In the evening, the governor of Dingbei County naturally had to host a banquet to entertain Yun Zheng and his party.
Yun Zheng left the drinking to Qin Qihu, and he only took a sip occasionally.
Most of the time, he was chatting with Gao He and the governor of Dingbei County.
Today, sweet potatoes have been fully promoted in Shuobei and Northwest Protectorate.
Due to the high yield of sweet potatoes, the grain output in Shuobei has been rising steadily.
With more food available, the number of wineries in Shuobei increased rapidly.
Nowadays, Yun Zheng’s distilled liquor is no longer a secret, and many people have mastered this skill.
Although the wine made from sweet potatoes does not taste as mellow, it is cheap and often has no trouble selling.
Beihuan is the largest customer of the wine made from these potatoes.
Because Beihuan is cold for a long time, many people like to drink strong liquor to warm their bodies, which makes alcohol a hard currency in trade between Dagan and Beihuan.
...
...
In addition to beverages, Shuobei's sweet potatoes are also made into vermicelli, sweet potato chips, etc.
What they obtained most from Beihuan were cattle, sheep and furs.
Although the people of Shuobei today do not have wine and meat for every meal, they can basically ensure that every family has surplus food.
In addition, all the cities in Shuobei are now developing according to the development direction that Yun Zheng once set.
Because there are many merchants coming and going, the restaurants, brothels and inns in Shuobei are doing good business.
In fact, Wu Shengtai, who succeeded Chen Bu in governing Shuobei, had reported all of this to the court, and Yun Zheng also knew about it.
However, Yun Zheng still wanted to know more details.
He also specifically asked the two not to just talk about the good things, but also to point out the bad aspects.
“There are many bad things about this.”
Gao He took a sip of wine and sighed, "Gambling is rampant in Shuobei now. Gambling houses have opened one after another. Anyway, there are many people in every place who have sold their children because of gambling debts..."
"yes!"
Dingbei County Magistrate also nodded and sighed: "There are many scammers in Shuobei nowadays. We have caught one group after another, but there are still people cheating! Another issue is corruption. Your Highness should have received reports about it, right?"
"Um."
Yun Zheng nodded. "At the end of last year, Wu Shengtai mentioned it in his report. I remember that more than 20 officials were dealt with, right?"
Corruption is an old problem.
Although Yun Zheng has introduced many policies to curb corruption, including increasing penalties for corrupt officials, some people still take risks.
The place is unclean and the killing is endless.
Even now, there are certainly still many corrupt people who have not been caught.
Dingbei County Magistrate smiled helplessly, "A while ago, the Supervisory Council caught a group of people, and they are still digging deeper. They will report to Your Highness only after they have dug deeper."
"Then let's dig first!"
Yun Zheng was not angry either. "Corruption can't be eradicated anyway. We will investigate anyone who dares to be corrupt! If they can be so corrupt that they can't be found out, that's their ability, and I will admit it!"
As he stayed in power for a longer period of time, Yun Zheng was no longer as angry as before.
He doesn't have the ability to prevent something that has never been prevented throughout history.
Anyway, they are greedy, so just send someone to investigate!
This is a long-term struggle that will continue not only now but also in the future.
"As for the gambling house, Wu Shengtai never mentioned it."
Yun Zheng continued, "Well, after I go to Xinjin, I will turn back. Tomorrow I will send someone to notify Wu Shengtai and the chief officers of the cities in Shuobei to rush to Dingbei as quickly as possible!"
"yes!"
After settling the matter, Yun Zheng continued chatting with them.
From military affairs to people's livelihood, Yun Zheng asked about them one by one.
After the banquet, Yun Zheng asked Gao He to accompany him for a walk in the courtyard of the government office.
"What's the situation at the Yanhuishan camp?"
Yun Zheng asked Gao He with his hands behind his back.
“There’s no big problem over there.”
Gao He said: "At present, the military forces of Shuobei are mainly in Beilu Pass, Shuofang and Yanhuishan Camp! It is because Shuobei has been peaceful in the past few years that some people in the army have begun to degenerate. Many of them gamble and visit brothels. In addition, there is the matter of reselling war horses that I reported to Your Highness two years ago..."
Talking about these things in the army, Gao He couldn't help but sigh.
In just a few years, there are signs of slackening in military preparedness.
Last year, some people at Moyang Horse Farm even dared to deliberately injure war horses and sell them as pack horses.
After he and Fu Tianyan learned about this, they investigated the Moyang Horse Farm thoroughly.
It was also because of this incident that the corruption case involving more than 20 officials was indirectly exposed.
"It is indeed not good for soldiers to gamble and visit brothels together, but this is also my negligence."
Yun Zheng reflected on himself: "Life in the army is boring. Once people are free, they always have to do something! We need to add some activities to kill time in the army. In addition, in terms of military discipline, most of the previous military discipline was wartime military discipline, and the current military discipline must also be improved and revised..."
Yun Zheng is not an idealist.
He also knew that the army was composed entirely of men.
When a large group of men get together, they always have to do something to kill time.
It is impossible to treat these people in the army as animals. Apart from training, they can only farm.
He knows that it is comfortable to hug a woman all day long. Don’t those people in the army know this?
"I have discussed these matters with General Fu before."
Gao He replied: "General Fu's point is that too much is as bad as too little. Military discipline definitely needs to be further strengthened, but as long as it is not wartime, some things can be turned a blind eye..."
"There's no such thing as turning a blind eye! Military discipline is military discipline!"
Yun Zheng shook his head: "I would rather allow them to have two days of home leave every month. They can go to brothels or gamble during their home leave. I don't care! But in the army, no one is allowed to break military discipline!"
"Your Highness, I believe that the trend of gambling must be curbed!"
Gao He said sternly: "If we continue to let this go, Shuobei will probably be destroyed by these gambling houses!"
"Um."
Yun Zheng nodded: "Don't worry about this. This time, I will summon the chiefs of each city to solve this matter! After the spring is over, except for the main cavalry of the Yanhuishan camp, all the troops in Shuobei will be replaced!"
"ah?"
Gao He's expression darkened, and he looked at Yun Zheng bitterly: "Your Highness, I also want to participate in the battle against Yu Country..."
Let him be in charge of the rotation of defense, what's the point of fighting against Yu Country?
"I didn't say I wouldn't let you go!"
Yun Zheng glared at Gao He with a smile, "You should arrange these things first, and then you can set out directly from Xinjin and meet us in Xiongjin."
"yes!"
Gao He was overjoyed and raised his voice suddenly.
"If this matter cannot be arranged properly, you should not go."
Yun Zheng reminded.
Gao He nodded heavily: "I will make good arrangements and there will be no trouble!"
"Okay! I believe in you!"
Yun Zheng nodded and smiled, "By the way, there are sacrifices at the Martyrs' Cemetery and the Martyrs' Shrine, right?"
"have!"
Gao He nodded and said, "During the Chinese New Year, I also went to pay tribute to General Du."
Du Guiyuan?
Yun Zheng thought about it silently, "I'll squeeze out some time to go over there and take a look later!"
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