The octagonal pavilion was covered with a thin layer of gauze, which slightly blocked some cold wind and the flying snow. Inside the gauze tent, the brazier burned and drove away the cold room inside. On the edge of the brazier, a copper pot with warm wine rose with water vapor, and the fragrance of wine was filled with fragrance.

Several people sat cross-legged on the thick fur mat, and there was a young girl sitting next to each of them, constantly pouring warm wine for everyone during the meal.

Outside the pavilion, countless plum trees are blooming in the season, with colorful flowers and colorful flowers. There are musicians holding musical instruments sitting or standing under the trees, shaking their heads and playing music. Between the plum trees, teams of women wearing veils and large areas of skin are dancing barefoot on the snow with barefoots.

The formation changes, enchanting and colorful, and from time to time there will be a team dancing outside the pavilion. With large body movements, the graceful figure is revealed, and the pavilion always applauds and praises.

Although the dancers had smiles on their faces, Han Qi could see clearly that their naked skin had already turned slightly red, which was a sign of frostbite.

This made him frown slightly. His eyes swept over the people in the pavilion who were fascinated by the eyes, and a burst of disgust surged in Han Qi's heart.

After staying in Wuyi for a long time, I saw many people there in their style of doing things and being a human being. I suddenly returned to Hedong again and saw these drunken guys, and I couldn't help but feel very uncomfortable.

Looking at these people, he suddenly understood why Li Ze had to deal with the punishment of these clans.

In other places under Li Ze's rule, the big families that Li Ze called clan thieves were basically suppressed. The land that was divided, divided, and separated, and preserved were far from enough to support these people's luxurious life. If you want to make a fortune, the best way to do business.

But doing business is risky. If you are not careful, you will lose your bottoms and not wear them. So those people in the past are now diligent and cautious. And the poorest people in front of you also have hundreds of thousands of acres of land. They do nothing, just sit at home and enjoy an unparalleled luxury life.

Of course, corresponding to this is the decline of Hedong's overall economy.

When all the resources are concentrated in the hands of a few people, it is too difficult for others to make a comeback.

Han Qi knew the symptoms, but he could not and could not change these people. Because these people are now his basic foundation, and these people can unite around him, that is, he can now shelter them from wind and rain and block the implementation of Li Ze's policies in Hedong. And he also needs them to spend a lot of money and food to maintain their strength.

Once this balance is broken, it will be time for the situation in Hedong to break through.

He could see clearly that this war against Tubo was a tentative move by Li Ze. Li Ze never gave up breaking the current situation in Hedong.

I picked up a piece of sashimi as thin as a cicada's wing, dipped it in a small seasoning plate, put it in my mouth and chewed it slowly, thinking about how to spread the matter out.

It is not easy to eat from these people's bowls.

A scream interrupted Han Qi's thoughts, and the music stopped suddenly. He looked up and saw that a dancer probably stepped on the ice, slipped under his feet and fell to the ground. The dancer who was following her was caught off guard and fell one by one on the snow, falling into a ball.

Everyone in the pavilion burst into laughter.

Only one looked angry and stood up suddenly.

But he is the master here, Xue Jun, the head of the Fenyin Xue clan.

"Come, drag all these sluts out and sell them."

With Xue Jun's anger, more than a dozen Xue family servants rushed in from outside and dragged the dancers out, without any sympathy. The poor dancers did not even stand up, and were dragged out by these servants on the snow.

In an instant, there was a loud sarcastic sound in the plum garden, and a sound of begging for mercy.

"Enough!" Han Qi slapped the chopsticks on the table, "Some mistakes are normal, why should we be so strict?"

Xue Jun was stunned. Seeing that Han Qi looked really bad, he smiled and said, "Okay, since Han Shuai said something, let them go, so they are lucky."

Han Qi picked up the wine glass, signaled it, and drank it all in one go, which was a reward for Xue Jun's face.

Xue Jun also drank it all in one go.

"Everyone, this time I made a special trip to Hedong, not to reminisce about the old days." Han Qi, who put down the wine glass, said: "But I came back and asked everyone to donate generously."

"Han Shuai, are you still short of money?" During the meal, Sima Fan, another Sima family in the Xia County, Hedong, said with a smile.

"I personally don't short of money. In fact, I can't use much." Han Qi said coldly: "There are more than a thousand acres of land in my family, dozens of servants, and a salary of more than ten thousand chunks, which is enough for me to live a very comfortable life."

Han Qi had poor voice, and everyone's faces, who were smiling all over the table, were a little stiff. The poorest people here are probably countless times richer than Han Qi. Not to mention the rich people like Xue, Liu, and Sima.

