After the plan was discussed, Zhang Gao asked his subordinates to prepare an imperial edict on the second day, promoted Zhao Ying to the position of Deputy Privy Envoy, and Feng Dao to the right servant of Shangshu, and ordered them to inspect dozens of states and counties in Henan.
The officials below also saw that the emperor attached great importance to this matter, and began to offer suggestions. Zhang Yan received hundreds of suggestions overnight.
Only then did he understand how chaotic and unbearable the officialdom of the Later Tang and Later Jin dynasties had been since the Later Liang Dynasty.
In these three dynasties, the emperor and the central government made policies mostly based on their own ideas without any verification at all, just to make money.
As a result, Zhang Yan's normal and cautious attitude of seeking verification made officials all over the world a little happy.
Because they finally saw a normal emperor who only existed in classics and history books before.
Zhao Ying and Feng Dao, who received appointments from Zhang Yan, set out in the wind and snow the next day to their respective supervision areas, regardless of their age.
Such high efficiency and strong desire to do something in a career sent a very clear message to the world.
That was the Great Zhou Dynasty, a dynasty that truly had sage kings and wise ministers who wanted to make a difference. The wise men in the countryside could come out to do things.
The enthusiasm of Feng Dao and Zhao Ying also infected Zhang Yan. Originally, he was not going to send the Jin Yiwei to accompany them, but after thinking about it, he might as well send them.
And not only sent one group, but one group each, both bright and dark. Zhang Yan summoned Zhang Liecheng and Zhang Lieming in front of him and personally ordered them to select capable personnel.
The group in the bright side directly identified themselves and followed Feng Dao and Zhao Ying, while the group in the dark had to arrive at the local area within three days after Feng and Zhao left, and make detailed records and investigations.
Furthermore, both the light and dark groups of Jinyi's personal guards were required to be unaware of each other's existence.
Zhang Liecheng hurriedly went to prepare. Feng Dao and Zhao Ying had already set off. He had to select two sets of manpower as soon as possible.
Zhang Lieming stayed, because the reason why he entered the palace was not because of the incident between Feng and Zhao, but because of the incident involving Li Xiaofeng, the envoy of the Kingdom of Shu.
Facing Zhang Yan, Zhang Lieming, who had always been careless and dared to pretend to be Zhang Xichong's nephew and do things for local conveniences, was so generous that he didn't dare to show it.
He presented a stack of information to Zhang Yan and introduced it directly.
"This country of Shu is completely new to the matter, but I must have felt the identity of my nephew recently, so I have come out to play with him several times recently, and I obviously can't let him go."
Zhang Yan ignored Zhang Lieming's words and pretended not to see the slight nervousness on his face.
Who sensed his identity? Zhang Lieming should have revealed his secret somewhere.
Even if Li Xiaofeng is a young man, he still has limited abilities. He can enter and leave the forbidden palace and stay with the emperor, but he will not be without this vigilance.
"It's not impossible for Meng Chang to take back the more than 10,000 Shu troops. Anyway, the maintenance of the canal is about to end, and we will lose money if we continue to support them.
Although Gao Yanchou's abilities are limited, he is a loyal minister. There is no benefit in staying in Tokyo, let alone letting him die in Tokyo. Instead, they can be put back to paralyze Meng Chang and the whole country of Shu. "
On that day, after the Shu army was defeated in three groups and defeated in two groups, Cao Yuanzhong, Yin Yaozi, Liu Zaisheng and others captured more than 13,000 Shu defeated soldiers and civilians.
Among them, the 6,000 Zhaowu Army, the forbidden army of the Shu State, who were forced to surrender by Niushoushan, and more than 100 generals below Gao Yanshu, the horse-step commander of the Zhaowu Army, were the elite.
Zhang Zhang originally saw that Gao Yanchou was very well-organized in defending against Feng Hui's attack on Niushou Mountain, so he also worked hard to recruit him to surrender.
However, Gao Yanchou always refused to surrender and would commit suicide when pressed. Now he is still regarded as a loyal minister by people in Guanzhong.
The word "loyal minister" just hit Zhang Yan's weakness, so he did not dare to persuade Gao Yan to surrender, otherwise he would really force Gao Yan to death.
