Xie Ming

Chapter 324: Drifting and Taking Responsibility

Huang Degong took advantage of the difficulties in logistics to complain bitterly and sold Gao Jie and Liu Zeqing to the prince.

After hearing what Zhu Cilang had said, he immediately changed the subject and threw it at Xiao Jingchuan, causing Xiao Lang to smile bitterly!
"Haha, yes! Your Highness, just go south without any worries!"

"Here, with Admiral Huang and I, I'm sure things won't get any worse than they are now!"

"Wait until our rear troops arrive, and then we can get together with Admiral Huang's Chuzhou troops, and then we can join forces!" He turned his head and went to Huang Degong again.

"First, transfer the remaining three towns to the designated locations!"

"What do you think of the future arrangements?!"

Xiao Jingchuan also took advantage of the situation and made his own plans in advance, inserting himself into the prince's affairs in a dignified manner, so as to ask Huang Degong where he got the credit.

"Oh, good, good, that's great!"

"Old Huang and I are both soldiers of the same rank, and we have been colleagues before, so it's always difficult to get along!"

"That's all right now. With Your Highness holding us from behind, we can work together!"

“I dare not say anything else, but Jinan’s current predicament can definitely be solved! Ah?! Haha.” Huang Degong was also happy.

But when Zhu Cilang heard Xiao and Huang discussing logistics and military arrangements, he felt that they had strayed from the topic, so he quickly interrupted them and got back on track.

"Haha, hey! You two!"

"How come you ended up talking about your specific military duties?!"

"what?!"

"What I want you two to discuss is whether Shandong can be self-sufficient in military supplies!"

"Don't think of getting away with it and letting this matter slip away!" Zhu Cilang scolded but was not annoyed.

Having said this, his mind suddenly turned again, and he felt melancholy and difficult again.

"Ugh!"

"You two should at least be more understanding of the current situation of the Southern Border Court!"

"This Minister Ni said in his letter that in order to prepare military supplies for the army's northern advance, the Minister of War Shi Kefa and others were also loyal to the country!"

"We have withstood pressure from all sides and raised 1.5 million taels, which is why we have the troops to march north to the four towns!"

"Can"

Speaking of this, Zhu Cilang seemed to have a hard time expressing his grievances, so he stopped talking and let out a long sigh.

Upon hearing the situation, Huang Degong took over.

"Uh, Your Highness!"

"Well, logically speaking, since the imperial court has this amount of money, how could it be that it can no longer be used to handle the transportation and dispatch of clan affairs after just a month?!"

"This, haha, of course, I don't understand the details!"

"I was just wondering if there is something fishy going on here!"

Huang Degong was the general of a town, and he was well aware of the military deployment and allocation of food and fodder!

So he had a detailed account in his mind.

Nowadays, the Ministry of War is always talking about allocating 1.5 million taels of silver. This amount of money is by no means a small sum!

So he couldn't understand why all this reserve silver couldn't be used to supply specific military needs!

"Haha, Admiral Huang, you are a veteran in the army!"

"I am in charge of the troops of a town, and I have my own set of rules for the supply of military supplies!"

"But, this is the court's job, haha."

"Your Highness was unable to speak just now. I think it might be the problem of extravagance and corruption among the bureaucracy!" Xiao Jingchuan hit the nail on the head.

Zhu Cilang, who was sitting on the couch next to him, was slightly stunned when he heard Xiao Lang's words hit the nail on the head.

"oh?!"

"Haha, yes, yes!" He then smiled bitterly to hide his expression.

"Take the last time we switched to sea transport as an example!"

"Twenty thousand dan of grain." As he spoke, Zhu Cilang stretched out two fingers.

"If we follow the normal grain prices in the southern border, it should be around 1 liang 6 qian per dan of rice."

"Even if it is like now, with the funds raised urgently and a lot of adjustments to be made, the increase in price per stone should not exceed 350 grams."

"But, what's hateful is!"

"Because officials at all levels, from the imperial court to the civilians, have been embezzling money at every level!"

"The amount of money spent is beyond calculation!" After saying this, Zhu Cilang took a deep breath, suddenly turned around, and picked up the letter from the small table on the couch beside him.

"Come!"

"This is the personal letter from Minister Ni!"

"Xiao Lang, come here and read the parts that I have highlighted with my red pen!"

"Also ask Admiral Huang to listen to it!" As he spoke, Zhu Cilang reached out and handed over the letter.

Upon seeing this, Xiao Jingchuan hurriedly clasped his hands together respectfully and took it.

"Ah, yes!"

Then, spread the paper out and hold it close to the candlelight to read.

"Uh"

"This time, we were supposed to provide 20,000 dan of grain to transport food and fodder, but the money we spent was over 850,000 taels of silver!"

"We dispatched 23 ships. On the third day, we encountered a strong storm at sea. 13 ships sank and the remaining 10 were also affected!"

"After all, the amount transported to Jinan was less than 8,000 dan!"

"This accident was a natural disaster and a maritime disaster, and it is beyond human control!"

"In order to prevent the subsequent grain ships from being affected in the same way, I, together with the officials from the southern border, have decided to switch to small boats and advance northward along the coastal line."

"However, if this method of transportation is used, the batch size will be small, which is not enough for the army to use in the northern border. The transportation will also be time-consuming and laborious, and the newly added costs will be even more serious!"

"For this reason, the Southern Border of Yingtian has been in the parliament for many days, aiming to raise new money to offset this expenditure!"

“Everything is difficult, just try your best to get through it!”

"If Your Highness reaches Jinan, please come south as soon as possible!"

"As for logistics supply, it would be safest if we could persuade the Jiangbei Army to raise funds locally!"

"If it is difficult to pass, and there is indeed a bottleneck, then that's fine!"

"Now that I have captured Nanjing, I will definitely do my best to help with the logistics!"

Xiao Lang read the poem in the candlelight.

Upon hearing this, Huang Degong responded without thinking.

"Oh my goodness!"

"Twenty thousand dan of grain cost more than eight hundred thousand taels!"

"This, this..." Huang Biao was dumbfounded.

"Well, I never thought that I would end up like this!"

"Hateful! Damn!" Xiao Yan slammed the table.

"Our Ming dynasty has been eaten up by these parasites!"

"Your Highness!"

"You must take good care of yourself when you go south this time!"

"We can't let these rats continue to cause trouble!"

"Right now, the situation in the northern border to suppress the rebellion is a time when we need to mobilize our military forces!"

“If we just leave this matter alone, then…” Xiao Lang paused.

"so!"

"Your Highness, don't worry about the Shandong situation!"

"Once Admiral Huang and I have completed the handover of military affairs, we will immediately start the work of separating the three towns!"

"At that time, the troops and horses in Shandong will be responsible for raising food on their own and will be put into operation as soon as possible!"

"I think that by doing this, the current logistical pressure in the southern region can be alleviated to a certain extent!"

"It will also be helpful for Your Highness to mediate after you go south!" Xiao Lang said, finally taking the responsibility of the matter.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Cilang slapped his thigh.

"Ha ha!"

"Okay! Wow!"

"That's what I've been waiting for you to say!"

(End of this chapter)