Chapter 253: Big Purchasing
Luo Jun was obviously shaken when he heard this, especially Liu Chong's last sentence about the new minister of state completely moved Luo Jun.
It would be good if the new Prime Minister is an honest and capable official, but if a corrupt official comes, wouldn't his career be completely ruined?
Luo Jun was entangled in his heart and asked hesitantly: "How should we respond to the king's opinion?"
"I just said, just give me more money and food!"
Liu Chong was a little angry and said: "Although the burden on the people will be heavier, as long as you stay, you will always consider them. But even if the new Prime Minister only thinks about Xuzhou, he will definitely force Chen Guo to pay taxes. It may even be more than what we are raising now."
Liu Chong's words sound very ridiculous. Raising taxes in order to keep Luo Jun is putting the cart before the horse.
But after careful calculation, we found that Liu Chong's logic was completely correct.
In order to keep Luo Jun, the people of Chen State may have to pay 20% to 30% more taxes, which seems to increase the burden.
But if Luo Jun cannot be retained and a new prime minister is appointed, the people may have to pay 40%, or even 50% or 60% more taxes.
Which one is more important is clear at a glance.
Liu Chong saw Luo Jun becoming more and more shaken and quickly added: "Now the country still has more than a million shi in savings. Even if there is no increase in taxes, the savings alone will be enough to meet Liu Qiaoqi's needs for several years. When the time comes, A few years later, Liu Xiuqi stabilized the refugees, and we will go to the table again to request tax exemptions and increases. I have heard that Liu Xiuqi is also a kind and caring person, so I think he will agree. "
Liu Feng said to Chen Guo. The savings were still low. In fact, since the Yellow Turban Rebellion, Chen State had to start delaying taxes because it received a large number of refugees.
After Dong Zhuo's rebellion, Chen's side turned over much less money and food to the state.
Several governors of Yuzhou either failed to take care of him or were powerless, which also greatly expanded Chen Guo's strength.
The strength of Chen State is expanding, while other surrounding counties, such as Yingchuan, Pei State, Runan and other counties, are constantly declining. The governor of Yuzhou does not dare to fall out with King Chen and Chen State.
Take the recent governor of Yuzhou, Guo Gong. He was stationed in Liang State, but he did not dare to take any action against Chen State. He could not even collect taxes. This shows the strength of Chen State's national power.
Therefore, the grain reserves in Chen Guoguo Middle School are quite amazing.
In addition to grain storage, Chen State also had a large amount of military supplies, especially iron armor and strong bows and crossbows.
There is an iron official camp in the Chen Kingdom, which is especially good at making crossbows and iron armor. These are good things that Liu Feng has coveted for a long time.
Instead of leaving it to Cao Cao later, it is better to take it yourself first.
Luo Jun was deeply convinced by Liu Chong's persuasion.
The two discussed it again and finally agreed to hand over 600,000 shi of grain, 50 million yuan of goods, and 4,000 pieces of silk to Xuzhou every year.
This amount is quite enough, which is equivalent to 20% higher than the tax paid by Chen Guo in normal years.
The two decided to use this as a condition to have a good talk with Liu Feng.
At noon the next day, Liu Chong held another banquet in the palace to entertain Liu Feng.
In the middle of the banquet, Liu Chong took Liu Feng's hand and said: "I heard that Liu Qiaoqi and Zhengnan are also relatives of the Liu family. They are the queen of King Jing of Zhongshan. You and I are relatives. "
Liu Feng dared not say: "Although my family is the queen of Prince Jing of Zhongshan, it is far less noble than His Highness. How can I dare to marry His Highness?"
I have to say that Liu Chong is a person. He is still very charming. Compared with the princes in Xuzhou, this one is obviously much more capable.
Liu Chong pretended to be displeased and said: "Why did Zhengnan say this? Is it because he looks down on me?"
Liu Feng smiled bitterly and explained: "Feng An dares to do this. Your Highness is powerful in the Chen country, protects the people, stabilizes the country, and is the leader of the clan."
"In that case, Zheng..."
Liu Chong paused mid-sentence, then asked: "Does Zhengnan have the character Zhengnan?"
Liu Feng cupped his hands and replied: "My father gave me the character Zisheng."
" Okay, okay!”
Liu Chong nodded repeatedly: "Based on my age, I should be of the same generation as Liu Qiaoqi, so I asked you to be promoted to a worthy nephew."
Liu Feng looked surprised and wanted to refuse, but Rejected by King Chen.
"Zisheng, I cannot do without Prime Minister Luo. Over the years, Chen Guo has been able to be so stable, and Prime Minister Luo is indispensable."
