"Chang Jing! The weather has been good again this year, and the income from the fields has been quite good, which is very gratifying!" Deng Qifan said with a smile.

"It's better to store everything. If you have extra money, buy it from outside. Don't buy from our territory. Also, control the outflow of grain, limit the brewing of wine, strictly control the rationing of grain, and beware of waste." Wu Shigong explained immediately.

"Why is this?" Deng Qifan was a little surprised. Although people in the Ming Dynasty were used to storing grain, it was rare for people like Wu Shigong to store grain as pathologically. You must know that grain cannot be stored for too long, and the taste of old grain will change.

deterioration, and because the evaporation loss of water is also large, and there are no modern constant-temperature granaries, the grain becomes moldy and is eaten by rats. Therefore, Deng Qifan originally wanted to sell a batch of grain and give more to Runing.

The army left some cash for turnover.

"Stay away! You listen to me on this point. It's better to have food in hand during the years of disaster!" Wu Shigong only knew that natural disasters occurred frequently in the late Ming Dynasty, resulting in poor harvests, which led to a massive rebellion by peasant armies all over the world.

Although there have been two consecutive years of bumper harvests, Wu Shigong definitely does not dare to take it lightly and is still preparing to reserve more food. However, Wu Shigong has difficulty explaining to Deng Qifan that he has traveled through time and knows something from later generations. Therefore, he still uses his authority to ask for help.

The order to reserve food was suppressed.

Although Deng Qifan also disagreed with Wu Shigong's order, he also felt that this was a small problem, so there was no need to admonish Wu Shigong, so Deng Qifan changed the topic and said: "There are more than 800 retired soldiers this time. Chang Jing really wants to

Let them go home?".

The service period of soldiers in the Runing Army is eight years, but because combat time can be counted as double, a group of soldiers have already completed their service period.

These soldiers who have completed their service period can choose to continue serving, or they can choose to retire. However, there are relatively few people who want to serve on the battlefield, so this time most of the soldiers who have completed their service period have chosen to retire.

And what Deng Qifan meant was that there was war now. Wu Shigong could completely use the name of general mobilization to keep these veterans in the Runing Army. In these troubled times, the more soldiers the better!

If it had been the original, Wu Shigong might have agreed with Deng Qifan's approach, but now, with the form of voluntary soldiers guarding the reclamation business, the number of professional soldiers like the Runing Army must be controlled, and should not exceed 40,000 at most.

Therefore, Wu Shigong said with a smile: "It's better to keep our promise! The war situation has not yet reached this point. Our Runing army still supports the people. These good days have just passed, so we must save money."

"But Chang Jing also needs to understand! The retired soldiers this year have no worries about their land. Next year, more than 1,300 soldiers will retire. Our Runing Army can also solve this problem. But from the next year, there will be no less than 2,000 retired soldiers every year.

, their land needs to be considered."

Although in these years, the Runing Army has obtained more than one million acres of land through various means such as seizing and purchasing. In cooperation with the officials and gentry, it has cultivated another two to three million acres. However, as it is allocated to retired soldiers, the working time limit has expired.

The land for domestic slaves and civil and military officials of the Runing Army had arrived. He did not have much land left, so Deng Qifan had to remind Wu Shigong here.

Wu Shigong thought about it and found that it was indeed the case. Although there were still a few years left in the future, he still had to prepare for a rainy day. So he said to Deng Qifan: "Two methods: allow retired soldiers to exchange for money and food for fields; or allocate soldiers in marginal and dangerous areas.

, they can allocate more land, and encourage them to join the reclamation business and go out to grab land. This time Yizhou has reached an agreement with Zheng Guerrilla, and if there are volunteers, they can also be sent to Yizhou."

"Also, from now on, the soldiers of the Runing Army will try not to take on dangerous battles for half a year before they retire, so that they can go home and reunite. Alas! How many wives and children are separated in this world of war!"

"No matter what! Runing Army can finally take a breather. In another three years, Chang Jing will have no worries!" Deng Qifan was still very optimistic at this time. In the past, Deng Qifan's hair turned gray because of worries about money and food, but this year he was finally able to have a surplus. Deng Qifan

I am still very happy in my heart.

"Alas——!" Wu Shigong did not accompany Deng Qifan in happiness. He sighed and said, "The future is unclear and there will be many battles in the future. We still need to worry about it!"

"Why?" Deng Qifan was a little strange again, "Although the Shaanxi thieves are powerful, the imperial court has deployed more troops. Even if both sides lose, we are still behind. Sir, can you worry too much?"

"Far away! Just look at it! If the officers and soldiers work together, it may be true as you said, but I see that this government order has many issues, and it is far worse than the Shaanxi bandits if they stumble against each other. In my opinion, if we are not counted,

As for Runing's army, the Shaanxi bandits have actually gained the upper hand. And don't forget, there are also Tatars in Liaodong."

"These barbarians can come to our land of China to plunder wealth and silk, but they will never rob my land. What do outsiders know about farming? What do they know about education? At best, they can only be like the Meng Yuan who have not lived for a hundred years.

transport."

