"Brother Imperial, in my opinion, this is not worthy of your anger. The way you deal with the refugees in Heshuo is not appropriate. The number of refugees gathered in the western border area of Zhongzhou has exceeded 500,000, and there are still more than 500,000 refugees gathered in the western border area of Zhongzhou. As they continue to grow, you use the army to block them outside the imperial capital. That is only a temporary measure. Over time, it will definitely cause unrest, which will directly affect the situation in the imperial capital. And now many people are worried about it. You are quite critical in handling this matter. Look at what Li Wufeng did in Tianshui. This has greatly won the hearts of these Heshuo refugees. Even many gentry in the imperial capital are gradually changing. Regarding Li Wufeng’s opinion, my little sister suggests that you should follow Li Wufeng’s example and establish a refugee camp on the outskirts of the imperial capital to win over people’s hearts. Anyway, Li Wufeng’s first batch of food will be coming soon, and it will be used for emergency relief first.” Situ Yushuang couldn’t help but shout. The words he said to his brother, and he is still blaming others, are not helping the situation in the first place, it is better to think of countermeasures earlier.
"Thirteenth sister, it's easy for you to say that. Even if Li Wufeng sells the second batch of grain to the empire, but as you said, the harvest situation next summer is unknown, and we have to continue to reserve grain. The price of grain in the imperial capital is now close to 30 gold coins per quintal. , at a price lower than half the market price, ten million tons of grain will cost us 150 million gold coins. If the East China Sea or Jiangnan are still in our hands, this money may not be considered much, but now the East China Sea has been lost, The war in the south of the Yangtze River has begun, and we don’t know when it will end. It is estimated that even if the war ends, it will be impossible to provide much financial support to the central government of the empire. It will be very difficult for the third brother on the other side of Wuhu and the sixth brother on the other side not to reach out to the empire. Not bad, what else can we expect? How can one Zhongzhou's fiscal revenue support six legions and so many officials? If this continues, the foundation left in the treasury will be able to support it for another year at most. By this time next year What should we do?" Situ Lang didn't care much at this time. If you're not a family member, you don't know how expensive firewood and rice are. Only by sitting in this position can you truly know that this position is not something that ordinary people can sit casually in front of their compatriots and sisters. Situ Lang simply made it clear and revealed his true identity to Situ Yushuang.
Sighing softly, Situ Yutang looked sadly at his brother who had aged a lot since he came to the throne. He said quietly: "Brother Ninth, have you ever thought about it, if these tens of millions If you leave the refugees alone, you will undoubtedly give others a perfect target. How will Big Brother attack you? As the emperor of the empire, he doesn't even care about the life and death of the people under his rule. How can he be qualified to be the emperor? I'm afraid this kind of remarks will not work. How long will it take before the streets and alleys of the imperial capital will be filled with people who are willing to take advantage of it, and the storm set off is enough to overturn any big ship! What's more, so many refugees cannot be stopped. Once a riot breaks out, it will have a greater impact on us. So we must settle this group of refugees first no matter what. The food problem is now solved by Li Wufeng, so I think we can ignore it for the time being. However, we have to prevent the epidemic of plague in the Heshuo area."
"Yes, the plague is spreading in the Heshuo area, and I heard that many people have died. If these refugees are allowed to flow into the imperial capital, it will be unthinkable if it triggers an epidemic of plague in the imperial capital." Situ Lang quickly picked up the words, speaking from the bottom of his heart. He said he was still unwilling to accept this group of refugees.
"It is not feasible to let the refugees enter the imperial capital, but we can follow Li Wufeng's example and place them in the western suburbs of the imperial capital. In addition, we will send more doctors to cook medicinal materials to strengthen epidemic prevention and prevent the spread of the plague. The younger sister is still thinking about another question, and now she is stuck The actions of the Man people were undoubtedly affected by the shortage of food in their country. It is estimated that they were forced to plunder like this in Heshuo. It seemed that they would not stay in Heshuo for long, and there was a drought that spread across the entire eastern continent. It has affected the entire Liberian kingdoms. Even the Kingdom of Dodon had to temporarily give up the war with the Japanese due to food problems. Xiaomei inferred that the Kaman people may shrink their defenses, even abandon Longquan and Heishan, and withdraw their controlled areas To the front line of Qinghe, and now the Taiping rebels in Heshuo have obviously lost the ability to control the situation in this area. If we can quickly collect intelligence to confirm this, can we take the opportunity to regain Heshuo?"
Situ Yushuang's idea seemed to come so suddenly that Situ Lang didn't even react. Just now he was worried about how to deal with the refugees, and now he wanted to take back Heshuo in one fell swoop. This role change was a little too fast. .
