For a long time, Xianbei has coveted the Central Plains.
Their dignitaries and royal family had learned the Chinese characters and culture of the Central Plains earlier than King Zuoxian of the Huns, for several generations.
Fu Lie didn't answer, and Wen Qingzhu became increasingly uneasy.
Could it be that Xianbei wants to cause trouble again
Now the biggest threat to Qi is the Xiongnu. Xianbei and the Xiongnu tried to join forces before, and also took advantage of Rouran.
It's a pity that Rouran is a race that cannot support the wall with mud. During the Battle of Ganzhou, Fu Lie disintegrated their secret alliance.
Fu Lie gave Jasmine a few words and left here.
Not long after, news came back from Lutao, saying that the Texas side had been controlled by two unknown forces.
Wen Qingzhu read Lu Tao's letter carefully and felt that there was a big problem.
Originally, he sent Lu Tao there to investigate the tobacco situation, but Tao Xin was very powerful and borrowed Pei Yi's power to probably find out the details of Tao Wanwan.
On Lu Tao's side, because they discovered the anomaly in Texas, they focused on other things.
After thinking for a long time, Wen Qingzhu decided to go to Litao to meet up first.
Qi and the Xiongnu will eventually stop. Regardless of success or failure, the people will suffer.
Once Yonghe Pass is forced, Dingyuan City is too small to hold on for long, then Yunzhou will be the front line of defense.
Fortunately, there are very few people in Yunzhou now. Once a war breaks out, they can evacuate quickly.
That afternoon, Wen Qingzhu packed his things and prepared to take Jasmine and Beidou to Texas.
Before she left, she was stopped by Zuotang.
When they arrived at the Yamen, Zuotang presented the account book.
Wen Qingzhu knew that Brother Zhao Qing must have embezzled a lot over the years.
Otherwise, the Lu Jiajun would not have been suppressed to the point where they are now.
After all, without military pay, soldiers cannot survive.
The Lu family is not without wealth, but with hundreds of thousands of troops and horses, it is impossible to rely entirely on the Lu family.
What's more, the Lu family also has private soldiers.
Wen Qingzhu was mentally prepared, but she was still surprised when she opened the account book and saw the total amount on it.
"This, is this the military salary embezzled by Zhao Qing?" It's not like Wen Qingzhu has never seen money, but the money in this account is too much!
Zuotang stood in front of her and answered with cupped hands: "Yes, these are the accounts I found out here. There are still some discrepancies with the accounts sent over by General Zhao."
For some reason, Wen Qingzhu felt that with Zhao Qing's momentum last night, he might come up with an even more astonishing amount.
"Show it to me."
Zuotang turned around and ordered his subordinates to send the account book up.
This ledger is very new and very thin.
At first glance, you can tell that it was made overnight.
Wen Qingzhu placed his hand on the cover, and there was a slight chill on it.
Taking a deep breath, Wen Qingzhu opened the account book and saw the top number.
Although Rao was mentally prepared, he was still surprised.
It says 36.98 million silver.
Wen Qingzhu looked away, so much silver.
However, the total tax revenue in the first ten years of Jiang Yue's reign was only more than 20 years ago, and Zhao Qing actually dared to embezzle so much money.
After being surprised, Wen Qingzhu looked at the number and suddenly heard Gu Kuo.
When he was discovered to be a spy, Wen Qingzhu was still a little confused.
But now looking at this number, she suddenly understood.
For Zhao Qing, the silver was just a sum. No matter how extravagant he was in Dingyuan, he could never surpass Lu Chengen.
It would be okay if Lu Chengen was a person who loved luxury, but he was also extremely frugal.
For this reason, Zhao Qing had no possibility of using money in Dingyuan.
Calculating it this way, this much silver is about the same.
If you just think about it this way, wouldn't it mean that you have been greedy for more than 20 years of silver
Wen Qingzhu turned to look at the more than ten million silver calculated by Zuotang, and felt something was wrong.
There is more than one account, so Zhao Qing can provide one, and Zuotang can also provide it.
There is a difference, but it shouldn't be this big.
After pondering for a moment, Wen Qingzhu raised his head and asked Zuotang: "Have you read the account book that Zhao Qing sent?"
Zuotang nodded: "I have seen it, and I have calculated it carefully. When General Zhao came to Dingyuan, the total amount of silver allocated was only fifteen million. After going through the accounts of the Yamen, the total amount was four hundred." million, so according to the Yamen’s calculation, General Zhao deducted up to eleven million.”
"But he gave me an account of 36 million." Wen Qingzhu looked at Zuotang and asked, "What do you think he means?"
Zuotang's head lowered further: "I don't dare to make any assumptions. Everything will be subject to the arrangements of the princess and the emperor."
Wen Qingzhu laughed. Zuotang was able to stay in Dingyuan for so many years, so he was indeed quite capable.
The accounts were already here. After thinking for a while, Wen Qingzhu probably knew what Zhao Qing meant.
But if he handed over such an account, could he come up with so much money
Wen Qingzhu asked Zuotang to call Zhao Qing in.
As soon as Zhao Qing came in and was about to kneel down, Wen Qingzhu raised his hand, pointed to the seat next to him and said, "Sit down, I like what General Zhao does very much."
After hearing what she said, Zhao Qing breathed a sigh of relief.
Wen Qingzhu glanced at Zuotang, who immediately withdrew with great discernment, and at the same time took away the miscellaneous people at the door.
