White-robed Minister

Chapter 190 0188 [Our army is short of food, but the enemy is willing to sell us food]

Xu Lai did not stay in Qinzhou City for the New Year; he had to return to Guwei Village to spend it with his subordinates, officials, soldiers, and civilians.

The day before New Year's Eve, Xu Lai invited Hou Ke and Wang Shao over for drinks.

Let's also talk about expansion.

Xu Lai said, "When the prime ministers opposed opening up the borders, we told His Majesty that we could start with small-scale operations that wouldn't cost the court too much money or supplies. Now it seems we didn't keep our promise. The money and supplies allocated to us by Chancellor Cai of Qin Prefecture are worth at least 15 strings of cash. In addition, the expenses and accommodations for the three thousand archers transferred from the two capitals have cost the court 10 strings of cash."

The 25 strings of cash were only provided by the imperial court and Qin Prefecture; the profits from the Tongyuan Army's trade were also poured into it.

Because all the newly arrived archers and households needed to be provided with food, clothing, seeds, and oxen. Although the seeds and oxen were lent to them at low interest rates, it would still be several years before they could recoup their principal and interest.

The business is still small, yet the expenses are already enormous; the future expansion will be astronomical.

The archer's 100 mu (or 150 mu for those with horses) of basic farmland was exempt from taxes. Households that migrated to reclaim the land also received tax exemptions on their land for several years.

Moreover, the Qiang tribes that submitted to the government were not required to pay taxes at all.

For a long time to come, the territory west of Qin Prefecture will only be lost and not gained, requiring continuous financial support from the imperial court and various forces in the northwest!

"There's no such thing as opening up a frontier without spending money," Wang Shao remarked.

Xu Lai shook his head and said, "Opening up the borders will certainly cost money, but we can't keep spending money indefinitely. Otherwise, even if we take over the entire Hehuang region, the imperial court will abandon it on its own initiative a few decades later."

Hou Ke pointed out incisively: "The number of taxpayers is insufficient."

Historically, the more territory Wang Shao recovered, the higher the cost of expanding the Xihe borders. At its peak, it cost three to four million strings of cash annually, which led to increasing resentment towards Wang Shao among his ministers.

In the decades that followed, although expenses weren't as high, the Xihe region still struggled to make ends meet. So, taxes were increased on households, causing them to flee. Then, taxes were levied on archers, causing them to flee as well.

Xu Lai said, "The Qiang tribe is weak, and defeating them is not a problem. The real issue is how to govern the Hehuang region so that it can be self-sufficient in terms of money and food in ten or twenty years."

Wang Shao shook his head: "Difficult!"

Xu Lai said, "I read the official gazette a few days ago. Due to the breach of the Yellow River, the court recruited 20,000 disaster victims from Shandong and Hebei to serve as local militia. Could these militia and their families apply to relocate 10,000 of them here? Let them all become civilians, so that they can cultivate wasteland, pay taxes, and increase the number of Han people here."

Hou Ke was both amused and exasperated: "This method is far too far-fetched. The imperial court will not agree to it."

"I want to give it a try. What if the imperial court agrees?" Xu Lai said.

Hou Ke cautioned, "If people can really be relocated, it's best to allocate the land directly to each household; otherwise, there will be endless troubles and things will turn ugly."

This was a lesson learned in blood and tears during the Northern Song Dynasty.

Almost every collective land reclamation project in the Northern Song Dynasty was a disaster. Not only in Tongyuan Army, but even in Xiangyang and Hebei, they created complete chaos!

This was because of frequent official transfers, and the chief officials and those in charge of land reclamation were eager for quick results within their terms of office. They exploited the people reclaiming wasteland too harshly, causing them to flee in droves. As a result, they forcibly conscripted soldiers and civilians to replenish their ranks, and even forced the people to stop cultivating their own land and help the government reclaim wasteland during the busy farming season.

