Qing Yao

Chapter 373 Have you eaten?
According to Zhao Anjun's orders, 3500 soldiers were successively dispatched from Shouchun Town in southern Anhui to Fengyang. Among these 3500 soldiers, 1200 were from the General Battalion directly under the command of Wang Pu, the General of Shouchun Town, while the rest were garrison soldiers stationed in various parts of southern Anhui.

Meanwhile, 3000 men were successively transferred from northern Anhui to Fengyang. These were mostly local garrison soldiers. Including the 2000 men from the Fubiao (a military unit), the total number of Green Standard Army soldiers mobilized was less than 10,000.

The cavalry force numbered less than 300 men.

This force was clearly insufficient to deal with the Xie and Yang bandits, who had more than 3000 outlaws. Therefore, in Zhao An's "four main and six corner" deployment, in addition to relying on the power of the Governor-General's Office and the troops stationed in the three prefectures of northern Jiangsu, it was also necessary to mobilize the local second-line armed forces in all aspects, namely armed yamen runners and patrol officers, as well as the local militias that were being established in various places.

The second-line armed forces were used to block the land and water checkpoints to ensure that the salt bandits could not escape to Fengyang. Only in this way could the Green Standard Army completely trap the salt bandits.

The Fu Biao (a military unit) has been reduced by half due to its old and weak members, and has been replenished with more than a thousand members of the Canal Gang led by Ye Zhigui and Xu Lin. Its overall combat effectiveness and morale have improved significantly compared to before. However, the problem of outdated equipment has not yet been resolved. The Fu Biao is the most capable unit in the entire Anhui Green Standard Army. However, the salt bandits are equally fierce and have military experience in defeating the Green Standard Army.

Therefore, Zhao An did not dare to rashly let the Green Standard Army directly confront the salt bandits. His plan was to surround the salt bandits by using the "four main and six corner" strategy, then gradually compress the salt bandits' living space by "forming a fortified village", and finally eliminate the salt bandits completely by cutting off their food supplies.

This is the safest approach.

This tactic places great demands on logistics, which boils down to nothing more than money and food.

If the war lasts for one month, the minimum cost to maintain the household and workshop facilities is 60,000 taels. If it lasts for three months, the cost would be 180,000 taels. If the war drags on for half a year, the cost would be 700,000 to 800,000 taels.

The Anhui provincial treasury is certainly unable to bear such a large military expenditure at present. With the two million taels of capital injection from Fu Chang'an, Xianfeng Bank can bear this military expenditure. However, Zhao An does not dare to easily use Xianfeng Bank's "reserve funds". After all, Xianfeng Bank has now been upgraded to a "bank" that can exchange currency between two provinces and three provinces, and it also has to undertake the loan tasks of debt relief for grain merchants and support the development of industry and commerce.

Withdrawing hundreds of thousands of taels at once would pose a risk to the operation of Xianfeng Bank. If a large-scale run on the bank were to occur due to cash flow problems, Zhao An's idea of ​​prioritizing finance in his anti-Qing cause would fail.

Therefore, the only option is to have the government departments with the highest profits assist in solving the military funding problem.

Anqing Prefecture and the Salt Commissioner were lucrative government offices, and Zhao An hoped that these two offices could help solve half of the military expenses, which meant each office would contribute 150,000 taels.

As the provincial capital, Anqing Prefecture had a decent economy. The annual income from land tax alone was nearly 300,000 taels. With commercial tax, miscellaneous taxes, and other miscellaneous expenses, the annual income was about 500,000 taels.

Therefore, although it was a bit difficult to ask Anqing Prefecture to bear the military expenses of 150,000 taels, it was still manageable if they squeezed it out.

The Salt Commissioner's Office handles hundreds of thousands of taels of salt tax annually. In addition, the Salt Commissioner's Office has the power to impose fines, resulting in at least 300,000 taels of various illicit incomes each year. It would be no problem for them to come up with 150,000 taels.

The current situation is like County Magistrate Zhao An encountering a problem that requires money, but most of the county's agencies are out of money. Only the Transportation and Public Security departments have funds. There's no other way but to ask the leaders of these two departments to take on more responsibility and share the burden for the county.

Not taking responsibility?

Don't blame County Chief Zhao for slamming his fist on the table: "If it's not working, we'll replace him!"