There was no one else around, Wen Qingzhu asked directly: "How much money can you give me?"
Zhao Qing thought she would ask him how he had such a large amount, but this question made him stunned.
When he didn't get an answer, Wen Qingzhu raised his head, looked at him and said: "Don't worry, it is my principle to be honest and lenient. I asked Zuotang just now and he said that in the past twenty years, the total amount of money that has been accounted for is It’s only fifteen million, and you came out with an account of thirty-six million, I know where the rest of the money came from.”
"Yes, yes, yes." Zhao Qing now felt more and more unable to breathe.
He looked at Wen Qingzhu quietly, why is this woman so scary
Zhao Qing always thought that some rumors about the capital were exaggerated.
But Wen Qingzhu actually appeared in front of him and quickly performed a series of operations, forcing him to retreat step by step. Only then did Zhao Qing realize that the rumors were not exaggerated.
Thinking of his decision last night, Zhao Qing suddenly felt happy.
There was a mole in the Zhao family who colluded with the Huns, but he definitely did not do it.
So on this point, even if Wen Qingzhu has evidence, Zhao Qing is confident that he can prove his innocence as long as he is given enough time.
As for secretly interacting with Jiang Yuancheng, many people have done so.
Zhao Qing is not worried, as long as he clearly understands his position in the future, this will not endanger his status.
The brothers have been operating in Dingyuan for more than 20 years. As long as they don't seek death, what belongs to the Zhao family will eventually belong to the Zhao family.
Although he disliked Lu Chengen, he had to admit that the Lu family had become an irreplaceable existence for the country.
"If we put it all together, we should be able to get 10 million out." Zhao Qing chose to confess.
According to his speculation, Wen Qingzhu should take back the ten million, and the remaining more than twenty million should be kept by him.
Wen Qingzhu thought for a while, it was more than 30 million, so it would be good for him to keep 10 million.
After all, the private soldiers in Zhao Qing's hands may need money to support them.
"Well, you can keep the ten million and confiscate the remaining twenty million. If you do something wrong, you will be punished. The national treasury has not been full in the past two years, so in the next three years, it will be You will provide all the military pay here."
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhao Qing forgot to breathe.
Want to take away more than 20 million
Do you want him to provide three years of military pay
Zhao Qing said subconsciously: "The total military salary every year is five to six hundred thousand taels!"
In fact, there is more than that. Due to special reasons for the military, local government agencies will also allocate part of the budget.
Needless to say, all the tax money was left directly in the Yamen.
All you need to do is make a symbolic tribute every year during the Chinese New Year.
In addition, Yunzhou used to be a big city, and at least 50,000 taels of silver were allocated for the army every year, not counting various daily supplies.
Dezhou and Linzhou, which are further away, will also provide some. Although it is less than 10,000, it is still a lot of money. Zhao Qing will naturally accept all comers.
Sometimes those two places ask for help from the military, and they also need to be filial.
If what Wen Qingzhu just said is really enacted, then there will be no money left!
For three years of military pay, he needs to budget at least three million.
He had deducted Lu Jiajun's salary before, even though Lu Chengen was a very upright person.
But Zhao Qing knows that Lu Chengen is a person who must avenge himself.
In this case, the money he secretly collected from the people and merchants would have to be returned in full.
In three years, we still don’t know what will happen
Moreover, according to Wen Qingzhu's words, what she wanted to take away were the properties that could produce money.
Zhao Qing fell into silence. Is this trying to force him to death
Seeing his expression slowly changing, Wen Qingzhu said calmly: "General Zhao, do you think there is anything wrong with this approach?"
"No! No!" Zhao Qing chose this path, and he had no capital to retreat.
He opened his eyes and looked at Wen Qingzhu and replied: "Everything is subject to the princess's arrangements. I will not have any objections."
Wen Qingzhu smiled.
She walked slowly beside Zhao Qing, looked at him sideways and said: "This much silver is indeed a lot, but I have seen more, so I know very well those of you who like silver, you are a cunning rabbit."
After saying this, Wen Qingzhu walked out directly.
When the footsteps behind him disappeared, Zhao Qing clenched his fists, but finally let go in despair.
He slowly turned around and looked in the direction of the door.
Wen Qingzhu had already walked far away and could not see his figure clearly.
Zuotang and his subordinates are walking over here.
Zhao Qing remembered Wen Qingzhu's last words: The cunning rabbit has three caves.
Yes, these more than 30 million taels are not all his property.
But even after spending so much money, it still left him exhausted.
He now knows very well that in the future, he will never have the opportunity to have so much money.
Zuotang came in and ordered several accountants to prepare accounts.
Zhao Qing looked at him and asked, "Master Zuo, do you want to start now?"
Faced with Zhao Qing's unkindness, Zuo Tang was worried about angering Zhao Qing, but he could only answer truthfully: "The princess asked me to do it as soon as possible. I hope General Zhao can cooperate."
Zhao Qing took a deep breath, which seemed to be the prelude to a storm.
Seeing that at the last moment, he turned around and sat down, looking at Zuotang steadily: "Ask me!"
Zuotang glanced at the door and reminded: "The general must not remember it completely, right? If I guess correctly, the second general should be in charge of your property, why not invite him over?"
"No need! I'll just send someone back to ask a few stewards to come over." Zhao Qing stood up and quickly went out to talk to the entourage outside.