Because such a commander's ability is comparable to that of Zhang Xibao and Wu Guoer, but his military force is slightly lower than Gao Yanshu's, if his reputation is damaged, then the gain outweighs the loss.
Therefore, Gao Yan's wife is completely useless in Zhang's house. It would be better to send her back to Shu as soon as possible.
"Have all the arrangements been made for the spies in the Shu army?" Since we are planning to release more than 10,000 Shu army prisoners back, it is impossible to do nothing.
Gao Yanchou refused to surrender, but it was impossible for all of the more than 10,000 Shu troops to be tough. If they were all tough, it would be impossible to defeat them casually.
Zhang Lieming nodded, "According to the saint's request, we have instigated many people from civilians to soldiers to grassroots officers, as well as mid-level and senior officers to rebel. We will ensure that once they return, they will be our spies all over Sichuan."
"Have you written the letter of allegiance?" Zhang Yan asked.
"Yes, everyone has written. They also know that if anyone dares to violate the law, the Jinyi guards will immediately shake off these letters of allegiance." Zhang Lieming quickly replied.
"Have the key candidates been selected?" Zhang Yan flipped through the list in his hand and continued to ask questions carefully.
"We have chosen one. One is Gao Yanchou's disciple. This person is afraid of hard work and greedy for enjoyment. He was controlled by us early on.
The other is Zhang Qianzhao's secretary-general. He has read a few books and knows the legal principles and doctrines. He is willing to serve Zhou Dynasty and unify the world.
There is also Yuhou, the capital of the Wuding Army of the Shu Kingdom. This person is Sun Hanshao's cousin. He was captured because he was cooperating with Zhang Qianzhao's defeated army. He is also willing to serve as an internal support, but he requires that after the army pacifies Shu, let him do something interesting. The governor of the Yuan Dynasty. "
Zhang Yan smiled faintly and said that Xingyuan Mansion is Hanzhong, "This person knows how to measure things. He didn't say he would be the governor of Shannan West Road. He probably thought that he would definitely not give it.
But being a governor of Xingyuan Prefecture is not that important. If he is obedient, you might as well let him do it for a few years. "
Zhang Lieming also quietly breathed a sigh of relief. It was not easy to capture Zhang Qianzhao's nephew. If Zhang Qian did not agree to the Xingyuan Prefecture Yin, then he would have to coax and deceive him. In this case, it would be difficult to do so. Seamless.
Zhang Yanze thought for a while, and then said: "You can arrange to sacrifice Gao Yan's younger brother, and have someone expose him when he arrives in Shu. It's best to expose a few more people, and then do something about it." It makes people panic and muddies the water.”
Zhang Lieming was stunned for a moment, and then he understood what sacrifice meant, and couldn't help but admire the saint uncle's word-making ability even more.
It's really appropriate to sacrifice it.
And immediately, he felt that Zhang Yan's approach was very clever. Even high-level officials such as Gao Yanchou and his disciples were exposed, which would definitely dispel the doubts of the Shu Kingdom to a great extent.
And it can indeed muddy the waters, making it harder for true defectors to be exposed.
Of course, Zhang Lieming hasn't thought it through yet, because there is another biggest benefit to doing so.
That was to make Meng Chang no longer trust these people in his heart, but on the surface, he had to show that he was very happy, and even endured the discomfort to reward them.
These people worked hard in Guanzhong for a year and were finally released after exhausting work. They were rewarded again when they returned home.
They were looking forward to the future, but soon their status suddenly declined and they were no longer reused. You can imagine how much resentment they would burst out.
When the Zhou soldiers attack Shuzhong again, many of these people who are familiar with the discipline of the Zhou army will take the initiative to lead the way.
Of course, this trick is not completely unsolvable. If Meng Chang can appease these people with his great wisdom and big heart, and then recruit experienced professionals to slowly screen them, Zhang Yan's trick will be useless.
However, Zhang Yan believed that Meng Chang did not have such a big heart, and he was too smart to say that he did, but he would probably choose a more brutal one-size-fits-all approach in the end for the sake of face and to save trouble, and no longer reuse the whole thing.
After figuring out how to treat the Shu Kingdom, Zhang Yan was ready to summon Li Xiaofeng. If he didn't summon him, not to mention what happened to Li Xiaofeng, the Shu Kingdom would also be confused.