Zhao An's gaze swept over the officials in the hall, finally settling on Anqing Prefect Song Jiawen and Salt Commissioner Cui. His tone was relatively calm: "Prefect Song, Commissioner Cui."

"The subordinate is here!"

Upon hearing the governor call their names, Song and Cui quickly stood up and bowed in obedience.

"Since ancient times, the army has always been prepared with provisions before it moves."

Zhao Anxian first established the situation, then continued, "Suppressing the White Lotus Rebellion will not be a short-term victory. The costs of feeding the people and horses, supplying the army, and providing rewards and stipends are substantial. Anqing Prefecture is the most prosperous area in our province and a major source of revenue. The Salt Commissioner is in charge of the province's salt administration, and the government's revenue and expenditure are quite ample. Therefore, I will entrust the task of raising funds to you two. Is that acceptable? I won't require you to shoulder much; each of you will receive 150,000 taels of silver and 50,000 shi of grain. How does that sound?" "This..."

When Song Jiawen, the prefect of Anqing, heard that he had to pay money, he naturally felt a pang of pain. At the same time, he quickly calculated that although the treasury had some reserves, most of them were taxes that had not yet been paid or had been used for other purposes. It would definitely be a burden to withdraw a large sum of cash at once.

He immediately gritted his teeth and readily agreed.

There was no other way; if you wanted to climb the ranks, you had to unconditionally cooperate with this young official who was currently enjoying the emperor's favor and was most likely the emperor's illegitimate son.

Besides, I have already made it clear that I unconditionally support Lord Zhao.

At this point, any hesitation would be a betrayal of the previous investment.

"Please rest assured, General, the entire Anqing Prefecture will do everything in its power, even emptying the treasury, to ensure that the soldiers on the front lines fight on an empty stomach! Within ten days, 150,000 taels of silver and 50,000 shi of grain will be delivered to Fengyang!"

Prefect Song's resolute attitude pleased Zhao An, and his gaze naturally fell on the distressed face of Magistrate Cui.

Cui Daotai must have been complaining too. Although the salt tax revenue was fixed, it had to be handed over to the national treasury and used to pay various expenses. The salt merchants' "contributions" were not something that could be demanded at any time. Suddenly having to come up with a large sum of money was by no means an easy task.

Moreover, the key issue is that the Salt Commissioner is not under the jurisdiction of Anhui. Although his office is officially staffed by the Anhui Circuit Commissioner, it reports directly to the Ministry of Revenue.

Normally, when the salt commissioner comes down to inspect shops, seize smuggled salt, and impose fines, they don't need to inform the local authorities.

Why should we bear the military expenses of your pro-independence camp now?

My Salt Commissioner's Office having money is my business, it has nothing to do with you, the Acting Governor!
But he really couldn't muster the courage to argue his case. After thinking about it, he decided it would be better to plead poverty. Just as he was about to speak, he saw Commander Zhao probably think his hat was a little crooked. He raised his hand to adjust his hat, and the peacock feather in his eyes trembled slightly. He lowered his hand and accidentally touched the Ebilun sword at his waist. Then he turned to the provincial governor who was attending the meeting and whispered, "Have you eaten?"

"Uh, what?"

The provincial governor looked at him strangely, but still nodded: "Your Excellency, I have already eaten."

"Oh, well then, judging from Cui Daotai's appearance, he probably hasn't eaten this before."

Zhao An nodded, and when he turned to look at Cui Daotai again, his expression became somewhat serious.

The provincial governor looked at Cui Daotai with curiosity, wondering why the provincial governor was suddenly talking to him about this.

This gave Prefect Cui a cold sweat: What did the Prefect and the Provincial Governor say to each other?
Suddenly jolted, he quickly replied, "The required funds and provisions will be prepared within ten days, sir. Please rest assured!"

"it is good!"

Having received Cui Daotai's approval, Zhao An's expression softened slightly. "This time, my campaign to quell the rebellion in the north is crucial to the stability of northern Anhui, the overall situation of the province, and even the safety of the Grand Canal. It cannot be allowed to fail. If you two can raise the necessary provisions and funds in time, when I return victorious and the court rewards my merits, I will certainly not hesitate to petition for your honors!"

(End of this chapter)