Qiu Yizhi is a person who can come and go freely in Prince Youyan's palace. The guards of the palace are all very familiar with it, and Liu Qingzi is no exception.
It's just that Liu Qing has always been on duty in the military and is not very familiar with the changes in the officialdom. It was not until today that he realized that the son of a dragonfly, whom the emperor valued very much, was actually wearing a seventh-grade official uniform and appeared in the lobby of the Jiangnan Dafu Yamen. He was almost shocked immediately. Get down on your knees.
When Qiu Yizhi saw it, he quickly stepped forward and said in Liu Qing's ear in a voice so small that only the two of them could hear it: "Don't kneel down and worship me. Don't reveal my identity. There's no good in it."
Liu Qing was worthy of being the officer that Lao Youyan said. After hearing these simple words, he stopped talking before thinking about it carefully. Without further bending his knees, he cupped his hands and said, "It turns out it's Mr. Qiu." When we come, we will welcome you from a distance, and we will welcome you from afar." His tone was still very polite.
Qian Feng, who was sitting high in the hall, felt a little strange after hearing this. The Liu Qing in front of him claimed to be the person next to the emperor. He was usually very arrogant towards himself. I don't know what medicine he took today, but he actually started to treat him with respect like a seventh-grade sesame officer.
Qian Feng didn't want to think about it, and just wanted to get rid of the problem in front of him quickly, so he said to Liu Qing: "General Qian, this Lord Qiu, and the two generals behind him want to lead his sergeants into the city. It is forbidden. Qian Jiedu also agreed to the entry of soldiers outside the city. I wonder what the general has planned? "
After hearing this, Liu Qing secretly cursed "old fox" and scratched his head, not knowing how to speak.
But I heard Qiu Yizhi next to me say: "Liu Jiedu, I heard that you have also fought with the emperor. You should know that the morale of the army is affected by the battle. Like this, the reinforcements who have worked hard to come to help are blocked in the city. Besides, how can we boost the morale of our soldiers?"
The two lieutenant generals who followed Qiu Yizhi into the mansion were all worried when they saw that he, a seventh-rank petty official, dared to scold a third-rank general like this. They were all worried about him, fearing that Liu Qing would get angry and draw his sword. Qiu Yizhi was cut down directly.
Unexpectedly, Liu Qing's face was full of embarrassment: "This...this...can you please lend me a step, Mr. Qiu? I have a few words to say to you."
Qiu Yizhi replied with a stern face: "We are discussing things that are fair and aboveboard. Is there anything we can't say in this class? If you have something to say, say it now."
After hearing this, Liu Qing nodded and said, "The general has said it. First, let me ask Mr. Qiu, how much salary can the soldiers get according to our dynasty's customs?"
"Originally, it was one cent and five cents per person per month. Later, after the current emperor ascended the throne, he increased revenue and reduced expenditure, and it was increased to two cents. What happened?" Qiu Yizhi said.
Liu Qing sighed: "These two coins...are not enough!"
"Why is there not enough? The food, clothes, and houses the soldiers live in are all provided by the imperial court. Two coins per month is more than enough!"
"Alas!" Liu Qing sighed again, "Of course this is true in Guangyang, but Jinling is the land of gold powder in the Six Dynasties. After the soldiers are fed and clothed, they must have expenses, right? Two coins of silver , it’s just enough to drink a bowl of tea every day! What’s more, these soldiers have families to support, and the heads of the family, old and young, are all counting on them... "
After listening to Liu Qing's words, Qiu Yizhi was about to scold him for not leading the troops well. He was doing somersaults in the eyes of the copper coins all day long, but suddenly he remembered that when he was recruiting troops, he offered him two taels of silver in order to send his men to the countryside. If you are brave enough to support your family with military pay, you will have no worries when fighting.
So Qiu Yizhi said: "You are also a lover of soldiers..."