"Cunzhong, please tell me!" Han Qi looked at Li Cunzhong beside him.

Li Cunzhong nodded, stood up, and said, "Everyone, according to various information, the pseudo-liang Zhu Wen has colluded with the Tubo-to-Tcharo. It is very likely that a large-scale military operation against Ansui will be launched next spring. Their real purpose is naturally not Ansui, but directly targeting us. Ansui is our barrier. Once Ansui is lost, Hedong will be exposed to the attack of the Tubo people. Take a step back ten thousand steps. Even if Tubo does not have the ability to attack us, if Ansui collapses, our Hedong will be greatly impacted. At that time, it is probably a wave of refugees and a collapsed army, which is enough for us to bear."

The war with Tubo is still a secret of the court, and these people don’t know about it. When they heard Li Cunzhong say this, everyone’s expressions became solemn.

This is not a joke. An Sui is really about to collapse, and a large number of refugees and defeated troops are pouring into Hedong, so some will suffer.

"So, the court decided that at the most appropriate time, the left and right Wuwei in the Hebei area should intervene in this war, enter Ansui, Tiande and other places in advance, and start the war in these areas to repel Tubo and ensure that our local area is not disturbed." Li Cunzhong continued.

Everyone nodded repeatedly, which was naturally in their interests.

"However." Li Cunzhong changed his mind and said, "The court clearly cannot provide the money and food required for war to our military guards, but can only ensure the military pay and basic needs of the soldiers. Therefore, we have to raise all the needs of the war."

The scene was in a cold moment. After a while, Xue Jun said: "Since it is a major policy of the court, why do we need to get money and food?"

Han Qi said coldly: "Now there are difficulties in the court's money and food. There will be a big battle with Zhang Zhongwu in the north and Zhang Zhongwu in the south. The confrontation with Zhu Wen in the south will only intensify. Luzhou and Weizhou and other places have suffered severe damage in this year's war. Without the court's pension, we will not be able to maintain the most basic food and clothing. In the place, this war against Tubo can only be solved by ourselves. Zhang Jia, the Right Wu Guard, has promised Li Xiang that in this battle, the Shuozhou where he is located, can bear at least one year's military ration. Are our Hedong prefectures worse than a Shuozhou?"

"Shishuai Han, that's not what he said." Sima Fan looked at his companions who were a little embarrassed and said loudly: "Of course, the court's affairs are solved by the court. Why do we have to pay for the money?"

"Yes!" Han Qi smiled and said, "Why do you have to pay for personal expenses? Because the governments of Hedong prefectures cannot get out money and grain! But why can Shuozhou be taken out? Why can Dizhou be taken out? Mozhou and Yingzhou and other places? I won't talk about places like Zhenzhou and Zhaozhou. They can all take out money and grain to support the army, but we are born in Hedong prefectures, but we can't take out?"

Everyone was stunned for a moment.

"Everyone, this is not what I asked, this is what Li Xiang asked." Han Qi said with some emotion: "How should I answer Li Xiang? Please teach me?"

Seeing that everyone was silent, Han Qi continued, "If we can't raise money and food, the court gritted its teeth and asked other places to help raise the funds and let the people starve, it would naturally be able to raise them. However, if this is the case, the governors of Hedong prefectures will definitely be held accountable, and the court can also make a new governor justified. You guys, at that time, Han will be powerless because Han still has the face to speak?"

"Ship Han..." Fan Jun bowed and was about to speak, but was interrupted by Han Qi: "Head of Fan, please call me Shangshu Han. I am no longer Hedongjie Town."

"This..." Fan Jun said awkwardly: "Shangshu Han, tens of thousands of troops need more than a year. This is not a small amount. You also know that in the past two years, we have to maintain the extra pay for the Zuowu Guard army. Everyone's life is really hard. But people always think of it. Do you think? Everyone is on the same boat, and we still need Shangshu, you shelter us from the wind and rain. Don't you also need us to lay a solid foundation for you?"

Han Qi snorted, "It's good that everyone understands this. Although this battle requires us to contribute money and efforts, it will be beneficial if we can defeat Ansui. If we act slowly or suffer a defeat, Tu Lichun in Hezhong, and even Wang Sili in Zhaozhou and other places will stare at him. Especially if Zhang Jia gets the first place, with Zhang Jia's virtue, then life in Hedong will not be easy."

Zhang Jia has been in a deeper and deeper grudge with the Hedong families over the years. If he had a chance, he would definitely pursue him relentlessly.
Chapter completed!