The Dongxiang County Government Office Hall is located at the highest point in the city. After getting up, Yang Xing stood at the door and stretched comfortably, overlooking the city. This was basically the first thing he did every morning, because it reminded him not to be complacent. Keep moving forward, this city is too shabby and too small!
He saw his lieutenant, Feng Baishan, walking up the stone path with his head lowered. When he entered, Yang Xing greeted him: "Shiju (Feng Baishan's character name), have you ever used breakfast?"
In the past, he was not used to it like rich men, but since entering Dongxiang City, he has gradually developed a habit of eating breakfast.
Feng Baishan smiled and held up his hands: "Good morning, Marshal, good news! This is much more important than early morning!"
"Oh? What news?"
"Some people saw some wandering people in Baishuitan. They said they were civilians who gathered in Geyangwei on a business trip. They were dispersed and wandered to this area. They exchanged things with people for some food."
"White Water Pool, which White Water Pool?" Yang Xing asked hurriedly. People often name places casually. There may be several places with names like Baishuitan, Lion Rock, and Chashu Slope in two or three neighboring counties, so Yang Xing asked where they came from.
"Ten miles southeast of Yujiang River is the boundary of Yingtanfang, Anren County."
"Oh?" Yang Xing immediately put on the short coat that was casually draped on his body, and tied the belt button on the right side. People? Do you have weapons?"
"It is said that there were only about ten people we met, and they seemed to have weapons. Our number was too small and we didn't dare to get close. We saw them talking to the villagers, so we went to inquire after they left." Feng Baishan rubbed his hands:
"The Marshal is as resourceful as a god. What do you think is going on in Geyang? Could it be that the Lou Army has launched another attack? If so, if we respond at once, it will only be a matter of time before we take over central and southern Jiangxi!"
After he finished speaking, Yang Xing didn't answer for a long time, so he had no choice but to wait patiently.
"Shi Ju, send someone to Guixi to explore and find out who took over Geyang. I don't think it was done by the Lou family." Yang Xing said:
"Although Lou Zishi got the grain from the autumn harvest, he suffered a lot from the attack on Shangrao. It is unlikely that he would abandon Shangrao so soon and go to attack Geyang." Yang Xing told Feng Baishan in a deep voice:
“This person is very ambitious, but he is too cautious and not enterprising enough.
It was indeed a clever move to suddenly leap to Geyang to attack like this. He grabbed Shangrao's neck when he came up, but this was probably not something Lou Zishi could have done, unless one of his sons was disobedient!
Lou Shiming, at best, is him. But why should he be disobedient? I really can't think of a reason. "
"Maybe... he instigated others to do it?"
"That's possible!" Yang Xing nodded: "So you hurry up and find out about this matter and report it!" Feng Baishan agreed and was about to leave when he stopped him again: "Speaking of Yu Jiang, it seems that it's time to give me a report again. It’s the day Anren delivers supplies, right?”
"No." Feng Baishan nodded: "This Anren is too troublesome. He is so poor that he still has to be supported by us. If you ask us to abandon him, we can bring him back more power!"
"What do you know?" Yang Xing said dissatisfiedly: "Anren is the main transportation road between the north and the south. If we block it, we will stop Nanchang from saving Shangrao. Unless he lets the army go over the mountain from Meiling, otherwise there will be no way Don’t even think about having sentry reinforcements or a bucket of food!
Besides, when we enter eastern Jiangxi in the future, we have to take the Anren and Yugan roads, so it has to be kept first. After saying that, I thought about it: "There has been no news from An Ren for a while. What are they busy with all day long?"
"Then, should I send a brother to take a look?"
"That's not necessary. Tell the food delivery people in Yu Jiang and ask them to pass on a message and ask Anren to write down the details of Dingkou and shipbuilding for me to see!
Yizhihua (Lian Daxiang) is about to send troops to recruit talents. They can't afford the money and food. Anren still has a few small towns and can provide some civilians! "
"Understood, I'll do it right now!" Feng Baishan said and cupped his hands, and went down to arrange for someone to send a message to Yu Jiang.
In Zhongjing City, in the Chongwen Hall of the Imperial Palace.
Zhao Tuo lowered his head to drink tea. What he drank was also loose tea, but it was the best Lu'an Guapian.
Since Emperor Renzong, the palace
In China, the purchase of group tea has been greatly reduced, and the number of loose tea is increasing day by day. The traditional way of drinking tea is only preserved among the women in the harem, but this remaining half is gradually being given up to loose tea.
After all, the simple and fast way of brewing is more in line with the development of the times.
Putting the tea cup back into the tray, the waiter stepped back, and then Zhao Tuo raised his eyes and glanced at the several cabinet ministers lying on the ground. "Everyone, please get up and sit down." He said in a dry tone. He had no choice but to feel unhappy!
