In the evening, Binzhou Sima Wei Baoluan took his soldiers and followed Yang Ji's messenger to the Binzhou Army camp. Looking at the castle-like military camp in front of him, his eyes couldn't help but become a little gloomy, and he thought to himself: "If the guard If the king wants to lead the capital to suppress the bandits, he will most likely end up without success."
When they were officials in the same state, some things could be hidden from their superiors but not from their subordinates. Binzhou governor Wang Shilang, Xiangle County magistrate Xin Tai and other officials were bribed by Qiaoshan bandits. Even though they kept it secret, as time went by, more or less Wei Baoluan, who was the state Sima, discovered the secret, and this was also the reason why he led the state soldiers to suppress the bandits three times and suffered three disastrous defeats.
But Wang Shilang is a descendant of Wang De. Due to the merits of his ancestors, he still had the title of Duke of Xiuwu in the Sui Dynasty, while Xintai is a descendant of Xin Wei. They both have powerful families behind them; so Wei Baoluan is In the absence of conclusive evidence, even if there are some "little words", one does not dare to report it without permission, lest the accusation fails and oneself suffers disaster.
All the way to the official office of the 5th Battalion of Zuoying where Yang Ji was located, he happened to see Zhao Hongan talking to a few dignified guards at the door. He quickly got on his horse and was about to step forward to talk when his eyes suddenly opened wide: He actually saw it. Yang Qing, the second son of Prince Hejian, and Yang Ying, the second son; Yang Xu, the fourth son, Yang Yan, the fifth son of King Ande; Yang Zhiqing, the second grandson, Yang Zhiyun, the third grandson of Nayan Yangda; the eldest son of Princess Guangping, Yuwen Xie, the second son Ziyu Wenjiao, in addition to Xiao Cong's second son Xiao Xi, Xiao Jing's son Xiao Jian, Xiao's descendant Xiao Huaijing, Pei's descendant Pei Xingyan...
Wei Baoluan was a disciple of the Wei family and the elder brother of the Crown Princess. Before he became an official, he had many contacts with these people. When he saw that these people were all dressed as bodyguards, he couldn't help but feel troubled.
As he was about to step forward, he suddenly felt that he was being stared at by a pair of sharp eyes. He saw a young man wearing a second-grade military attaché, sitting on the steps looking at him.
"Wei Baoluan, who is a humble official, has met the general." Binzhou is Zhongzhou, and the military commander of the military attache system is Ma Wei, who is in the fifth rank. Although Wei Baoluan did not recognize the young man, he was wearing a second-rank military attaché uniform. From the rank Said, far more than him. What's more, the "guards" around him are either rich or noble, and this person's identity is no longer obvious.
"Wei Sima is not polite!" Yang Ji stood up and just learned from Zhao Hongan that Wei Baoluan was Wei Xiaokuan's grandson and Yang Zhao's brother-in-law. He was thirty-one years old this year. Now that they were face to face, they realized that this military commander had a clear face and impressive bearing. He looked more like a civil servant than a civilian official.
At the same time, Yang Ji also knew that after Liu Jialun occupied Qiaoshan, Wei Baoluan led his troops to suppress the bandits three times in a row, and failed three times in a row. But based on some information revealed by Zhao Hongan, Yang Ji judged that Sima had been tricked.
"I wonder what this general is called?" Wei Baoluan was unsure of Yang Ji's identity, so he raised his hand and asked directly.
Yang Ji cupped his hands and said, "I am Yang Ji."
Wei Baoluan's heart trembled, and he hurriedly bowed again: "In this humble position, please see King Wei."
Yang Ji nodded: "Wei Sima, I came to the Binzhou Army Camp with two missions: first, to sort out the capital soldiers in the camp; secondly, to clear out the bandits in Qiaoshan. As Binzhou Sima, I have many details to ask later. Please teach me."
It is true to rectify the Beijing army, but it is not actually Yang Ji's responsibility to suppress the Qiaoshan bandits, but since there is such a bandit in Binzhou, Yang Ji will never sit idly by.
Qiaoshan is a large mountain. Part of it belongs to Fuzhou in the east and part of it belongs to Xiangle County in Binzhou. The part of Fuzhou is built on thousands of walls, which even the bandits dislike. Therefore, Liu Jialun's base area is the flat terrain of Xiangle County in Binzhou. county. Moreover, the main official road leading north from Guanzhong to the grassland was built along the north-south Maling River, and a section of it was in Xiangle County, which gave Liu Jialun an opportunity to make a fortune.
When Wei Baoluan heard this, he didn't even dare to say anything.
Just when everyone was preparing to enter the official office of the fifth camp, a horse came on horseback. He dismounted from a distance, stepped forward and saluted Yang Ji and said: "I humble myself to pay homage to the king."
