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(Two in One Chapter)
The 195th chapter "Eroding the Situation"
Of course, Du-Wei wouldn't bring these 4,000 rebels with him. Instead, he would slowly head back to his territory. After all, this matter is somewhat disgraceful. Of course, Du Wei doesn't expect to hide this matter from anyone, especially the Regent of the capital. Du Wei believes that Prince Son is aware of his actions. However, in order to gain a foothold in the Northwest, he must grab hold of the capital. 4,000 rebels is not a lot, but it's still within the scope of Prince Son's tolerance. His Royal Highness has demoted and scattered the entire Rowling family, and he can't just let a Duke like Du Wei go to the Northwest empty-handed, right?
Desperate times call for desperate measures. I believe Prince Son still has the magnanimity to do so.
But in the end, this isn't something that can be put on the table. These 4,000 rebels were stopped by Du Wei through bribery. If Du Wei were to bring these people to the Northwest, then it would be too disrespectful to the Regent. For this kind of thing, it's fine as long as everyone has a tacit understanding.
Knight Robert led 200 Royal Guards to lead the 4,000 rebels in a rapid march. Instead of taking the main road, he took the smaller roads to reach his territory. There's no need to worry about supplies along the way. With Du Wei's official documents, the local government will provide food along the way.
As for Du Wei, he still has to slowly move forward. Before arriving at his territory, Du Wei wants to do a general survey of the situation in the Northwest. Many things, hearing about it was one thing, but experiencing it for yourself and seeing it with your own eyes was another matter altogether.
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Mulan City, the capital of the Nuling Province, wouldn't be considered a big city if placed in the central or southern part of the continent. With a population of more than 100,000, it can only be considered a second-rate city. But in the Northwest, it's already one of the most prosperous places in the Nuling Province.
This is the last major city one can pass through on the Northwest's trade route. The caravans coming from the south and returning from the northwest would all gather here. All kinds of rare goods from the southeast of the continent, as well as cattle, sheep, and fur merchants who crossed the desert from the northwest grassland would also stop here.
As the carriage approached the outskirts of Mulan City, Du Wei rolled down the window and enjoyed the scenery outside.
In the northwest, due to geographical reasons, there would be one or two months of wind season every year. Although the Kilimanjaro Mountains were a natural barrier that blocked most of the wind, there would still be a large amount of sand and dust from the desert on the other side of the mountains every year during the wind season.
Strong winds and heavy sand were the characteristics of the Northwest. Therefore, the buildings here were not too tall. There were absolutely no buildings like the mansions in the imperial capital or the towers that were more than ten meters tall.
In the entire Mulan City, the tallest building was the city wall. The twelve-meter-high city wall was completely in line with the Empire's military system.
Because of the low buildings, this city with a population of only a little more than a hundred thousand people occupied a large area.
Because Knight Robert had already led the four thousand rebel soldiers in stealth, the one in charge of leading the cavalry was the leader of the five hundred imperial guards who were responsible for escorting Du Wei to the northwest. Although he was only a minor officer of the five hundred cavalry, the identity of the imperial guards was naturally different.
In the south of Mulan City was the largest market. It was originally a town outside the city, but it had evolved into the largest trading place for caravans coming from the south. When Du Wei's convoy passed by, he immediately felt the noisy atmosphere.
While passing by on the main road, Du Wei could see the market not far away from him. It was crowded with people, shoulder to shoulder, and flat-nosed, curly-haired and wearing cow and sheep leather clothing. Merchants from all over the empire came from all over the empire, riding horses, herding herds, and hanging all kinds of leather goods in the shops … …. It was all noisy and noisy.
But Du Wei's eyes were fixed on the merchants' money bags.
"My Lord, this is the largest trading place in the northwest. Although the population of Mulan City is not large, the annual business tax income is very good. The northwest land is barren and not good at producing food, especially Mulan City. As the capital of the Nuling Province, the annual business tax income is five times more than the agricultural tax!"
The one who said this was a handsome young man sitting next to Du Wei in the carriage. This person was called Philip. He was the leader of the eighty disciples recommended by Scholar Lanhai to Du Wei. He was twenty-eight years old, but he was handsome and looked like a teenager. His surname "Philip" should be an ancient noble surname on the Roland Continent. This surname was once a famous family on the continent before the establishment of the Roland Empire a thousand years ago, but it declined during the war of unification. Today, the once illustrious Philip family no longer exists.