Early in the morning, these guys came to report: Your Majesty, I want to tell you a piece of bad news and a piece of good news. First of all, the good news is that Anren County has been recovered. The bad news is that Guangxin Prefecture has lost three counties, and the traitor Yang He has begun to attack Fuzhou. .
Under such circumstances, should the emperor still treat him with a smile?
Zhao Tuo is not the kind of emperor who is particularly diligent, and he does not need ministers to wait on him every day to get up and go to court. He set a rule for himself that he would have two umrahs on the first and fifteenth day of every month, and then he would have at least one hour of umrah with cabinet members starting at 4 o'clock every day.
If there are serious military and national affairs, serious natural disasters, border warnings, etc., special meetings can be held.
On the four festival days of the New Year, Shangyuan, Zhongyuan and Mid-Autumn Festival, the imperial court held grand congratulatory ceremonies, and all officials in Beijing and foreign envoys were required to attend. So in total, officials have the opportunity to see themselves twenty-eight times a year. Isn’t that enough?
Of course, officials in some departments saw the emperor far more than this, such as the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Personnel.
Among the five cabinet ministers kneeling below, excluding the first assistant Yang Zhen, there are Cui Junyong, the Minister of the Ministry of Husbandry, Ji Guoliang, the Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, and Han Wei, the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. The other one is a representative of the military people. Hou Xie of Zhuguo.
Seeing them getting up with the help of the chamberlains and sitting tremblingly on the golden pier, Zhao Tuo sighed secretly. My own cabinet members are all too old!
Needless to say, the chief assistant Yang Jin is the youngest. Cui Junyong is 66 years old this year. Ji Guoliang is 71 years old and has already submitted a letter requesting to become an official. Han Wei is 67 years old.
The right governor Hou Xieze was simply the flag bearer who carried the flag when Emperor Taizong raised his troops to suppress the calamity. He is the oldest in qualifications, he is already seventy-two years old this year!
But Yang, Ji, and Hou are the five auxiliary ministers left to him by the late emperor (the other two are Yang Shizhen, who has passed away, and Zeng Que, who retired from the world the year before last). Even if he wants to change, he has to find someone to replace him. This is a step and an opportunity, and it cannot harm the late emperor's face too much.
Besides, the court officials had already begun to make plans for the three cabinet positions, and fought openly and covertly for countless rounds. Zhao Tuo only hoped that this kind of competition would not affect the operation of the empire, but now it seems that some things cannot be avoided. , what is supposed to come will eventually come.
He picked up an impeachment memorial on the coffee table and asked: "Yang Shoufu, I heard that Jiangxi has frequent correspondence with you. As long as there are people coming from Nanchang every three days, why are the Jiangshan army starting to attack Fuzhou? I just heard Are you saying that Nanchang has no troops to send?
Is Yang Tao still acting as chief envoy there? What has he been busy with all month? "When he said the last sentence, he couldn't help but slap the memorial on the table.
"I made an oversight, and I... am guilty!" Yang Zhen hurriedly left his seat and knelt down to kowtow again.
"Your Majesty, calm down." Ji Guoliang quickly stepped forward and knelt next to the old chief assistant. As the person responsible for the Ministry of War, he couldn't sit still when talking about the situation of the army. He felt that it was necessary to say a few words:
"Since the defeat of the official army in Huangxi Town, Jiangxi has been working hard to restore the number of army personnel. However, recruitment takes time, and training into an army requires at least three months before it can barely fight. Therefore..."
"Has the Ministry of War received the document reporting the victory of Raozhou Prefecture's recovery of Anren?" Zhao Tuo asked coldly: "Now that I have received it, I would like to ask you, how can Yu Gan cooperate with the army to support the internal and external cooperation after forming a regiment for more than a month? Were you able to break through the siege of lake bandits?"
"Uh, this... I, I don't know much about the details." Sweat broke out on Ji Guoliang's forehead.
"Things that can even be accomplished through group training, why do the officers and soldiers need three months of training before they can barely fight?" Zhao Tuo was so angry that he slammed the table repeatedly. Eunuch Liu hurriedly stepped forward to dissuade him, but was frightened by his loud reprimand and he shrank back. .
"Then let me ask you again, how many new soldiers have Nanchang recruited after all this time?"
「
According to, it is said... there are, there are nearly three thousand people. "
"Ha! With the efforts of a whole province, we can only gather less than 3,000 people? Wow, do you think I am young and easy to fool, right?" Zhao Tuo was almost furious. Several ministers had no choice but to kneel down and replied in unison: "I don't dare!"
