When we left the East Palace, it was already dark, the sky was extremely gloomy, and dark clouds covered the sky grayly.
For some reason, there was a lot of rain in the summer this year, and in winter, it snowed heavily every now and then, and it was rare to have clear skies for several consecutive days.
Fortunately, since Fang Jun was in charge of the Ministry of Industry, he had vigorously built rivers and water conservancy in various parts of Guanzhong. When he was in Jingzhao Prefecture, he also established a "disaster emergency yamen" to connect various yamen in Guanzhong with the garrison. In peacetime, he spared no effort to strengthen various departments. The construction of infrastructure in this area can better respond to extreme weather conditions in a timely manner, minimizing the losses caused after disasters occur.
Not only did the people in Guanzhong praise Fang Jun and shed tears of gratitude, Fang Jun himself was inevitably a little proud.
Serving as an official will bring benefit to one party. This is the belief that has been engraved in the bones of Chinese scholars since ancient times. There are still very few officials who truly serve the common people. Most officials are also thinking about doing some practical things while filling their pockets. , at least leave a good reputation to the local people.
A leopard leaves his skin when he dies, and a man leaves his name when he dies. Who would rather be criticized by thousands of people and be infamy for eternity after death?
…
After returning home, he got off the carriage at the door and asked the servant who came to greet him: "Is Governor Su at home?"
The servant replied: "Captain Su went out to visit relatives and friends in the morning. He has just returned and is resting in the guest room."
Fang Jun walked towards the study and said, "Go and inform Governor Su and ask him to come to the study and tell him that I need to discuss something again."
"Here."
The servant quickly walked away and went to the place where Su Dingfang lived to report.
Fang Jun returned to the study alone. Under the service of the maid, he took off his official robe, washed briefly and put on ordinary clothes. He ordered someone to make a pot of tea, brought some snacks, and ate a few pieces with the tea. .
At noon, I wasn't full at Princess Jinyang's place, and then I went to Liangyi Palace and didn't eat anything. After staying in the East Palace all afternoon, I was a little hungry now.
Not long after, Su Dingfang knocked on the door and came in.
Fang Jun pointed to the chair next to him and said, "Brother Su, please sit down."
He then took the pot and poured a cup of tea for Su Dingfang.
Su Dingfang quickly thanked him, took the tea with both hands, took a sip to his lips, then placed it on the coffee table next to him, and asked, "Erlang called me here, but do you have anything to give me?"
Fang Jun swallowed the snack in his mouth, wiped his hands with a handkerchief, took a sip of tea, then sat up straight, looked at Su Dingfang and asked: "What's the situation in Feiniao Jing now?"
Su Dingfang was slightly startled, looked at Fang Jun's face, frowned and said: "When I returned to Chang'an, I did not receive any news from Feiniao Jing, but there was an endless stream of merchant ships from the 'Eastern Datang Company' escorted by the navy. After arriving at Nambazu, the goods were transported from Nambazu to Asukakyo, and nothing unexpected happened."
He thought that there was something wrong with the Japanese country, which caused problems in trade. However, with the secret support of the navy, the Soga family slaughtered all the emperor's lineage. Now everyone in Japan is crying out for a fight. They have to curry favor with the navy to have the confidence to defend Asukakyo in the presence of wolves. How can they dare to Is there something wrong with the trade between the two countries?
Fang Jun shook his head and said slowly: "Today at the Great Court Meeting, Soga Hyuga met with His Majesty on behalf of the Soga clan and mentioned that he wanted the Tang Dynasty to confirm his status and give him enough help so that he could defeat many feudal states and unify the Japanese state. , has been a vassal of the Tang Dynasty for generations..."
"Mother! Is this Suga Hinata so brave as to eat a leopard?"
Su Dingfang was immediately furious.
Although he is stationed on Sado Island all year round, supervising the silver mining and transportation on the island, he is the naval commander after all and has all the intelligence information from all over the Japanese country. So when Fang Jun said this, he immediately realized that this was The Soga clan was no longer satisfied with the status quo and wanted to further seize the power of the entire Japanese country.
This seriously deviated from the interests of the Navy.
It is precisely because the situation in Japan is tense and the various parties are divided that the navy can turn around, making all forces have to rely on the navy to ensure their existence. But once the Japanese nation was unified by the Soga clan, they could completely close it down and enjoy themselves. At worst, they could sign some agreements that would humiliate the country and help the Tang Dynasty achieve stable development.
In this case, how can the navy still have the advantage of both sides and drive away tigers and devour wolves?
No matter from the standpoint of the Tang Dynasty or the Navy, a unified and stable Japanese country is absolutely not allowed to emerge.
The Suga family naturally knew what the navy's request was, so they dared to go directly to Chang'an without communicating with him beforehand, and pleaded in front of His Majesty Li Er to help him unify the Japanese country. Who gave them the courage?
