Traveling through ancient times: starting with live streaming

Chapter 594 War Order

"How do we find them all?" Emperor Lin's eyes widened.

What Zhou Chang had in mind before was actually a movie he had watched in his previous life, and now he directly applied it: "The so-called 'wartime order' means that everything needed for the war can be requisitioned and mobilized, but the court will certainly not requisition for nothing, which would be too unreasonable. Therefore, the court only needs to promise that the requisitioned items will be compensated double in the future, and that there will be a tax exemption during the requisition period, so as to encourage the people of our country to voluntarily donate their money and food to support the war."

"This..." Although the Emperor was old and weak, his mind was still clear. "What's the difference? In fact, the court will have to pay a lot of money in the end."

"How can we compensate? It is the court that requisitioned and mobilized, but the compensation must be borne by the local authorities. Those local officials have been controlling one area, and who knows how much personal gain they have gained. The court cannot verify it one by one. Why not let them bleed a little? This is for the long-term interests of my country. The court can at most exempt some taxes, so that the people will only support the court and be grateful for your majesty's benevolence, and it can also relieve the pressure on the central government." Zhou Chang talked nonsense, and everyone admired the "dirty trick" he came up with.

Emperor Lin was not quite able to understand what was said, but he vaguely felt that not spending the money from the national treasury made sense, so he nodded.

Zhou Chang added: "Of course, in order to prevent people from using public resources for personal gain, this 'wartime order' can only be restricted to the Jin Caosi. The Jin Caosi is directly under the emperor, and I am here to share my father's worries."

Although Zhou Chang had little experience in both of his lives, he knew that if the top beam is not straight, the bottom beam will be crooked. When a policy is introduced, there are considerations from above and understandings from below. Once someone misunderstands it for their own selfish reasons, it will become a weapon to exploit the people.

Therefore, if Emperor Lin approves, then this "wartime order" must be firmly in his own hands.

What's more, these ideas are immoral, but due to the limitations of my own talents, I can't think of a better way, so I have no choice but to do so.

"Jin Cao Si..." Emperor Lin was still pondering over and over again, unable to make up his mind, so he looked at Fang She beside him again.

Fang She's two goldfish eyes as big as light bulbs showed a gleam of ignorance, but his face was full of smiles: "Your Majesty, I don't know much about the affairs of the court, but I have heard of an old saying among the people, 'Brothers fight together to fight tigers, and fathers and sons fight together in battle'. Your Majesty and His Royal Highness Prince Yi, this can also be considered a 'father and son fighting together'..."

"'Father and son fighting together'?" Emperor Lin turned back and looked at Zhou Chang.

Zhou Chang stood up straight in an instant, his pair of almond-shaped eyes curved, showing his utmost sincerity.

Emperor Lin hadn't looked at his son so seriously in many years. After a while, he seemed to be relieved and said, "Okay, let's do as Prince Yi said."

"Thank you, father." Zhou Chang thanked him and winked at Fang She.

People like Fang She are really useful at critical moments.

After leaving the palace, Zhou Chang took Shouhou to the Siwei Medicine Shop and had a discussion with Fu Minghao. They mainly decided that in a few days, they would go to the Dongjiao Wharf to receive the newly shipped medicinal materials from the south and load them directly on the spot.

Afterwards, in line with the principle of saving as much as possible, I also had a meal at the Siwei Medicine Shop.

No matter how much time has passed, Prince Yi’s poverty cannot be cured.

When they returned to the palace, it was already dark, but they saw the brothers Gao Yuan and Gao Yun waiting in the front yard at the same time.

Zhou Chang knew that Gao Yun should be the last person to return from the south.

Gao Yun had not returned to the palace to celebrate the New Year for two years. As Prince Yi's palace was becoming more and more short of staff, Gao Yuan transferred all the people from Yidanxing back, so Gao Yun came back just in time to celebrate the New Year.

Gao Suan seems to be in his early twenties now, and he has grown a lot taller, even taller than his brother Gao Yuan, but he is still like a bean sprout and not as strong as Gao Yuan.

Gao Yuan was so happy that he brought Gao Yun up to pay his respects.

Zhou Chang was also happy about the reunion of the two brothers, and even joked: "You now look like a skinny monkey. Skinny monkeys should have changed their name to 'bamboo basket' a long time ago."

The skinny monkey followed behind and grinned, patting his watermelon-like belly: "High computing is like sugar cane, and my body is like bamboo shoots after the rain, and there is still a lot of growth to come."

"Yes, you still have a lot of room to grow. If you grow any longer, you will become a 'pig-bamboo shoot'." Zhou Chang laughed, but when he thought about leaving Jindu soon and not even waiting for the New Year, he felt guilty again. "It's a rare reunion for you two brothers, but I'm afraid you can't celebrate the New Year in the mansion. We will set off north before the New Year."

Gao Yuan immediately agreed: "Yes, I will follow your orders."

Gao Yun was also unequivocal: "If the prince has any order, I will do it without hesitation."

Zhou Chang nodded. There was really not much he could do, so he turned around and said to the skinny monkey: "Monkey, you know what I'm talking about. Just make the most of these few days and prepare some good food and drinks for everyone to gather in the mansion."

"Okay, Your Highness, don't worry, I will take care of this matter." The skinny monkey patted his chest and promised.

The imperial edict of "first-rank military officer" and "wartime order" came down three days later.

On the day he received the imperial edict, Zhou Chang informed Zhong Yu of the news that he was going to the front line in northern Vietnam.

Zhong Yu originally opposed it, but he already knew about it when he received the imperial edict. He never mentioned it again afterwards and started planning again immediately.

As for Yuan Yun, she seemed to have known the news long ago. She was not surprised by the imperial edict and was tactful enough not to raise any objections.

In this way, Prince Yi got another title and a token. Compared with the previous "Taizai Bakushou" and "Jin Cao Commander" of Jin Cao Si, it seemed that this one was an improvement.

On the second day after receiving the imperial edict and officially becoming a first-rank soldier, the Yuan family's merchant ship transporting medicinal materials also arrived at the dock in the eastern suburbs of Jindu.

Zhou Chang had already sold this batch of medicinal materials to the imperial court, so naturally he had to personally lead people to take over the delivery. He also had to prepare for the upcoming departure and check the condition of the horses and ships in advance.

The amount of food and medicine needed to supply an army of 100,000 people adds up to tens of thousands.

To be on the safe side, Zhong Yu suggested to King Yi that the troops be divided into two groups.

Half of the food and medicine were transported by land, and the other half were transported by water.

Zhou Chang also understood that one should not put all his eggs in one basket, so he readily agreed.

However, traveling by land would require riding a horse, and Zhou Chang was totally unwilling to do so.

If they wanted to travel by water, they had to take a boat. Zhou Chang also had a psychological shadow and was absolutely unwilling to do so.

After weighing the two options, I couldn't make up my mind, so I decided to go there and see the situation in person.

In addition, the newly promoted "first-rank military officer", although in name only, can still show off his power in the military camp, but he must also be on guard against any blind person who might trip him up from behind.

When Zhou Chang thought about this, he felt overwhelmed.

It can be said that it is not easy to take this path if you are just being selfish.