"What's the matter?" Yang Ji asked.
The knight said: "Your Majesty, my humble position is that of General Doulu's family general. My general has set up a small banquet in the Chinese army's tent, and I would like to ask your Majesty to reward me."
"No reward!" Yang Ji had just arrived and had so many things to do. How could he be in the mood to attend the banquet? What's more, Yang Guang provided a lot of evidence related to Doulu Kuan. How could he go to the banquet? If he didn't know much about the Binzhou Army and didn't want to alert the enemy too early, Yang Ji would have killed everyone today.
What's there to do with someone like Doulu Kuan?
Rather than wasting time on meaningless banquets, it would be better to use it to reorganize the fifth battalion.
But his "no reward" made Wei Baoluan speechless. He thought that General Doulu Kuan was the nephew of the late emperor and was in charge of 70,000 soldiers. He was famous in Binzhou for his domineering behavior. Unexpectedly, The one in front of me is even better.
Everyone said that King Wei was arrogant and domineering, and this statement was absolutely true.
Of course, Yang Ji had other plans for this move.
At this kind of banquet, in addition to Doulu Kuan, generals such as Wang Sheng, Liang Hong, Tang Shizong, etc. will also attend; and he was originally ordered to rectify the Binzhou Army, and his presence has already made the generals in the army feel different. , people are panicked; if they adopt a business-like attitude and do not attend the reception banquet, it will further aggravate the panic of the military lieutenant generals, prompt their unity to collapse in the crisis, and ultimately create opportunities for themselves to understand and rectify the Binzhou Army.
The group of people entered the official residence and sat down separately as the guest of honor.
"Wei Sima, although I am new here, I am also aware of the evil deeds of the Qiaoshan bandits. I know that they gathered in the mountains and forests, robbed businessmen traveling south and north, and caused harm to the hometown." Yang Ji looked at Wei Baoluan and said in a deep voice. : "What is the reason that keeps you from being destroyed despite repeated attacks?"
Wei Baoluan cupped his hands and said shamefully: "Your Majesty, there are about two thousand bandits led by Liu Jialun, but they are hiding in the mountains. Once the officers and soldiers come to suppress them, they will get wind of it and flee. I have suppressed them three times in humble positions. , but every time they failed, not only could they not be wiped out, but they took advantage of the terrain to snipe and kill many state soldiers."
Yang Ji picked up the tea cup on the side, took a sip and said, "Why don't you send troops to guard the intersection?"
"The humble officials have sent troops to guard the four intersections where the bandits came down the mountain. However, if the number of troops sent is small, the bandits will concentrate their forces to attack the officers and soldiers at a certain intersection; if more state soldiers are sent, camps will need to be set up, and money, food and personnel will also be involved. There are so many." Wei Baoluan sighed and said: "Between the officials and the bandits, we are in a situation where the enemy is in the dark and we are in the clear. Our officials are unable to defend themselves and are defenseless. Therefore, I believe that simple defense is not a long-term solution. If the Qiaoshan bandits are not uprooted, the commercial roads in Xiangle County, Binzhou will not be peaceful for a day, so they take the initiative to attack."
A flash of resentment flashed in Wei Baoluan's eyes, and he said angrily: "However, the Qiaoshan bandits are very cunning. They not only have spies in Binzhou, but also have some official figures in their sights. Every time I send troops, my whereabouts are known to them. It is very clear that when Beizhong concentrated his troops, they dispersed in a rush; when Beizhong divided his troops to attack, they were defeated one by one. The above are the fundamental reasons why Beizhong was defeated repeatedly."
Yang Ji suddenly changed the topic and asked, "Given Wei Sima's conditions, is it not difficult to transfer him away from Binzhou?"
Wei Baoluan was stunned for a moment, and then said: "The imperial court did let me go to Ruzhou where the people are stable before last month, but I can't afford to lose that person. Firstly, I don't want to leave in despair, and secondly, if I leave like this Sorry, I'm sorry for the state soldiers who sacrificed their lives. If this group of thieves and bandits are not wiped out, I will never leave Binzhou until I die."
Yang Ji took Wei Baoluan's sad and angry look into his eyes. After half a day, he got a little understanding of this Binzhou Sima through Zhao Hongan's mouth: It's hard to say what his ability to command troops is, but from his words Judging from the three times he led the army to suppress bandits, he hated the bandits in the territory extremely, and the successive defeats made him more determined to suppress bandits than before.
Moreover, Wei Baoluan was the grandson of Wei Xiaokuan. He not only had the arrogance and pride of a descendant of Wei's family, but also had the mission of protecting Wei Xiaokuan's reputation and glory. However, he failed again and again in the process of suppressing bandits and lost Wei's face. How could he not want to avenge his shame?