Fang Jun sighed and asked: "Liu Renyuan...how are you doing in Feiniaojing recently?"
Su Dingfang was stunned immediately, widened his eyes and said, "Erlang... you can't, right?"
Soga is now the nominal emperor of Japan, but his power is limited, and his decrees cannot go beyond the scope of Yamato. Moreover, he must always face many surrounding feudal states trying to invade under the banner of revenge for the emperor and producing traitors. , the situation is precarious, and the navy has long been regarded as a life-saving straw. It is too late to kneel and lick it. How dare you act knowingly that it will harm the interests of the navy?
If the navy feels that the Soga clan can no longer be trusted and simply changes to a feudal state to replace the Soga clan, then the Soga clan will be doomed.
Under such a situation, unless someone gave Su Wo a promise behind his back, he would never dare to come to Chang'an and make such nonsense.
The highest officer of the Navy stationed in Yamato was the Navy Vice Admiral Yoo In-won who was transferred to Asukakyo after King Wu went to Silla to serve as King of Silla...
Fang Jun also had a headache, and sighed: "Man perishes for money, and birds perish for food. Who can know how ambitious someone is? Some people see the immediate benefits and think they can give it a try, and from then on they rise to great power. Of course it’s not impossible.”
Su Dingfang was silent.
As Fang Jun said, who in the world can really resist the temptation of money, power and sex? Today, Liu Renyuan is only the deputy general of the navy, and he is in charge of only a brigade of soldiers. He has to ask for instructions on everything in Asuka and cannot make his own decisions. For an ambitious person, it is really torture.
Another point is that Liu Renyuan has always been dissatisfied with Liu Rengui.
There is only one word difference in their names, but their personalities are completely different. Liu Rengui was calm, dignified, and cheerful, so Fang Jun ordered him to guard Da Nang. Although he only guarded Da Nang in name, in fact, due to the increasingly prosperous merchant trade between Tang Dynasty and Annan, a large number of merchants and people from the Tang Dynasty moved to Annan, causing Annan's population to skyrocket. , so the scope of Liu Rengui's actual control covers almost the entire prosperous area of the Red River with Songping County as the core. With the most powerful naval fleet in his hands, he seems to have ceded territory and become the king.
In fact, in the Annan area today, some merchants and people privately call Liu Rengui the "King of Annan"...
Liu Renyuan was stationed in Silla before. Although Silla was not as prosperous as Annan and had a small land and few people, he still guarded one side and his status did not disgrace Liu Renyuan much.
However, the Queen of Silla annexed the whole country, making Silla a vassal of the Tang Dynasty. His Majesty Li Er even sent King Wu to Silla to become the new King of Silla. Then Liu Renyuan could not continue to assist Silla and had to be replaced. Deployed to Asukajing.
The gap in status and strength between the front and back is really too big. If Liu Renyuan is unwilling to accept it, he secretly encourages the Suga family to ask His Majesty Li Er to agree to unify the Japanese country. Once it is done, Liu Renyuan will be the well-deserved "Governor-General of the Japanese Kingdom". "To control one side alone, you have great power.
The reason is really very good...
Su Dingfang looked gloomy and said in a deep voice: "Without Erlang, how could the Royal Navy be here? Without the Royal Navy, how could Liu Renyuan be where he is today? It's simply ungrateful, and he has both ends! Early tomorrow morning, the general will set off to return. Japan, please go to Asuka Capital first to check the situation. If this is really what Liu Renyuan did, the general will tie him back to the capital and come to Erlang to apologize!"
He was really angry.
Those who have not experienced the period of idleness and unrestricted ambition in the early years of Zhenguan will not be able to appreciate the great power brought by the admiral of the navy today, and the pleasure of being able to use their skills to pursue their ambitions.
By chance, he was able to enter the navy, and was favored by Fang Jun and entrusted with important tasks. Su Dingfang had already regarded the navy as Fang Jun's favorite, and he would protect him to the death. Anyone who dared to harm the interests of the navy would even Whoever betrays the Navy is his enemy, Su Dingfang!
Fang Jun was also very sad.
Once upon a time, I was very proud that I could recruit such famous generals as Su Dingfang, Xue Rengui, Liu Rengui, Liu Renyuan, and Cheng Wuting, who are famous in history. I fully relied on and trusted them, and dreamed of working with these people to create a illustrious career with great ambitions. Meritorious service, glorious for eternity.
Unexpectedly, people's hearts are bottomless and their desires are insatiable. After all, they still cannot satisfy everyone's pursuit of power...
Once it is found out that Liu Renyuan was behind the incident, no matter how it is dealt with in the end, cracks within the navy will inevitably appear, and it will naturally be even more difficult to make up for it.
There are some people who can share adversity but not wealth.
No matter how much you give, it will never be enough in his eyes, and it will not be as attractive as the benefits he can see in front of him...
