"Do you still fight Tai'an?" Li Ze asked with the good news in his hand.

Gongsun Changming pondered: "From the information collected from all aspects, Tai'an is afraid it is difficult to fight now. A heavy rain has delayed the war for more than one month, allowing Zhu Youzhen to prepare in Tai'an a lot more time. Now in Tai'an, there are 3,000 Xuanwu elites from Cao Bin, and Liu Xinda also led his 3,000 subordinates to retreat here. In addition, Zhu Youzhen's large number of young and strong men and supplies to Tai'an in the past month, Tai'an is not short of money or people. Of course, it can be defeated, but it is hard to say how much time it takes and how much casualties it takes. There is a question of whether it is worth it."

Chapter continued: "I mean not to fight. Zhu Youzhen still has some ability, and Jingxiang and Cao Xuan support him. Obviously, they have already set up a backup plan. If we attack Tai'an, the Tianping Army and Gun Navy may support Tai'an. If we want to suppress these two troops, we must mobilize more troops, which will easily form a large-scale war."

"It's possible." Li Ze nodded.

"We are not prepared." Xia He shook his head and said, "This year, we have fought three major battles in a row. The soldiers are exhausted and the people are also exhausted. In these three major battles, there are hundreds of thousands of civilians and husbands alone. This year, the court's income and expenditure have fallen far below the balance point. The land of Weizhou in Luzhou is not self-sufficient, and Hedong basically has little income this year. In addition, the Pinglu area that has just been recovered, it is obvious that our days are extremely difficult in this fiscal year. We need to stop and recuperate. At least we will be able to take a breath until the beginning of the next fiscal year."

"Then stop." Li Ze said: "Next year, Hedong can basically recover. The Ansui land can be used for the troops of Li Cunzhong stationed in Lingzhou. We can release a large piece of it from our financial resources. Next, we must immediately prepare the seeds of winter wheat in Pinglu. No matter what the harvest is, we can always carry it at that time."

"Then Tai'an is leaving it first?" Cao Xin felt a little unwilling.

"Let it go first." Li Ze smiled and said, "The Ministry of Personnel should worry more about selecting enough officials to take office now."

"This can be drawn from the old district." Cao Xin said: "In the past few years, a large number of grassroots officials in the old district need to be promoted to mobilize their enthusiasm. At the same time, they also provide some places for new people to enter. They have sufficient local administrative experience and can better display their skills when going to places like Pinglu."

"After staying in the comfort zone for a long time, are they willing to explore places like Pinglu?" Li Ze asked.

"If you don't want to go, it's equivalent to severing your future." Cao Xin's voice exuded murderous aura and said, "Everything has just begun, how can you tolerate people to slack off? Every official needs to work hard to govern. If you can't endure hardship, don't be an official in our Tang Dynasty!"

Yang Kai adjusted his sitting posture and said, "Yixing Society has organized personnel and is preparing to enter the Pinglu area immediately. They will go deep into the village and become the grassroots village chiefs, tax officials, constables, etc. The people at the bottom are the most contacted by these people. We must let the Pinglu people feel that the officials in the court are very different from those in the past. This is the most effective way to win people's hearts."

"This idea is very good." Li Ze nodded in admiration. Over the years, Yang Kai has become more and more adept at these things.

"Actually, in Hedong and Hezhong, we all do this, and the effect is very good." Yang Kai smiled and said, "Ordinary people have only seen real officials a few times a year. In their eyes, these people represent the government. By the way, among the soldiers injured in the Battle of Pinglu, we have all placed them on the spot, and they are the first people to enter Pinglu."

"Snap the time and organize the planting of winter wheat soon." Li Ze said: "This is a matter that reflects our strong organizational strength and care for the people. Seeds, farm tools, and large livestock must be in place in time. The troops stationed in Pinglu must be rotated to join this matter."

"Yes!" Yang Kai nodded and said, "After finishing this matter, we will build water conservancy and roads in Pinglu, but this still requires strong support from the court in terms of finance."

"As long as you no longer continue to use troops this year, you can still make some arrangements, but not too much. You should be mentally prepared to do your best to rely on yourself. The money can only be used when you need it most." Xia He said.

"Okay, let's find another time to discuss the financial matters. The Qiufu will be charged next time, and the commercial tax in the second half of the year will be more than in the first half of the year. Let's make a few plans from the Ministry of Revenue." Li Ze waved his hand: "Let's discuss the next thing."

