Northern Dynasties

Chapter 176
Not to mention the Lu brothers who were fighting each other in Baishui Manor, after Li Tai led his troops back to the Luoxi Administrative Office, he immediately asked for a batch of supplies to be transferred from Shangyuan Manor as the initial capital of Baishui Fangcheng.

The expansion of the army should be urgent rather than delayed. The sooner you master a considerable armed force, the sooner you can enjoy the corresponding power and benefits.

Li Tai really wanted to distinguish between public and private, or use the court's money to manage his own affairs, but the general environment of the Kansai Dominant Mansion did not allow it.What the Overlord's government can give is only some policy and positional care, and no more practical support at all.

Not only people like Li Tai who are keen to build their own power, but even many officials of the Taiwan government are actually maintaining a state of destroying their families to relieve difficulties, using their private wealth to fill the financial gap in the office, so as to maintain the regime normal functioning, allowing the powers it possesses to exist and continue to develop.

The so-called born in sorrow and died in peace, to a certain extent, the confrontation between the Eastern and Western Wei is not just a duel between Gao Huan and Yu Wentai, at least in the Western Wei, although it has inherent shortcomings in power, its rule The depth and breadth of it were beyond the reach of the Eastern Wei regime.

Take Li Tai himself as an example. If he was in the Eastern Wei Dynasty or the Southern Dynasty, he would never be selfless enough to pay for something that needs to be undertaken by the government. On the one hand, there are other methods and ways to achieve it.

But in the Western Wei Dynasty, everyone from the officials to the common people was so poor, so many people stared at Baishui to pick up some rags. If you were not willing to spend money, your power would have no place to stand and could not be stretched.

This year, the business momentum of Li Tai's own manor is quite good. Although he has experienced the twists and turns of the He Ba brothers, Li Tai does not need to make actual contributions under Yu Wenhu's presence.

As for the ordnance purchased from the families in Hedong, it will be delivered with part of the spoils of the First World War in northern Shaanxi, and the new order will be paid next year.Therefore, this year, Li Tai's own property is estimated to have a surplus of more than [-] pieces of silk.

This is already considered an extremely considerable wealth. If it was in the Taiping world, Li Tai could even disarm and return to the fields, lie down and enjoy life.

But in this chaotic world, if you want to protect wealth, you must have power, and if you want to control power, this amount of money is still a drop in the bucket, and you need to continue to work hard.

When he was still on the way, Li Tai had already ordered the news that he would build a defense city in Baishui and recruit the tribesmen of the townspeople as soldiers to spread, and in addition to cooperate with the county's plan to wipe out bandits, when he returned to the Luoxi administrative office At that time, many township tyrants had already gathered here, wanting to find out more inside information and participate in it.

Li Tai received some powerful men from the village and told them his responsibilities. In principle, he could only manage the personnel along the Luoshui River Canal, and he was not qualified to directly recruit people from the village.

But if these people can join the Qumeng and compile the trilogy as a channel, they can join the Baishui Defense Armed Forces led by Li Tai.

The reason for adding such a layer of obstacles is naturally to avoid direct conflicts with the local government.

Although Li Tai is not afraid of these local chief executives, he can't be obsessed with any rural power struggle with them, and make a plausible reason to give each other a higher level, even if there is any conflict, there is room for buffering.

The second is naturally to strengthen the influence of the Qu League in the countryside. The larger the Qu League organization, the deeper it will penetrate into the countryside, and the power in Li Tai's hands will also have more dimensions to maintain.Even if one day he can no longer dominate Luoshui due to the adjustment of his position, he can still maintain his control through the Qumeng.

For those rural tycoons, if they are simply curious about whether there is an obstacle of channel alliance, it is unlikely that they will join in real people.If you are full of enthusiasm, then joining Qumeng is not an obstacle.

The previous Qumeng was still based on the mutual benefit of the nostalgia, and the momentum of development was not bad.Now with the power in Li Tai's hands as an endorsement, the number of joiners increased sharply.As a result, Li Tai had to open a separate production line to print the personnel registers in Qumeng.

Thanks to the enthusiasm of the nostalgia, Qumeng quickly submitted a list of thousands of people to recruit soldiers to expand the army.Li Tai also selected a few veterans from He Basheng's old army who were skilled in military training to enter Qumeng to take charge of the recruitment and expansion of the army.

As for himself, he pulled out to prepare gifts and returned to Huazhou City to visit Duguxin.

Duguxin's mansion in Huazhou City is adjacent to He Basheng's former residence. It was not originally, but when Duguxin returned to participate in the parade this year, he asked his family to arrange to move here.

When Li Tai came to visit, the mansion had not yet been relocated and renovated.

There is no large mansion in the vicinity that is large enough to accommodate the many family members of Dugu Xin, so this mansion is spliced ​​​​by several nearby mansions.All kinds of materials are piled up in the courtyard, and many people rush to work day and night.

Duguxin had to return to Longbian a few years ago, so he did not follow Daxingtai to inspect the river defense, but stayed in Huazhou City to enjoy the happy time with his family.

