ps: Thanks to book friend "Qingping Zhishou" for his monthly vote.

Zhang Guowei had no intention of asking questions. He said sadly: "The prince has not returned to Hangzhou Prefecture for more than a month. He doesn't know how difficult it is for the Finance Department. If Mr. Mo had not forced everyone in the Jiangnan Chamber of Commerce to donate money and materials, just the newly recruited 110,000 new troops would have to drag down the General's Mansion."

Wu Zheng nodded silently. Zhang Guowei did not exaggerate. They originally wanted to recruit 200,000 for the second time, but only 110,000 people have reached now. It is not that the people refuse to join the army, but that the Finance Department really cannot provide the first settlement fee.

The people of Hangzhou, Shaoxing and Songjiang even petitioned the General's Mansion to owe the settlement fee or even for the money, but the Finance Department also had no choice but to equip the new recruits.

Almost all the money was invested in the Songjiang Military Workshop, because only weapons and ammunition were what Jiangbei battlefield needed the most.

Zhang Guowei said hoarsely, "Prince, you can't fight any longer... Slow down and give the 10 million people under the General's Mansion a breath... This is my unanimous advice and the Dukes of the General's Mansion."

Wu Zheng took a long breath and said, "I don't want to fight, but the battle situation does not allow me to withdraw my troops... You see, if I retreat at this time, the Ajige army of Fengyang Prefecture will quickly fill the gap in Xuzhou. Now the First Army, Xia Wanchun and Liao Zhongping's troops have formed an encirclement of Fengyang. It's a pity to take the initiative in this battlefield."

Zhang Guowei shook his head firmly and said, "The prince is probably only half right. The Ajige tribe has 80,000 troops and his Zhenglan Banner. Its troops are not without combat effectiveness, but are ordered by the Qing court and have no intention of reinforcement of Xuzhou... In fact, the Qing court just wanted to use the prince's hand to remove Dorgon, but once the prince occupied Xuzhou and did not retreat, how could the Qing court give up? It would attack Xuzhou with all its strength."

"I'll fight back when I'm so far away!" Wu Zheng frowned.

Zhang Guowei stomped his feet in a hurry, "The total number of Xia Wanchun Jianyang Guards in Chuzhou is only 30,000, and only half of them cross the river. Although Liao Zhongping's left camp has a 50,000 army, it is the army of the court, and no one is willing to follow Liao Zhongping... In other words, the two forces in Jiangbei are combined, and only 40,000 to 50,000 people. It is already difficult for these troops to fight the Ajige tribe to make a decisive battle. It is impossible to get them to reinforce Xuzhou!"

Wu Zheng said in a deep voice: "I can adjust all members of the First Army to head north."

Zhang Guowei was stunned and then sighed: "Where is the military expenditure? 20,000 people have already gone north and still owe the reward silver... The prince once promised the soldiers that they would never owed the salary silver, and that they would owed it in March, allowing the soldiers to find a way out..."

Wu Zheng became angry, "Isn't it less than March?"

"But it's been a month. Can the prince raise no less than three million taels in two months?" The good-looking man Zhang Guowei finally couldn't help but insist on it. "Yes, with the prince's prestige in the army, perhaps without paying money for half a year, the soldiers would not really scatter. But the prince should know that those who are the king should not lose their trust. Once they break their trust, the consequences will be unimaginable... This cost is too high. Moreover, the army under the General's Mansion is not only the prince's direct line..."

Although Zhang Guowei did not say which guard was specific, Wu Zheng could understand.

"Do you have any complaints?" Wu Zheng asked with a gloomy face.

Zhang Guowei shook his head, "There is no complaint, but Guangxinwei moves abnormally in the direction of Linchuan."

Wu Zheng turned around and slowly stroked the map with his hands, and said with a hint of surprise: "Li Guo, Gao Yi is good at making a name for himself. They have a strong strategic awareness. At this moment, the troops were launched in Linchuan and formed a huge encirclement with Jiangbei. If Guangxinwei could really capture Linchuan, the northern part of Jiangxi and even the entire Fengyang Prefecture would be in the bag..."

"Prince!" Zhang Guowei stomped his feet again in a hurry, "Guangxinwei temporarily expanded to 50,000 people, and now he has set up a battlefield again, what about military expenses?! Besides, the prince should understand that even if Guangxinwei conquers Linchuan, or even the entire Jiangxi, the Finance Department will not get a single cent tax... Even if Li Guo is willing to pay half of the tax, it is just looking for the plum blossoms to quench his thirst, and it will not be beneficial to the current financial department's dilemma."

That's right. How can we increase the tax on land that has just been restored? Isn't this making the poverty of the local people even worse?

As soon as the Tartars left, the royal army continued to collect taxes. What is the difference between the royal army and the Qing army?

Thinking of this, Wu Zheng had to remain silent.

The two of them stared at each other for a long time, and Wu Zheng took the lead and said, "All the officials mean to withdraw their troops?"

Zhang Guowei nodded and said, "Yes... In fact, when I went north, I received news from Yingtian Prefecture. The court had decided to negotiate with the Qing court. In other words, unless Xia Wanchun and Liao Zhongping insisted on leaving the court, it would be a matter of time before withdrawing troops."

Wu Zheng had a slight jaw, and this statement was basically consistent with the news that Song Anchang and Lin Wei received.

The situation of Xia Wanchun and Liao Zhongping's two tribes was very embarrassing. They sent troops without authorization and were covered up by the imperial court's additional edicts. But if they resisted the orders, they would not be able to do so. The General's Mansion could not bear the military expenditure of the two tribes at this time, which caused the second tribe to lose supplies.

Wu Zheng shook his head vigorously, "Let's go ahead and discuss solutions to external events."

Zhang Guowei also understood Wu Zheng's nature and knew that he could not force him too much, so he nodded and said, "Wei Kuangguo submitted a note and made three requests: one is compensation, the other is apology, and the third is to reduce and exempt the tariffs of two ports for one year as compensation."

Wu Zheng thought about it and asked, "What if I don't?"

Zhang Guowei glanced at Wu Zheng and whispered: "The news from Fujian and Guangdong is that the joint fleet formed by Dongfan and England and Geely has been stationed in the outer sea of ​​Dongfan..."

Wu Zhengyi grinned and said, "Why, if you can't reach an agreement, you'll start a war? Then what else can you talk about? Just start a fight! I don't believe it anymore. Can they land in Hangzhou Prefecture with their joint fleet?"

Zhang Guowei said anxiously: "Prince, the foreigners really do not have the ability to attack the inland, but they really need to block the maritime business roads. How do merchants go out to trade? At that time, countless materials are hoarded, and they cannot go out and cannot come in... will inevitably cause chaos! Therefore, after discussion, we want to ask the prince to return to Hangzhou Prefecture and have a detailed discussion with Wei Kuangguo..."

"What are you talking about in detail?" Wu Zheng asked angrily, "Let me ask Wei Kuangguo to give you a way out?"

Zhang Guowei looked at Wu Zheng's childish face and couldn't help but smile bitterly, "Compared with the livelihoods of millions of people, temporary tolerance is also..."

Wu Zheng suddenly said: "Go back and tell Wei Kuangguo that the first compensation is the king. I agree to it. As for the last two, please do not have a talk!"

"Prince..." Zhang Guowei shouted in a hurry. He was really anxious. In order to equip the new army and supply the two guards of Jiangbei, the Finance Department has not allocated money to the officials of the 11th government for two months. Even the officials of the General's Office lent their savings to the Finance Department, but this is a drop in the bucket.
Chapter completed!