Northern Prefecture Rivers and Mountains

Chapter 131 Borrowing Money
"Report, our army defeated the troops of Zhai Wei and Kui Teng, killed more than 2,000 people in battle, captured 700, killed three enemy generals including Kui Teng, and captured 451 war horses!" The scout brought the latest news from the north.

"How many casualties did our army suffer?"

"One hundred and seventy-two dead, three hundred and fifty-one wounded, and they are advancing towards Lu County!"

The casualties were acceptable, the only disappointment being that only over 400 war horses were captured.

But cavalry was not infantry, and the situation was not good, so they turned around and ran away.

Two thousand men defeated an enemy force of more than five thousand, which was a resounding victory.

Liu Daogui felt relieved, as this was the first real battle of the Eight Buildings.

The opponents in the past were all bandits and were not very powerful. The opponent in this battle was Zhai Wei. Although he was not too strong among the major forces in the north, he was also a qualified opponent, and the opponent had a total of 5,000 troops.

Back then, Murong Chui was helpless against him and the Yan army was repelled by him several times.

In fact, since the Yongjia Rebellion, the southern armies have always won northern expeditions with fewer troops.

Whether in terms of fighting will or combat effectiveness, they are far stronger than the Hu people. Their only military weakness is that they have no horses.

Huan Wen and Xie Xuan both built canals during their northern expeditions, relying on waterways to advance northward. However, these canals lacked strategic flexibility. Once faced with drought, coupled with a top-tier opponent like Murong Chui, they were inevitably defeated.

Three days later, new news came back.

The attack on Lu County was not smooth. The 500 defenders of Lu City resisted fiercely. The young and strong Xia and Hu people in the city were afraid that the Jin army would burn, kill and loot after breaking into the city, so they helped defend the city.

If Liu Guangzhi and Mao Dezuzu did not capture the city immediately, it would be even more impossible for them to do so later.

He had no choice but to retreat. On the way back to the city, Mao Dezuo made a feint and attacked Pingyang City, seizing more than 3,000 cattle and sheep, more than 200 war horses, and 300 dan of food and fodder.

Before Zhai Wei's reinforcements arrived, they retreated to Zoucheng.

The harvest of this trip was quite good. We captured two cities in succession and obtained nearly 5,000 heads of livestock.

Zhai Wei had been fighting for years and his wealth was not very rich. Liu Daogui was already quite satisfied with the amount of spoils he had captured.

They were originally planning to abandon Zou County, but unexpectedly a heavy snow fell early. The weather in the north was freezing cold, so Zhai Wei took the initiative to withdraw his troops.

After they retreated, Liu Daogui simply occupied Zou County and ordered Liu Guangzhi to lead a group of troops to garrison it, using it as a stronghold north of Mount Niu to spy on the various counties in Yanzhou.

The others retreated back to the city one after another.

Liu Daogui kept his promise and, in accordance with the prior agreement, converted all the captured clothes, armor, flags, cattle and sheep into money at market price and distributed them equally among all the soldiers.

Each person could get five or six strings of cash, enough for them to have a prosperous year. Soldiers killed or wounded in battle would receive triple compensation and be given one hundred acres of land.

The war horses and captives belonged to Liu Daogui.

However, most soldiers do not want money, they just want food.

War clouds are gathering over Jiangzuo, floods have broken out in Huainan, and a plague is imminent. By then, the price of food will rise sharply, and money will be of little use.

Liu Daogui tried his best to meet their requirements.

Overall, everyone made a lot of money. The soldiers benefited, and Liu Daogui got a city, 700 war horses, and more than 1,300 prisoners.

They are all strong and healthy.

The Dingling class was also a mixed race, integrating tribes such as the Xiongnu, Wuhuan, Gaoche, and Xianbei. They moved south to the Central Plains and mixed in with many Jin people.

As long as the person has black hair, yellow skin, and no smelly beard, Liu Daogui can accept it.