Liu Chong first played a wave of emotional cards, and then The conversation changed and he said: "I also know that Liu Qiaoqi's political life is difficult and he has always had a reputation for benevolence. In this case, I am willing to make up for last year's taxes and send them to Xuzhou together with this year's taxes. I only ask Liu "Hushi Qi, please don't transfer the Prime Minister away, okay?"
Liu Feng was acting coyly before, but now he was really shocked by Liu Chong.
"One and two million stones of grain, seventy million five-baht coins, and eight thousand bolts of silk!"
After seeing Liu Feng wavering, Liu Chong took advantage of the victory to pursue him and reported the numbers directly.
As mentioned before, Chen Guo's accumulated grain reserves amounted to one million shi, but it does not mean that Chen Guo only had one million shi of grain.
In fact, Chen State’s annual harvest was more than six million stone, of which two to three million stone were left in each county within Chen State. The vast majority of the remaining grain Some of them cannot be moved, because these are the rations for the officials and the army of Chen State, but a small part can still be mobilized at will. This is the redundancy that comes from wealth.
As for the sixty million five baht, it can be considered as a huge help.
At its peak, the population of Chen State was 120,000 households and 1.55 million people. This number was equivalent to the remaining population after Cao Cao's second conquest of Xuzhou. Even in the last years of Emperor Ling, Chen State still had 120,000 people. Population of more than 100,000.
Because Chen State has not experienced a major war, and is surrounded by counties with large populations, such as Runan, Pei State, Yingchuan, and Chenliu, the population has all gone to Chen State, so that Chen State’s population has not declined. On the contrary, the number has reached its peak.
According to the tax rules of the Han family, adult men have to pay 300 yen in service money a year, and adult men and women have to pay 80 yen in tax. A household of four or five people must pay an extra In land tax, you will have to pay at least 700 to 800 yuan.
The household registration of Chen Guo has an annual tax of at least 100 million yuan.
However, not all of this money is provided. First of all, counties in various places have to deduct 40% to 50% of the food and salary of officials and government officials, repairing bridges and roads, and building water conservancy (sporadic and small-scale ditches) , maintenance of city walls and other expenses must come from this money.
The remaining 50 to 60 million yuan will generally be withheld by half at the county level, and the final 30 million yuan will be handed over to the central government.
In the past, each state only had governors, and state capitals generally shared taxes with the counties where they were located. If the state level divided it in half, then the central government would really have no money.
The ironclad example is that since the state governor was changed to the state pastoralist, the taxes have disappeared directly, and no state pastoral officer from all over the country has honestly turned over the finance.
Even Liu Biao and Shi Xie, who had the best attitude, lost most of them and handed in the other half.
Therefore, Liu Chong had the confidence to claim that he had made up for last year's taxes. Chen Guo had accumulated a lot of wealth in these years, which was very rich.
But then he also put forward his own request: "Liu Qiaoqi can't transfer Luo Xiang away, and secondly, he must protect our country, Chen."
Liu Chong actually had other ideas. In the past two years, Yuan Shu's power Continuously expanding in Runan, last year he even dared to directly send people to ask Chen Guo to surrender and accept the people he sent to serve as Chen Guo's prime minister.
Liu Chong naturally refused to agree, but he and Luo Jun were also a little worried. If Yuan Shu really attacked, even if Chen Guo could defend Chen County, the village Wubao outside the capital would be huge. The probability is that something will happen.
I heard that Liu Bei defeated Yuan Shu in Guangling, twice.
Especially in the second field battle outside Guangling City, the opponent was beaten to the point of losing his armor. If we can take this opportunity to rely on Liu Bei and have his protection, there will be no need for threats from Yuan Shu. Worried.
"Is this true?"
Liu Feng really didn't expect that pie would fall from the sky.
You must know that he came here mainly to catch the autumn wind, and then to expand the trade with Chen State, to buy more grain, and finally to see if there is any opportunity to open up an opening in the military trade. , whether it's iron armor, or Chen Guo's strong bow, and powerful crossbow, these are all good things.
He really didn’t expect Liu Chong to be so generous.
But the problem is that Chen Guo has already given up to Cao Cao.
Judging by time, Cao Cao will definitely get involved in Chen State this year.
No one would leave this piece of meat lying around and go west to gnaw the bones of the Xiliang army first. After much hesitation, Liu Feng decided to eat the meat.
Cao Cao has not paid attention to Chen Guo yet. He will wait for him to pay attention and then talk about it.
Besides, even if the money and grain are to be refunded, they can still be given to him from Yingchuan.
Don't underestimate the difference. The losses caused by food transportation are astronomical.
Even if Liu Feng returned all the 1.2 million shi of grain to Cao Cao in Yingchuan, he would have made at least 120,000 to 150,000 shi of grain in vain, not to mention the time difference in it. .
