King Helt became alert instantly. Although such a thing had never happened before, he had heard some rumors. If the Tang army's income in the occupied areas was not enough, then those puppet personnel had the responsibility and obligation to fill the hole. If they could not fill it, then whoever could fill the hole might be the next king.
When thinking of this, King Helt became a little nervous. Under the current circumstances, there is not much money in the treasury of the entire dynasty, which is just enough for us to live a life of luxury. Compared with the lives of ordinary people, this amount is of course an astronomical figure, but if compared with the military expenditure of the army, it is really far behind. Even if you starve us all to death, it cannot make up for your military expenditure.
"Your Excellency the General is right. Your army fought bravely for us, so we should be the ones to pay this. Even if we are not allowed to pay, I thought I would take the initiative to talk to you about this matter in the next two days. But the problem is that we are extremely poor now. There is not much money in the treasury. Even mice are starving to death. Take these princesses around me, for example. They haven't received their salaries for a long time. It's really embarrassing for me as a king."
King Helt began to complain about himself. Of course, Li Chengyi knew that everything he said was true. The money left in the national treasury was only enough to keep the palace running. Including the salaries of some officials below, none of them could be paid out. As for how those officials lived, there was no need to worry about it now. After all, many officials had other sources of income. And then again, if you are not a rich man, can you be an official?
"I'm not asking you to take out the money now. I'm very familiar with your financial situation. Although there's no money in the treasury, there are too many wealthy people near the capital. They must be just like you, longing to serve the Tang Dynasty. There weren't many opportunities before, but now this opportunity has come. So I think you should help them. For example, don't stay in the palace all the time. Go out and meet with them. Distribute some money to each of them according to their wealth. Of course, we're not forcing them to do so. It's purely their own will."
After Li Chengyi finished saying this, this guy finally understood what was going on. They were not eyeing the last part of the money in his national treasury, but were planning to ask him to go out and beg for alms for them.
After experiencing mutiny again and again, these wealthy families no longer have much money, but if they want to raise the military funds, it is still a very easy task. The Tang Dynasty is now like cutting leeks, cutting one crop after another without damaging the roots of the leeks. It is really a wonderful way to play it.
King Helt looked a little embarrassed. Normally, he didn't offend these noble families around him, and even fantasized that these people could help him gain independence. Now, if he went to their house in person to ask for money, wouldn't that put both parties on opposite sides?
"What's the problem?"
While King Hailt was pondering this, Li Chengyi leaned over, startling him. The man before him held a murderous gaze. Even though he was the king of the Ali Dynasty, he wasn't much better than a dog to him. If he were to kill him today, Li Xiang would at best reprimand him. Could he punish his own generals for a puppet king? This was truly absurd; such a thing would never happen in any dynasty.
"No problem, General Li, don't worry. I'll have my men compile a list right away, and then I'll personally go door to door to negotiate. It'll take at least two weeks..."
"Five days. I can only give you five days. If you can raise one million strings of cash in five days, then this matter will be over. If you can't raise enough, then I will go and talk to them in person. If I go to negotiate in person, I'm afraid there will be no upper limit on the amount of money. The surrounding area has been blocked off. If anyone leaves their home during curfew, they will bear all the responsibility."
After Li Chengyi finished speaking, he flung his cloak and strode out. The expression on King Helt's face was incredibly grim. Every time he negotiated with him, he never gave him any room for bargaining. Am I still a king? Has there ever been a king in history who felt so aggrieved?
Of course, although he was not satisfied, he had to hurry up and do some things. If he sent troops to rob all these people, then there would be no meaning for his existence. These people were the leeks in the hands of the Tang Dynasty. They might only ask you to pay a sum of money a year, which was also for your long-term survival in the future. If you were robbed, it would be like pulling out the roots of the leeks.
That night, news came from the palace, asking the surrounding officials and wealthy families to collect money, the total amount of which was about one million strings of cash. If they were unwilling to pay, they would have to wait for the wrath of the Tang Dynasty. I don't know if they can survive.
For ordinary people, since our house has been searched thoroughly and we can't come up with a single coin, this matter has nothing to do with us. But for those rich families, they usually exploit ordinary people very badly, so when ordinary people see these people get into trouble, they are actually very happy in their hearts. You guys are usually unkind to your parents, and now someone has finally taken advantage of you. This is really retribution.
Of course, there were also some people who were still optimistic. They thought that such days could not continue, so in this situation, they had to seize the time to escape. However, when they left their homes, the Tang army directly shot them through the bodies with bows and arrows.
When the heads of more than a dozen people were hung on the city gate tower, all the noble families understood that you can't leave now. The Tang army has blocked the surrounding area. You can only be a tool to make money. You can also enjoy yourself at the same time, but if you want to leave with the money, don't blame us for being unfair to you. We will take away all the money on you and confiscate your property. The most important thing is that you can't even save your life.