Wang Shao said, "The imperial court will absolutely not agree to a large-scale migration request now. Unless—"

Hou Ke continued, "Unless we win a major victory next year. It's not just about taking Weiyuan; it's about annihilating countless enemies in a decisive and satisfying manner, and perhaps even recapturing Wusheng (Lintao)!"

Xu Lai knew what they meant.

The grain supplies of Qin Prefecture and Tongyuan Army alone wouldn't be enough to sustain them even if they captured Lintao. The plan is to stage a major victory to force the court to provide more provisions. Then, using the pretext of too many Qiang people and too few Han people, they'll pressure the court to relocate people to this area.

Weiyuan, Mengluojiaobu.

The chief of this tribe was named Bazhanjiao, and he was Muzheng's younger brother.

"You want me to build a city to defend against the Song army?" Ba Zhanjiao looked at the envoy sent by Mu Zheng.

The envoy said, "The Zanpu (Muzheng) said that the Song army will definitely come. Either next year or the year after, your little village will not be able to hold out."

Bazhanjiao laughed and said, "Go back and tell him I know."

Bazhenjiao has no intention of building a more fortified fortress, as it would be too wasteful of money.

Moreover, he believed that his relationship with the Song army was quite good.

Especially in the past year or so, he has sent people to the Guwei Village trade market to sell salt, furs, horses and other goods in exchange for cloth, tea and iron pots. He has even taken advantage of the convenient location to resell these goods to other tribes, and his life is much more comfortable than before.

Moreover, the trusted confidant who went to the ancient Weizhai trade market brought back a message to Bazhanjiao: a major war between the Song and Xia dynasties was imminent, and the Song army's target was the Western Xia.

Moreover, the State of Song sent an envoy named Wang Shao, and the two sides privately agreed not to invade each other's territory.

Wang Shao even planned to persuade him to defect, hoping that Ba Zhanjiao would send troops to help fight against the Western Xia. Ba Zhanjiao politely declined, but did not completely rule out the possibility, claiming that he would help when he became stronger in the future.

In winter, Wang Shao came again, saying that the Song army was short of food and hoped that Bazhanjiao could sell some grain.

Bazhanjiao indicated that he was also short of food, and then sent people to inquire. They found that the Song army was indeed short of food and it would be difficult to mobilize a large army in a short period of time.

All of this put Bazhenjiao at ease.

At the same time, Bazhanjiao also despised his elder brother Muzheng. He was so frightened by the Western Xia that he moved his stronghold from Kangubao to Tabaicheng.

My brother is such a coward!

In the spring of the second year of the Xining era, a clansman who went to the ancient Weizhai trade market brought back news that angered Bazhanjiao.

"Taxes? Didn't we collect taxes before?" Bazhenjiao asked.

The clansmen explained, "In the past, it was a money exchange fee, but this year we started collecting a commercial tax."

For over a year, Xu Lai did not levy taxes at the border markets. However, both parties in Han-Qiang trade had to have their transactions facilitated by official intermediaries, who would then charge a commission based on a set percentage.

Commercial taxes will be officially collected this year!

Ba Zhanjiao grew increasingly angry, believing that the Song officials had swindled him out of his money. But there was nothing he could do about it, as he still needed to continue doing business with the Han people.

Ba Zhanjiao asked, "Do you think the Song army will go to war this year?"

The tribesman shook his head and said, "I heard that we may be at war with the Xia Kingdom. The Han people at the border say that after the Xia Kingdom built the West Market City, they frequently raided the Song Kingdom's fortified villages. Although the Song Kingdom defended itself each time, many Qiang people from the vicinity of the fortified villages were captured."

A few days later, an envoy named Yu Shanyuan visited and brought gifts such as tea and cloth to Bazangjiao.

Ba Zhanjiao asked, "Where is that Song official named Wang Shao?"

Yu Shanyuan replied, "Wang Jiyi has been promoted, and he has other matters to attend to, so I am the one who has been sent on this mission."

Bazhanjiao questioned, "Why do you collect commercial taxes?"

