Hand over the jade seal first [Infrastructure]

In fact, Xiao Zirong has also been paying attention to the war in Southern Yanzhou recently, but his news here is always lagging behind, so the documents on his desk are basically calls from the Northern Wei Dynasty, and the Northern Wei Dynasty was sent back by the regent.

These two news came together, Xiao Zirong breathed a sigh of relief when he glanced at it at the time, he couldn't help but sigh in his heart, Xiao Xuexing really never disappoints, and this victory was too quick.

With him around, it must be almost impossible for the Northern Wei Dynasty to fight Jiankang, but I don't know how long the opponent will be in a stalemate. This year... will Xiao Xuexing stay in South Yanzhou for the New Year?

When he saw the news, Xiao Zirong never imagined that the flames of war would burn on him. At that time, he made those things because Curry had materials and Zhai Xi also had time, and on the other hand, he just wanted to see these things. Can you save his life? It will probably be a matter of time before Xiao Xuexing finds him here. If Xiao Xuexing finds out that he hides aside and refuses to come out even though he knows the other party is looking for him, he may be very angry. Think about Xiao Xuexing With a straight face, Xiao Zirong couldn't help being a little timid, thinking about how to save his life.

These things cannot be told to the people below, not to mention damaging his image, but also revealing his identity. Until now, no one knows his identity except Liu Cainiang.

After all, his official name is King Xuancheng, and his real name may not be known to anyone except the top class of Qi.

So what Xiao Zirong said was that he wanted to make Taoyuan City as safe as possible.

At that time, many people naturally didn't understand, but they were obedient and didn't say anything. The main reason was that Xiao Zirong did all these things with his own money, otherwise the little money from the treasury really wasn't enough for him to toss about.

As a result, at the same time as the clock was ringing, Xiao Zirong sent out many people to inform everyone. After everyone knew about it, they felt that the city lord really had the foresight.

However, Xiao Zirong was bitter in his mouth. He has a fart foresight. Even if he has foresight, according to Yuan Jia's information, the other party will probably come with about a thousand people. He has more than 200 people here, and the other party is five times their number. , what the hell is going on?

He did not want such foresight at all!

Now his only thought is that people from the Northern Wei Dynasty had better not find Taoyuan City. Thinking about it, if Xiao Xuexing couldn't find it, the people from the Northern Wei Dynasty might not be able to find it either.

But you can't pin everything on luck. Xiao Zirong is now very glad that he built the city defense before, especially after the refugees came, he abruptly raised the city wall by two meters, and now it is five meters high. This era is already a very high city wall, and the manpower and material resources consumed are simply incalculable. Thanks to the fact that Taoyuan City is not big, and there is no shortage of money supported by the salt factory, otherwise it is really impossible to build, even the city wall of Jiankang. Not so high.

Xiao Zirong hastily put the stepped crossbows made by someone on the city wall. Each city wall has two stepped crossbows. These two stepped crossbows can shoot arrows in groups. They may not be particularly accurate, but they have a wide range of strikes. It's powerful, but it's scary.

The crossbows on the arrow tower can only fire one at a time because of the space, but these two crossbows are mainly used for firing burst arrows.

Well, Xiao Zirong named the arrow with black powder inside it Burst Arrow, and everyone thought it was very vivid.

It's also thanks to Xiao Zirong who asked him to send a little more sulfur and saltpeter during the previous original price transaction. Originally, he wanted to make firecrackers for the new year to see if he could get some fireworks to set off.

Even if the fireworks cannot be placed too high for fear of being seen by others, they still look good on the ground. Everyone's life is getting better this year, and there must be a new atmosphere.

As a result, all of them are now used to make bursting arrows.

Liu Cainiang couldn't help asking: "City Master, what if Wei Jun didn't come? Don't you say that this thing can't be kept for a long time? If they didn't come, wouldn't it be a waste?"

Xiao Zirong smiled and said: "It would be better if they didn't come, this is our luck, it's nothing to waste a little money, as long as people are fine, not to mention getting out the black powder in the bursting arrow and going again It is also possible to make firecrackers and the like.”

