dissatisfaction with Lu Bu, Lin Mo and his son-in-law.
As for this dissatisfaction, the Xin brothers did not help at all, and even intensified their antagonism.
It was only then that Lin Mo suddenly realized that his calculations were wrong. He originally planned to promote Guo Tu and the Xin brothers to appease the Northern Family, and with Yuan Shang in charge, it should generally be stable.
I immediately forgot that Guo Tu and the Xin brothers are all from Henan, including the Yuan family themselves. The Hebei people felt insulted.
The problem is, you have to agree to the request of the noble families in the North to return their farmland, because they have documents to prove it, unless you deny Yuan Shang's status as the lord of the North.
It's not easy for me to push them into a hurry. If they unite and support Yuan Xi, it will be a big deal.
The current problem is trapped in a paradox. If you want to appease the northern family, you can only give up power, promote northern scholars, and give them some important positions.
But the Beiguo family was already very powerful, and Lin Mo was thinking about how to weaken them. It would be best to achieve a healthy balance like Xuzhou's. If he still used official positions to stabilize them, he would definitely suffer the consequences in the end.
"If necessary, knock down two of them, just as a warning to the monkeys!" Even though he was already the de facto leader of the Northern Kingdom, Lu Bu couldn't understand why he still had to suffer such a dumb disadvantage, and was very angry.
"Who are you hitting? Can you hit me?" Lin Mo said with a bitter smile.
"We will beat whoever is the most ferocious. If you defeat the biggest one, the others will be honest!" This is what the military camp likes to do. If you have the ability to defeat the most ferocious one, everyone else will be afraid. you.
However, if this method is used on a wealthy family, it actually won’t work.
At least, in this current era, he couldn't handle this situation.
When it comes to which one is the biggest and most vicious, after the deaths of Tian Feng, Ju Shou, Pang Ji and others, the Northern Kingdom seems to have lost its famous family representatives.
In fact, no, there are two families. Although they are not famous, their strength and foundation can be ranked among the top ten families in the entire Han Dynasty.
They are the Li family of Zhao State and the Cui family of Qinghe County. They are the Zhao Jun Li family and the Qinghe Cui family among the most famous five surnames and seven hopes in the Tang Dynasty.
In this era, the influence of these two families was not as arrogant as in the early Tang Dynasty, but they should not be underestimated.
Especially after the deaths of representatives of these aristocratic families such as Jushou, the entire Northern Kingdom began to follow the lead of these two major families.
If they are really touched, once everyone in the family is in danger, it is entirely possible that they will all turn to support Yuan Xi.
As for these aristocratic families, just the serfs and soldiers they kept captive, ranging from a few thousand to more than tens of thousands like the Cui family and the Li family, could become a force by themselves.
To play with them, you can't use force, you can only use political means.
"Actually, what they are brooding over is just because we are too leaning towards the Yingchuan faction. I did not handle this matter thoroughly enough.
After the war in Anfeng is over, let Yan Liangwen Chou return to the Northern Kingdom. Although they are just generals, they are Northerners after all, and most of the time they rely on them with the attitude of the Northern Kingdom. "
For these aristocratic families, Lin Mo never thought of compromising from the beginning to the end, because he and them were in the same conflict as the conflict between the imperial power and the aristocratic families due to the scourge of party control and could not be reconciled.
Therefore, weakening them is the way to go, and Lin Mo has indeed thought of some methods, but before that, he still needs to appease this group of people and buy some time for himself.
"News from Anfeng!" A scout ran in and handed the bamboo slip with Anfeng's seal to Lu Bu.
Lin Mo couldn't help but poke his head over to see what was going on. He had previously learned that Chen Deng was used as bait, which earned Cao Jun more than 10,000 yuan, and also killed Gao Lan. Weng and his son-in-law were quite happy.
I hope I won’t let myself down this time.
However, after reading the contents of the express report, both Weng and son-in-law chose to remain silent with a tacit understanding, with melancholy expressions on their faces.
Cao Jun retreated, which was excellent news. After all, Xiahou Dun suffered a big loss from Anfeng.
The problem is that Zhang Liao was seriously injured, but they couldn't be happy at all.
Especially Lu Bu. He walked to the window sill and kept half of his face hidden in the shadows. It was hard to tell what he was thinking, but Lin Mo knew very well that he must be very worried.
Zhang Yang died, Wei Xu, Hou Cheng, and Hao Meng died in battle, and Cao Xing, Song Xian, and Cheng Lian rebelled. Only Wei Yue and Zhang Liao were left with the former leaders who stayed with their old father-in-law.
If feelings can be measured qualitatively, Zhang Liao is undoubtedly his most sympathizing brother in the world. His old father-in-law once said that, like Zhang Yang, he is a brother worth risking his life for.
Now, Zhang Liao does not know whether he is alive or dead. It is conceivable that he must be feeling very sad and wishing he could fly to Anfeng.
"Uncle has been in the army for half his life. A few minor injuries will be fine." Lin Mo couldn't think of better words of comfort.
Lu Bu didn't speak, just nodded dullly.
