Tang Ning and Qian Baokun both looked down at the map on the table, and saw Xiao Yan's fingertips falling on one of them.
It was called Longkang, with Yuanchuan to the south and Shuipan to the west. It was separated from Pingyang County by a very open river. There was a large plain in front of it, and there was a second city a hundred miles to the north.
When Xiao Yan lowered his eyes, he tapped his fingertips on the word "Longkang":
"Most of the state capitals in the Southland have flat terrain. Only the Longkang area is surrounded by mountains and peaks. This is one of the granaries of the Southland. It is easy to defend and difficult to attack. If this place falls into the hands of King Pingshan, he can rely on Longkang. Kang's momentum can be advanced, attacked, retreated or defended, and with reinforcements from Shuipan and Yuanchuan, the war in the south will surely fall into a stalemate."
"but……"
"But the war in the Southland cannot be delayed."
Qian Baokun's voice was a little solemn. Although he was not a military commander, he was aware of the situation in the court and the unfavorable situation that the Wei Dynasty was currently in. He frowned and looked at Xiao Yan.
"The treasury is empty and food and grass are insufficient. Your Majesty's little gold alone is not enough to support a long-term battle. What you have in hand will also have to deal with possible changes in the coming year. Moreover, it is already winter, and long-distance attacks are not good for Marquis Wenxin and others. "
"If King Pingshan really deliberately delays the war, Beiling and Nan Qi will get involved, and the Wei Dynasty will be unable to cope with the war between the north and the south."
Xiao Yan nodded: "So it is best for Marquis Wenxin and others to end the war before the end of the year, and at the latest they cannot delay the beginning of spring."
Qian Baokun and Tang Ning both understood Xiao Yan's unfinished meaning. Once spring begins, the snow in Beiling melts, the grass and water are plentiful, and there is no shortage of cattle, sheep and horses to chew. The day when the Beiling people strengthen their troops, it will probably be the day when their army goes south. At that time, the monarch of Southern Qi always liked to do things that would add fuel to the fire.
Once Beiling and Wei start a war, they will not miss such a good opportunity.
Xiao Yan looked at the terrain on the map and asked Qian Baokun, "What happened to the grain and grass collected in Jiangnan?"
Qian Baokun said quickly: "A lot has been raised. As you said before, I asked people to directly use the name of the Ministry of Household Recruitment to collect 60% from the grain merchants in Jiangnan at a grain price that is 20% lower than the market price. He also took His Majesty's imperial edict to open two granaries in Tongdu and Qingyi, and exchanged the old grain inside for 70% of the new grain."
The past two years have not been a great harvest of grain, but this year it coincides with the autumn harvest. In addition, there have been no major disasters in the past two years. Grain merchants in the south have plenty of grain, and the price of grain on the market is relatively stable. However, due to the lack of grain last year, Due to corruption, a large amount of food flowed to other places and was corrupted. The two granaries in Tongdu and Qingyi, which were supposed to store a lot of food, had less than half of the food in them.
Qian Baokun whispered: "Except for the garrisons in the two places and the nearby state capitals, as well as the emergency food for liquidating warehouses in case of disaster, what is left is more than 300,000 shi." food."
Tang Ning silently calculated by the side, the Ministry of Revenue purchased the grain at 20% below the market price, and exchanged 70% of the new grain for the old grain, and then calculated the Jiangnan grain prices in the past few days...
"Is the 30,000 taels of gold your Majesty gave to the Ministry of Revenue almost used up?"
Qian Baokun was a little surprised at how quickly Tang Ning settled the accounts, but he nodded: "It is indeed almost used up. Since there are still some scattered grain merchants behind, the remaining gold may not last long."
He looked at Xiao Yan and said:
"I ordered people to escort half of these grains to Marquis Wenxin and the others in batches, and the other half was left in the south. The person in charge of the south was sent by you, so there shouldn't be any mistakes."
Xiao Yan nodded: "Let the food escorts go separately and escort them by water and land in batches to prevent them from being intercepted."
Qian Baokun said: "I know this."
Now everyone knows that there is a shortage of food in the court and no money in the household department. King Pingshan and others may not have one or two "confidant friends" in the court.
If they want food and fodder and have people ambush and intercept them on the way, the loss of food will be a small matter, but it will have a big impact on the war. Marquis Wenxin and others are fighting in the front but there is not enough food and fodder in the rear. By then, they will trap more than just one or two. Personally, Qian Baokun would not make such a mistake.
Xiao Yan tapped the table and looked at the map. His eyes fell in the direction of Pingyang County for a moment before he said:
"Uncle sent a message to the people in the south of the Yangtze River to continue harvesting grain. The war in the south will be delayed. With the wear and tear on the road and the length of the battle line, the grain will not be able to support the hundreds of thousands of troops in the hands of Marquis Wenxin for long. In your hands When you run out of gold, go to the palace and ask for it from His Majesty."
Qian Baokun's eyes widened: "You still want it? Your Majesty, do you still have it?"
Thirty thousand taels of gold had already been given before, and Emperor An still had plenty in his hands?
Xiao Yan laughed and said, "You underestimate our Majesty too much. Not to mention the millions of dollars he spent for disaster relief in Nandi 20 years ago. Later, he colluded with the Lu family to harm the He family. Could it be that my uncle thought that the He family Liang Guangyi and the others are the only ones with enough wealth?"
The He family was exterminated and the first prince died, but Emperor An played a major role in it.
Although the people of the aristocratic family were greedy by nature, how could they possibly embezzle all the benefits and leave nothing to the future emperor even though they knew that Xie Tianyong was about to ascend the throne and would be the new emperor?
"And uncle, has he forgotten that you found some unaccounted money in the Ministry of Household Affairs before?"
Xiao Yan smiled half-heartedly: "Everyone in the court may have no money. Our Majesty is rich. Just ask for it. If he doesn't give it, you can say that the Ministry of Finance has insufficient money to support the war in the south." .”
"The news that King Pingshan has captured the cities of Shuipan and Yuanchuan will reach the capital in the next two days. His Majesty must also know that he cannot let them go north again. The soldiers have to have full stomachs when fighting. If there is no money to collect food, the army will have no food to use. , once there is a shortage of food and the war is unfavorable, not only will all the 30,000 taels of gold that Your Majesty had previously been wasted, but once King Pingshan is allowed to continue heading north, he may not be able to secure his throne."
Qian Baokun hesitated: "But what if he asks about the price of food in the south..."
"Do you think he will ask?" Xiao Yan laughed: "If he really asks, take ten thousand steps back and find someone to tell him the price of grain in Beijing."
Qian Baokun: "..."
He was stunned for only a moment, and then he realized.
Previously, the prince and that bastard from the Cui family secretly hoarded grain, which pushed up the price of grain in Beijing by more than half. The ordinary grain of six or seven hundred cents per stone could later be sold for twelve to three hundred cents. In addition, the Ministry of Revenue was short of grain. , those wealthy and powerful mansions knew that there was going to be a war, and they hurriedly stocked up on food.
Grain prices in Beijing have risen again, more than double those in Jiangnan due to the cooperation of those profiteers.
Emperor An did not care about the Ministry of Household Affairs and did not leave the capital. He would not lower his status to chat with grain merchants and the like. The officials and dignitaries in the court would not carefully understand the differences in grain prices in various places. Unless he was hoarding a large amount of grain, otherwise thousands of dollars would be lost. The money that Shiliang paid was not enough for the people in their house to cheat and steal.
