Although this will cause some hardship to the people, it is not a big problem. When the new tax rates are issued, the people will find that their current lives are the best they have ever lived. At that time, no one will have the energy to complain about the militia disturbing the people.
However, Captain Xiao still didn't dare to tell the whole truth. After all, the entrance fee to Yubo Tower was very high. As the head of the Jinguan City garrison, even if he received a small share of the profits among the 3,000 men, he still couldn't afford to play freely in Yubo Tower.
Therefore, Captain Xiao flexibly handled his own captain, a reorganized captain and a total of one thousand combat soldiers. Thanks to Captain Xiao's efforts, there were still about four hundred soldiers left who looked somewhat combat-capable. These people and horses were pretending in the military camp in the east of the city to make the people in the city think they were protected, which was still possible, but Captain Xiao himself had no confidence in really pulling them out.
"Sir, you know that the ones causing this trouble weren't bandits, they were clearly the Qinghe County militia. Your Excellency allowed them to recruit some militiamen to fight the local bandits. Now it seems the bandits have been defeated, but the Qinghe militiamen have risen up." Captain Xiao said hurriedly, "Qinghe produces iron, so their militiamen must be equipped with iron armor. With such equipment, we can hardly match them."
"Everyone has a set of iron armor? Captain Xiao, I remember that your soldiers are also armored infantry, right? Everyone has a set of iron armor. Can the iron armor made by those self-taught blacksmiths in Qinghe be better than the master craftsmen in the workshop of the Ministry of War? Can those militiamen who can't even farm properly and have only killed chickens in their lives defeat your elite soldiers who have experienced many battles? Are they unable to fight or are they unwilling to fight? You have to think about it carefully, Captain Xiao." It was obvious that the prefect was angry.
Captain Xiao reviewed his armory. Well, he definitely didn't have four hundred suits of armor, but he should be able to scrape together two hundred. He'd dismissed most of the veterans from the past due to the high pay, but he'd retained about fifty to serve as his personal guard. With these armored men serving as vanguards, as long as they could disperse the peasant militia of Qinghe, they wouldn't be invincible.
"My Lord, it is my duty to serve my country. However, as you know, these soldiers under my command are all veterans. To be honest, they are just ruffians. Without the rewards for marching, they will definitely not be able to leave." Seeing that the prefect was about to get angry again, Captain Xiao hurriedly said, "But Xichuan is in ruins and you don't have any surplus food. I know this. How about you give me a few days? After all, there are still a few shops in Qinghe County. I will have someone rob them first to raise some military funds."
Hey~~~~
The prefect had to admire Xiao Cheng. He looked so righteous, but he didn't expect him to be such a flexible and agile person. Why didn't he think of it? Those shops in Qinghe specialized in the business of pig iron and cement, and they were very lucrative, but he had ignored them. He didn't expect that Xiao Cheng, the bastard, would get the advantage.
"Qinghe County has its faults, but the merchants there are also citizens of the Empire. How can they be so arbitrarily implicated?" The governor waved his hand and said, "The Empire also has its difficulties. They are deeply indebted to the state and will surely help the Empire overcome its difficulties. When you go there, be polite and explain the difficulties clearly. We are seeking help, not confiscating property."
"Yes, sir." Captain Xiao finally breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that there was still hope in this battle.
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