The constant patter of spring rain extinguished the flames of war on this land. Even though the armies of both sides were facing each other, they could already smell the breath of war, but they never took that step after all.

In Shezhou alone, the two sides gathered nearly 200,000 troops. Lin Zhaoqing and Kuang Zhonglei, old partners, were now enemies and would have to compete sooner or later.

The situation in Huzhou is similar. On the contrary, the area near Suzhou is a three-legged tripod, which is rare and peaceful.

Li Congshan couldn't eat or sleep well these days. He knew that with every passing day, Sun Yu's control over the Yue Kingdom's homeland would become stronger. However, this season was really not suitable for fighting, so he could only wait.

"Your Majesty, I would like to see you strictly!" Li Xin walked in and said.

Speaking of which, Yan Xu is quite powerful. He has survived several dynasties, which is simply a miracle. Now he is highly relied on by Li Congshan.

"Old minister, I have met your Majesty!" Yan Xu bowed his hands in salute. In the past, he always felt that no matter who replaced him, his Yan family would still be able to stand tall.

But now, Yan Xu was obviously panicked, and Sun Yu was obviously an exception.

Not only does the Yan family have a grudge against Sun Yu, but Sun Yu's journey along the way has relied on breaking the monopoly of the aristocratic family, whether it is land or talents, which is naturally opposed to the Yan family.

Now Yan Xu has only one choice, which is to be firmly tied to Li Congshan and defeat Sun Yu.

"Yan Aiqing, without courtesy, is in such a hurry to enter the palace, is there anything urgent?" Li Congshan now relies more and more on Yan Xu. Before, he always felt that Yan Xu was not a good person, but now he can't care about it at all. Only those who can share his worries can

He is a capable minister.

"Your Majesty, the rain this year is much greater than in previous years. If it is allowed to develop, I'm afraid there is a risk of the embankment bursting." Yan Xu was a little greedy, but he had money in his stomach. He could tell just by the amount of rainfall.

It is possible that the water level of the Yangtze River in various places has not yet been reported, but it is definitely not low.

Nowadays, in the Southern Tang Dynasty, money and food are already tight, and both the north and the south are watching with eager eyes. If there is another flood, a civil uprising will happen if one is not careful. At that time, there will be internal and external troubles, and collapse will happen in an instant.

"I know all this, but what can I do?" Li Congshan spread his hands. The Yangtze River is so long, who knows where the embankment will break?

The side of the Song Dynasty was repaired every year, but the side of the Southern Tang Dynasty was basically in disrepair. There is a high probability that the dike will burst here. At this time, it is too late to repair the dike.

"In my humble opinion, rather than letting it develop and worrying about it, it is better to choose a place and dig a dam to release floods, damaging one place and saving the whole situation." Yan Xu came today and was naturally well prepared. This plan is the best.

.

"This..." Li Congshan was silent. This dike breach is not bound to happen, and if people take the initiative to dig the dike, there will still be great losses. It's just that if the arrangements are done well, it will not easily cause a civil commotion. But this arrangement is still

If you want money and food without any calculation, where can you get it?

This is human nature. When there is no certainty that a disaster will happen, you will definitely take chances.

"Your Majesty, as long as the embankment breaks, the Tang Dynasty will be in danger!" Yan Xu was very serious. This was not a joke. It was about everyone's wealth and life, so we couldn't afford to gamble.

"I don't want to, but right now, I can't make ends meet. I just raised the tax once at the beginning of the year, and there are already a lot of complaints from the people. If we increase the tax, what will it be like breaking the embankment?" Li Congshan frowned, and the strong pressure brought by Sun Yu made them

With the continuous recruitment of troops, the cost is also increasing day by day.

A tax increase at the beginning of the year allowed the national treasury to receive nearly 2 million taels of food, which could barely maintain the operation of various places. If embankments were dug and a large number of disaster victims were resettled at once, this money would not be less.

And Li Congshan knew very well that the state treasury had 2 million taels in it, and the amount collected would probably be doubled.

If revenue is increased again, it will definitely arouse public outrage.

"This time, we don't need so much. Five hundred thousand taels is enough. Compared with the disaster, it should be within the tolerance to pay some money." Yan Xu didn't want to, but it would definitely not be possible without money.

There are two roads in front of us. If we ignore them, once the embankment bursts, there will be no recovery, and it is highly likely to happen. The number of hungry people affected by the disaster at that time must be much more than those who dug the embankment. They had no food and no

Wherever they live, if someone provokes them, they will plunder them and coerce more people to join them.

Another option is to raise taxes again, which is relatively mild, but it will definitely lose some people's support, and there may also be some sporadic resistance. It will not be obvious at first. Once Sun Yu comes over, I am afraid there will be a crowd of people welcoming him.

"That's it. Remember, all prefectures and counties must make it clear that this money is to resettle the victims." Li Congshan sighed in his heart. I am afraid that the people will regard him as a foolish king who is greedy for pleasure and spends wantonly.

After he ascended the throne, his formal attire was still made from Li Yu's, and many servants in the palace were dismissed, all in order to save money. Even three meals a day were simple, even worse than in Kaifeng.

Much more.

"The place for flood discharge, I think the place where Chizhou was flooded before is the most suitable place." Yan Xu suggested that the population of this place was moved away by Sun Yu. There are still people now, but compared to other places, the population is sparse.

, the installation cost is also low.

"Okay, let's do it!" Li Congshan felt hollowed out. Why, he didn't want to be like this, but he was pushed forward step by step, with no room for change.

Three days later, in the Chizhou Yamen, the governor Gong Qixia looked at the official document in his hand and couldn't help but sigh.