Therefore, based on the above alone, Yang Ji can safely regard Wei Baoluan as a partner.
"You really want to annihilate this bandit, right?" Yang Ji asked.
"I really want to, even in my dreams." Wei Baoluan said sadly: "But the elite soldiers of Binzhou Prefecture suffered great losses in the battle, and the remaining soldiers were no longer able to fight; and they were defeated three times, and the capital of Binzhou Prefecture was defeated. The prestige has caused great harm. Now the state soldiers dare not fight and the people do not support it! The humble position is really powerless now."
Yang Ji nodded and asked again: "You just said that the officers and soldiers have repeatedly suppressed and arrested people, but the thieves and bandits had received the news in advance. Who leaked the news?"
Wei Baoluan's expression changed and he looked at Yang Ji in surprise.
"Wei Sima doesn't have to worry. I'm here this time not only to rectify the Binzhou army, but also to suppress the bandits." Yang Ji said: "I have a few questions about the bandits in Qiaoshan: First, besides the state soldiers, Binzhou , there are still "70,000" Beijing troops in the territory, it is not an exaggeration to say that there are a large number of troops gathered. In this case, Binzhou, even if it is replaced by Liangzhou bandits, which are countless times more ferocious than Binzhou bandits, they have to stay away; but The Qiaoshan bandits not only dared to establish a foothold here, but also unscrupulously harmed the countryside and robbed merchants and travelers. Who gave Liu Jialun such courage?"
"2. There are thousands of state soldiers in Binzhou. How can you prevent a group of thieves from getting wind of them three times? If no one tipped them off, who would believe it? Since someone tipped them off, then who is acting as the thieves? Eyeliner?"
"3. The Qiaoshan bandits led by Liu Jialun robbed merchants' property, and where were the jade, silk, livestock, leather and other stolen goods sold? And who is working for them? And the Qiaoshan bandits came and went. Who is facilitating the daily necessities purchased in the county?"
Wei Baoluan's expression changed greatly, he stood up and said: "Your Majesty, this is definitely not the result of despising one's position! If one is despising one's position and colluding with thieves, one will not die a good death! One's despising one's position..."
"I'm just discussing the matter, Wei Sima, don't panic!" Yang Ji interrupted Wei Baoluan's excuse and said with a smile: "You are the eldest brother of the Crown Princess and the future uncle of the country. You have a bright future, and your Wei family is not short of money. , you wouldn’t do something as stupid as collaborating with the enemy. But as a Binzhou Sima and a Qiaoshan bandit, you have recently appeared. Do you really know nothing about these three questions of mine?"
Wei Baoluan's expression changed for a moment, and his heart was struggling fiercely. Although Yang Ji did not use any coercive means and just analyzed everything rationally, such a simple analysis was enough to force him to give in.
Seeing that Wei Baoluan's expression was still tangled and he seemed to be undecided, Yang Ji's smile disappeared and he said in a deep voice: "Wei Sima, don't worry, no matter who is involved, I will investigate to the end, even if it is a descendant of my royal family, We will never tolerate adultery!"
Wei Baoluan gritted his teeth and lowered his voice and said, "Your Majesty, you are responsible for your humiliation and humiliation."
Yang Ji nodded thoughtfully and glanced at Yang Jian beside him.
"Your Majesty, I'll go guard the door." Yang Jian and Yang Renqi wanted to know what was going on, but he was more afraid of Yang Ji. When he saw him, he looked at him and said wisely.
"No need!" After all, Yang Xian was sent to study by Yang Guang, so Yang Ji naturally couldn't avoid him in everything. If you deliberately target him at every turn, it will only make him hostile in the subsequent "education", which will not be conducive to future transformation.
If his guard is removed and he is allowed to witness the darkness of the Sui Dynasty officialdom and understand the crises in the country and the causes of the crises, he may not be able to become a good person in the future and assume the responsibility of a prince.
"Here!" Yang Xian responded and stood back to where he was.
When Wei Baoluan saw this, he said: "There were originally no bandits in Guanzhong, but not long after the death of the late emperor, bandits sprung up like mushrooms after a spring rain. Especially in the early days of King Liang's rebellion of Han Dynasty, many bandits came down the mountain and caused trouble to the local area. Great damage. After the rebellion was put down, some bandits disappeared. This made people suspect that they were the secret agents of King Liang of Han Dynasty. At first, Beiji thought the same way, thinking that the Qiaoshan bandits were soldiers of King Liang of Han Dynasty, but later , and found that it was not.”
Yang Ji smiled and asked, "Why do you see it?"