This Philip was born a commoner. He was the son of a commoner family in the south of the Imperial City. Among the eighty disciples recommended by Scholar Lanhai, after a short contact, this person immediately gained Du Wei's attention. Studious, steady, rigorous, and quick-witted. He was a very promising candidate for Roland's staff.
What made Du Wei feel even more valuable was that when Philip was young, he once came to the northwest with a caravan. When Philip was young, he was fascinated by the local customs and customs of the continent. Under the encouragement of Scholar Lanhai, the disciples of Lanhai were very disgusted with empty talk and were keen on doing things. When Philip was young, he joined a caravan and became an apprentice bookkeeper. He traveled a large circle in the northwest.
Originally, Du Wei didn't expect the situation in the Northwest to deteriorate to such a degree. But after coming out of the City of Sin that day, he couldn't help but feel an inexplicable sense of absurdity towards the so-called temporary decree from 20 years ago!
The war had ended twenty years ago, but the wartime regulations were still not abolished? Allowing the military of a region to control the financial power of the entire region? They even replaced the central authority of the Empire's material distribution. They could even interfere with the administrative power of the local government at will?
This was simply absurd!
Wouldn't this make the Empire a complete warlord? No wonder the Empire did not interfere with the situation in the northwest. In fact, they were powerless to interfere! The old Emperor Augustine VI was muddle-headed and fond of grandiose achievements. After he "won" the war in the northwest, he did not take any effective measures to deal with the aftermath of the war in the northwest. Instead, he focused his energy on the Southeast, which allowed him to continue to show off his might.
As for the Northwest Army, it has become the local tyrant of the Northwest! With such a military group in control of the northwest, they can be self-sufficient in terms of financial income. The shackles of the Empire's central authority are getting smaller and smaller.
Not to mention anything else, just based on what Raymond told Du Wei last time, there were two feudal lords in the northwest that were driven out by the Northwest Army. One of them even lost his life ….. What kind of arrogance is this?!
With military and political power in their hands, who would the Northwest Army be afraid of?!
After learning about these things, Du Wei immediately called for Philip, a disciple of Blue Ocean who is familiar with the Northwest. Along the way, Philip stayed in Du Wei's carriage and explained the situation to Du Wei. The more Du Wei listened, the more alarmed he became! He can't help but regret not having a good talk with Philip earlier.
"The governor of the Nuling Province is located in Mulan City. The current governor is Bohan, a Baron from the north. This guy also has a bit of background. He used to be the finance officer of a province in the south. Later on, he relied on his political achievements to get promoted. When he was in the capital, he used to work in the finance department. I have no doubt that this guy has a bit of skill. Also, the fact that the Empire sent him to the Northwest shows that the Northwest Army's control over the central authority has already aroused a certain amount of vigilance. This Baron Bohan was sent here to restore the authority of the central authority. In the past few years, he has done a pretty good job. But the Northwest is not the South. He may be good at financial management and handling government affairs, but when it comes to military affairs, he's a bit lacking. Therefore, when facing the Northwest Army, he can't straighten his back. On the other hand, the Northwestern Army stubbornly refused to budge on the so-called wartime regulation from 20 years ago. According to that regulation, the Northwestern Army has the right to interfere with the local finances. Every year, a portion of the local revenue must be handed over to the Northwestern Army instead of to the Empire's finance department to be used as military supplies. Being financially self-sufficient was only one of the reasons, but the other was that according to the temporary regulations, the Northwest Army has the right to temporarily appoint some officers to act as the war zone's commanding officer. They also have the right to control the local government! This is the so-called 'military government'. In this way, some local governments have even been taken over by the Northwest Army. "
Du Wei frowned: "So to say, in the Northwest, there is no one who can control the Northwest Army?"
