On the day Shen Tupan became official, Chen Chong sent him away. Logically speaking, when a high-ranking official like Sangong becomes an official, he should be accompanied by hundreds of old officials. However, firstly, Shen Tupan does not value power and does not have many subordinate officials. Secondly, the old man himself has a free and easy temperament and does not want to mobilize people, so Chen Chong only brought Two or three guards accompanied him along the relatively deserted Dumen Road.
What the two of them needed to say had been finished a few days ago. At this time, both of them were left in a leisurely mood, chatting casually about some poems and classics, as well as some recent strange people, among whom the most talked about was Liaodong. Beihai Longwei Guan Ning, it is said that like Shen Tu Pan, he was not interested in fame and wealth, devoted himself to studying, lived deep in the valley and was respected by the people. The world often compares him with Chen Chong's grandfather Chen Shi. The two said that it can be seen that there are many scholars in the world after all.
When the two of them walked to the Wei Bridge, Shen Tupan took the luggage from the guard and put it on the bullock cart led by the servant. Then he waved the crane stick in his hand to signal Chen Chong to stop, and said with a smile: "After a long journey, there is a farewell." Jian, you are a busy man, so you don’t have to travel far, it’s enough to be here.”
Chen Chong asked with a smile: "It's only the two of us, Mr. Zilong, who are going back to his hometown. Isn't it in the way?"
Hearing this, Shentu Pan showed a rather contented look, tapped his crane stick and replied: "I'm an old commoner and don't have much savings. What's there to be afraid of if I just follow the official path? What's more, the spring weather is good at this time, and I'm about to follow suit." Imitate the sages and take in the famous mountains and rivers along the way. Ha, Tingjian, you are not envious."
Seeing Chen Chong's helpless smile, he couldn't help laughing out loud. He was about to wave goodbye to him, but suddenly remembered something, and solemnly said to Chen Chong: "Ting Jian, after this separation, you and I will probably never see each other again, so I have something to tell you."
Seeing his expression, Chen Chong couldn't help but ask, "Is it about the restructuring?" Seeing Shentu Pan nodded in response, he asked, "Do you have any advice, Duke Zilong, but it doesn't matter."
Shen Tupan said: "You have thought carefully. In fact, there is nothing wrong with the restructuring of the orders. What I want to talk about is the personnel affairs with Bafu."
Seeing Chen Chong's attentive listening expression, he said slowly: "I see that Tingjian's reform was spread across the five states, but it was only inferior to Bafu. The inferred reason was simply to take the general into consideration. But in this way, Bafu's people I am afraid that because of his self-respect, it is foreseeable that he will disregard the new laws of the country and cause illegal and chaotic things in the future. Ting Jian must not worry about this!"
These words really hit the point, but Chen Chong did not answer this. After all, this matter involves a wide range of things. It is not only a personnel issue in Bafu, but also related to the stability of the two governments and the stability of the military in northern Xinjiang. It is not just words. It can be solved. Seeing that Chen Chong had no intention of discussing this in detail, Shentu Pan stopped there, got on the bullock cart and said goodbye to him with a smile.
After Chen Chong returned to his mansion, he kept thinking about Shen Tupan's advice and forgot about the matter of selecting another Taiwei. But in the end, he couldn't find any suitable way to smoothly implement the new system without causing discord with the Bafu. He finally laughed at himself and thought: Many things in the world are like this. Many things have obvious consequences, but there are reasons for delaying them. They say that they should nip the trouble in the bud, but in the end they still have to make up for it before it happens.
At the same time, in the Jinyang Overlord Mansion, the generals were indeed discussing the country's new system. It's just that unlike other states and counties, the new orders of Sili Mansion were implemented by Liu Bei at his own discretion in Bingzhou, and had little impact on the armies. The next thoughts on organizing and training the new army were the generals' concerned.
According to the idea proposed by Chen Chong, the domestic armies should be organized into five armies: in addition to the 40,000-strong Central Army that has been established, 80,000 Beifu Army should be formed in Bingzhou, 40,000 Xifu Army should be formed in Liangzhou, and 60,000 Xifu Army should be formed in Guandong. Dongfu Army and Weinan Army formed 20,000 Nanfu Army. Taking this as an opportunity, the military power of the governors of the prefectures and counties was returned to the central government, which also facilitated national dispatch. However, in this way, the country needs to set up four major governors: Dingxiang, Jincheng, Xingyang, and Chencang, each of whom will command the four armies and assume their respective responsibilities. Who will be entrusted with such a critical responsibility for the country is what the generals of the Bafu are concerned about.
Among them, the governor of Dingxiang is on the side of the Ba Mansion, so there is no suspense about his selection. If Liu Bei hadn't taken the post himself, he would have hired close people like Gongsun Zan and Zhang Fei. As expected, news soon spread in Ba Mansion that Zhang Fei, the right general, would rush to Dingxiang in the near future to supervise the construction of the new city.
As for the candidate for the governor of Chencang, the generals of the Bafu did not have any hope. After all, this post was set up to guard against Liu Fan in the south. Whether it was raising troops or making decisions on the fly, I was afraid that he would not be able to leave the Sili Mansion alone. Therefore, the generals reached a consensus: among the four major governors, this position is the least profitable. In fact, Chen Chong did decide on the candidate and decided to entrust Wei Yan with the important task of guarding Bashu.
But the remaining two candidates for governor can't help but make people feel itchy. According to old practice, it is most appropriate to transfer from the local governor to the governor. However, neither Zhang Ji, the governor of Yuzhou, nor Huangfuli, the governor of Liangzhou, was able to convince the public with their military exploits, and they themselves were better at managing the people. Therefore, the governors should choose from the two senior generals based on emotion and reason. No matter who is elected, it can be said that the dragon leaps into the sky and dominates.
