"How did your inspection of the military depot go?"
After talking about the county magistrate Zhang, Xiao Shougui thought of the military station under his feet. This was the largest military station within a hundred miles. According to the documents of the imperial court's Ministry of War, 850 soldiers were to be stationed here, of which at least 250 soldiers had to be equipped with chain crossbows, 150 soldiers had to be equipped with muskets, and there had to be at least five crossbow cannons.
The reason why the imperial court set up a military station in such a deserted place is because it wants to control the surrounding areas. We have owned the Western Regions before, but it was only a superficial phenomenon. In secret, people don’t listen to you at all because we don’t have many troops in this area.
So when he occupied this area again, Li Xiang had to take new measures. First of all, the huge influence of the Tang Dynasty made everyone dare not oppose it openly.
Secondly, a good blacksmith must have strong tools. We need to set up a large number of military stations in this area. Although the number of people in each military station is not large, if a war breaks out, we can definitely quickly gather tens of thousands of troops. Whether it is a local rebellion or people from the Arab Empire coming to attack, we can win a chance to buffer.
"The training is quite good. They have been here for a month and a half and still need to adapt to many things. However, the daily military training is no problem. According to the court regulations, the rotation period is one and a half years. I think the cost is a bit too much."
Cheng Chuliang said with some heartache that every year and a half, the mainland army would come to replace them, and they would only serve here once within five years.
Although this can keep the soldiers energetic and their combat effectiveness, it takes nearly a month to travel here from the inland. If they come from the Jiangnan area, even if they take our newly built road, it will take nearly two months. The total service period is only eighteen months, and two months will be delayed on the road. Add to that the huge expenses, and I really don’t know if the court can afford it.
"You don't have to worry about spending money. The imperial court is only responsible for half of the military expenses. The Ministry of Revenue has already issued a document for the other part. Let us find a way to deal with it ourselves in the Western Regions."
After Xiao Shougui said this, the two General Cheng's eyes immediately lit up. If they could raise money locally, there would be nothing to worry about. However, this place outside was so poor, how could they possibly come up with half the military budget? Didn't the higher-ups forbid us from plundering?
According to the policy of the Tang Dynasty court, after the war, in order to plug our financial hole, we can plunder various places at that time. It doesn't matter if we go a little too far for this purpose. After all, the financial hole has a great impact on the entire country.
However, after this area has surrendered for half a year, the imperial court will not allow you to rob in this area. We have to implement a long-term development strategy. Unless the people in these tribes have made mistakes, their private property must be protected. If the troops rob at will, everyone from soldiers to generals may be taken away by the military court.
"Has the court given us an opening? Do they conduct regular raids?"
Cheng Chumo said happily that if the imperial court really gave us this concession, then military expenses would not be a problem. Although there were not many common people around, after the last search, we also knew that the tribes were actually quite wealthy. Although they did not have much gold and silver, they had a lot of livestock. As long as some merchants came from Chang'an City and took all these livestock back, then our military pay would be settled.
"What are you thinking? How could a single imperial decree be implemented in two different ways within a single country? Even if there were, it would be for some special reason. Obviously, we don't have any special reasons here. Ever since the last raid, the imperial court has banned the military from doing this."
After hearing Xiao Shougui's words, the two Cheng generals and Li Chengyi were puzzled. Since we had to provide part of the military pay ourselves, and we couldn't just go out and rob, were we supposed to go out and play in the sand? They say there's gold in the sand, but no matter how hard we dig, we can't possibly raise enough for the military pay, especially since we don't know how to find the gold in the sand.
Seeing the puzzled looks in these people's eyes, Xiao Shougui didn't keep them in suspense any longer. He expected these rough guys to guess, but they would probably never be able to guess.
"Your Highness's treasure has arrived in this area, ready to promote trade between the two regions and provide us with military pay at the trade fair. The Western Regions have many specialties, and products from the Central Plains are also very popular in this area. As long as we can develop this trade, why should we worry about running out of money? Not to mention half of the military pay, we can even provide the entire military pay."
When Xiao Shougui said this, he still felt a little uncomfortable in his heart. Originally, the trade between the Western Regions and the Central Plains was basically monopolized by a few big businessmen, who also belonged to aristocratic families. But when Li Xiang's manufacturing treasure came, both the official and the private sectors had to suppress these big businessmen, including their Lanling Xiao family, who would lose a lot of money next year.
Li Xiang's actions weren't considered as competing with the people for profits. Small merchants with annual trade volumes below 2,000 guan (approximately 2,000 guan) should continue to trade as they please. The imperial court won't impose any trade barriers on you; it will even help you with transportation and provide some protection along the way.
However, the imperial court must crack down on the monopoly businesses of the major families. You people hoard the money after making it, which has no effect on the entire society. After making money, it only benefits the young masters of the major families, allowing them to spend lavishly everywhere.
Small businessmen can drive the progress of the entire society, but you are a regression. Therefore, under the crackdown of the imperial court, the caravans of the major families will slowly withdraw from this area, and the gaps they leave will be filled by those who get the treasure.
Of course, there were also many people in the court who were dissatisfied. They thought that Li Xiang was bullying the weak, but Li Xiang's ability was now at its peak. What's more, this money was not put into his own pocket, but helped the court to support tens of thousands of troops in the Western Regions. This was also approved by Li Shimin. What can you do if you are anxious?