"Recapture Heshuo?" He asked in return. Situ Lang was stunned for a while and then said: "Thirteenth sister, I'm afraid this won't work. Heshuo is a mess. Even if we can drive away the Taiping rebels, what can we do to appease them? People? We don’t have food, medicine, or all kinds of daily necessities. What’s more, there are the Kaman people who are eyeing us. You also know the combat power of the army in our hands. Doing this will undoubtedly set you on fire!"
Situ Lang shook his head repeatedly, obviously unable to accept this too bold and advanced plan.
"The Kaman people are nothing to worry about. They should not have the energy to mind their own business for the time being, otherwise they would not behave like this in Heishan and Longquan. As for food, medicinal materials and daily necessities, we can find a way to buy them from Li Wufeng. In the interests of national justice and the empire, Under the big hat, Li Wufeng will not be willing to risk the world's disapproval." Situ Yushuang's lips curled up slightly, with a cold expression, "I know this guy, he values the people's hearts and minds more than anything else. At this time, , it is time for us to play our central role as the orthodox center of our empire.”
"But what if he uses various means to delay or even refuse?" Situ Lang asked.
"That's better, then the responsibility is not on the empire's side but on Li Wufeng's side. We can go to Luzon, Comini and other places to buy grain. We only need to ask Li Wufeng to give up the passage. If he deliberately makes things difficult, it will only make him Even if he doesn't make things difficult, we can still make him take the blame. In order to avoid suspicion, he will have to find ways to maintain the safety of our food purchase channels from the mainland." Situ Yushuang looked to the west, " In addition, after careful observation and analysis, the younger sister feels that the Seventeenth Sister may not have completely surrendered to Li Wufeng as we imagined. If she can be allowed to return to Western Xinjiang, she may be able to play an unexpected role, at least in order to solve the problem of Heshuo. She can confidently help us speak out about some of the empire's requirements for Western Xinjiang on the issue of refugees. After all, this will not harm Li Wufeng's interests, but will also help the empire resolve its difficulties. She should be able to do it."
Situ Lang was indeed a little moved by Situ Yushuang's plan.
The Kaman people's looting in Montenegro and Longquan made people angry. Although this was a helpless move, it also proved that the Kaman people were also worried about logistics, especially food problems. When Montenegro and Longquan had become worthless, the plague was prevalent. It is unlikely that the Kaman people will stay in these two places, and it is very likely that they will withdraw to Qinghe, the stronghold of their southern invasion.
Judging from the information obtained now, both Hejian and Jinzhong have fallen into full-scale turmoil. Situ Lang's information is naturally much more accurate and detailed than his sister. The Taiping Army gathered between Jinzhong and Hebei was in trouble. The upper-level Taiping Army, who were short of food and medicine, obviously did not estimate the severity of this food shortage and the huge crisis it would bring. In order to fill their stomachs, the refugees They have gathered together unscrupulously and looted everywhere.
The Heshuo area, which had been completely plundered by the Taiping sect, did not have much for these mob groups to rob. Later, as more and more mobs gathered, they gradually turned their targets to the Taiping Army, which still had some savings. On a small scale, The sneak attack developed into an open attack on the Taiping Army to seize food. A large riot swept the entire Heshuo area, firmly impacting the already disorganized Taiping Army to the point of collapse, especially since a large number of these Taiping Army soldiers came from Heshuo. If this trend continues, the Taiping Army's rule in Heshuo will probably be difficult to maintain for too long.
Silently turning the gun in the study, Situ Lang gently rubbed his hand under his chin. This was an opportunity, but of course it also had considerable risks. Although the city guard regiment in his hands had been replenished, its combat effectiveness had been greatly reduced. It was greatly weakened, and it was still the main force guarding the western pass of the imperial capital. The combat effectiveness of the 3rd and 4th legions was really disappointing. The 8th and 9th legions did not dare to put their hope in it, making themselves unable to believe whether they were absolutely sure of one move. Defeat the Taiping Army. I really hope that the Taiping Army can collapse on its own, but this fantasy is somewhat unrealistic.
"Thirteenth sister, do you think we have the confidence to completely defeat the current Taiping Army with the other legions besides the City Guards and Imperial Guards?" After much deliberation, Situ Lang still wasn't very sure, and finally wanted to let himself The girl came to make a prediction for herself.
"Brother Imperial, it seems that this question should not be answered by my little sister. My little sister is just giving you a reference suggestion. Whether it is feasible or not, you should discuss it with your Minister of Military Affairs. Maybe the Duke of Jilin can give you a satisfactory answer. . However, I heard that the combat effectiveness of the Fourth Army seems to have been greatly improved recently. Although the commander of the army is recognized as a waste, the deputy commander seems to have some skills. I heard that the first division he led single-handedly can actually fight with the Kaiser. The Manmen's rangers are fighting head-on. No matter what the result is, at least they dare to fight to prove that this army is not a pustule."
Situ Yushuang's casual remarks made Situ Lang overjoyed. He himself was not aware of the situation, but if such a situation existed, it would undoubtedly give him a choice as he had been suffering from the lack of good generals.