"Hey, what's going on, the emperor is so angry?" Following the words, Empress Dowager Zhang stepped into the palace, waved her hand and asked several old ministers who were busy saluting to stand down without saluting, and then walked over and pulled Zhao Tuo's hand. hand:
"Your Majesty's voice is loud and full of energy today. It seems that he slept well last night!" He said and gently pressed the back of his hand.
"Mother..." Zhao Tuo's eyes turned red and he quickly helped her sit down.
"I heard His Majesty talking all the way outside. I thought I hadn't seen him for several days, so I asked them to bring the chariot in." After speaking, Empress Dowager Zhang looked at the senior ministers and gestured with her hand:
"Everyone, please take a seat. We haven't seen each other for a while. Do you mind if we chat for a while?"
The five people hurriedly raised their hands and said, "How dare you, my ministers?"
"I hear you guys are talking lively here, but I don't know what the topic is? What are you talking about?"
Zhao Tuo then found the memorial from the Chief Envoy of Jiangxi Province and handed it over: "Mother, please read this. I received it this morning."
"Oh?" Queen Mother Zhang took it and glanced at the five cabinet ministers while holding it in her hand.
"Reporting to the Queen Mother, the Chief Envoy of Jiangxi Province sent a quick report today, saying that the bandits are very powerful. Yintuo who escaped earlier has returned and defeated Geyang and other three counties, Shangrao and Guangxin... The news has been cut off. He also said that the bandits Yang He's tribe Start attacking Fuzhou..."
After hearing this, Queen Mother Zhang's smile gradually solidified, and she lowered her head to read the booklet page by page. After reading it, he slowly raised his head, returned the memorial to the emperor, and said with a wry smile:
"This Yang Tao, he has a lively mind. As soon as he regained Anren, he pushed all the problems away, and then he probably wanted to clap his hands and breathe a sigh of relief. Such a person is not suitable to be a frontier official!"
Yang Zhen trembled in his heart, but now that the Queen Mother had said this, he looked at the emperor's face and sighed secretly in his heart: "I accept the decree and send Yang Tao back to the court immediately!"
"Don't blame me for being cruel. Jiangxi's corruption affects the country's tax base. If it affects South Zhili, Zhejiang and even the two lakes, the country will be in danger!"
At this time, extraordinary means must be used to suppress it quickly. How can we hesitate to save face? After speaking, Queen Mother Zhang looked at the emperor: "Your Majesty must think so too, right?"
"My mother is wise!" Zhao Tuo said, "I am thinking that we should send a minister who knows the military to go to Jiangxi to take charge of the overall situation."
"Alas, it's a pity that your master Zeng has left the country..." Empress Dowager Zhang did not continue and asked, "Then the emperor has a suitable candidate in mind?"
"I was about to ask your ministers for their opinions."
Empress Dowager Zhang nodded with satisfaction, turned around and asked, "Do you have any recommendations?"
"I recommend that Zhu Tianfu, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, once supervised the exchange affairs of the two towns of Yulin and Datong in the northwest. He can be said to be a knowledgeable soldier."
"Hey, he has never fought a single battle, how can he be said to know the military?" Hou Xie shook his head repeatedly with his white beard in his hand, expressing strong disapproval of Dui Han Wei's words.
"Well, how about bringing back Li Jinyuan, the governor in Hunan?"
"Far water cannot quench near thirst." The old man once again rejected Ji Guoliang's choice.
"I originally wanted to recommend Gao Liseng, the Xuanfu envoy of Sanliao, but you blocked me again with this sentence." Cui Junyong is also from Liaodong. He originally recognized Gao's performance, but the candidate was far away from Jiangxi than Hunan, so he had to give up.
"The Governor must have a good commander to recommend you." Yang Zhen said with a smile, but Hou Xie did not answer.
"Don't ask him, he must have said that he can't think of anyone else except Hou Xie." Empress Dowager Zhang joked, making everyone laugh.
Hou Xie, however, did not laugh. He bowed and saluted and said, "If Your Majesty and the Queen Mother want the veteran to recommend talents of any kind, the veteran can think of someone who can think of someone. But if you have to appoint a scholar as the commander-in-chief, the veteran will not dare to participate."
This statement involved a civil-military dispute, and everyone was speechless for a moment and looked at each other. It was the emperor who said: "Please put down those messy thoughts.
How can we still limit ourselves to civil and military affairs at this time of crisis for our family?
Now the whole of Jiangxi is in chaos. This is the most difficult situation the country is facing. You should abandon the civil and military disputes and focus on the overall situation. Dear friends, do you think I am right? "
"Your Majesty is wise, I have no objections!"