"Yes, there is." Philip thought for a moment and chose his words carefully. After all, with his current status, he's still just a commoner. He doesn't dare to be too sharp when talking about these big shots: "When I came to the Northwest a few years ago, I felt that the situation in the Northwest had deteriorated to the extreme. At that time, I even … … Hmm, I secretly felt that if the central government didn't do something, the Northwest would become a country within a country within a country in less than 5 years. Here, the authority of the Empire's official documents is far inferior to the military orders of the Northwest Army. This is a very scary thing. But in the past few years, what made me curious is that the situation in the Northwest has actually stabilized. I have to say, this is all thanks to the efforts of the governor of the Nuling Province, Baron Bohan. "
"Oh?" Du Wei secretly paid attention and asked: "Tell me more about this Baron Bohan."
"To be fair, Sir, I really admire him." Philip's face didn't hide his admiration: "I even feel that this Baron Bohan is the most outstanding person the Empire has seen in the past 20 years! When he first came to the Northwest, the situation here was far worse than it is now! "
Saying that, Philip suddenly pulled out a thin book from his leather bag and smiled: "When teacher told us to follow you, I had already written down my views and understanding of the situation in the Northwest. There are also a lot of things that I recorded down from Lord Bohan's decrees. Read it carefully, you will find it very interesting. "
Although the Northwest Army dominates the Northwest, they still have one big weakness!
Food!
The Northwest is not a food-producing region. The food production here is very low. Every year, the two provinces in the Northwest have to rely on other provinces to buy food to meet their local needs. And to feed a 200 thousand strong army, the amount of food needed is not something the Northwest can meet on its own.
Therefore, every year, the army has to buy food from the South ….. Food has become an important means for the central government to restrain the Northwest Army.
And Baron Bohan also grasped this point!
That year, there was a big weakness in the temporary decree that was caught by the keen Baron Bohan. That is, the decree states that the Northwest Army can intercept the revenue of the Northwest local government to supplement the military, but ….. it's only limited to agricultural income!
"This decree has a strong sense of time. During the era when this decree was issued, there were constant rebellions in the Northwest, so how could there be any business tax? Not many merchants were willing to risk their lives to do business in the Northwest, even though the cattle, sheep, and horses were in high demand. At that time, the Northwest was even poorer than it is now. The majority of the annual revenue came from agricultural taxes, and the wartime decree was also derived from this foundation. In other words ….. after the decree was issued, the Northwest Army can't interfere with the local government's revenue! This is a very important issue. "
As he spoke, Philip flipped open his booklet and flipped to one of the pages. He smiled and said, "My Lord, please take a look. These are my statistics, according to the official statistics of the Empire's Finance Department. Oh, these statistics are all copied from the official statistics released every year. Although the official figures have always been exaggerated, they are still useful for reference."
"Before Baron Bohan took office, the annual revenue of the Nuling Province was 3.8 million gold coins, of which the agricultural tax accounted for 2.4 million gold coins. This is already a very large proportion. But take a look at the back. After Baron Bohan took office, in the next three years, the agricultural tax in the Nuling Province began to decrease. In the first year, it dropped to 2.2 million gold coins, and in the second year, 1.8 million gold coins. But in the third year, it suddenly dropped to 1.2 million gold coins! Only half of the original amount! What does this mean …. "
Du Wei's eyes flashed: "Baron Bohan wants to 'starve' the Northwest Army to death."