Moreover, Zhang Xiaobao must be inserted into Li Xiaofeng's relatives, and Li Xiaofeng must cover Zhang Xiaobao's actions in Shu. He must receive him in person and promise enough benefits. Li Xiaofeng and the Shu State behind him must Only Li Hao, a disciple of Zhongshu, could do it.
Seeing that it was getting late, it was no longer suitable to summon Li Xiaofeng. Zhang Xiu, who knew the taste of marrow, was a little moved and was going to rest at Fu Ying'er's place.
It's a pity that as soon as he walked out of the palace gate, an urgent report from the Jinyi guards arrived.
When Zhang Zhi saw that this Jinyi envoy was personally appointed by Baihuguan and did not even dismount in the palace, he immediately realized that something big had happened.
Zhang Gao quickly asked his chamberlain to inform the imperial guard on duty of the message from King Yuhou of Zuodu, Shandu, and asked him to send someone to lead the chamberlain to summon Zhang Xichong, He Ning, Fan Zhi, Gao Xingzhou, Fu Yanqing, Bai Congxin, and Murong Nobunaga and others entered the palace.
However, after the emergency envoy handed over the urgent report, Zhang Yan discovered that there was not something wrong with Hebei as he thought.
I also knew that this year's winter was extremely cold, with three to four feet of heavy snow in Tokyo. If Liu Zhiyuan really wanted to take action, the soldiers below would definitely not be willing to die.
Therefore, Jin Yi's envoy did not go south from Hebei, but came back from Hunan.
The letter was written in pinyin and could only be read by Zhang Yan himself. After reading it, a look of excitement appeared on Zhang Shengren's face. He looked at the ministers who were waiting for the result and said.
"Li Xiaojie sent an urgent report from Tanzhou. King Ma Xifan of Chu has been seriously ill since a month ago. He has been unable to get out of bed for more than ten days. His high fever does not go away, and he occasionally makes crazy remarks. Medicine and stone are useless, and he is afraid that he will not die soon. That’s it.”
Tanzhou will be Changsha in later generations, and Ma Xifan is the current monarch of Ma Chu. He has been in power for fifteen years. His death will have a great impact on Ma Chu.
Because Ma Chu was the same as the Southern Tang Dynasty, when Li Min of the Southern Tang Dynasty was still alive, he made an agreement with the disciples to maintain stability.
The same was true for Ma Yin. He had made arrangements before he died, and Ma Chu's succession was also between brother and brother.
But fifteen years after Ma Chu took power in Ma Xifan, the domestic situation has changed.
First of all, Ma Xifan did not want a powerful Wang Taidi to threaten his status, so he had been working hard to suppress his brothers Ma Xigao and Ma Xi'e, who were not much younger than him.
In the end, he succeeded in poisoning the prestigious Ma Xigao, but Ma Xi'e was the only one who was cruel, rude, and without moral integrity. Not many people in Chu liked him.
So Ma Xifan felt relieved and gave up after exiling Ma Xihe to the remote Chenzhou (Huaihua, Hunan).
On the other hand, Ma Xiguang, the successor after Ma Xihe, is generous and cowardly, polite to others, and at first glance he is a gentle and kind person.
Therefore, both civil servants and generals of Ma Chu favored him to be Ma Chu's next King of Chu.
Because such leaders are the easiest to fool, which is more conducive for them to continue to live a wealthy life.
Moreover, Ma Xiguang is also a compatriot of the current King of Chu, Ma Xifan. He has a good personality and is also very popular with Ma Xifan. He has repeatedly expressed his willingness to let Ma Xiguang succeed to the throne in a hundred years.
Therefore, when Guo Tiance heard what Zhang Yan said, he jumped out excitedly.
"Sage, this is a God-given opportunity! Ma Xiguang is in Tokyo. If we keep him for a while, when the King of Chu collapses and the Chu country has no heir, there will definitely be chaos."
Fu Yanqing was also overjoyed and said to Zhang Yan, "King Wumu of Chu (Ma Yin) had thirty-seven sons, of whom twenty-five are still alive, all of whom have grown up.
