Chapter 893 Finance (Part 2)


Chapter 893 Finance (Part 2)

There were leaden gray clouds hanging in the sky, completely blocking the sun.

The cold wind mixed with snowflakes swept across the earth, bringing bursts of chill.

Before the first lunar month passed, Duzhi Zhonglang Jiang (the fifth rank, formerly the sixth rank) Yang Bao and the Shaofu Supervisor (from the third rank) Yu Zhuo got together to hand over their official duties.

Of course, things will be taken care of by the people below. They only need to issue orders and sign.

"I forgot to bring paper and pen." Yang Bao exclaimed as soon as he sat down in the thatched pavilion.

"I brought it." Yu Zhi said.

Yang Bao was speechless.

"Yang Jizi, this matter is under the supervision of the king." Yu Zhi reminded: "I will give you ten more days at most to take care of it myself."

Yang Bao breathed a sigh of relief and quickly stood up to thank him.

He didn't worry about Yu Zhi calling him by his nickname. When they were all under Sima Yue's tent, Yu Zhi was senior to him and had a higher official position than him. He had taught him many lessons, not to mention that now he still had to ask for help.

"Is this manor ready?" Yu Zhi pointed to the distance and asked.

It was a run-down manor.

The dilapidation was limited to the houses, because there were only a few hundred households and they could not live in so many houses, so they were too lazy to repair them and allowed them to be eroded by wind and rain.

Hundreds of families are from Hongnong. They are soldiers of Wang Mi and have moved here for a few years.

The vast majority of people are not married, and there is only one daughter or one person in each household. Only less than 200 people are married, and they are married to local widows in Pingyang. The entire manor only has more than 1,300 people.

In terms of composition, they are all field troops. Farming somewhere with the captain in the field, they have no personal freedom, which is not much different from the soldiers. The only difference is that they do not need to implement "status endogamy" and can marry ordinary people.

The garrison army has made meritorious deeds. After many expeditions, many people have been converted into civilian households, which is considered a relief. For example, the former Luyang garrison army was extremely large, with more than 10,000 households and nearly 30,000 people. Now, They are all citizens.

As of the ninth year of Shengui (325), there were still ten field armies in Yingyang, Langling, and Xiping, with more than 35,900 households and more than 88,700 people, cultivating about 20,000 hectares of farmland, and another 780,000 to 80,000 hectares of pastures and forests. ,pond.

These people were previously under the jurisdiction of Yang Bao, the general of Duzhi Zhonglang, and they were the second largest force under him besides the troop transports under the control of various Duzhi captains.

Therefore, although Yang Bao kept silent, he actually controlled huge power and was very profitable.

Yu Zhi has always been greedy for money, and he knows all the ways to make money, and he is very aware of the twists and turns involved.

He didn't want to break up with Yang Bao on the spot, so within the scope of his authority, he was given ten days to make up for the shortfalls that should be made up, and the ones that couldn't be made up for. Haha, he wouldn't jump into the trap and take over the mess anyway.

"This manor can be delivered today." Yang Bao said happily.

"How much food, cloth, equipment, and personnel are there?" Yu Zhi asked.

"Quite a bit." Yang Bao assured, patting his chest.

The first three are not problems. The shortfall is mainly in terms of personnel, because there are really many people fleeing, and it is a bit difficult to explain.

Most of them were captured. They had no wives or children, no personal freedom, no private fields and houses of their own, they missed their hometown, and they had to go into battle as cannon fodder. They died without any compensation, so how could they not escape?

Yang Bao originally thought that when he went out to fight next time, he would "write off the accounts" and report a big defeat, or go to Wudi to grab some people and come back - the garrison troops were often mobilized to go south to the Huai River to guard against Wu soldiers.

Unfortunately, before waiting, the field army was about to be handed over to the Shaofu.

"Don't say I didn't remind you." Yu Zhi pointed his finger on Yang Bao's chest and said, "The king knows all about your bad things. It's just because of your hard work and achievements, and because you are an old man who has followed you for many years. Just keep the net open. Otherwise, if you think everything is fine, why would the garrison be handed over to the Shaofu?"

"Yes." It was a cold day, and Yang Bao couldn't help but wipe the sweat from his forehead.

Yu Zhi nodded, asked his entourage to boil a pot of wine, and waited leisurely.

Of course, the reason why the garrison army was transferred to the Shaofu was not just for this reason.

The Ordnance Supervision was established last year, and the Shaofu no longer manages ordnance manufacturing.

According to Shao Xun's plan, this department will become his pocketbook as a supplementary source when finances are insufficient.

Duzhi Zhonglang handed over Yang Bao to the ten garrison armies.

Sinong Qing Yin Xian handed over Zhuyuan Lin and Qian Jian.

Yuanlin, as the name suggests: garden, mountain forest.

Specifically, the old forbidden garden in the northwest of Luoyang City has been surrounded by a low wooden fence for more than 200 miles and was named "Xiyuan".

There is also a garden forest to the west of Yecheng. It is more than a hundred miles away. Shao Xun personally gave it the name "Sangzi Garden". It was named after the many mulberry forests in the land - it is not the Sangzi Garden of Xiangguo.

There is "Shanglin Garden" in the west of Pingyang, which is more than a hundred miles away. It is currently managed by Shao Zhang, the eldest son of the king.

Zuoguo City, north of Lishi, also enclosed a piece of land with little flat land and many mountains and forests, covering a hundred and fifty miles, and named it "Zuoguoyuan".

There is the ruins of Jingfu Palace in the southeast of Xuchang, and it is named "Jingfu Garden" after going back fifteen miles.

Finally, there is Guangchengze, which is the largest and has the most manpower. It is named "Guangcheng Garden".

