After the Kaifeng court was eliminated, the Jurchens' military power completely collapsed. In the next step, Duke Zhou will definitely use Kaifeng as his backing. He will send his troops to the west to sweep across the Five Routes of Guan and Shaanxi to completely control the complete territory of the Jin Kingdom. To the south, he will frighten the Southern Dynasties and maintain the stability of the thousands-mile border between the two countries. As a result, even if Kaifeng's status is not as good as when it was founded as the capital, it will not drop much.
It doesn’t take a brilliant political mind to imagine that within the sphere of influence of Ding Haijun, Kaifeng can at least be on par with Zhongdu and Yidu; Nanjing of the Jin Dynasty will most likely continue to be the capital of the Zhou Dynasty. of Nanjing.
Then continuing the inference, it is inevitable to establish a left-behind jurisdiction in Nanjing first, and then establish a military and political institution at the level of the Privy Council or the Marshal's Office.
The soldiers had secretly speculated before, and they all felt that Monk Luo should be the one staying in Nanjing, or it was possible that Han Xuan was transferred here from Liaodong.
As a result, Guo Ning casually ordered Guo Zhongyuan to stay in Nanjing on the day he entered the city. Yin Chang was his deputy, and Yan was responsible for transportation and financial management. None of these people are from Guo Ning's old Hebei team. They are all newcomers who have joined him one after another after his rapid rise. Among them, Guo Zhongyuan, who has the most seniority, has only been with Guo Ning for three years. In three years, he went from being a general to staying behind in Nanjing!
The generals of the Ding Navy generally have a view that Guo Ning is magnanimous and trustworthy in employing people. Those who take refuge in him will definitely be promoted as long as they are loyal and talented. When it comes to Zhi and Zang Fu, Guo Ning never considers his closeness or seniority. He treats everyone equally, and he has no scruples about promoting capable people, faster than imagined.
But there was always a limit to everyone's imagination before. The boldness of these appointments was so unexpected that even a steady person like Guo Zhongyuan felt a little out of control tonight.
If Guo Ning heard such flattery from his subordinates, he would probably smile and shake his head without comment. In this regard, he always felt that his subordinates looked down upon him.
The so-called premise of being generous and treating everyone equally is that there are real direct descendants available, but they are not used.
Guo Ning has no real direct descendants at all. If he wants to be nepotistic, how can he get close relatives?
A few years ago, on the way from Northern Xinjiang to Hebei, Guo Ning once gathered a team of thousands of people. However, when he could not further provide what these people needed, the thousands of people dispersed in an instant. The few companions who had always followed him soon died in the mud between ponds and rivers in Hebei.
Since then, Guo Ning has figured out a lot. After that, many people who gathered in Jingcong thought they were Guo Ning's direct subordinates. But in Guo Ning's heart, he didn't actually expect their loyalty to the death.
Guo Ning naturally rewards loyalty externally to maintain the regime, but at the same time he can tell himself calmly that loyalty can never come from unilateral efforts. He can clearly understand that there is no unreasonable loyalty in the world. Everyone's loyalty to Guo Ning requires Guo Ning to pay something in return, and everyone needs to get something from the rising regime.
This process of giving and receiving from each other is the process in which the relationship between the monarch and his ministers continues to fit in and becomes more stable.
But the rewards Guo Ning gives cannot be unlimited. If the political power itself wants to grow and rise, it must abandon some of the vines that cling to the big trees to draw nutrients. This requires Guo Ning himself to have a clear understanding and use some means to actively limit or mediate.
For example, Yelu Chucai was the first outstanding civil servant to join Guo Ning, and he had a very high status in Ding Haijun. The reason why he took refuge in Guo Ning was to satisfy his ideal of wielding great power and reshaping the politics of a great power.
Yelu Chucai certainly has talents and achievements that are consistent with his ideals. But at the same time, he was inevitably too close to the old people in the imperial court in Zhongdu. As Guo Ning's power expanded, his hands-on character was sometimes seen as too much power by the outside world.
What's even more outrageous is that his favorable treatment of the Khitan people has recently led to instability in many tribes bordering Goryeo on Posu Road, Helan Road, and generals such as Heshi Liehuanduan complained privately.
For example, Wang Shixian was one of the defeated soldiers in Hebei who was good at doing business and lived a relatively comfortable life. Therefore, Guo Ning often asked him to come forward to support Li Yun in matters involving maritime trade or merchants. But he was very greedy for money in private. Taking advantage of the opportunity of supervising the navy, he secretly set up a trading company to make huge profits between Goryeo and Song Dynasty.