Philip smiled: "My Lord, the term 'starve' is very accurate. In fact, after Baron Bohan took office, the entire Nuling Province's grain production began to decrease! He passed a series of administrative orders … … These orders are very clever. As an excellent administrator, he's much better than the military in this aspect. At first, the military was deceived by him and didn't take it to heart. As a result, by the time the orders came into effect, the Northwest Army's grain production had already decreased by a lot! And grain is the Northwest Army's biggest trump card. Every year, the Northwest Army has to rely on purchasing grain from the outside to survive! And with the decrease in grain production, the Northwest Army's dependence on the central government will become stronger! This is a method to weaken the Northwest Army. Although it's a bit … … it's very effective. "
"Of course, blindly reducing grain production and abandoning agriculture will weaken the Northwest Army, but it will also make the lives of the civilians more difficult. In this regard, Baron Bohan has done a very good job. He has vigorously developed the business sector, causing the annual business tax revenue to rise steadily. Right now, the Nuling Province's revenue is even higher than before Baron Bohan took office. "
"Of course, the Northwest Army is not without their own methods. At least in terms of military power, they have been firmly suppressing Baron Bohan. The Northwest Army's local garrison is under Governor Bohan's command, but in terms of supplies … … According to wartime regulations, the Northwest Army will distribute them. Therefore, the entire Northwest Army's equipment is very outdated, and supplies are often delayed. The local garrison's combat effectiveness is low, and Baron Bohan can't do anything about it. Although he has money in his hands, he can't use his own money to replenish the troops because that's against the Empire's laws! The Northwest Army is very smart in this regard and has been keeping a close eye on Baron Bohan. If he dares to act rashly, he will be charged with interfering with military affairs. However, I have reason to suspect that Governor Bohan has also done something in the dark. At least from what I know, the local garrison in Mulan City is well-equipped and their daily training is also very standard. "
"In general, the current situation in the Northwest is one where Governor Bohan is fighting against the Northwest Army. Governor Bohan is suppressing the Northwest Army in terms of grain, while the Northwest Army is suppressing Bohan in terms of military power. The two sides have been in a stalemate for several years now. At present, it seems that the Northwest Army has the upper hand. However, the biggest trump card in the Northwest Army's hand is the wartime regulation from 20 years ago. "
In the end, Philip couldn't help but grumble: "Daren, this decree is what the Northwestern Army relies on the most. For a decree from 20 years ago to still be in use today, I really have to say, it's absurd to the extreme."
"But this regulation, the Empire's central government has no way to remove it, right?" Du Wei sighed.
"Correct." Philip nodded and flipped to another page: "Look, this is the record I made. The Northwest Army's annual spring drill is very strict. I have to say it's an act of showing off their military might. In my opinion, if the Empire wants to eradicate the root of the Northwest Army, Baron Bohan's policy of weakening the Northwest Army will not be able to accomplish this task. Because even if he weakens the Northwest Army, he can't do anything about it. Unless … … "
At this point, Philip didn't dare to continue.
Du Wei didn't avoid the topic and lightly said: "Unless the Empire has the courage … … to fight a civil war!"
Philip's body trembled as he stared at the young Duke in front of him. This young noble's appearance still has the unique immaturity of a teenager, but the coldness in his eyes and the sneer on the corner of his mouth, there's no trace of childishness in him.
"My, my Lord … …" Philip forced a smile: "These words can't be said so casually."
"Humph." Du Wei smiled and shook his head: "I can only say so. With the Empire's current strength, can it support a civil war?"
Philip's eyes dimmed. He knows very well that Du Wei is telling the truth!
To completely eradicate the Northwest Army's chaos, there's no thunderbolt method. Only by weakening and restraining the Northwest Army can they barely maintain a balance. If they want to eradicate the Northwest Army, they must be willing to pay a painful price!
But this price … … Can the Empire afford it?
Thinking up to here, Philip couldn't help but glance at the Duke. Frankly speaking, when his teacher recommended them to the Duke of the Tulip Family, Philip still had some doubts in his heart. After all, although the Duke's reputation is great, his age is really hard to convince. A teenager who is less than fifteen years old going to the Northwest Army's tiger and wolf's land, won't he be swallowed up by those warlords?
Even if he is a powerful magician, so what?! In this kind of thing, the strength of an individual can't control everything!
But after a few days of deep conversation with Du-Wei, Philip became more and more aware of the extraordinariness of this Duke. Since he quietly got a complete original army infantry regiment from the Big Ear City, Du Wei's words revealed this temperament during the conversation over the past few days. It can be said that Philip has been completely convinced by his teacher's arrangement. This Duke is definitely worthy of his own service!
However, Du-Wei's eyes and words would occasionally reveal that kind of biting cold aura, which made Philip somewhat worried.
Such a decisive young man coming to the Northwest, can he bring stability to the Northwest … … Or, a great chaos?!
"Philip." With a smile on his face, Du Wei woke up the meditating staff: "Look, we're almost at the gate. I think the Governor must have sent someone to greet us. I really want to see the Governor Bohan that you admire so much. "
(Sorry, I finished a little today. I'm really tired after working for seven days, so I'm writing a little slower. But don't worry, the night's update will definitely not skip! If I said I'll update, I'll definitely update! When a man speaks, his spit is a nail! When he says he will do it!
Finally, I ask for monthly votes!)
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