At the end of the Sui Dynasty in history, bandits and bandits in Guanzhong broke out all over the place, killing officials, rebelling, and destroying the place. The imperial army in Guanzhong was thrown into the fire and unable to support Yang Tong in Luoyang. Even if Yang You sent out several troops, the situation in Guanzhong was suddenly tense and he had to retreat. Later, he returned for reinforcements; and in the early days of Li Yuan's rebellion, the Guanzhong imperial army was also pinned down by the Guanzhong bandits. However, after Li Yuan captured Bingzhou, all these bandits surrendered to Princess Pingyang. Under the leadership of Princess Pingyang, they fought against the imperial army. . Later, he surrendered Li Yuan together with new officials from various places and became Li Tang's loyal minister.
Therefore, ninety-nine percent of the so-called Guanzhong bandits were released by the Guanlong nobles. First, they did not want Guanzhong Yang You and Luoyang Yang Tong to join together; second, they wanted to reduce Li Yuan's pressure.
The same is true for these thieves in Guanzhong now. If Yang Liang wins, they will let these "thieves" dedicate Guanzhong to Yang Liang in exchange for the merit of following the dragon; if Yang Liang loses, only these "thieves" will be damaged. , rather than someone hiding behind a "thief".
"The thieves in other places have low-level positions! But the Qiaoshan thieves are most likely related to Governor Wang and General Doulu." Wei Baoluan said slowly: "The north of Binzhou is Qingzhou, among which Heshui County, Huazhou County, etc. Chi County is close to Qiaoshan, so Governor Wang opened several grain and oil shops in Heshui County and General Doulu opened several grain and oil shops in Huachi County. They exchanged grain, oil and salt for the value of silk, jade and other goods robbed by Qiaoshan thieves. They After this, the stolen goods were sold in stores in the capital. In fact, in February this year, the former governor of Gyeongju, Tian Shikang, discovered it, and there was a riot, but General Doulu and Governor Wang suppressed it; After moving to Yizhou, it was settled."
"Is the imperial court just letting it go?" Yang Ji frowned.
Wei Baoluan shook his head: "I have a humble position and I don't know the court's decision."
"Your Majesty!" Yang Qing said: "The focus of the imperial court in the first half of the year was to track down the rebellious officials in the fifty-two states and appoint new officials. In addition, there were canals and several official roads to be built, so it was very busy and chaotic at that time. . If General Doulu and Governor Wang jointly suppress it, the imperial court will most likely not know about it."
"That's it!" Yang Ji was silent for a while, and then asked Wei Baoluan: "Wei Sima, do you have any other evidence?"
Wei Baoluan smiled bitterly and said: "It is related to the legal system of the imperial court. How dare you collect evidence of Inspector Wang and General Doulu without your humble position? But they have frequent contacts with the Qiaoshan bandits, so it is impossible that they do not have letters and account books. Maybe there are also Qiaoshan bandits' lairs."
Yang Ji nodded and said, "Is there more?"
Wei Baoluan thought for a while and simply said: "Xianle County is located in the northwest of Qiaoshan. The four entrances for the bandits to go down the mountain are all in Xiangle County, and the county magistrate Xintai is also related to the Qiaoshan bandits; the previous two county magistrates Because Ling and the county magistrate were unwilling to collude with them, the Qiaoshan bandits sneaked into the city and wiped out their families. However, after Xintai took office, he led more than a hundred county officials to suppress the bandits many times, and each time he achieved success. ', not only has he secured the position of county magistrate, but he has also been appointed county magistrate. If nothing else happens, Xin Tai will be the one to replace the humble position."
Hearing this, Yang Ji sneered and said, "It's getting more and more interesting!"
"Your Majesty, these people seem to be trying to support bandits and kill good people to take credit for themselves?" Yang Xian couldn't help but ask.
After Yang Guang became the crown prince in Beijing, Yang Jian appointed Yang Jian as the general manager of Yangzhou to take over Yang Guang's mission to control the south. However, without the control of his parents, Yang Jian let himself go, drunkenly and dreamily all day long, and did not do anything serious. . But the person who was really in charge was Hejian Wang Yanghong, who was the general manager of Yangzhou School Inspection at that time.
It is precisely because of this that Yang Xun has not handled any government affairs so far and has no understanding of the dirty officialdom of the Sui Dynasty.
Yang Ji laughed: "Be more confident and remove the word "seem".
Yang Jian asked in confusion: "I, Sui Dynasty, actually have such a thing happen to me?"
"There are many local officials and generals who support bandits for their own sake and kill good people while taking credit for their merits! What Wei Sima said is just one of them." Yang Ji took the opportunity to say: "This is also one of the moths that harmed the Sui Dynasty. First, if they are not eliminated in time, they will run a state and a region into their own country, and all the evil things they have done and all kinds of stigma will have to be shouldered by the court. Over time, the people who cannot survive will rebel."
Yang Jian frowned and said, "What should we do now?"
"This matter involves a lot, let me think about it."
7017k