During the previous riots in Zhongdu, Wang Shixian was the first to bear the brunt. The rebels hit him with a heavy object until his face was shattered. He was almost killed on the spot and has still not recovered. But under such circumstances, he still followed the army to Kaifeng to prepare for military affairs consultation, which can be said to be extremely loyal to state affairs... Could Guo Ning really criticize his little family business openly?
This is true for everyone, including ordinary soldiers in the Ding Navy.
These soldiers experienced the absurd governance of the Jin Dynasty in the last years, experienced the humiliation of being ridden on their heads by Jurchens, and experienced the fear of being slaughtered like grass by the Mongolian army. Therefore, when Guo Ning gave them safety , status and the glory of victory, they also jumped for joy.
However, does this guarantee that they will all be loyal to Guo Ning?
That's not necessarily the case.
At this moment, when Guo Ning already had a clear order, so many people dared to throw the order aside for the sake of a little money in front of them or a few ounces of meat in their crotch. Leaving aside the brave fighting on the battlefield, if there is temptation outside the battlefield, are these soldiers reliable?
If you doubt them, it would be an insult to them to throw their lives and blood, but when it comes to unconditional trust and indulgence, a generation of heroes should never be like this.
This is why Guo Ning beats Li Ting from time to time.
Guo Zhongyuan and many officers heard that Guo Ning was furious because of the wanton behavior of Li Ting's troops and had gone to Li Ting's headquarters, preparing to kill people and establish rules. They saw the solemn expressions of the military judges patrolling the city, and they became more and more convinced that Li Ting had caused quite a stir. This time, Zhou Guogong not only wanted to chop off someone's head, but also skinned Li Ting.
His news was pretty much the same.
Guo Ning did arrive at Li Ting's headquarters, and he did angrily order Li Ting to strictly enforce military discipline and immediately gather his subordinates. Outside the Chinese army tent, hundreds of soldiers heard Guo Ning's rebuke, and they were all scared into silence. .
The night was getting darker, and the Chinese army tent door was kept open. That was because Guo Ning wanted to keep a close eye on the troop dispatch outside.
But it was difficult for the soldiers who became wild to restrain themselves for a while. Although Li Ting's bodyguards were running around to pay back the troops, as far as Guo Ning could see, there were still dazzling flames caused by arson by the rebels. Occasionally, the wind direction changed, and thick smoke would flow into the military tent with the wind, causing the two of them to choke.
After persisting for a while, Li Ting couldn't help but get up and closed the tent door.
He and Guo Ning have a deep friendship, and both of them have saved lives on the battlefield. When others were around, he cared about the distinction between superior and inferior, as if he couldn't hold his head up after being scolded by Guo Ning. Don't dare to talk nonsense. After closing the door, it was his brother who spoke. He relaxed completely and went to the corner of the military tent to get a big pot and two cups.
He was seriously injured in the fire scene today. At this moment, his body, left leg, right shoulder and arm were wrapped in thick white cloth with a strong smell of medicine. Because of the tight bandage, it was very inconvenient for him to move, so he was very careful when holding cups, pots and other objects.
Turning around, he put his arms on the back of the chair, poured himself a cup of the contents of the pot, raised his head and drank.
Seeing his lazy look, Guo Ning could only sigh: "When I came here, I was worried that you would be burned and injured and unable to control the people. Now it seems that you are in good spirits!"
"We had a great time fighting today, how can we lose our energy?" Li Ting also looked at Guo Ning and asked with a smile: "My lord, would you like a drink?"
Guo Ning frowned: "Is this wine?"
"It's just mash! It just smells like wine! You just took Kaifeng, what's wrong with drinking some mash!"
Guo Ning took the cup and took a sip. This is not mash, it is clearly wine, or good wine.
Li Ting is becoming more and more courageous, but Guo Ning is not angry.
There were no outsiders in the tent, and his attitude became much more relaxed and natural. After drinking all the wine, he asked: "As mentioned earlier, have all the people and big families that need to be cleaned up been dealt with?"
Li Ting responded: "Don't worry, I'll do the work. Most of the people who are responsible for doing it are my close friends. They can kill people and get money and food benefits. In addition, they also brought along a few hard-to-treat thorns in the army. We just took this opportunity." , pursued the culprits and chopped them off."
Cleaning up Kaifeng was a tacit understanding between the two of them early on. Although Li Ting suffered a big loss when he entered the city, he still succeeded on the grounds that it was difficult to control the insurrectionary troops.