They were all demoted to slaves and divided into eight groups. Those who knew how to farm farmed, and those who knew how to graze sheep grazed. Now the eight groups can be accurately described as a trinity of farming, grazing, and warfare.

There are many livestock raised on Mount Nichu.

These slaves were very cooperative, as if they had long been accustomed to their fate. None of them struggled or resisted, and were driven by the villagers like cattle and sheep.

Women were awarded to eight unmarried men, so that they could start a family and have peace of mind in the future. It was already the end of November when all this was done.

The war in Jiangzuo could break out at any time, so Liu Daogui could not stay in Lanling for a long time. He took advantage of the fact that the canal was not frozen and returned to Guangling with food and money.

As soon as we turned from the Huai River into the Han Canal, we saw a lot of rotting corpses floating in the water.

Officials from Huaiyin and Sheyang counties along the way were clearing the bodies, but even these two counties alone were of no avail.

Corpses from other places will float over one after another.

When the ice and snow melt in spring, the plague breaks out.

After returning to Guangling, Liu Daogui lent out the 120 dan of grain and 5,000 coins he brought with him. According to custom, he charged 50% interest and signed a contract, ensuring fairness to everyone.

The interest rate in the market has doubled.

A 50% interest rate is already very low. Many people who want to borrow money have nowhere to borrow it. Even if they can borrow it, they have to mortgage their land, houses, or other valuables, or even mortgage themselves...

Liu Daogui didn't want any collateral, just a signature and a seal.

Even many soldiers from the front came to borrow money, and Liu Daogui accepted them all.

"If I hadn't joined the army to help, my family would have starved this year." Zhao Liangzhi was grateful.

"I've heard that General Liu is a man of justice. Now that I see him, I know that what he said is true." Jiang Qi, the chief of the front department, borrowed two hundred strings of cash and ten stones of grain by himself.

I was introduced by Zhou Zheng.

"We all work in the same military office, so we are comrades. It's just a small favor, there's no need to do this." Liu Daogui looked humble and polite to those who came to borrow money and food.

"Loan sharking is also a highly profitable industry. With Dao Ze's borrowing method, I'm afraid we won't be able to get back even half of the money next year." Gao Xun's face was full of regret.

"I never thought about them paying it back. I just wanted them to remember that they owed me, Liu Daogui, a favor."

Liu Daogui put away the IOU and stuffed it into his arms.

A little bit of kindness is repaid with a big bit of rice. People often don't value things given for free, nor will they accept the favor. But if you write an IOU with interest, the effect will be different.

On the other hand, it was also to confuse Yuan He, Xun Xinzhi and others.

As long as there is the name of usury, no one will say that they are buying people's hearts.

"Then why do you still want to borrow it?"

"When you are poor, you should take care of yourself; when you are rich, you should help the world. I can't help the world, but I can help those around me. Who doesn't have difficulties? I join the central army and become their brother!"

The main purpose is of course to win people's hearts.

I was so poor before that I couldn’t even make ends meet, so I didn’t care about so many things.

Now that I have more money, I will help as much as I can.

Liu Daogui always felt that money kept in one's hands was just some scrap metal, and its value could only be realized by spending it.

Moreover, the money in his hand was originally robbed from Yandu, so Liu Daogui knew the meaning of the four words "acting on behalf of heaven".

However, there were too many people who wanted to borrow food, and even many military households came to borrow food, so the food they brought was totally insufficient.

Compared with the soldiers, these military households are more pitiful and even more miserable than slaves. They have to bear heavy corvee labor and land rent, and when war breaks out, they have to rush to the front.

Now the flood is one thing, but Wang Gong has stationed his troops in Jingkou, and these military households are also responsible for transporting food and fodder. They are busy running around and are suffering terribly.

"Lend it! I'll lend it to anyone!" Liu Daogui made up his mind and sent people to Jingkou to buy it. He also asked Xu Changming to borrow it from Langya...

(End of this chapter)