Explosive arrows can be opened, otherwise there is no way to fill them with black powder.

When Liu Cainiang heard the same reason, Xiao Zirong raised his head and asked, "How is the mood in the city now?"

Now he not only has to worry about the invasion of foreign enemies, but also worries about the fluctuation of people's hearts.

To be honest, the situation on their side is special, and the hearts of the people may be unstable. Whether it is the little ladies who have suffered or these refugees, it takes time to get out of the pain and restore a peaceful life little by little.

If there is no accident, it will be almost the same in three to five years. As long as Xiao Zirong does not lose his head, the whole city will definitely be prosperous by then.

As a result, this incident happened again when everyone had just calmed down and their wounded hearts were healing.

To be honest, Xiao Zirong was not too afraid of Wei Jun, and when he couldn't stand it anymore, he sent someone to Xiao Xuexing for help. Anyway, Xiao Xuexing would definitely not ignore this place.

As for the matter between the two of them, we will talk about it after this war is over.

And Xiao Xuexing's recent successive victories also made Xiao Zirong full of confidence in him, but he couldn't tell others about this kind of thing, he was worried that once he said it, some timid people would try to escape and report the news, that would not be a self-inflicted trap ?

He was holding the black gunpowder, the big killer, in his hand, and he still wanted to struggle.

Before asking this sentence, Xiao Zirong thought about many possibilities, and by the way, he was going to put a soothing lecture on the agenda, which can be regarded as an alternative counseling and dredging work.

Unexpectedly, Liu Cainiang said brightly, "Everyone is gearing up!"

"what?"

Xiao Zirong looked up at her, really surprised.

Liu Cainiang said very angrily: "Everyone is living a good life, and they come to make trouble. Now everyone is waiting for your conscription. As long as you give an order, they will immediately take up arms to defend their homes and the country. Recently, everyone is Exercise."

Xiao Zirong was stunned for a moment. I really didn't expect everyone to be so... active after hearing the news of the invasion of foreign enemies?Doesn't seem right, aggressive?It doesn't seem right either.

Anyway, the reaction was different from what he thought.

He was a little puzzled and asked, "Aren't you all afraid?"

Liu Cainiang sighed: "I'm afraid, how can I not be afraid? But fear can't solve the problem. The city lord has already made all the preparations he can. Zhai Xi and the others also said that the crossbow is very powerful. We still have a moat, and The tall city walls, even the city gates are made of stone, it is not easy for the opponent to take down."

Xiao Zirong couldn't help but ask, "Is there anyone who is discouraged and wants to leave?"

What he cares about is actually this. There must be people with high fighting spirit. Among other things, the little ladies who followed him at the beginning must be very positive.

In the past two years, Xiao Zirong didn't really only care about feeding them and warming them up. He also used the opportunity of attending classes to try to brainwash them, letting them know that women can make earth-shattering feats. Born inferior.

As for the so-called chastity or not, well, there is no need to mention this. These days, the admiration for chaste women is not so perverted. There is no need for him to say more, as long as the confidence is built up for these little ladies.

This kind of brainwashing, coupled with the fact that the little ladies can support themselves with their own hands, have food, clothing and housing, and even hire someone to clean and tidy up the room, plus the fact that the city is full of female officials, the impact is natural no the same.

In fact, Xiao Zirong's brainwashing accounted for less than half of the effect. No matter how powerful he is, two years may not be able to change that deep-rooted thinking. What makes those little ladies feel the most is the appearance of female officials.

Especially after the arrival of refugees and the increase of men, the ladies are worried that the officials will be replaced by men.

Even though men only account for one-third of the entire city now, the gender of the people is male, and there are several of them who have studied, and they seem to be well educated.

But those female officials have not been studying for a long time, even handling government affairs are groping.

It's just that after a long time, everyone found that Xiao Zirong didn't plan to change people, the exam still had to be taken, and the officials also had to take the exam, but Jin Sheng and Wei Yun were desperate Saburo, dealing with political affairs during the day and studying at night. I can't sleep for a long time, but my spirit is good.