Today, Ma Xiguang, deputy envoy of the Wu'an Army, is in Tokyo and has no one to succeed him. As soon as Ma Xifan collapses, the rebellion of the Eight Kings of the Sima Family in the Western Jin Dynasty will begin immediately.
We can wait and see first. If someone else wins, the saint can appoint Ma Xiguang as the military governor of Wu'an Army and send troops to escort him south to succeed him.
If there is no winner, it would be even better to directly quell the chaos for Ma Xiguang, and then deploy soldiers to bring the Wu'an Army's 108 counties in twenty-nine states back to the imperial court. "
Zhang Xichong stroked his beard and smiled faintly, "Sage, I heard that Nanping King Gao Congjie's health is not as good as before, otherwise he would not be in a hurry to send his eldest son to the court to apologize and be granted a title.
If there was civil strife in Ma Chu, and the imperial army escorted Ma Xiguang back to the south, he would have to pass through Jiangling. Wouldn't it be possible to use this route to destroy Guo?
Gao Congjie is the commander of Yingwu, but Gao Baorong, deputy envoy of Jiedu, is not. When the time comes, Gao Congjie can be sent to Tokyo to recuperate, and then Gao Baorong can be appointed as Jiedu envoy. After a few years, Nanping will return to the state. "
good! Zhang Hao clenched his fist excitedly.
Now is a good time. Both Nanping King Gao Congjie and Chu King Ma Xifan have been in power for more than ten years, but their successors do not have such prestige. They just took this opportunity to accept Nanping and Ma Chu.
In this way, it can not only block the interaction between Meng Shu and the Southern Tang Dynasty, which is the most threatening among the countries, but also build warships in Jiangling in Nanping and Yuezhou in Ma Chu for the purpose of destroying the Southern Tang Dynasty.
"If this is the case, I would like to ask your lord to immediately block any news about Ma Chu from Jiangling. We must let Ma Xiguang get the news of Ma Xifan's death as late as possible. If Ma Xiguang returns to Chu, we will not be able to use it."
"Yes!" Zhang Hao nodded sharply. He suddenly remembered that Cao Yanming came here because the Jinshan Palace built in Jinshan (Beimang Mountain) in Luoyang was basically completed.
"I immediately summoned the new Jinshan Palace. The imperial court will move this year's Yuan Day celebrations to the Jinshan Palace north of the capital city, and ordered envoys from various countries to accompany them.
Then Zuoyu Linwei was responsible for guarding the surroundings, and Jinyi personal guards were responsible for screening, so that Ma Xiguang could not get the news of Ma Chulai. "
This is the best way, because when countries send people to meet with him, they must communicate at any time, and it is impossible for Zhang Yan to deliberately block the news of Ma Chu's arrival, which will definitely arouse suspicion.
But he brought all the envoys from various countries to the Jinshan Palace on Jinshan Mountain, and then blocked the Jinshan Palace both overtly and covertly in the name of security. This was justifiable.
"Guo Tiance asked the Privy Council to issue an order to urgently recall Luo Shande from Chenzhou, and asked him to quickly contact Gao Baorong and urge Gao Baorong to summon his brother Gao Baoying to Tokyo.
Having one more son would make Gao Congjie more scrupulous. An early marriage contract would also make Gao Baorong lose his resistance.
Zuo Pushe is also preparing to adjust the candidates for the garrison in Guanzhong. If Ma Chu changes, I need Yin Zhengqi, the ambassador of Guanzhong Dao, to go to Tanzhou to garrison. "
Zhang Gao was making intensive preparations to bring the envoys from various countries to Jinshan Palace to corral him, while Zhang Xiaobao, who was dragging a lame leg, returned to Tokyo.
In fact, a large part of the soldiers who went back with him quickly returned to Tokyo.
Because in Liangzhou, they were just members of the ordinary soldiers, and only in the Central Plains could they fully feel the sparkling aura of the pro-army and forbidden troops.
Of course, this kind of loss can only be felt most clearly by the soldiers from the four states of Lianglan Guasha.
Other soldiers and generals from the Longyou prefectures in Hexi did not feel this way. On the contrary, when they returned to their hometowns, they were often treated like heroes. As long as they were at home, good men from all over the world would come to visit them.
