Bai Minzhong pondered for a moment, looked at Ding Jian and said, "Dalang, we all know what you mean. Li Ze is strong, but Zhu Wen is not weak either. For us, Liang Jun's threat is even more imminent."

Li Jian smiled and said, "Father-in-law, did that Dai Chao also send someone here?"

Bai Minzhong nodded: "Your father and I have seen his messenger."

"Dalang, Dai Chao has gathered more than 20,000 troops. The reason why he has not launched an attack on us is because he is preparing for the navy of ships. Once he has prepared enough ships, Jingnan is afraid that the war will be ignited."

"So, are you going to compromise with them?" Ding Jian sneered.

"There has not been war in Jingnan for many years. It was originally a peaceful place. Once wars roared everywhere, the creatures would be charcoal and everything would be gone." Ding Ci sighed. "If it weren't for you, we would have..."

"Father-in-law, father, have you ever planned for the future?" Ding Jian interrupted his father without hesitation and said: "Once he surrenders to the pseudo-liang, when the Tang army comes to fight in the future, how can Ding and Bai families handle themselves?"

"It's unknown who will win to death!" Ding Xiang said disapprovingly. "The Zhu family occupied Guanzhong and dominated the Central Plains. Now Zhu Youzhen and Dai Chao are coming south. Looking at the south, who can be their opponent? Once the Zhu family annexes the entire south, Li Ze may not be able to win!"

"Second uncle is optimistic about the fake Liang?" Ding Jian laughed.

"It's not a good idea, but Li Ze is far away from us and Dai Chao is close to us. If we don't compromise, we will be in trouble of overturning." Ding Xiang shook his head and said, "Even if it's a temporary solution, there is nothing we can do about it."

"If you all have this idea, then now I dare to assert that the Ding Bai tribe's century-old family business is afraid that this generation will be over." Ding Jian snorted coldly.

"Why do you say this?" Ding Xiang said: "Where is Li Ze? Isn't you there?"

"When the time comes, change your course?" Ding Jian laughed: "Irregular, the grass on the wall is overturned, uncle, is this feasible? Whether it is Li Xiang or Zhu Wen, can they tolerate it?"

Ding Xiang was pressed by Ding Jian step by step, and he became annoyed: "Dalang, even if we defect to Li Ze as you said, can he help us resist Dai Chao? If not, what else can I say? We always have to save the teacher to be serious."

"It's better to rely on yourself than others!" Ding Jian stood up suddenly and said, "Otherwise, what will I do when I come back? Father-in-law, father, second and third uncles, before I returned to Jiangling, I went to Yueyang first."

Bai Minzhong was stunned: "Is the matter in Dongting Lake yours?"

"I am just an executor." Ding Jian said calmly: "A few years ago, the court had already made arrangements in Dongting Lake. Now, we have unified the Dongting Lake Naval Division, with 300 warships and nearly 5,000 combat troops. Qian Biao, the governor of Yueyang, has already paid tribute to the court. In Yangzhou, General Li Hao's inland water naval division will be fully built within half a year. At that time, this inland water naval division can go south along the Yangtze River and connect to Yueyang and Jingnan. Dai Chao wants to build a naval division, right? After we defeat Zhu Youzhen in Yueyang, the naval division will be able to go straight to Jingzhou along the Yangtze River."

Speaking of this, Ding Jian sneered repeatedly: "Dai Chao did not have a powerful navy to control the Yangtze River, so he wanted to annex our Jingnan. It was simply a dream. Father-in-law and father, he was intimidating, were you afraid?"

"It's not that we are afraid." Ding Ci shook his head and said, "Even if there is no navy, Dai Chao is strong after all, and we are not opponents when fighting on land. Even if we have the advantage on water, we will still be in a stalemate. The losses are all ourselves. Dai Chao just wants us to surrender and pay tribute to the grain, but we just give up some money, money, rice and grain."

Ding Jian shook his head and said, "Father-in-law, father, we have lost the most important thing, integrity. If we lose these things, what kind of face will our Ding Bai family have in the future court? To put it bluntly, after the court unifies the world in the future, we will have to settle the accounts after the autumn is over. This is the fatal point of our two families."

"Dalang is sure that Li Ze will win?" Ding Ci asked back.

Ding Jian sat down, took a sip of tea, looked at Bai Minzhong and said, "Father-in-law, how much income did we have in Jingnan last year?"

Bai Minzhong was stunned and looked at Ding Ci awkwardly, and after a while, he said, "It's probably 700,000 to 800,000 yuan!"