This made Liu Feng unable to bear it, and he decisively agreed.
"Uncle, don't worry, this matter will be taken care of by my nephew!"
Liu Feng patted his chest and asked Liu Chong and Luo Jun: "Since my uncle and the Prime Minister already know about the battle of Guangling, Do you ever know who commanded the two battles of Guangling? ”
Liu Chong and Luo Jun shook their heads together, a little confused.
Liu Feng laughed and recommended himself: "To be honest with my uncle and the Prime Minister, my nephew personally commanded this battle. That night my nephew fought fiercely with Sun Bofu for a long time. He was finally expelled from the city. Then he was driven out of the city. Qiao Rui led the troops to invade, and it was his nephew's personal guards who were the first to defeat the enemy and destroy Yuan Shu's army formation."
Liu Chong and Luo Jun asked in unison: "This statement. Seriously?"
"Of course it is true."
Liu Feng naturally said: "To tell you the truth, I am just short of military rations. My father helps the refugees and resettles the people. It takes up a lot of military supplies. Otherwise, I will definitely launch an expedition to the west and will send Yuan Gongdao to the emperor."
Liu Chong and Luo Jun both looked shocked. They didn't expect Liu Bei and his son to be the father of a tiger and the son of a dragon.
Liu Bei's previous defeat of Guo Gong in the State of Lu and his release of Guo Gong and his subordinates gave Liu Chong and Luo Jun a good impression.
Now that I heard that Liu Feng was so good at fighting, the two of them looked at each other and made up their minds.
Luo Jun said: "In that case, the first batch of grain and silk will be shipped early next month. However, there are not many ships in the country, so it may take some time to deploy."
Liu Feng was overjoyed and very satisfied with Liu Chong and Luo Jun. He said that if he could not save them in the future, he would have to save these two philanthropic boys.
Liu Feng looked at Shu a little bit and said: "Uncle, Prime Minister, Feng has something to ask of me. I don't know if I can grant it."
Liu Chong and Luo Jun looked at each other, then nodded and said, "I don't know what my nephew said. But it doesn’t matter.”
“My uncle and the Prime Minister should also know that Yuan Shu’s troops in Huainan are well-prepared and well-equipped with armor, especially iron armor. Although our army can win, it suffers heavy casualties, all because of the armor. We are short of bows and crossbows."
Liu Feng hurriedly said: "My nephew has long admired Chen Guobing's fine armor, especially his powerful bows and powerful crossbows, which are the best in the world. I wonder if I can buy a batch at a discount from the tax. Iron armor, strong bows, powerful crossbows and other military supplies? This will also save the trouble of operation."
After hearing Liu Feng's request, Liu Chong and Luo Jun discussed: "Look, Prime Minister. Is China rich in ordnance? ”
Luo Jun calculated that in Chen Kingdom, Liu Chong's Prince Chen's palace alone had 2,000 powerful crossbows, 800 strong bows, and 800 sets of iron armor.
Most of the iron armor is in stock. In the past two years, the annual production is only 120 sets. However, the Jinnu can produce 500 pieces and 200 strong bows every year.
Both Liu Chong and Luo Jun hated Yuan Shu deeply.
Not only because Yuan Shu had no loyalty to the Han family, he also tortured the people everywhere and brought disaster to all.
This made Liu Chong and Luo Jun, who loved the people like their own children, particularly angry and disgusted.
It was also because Liu Bei's reputation for benevolence gradually spread, and he recruited and resettled refugees in Xuzhou, which invisibly won the favor of Liu Chong and Luo Jun.
Since Liu Feng bluntly stated that he wanted to attack Yuan Shu, then Liu Chong and Luo Jun felt that it was reasonable to sell part of the military supplies. Moreover, the harder Liu Feng beat Yuan Shu, the more miserable he became, so Chen Guo would undoubtedly do the same. safer.
So, after Luo Jun and Liu Chong discussed it, they responded: "For iron armor, there may be four hundred sets, six hundred rhubarb crossbows, one thousand two hundred strong crossbows, and strong bows. Five hundred pieces, one hundred thousand bows and crossbows, eight hundred sets of leather armor, three thousand short and long soldiers, one thousand iron shields, two thousand leather shields, how about conquering Nanyi?"
"Uncle, Prime Minister, if there is any result in this southern expedition, the contribution of these two people must be attributed to them. Both of them will report to the emperor and ask for credit for my uncle and the Prime Minister!"
Liu Feng's words are extraordinary. Sincerely, the title of the imperial court should not be used in vain. Moreover, Liu Chong and the emperor still have some feelings for the imperial court center. Although they are not the kind of extreme loyalists, they also hope that the Han central committee can restore its authority and stabilize the world.