"The next year is about the prisoners of Pinglu Army." Gongsun Changming looked at the file in his hand and said, "When we broke through the Yellow River defense line, we captured more than 30,000 Pinglu prisoners of war. In Linzi, when Liu Santong finally surrendered, there were nearly 20,000 people. These are not considered wounded soldiers. How to deal with these people? According to our past practice, all prisoners need to be servile for a certain period of time before they can return to their identity as natural persons."

"I don't recommend doing this in Pinglu." Zhang replied: "Zhu Youzhen moved away more than 100,000 Pinglu people, and most of them are young and strong. What Pinglu lacks the most now is labor force. I suggest dismissing these people and let them return to their hometowns. Most of these people were originally the strong men captured by Hou Xiyi."

"I also think this is the best way." Xia He said: "These people are all young and strong, and they are absolutely laborers. After returning home, they will be of great help to us in rebuilding Pinglu next."

"Soldiers can be released and sent back to their hometowns according to their respective consents." Li Ze nodded and said, "Send the list of these people to governments in various places. When dismissing, make it clear to these prisoners that they must return to their old places within the prescribed time to report to local officials. Those who do not return on time will be included in the ranks of fugitives. Once arrested, the hard labor awaits them."

"Yes." Gongsun Changming said: "What are those officers going to do?"

"Send it to Yuan Chang's tent in the Western Regions to listen to it." Li Ze smiled and said, "Yuan Chang and his team are progressing rapidly in the Western Regions. The territory they can effectively control is getting bigger and bigger, but their manpower is getting less and less. The military quality of these Pinglu officers is not bad, and they can play a big role wherever they go."

"Li Xiang, these people were sent to the Western Regions, and they were afraid that they would be resentful. Wherever they went, weren't they afraid of their bad things?" Zhang Hui said with some concern.

Gongsun Changming smiled and said, "Shangshu Zhang, you don't understand this, right? There is a saying that when a fellow villager meets a fellow villager, he is crying. This time, he goes thousands of miles. If you can see the Tang people in that place, it is a rare thing. Wherever you can trust, you can only be your fellow race. If you are not my race, your heart will be different. When you arrive, these people can rely on, that is, the people where we are, otherwise they will die very quickly."

"Mr. Gongsun's words make sense. In the future, all the criminals here will be sent to the Western Regions Army to listen to them. Once they have made merits, they can forgive their sins. They should be promoted and rewarded, and if they die, they can be regarded as fulfilling the obligations that a Tang Dynasty man should fulfill." Li Ze laughed.

"Then start from that level?" Cao Xin asked.

"Above the rank of the lieutenant! The lower the level, the earlier the time it is sent, the higher the status, the later the time it is sent." Li Ze said.

"I understand!" Cao Xin said with a smile.

The officers of low-level level went to listen to it first. Now it is easy to make meritorious contributions in the Western Regions. These officers have very high military qualities. Once they make meritorious, they will no longer be criminals and can even re-elect official positions. Wherever they are, they are easy to get promoted and make money. Li Ze is not afraid of making money wherever they go. They pay what others cannot, so they naturally deserve what others cannot get.

When the original high-level officers went, the status of both sides was reversed. In the past, those who did not want to give up their former high status, the current people naturally refused to bow to these people again, and the two sides would inevitably have conflicts.

This effectively prevented these people from gathering together again in the Western Regions and becoming a disaster. When these people cannot be united, they can only rely on the court. Yuan Zhou is not a fool, so it is not difficult to take advantage of the conflicts between them.

As long as you take it properly and balance it effectively, these people will become a powerful support in the Western Regions.

As for those criminals, Li Ze doesn't care. It's a skill to survive there, and it's not a pity that he can't survive.

"Next, everyone will have to work harder."

"Li Xiang, Lingnan Xiangxun has been to Wuyi for several days. When are you planning to see him?" Zhang asked.

"Not busy." Li Ze smiled coldly: "Of course I must meet you. Now I'll be cold for a while now, otherwise, he would think it's really important to share the matter? I'm waiting for Xue Ping, Han Qi and the others to give me an explanation."

"Say it?" Zhang Hui was stunned.

"Yes, the statement!" Li Ze said: "In a broad sense, this matter is of course helpful for us to defeat the fake Liang and defeat the vassal states, but their approach is wrong. Do they think that if I create a certain fact, I will definitely accept it with a pinch of my nose? I think too beautifully."
Chapter completed!