Xu Kuangheng brushed his long beard with his hand and looked thoughtful, then he raised his hands to Li Yuan and said with a smile: "Commander, is this the reason why you sent the Imperial Army to gather at the East City Gate?"
Li Yuan said jokingly: "Yes and no. Firstly, I am really out of sight and out of mind about these things that rely on human power. As for secondly, since I know that King Zheng and his entourage coming from Dongting, they will definitely pass by the east gate, just in time to send his relatives." Just bring it along with the guards! Do you think, sir, that this commander is setting up a grand battle at the east gate to welcome King Zheng? Unless this commander is insane..."
Xu Kuangheng sighed: "I'm afraid all the civil and military officials think so! The commander-in-chief's wisdom is really incomparable to others!"
As soon as he mentioned this gang of powerful foreigners, Li Yuan suddenly said with a straight face: "Humph, how are these officials handled? I really don't believe that they don't know anything about it! Your Majesty, His Majesty the King of Zheng, and his son have worked thousands of miles to accomplish such a big event for the imperial court. How could we not inform in advance?”
Xu Kuangheng hurriedly replied: "What the commander-in-chief said is true! I have asked the clerk in charge of joint communications in the government office. Seven days ago, the imperial court sent someone to send a document detailing the matter of King Zheng's labor force. I, Wu Ping, must do it." We prepared the reception, but for some unknown reason, this order was withheld by several promotion officials!"
Li Yuan said coldly: "I don't know why? What else could it be, huh? It's nothing more than using power for personal gain. I just don't know where sir found such a bold and evil person! Since they want to trap me in injustice , then don’t blame me for being ruthless!”
Xu Kuangheng smacked his tongue, stared, and said with a trembling voice: "Commander, calm down! They were all in Xiahutu, and they didn't notice these duplicitous villains. It was just that the commander-in-chief had just established a festival at that time, and Wuping Town was in the new year. Returning to the imperial court, it was a time when everything was renewed, but there was no one around, so I had to choose some old officials from Langzhou and use them first..."
"The Point Guard Is Here"
Li Yuan frowned and said, "Are these people Liu Yan's officials in the past? How many people were involved in this matter?"
Xu Kuangheng did not dare to raise his head and replied softly: "Commander, I'm afraid there must be more than ten people... The east gate guard who neglected his duty is also an old member of Langzhou. At this time, he has followed the commander's order. , hang your head in public!"
The memory suddenly returned to a few months ago. When Li Yuan received the order from the imperial court to finally establish a festival, he was very happy, but he soon realized the trouble of truly taking charge of the military and political power of a place. It was almost impossible to do everything by himself, and he could not just sit aside. While commanding the war, he went to the government office to twist his fortune-telling beads, so he asked Xu Kuangheng, who served as the chief historian, to select talents from the lower state capital to enrich various government offices.
You must know that Langzhou has just experienced the war, and it is impossible to imitate the Tang Dynasty system in a short period of time and organize a large-scale recruitment of talents. Therefore, Xu Kuangheng can only use the traditional examination and promotion method to recruit talents, that is, the local governor recruits talents in the area under his jurisdiction. Internal inspection, selection of talents and recommendations to the Jiedu Envoy Office, and then appointment to official positions after probationary assessment.
Although this seems convenient, the problem lies behind. How could there be local governors in Lang and Li prefectures under Wu Ping's rule at that time? All the officials appointed by Liu Yan had already died or fled, and the government offices where the war spread were almost paralyzed. After all, this place had been ruled by the Chu State for decades. As long as there were scholars with some fame and talent, most of them were either Having served as officials under Liu Yan, or having seen through the world and hiding from the people with the idea of retreating, how much trust do they have in the Southern Tang court that they are new to and completely unfamiliar with?
The most important thing is that the ancient system of inspection and examination has left a stereotype of nepotism in the minds of the world, especially the common people who sneered at it. When Xu Kuangheng went to the prefectures and counties, he was not familiar with the place and occasionally struggled to wait. The one or two "talents" who came to apply for the job were all recommended by local wealthy families. After checking the household registration, they were at least related within three generations, not to mention blood relatives...
But the official office cannot be empty, so Xu Kuangheng has no choice but to choose some of the old officials of Langzhou who have surrendered. He will use them first and replace them when they stabilize in the future. After all, these people were able to serve as officials in Chu State in the past. , I can’t say how talented he is, at least he can write, and he also has some experience in running the state capital.
The consequences can be imagined. Most of these people recruited are opportunists. How can they be loyal to Li Yuan and the Southern Tang court behind him? It will cause trouble if used for a long time, but it is only a temporary move. This is also similar to what Li Yuan did when he reorganized the army. Among the 30,000 Langzhou soldiers he recruited, although the large and small generals were dispersed, almost all of them were retained in the army in the end to appease people's hearts.
But running an army and governing a government are two different things. Those who are in charge of an army must have a surrendered army and sufficient money and food. As time goes by, it will naturally be stable. For example, Li Yuan took advantage of the opportunity to clean up a group of old Langzhou generals such as Chen Li in Linyuan City. However, when they saw the bloody heads of the five former officers, the army officers did not react much, except for Li Yuan's Apart from reputation, they still know whose food they eat and whose soldiers they serve.
But governance is a different way of thinking. It is not like in the army, where you can kill a few people and be done with it. As the saying goes, officials protect each other, and the trees are big and have deep roots. If we really want to uproot these old people who have worked hard in the officialdom of Chu for many years, judging from the current scale of the old officials in Langzhou in Wuping, I am afraid that with a wave of the butcher's knife, the government offices will be empty again. ...
"Commander, have these dozen officials involved been dealt with as well?" Seeing Li Yuan frowning in thought, Xu Kuangheng asked cautiously.
Li Yuan naturally wanted to kill all these corrupt officials, but he still suppressed the anger in his heart and asked instead: "Sir, it's probably too late for the court's tribute this year!"
This topic suddenly jumped to the topic. Xu Kuangheng almost didn't react. He was stunned and immediately handed over his hand and replied: "You can register in November, but you can only catch up with next year! Does the commander-in-chief want to resume the tribute examination in Wuping?" But the talents selected by the tribute examination are all going to Jinling, how can the imperial court leave them to us?"
(Note: Among the surrounding countries of the Five Dynasties, the Southern Tang Dynasty had the strongest cultural atmosphere and the most emphasis on imperial examinations. As the fifth volume of "Xiangzu Notes" says: "During the Five Dynasties, the Central Plains was in chaos and documents were missing, but the cultural relics of the Southern Tang Dynasty were the best among other countries. ". The predecessor of the Southern Tang Dynasty was Yang Wu, who also attached great importance to scholars and imperial examinations. "Therefore, the northern scholars heard the news and were busy." Before 942, two subjects, Ming Jing and Law, were established, and then the Jinshi subject was restored)
Li Yuan shook his head and showed a mysterious smile: "Of course I will not send talents to the Qinhuai River to drink and have sex in vain. Sir, you should be prepared in the past few months. The registration will start as usual in November... ..."
Xu Kuangheng was confused when he heard this, and asked doubtfully: "Commander, do you really want to resume the tribute ceremony?"
Li Yuan nodded firmly and said: "Exactly! But this tribute does not need to be reported to the court. It will be hosted by the Wuping Jiedu Envoy Office!"