Among them, the most envious ones are Da Sima, Yibi Sansi, who joined the imperial court to join the military, and Quyi, the Marquis of Xiping in Runan.
Although Qu Yi was promoted to the rank of Grand Sima in the Western Dynasty because of his assassination of Yuan Shao, and his title and title were second only to Liu Bei's, he was extremely wealthy. But when it comes to Qu Yi's power, it's another story. When he was under the command of Han Fu, he had organized and trained a private army of 800. After Yuan Shao came to power, Qu Yi was heavily used and his army was expanded to 4,000. After returning to the court, he led the army and was stationed in Juyang. Although the soldiers and armor could be replenished after going through battles, the power of being limited to one division was not what Qu Yi had originally expected.
Therefore, after hearing about this restructuring, Qu Yi was very moved, so when he and his tribesman Qu Guang were hunting in the Renma Mountain, they discussed: "I am more noble than the generals, and I have made great contributions to the country. In the east, I am quite I know the temperament of the generals in Hebei. In the west, I am originally from Liang, and I am familiar with Qiang fighting. This time I set up two governors in the east and west, one of them must take my turn! Otherwise, I will continue to be a great Sima like a decoration. How can I be a man's ambition? Where?"
Qu Guang was about to loosen the string and shoot the arrow. When he heard this, he was slightly stunned, and the arrow flew out of his hand and hit a place two steps away from the rabbit. The herbivorous hare was frightened, hurriedly got into the hole under the grass, and disappeared quickly.
After thinking carefully for a moment, Qu Guang did feel that it was a good opportunity to fight for power, but he was not as optimistic as Qu Yi. Instead, he reined in his horse, put his bow between his legs, and said hesitantly: "It's just that you are not a great person." If the general’s direct lineage is sorted according to the usual order, I’m afraid they’re still below Gongsun Zan and Taishi Ci. It’s probably not easy to get this position!”
Qu Yi had already thought about this. He hung a withered-feather arrow on the bowstring, and while aiming at a kestrel on the treetop, he said to Qu Guang: "It is indeed not easy to tell the general about this matter, but the DPRK It’s not just the general who makes the decision.”
Qu Guang was stunned for a moment, then quickly came to his senses and said, "Sir, are you asking for help from Captain Sili?"
"Yes!" Qu Yi responded and loosened his string. At this time, a flock of birds rose up in the forest. Their chirps fell like curses, but they could not conceal the clear sound of the kestrel landing.
"Hit!" The Cangtou happily ran forward, gathered around and picked up the kestrel and handed it to Qu Yi. Qu Yi smiled and did not take it. Instead, he let the Cangtou plucking the falcon's feathers. He left it to make arrows later, then turned to Qu Guang and said slowly: "When I killed Yuan Shao, it was Chen Chong who gave me the order. If I didn't look out for his sake, how could there have been such great changes in the six years of Yanxing? Speaking of which, he still owes me a favor."
Qu Yi looked at the treetops, looking for prey, and kept saying: "We all know that Sili Mansion and Ba Mansion are two houses, but they are actually one family. As long as Chen Chong agrees to my agreement, will Liu Xuande object? "
Although Qu Guang nodded slightly, he still couldn't believe it in his heart and asked: "What your Excellency said makes sense, but I heard that Colonel Sili never shows mercy when doing things. Your Excellency, I have been with him again in the past two years. Without any contact, would Commander Sili really grant such an important position to you?"
Qu Yi nailed a rabbit to the ground with another random arrow. When the Cangtou went to pick it up, he smiled and said: "Although Chen Chong is unkind, he is fair in his dealings. I wrote him a letter and recommended myself." Now, Chen Chong will probably agree. If you don’t think it’s possible, at worst, I’ll give you some gifts!”
Speaking of this, he immediately pondered on the spot, but Qu Guang still asked: "Didn't you say that Chen Longshou is an upright official and does not accept bribes?"
When Qu Yi heard this, he smiled and said: "It's just that you can't just give money directly. How can any minister really not be bribed? Zikun didn't know that when Captain Sili married Princess Wannian, the gift he received was worth thousands of gold. Isn't it right? How many? It is customary to give money to others, Zikun. When you get back, please wait a moment while I select some famous items from the treasures at home and let you send them over."
】
This statement made Qu Guang half-convinced. After all, it was a marriage with the Tian family. It was impossible not to accept gifts. It was difficult to compare with ordinary people. But looking at Qu Yi's words, he couldn't deny it. After returning home, Qu Yi immediately picked out a red coral that he had purchased for a large amount of money while in Hebei. As far as he knew, even when the Yuan family was at its peak, there were only three plants in the family. And in Quyi Mansion, it is naturally regarded as the top treasure.
Thinking that he would lose this thing forever, Qu Yi couldn't let it go for a while and wandered back and forth in the room for a long time. But considering the future, he finally stroked the graceful red branches of the coral and consoled himself: "Coral, coral, they all say that treasures have spirits. If you have spirits, please remember our many years of friendship. , bless me to get my wish!"
In the afternoon of that day, Qu Yi wrote a long letter of self-recommendation and military strategy, stamped it with Da Sima's seal, and then handed the coral and letterhead to Qu Guang, telling him to go to Beijing to negotiate the matter.
Qu Guang was very nervous when he suddenly got such a big responsibility. But after he saw the red coral, his eyes couldn't help but shine, and he thought: No matter how demanding the dragon head is, it's impossible not to be tempted when he sees this coral, right?
With this thought in mind, Qu Guang began his journey to Beijing.
