"Brother, if you want to keep your position as the Mao family's commander-in-chief, you have to make the court think that you, the commander-in-chief, have ideas and can do things!"
Mao Yi heard this and asked curiously: "How do you say that?"
Xu He smiled: "Let me see, the canal is thousands of miles long, and there are problems everywhere. Some problems cannot be touched now, because they involve the interests of many people. When you first took office, your footing was not stable, and you affected other people's financial resources, but it hurt my eldest brother. unfavorable!"
"But yes, you can speak out openly!"
Mao Yi said happily: "What about?"
"For example, the imperial court transports grain and grass from south to north and travels back and forth throughout the year. Then why can't the officers and soldiers transport grain three times a year, two to the Beijing warehouse, and one to the Tongzhou warehouse?"
The water transportation in the Wei Dynasty was scattered all year round. Except for the freezing of the river water, it was almost either on the way to transportation or on the way back.
The officers and soldiers had no rest all year round and worked hard, but their food and pay were still pitiful.
Xu He meant that instead of doing this, it would be better to organize three centralized transportations in summer and autumn.
One is the summer harvest, the second is the autumn harvest, and the third is the supplement.
Moreover, there is still more than 80 miles of land route from Tongzhou to the capital.
For the third transshipment, simply unload the grain in Tongzhou and wait for the next year to transport it by land with the summer grain. In this way, you can avoid the cold northern winter, save a lot of firewood loss, and save the power of the cavalry army. Save the pain of running around!
This matter is so big that Mao Biao, a young boy who has just taken office, is a little unsure.
He called Uncle Liu, the think tank his father had left for him, to come over and discuss it.
Unexpectedly, Uncle Liu nodded repeatedly after listening and said: "This method is very good, but we need to build more grain ships. It seems to be a lot of waste at first, but in the long run, it is of little benefit." One disadvantage is good governance!”
After speaking, he looked at Xu He with a look of approval.
Originally, he thought that his young prince's sworn sworn relationship with this student was just nonsense.
But now it seems that there is indeed something in the other party's stomach.
Xu He added: "The Grand Canal is adjacent to the sea. Looking at the world today, the Japanese pirate rebellion is getting more and more intense. Although the Japanese pirates in our area are not as frequent as Zhejiang and Fujian, they still exist!"
Uncle Liu nodded and said worriedly: "Yes, the old Marquis personally escorted the grain to Liaodong the year before last. When he came back, he encountered Japanese pirates in Shamen. This group of Japanese were so bold that they dared to attack the canal ship. Later, the old Marquis pursued the Japanese pirates to North Korea. Within the territory, the boats were burned, and the Japanese pirates were killed and many drowned!"
Xu He nodded: "One of the responsibilities of our Cao Army is to appease the army and the people and catch bandits and thieves. The 12th Cao Army under my eldest brother can't just transport food!"
Mao Yi was a young man after all. When he heard this, his blood boiled and he said: "Great, I just want these thieves to test whether my sword is sharp!"
Speaking of this, Xu He concluded: "Brother, I have just summarized what I just said. The first is to supervise the transportation of grain and dredge the canal; the second is to improve the canal administration and eliminate the disadvantages of the canal; the third is to appease the army and the people and catch the bandits. Hunt for thieves!”
These three points are all what the Cao Army should have done, but as time goes by, everyone has forgotten their duties!
"But now that the civil servants are pressing hard, we must not only pick up our jobs, but also make highlights so that the court can see our achievements! In this way, eldest brother's status can be guaranteed!"
Mao Yi said excitedly: "Brother, don't take the imperial examination. Why don't you join me? I'll make sure you become the deputy commander-in-chief at the age of thirty!"
Xu He: "..."
Uncle Liu smiled at Xu He and said nothing, knowing that this was not his ambition, so he smiled and persuaded Mao Hao: "A great talent like Mr. Xu is wronged in Caoying! There are not many little Sanyuan in the world!"
