Chapter 613: If You Don’t Have Money, Go to Emperor An
Tang Ning and Qian Baokun both looked down at the map on the table, and saw Xiao Yan's fingertips land on one of the spots.
The place is called Longkang. To the south is Yuanchuan, and to the west is Shuipan. It is separated from Pingyang County by a very wide river. There is a large plain in front, and the second city is a hundred miles to the north.
When Xiao Yan lowered his eyes, his fingertips lightly tapped the two characters "Long Kang":
"Most of the prefectures in the South are flat, except for Longkang, which is surrounded by steep mountains. This area is one of the South's granaries, making it easy to defend but difficult to attack. If it falls into the hands of King Pingshan, he can rely on the power of Longkang to attack or defend. With the reinforcements of Shuipan and Yuanchuan, the war in the South will inevitably become a stalemate."
"but……"
"But the war in the Southland cannot be delayed."
Qian Baokun's voice was somewhat solemn. Although he was not a military general, he was well 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 fodder are insufficient. Your Majesty's meager gold alone is not enough to sustain a long-term war. The gold you have is also needed to cope with possible changes next year. Moreover, it is already winter, and a long-distance raid is not conducive to Marquis Wenxin and his men."
"If Prince Pingshan really deliberately delays the war, and Beiling and Southern Qi get involved, then when the war between the north and the south rages on, Great Wei will be unable to cope."
Xiao Yan nodded. "So, it would be best if Marquis Wenxin and his men could end the war before the New Year's Eve, or at the latest, not past the beginning of spring."
Qian Baokun and Tang Ning both understood what Xiao Yan meant. Once spring came, the snow in Beiling would melt, and there would be abundant grass and water, and cattle, sheep, and horses would have no shortage of food. The people of Beiling would be strong and powerful, and that would probably be the time for their army to march south. However, the king of Southern Qi always liked to add fuel to the fire and wait for trouble.
Once Beiling and Dawei go to war, they will not miss such a good opportunity.
Xiao Yan glanced at the terrain on the map and asked Qian Baokun, "How's the food supply being collected in Jiangnan?"
Qian Baokun quickly said, "We've already collected quite a bit. I followed your instructions and had someone directly levy a levy under the guise of the Ministry of Revenue. They bought 60% of the grain reserves from the grain merchants in Jiangnan at a price 20% lower than the market price. Then, I took the imperial edict from Your Majesty and opened the granaries in Tongdu and Qingyi, exchanging the old grain for 70% new grain."
The grain production in the past two years was not very good, but this year coincided with the autumn harvest. In addition, there have been no major disasters in the past two years, so the grain merchants in the south still have plenty of grain, and the grain prices in the market are relatively stable. However, due to the corruption in the grain tax last year, a large amount of grain flowed elsewhere and was embezzled. The two granaries in Tongdu and Qingyi, which should have had a lot of grain, now have less than half of the grain in the abundant granaries.
Qian Baokun whispered, "Apart from the grain left for the garrisons in the two places and the nearby prefectures, as well as for emergency storage in case of disasters, the rest will be more than 300,000 dan of grain."
Tang Ning silently calculated: the Ministry of Revenue was purchasing grain at 20% below the market price, and 70% of the new grain was exchanged for the old grain. And then, based on the grain prices in Jiangnan a few days ago...
"Is the 30,000 taels of gold that Your Majesty gave to the Ministry of Revenue almost used up?"
Qian Baokun was a little surprised at how quickly Tang Ning was calculating the bill, but he nodded. "It's true that it's almost gone. With some scattered grain merchants still arriving, the little gold left probably won't last long."
He looked at Xiao Yan and said:
"I ordered half of this grain to be escorted to Marquis Wenxin and his men in batches, and the other half to remain in the south. You are the one who is in charge of the southern region, so there shouldn't be any problems."
Xiao Yan nodded: "Let those escorting the grain go separately, by water and land in batches to prevent them from being intercepted."
Qian Baokun said: "I know this."
Now everyone knows that the court is short of food and the Ministry of Revenue has no silver. Prince Pingshan and his men may have one or two "close friends" in the court.
What if they set their sights on the food and ambushed us on the way? The loss of food would be a small matter, but the impact on the war would be huge. Marquis Wenxin and his men would be fighting in the front while the food supply in the rear would be insufficient. By then, more than one or two people would be harmed. Qian Baokun would naturally not make such a mistake.
Xiao Yan tapped the table lightly and glanced at the map. His gaze fell on the direction of Pingyang County for a moment before he said:
"Uncle, send a message. Have the people in Jiangnan continue to collect grain. The war in the south will inevitably drag on. Add to that the losses along the way and the lengthening of the battle line. The grain won't sustain the hundred thousand-strong army under Marquis Wenxin for long. When you run out of gold, go to the palace and ask His Majesty for more."
Qian Baokun opened his eyes wide: "Still going to ask for it? Does His Majesty have any more?"
Thirty thousand taels of gold had already been given to him before. Does Emperor An still have enough money?
Xiao Yan laughed, "You underestimate our Majesty. Not to mention the one million silver coins donated to the disaster relief in the Southland twenty years ago, even when he later colluded with the Lu family to harm the He family, did you really think that Liang Guangyi and his group were the only ones who got the He family's wealth?"
Emperor An played a major role in the extermination of the He family and the death of the former crown prince.
Although those people from the aristocratic families are greedy by nature, knowing that Xie Tianyong is about to ascend the throne and become the future new emperor, how could they possibly take all the benefits and leave nothing for the future emperor?
"And uncle, have you forgotten the missing silver you found in the Ministry of Revenue?"
Xiao Yan smiled, "Anyone in the court may be short of money, but our emperor is well-off. Just go and ask for it. If he refuses, you can say the Ministry of Revenue is short of money and can't support the war in the south."
"The news of Prince Pingshan's capture of Shuipan and Yuanchuan will reach the capital in the next two days. Your Majesty will surely know that they can't be allowed to advance further north. Soldiers must be well fed during battle. If we don't have the money to collect food, the army will be left with nothing to feed them heading south. If we run out of food and the battle goes against us, not only will your Majesty's 30,000 taels of gold be wasted, but if you allow Prince Pingshan to continue north, your throne might even be in jeopardy."
Qian Baokun hesitated: "But what if he asks about the price of grain in the South..."
"Do you think he'll ask?" Xiao Yan laughed. "Even if he does ask, I'll just find someone to tell him the price of grain in Beijing."
Qian Baokun: “…”
He was stunned for a moment, and then he understood.
Previously, the Crown Prince and the Cui family had secretly hoarded grain, pushing up the grain price in the capital by more than half. Grain that usually cost six or seven hundred coins per stone could later be sold for one thousand two hundred or thirteen hundred coins. In addition, the Ministry of Revenue had been short of grain before, and the mansions of the powerful and wealthy also hurriedly stockpiled grain when they knew that a war was going to break out.
The price of grain in Beijing has risen again. Thanks to the cooperation of those unscrupulous merchants, the price is more than double that in Jiangnan.
Emperor An was not in charge of the Ministry of Revenue and did not leave the capital. He would not lower his status to chat with grain merchants. The officials and dignitaries in the court would not carefully understand the differences in grain prices in different places. Unless they stockpiled a large amount of grain, the difference in silver for thousands of dan of grain would not be enough to cover the profits made by those people in their mansion by deceiving their superiors and subordinates.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com