Lin Mo didn't say anything else. He was not good at comforting people in the first place. What's more, he himself was also troubled by a lot of troubles.
Because the battle report clearly stated that in addition to Zhang Liao, Yan Liang and Wen Chou were also injured. Wen Chou was fine, but Yan Liang was seriously injured. It would be difficult to ride a horse in three to five months. Naturally, they could not be expected to come to the north to help now.
Jiang Yiqu from Liyang, Zhang Yan from Taihang Mountain, aristocratic families from the Northern Kingdom, the eyeing Cao Cao, plus Yuan Xi from Youzhou, the Northern Kingdom is really a mess.
Now, the only thing Lin Mo can count on is that Guo Tu can bring Yuan Xi back. To deal with the Beiguo family, he must first cut off their attempts to support Yuan Xi, so that he can make a move without any worries.
Of course, even if Guo Tula doesn't return to Yuan Xi, he can still count on the two people he found on this trip to help at critical moments. The prerequisite is that they still have to use troops against Youzhou. Only in this way can they really be useful.
According to the calculation of days, Guo Tu should have arrived in Youzhou long ago, and there was no reply from him. Lin Mo was still a little anxious.
Without waiting for Guo Tu, the next plan cannot be carried out.
Therefore, in addition to appeasing these aristocratic families, all that is left to do now is one word.
I hope you don't make yourself wait too long.
The situation was similar to Lin Mo's expectation. Guo Tucheng had indeed been in Youzhou for some time. The only difference was that his trip was neither successful nor failed because he did not see Yuan Xi at all.
In fact, before Guo Tu arrived in Youzhou, Cao Cao's envoy had already met Yuan Xi. At that time, Yuan Xi was just a good son of the Yuan family who wanted to stay in peace and guard the border. He had no intention of fighting for power and did not want to be involved. In the midst of struggle.
But Cao Cao's envoys persuaded him deeply, saying that he was Yuan Tan yesterday and Yuan Xi tomorrow. A tiger has no intention of hurting others, but others are harmful to a tiger's heart.
In addition, the news that Lu Bu had kidnapped Yuan Shang ordered the Northern Kingdom to spread throughout the Northern Kingdom, and Yuan Xi began to panic.
This fear came from him not knowing whether Lu Bu would attack him. Until he learned the news that Guo Tu had entered Youzhou, he began to believe that Lu Bu would not let him go.
Moreover, he was much smarter than Yuan Shang and did not have any decent counselors around him. Based on his own analysis, he also guessed that Guo Tu came here to be polite before fighting.
First of all, let me explain that I am under the order of Yuan Shang, the Lord of the Northern Kingdom, asking you to return to Jizhou. Go ahead and dig your own grave; if you don't go, Lu Bu will definitely start a war and attack Youzhou in this name.
What should I do? I was in a dilemma. Fortunately, I didn't see Guo Tu and left him in the post house. I ran from Zhuo County to Fanyang County.
Yuan Xi knew that once Lu Bu had murderous intentions, hiding alone would not be the solution. He would have to face this hurdle sooner or later, but he needed to be fully prepared before facing the worst situation.
The first thing is that he needs an ally who is strong enough to make Lu Bu afraid. For this, of course, it is Cao Cao.
The second point is to strengthen oneself. In this regard, the Zhen family of relatives can help a lot, but the financial resources of the Zhen family alone are not enough. They also need a super luxurious family that can control the situation. The entire Youzhou Only the Fan Yanglu family has this strength.
The Lu family of Fan Yang, like the Cui family of Qinghe and the Li family of Zhaojun, became one of the famous Five Surnames and Seven Hopes during the Sui and Tang Dynasties. They were one of the most prosperous families in the entire northern country. If it can be ranked, the Lu family can also be ranked. One of the top ten aristocratic families in the Han Dynasty, the typical representative is Lu Zhi.
As long as he can get the full support of the Lu family, it is equivalent to gaining the support of the entire Youzhou family. At the same time, relying on the relationship between the Lu family, the Cui family, and the Li family, he may even have a chance to collapse from within in the subsequent confrontation. them.
Now, the only thing that is advantageous to Yuan Xi is that everyone knows that Lu Bu has taken Yuan Shang to order the Northern Kingdom. So, even if he expresses his intention to replace Yuan Shang, it is not considered as disobeying Yuan Shao's death.
Moreover, the Lu family will not lose moral integrity.
Yuan Xi's trip this time had little effect. The Lu family's attitude was ambiguous, and they did not clearly express their support or rejection.
This is the consistent style of the aristocratic family, and it may be because of the overall situation. They still need to negotiate privately with other big aristocratic families. After all, the interests of the aristocratic families have always been one, and only by uniting can the warlords and princes be afraid.
Therefore, what Yuan Xi can do now is the same as Lin Mo, etc.
But he didn't want to go back to Zhuo County and wait, so he simply stayed in Fan Yang. Before he got a clear answer, he really didn't know how to face Guo Tu.
Or maybe if he stays in Fan Yang longer, Guo Tu will eventually leave.
In short, he didn't want to see Guo Tu and didn't plan to leave Fan Yang before he was completely sure.
Chapter 2 Night
(End of chapter)