"Okay!" Zhao Tuo and Queen Mother Zhang looked at each other: "Then, please tell me, the right governor, do you have any good candidates? Even if he needs to be promoted, as long as he can put an end to the chaos and restore order to the country as soon as possible, I will No matter what!"
"I would like to thank your Majesty in advance." Hou Xie held his hands tremblingly, and then said: "Actually, your Majesty should have an impression of this person. What I want to recommend is Shi Hao, the first martial arts champion of the late emperor."
"Oh!" The emperor and Queen Mother Zhang were stunned for a moment before they both remembered. "Where is he now?" Queen Mother Zhang asked.
"The Empress Dowager, your Majesty, Shi Hao is now the commander of the Suiyang Guard, one of the four superior guards. He is the Commander-in-Chief of the Zuo Army Dudu Mansion and has the rank of Third Grade Officer." As expected, he was the Minister of War. Ji Guoliang answered immediately.
The upper four guards he mentioned refer to the four that are close to the capital among the seven guards under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of War around Zhili: Suiyang Guard, Wuping Guard, Chengwu Guard, and Qingxu Guard. It is customary to call the three farther south. Wei: Yingchuan Wei, Ruyang Wei, and Xinyang Wei are called the lower three Wei.
"He is also a veteran. How many years has it taken him to become a commander?" Queen Mother Zhang was surprised.
"Returning to the Queen Mother for enquiry, Shi Hao had already achieved the rank of Commander-in-Chief of Guangdong (Second Rank) due to preparing for the Japanese war and suppressing the Qingqiang rebellion in the northwest.
Who knows where the children's song began to be sung, saying, "Shijiazi, Gao Zuotang, hung with jade seals and draped in dragon robes." The former emperor hated him, so he demoted him to the rank of commander and ordered him not to leave Zhili when he was an official. Therefore…. "
Before Hou Xie said anything, the emperor and the queen mother had already understood that this was another public case left by the late emperor, so it was difficult for the ministers to overturn it.
"But since he has fought so many battles, it would be a pity to only serve him as a commander in Zhili." After thinking about it, Empress Dowager Zhang asked, "Emperor, what do you think?"
"Someone once said this: The most expensive thing in the world today is talent!
Although it was the father's decision, I believe that a ruler should only use his talents. It is the duty of a sage king to promote talents and use them appropriately. As long as people are used correctly and appropriately, what if Wei Yan has a traitor in his head?
Xuanzong, the sage, followed Lushan but did not rebel. How could anyone stop a scholar from being loyal because of a song? The late emperor doesn't care, I won't do it! "
Empress Dowager Zhang nodded: "So, is the emperor going to use this person?"
"Mother, I just said that when the country is in crisis, all prejudices should be abandoned. How can I go back on what I said in person now?" Zhao Tuo bowed and said, "You should go to the ancestral temple and inform the late emperor."
"Okay, then use it." Empress Dowager Zhang nodded: "I will go and tell your father to you, don't worry!"
"I thank my mother!" Zhao Tuo suppressed his gratitude, raised his head and said loudly: "Send the order, and after receiving the order, go to the capital immediately, don't delay!"
The Queen Mother chatted for a while about other things, such as the arrangements for the new Jinshi's whereabouts next year, and then left happily. After seeing off Queen Mother Zhang, the emperor felt much better.
After calming down, Zhao Tuo agreed with the cabinet to allocate an additional 120,000 taels of military expenditure to Jiangxi, and ordered it to urgently set up a battalion in Nanchang, Jianchang, and Jiujiang;
In addition, Taiping Guard and Xin'an Guard on Jiangnan East Road sent 5,000 reinforcements to Raozhou Prefecture, Hubei sent 10,000 people to Nanchang, and Hunan sent 10,000 people to Linjiang Prefecture;
In addition, the Fujian Dusi Official Army's anti-bandit force crossed the provincial border, Shaowu's troops entered Jianchang Prefecture to regain Luxi, and troops from Pucheng and Chong'an crossed Fenshuiguan to attack Qianshan;
He ordered the Jinhua and Quzhou lines of the Jiangnan East Road Dusi to suppress the bandits, regain Jiangshan County, and advance to Yushan.
The Fujian troops and the Zhejiang Jiangshan troops were commanded by the Pontus Division, and the other troops entered Jiangxi within a time limit and accepted the command of the Jiangxi Dusi.
"The six-pronged army will attack. If this still fails to extinguish the rebels..." The emperor glanced at the cabinet with a stern look: "Then should the cabinet composed of ministers take responsibility and apologize to the people of the world?"
This makes
The old ministers suddenly felt a heavy weight on their shoulders, and they all knelt down in unison: "I obey the decree and will do my best to live up to His Majesty's expectations!"