By doing this, Li Ting took the initiative to bear the charge of indiscriminate killing. It would not be wrong for him and Guo Ning to lose even a little bit of mutual trust.
Guo Ning nodded slightly and did not continue speaking.
Li Ting waited for a while, felt a little strange, and moved forward. Seeing Guo Ning thoughtfully, he couldn't help but smile and shout: "Looking at your expression, I'm afraid you're going to arrange something for me!"
"Quiet!" Guo Ning knocked on the table in front of him and said in a deep voice: "You suffered a lot of losses and massacres in this military expedition. Even if you judge the merits and crimes, you still have to convince the public."
"Then you are not allowed to fight a few more battles, make some meritorious deeds, and then exchange the merits for the crime?"
Li Ting responded casually, and when Guo Ning shook his head, Li Ting frowned.
After thinking about it, he suddenly realized: "This move of troops has depleted all the wealth we have accumulated for a long time. Otherwise, you would not have wiped out the weeds in Kaifeng to rob the wealth of those Jurchens. The next step is to In the next half year, we all have to tighten our belts and live our lives, so we won’t have to fight another big war, right?”
Guo Ning nodded: "Not to mention a year and a half, it is best not to fight for three to five years. We really can't afford to fight."
"Then where can I go to make meritorious service?"
Li Ting looked at Guo Ning's expression again and rolled his eyes twice: "I understand, if you specifically accuse me of setting up an army to commit robbery and murder, I will definitely not get a good place! Where do you want me to go? Guan Shaanxi ? Or Xijing Road?"
"Over at Xijing Road, Zhao Jue, Qiu Huiluo and others are in charge. They have enough manpower and there is no need for you to interfere. I will give you two months to select your troops, appease the families of the soldiers, and select a few suitable surrenders. General, go to Guan Shaanxi."
"Guan Shaan?" Li Ting thought for a long time: "It's okay to go to Guan Shaan! However, there are three conditions."
"Just tell it."
"First, the Five Guan-Shaanxi Roads have always been poor and in short supply, and military resources rely on the support of the Nanjing Road. The person in charge of the Nanjing Road must be a reliable person, otherwise..."
"Guo Zhongyuan will stay in Nanjing."
Guo Zhongyuan was Li Ting's partner when he was a gangster in Dadu. The two have known each other for more than ten years. After learning about this appointment, Li Ting became obviously happy: "Okay, great!"
"What about the second condition?"
"Not all of my troops in Hebei are willing to go to Longshang. This matter cannot be forced. Those who are not willing to travel far can still report their merits, which will be left to the next envoy of the Ying Navy. When I go to Longshang, I have to recruit troops on the spot. Select generals, arrange for military households to work in the fields, and then assign them to shade households."
"There are gold medals, silver medals, confession papers, etc.; the number of soldiers to be recruited, including the tribesmen you brought to Longshang, is limited to 30,000. No matter how much more, Guo Zhongyuan can't afford it even if he digs three feet of ground here. "
"Okay! Thirty thousand people are enough!"
"What about the third condition?"
Li Ting coughed twice and said sternly: "When I go to Guanshan, I have to have a name that is enough to scare people. Otherwise, it will be difficult to do things first, and secondly, outsiders will think that I, Li Erlang, have been demoted. I am losing face." The upper whiskers don’t look good.”
The last thing said is often the most important. Li Ting was born in Zhongdu. Since childhood, he has often resented his humble background and being looked down upon by others, so now, he is more enthusiastic about official positions than ordinary people.
Guo Ning liked his temperament of speaking openly behind closed doors, so he was not polite at the moment:
"After taking Kaifeng, the Zhongdu court will make subsequent moves. In a month or two, my title as Duke of Zhou will be changed, and the entire official system will be greatly changed. I will no longer follow the old Jurchen customs... Jin Qing has already prepared for this. By then, you will have a title that is so majestic and scary!"
"Let's talk about the future later, what about now?"
"Right now, in the name of Marshal's right deputy governor, you will be in charge of the military affairs of Guanlong Fifth Road! However, our force has been exhausted. You can neither let Song or Xia take advantage, but also stabilize the situation as soon as possible." Keep an eye on the local situation and avoid turmoil or fighting!"
Since ancient times, tasks that are both necessary and necessary have been the most difficult. However, Li Ting became visibly happy when he heard the name "Marshal's Right Deputy Superintendent".
He nodded repeatedly and said, "That's great!"