Only then did Mao Yi realize that the other person was actually a scholar. He couldn't help but sigh: "Brother, if all scholars are like you, then I will be close to scholars!"
Xu He laughed and said: "Brother, what I just said was conspiracy!"
Uncle Liu raised his eyebrows and unknowingly lowered his voice and said, "Mr. Xu has another clever plan!"
You see, a person with a foreign surname can win the trust of two generations of water transport commanders, and his speaking skills can be learned for half a lifetime.
Conspiracy is not called conspiracy but cunning plan. It sounds so nice!
Xu He nodded and said: "According to the ancestral system, does anyone stipulate that the commander-in-chief of water transport must be a member of the Mao family?"
Mao Yi was stunned when he heard this, and after thinking for a long time, he shook his head: "My family relies entirely on the emperor's trust. The regulations of the imperial court do not say that someone must be from the Ningguo Marquis Mansion to serve as the general water transport soldier."
Uncle Liu interjected at this time: "According to the regulations, there are three sources for the selection of the general soldier of water transportation. One is the deputy governor of the Fifth Army Governor's Mansion or the governor's minister. The second is the local military attache who serves as a garrison, coordinating the garrison, and the chief and deputy commander-in-chief. Officers, staff generals, capital commanders and generals, and capital commanders and generals are all qualified to serve, and thirdly, the admiral and camp officer of the 12th regiment of the Beijing camp are also qualified to serve!"
Mao Yao was startled: "Can so many people take my position?"
Uncle Liu nodded solemnly.
Xu He said: "At this stage, eldest brother can still handle the pressure from the civil servants. If one day you can't handle it anymore, you can make a concession and ask the admirals of the Fifth Army Commander's Office and the 12th Regiment Battalion to take turns serving as the water transport commander!" "
Mao Yi became anxious when he heard this: "But..."
At this time, Uncle Liu slapped his thigh and said, "What a great idea! Instead of eating alone, why not lead the nobles to eat alone!"
Xu He admired Uncle Liu a little. He nodded and said: "Brother, can your family withstand the civil officials taking turns to participate in the impeachment? It's obviously impossible. Instead of losing your position to the officials, it's better to hold on to your noble family. Circle, bear the pressure together.”
Mao Yi didn't speak, his expression kept changing, and he finally nodded and said: "Brother, although I feel unhappy, I have to admit that what you said makes sense!"
Moreover, Xu He will take the imperial examination and become an official in the future. He is naturally a member of the civil service group. Mao Yi is very grateful to be able to say such words of putting himself in his own shoes.
In fact, Xu He and his uncle Xu Song have different views.
Xu Song felt that the nobles were the cancer of the country and must be eliminated as soon as possible.
But Xu He knew that in a country where only civil servants were in power and only civil servants had a voice in the court, it would actually be a very scary thing.
That's why he gave Mao Yi this idea.
After talking about the major coping methods, Xu He then talked about some technical methods.
"The Twelve Battalions under the command of the General Soldier of Water Transport have many problems. Is it possible that all of his governor's offices are honest and self-respecting moral saints?" Xu He reminded.
"Bullshit, the speed at which Liu Dingxiang, the patrol censor, earns money is measured in ten thousand taels!" Mao Yi said angrily.
Xu He nodded: "Should such a corrupt official be allowed to continue to trouble my elder brother at the Caodu Yamen? Also, what about Gong, who is in charge of floods? This flood has broken down the river embankments, causing the canal boats to fail. Shipments block the river, and the court spends so much money every year to build the embankment, but the dam bursts two years in a row. Isn't there something fishy in this?"
Mao Yi nodded thoughtfully and said, "Brother, what do you mean?"
"Make a fuss about this and make more noise. Let the world know that civil servants are not all good! Remember, don't speak out on your own, use some money, make a few corners, and let the civil servants impeach the civil servants!" Xu He instructed .
Mao Yi and Uncle Liu looked at Xu He blankly. Fortunately, this boy is one of their own, otherwise he would really not be able to survive it!
