When they ran out of money, they naturally had to think of ways to increase their income and reduce their expenditure. Of course, they couldn't save much money. The entire Yangzhou was developing, so how could they save money? The rivers needed to be dredged, the roads needed to be repaired, and the wasteland needed to be reclaimed. Yangzhou was thriving.
Since they couldn't save money, they had to open up more. This was a question that had to be asked by the Minister of Revenue, Mi Zhu. Mi Zhu could only shake his head. Right now, Yangzhou's market share couldn't be any bigger. Maintaining this trade route was already difficult.
The annual tax burden should be around three hundred to four hundred thousand gold. This was after Mi Zhu used all his connections. It was impossible to increase it anymore unless they killed the goose that laid the golden eggs.
"If the trade route doesn't work, then we'll change it!" Liu Mang thought for a while. The easiest way to make money is also the fastest way to make money. Liu Mang thought for a while and finally his eyes lit up.
He had never thought that the easiest way to make money in this world was through war. Wasn't the price of ten thousand taels of gold the same as war? Conquering a city and obtaining the taxes, armaments, and storehouses left behind by the enemy were all wealth. Furthermore, they could make the enemy cede territory as reparations. Yangzhou's army was ready to set out.
Liu Mang's first thought was Jingzhou. That was because Jingzhou was overflowing with wealth. After conquering Jiangling, Liu Mang had obtained five hundred thousand dan of provisions, countless armors, weapons, and more than a hundred thousand gold.
If he also conquered Jingzhou's Southern County and Jingzhou's Xiangyang, he would be able to obtain at least a million gold.
"Yuanzhi, how about we send troops to attack Jingzhou?" Liu Mang was crazy about money. With such a rich person by his side, if he didn't rob him, he would be letting down Liu Mang's Yangzhou Army.
Liu Mang thought that Xu Shu would agree with his idea. Out of the three main forces in Jingzhou, Wen Pin's forces had been eliminated in the Yangtze River. Huang Zu's forces were only able to guard the five prefectures of Changsha. The last elite force was in Cai Mao's hands. However, Cai Mao and Liu Biao were not on good terms. It would be good if Cai Mao did not rebel. Liu Mang did not expect Cai Mao to help him. So now was a good time to attack Jingzhou.
However, Xu Shu cupped his fist towards Liu Mang and shook his head, "Milord, now is definitely not the time to attack Jingzhou!"
"Why is that?" Liu Mang didn't understand. With such a rich man in front of him, why didn't you attack him?
"Milord, we took Jiangxia because the nobles in Jiangxia had already withdrawn. Taking Jiangxia was basically dispensable. Taking Jiangling was a strategy devised by General Lu Xun. However, if you want to attack Xiangyang now, you are not going to be an enemy of Liu Biao!" Xu Shu said to Liu Mang.
"Not an enemy of Liu Biao? What do you mean? "
"Not an enemy of Liu Biao, but an enemy of the entire Jingzhou." Xu Shu continued.
"Is there a difference between the two?" Liu Mang didn't understand. Wasn't Jingzhou the same as Liu Biao's Jingzhou? How could there be a difference between Liu Biao and Jingzhou?
"There is a big difference between the two. Milord, what do you need to conquer the world?" Xu Shu asked Liu Mang.
"The people's hearts? The army? "Liu Mang replied doubtfully. The people's hearts could conquer the world. Liu Mang still understood. Look at Liu Bei's show over there, he could fool the people and make them die for him in the end. The other thing was a strong army.
"That's right!" Xu Shu nodded. "But my lord, do you think you're better than these two? Do you have the people's hearts in Jingzhou? Do you have enough troops? "
"Troops? My Yangzhou has 100,000 elites ready to go. In the Yangtze River, my Yangzhou Navy is already unstoppable. I can give them 30% of the taxes to win the hearts of the people. How can Liu Biao compare to my Yangzhou? " Liu Mang said to Xu Shu. 30% of the taxes was an amount that no Marquis dared to play with. Once 30% of the taxes was paid, he could forget about having enough provisions to fight a war. Liu Mang was not afraid because there were many ownerless fields in Yangzhou. In addition, Liu Mang had sweet potatoes, so he could afford to play with them. He didn't believe that Liu Biao would treat the people like Liu Mang.