"It's really a lot!" Ding Jian laughed: "It's comparable to the income of a mansion when I was the governor of Hezhong. But my father-in-law, Jingnanjie Town is much larger and the population is ten times more likely. Why is the income so small? I'm afraid it's not that the income is small, but that the income is small! The vast majority of the income in Jingnan has been entered into the Bai family, and the Ding family has the pockets of gentry, big and small, right?"

Bai Minzhong and Ding Ci both stared at Ding Jian in annoyance.

"Then I'll ask my father-in-law again, how many of these 800,000 trump cards are used on the people of Jingnan?" Ding Jian didn't care and asked. "For example, building bridges and roads, building water conservancy, renovating rivers, assisting the poor and poor, and building schools?"

There was silence in the room.

Ding Jian sighed.

"This time I came back, and the official road I walked on was in a very ragged way, which was even worse than seven years ago. Jingnan, a town of fish and rice, but along the way, beggars can be seen everywhere, and there are many people who are not covered in clothes. Even in Jiangling Mansion, if we go to the streets for a walk, homeless people will be seen everywhere."

Ding Feng laughed dryly: "There are always some lazy people who don't want to work, and there are always some people who are not good at managing. What does this have to do with your judgment that Li Ze will win?"

"Uncle San, why doesn't it matter?" Ding Jian smiled bitterly and said, "I told several elders before that the court earned 70 million chunks last year. Do you know how much money did Li Xiang invest in people's livelihood?"

"How many?"

"Nearly 20 million yuan." Ding Jian said: "These money is used to build bridges and roads, build water conservancy, assist the poor and the poor, and build schools."

Everyone was once again speechless.

"In fact, seven years ago, the north was incredibly difficult except for a very few places, which was much worse than that of Jingnan. But seven years have passed, and it was a huge change. I witnessed all this with my own eyes, so I decided to serve Li Xiang wholeheartedly. Because I saw hope." Ding Jian said sincerely: "You have never been to the north, so you can't understand all this at all. Do you know that the imperial court earned 70 million chunks last year, but in the end, how much is the savings?"

No one answered.

"The court's final savings were only two million taels." Ding Jian looked at the people with a smile: "Are you surprised? At first, I didn't understand that the court made a lot of money, but it spent money faster. Where did the money be spent? In addition to raising troops and officials, the remaining money was spent on the people. This is the most thorough way I have ever seen to take it from the people and use it for the people. In the words of Li Xiang, the court is not as rich as the people."

"Why do I conclude that Li Xiang will definitely win in the future? Because of the people's hearts." Ding Jian walked in several circles in the house and said, "The people in the north are rich. After they become rich, they want to keep their family business and the fruits of their struggle, so they cannot tolerate failure. They firmly support the court and support Li Xiang, because supporting these is equivalent to supporting them to live a good life like this and get better and better. The soldiers fight not only for the court, but also for themselves."

"Father-in-law, father, what about us Jingnan?" Ding Jian looked at the two elders sarcastically: "Jingnan is rich only a few people, and the poor are the majority. If the enemy attacks, why should the people work hard for us? They have nothing to protect. In their opinion, we have failed, and they are just changing their masters. How can they live in the past? Will they not live like this in the future?"

"Jingnan can barely survive, but now the area of ​​the pseudo-liang rule can't even survive." Ding Jian said: "Why did Zhu Youzhen and Dai Chao fight desperately to the south? Because they want to plunder the south to fill the big holes under their jurisdiction, but everyone knows that can last for a long time by demolishing the east and west walls? You really believe that once you surrender to the pseudo-liang, you can solve the problem by just taking a little money and grain. It is a bottomless pit, which can't be filled even if all our savings are put into it. It's still a peaceful time. Once the court launches a war of unification, their plunder of the south will only be even worse. How will the father-in-law and father be prepared to deal with it? Does Jingnan have so much money and grain?"

Bai Minzhong was silent for a moment, and looked at Ding Jian and said, "Dalang, what you said makes sense, but you must also understand one thing, that is, the policies we implemented with Li Ze are incompatible. Even if we allege with Zhu Wen, our Bai Ding tribes will eventually cause disaster. If we surrender to Li Ze, will the Bai Ding family survive? We know very well what you did in the river."

"Father-in-law, no one can avoid the trend of the general trend. It is impossible for us to continue to regard the same place as our own private property. This situation has only happened in the past twenty years. As long as a powerful central government appears, such things will never be allowed." Ding Jian said: "It is still time to turn around now. Now we have to lose only land, power in the local area and the power to seize life and death."

"Without these, how can the Bai Ding tribes continue their glory?" Ding Xiang asked back.
Chapter completed!