Even Lu Liu and Zhai Xi were infected by them and became eager to learn.

In fact, among the four people, Zhai Xi was the most stable, because those foreign refugees, no matter whether they were educated or not, were inferior to Zhai Xi in terms of mechanical skills.

And Zhai Xi's identity can also calm these people down - the Mohist family is one of the hundreds of schools with a long history, and most people will subconsciously respect women from such a family.

So Xiao Zirong is not worried about those little ladies, he is worried about those refugees.

Liu Cainiang said strangely: "Why should you be discouraged? Didn't you say that we are just preparing, and the other party may not come? Anyway, even if they come, everyone is desperate and can only fight with them."

Xiao Zirong shook his head slowly: "They may not be desperate."

Liu Cainiang said bluntly: "I don't know what you are worried about, but because of the good land, the tax is still low, even planting mulberry trees and raising silkworms is not taxed, only cloth is taxed, as long as it is not a catastrophe, they are reluctant to leave of."

Xiao Zirong was taken aback for a moment, and when he regained his composure, he found it quite funny. He really never thought that this was the one who kept people.

In fact, he was quite speechless about raising taxes on mulberry trees and silkworms. He never thought that he would charge money for planting trees. It sounds very unreasonable, but there is a part of the reason at the moment: Is there any king in the world? The land for planting trees is not the field allocated to you, of course you have to pay taxes.

Not only mulberry trees, but even fruit trees are taxed.

Every year, regardless of the harvest, this part of the tax is fixed. It is calculated according to the number of trees, and part of it is paid when the fruit is harvested. It is uncomfortable enough to pay double tax for planting a fruit tree.

This is also no way, who made all the tax revenue this year rely on agriculture.

During this period, wars are frequent, both externally and internally. Once a war starts, it will cost a lot of money, and it will cost money and human life. There is no way to do it.

Xiao Zirong didn't have many people under his command, and the materials to build the city were almost free. After all, no one was robbing him of shells and sand, and there was a salt field to support him, so it was better to charge less.

And because lime mortar is used, it is stronger than rammed earth. Instead, there is no need to collect corvee every year to repair roads and the like. In this way, reducing taxes will not make the treasury empty.

Even if it is empty, Xiao Zirong will subsidize it himself.

Back then, the little ladies insisted on handing over half of the taxes to the city lord, Xiao Zirong accepted their kindness with a smile, and didn't think it was a big deal when the refugees came, but what did Xiao Zirong want so much money for?The things in his hands are helped to take care of them, and they are self-sufficient enough, so they can be used to subsidize the treasury.

I have to say that the common people will choose people with their feet. As Liu Cainiang said, this way, everyone’s tax revenue will basically be reduced a lot. You can also plant trees in the yard or on the mountain if you want. Apart from not being able to plant on the mountain next to the city and not over-cutting, everything is better than the outside, not to mention that the enemy army has not come yet, even if the enemy army came, they would not easily choose to leave.

After hearing this, Xiao Zirong was relieved a lot, but he still arranged a lecture, trying to make everyone feel more at ease, what to do, and at the same time asked Lu Liu to send someone to carefully touch the pier to watch the movement. Report immediately when the boat lands, and at the same time leave someone behind to watch their movements. If they don't go to Taoyuan City, they can rest assured.

At the same time, he still had to find a way to send news to Xiao Xuexing that he would be safe here, but what if Xiao Xuexing was caught off guard?

To be honest, Wei Jun's threat to Taoyuan City is not as bald as sending news to Xiao Xuexing.

How can we let Xiao Xuexing know that their positions are not revealed. This is the most important thing. Of course, one more thing is to let the news reach Xiao Xuexing's hands. What if someone thinks they are talking nonsense and won't report it?This kind of thing is very likely to happen.

Xiao Zirong thought for a while, and finally had no choice but to ask Lu Liu: "Has the regent sent anyone here recently? I'm not talking about ordinary people, but his soldiers."