Liu Qing replied: "The last general is from Lao Youyan Road, and he cannot do such unethical things as eating empty wages and drinking the blood of soldiers. Before the last general took office, he heard from the emperor that the Jiangnan Jiedu Army was not strong in combat. Later, I learned that the emperor’s words were true, so I left the veterans alone for the time being, and first replenished the recruits to ensure that the number of soldiers was sufficient..."
Qiu Yizhi listened to his endless talk and quickly interrupted: "Who wants to listen to your merits? It is good for you to organize the army in the south of the Yangtze River, but what does it matter if you don't let outside reinforcements enter the city? relation?"
After listening to Qiu Yi's words, Liu Qing hesitated for a long time before replying: "Isn't the general thinking about the poverty of my brothers? Fortunately, there are many wealthy merchants in Jinling City, so he has connected several large chambers of commerce to let They gave the brothers money to increase their salaries, up to five qian per person per month, so that they could barely have enough food and clothing... "
Qiu Yizhi is a smart man, and he already made a solid guess after hearing this: "You mean, the big businessmen in Jinling City don't want reinforcements to enter the city?"
Liu Qing seemed to be relieved and said: "Your Majesty is right. As the saying goes, 'The hands that take people are short, the mouth that eats them is short.' More than half of the military salary in my hand is paid by big businessmen, so I can't refute it." Do you want to save their face? If we force outsiders to enter the city, the Chamber of Commerce may lose next month’s salary, and my brothers may mutiny.”
This is really a difficult problem.
Lin Shuhan, who was beside Qiu Yizhitong, discussed in a low voice for a long time, but still felt that he could not just open the door and let people into the city based on his whim. This would damage the face of the rich men in the city and make Liu Qing's life difficult and difficult to speak. .
So Qiu Yizhi sat behind several cases and was silent about this matter for a long time. Qian Feng said: "Master Governor, I just listened to Liu Jiedu and thought that the crux of this matter lies with the major chambers of commerce in Jinling City. Governor Qian is here. "Why don't you, the governor, come forward to invite these businessmen, and then explain it to them?"
Qian Feng just wanted to get rid of Qiu Yizhi, this hot potato, but he didn't expect that he would come up with such a stupid idea. In his heart, he wanted to refuse categorically, but just now he saw that Liu Qing, the usually rather arrogant and domineering Jiedushi, was respectful to Qiu Yi. He also thought of the rumors in the capital, and he was even more confused about this small county magistrate. origin.
In desperation, Qian Feng had no choice but to relent and said: "That's fine, but I'll just invite you if you have something to say first. If you have anything to say, it will naturally be up to you."
Qiu Yizhi agreed and asked for pen, ink, paper and inkstone. Lin Shuhan took the lead in writing. Jiedushi Liu Qing listed the list of big businessmen in Jinling City, and soon nearly twenty invitations were drafted.
Because Qian Feng had agreed to invite the businessmen to discuss matters, Qiu Yi was not polite. He asked for the Jiangnan Road Customs Seal, stamped all the invitations with ink on them, and asked Liu Qing to send someone out to deliver the letter immediately.
When the merchants saw that it was an invitation sent by someone sent by the Jiedu Envoy, and it was stamped with the seal of the governor, they dared not come to keep the appointment, so they hurriedly packed up their clothes, and all went to the Taoist Yamen, those on horseback and those in sedan chairs. Come.
According to the original rules, when businessmen were invited to the Yamen to discuss matters, even if there was no banquet, several bowls of good tea would still be served to them. However, Qian Feng was not very supportive of Qiu Yizhi's matter. Not to mention food and drinks, he didn't even prepare a few chairs.
Many businessmen arrived a little late and had to stand in small groups on the field outside the lobby, like a group of trembling prisoners waiting for interrogation. Although these people have low status as businessmen, they are still some of the richest businessmen in Jinling City. When encountering such a situation, they were already furious. Only because of the majesty of the Taoist government office, they did not get angry.