As for Tongjue Garden in Yecheng, Hualin Garden in Luoyang City, Hualin Garden in Pingyang City, etc., they are small in area and do not deserve much attention. They are all managed by the Shaofu. Some of these gardens and forests are deserted. For example, in the Xiyuan near Luoyang, a group of deer went wild and escaped from the fence to eat the young crops. This shows that there is no one to manage it.

Some are managed by people, the typical one is Guangcheng Garden.

These six gardens in the wild can be a considerable fortune if taken care of properly.

As for the manpower for management, they naturally come from the field army.

Yes, the garrison army will be relocated again, and one-third of them will become "garden households" directly under the Shaofu, and will be scattered among the six gardens and forests to farm, herd, fish, and collect for the Shaofu. , there is no need to go to war, the Shaofu will also look for some war widows to help them start a family.

After careful calculation, this income is actually quite large. It can contribute hundreds of thousands of grains every year as well as an uncountable amount of fruits, vegetables, fish and shrimps, leather, cloth, meat and milk, medicinal materials, wood, bamboo strips, mats and other various products. thing.

All the necessities for the imperial sacrifices and banquets are provided by the Shaofu, and most of the rest can be used to reward generals and officials. In particular, Master Shao's favorite students were often summoned to eat and drink, and the endless food was packed and taken home. There was also a cart full of gifts to take before leaving. From now on, all these things come from the Shaofu.

Shao Xun did not invent this kind of thing.

The finances of the Northern and Southern Dynasties were in chaos, and officials worked for long periods of time with extra money. Until the time of Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, they still often held banquets, and then found an excuse to reward items to make up for the lack of official salary - don't laugh, I also gave them green onions and peppers.

In an era when precious metals were scarce and banknotes could not be issued, it was normal for officials to receive most of their salaries in kind.

What Yu Zhi received himself was in kind, and the source was the original Wang family's manor in Pishi County - which has now been changed to Lutian and Zhitian, and is farmed by official slaves.

After drinking half a bottle of wine, he was already tipsy.

At this time, the delivery of the manor was completed, and Cao Yi, the original officer and the current Shaofu Shaojian (the fifth grade), came forward.

Yu Zhi understood, got up and walked a few steps. Cao Yi told him, and took out a stack of books and turned them over to him.

After a while, Yu Zhi came back, sat down again, and said: "It's okay. The supplies, equipment, and personnel are correct. These people will be sent to Luoyang Xiyuan in a while."

"Yes." Yang Bao actually stood waiting for him. After hearing this, he was relieved and asked: "How to deal with the fields and houses here?"

"Probably sold to the honorable officers at a low price." Yu Zhi sighed and said, "The king is too kind to them."

The Zuo Xiao Cavalry Guard (Luonan Prefecture Soldier) was founded very early. Some of them died in the years of war, and some of their children and nephews took their place. However, there are still many veterans who are around forty years old.

They get married not too early, but not too late either. Most of them have children in their teens or twenties.

What can a father do? You can't allocate all the 200 acres of land at home to the son who inherits his position as a soldier, and let others take advantage of the northwest wind, right? Obviously not.

Therefore, selling land to Laofu soldiers at a price far lower than the market price, allowing them to have more land to distribute, is a good thing for the country and the people.

In the country, the next generation of soldiers have sufficient land output and can still maintain a certain combat effectiveness and delay the decline of the soldiers.

For the people, it alleviates the contradiction between the number of people and the lack of land in the military and military families, allowing them to get benefits and maintain their living standards.

Of course, this is limited to the Luonan area where land resources are relatively tight. For the soldiers in other places, especially Changshan, Zhongshan and other places, there is no need to do this. There is too much land, so just allocate it nearby.

"It's true what you said. It's great for the soldiers of the military family." Yang Bao ignored his identity as the soldier of the military family and followed Yu Zhuo's words.

Yu Zhi sneered and said: "Forget it for today, go home and rest. Tomorrow I will go to another place for delivery, and you will lead the way."

"Okay." Yang Bao nodded repeatedly.

Although Yu Zhi didn't have a good look on him, in the final analysis, he still slowed down and gave him time to put things together.

Alas, being an official is not easy. Without a backer, you are nothing. If I say I will torture you to death, I will torture you to death.

I can't tell, but I will have to get closer to the Yu family in the future, so that I can enjoy the shade with my back against the big tree.

It was hearing that Prime Minister Yu Chen fell ill again during the Chinese New Year that made him hesitate.

Can Yu Chen's body and bones still hold up?

If he is gone, who will take over?

According to the recent rumors, there are probably three candidates: one is Wang Yan, who will take over for a few years; the second is Chu Hui, the governor of Yuzhou; and the third is Yu Liang, the governor of Xuzhou.

I heard that Shangshu Ling Pei Miao is also fighting, but his health is not much better than Yu Chen, and it seems that he is about to die...

My maid! I'm even more worried than when I was fighting.

Yang Bao thought for a long time and was undecided until Tian Gui, the captain of Pingyangdu branch school, sent the delivery register.

Tian Gui is also an old man. He is the nephew of Tian Hui, the former chief official of Sima Hui, the king of Fanyang. He is from Youzhou and has a close relationship with the beggars in Hebei.

When King Liang was still the Duke of Chen County, this man entered the government as a servant. Later, he made great achievements in recruiting the beggar army and was promoted all the way. He is now the captain of Pingyang Du Branch (the sixth rank).

He had not been here long, he was sent over by King Liang to replace his predecessor who had resigned and returned home due to his father's death.

Yang Bao was a little wary of him because he was not familiar with him, but on the whole he was okay because Tian Gui represented the King of Liang.

"Okay." Yang Bao took a rough look at the register and said, "I feel relieved after handing over this manor. Let's go back to the government office first and go to Gaoxian tomorrow."

Tian Gui silently agreed.

(End of chapter)

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