After hearing Deng Qifan's words, Wu Shigong smiled and shook his head. These words were actually the common thoughts among the officials and gentry at that time, and it was no wonder that Deng Qifan was like this. But Wu Shigong knew clearly that the Houjin from Liaodong would enter Shanhaiguan, and would establish a long-lasting

The Qing Dynasty for more than two hundred years.

But there was no need to say too much to Deng Qifan at this time, so Wu Shigong said: "If you don't have long-term worries, you must have immediate worries!"

After the conversation, it was still early, so Wu Shigong wanted to see his son Wu Chengying studying. But as soon as he walked to Wu Chengying's reading place, he saw his husband asking Wu Chengying to endorse.

Wu Chengying stuttered while reciting the words, and obviously made a few mistakes. Looking at the gentleman's face, he obediently spread out his small palms, waiting for the gentleman's punishment. The gentleman was not polite and picked up the ruler on the desk.

Wu Shigong's entrance obviously attracted the attention of both of them. Wu Chengying looked at her father with tears in her eyes, and wanted to rush over and hide in her father's arms. But the husband's lingering power was still there, and Wu Chengying did not dare to move, so she just waited

He spoke to his father and saved him from suffering.

But the gentleman seemed to turn a blind eye to Wu Shigong, still holding up the ruler and preparing for punishment. However, he did not drop it rashly, and was waiting for Wu Shigong's words.

Wu Shigong hesitated for a moment, then quietly hid behind the door. Seeing the savior leaving, Wu Chengying cried loudly, "Wow!", and the husband's ruler fell on his hand mercilessly.

The hit on his son's body hurt Wu Shigong's heart, but he still endured it and stood outside the house waiting for the reading to end.

After waiting for more than half an hour, Wu Shigong finally waited until his husband finished assigning homework. At this time, he appeared from behind the door and entered the room where he was studying again.

Wu Chengying, a silly boy, didn't hold any grudges, so she immediately leaned on Wu Shigong and acted coquettishly. After being intimate for a while, Wu Shigong asked his mother-in-law to take Wu Chengying back to the inner house. She raised her hands and thanked Mr. Zhang: "Mr. Zhang, thank you for your hard work."

The teacher's name was Zhang Zhiheng, a native of Runing. He resigned and returned home when Wei Zhongxian came to power. After that, he taught in his hometown and did not go to Beijing again after Emperor Chongzhen ascended the throne.

This time, Li Xin asked someone to invite Zhang Zhiheng to initiate Wu Chengying. To everyone's surprise, this Runing celebrity actually agreed. You know, Wu Shigong's identity is too humble. People with Zhang Zhiheng's fame generally don't

He will lower his worth and enter the martial arts house to teach as disciples.

In fact, Zhang Zhiheng is also a sensible person. He carefully observed Wu Shigong for a long time and found that although his actions were a bit shocking, they were also quite effective. With the rise of the Runing Army, Zhang Zhiheng also wanted to join this prosperous group.

However, Zhang Zhiheng could not afford to lose face by recommending himself rashly, so when he heard that the Wu Mansion invited him to teach the second son, he readily agreed and wanted to become Wu Shigong's confidant.

But after waiting for so many days before Wu Shigong appeared, Zhang Zhiheng had to behave well and judge whether Wu Shigong was a lord he could rely on.

So when he saw Wu Shigong taking the initiative to salute first, Zhang Zhiheng quickly stood up and returned the salute: "Your Majesty, you are so polite. When I was just disciplining you, I couldn't salute you distractedly. It was really rude. However, your Majesty stood outside the door for a long time. I respect you."

The importance of the Tao is evident, comparable to that of Cheng Menlixue, the future is truly limitless!"

So after being polite, the two happily chatted about Wu Chengying's studies. But unknowingly, the topic turned to the general trend of the world.

Zhang Zhiheng suddenly became eloquent, pouring out all the insights he had prepared for a long time. When Wu Shigong heard it, he really had extraordinary insights. There was no way to be ordinary. Almost none of Wu Shigong's literati had any official experience. Zhang Zhiheng's appearance was not

Does it stand out from the crowd?

Of course Wu Shigong invited Zhang Zhiheng to assist him, and there was no courtesy, so Zhang Zhiheng readily agreed. The two of them were able to fulfill their wishes.

After saying goodbye, Wu Shigong suddenly saw Li Xin wearing a veil and a big belly outside the door, going to the living room. Seeing Wu Shigong, Li Xin immediately felt blessed and saluted Wu Shigong with a smile on her face.

Wu Shigong hurriedly stepped forward to support Li Xin and scolded: "We are an old couple now, and you are heavy. You can do it after saluting. Where are you going?"

"My third brother is here! I originally wanted to see my husband, but he was busy, so I went to see him by myself."

"Oh!" Wu Shigong understood. He had heard Li Xin say a few days ago that his brothers wanted to defect to him after they knew that his brother-in-law had become powerful.

So Wu Shigong said: "Don't work too hard. Let him have dinner, and I will give him a good place to go no matter what."

Regarding the addition of literati, Wu Shigong was of course the more the better. However, officials like Zhang Zhiheng and Li Xin's brother who had already been labeled as Wu Chengying could easily cause divisions in the Runing Army in the future. Therefore, Wu Shigong was very cautious and could only control the use of officials.
Chapter completed!