Qiu Yizhi was a stranger in Jiangnan Road and could not recognize so many people, so he turned to Liu Qing and asked, "General Liu, are everyone here almost here?"
Liu Qing looked towards the door and counted, and said: "It's almost there, only about two or three people are missing, right?"
"Have you counted clearly?" Qiu Yizhi asked confirmingly.
Liu Qing patted his chest: "That's natural. The last general is also a leader in war. There are hundreds of people. You can count them with just a glance. Can I still count the dozen or so people at the moment?"
"Okay! The sergeants outside are still suffering from cold and hunger, and we can't wait for these few legs to sprint slowly. You can go and invite these people outside to come in and talk."
After saying this, Qiu Yizhi turned around and bowed to Qian Feng, who was sitting peacefully, and said, "Sir, all the guests are here, shall we ask them to come in now?"
When Qian Feng saw that Qiu Yizhi, a seventh-rank county magistrate, dared to point fingers in the lobby of the third-rank governor's office, Qian Feng was already irritated and said angrily: "Didn't you invite them in? Didn't you ask? What do I do?”
Only then did Qiu Yizhi remember that she had only focused on getting things done, which was a bit presumptuous. Putting herself in his shoes and comparing his feelings, it was no wonder that Qian Feng was unhappy. However, now tens of thousands of troops gathered outside the city without any order, and if the Japanese pirates attacked unexpectedly, it would be a disaster. In such an emergency situation, Qiu Yizhi no longer cared about the false courtesy of superiority and inferiority.
So Qiu Yizhi pretended not to hear the sarcasm in Qian Feng's tone, took a step forward, bowed to the Jinling merchants who had entered the lobby one after another, and said: "Every high official, please come and take a look. It’s Qiu Yizhi, the magistrate of Shanyin County.”
The merchants in the hall were attracted by Qiu Yizhi's neither humble nor arrogant voice. They all turned their heads and stared at the small seventh-grade county magistrate who was not tall.
But I heard Qiu Yi's words: "Dear officials, the Governor Qian invited you here today. He has an important matter to discuss with you. Due to time constraints, he didn't even prepare food and drinks. It's really a lack of etiquette. Wait. In the future, the Japanese pirates will retreat outside the city, and the official will calmly make amends."
Qiu Yizhi's move was called "predicting his words". He said it first, so that most of the anger in the wealthy businessmen in the room was extinguished by these few words, and smiles appeared on their faces.
Qiu Yizhi continued: "You are all well-informed people. Everyone knows that Jinling was harassed by Japanese pirates. The Japanese pirates are ferocious and greedy and should not be underestimated. Our soldiers and civilians in Jinling have become frightened. If this goes on for a long time, we will not say anything. In addition, your business will also be greatly affected.”
When Qiu Yizhi said this, several smart businessmen responded loudly: "Do you want us to raise some military funds?"
"It's easy to say. We are also ordinary people. We don't know how to fight, so we should pay some money."
"Although business has been lighter these days, I still have some savings. It doesn't matter if I use some money to boost your morale."
While the merchants were expressing their opinions one by one, Liu Qing said in Qiu Yizhi's ear: "When encountering such a thing, it is normal to ask merchants for donations. The general has not asked them for money yet, so... It’s okay for adults to ask them for some silver.”
Qiu Yizhi nodded, but said: "I am also very moved by your determination to serve the country. However, after the emperor ascended the throne, he increased the pay of the soldiers by 50%. You also donate a lot on weekdays. The military pay is enough. That's it. After the war in the future, there may be a shortage of money and food to reward the meritorious generals, so I would like to ask you to donate generously. "
After hearing what Qiu Yi said, the merchants had no intention of allocating military pay, and they felt even more happy. However, they heard Qiu Yi, who was wearing the robes of a seventh-grade official, talking in the main hall of the Taoist Yamen, changed his subject and said : "However, there is an urgent matter that I would like to inform you of." (To be continued)