Liu Taozi took a few steps forward.
He drove almost against the knight in front of him, then slowly lowered his head.
"Do you want to kill me?"
He Shikai took a few steps back and almost hit the wooden door behind him. He sneered and said: "The dignified General Liu is a confidant of the Prime Minister. How can I be so capable?"
"It's just that I can't kill him, but my king might be able to kill him."
"Is it King Changguang who wants to kill me?"
He Shikai pursed his lips, "Why is General Liu so aggressive?"
"General, you may not know that your father and the king of my family have been friends for many years, and the two of them are quite close."
He Shikai opened his mouth and said: "My king also attaches great importance to you and thinks that you are a great talent in governing the country. My general is lacking a position to join the army. As long as the general is willing, my king himself will step in to the prime minister's side.
how?"
"The general is just a seventh-grade official at the moment. How can it be compared to joining the army by the king's side?"
"Isn't it very convenient to be with the king, whether it is getting rich or getting promoted?"
"It is really jealous that the king attaches so much importance to the general. I have been unhappy with the general, but I still hope that the general will not care about these grudges. We will work together for the king. The king is a man who will never be stingy with his left and right."
He Shikai forced out a very kind smile and slowly stretched out his hand, wanting to hold Liu Taozi's hand.
Liu Taozi took a step back and distanced himself. His face was calm, "I wonder why the king wants to call me to join the army?"
"That's because I value the general."
"What do you value in me?"
"I don't know, maybe the general is valued because he can kill people. Why does the general want to do so much? Isn't it a good thing that people like us can be valued by others?"
"Go from here to Yecheng to join the army of the royal palace. This is a great leap forward. You don't need to make any new achievements. As long as you can make the king happy, not to mention being a town general, even being a Kaifu Yitong Sansi."
No way."
He Shikai's voice was very gentle and slowly leading.
"General, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."
"Go back and thank your Majesty for me. It's just that I am not very talented and cannot be reused, so I will not show my shame in front of Your Majesty."
He Shikai was stunned, and he quickly asked: "What is the general talking about??"
He suddenly turned angry, "General, are you looking down on my king?"
"Do you really think that my king is as virtuous as that Huiluo?! Huiluo can't kill you, but my king might be able to?!"
Liu Taozi looked at him calmly and said nothing.
He Shikai was shocked and angry. He blocked the door and said, "Liu Taozi! Don't be so presumptuous!!"
"Those who obey my great king will live, and those who go against others will die!!"
Liu Taozi walked up to He Shikai again, reached out and grabbed his shoulders, lifted him up like a chicken, then put him aside, opened the door, and walked in directly.
He Shikai froze on the spot, looking at Liu Taozi who had closed the door.
His face was red and his whole body was shaking.
Thinking of the confident promise he made to the king before leaving, his eyes were filled with fire at this moment.
Suddenly, he burst out laughing in anger.
"It's my incompetence, incompetence, that failed to persuade the general to obey the king. The general has backbone! He has backbone!!"
He laughed and turned to leave.
This laughter was so unscrupulous that the surrounding military officers all looked over to see him.
At this moment, Wang Chong in the room was holding a document, listening to the noise outside, and curiously asked: "General, who is that person?"
Wang Chong was an old official brought by Liu Taozi from Liyang. After Tian Zili, Cui Gang and others left, he came to take charge of the clerical work.
"A person from King Changguang."
"General, King Changguang is extremely powerful. Unlike Huiluo and others, he is the direct son of Emperor Shenwu. You don't dare to provoke him."
"I didn't provoke him."
Liu Taozi didn't say any more and simply asked: "Have you checked it out?"
Wang Chong nodded, and quickly placed the thick document in his hand in front of Liu Taozi. He repeated this several times, and Liu Taozi's case was filled with documents.
"General, look, here are the preliminary statistics from various places. In the garrison towns on the frontier, there are 236,213 civilians."
"It's completely different from the results of Tianbao's eight years."
Liu Taozi's brows twitched.
"Let the garrison commanders in various places complete the auxiliary staff, and we can no longer let you run around and do things on their behalf."