"Master Gong, why are you sighing? Come here, this is the new tea I just made, try it!" Chizhou Sima He Zhiqian was holding a tea bag and was squeaking.

He Zhiqian bought a tea garden in his hometown. The tea garden in it is this spring's new tea, which cannot be easily drunk.

Speaking of which, He Zhiqian has reached the age of becoming an official. He is waiting for the autumn harvest to write to the court and return to his hometown to retire. After traveling all his life, it is a great joy in life to be able to return to his hometown in fine clothes.

"How can I not worry about it? It's all nonsense." Gong Qixia handed the official documents to He Zhiqian. He had made a little fortune before, and had filled up all the deficits of the yamen. There was still a large balance, and he was living a good life.

"Why is there another tax? There is no such thing as a lean period. Aren't the successive levies pushing the people to a dead end?" He Zhiqian shook his head. Ordinary people's lives are very tight. Every time this tax is levied, basically

Just take food from their mouths.

He Zhiqian is about to become an official and just wants to return to his hometown safely. If he continues like this, he might cause trouble.

"That's not all. We also need to dig embankments to release floods. This batch of money is said to be collected to resettle the victims. It's Chizhou again. What unlucky situation have we got?" Gong Qixia felt that it was unlucky. In addition to arranging manpower to relocate people in various villages,

The other townships still have to collect taxes, which is not easy to do.

If the flood breaks down the embankment, no one will be blamed. God will show his power and he can survive. But if you dig the embankment artificially, you will be scolded in the spine.

"Master Gong, this job is not easy to do." He Zhiqian looked worried. He was planning to wait until the autumn harvest, so why did he do this kind of thing?

"I don't know, but this, hey!" Gong Qixia threw the document on the table. The river embankment had just been reinforced this year. He was confident about the Chizhou section, but he could only follow the imperial court's wishes.

There are so many threads that one simply doesn’t know where to start. All one can do is write down the document first, move it with emotion, and learn about it.

Let me lay the groundwork.

"Ahem, I can personally handle this mobilization matter, but I don't know the effect." He Zhiqian knew he couldn't escape, so he could only bite the bullet and continue.

I have experience with this mobilization matter. As long as we run more and go deep into the people, there will always be some results.

"If it really doesn't work, then we can only use three shifts of government officials. Things have to be completed. By the way, the court said there is a subsidy. Everyone should register first and let's make an estimate." Gong Qixia felt that if the subsidy was

If it's in place, this won't be a problem, but I really don't have enough confidence in the imperial court.

"Ahem, Lord Gong, what do you think, how about a 30% overpayment?" He Zhiqian was immediately tempted. This kind of disaster relief has always been a shortcut to getting rich.

"Master He, it's better to tell the truth this time. Prime Minister Yan said that he and Master You will personally send people to strictly investigate this payment. If anyone is found to be corrupt, they will be severely punished. This money is very hot.

, You can't do it. Moreover, the world is in turmoil. As parents and officials, it is better for us to be more considerate to the people." Gong Qixia admits that she is not a breeze, but she is not a breeze. She used to be too poor, but now she is living a decent life.

There is no need to lick blood at this time.

In fact, Gong Qixia still has something on his mind, that is, the great changes in Jiangnan are about to happen, Chizhou is close to Shezhou, and he and Zhongyong Wang Sunyu have already crossed paths.

If he has a good reputation, if Nan Tang loses, he can turn around and get a position with Sun Yu.

He didn't even say this to He Zhiqian. He didn't dare to take the initiative to contact Sun Yu, for fear that the news would leak out, so he could only wait slowly.

Gong Qixia wrote the documents himself and sent them to various counties, raised taxes, and then went out for a walk to observe the sentiments of the people.

The rain was still pouring non-stop, and the person accompanying me was Ah Jiu, who was responsible for holding the umbrella. Ah Jiu was an absolutely trustworthy person, a member of the clan who was specially found from his hometown.

"Dad, please give me two bowls of rice noodles." Gong Qixia sat down directly at a small restaurant on the street, preparing to cushion her stomach. This humid weather made her feel very uncomfortable.

"Sir, why do you always eat in small shops like this recently?" Ah Jiu was puzzled. When he first arrived in Chizhou, Gong Qixia rarely ate at street restaurants. He said he was prone to bad stomachs and would eat at home.

Or go to a high-end restaurant.

"Well, for a change, it's also a way to learn about folk life. Why, it's not to your liking?" Gong Qixia asked with a smile.

This Ah Jiu was considered his nephew. He had studied for several years, and later worked in the escort agency and learned some boxing and kicks from the old escort master. He may have good talent and a strong body, and he was much better than the police officers in the yamen.

"No, the food I used to eat was much worse than this." Ah Jiu scratched his head. As a servant, he had no right to be picky.

"Well, let's eat then. If you don't have enough, please add more." Gong Qixia nodded. He now walks on the streets and eats in street restaurants every day, creating opportunities for the people in the dark. Of course, this person in the dark

He really didn't know whether it was true or not.

"Excuse me, can you please share a table?" As soon as the rice noodles were served and before Gong Qixia started eating, a man came forward and said.

"There's an empty seat over there." Ah Jiu said directly, saying that they would squeeze together even if there was an empty seat. How could this happen?

"Ajiu, when you go out, you should make it easy for others. This strong man looks very brave at first glance. He is different from ordinary people. Please sit down quickly." Gong Qixia stopped him quickly. This might be the person he was waiting for.

Ah Jiu doesn't understand this, but since the Lord has spoken, I will follow the Lord's wishes.
Chapter completed!