After hearing Liu Feng's words, Liu Chong and Luo Jun both smiled. It was obvious that Liu Feng's words also touched their itch.
"Your Highness, since we have no use for those things, why not sell them to Zhengnan together."
Luo Jun thought about it and said to Liu Chong.
After thinking for a while, Liu Chong also nodded and said to Liu Feng: "There are twenty sets of vests always stored in the arsenal of Chen State. What if you don't want them?"
"The vests !”
Liu Feng was overjoyed. He originally planned to go back to Xuzhou to find someone to redo the vest, but now he sent a sample?
Liu Feng agreed immediately.
Subsequently, the two parties carefully agreed on the prices of the items. The vest and iron armor were worth 7,000 yen per set, totaling 3 million yen; the full-body leather armor was 2,000 yen per set, totaling 1.6 million yen. ; The big yellow crossbow costs 10,000 coins each, totaling 6 million coins; the strong crossbow costs 3,000 coins each, totaling 3.6 million coins; the iron shield costs 1,000 coins each, totaling 1 million coins; the leather shield costs 300 coins each. , a total of 600,000 coins; short soldiers cost 800 coins each, long soldiers cost 1,000 coins each, a total of 2.7 million coins; strong bows cost 800 coins, a total of 400,000 coins; bows (10 coins), crossbows ( 9 coins) each with 100,000 arrows, totaling 1.9 million coins.
The total price is 20.8 million yuan.
Liu Feng was secretly stunned. Chen State was indeed one of the important military industrial towns in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, but it actually hid so many good things. Especially the vest, iron armor and big yellow crossbow, these are all good things that even money can't buy.
This time Chen Guozhen really did not come in vain, and good people will be rewarded.
Liu Feng was purely because Liu Chong and Luo Jun also sponsored Xuzhou's northward expedition. At least he wanted to give others some rewards, so his sponsorship was not in vain, and it would be easier to raise sponsorships in the future.
As a result, Liu Chong and Luo Jun gave themselves a big surprise. Good things come true.
If you think about it carefully, it turns out that these things were all wasted by Yuan Shu and Cao Cao fighting for Chen State.
Now that it is in my own hands, it will definitely play a greater role.
Liu Chong and Luo Jun were quite generous. They directly deducted the payment from the tax and wiped off a fraction of 800,000 yuan. They were very generous and arrogant.
Liu Feng was so grateful that he prepared a banquet for him that day.
During the banquet, Luo Jun even called his only son Luo Tong to come to see Liu Feng.
Luo Tong was only five years old at this time, and his biological mother was Luo Jun's concubine. She followed Luo Jun to serve as an official in the state of Chen, while Luo Jun's first wife was still at home in Kuaiji with her daughter.
Although Luo Tong was young, he was very polite, which made Liu Feng full of praise. Luo Jun and Liu Chong were also smiling. As for Luo Tong's mother, Luo Jun's concubine was quite colorful. No wonder she was able to remarry Hua Xin as a concubine after Luo Jun's death.
During the banquet, Liu Feng deliberately talked about the situation in Jiangdong and slightly exaggerated some of Sun Ce's atrocities, which made Luo Jun a little worried about his wife and daughter in his hometown.
Subsequently, Liu Feng expressed his position in a timely manner and said that if Luo Jun needed it, he could take the sea route to Kuaiji County, take his family to Xuzhou, and then send him to Chen State.
When Luo Jun heard this, he was immediately overjoyed.
Luo Jun served as Chen Guoguo's minister twice and had been away for ten years. However, his wife fulfilled his filial piety in his hometown and raised his only daughter, which was very hard.
Luo Jun also loved the people as his son, and often dispersed his salary among the people. In fact, there was not much food to send back to Kuaiji. This made him feel more guilty towards his wife and daughter.
Now that Jiangdong is no longer a paradise, the war has even reached the edge of Kuaiji County. According to Liu Feng's inference, Sun Ce's next target must be Kuaiji County. The reason is that Kuaiji County is isolated and has a vast territory and rich resources. Sun Ce will definitely attack first. After the easy things are difficult, we send troops to Kuaiji.
Luo Jun and Liu Chong were convinced of Liu Feng's good intentions and listened to their advice.
The next day, Liu Chong and Luo Jun personally escorted Liu Feng five miles out of the city, and then returned to Chen County.
After Liu Feng said goodbye to Liu Chong and Luo Jun, he continued eastward, with his goal being Suiyang, the capital of Liang State, next door to Chen State.
Liu Bei was still staying in Suiyang at this time, but his subordinate Qu sent out 8,000 people, leaving only his own bodyguards and soldiers from Liang Kingdom.
(End of this chapter)