EFB Chapter 1918: The Seed of Disaster
Chapter 1918: The Seed of Disaster
Chapter 1918: The Seed of Disaster
Panlong City's move is called being generous to others.
Xianyou country was destroyed, and the people of Xianyou certainly had no good impression of Panlongcheng army, and even hated them to the core. But no one could refuse the food and money issued by Panlongcheng army.
You can choose not to take it, but your share will be taken away by others immediately.
People hate losses and would rather never have gained anything.
Panlong City used its power to destroy a country and kill its king, so it accomplished these things very smoothly. Then the army clapped their hands and left, as if they were disdainful of Xianyou.
From Xianyou to the surrounding countries, everyone was stunned and couldn't understand what Panlong City was doing.
We fought so hard to conquer this territory, and now you’re just going to give it up?
For a time, there were many different opinions from all countries, from the royal court to the local level, from officials to the common people.
Some said that Panlong City looked down on Xianyou and sent troops to destroy the country just for revenge;
Some say that Panlongcheng retreated because of the pressure from Beijia.
Some said that the leader of Panlong City suddenly fell ill and was unable to take care of everything, so Panlong City had to withdraw its troops...
But no matter what, the basic fact is that Panlong City really released Xianyou. And of course, most people don't know that Beijia's army is heading to the east line of Yuheng City.
Ten days later, the Bega army stopped and then detoured north to other places, no longer advancing on the eastern line of the Maohe Plain.
The huge battle turned into a small episode.
It was rare that Panlong City was so sensible, so Beijia gave it a favor and didn't beat it.
In fact, the leaders of Panlong City, with Zhong Shengguang as the core, also understood that the Beijia army never concealed its whereabouts, and even marched slowly. The expected delay of more than a month was just enough time for Panlong City to think and make concessions.
This is the ultimatum.
If you continue to be ignorant, Bega will surely bring down his wrath upon you!
This is a small tacit understanding between the two forces.
This time, Panlong City backed down and saved Beijia's face.
Even if the relationship is already hostile, this game is like a duet, sometimes you have to advance, sometimes you have to retreat, and sometimes you have to advance and retreat at the same time.
It's not about being tough all the time.
But looking at the war, did Panlong City really suffer? Beijia's most loyal vassal was destroyed, and it lost an important means to threaten Panlong City, but it has not yet taught Panlong City a real, bloody lesson.
Xianyou was destroyed... and that was it, just let it go like that?
Baling has always disliked Xianyou because it set the tone too high, which showed that he was not loyal enough to Beijia.
After the withdrawal of Panlong City, Xianyou returned to the hands of its own people.
But after the war, Xianyou no longer had a stable ruling foundation.
King Xianyou was dead, the most talented third and fourth princes were killed in battle, and the second prince was assassinated in Lingshan in Beijia. According to the principle of succession, the fifth prince should have ascended the throne.
But Panlong City chose to designate the Sixth Prince to take over, which caused trouble.
The Sixth Prince is not a peaceful and non-competitive person. How could he spit out the fat meat that has entered his mouth?
The temptation he faced was the same as the one he faced when he just conquered Panlong City in Xianyou, except that Zhong Shengguang was willing to give it up, but the Sixth Prince would never hand over power!
So the royal court soon fell into chaos, and more than just two princes were involved.
After Panlong City conquered Xianyou, all the powerful officials were dismissed and their assets were confiscated. Now the new team is reorganized, and it is a good time to recruit people. Everyone is anxious to start from scratch, and the competition for position is very enjoyable.
Moreover, the new administrative team has just taken office, and the problems it faces are the most direct and crude:
The treasury has no money and no food.
Officials need to receive salaries, and the army needs to be fed and rationed.
Everything that is dependent on the state and the bureaucratic system also costs money.
If a country wants to operate normally from top to bottom, it cannot do so without money, food and supplies.
But where is the money and where is the food?
Part of it was taken away by the Panlong army, and the rest was in the hands of the people.
Therefore, before the fight for the throne was over, Xianyou began to buy grain from the people.
It also needs some face, so it says "buy", but the national treasury and the local tyrants have been emptied, where is the silver? Then what can Xianyou use to exchange for the food in the hands of the people?
Gold banknotes are minted and issued immediately.
But it is not a currency in essence, but a bond, an IOU for the state to borrow money from the people. It is called "gold note", which seems to be more noble than silver.
Simply put, the government buys grain and gives the people IOUs.
He Lingchuan wanted to applaud them when he heard the news. There are still smart people in Xianyou. This kind of trick of getting something for nothing is common in another world, and it works well because the IOU itself is really valuable.
However, he also knew that this approach had little effect in Xianyou and would be difficult to promote.
Because, nowadays, Xianyou has no credibility.
For bonds to be issued, circulated and used normally, the prerequisite is to have strong credit as endorsement.
He Lingchuan's Yangshan Chamber of Commerce also issued silver notes in the Golden Plains, and many people were willing to use them.
Why? Yangshan has an outstanding reputation.
The gold notes issued by Xianyou now have no strong official endorsement, so what is the difference between them and waste paper? It is just a fig leaf to cover up the word "robbery".
The common people were not stupid and refused to sell their grain.
The grain tax officials and local officials were unable to collect taxes, and the pressure on them was increasing. So what should they do in the end?
In order to complete the task, we had to make the people suffer.
It’s because these peasants are so ungrateful. Since they won’t listen to our gentle persuasion, we have no choice but to use force.
The character "官" has two mouths, one above and one below. If the upper mouth can't be fed, the lower mouth still wants to have enough food and clothing? What kind of dream is this?
At this time, the local gentry who had been forced to divide their property also stood up and said that since they had already taken away the grain and lost their face, why not just take away the money as well? It would be a convenience. There would be no need to waste time twice.
Hehe, they saw clearly who took their money before. After the Panlong Army finally left, they had to get the money back.
In an instant, rural order collapsed and public resentment boiled over.
The war against Panlong City had lasted for more than ten years, and the Xianyou people had to pay very high taxes for it. Unexpectedly, after Xianyou destroyed the country, Panlong City distributed all the money and grain to them, and then walked away with a pat on the back.
What kind of noble character is this?
After the immortals took back the territory from the royal family, they neither benefited the people nor won their hearts. Instead, they began to levy heavy taxes, steal, and kidnap!
The superiority and inferiority are immediately apparent.
If someone told the common people at this time that Panlong City was not doing good by distributing money and food to them, they would definitely spit in his face:
"So you're just doing it for my own good by robbing me of my money and food?"
There are even radical remarks among the people, hoping that the Panlong Army will come back again.
If these officers and soldiers could use the same energy they used to bully civilians to resist foreign enemies, Xianyou would not have been destroyed.