"only!"
"Is there any news from Zili and the others?"
"Not yet."
"Well, keep going to work."
"only!"
Wang Chong left the document behind and carefully left the place.
Liu Taozi sat down and picked up the documents in front of her. Each piece of paper was filled with names of people, and some stated when they came and where they came from.
Some wrote age and appearance.
Some only have names and nothing else.
A thick pile of paper occupies the entire wooden case, but a piece of light paper is filled with the brokenness of countless families and the cries of countless people.
On top of the white paper and black words, you can vaguely see the abandoned farmland, the crazy old woman, the child who is waiting to be fed, the father exposed to the sun, and the woman looking into the distance with tears in her eyes.
"Boom."
A gentle knock on the door interrupted Liu Taozi's contemplation.
"Come in."
The wooden door was pushed open again, Kou Liu walked in quickly, closed the door, walked up to Liu Taozi, and bowed to see her.
"Brother!"
"How's the situation over there?"
"Hui Luo has already left. An angel came today. I saw Hui Luo get into the car, with knights guarding him in front and behind, leaving the county and heading south."
"Well, leave some people in the city and you can come back."
"Brother, there is one more thing."
"oh?"
"Today, a group of people walked in from the south city gate with great momentum. They came almost at the same time as the angels. Judging from their clothes, they seemed to be Turks. They entered the official office, but came out quickly. Now they live in the city.
.”
"I don't want to evacuate in a hurry. I'll keep an eye on them for a few more days. My brother sent troops earlier. Maybe they came for him."
Liu Taozi slowly raised her head and looked at Kou Liu's red, bloodshot eyes.
"No need."
"I'll give you three days off. You can go to bed."
"this"
"Um?"
"only!!!"
The sun is glaring and the surrounding area is extremely dry.
A huge team was walking on the official road.
Lou Rui was riding a war horse, blocking the dazzling light with his hands, muttering something, and his face was mostly unhappy.
Tian Zili walked beside Lou Rui, while Cui Gang walked behind.
Tian Zili asked with a smile: "Provincial Governor, could it be that you can't stand the climate in this frontier?"
Lou Rui smiled and said, "How can this place be as good as the Central Plains? It's either hot or cold. I haven't been here for many years. What city did you just say it was?"
"Zhaoyuan."
"Oh, it's all Yang Min's fault. The name of this county has been changed over and over again, and its ownership is also constantly changing. Just talking about the name, I don't know where it is."
Tian Zili lowered his head and did not answer the question.
This time Lou Rui went on an expedition, but it was no longer the same scale as before. There were more than a thousand knights arrayed in front and behind him, with an extraordinary momentum. Of course, the most trusted people were still only those dozens of people.
And these people have now become officers among the cavalry, and Lou Rui controls the entire army through them.
When they approached the city, officials had already gathered outside the city gate.
These people were also on a huge scale, with hundreds of them, occupying almost the entire city gate inside and outside.
They looked anxious, and several of the prefects were even sweating profusely.
None of them expected that the governor would arrive in such a hurry and not give them time to prepare.
"Coming! Coming!"
someone shouted.
Everyone was prepared, and several prefects even took the initiative to step forward.
But at this moment, the group of men and horses in the distance suddenly changed direction. Instead of heading towards the city gate, they headed directly to the north.
Many officials just watched this group of troops passing by their homes without even looking at themselves.
"What's going on?!"
"this"
"Send someone over to ask! Don't let the governor go the wrong way!"
Some knights hurried away from here.
After a while, the man returned here again, looked at the several eunuchs, saluted and said: "The governor said that he will go to Wuchuan first, and then come here."
The prefects looked at each other with astonishment on their faces.
Why is this???
"What a wise nephew!!"
Lou Rui jumped off the horse, laughed, walked quickly to Liu Taozi, and grabbed her hand.
Liu Taozi bowed her head and saluted, "Mr. Lou!"
"Why see outsiders? Just call me Sir as you did in the past!"
Lou Rui then looked at Wuchuan City behind him, "Wuchuan, I haven't been here for a long time, good nephew, come, take me into the city quickly!!"