Not long after Li Tai sat down in the front hall, Dugu Xin walked into the hall. Different from the meticulousness when meeting outside, Dugu Xin at home was dressed casually, wearing a blue inner robe of Yanju, and a feather cloak hanging down to the ground. , looks chic and elegant.

"I'm sorry, Bo Shan. Just now, I was carrying a new small item in the house, so I don't want to stain my clothes. You are not a stranger, so I came to see you like this."

Dugu Xin raised his hand to signal Li Tai who stood up to greet him to sit down, his expression was relaxed and casual, probably still immersed in the warmth of teasing his children just now, and he got a little closer to Li Tai when he faced Li Tai.

When Li Tai heard this, he couldn't help thinking about it. He knew that Dugu Xin's stepmother, Cui Shi, had given birth to a little daughter in the middle of his life, which is the later Dugu Jialuo, and he even sent his family to send a congratulatory gift.

At this time, when Dugu Xin complained that the little daughter urinated on his robes, Li Tai was suddenly happy, thinking that you should treat this little daughter better. Pulled again.

The two were chatting in the hall, and the noise of craftsmen working outside the hall from time to time made Dugu Xin feel a little embarrassed, so he got up and said: "The new house is moving, and there are many discomforts. It is really not a good place to receive guests. There is another industry in the village. It’s close to your country house on Mount Bo, would you like to go hunting with me?”

After Li Tai heard the words, he got up quickly and said with a smile: "Don't tell me the trouble, just be a guest and do whatever you want."

"Then you wait for a while, I will go in and change the riding clothes."

After leaving this sentence, Dugu Xin walked out of the hall and went straight to the inner house.

Li Tai waited in the outer hall for half an hour before Dugu Xin came back. His clothes were completely new, not to mention the handsome and gorgeous hakama pleated gown, even his hair was done black and shiny, showing the burden of idols It's still extremely heavy, and you have to pack it upright every time you go out.

Dugu Xin, who regained his dignified demeanor, did not look very good, he first raised his hand to signal Li Tai to wait for a while, and then he pointed at the servant and reprimanded him.

Li Tai was a little curious about what made Dugu Xin furious, but he couldn't get close to listen to other people's family affairs, so he just stood there in embarrassment, kicking the fallen leaves on the ground with his tiptoes.

"Boshan, you are laughing at me. There is no master in the house to discipline me carefully. It is really infuriating that the slave lost my beloved thing!"

After a while, Dugu Xin came over with a lingering anger, holding an exquisitely shaped rhinoceros leather scabbard in his hand, and said with some distress and helplessness: "If it's something else, it's fine, but the old scabbard The knife is a Sutie sword made by famous masters when I was in Hebei in the early years. It is strong and sharp, and I have carried it with me for many years. When I went to town in the middle of the year, I was in a trance, and I accidentally left it at home, but I didn’t want it to be lost..."

Listening to Dugu Xin's nagging complaints, it can be seen that the heartache for the loss of this precious sword is naturally not ordinary, but Li Tai faintly felt something was wrong amidst the nagging, and raised his arms without a trace Press on the hilt of his saber and turn slightly sideways.

"Alas, the method of Sutie is only seen in Hebei, but it is rare in Kansai. What's more, my treasured sword has been with me for many years, and it has already been able to understand human nature. When I lived in Jiangdong, Liang Zhu gave me a piece of rhinoceros skin, and I cut it myself. It became a scabbard. Now the container is still there, but the knife is gone. It makes people sad to see it, and I give it to you, Boshan..."

While speaking, Dugu Xin handed the rhinoceros leather scabbard to Li Tai, and subconsciously turned his gaze to Li Tai's waist. His gaze became fixed, his brows were slightly frowned, and he turned his gaze after a while. Looking at Li Tai's face, he hesitated to speak.

Since coming to this world, Li Tai has also experienced many embarrassing situations, but only this time, it made him feel uneasy that he almost died, and he didn't want to face it at all.

Seeing Dugu Xin like this, he obviously recognized his favorite knife, even though he knew it was futile, Li Tai tried his best to cover the handle of the knife with his arms sideways, a little embarrassed to see Dugu Xin.

There was a silent stalemate between each other for a long time, and in the end Dugu Xin poked Li Tai's elbow with the scabbard, did not ask any more, but said in a deep voice: "Take it, the rhinoceros skin moisturizer is far better than the vulgar leather, Don’t waste your fame.”

Li Tai nodded embarrassingly, raised his hand to take the rhinoceros leather scabbard, took out the saber from the cowhide scabbard and replaced it, and when he was about to buckle it back to his waist, he came to his senses and held the saber as a gesture to Dugu Xin.

Dugu Xin only glanced at it, then looked away, coughed dryly, and said again: "The previous achievements are not a shame, keep working hard. I still have many such famous knives, and not only things are often used."

After saying this, he led his staff to bring the horse, turned on his back, and rode out the door. He didn't stop until He Basheng's former residence next door, looking at the half-closed gate thoughtfully.

When Li Tai and the members of Dugu's family arrived, Duguxin stared at Li Tai again, pointed to the gate and said, "Why is the defense so lax here? I don't know if the lady lives in the house? Send a team to come over day and night Don't leave!"

(End of this chapter)