Xu Shu smiled bitterly and shook his head, "Milord, in the past, we didn't care because Liu Biao couldn't pay 30% of the taxes. But Milord, that is at the border of Jingzhou. This time, we are attacking the Jingzhou Mansion, the Xiangyang area. " Xu Shu explained to Liu Mang. It didn't matter if Liu Mang attacked the border of Jingzhou because the people there were poor. They were eager to join Yangzhou and enjoy the benefits of 30% of the taxes. But it was different for the Xiangyang area.
What kind of place was Xiangyang? It was the economic and political center of Jingzhou. It could be considered a rich place. A brothel could bring in tens of thousands of gold coins a day, not to mention other places. Just like now, even an ordinary person in the capital could become a millionaire or even a millionaire by selling his house.
Therefore, although the people in Xiangyang were still in a state of high taxes, they were not poor. This was the reason why Liu Pan couldn't find soldiers near Xiangyang. They had money and food to eat, why would they follow you and risk their lives for you?
If Liu Mang attacked Jingzhou now, he wouldn't be making an enemy of Liu Biao, but the people.
This group of people was simple. This was their hometown and the political and economic center of Jingzhou. When Liu Biao was here, their houses could be sold at a high price. If you attacked them, the capital of Yangzhou in Shouchun would have nothing to do with them. Their status in Xiangyang would naturally drop. Not to mention the price of the houses, there was another reason. What if you destroyed their houses?
This had already affected the interests of the people. At that time, the people of Xiangyang would not buy Liu Mang's war. Even the 30,000 elite Jingzhou Navy under Cai Mao could only turn around and attack Yangzhou together with Liu Biao. After all, Xiangyang was the hometown of the Jingzhou Navy.
"I'll just give them their original treatment! I'll give them houses and fields! " Liu Mang said to Xu Shu.
"My lord, how much can you give them? There are hundreds of thousands of people in Jingzhou. If you give them to the people of Xiangyang, then what about the other people of Yangzhou? " Xu Shu asked. There was no absolute fairness in this world, but there was a premise, and that was to not worry about inequality. If you give so many benefits to the people of Jingzhou, how will you face the people of Yangzhou? You can't favor one and discriminate against the other. The people of Yangzhou have gone through thick and thin with you.
"The people's hearts are one thing, but there's another thing. That is the huge relationship between the aristocrats in Jingzhou!" Xu Shu said again. Liu Mang got Jiang Xia and Jiangling in Jingzhou because of his good character. After Huang Zu was dismissed from Jiang Xia, the aristocrats in Jiang Xia moved away. As the war in Jiang Xia became more and more serious, the aristocrats had already run away. Therefore, there was no obstruction when Liu Mang took over Jiang Xia.
The number one aristocrat in Jiangling was the Wu Family, the king of ships in Jiangling. However, they were also killed by Liu Pan with an excuse. Therefore, the aristocrats who were related to the Wu Family were also in danger. They were afraid that they would be the next Wu Family, so they began to move to the south of Jingzhou, which was the five counties of Changsha. As for the aristocrats who were related to Dong Zhi, because Dong Zhi rebelled, Lu Xun dealt with them easily. That was to confiscate and exterminate the whole family.
Therefore, Jiangling and Jiang Xia could accept it very easily.
But now that you want to attack Xiangyang, it's different. What kind of place is Xiangyang? It's a place where the nobles gather. The Central Plains is in chaos. Many of the nobles in the Central Plains have taken refuge in Jingzhou. Therefore, the nobles in Xiangyang are coming one after another.