Tian Zili and Cui Gang stood not far away, looking at Liu Taozi, but hesitated to speak.
Liu Taozi glanced at them, motioned for them to follow, and then led Lou Rui towards the city.
Lou Rui strode along the road, looking at Liu Taozi beside him, his eyes full of relief.
"My good nephew, I haven't seen you for a long time. When I was in Liyang, I knew that my nephew had a great future. Sure enough, now, it can be said that it has made the world look at him!"
"Hahaha, for me to be here, I feel like I have benefited from my good nephew!"
The two of them arrived at the official office all the way, and the atmosphere was very cheerful. Liu Taozi led him into the official office. Lou Rui ordered everyone to leave first, and only Liu Taozi and Liu Taozi entered the house alone.
After sitting down, Liu Taozi asked people to bring food and wine.
Lou Rui sat in the upper seat, and Liu Taozi sat next to him.
Lou Rui took a sip of the wine and marveled, "I haven't had Biansai wine for a long time, but I can't even remember the taste."
"My dear nephew, you don't have to worry about what happened when he returned to Luo. My brother will not let him leave Yecheng easily again."
"Here, with me here, no one dares to embarrass you."
Lou Rui grinned, "My nephew also knows that I am a straight person, unlike those Han ministers who are hypocritical. My nephew sent someone to tell me that there is great wealth here."
"Now can you tell me how great the wealth is?"
Lou Rui didn't waste any time. As soon as he sat down, he started asking about his plan to make a fortune.
Liu Taozi said: "I don't need to say much about local matters. Mr. Lou knows how to deal with them."
Lou Rui suddenly felt a little embarrassed, "You know, this frontier fortress is different from the Central Plains."
"All the big Han people here were killed at first, and not much was left at all. Most of them were from noble families. These people are related to me. It's not easy for me to do anything."
"Besides, they are not something that officials can cut down. In the Central Plains, several jailers can break into their houses and steal their things. But among the nobles here, which household does not have a warrior? Unless I
Leading the cavalry one by one, they went to kill each other from house to house, but I’m afraid I won’t be able to do this for a month!”
"This noble family is different from the rich people. It's not easy to deal with."
Liu Taozi said: "If you have any concerns, sir, you can leave local affairs to me."
"If the tribute is insufficient, let them share it equally. If not, I will take care of it for you."
Lou Rui's face was particularly troubled, "My dear nephew, it's not easy to handle. It's not easy to handle. If you do it to them, you will offend a lot of people. I'm not afraid of offending the Han people, but I can't offend these people."
"Don't worry, sir. Out of kindness, I'm still here. There are border soldiers here, and they don't dare not pay."
Lou Rui waved his hand, "Let's not talk about this, you should talk about how rich you were that day."
Liu Taozi then said: "There are three great fortunes at the moment."
Lou Rui's eyes lit up, "My dear nephew, please tell me."
"The first wealth is this farmland."
"There are more than 200,000 civilians in the border town. If we can properly resettle them, distribute them farmland, farm tools, and lend them cattle and seeds, the annual output will be not a small amount."
"The grain they paid was enough for them to survive and was given to the soldiers for what they needed, and the rest belongs to you."
"Can the frontier land produce so much?"
"Even when the civilians here start to farm, the temple still has to distribute food. There are so many refugees in various places now. As long as we can resettle more people privately, the temple knows that there are 200,000 villagers here. In fact, it will
It can be three hundred thousand or four hundred thousand."
Lou Rui took a sharp breath of air, "How can there be so many farmers??"
"In the past few years, the temples have collected corvee services from all over the place, and many people have escaped. There are also frontier soldiers and nobles who have harmed places. There are countless refugees inside and outside the border fortress. In addition, there are people outside the fortress who can be captured and farmed."
Lou Rui clapped his hands suddenly, "Okay! Done!"
"Where's the second piece of great wealth?"
"fighting."
"The Prime Minister will be coming soon. Duke Lou knows this. This place is bordered by the Puppet Zhou, Turks, Xi people, etc., and the border troops are strong. These people are not opponents. No matter how big or small the war is, Duke Lou, as the general, will never
Suffer a loss."