"There's no other way," Yu Shanyuan said. "The Western Xia bandits have repeatedly raided southwards, and we've been constantly reinforcing our northern fortresses, which is costing us more and more money and supplies. This year we're going to send troops to attack Xishi City. Could you please cooperate with us in sending troops?"

Bazhanjiao shook his head: "It's too far from here."

Yu Shanyuan said, "Why would you lie? We have already found out that there is a mountain path that can bypass the city and reach the rear of Xishi. You don't need to send too many troops; just send one or two thousand Qiang warriors to harass the rear of Xishi. Our Governor Xu will reward you handsomely!"

"I'll think about it some more," Ba Zhanjiao said, not daring to give a definitive answer. He was afraid of offending Xu Lai and being unable to do business with him in the future.

Historically, after his defeat, this man surrendered with 20,000 troops and was given the name Zhao Chunzhong. He also helped the Song Dynasty fight against his own brother and the Western Xia, accumulating far more military achievements than Yu Longke.

It's impossible to get him to surrender directly; we must defeat him on the battlefield and make him submit willingly!

This man's descendants always bore the surname Zhao, and they remained chieftains during the Ming and Qing dynasties. For his military achievements, he was granted the hereditary title of Deputy Commander of a Thousand Households by Emperor Xuanzong of Ming. He even participated in the suppression of Wu Sangui's rebellion and was subsequently granted the hereditary title of Deputy Commander of a Thousand Households by Emperor Kangxi.

Bazhenjiao hosted a banquet for Yu Shanyuan, and Yu Shanyuan was not sent away until three days later.

Yu Shanyuan returned to Guwei Village and said to Xu Lai, "Bazhanjiao is not on guard against us. He seems to really believe that we are going to attack the Western Xia's Xishi City."

Xu Lai remained silent.

He was very smart, so he thought that even if others were stupid, they couldn't possibly be that stupid.

He recruited over 100,000 Qiang people to surrender in Tongyuan Army and built numerous fortified villages; Shuyang Village was practically right up to Bazhanjiao's doorstep. How could the enemy be so unprepared?

Bazhenjiao was truly caught off guard!

Xu Lai's acting was so convincing; he'd been spreading rumors of food shortages for six months. He didn't need to act, because there really was a fucking food shortage.

Then, they released news of an attack on the Western Xia city of Xishi, and exaggerated the losses suffered by the Qiang people in the north from being plundered.

At the same time, they kept sending envoys to Bazhanjiao with gifts, inviting Bazhanjiao to join them in sending troops to deal with the Western Xia.

Furthermore, Bazangjiao could make money through trade and was genuinely unwilling to clash with the Song army. With various false rumors circulating, Bazangjiao was essentially deceiving itself.

Xu Lai still felt uncertain; Ba Zhanjiao had acted too foolishly.

A month later, Xu Lai sent Yu Shanyuan as an envoy again, hoping that Bazhanjiao could sell some grain. The reason given was to raise grain to attack the West Market City.

After being asked repeatedly, Ba Zhanjiao became somewhat embarrassed. He was also afraid that if he refused again, the State of Song would no longer do business with him.

This guy actually agreed to sell the grain!

Although not many were sold, when the grain arrived, Xu Lai, Wang Shao, and Hou Ke were all dumbfounded.

Wang Shao never imagined that such a thing could happen: "He actually sold us grain? Yu Longke didn't dare to sell grain before he surrendered."

Xu Lai finally realized: "This person is truly stupid!"

Hou Ke was both amused and exasperated: "I really can't understand how he could possibly agree to sell grain?"

"Since he's completely unprepared, let's launch a preemptive strike," Xu Lai said. "The tribes of Bazhan Cape are divided into groups, some living in the valley and others scattered in the mountains. We don't need to send too many troops; just select elite cavalry for a swift raid. Let's take them down before he can muster his forces!"

Wang Shao said, "It would be best to capture him alive or force him to surrender, so that he can persuade his own people to surrender. Killing him would be more difficult; his numerous tribes, large and small, would be leaderless and could easily be taken over by other Qiang leaders."

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