Although the Kuai Family and the Cai Family had a good relationship with Liu Mang, they could not speak for Yangzhou in this situation. After Liu Mang attacked Xiangyang and took over Xiangyang, there would definitely be a change of power and a cleansing of interests. Xiangyang was originally a cake, and it had already been divided by the aristocrats in Xiangyang.
If Liu Mang wanted to attack Xiangyang, he would definitely bring the aristocrats in Yangzhou with him. At that time, there would definitely be conflicts between the local aristocrats and the aristocrats from Yangzhou. The cake was only so big. When there were many people dividing the cake, some people would naturally suffer losses.
No one was willing to suffer losses like this. Therefore, once Liu Mang attacked Xiangyang, the aristocrats would definitely unite.
"Then what should we do? We can't fight here and there. Are we going to let Liu Biao enjoy his old age? Liu Pan is building a new army and is waiting for the appearance of the 100,000 soldiers in Xiangyang! " Liu Mang was angry. Attacking Jingzhou was not only because Liu Mang coveted the wealth of Jingzhou, but also because he wanted to take revenge on Liu Biao. After all, Liu Mang almost died in Liu Biao's hands. And that woman. Thinking of her, Liu Mang could not help but feel a stab of pain in his heart.
"My lord, we can't attack now, but it doesn't mean that our army can't take over Xiangyang!" Xu Shu shook his head and comforted Liu Mang.
"Hmm?"
"My lord, if we attack Jingzhou now, it will only allow Liu Biao to unify the forces of Jingzhou. If you become our enemy, it will be disadvantageous for us. Even if we take over Xiangyang, we won't be able to attack other places. In the end, we will only be able to stay in a corner. The best way to attack now is to bide our time. Jingzhou is not an iron plate. My lord, do you know about the eldest son of the Huang family, Huang She, and Liu Biao's second son, Liu Pan? "Xu Shu asked Liu Mang.
Of course, Liu Mang knew these two people. Not only did he know them, but he was also quite familiar with them because they were once enemies of Liu Mang. "What?"
"These two people are Liu Biao's left and right arms!" Xu Shu said with a smile. "However, these two people are like fire and water."
Xu Shu's first sentence made Liu Mang frown, but the second sentence made Liu Mang think.
Two of Liu Biao's trusted subordinates were in conflict. This was not a small matter. Although it was said that the emperor's skill was to support one of his subordinates to suppress the other, and then support the one who was suppressed to fight back. This was to ensure the balance of power under him.
However, that was the emperor's skill. It would have to wait until the empire was unified. Under the situation where there were no enemies in the empire, Jingzhou was in trouble. If there was an internal strife, wouldn't it be courting death?
"Liu Biao is old. According to the information sent by Yang Zhang, Liu Biao doesn't have much time left." Yang Hong's spies in Jingzhou brought back news that Liu Biao had vomited blood several times. His complexion was very bad. From the medicinal herbs he used, there were already hundred-year-old ginseng, polygonum multiflorum, and other medicinal herbs. These were all used to prolong his life.
"Liu Biao can still be restrained in front of these two people. If Liu Biao dies, my lord, what do you think will happen to Xiangyang?"
Since Huang She and Liu Pan had a bad relationship, there was naturally no way for them to reconcile.
If Liu Pan wanted to suppress Huang She, he had to obtain the throne of Jingzhou. On the other hand, if Huang She wanted to suppress Liu Pan, he had to prevent Liu Pan from having the opportunity to do so. Thus, he had to support Liu Biao's youngest son, Liu Zong.
The Cai Family and the Tong Family also supported Liu Zong's ascension to the throne, and Liu Pan had military power in his hands. Once Liu Biao died, Liu Mang could already see the scene. Liu Mang could not push Xiangyang too far now. He should relax and let Liu Biao's second son train the troops and lead the army properly.
Just as the two were discussing, a guard ran in and reported to Liu Mang. "Report! Reporting to Your Highness, the Internal Minister, Xu Du is here! "
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