Lou Rui pondered for a moment, "Well, this one is a little worse, but I can still get some. Let's talk about the third one."
"trading."
"The Xi people set up a market outside the Great Wall and made a lot of money by communicating with the three countries. If we can control each road or send our own caravans, the benefits cannot be underestimated."
"Wouldn't this help the enemy?"
"Tea, silk, and porcelain. In exchange for military pay to subsidize the border soldiers, how can it be considered as subsidizing the enemy?"
"Hahaha, what my nephew said makes sense! It makes sense!"
Lou Rui sat there, his eyes shining, he said nothing, as if he was calculating the gains and losses.
Liu Taozi didn't bother him, just sat quietly aside, waiting for him to think about it.
After being silent for a long time, Lou Rui suddenly raised his head and said, "My dear nephew, let's start with the first thing."
"When I was traveling, the Prime Minister gave me instructions to pay attention to this matter of money and food. Now that I'm here, I can't live up to the Prime Minister's high expectations!"
"You quickly organize the people from all over the country and let them all go to farm. Just report 200,000 people to the temple first. Then I will send officials to help you. It will be too late for this year's farming, but it will be done for next year.
Get ready, this reclamation will take four to five years, I will figure out a way to cultivate the land, you can help me organize the people first, tell me what is missing, and tell me anything that is hindering you!"
"Don't think about anything, just organize the people!"
"In addition, the training of this army must not be left behind. Before the arrival of the Prime Minister, it must not be neglected at all!"
Lou Rui stood up and said, "I have to go back to the county town, nephew. I will leave everything to you."
"Then I will go back?"
Liu Taozi stood up and said, "I'll see you off."
The two walked out. Lou Rui looked at Liu Taozi several times, but hesitated to speak.
"My dear nephew, I heard that Luo's family had many treasures back then?"
Liu Taozi nodded, "There are quite a few."
"What kind of treasures are there?"
"I distributed money, food, etc. to the soldiers. As for calligraphy, painting, jewelry, etc., I don't see whether they are good or bad."
"Therefore, when your Excellency arrived, I sent someone to deliver it to Your Majesty's official residence, so that Your Excellency can view it by yourself."
Lou Rui suddenly stopped, turned around and looked at Liu Taozi in front of him, he was so excited that he couldn't speak.
He hit Liu Taozi's chest hard several times.
"Just say you know the best! You can achieve great things!"
"Good nephew, you can do whatever you want in and around the town boldly. It doesn't matter how you do it. It doesn't matter if you do it wrong. It doesn't matter if you do it wrong!!"
"Remember, I will support you in everything, just do it!!"
"Thank you, sir."
Lou Rui left here happily.
Tian Zili, Cui Gang and others hurriedly stepped forward, "Brother!!"
Liu Taozi looked at the people worshiping in front of her, her eyes slowly narrowed, with a slight smile on her face.
"How come you have turned into mandrills after not seeing each other for a few days?"
Tian Zili laughed out loud, and touched his face, "I wanted to be as powerful as my brother, so I stayed in the sun for a few more days."
"Hahaha~~~"
Everyone laughed.
Lou Rui hummed an unknown tune and returned to the county seat again.
The officials were in a hurry, and the welcoming ceremony was extremely grand.
Officials at all levels visited him respectively, informed him of their identities, told about the local situation, gathered around him, and walked towards the state government office in a mighty manner.
Lou Rui's response was quite cold.
The state government office had been re-decorated, which seemed to suit Lou Rui's taste.
The officials held a banquet to welcome the new governor, and the scene was extremely lively.
After Lou Rui had some wine, he sat on the upper seat without smiling to everyone, looking very majestic.
Halfway through the banquet, the prefect found an opportunity, slowly sat down next to Lou Rui, and said: "Mr. Lou, the envoy sent by the Turks is in the city right now, waiting to see you."
"Turks? What are they doing here?"
"It's because the border soldiers sent troops privately and seemed to want us to give an explanation."
Chapter completed!