The reason for this situation is, of course, that the people around Lianglan Guasha have been the group that has benefited the most from Zhang Zhang's small group since the incident.
They are now used to it, used to staying by Zhang's side and enjoying the glory and wealth.
It's just that Zhang Xiaobao returned to Kaifeng Mansion in Tokyo earlier than everyone else, because others wanted to take their families to Kaifeng Mansion, but Zhang Xiaobao didn't have to because his whole family was in Tokyo.
Wandering around, Zhang Xiaobao suddenly felt a little redundant.
My father is a foreign imperial guard and is currently stationed in Xuzhou. It is said that they will absorb the essence of the Zhongwu Army in Xuzhou and move south to Caizhou or Yingzhou.
In the future, Wuwei Town will become the main force against Southern Tang, so the parents will not return to Tokyo.
Although his brother still left a room for him, and his sister-in-law, Mrs. Wang, treated him no differently than her own brother, Zhang Xiaobao always felt like an outsider when he saw the harmony between his brother and his family.
After hesitating several times, but after all he had no friends and no place to go, Zhang Xiaobao could only walk into his brother's house.
As soon as I entered, I saw my nephews and nieces eating steamed cakes. When they saw my second uncle coming, four extremely cute little furry boys jumped up to me with cheers, covering him with tears.
This finally allowed Zhang Xiaobao to regain the feeling of being cared for by his relatives, and the smile on his face returned.
Zhang Cheng did not go on duty today because the saint recently began to let the left and right divine guards composed of the former Jin Dynasty imperial guards serve as guards.
The status of the left and right divine guards was quite embarrassing, because they were originally the forbidden army, but Zhang Gao had his own forbidden army and there was no need for them at all.
So I gave him the title of Gyeonggi Guards, which was a bit nondescript.
However, after conquering the Southern Tang Dynasty, especially Meng Zhuze's heroic battle to defeat the Southern Tang Army, Zhang Yan intends to absorb the elite of the left and right Divine Guards into the pro-army, and the rest will also be incorporated into the Forbidden Army. They are currently in the assessment period. Therefore, people like Zhang Cheng and others from Hanshan City will have a much easier time.
However, after listening to his brother's words about the situation in Liangzhou, Zhang Cheng immediately put down his chopsticks and prepared to take his children to the street to watch a show.
Zhang Xiaobao thought his brother had agreed to report, but he heard Zhang Cheng sigh.
"Are you really stupid or pretending to be stupid? Who is so-and-so? He is the Marquis of Yu, the right capital of Hanshan City, and he also has the responsibility of guarding Xuanwumen. How can he get involved in local political affairs at will?
If you have never met the Duke of Hedong, you can say a few words to the saint. If you have met the Duke of Hedong, you can no longer speak to His Majesty. "
Zhang Xiaobao was stunned for a moment. He hesitated for a few seconds, then looked at his brother and asked, "Then I should go to the ninth brother of the Wang family?"
Zhang Chengyao shook his head, "You should submit the letter yourself."
Zhang Xiaobao became even more confused, "Didn't Duke Pei say those words to a certain person because of his brother's relationship with Jiu Geer?
Now that I am writing to the saint myself, it will be of no use. Then why would Duke Pei come to me? "
Zhang Cheng sighed, "A saint comes from a young age. He is a saint who has insight into the world. He is not a king who has lived in the palace and does not know how old he is outside the palace.
Therefore, orders have been issued several times so that all people in the world can write letters and express their opinions freely. However, the world's atmosphere has been affected by the decline of the dynasty. No one takes this seriously, and few non-officials dare to write letters to speak out.
Your Majesty has recently been preparing to ask the royal guards to 'get' a few out because no one has written a letter to express their opinions. "
After saying that, Zhang Cheng raised his head and sighed again, "Pei Jungong is really a bold, careful and ruthless master! Can he really predict that I will suggest that you submit a letter yourself?
In this way, you can set a new trend and relieve His Majesty's worries, and you can sell it better than a certain company, and give you a good future.
He doesn't have many followers in the central government. A certain brother has received a great favor from him, both public and private, and he must repay him. "
Zhang Xiaobao still doesn't understand, "According to what my brother said, it's reasonable for Duke Pei to give me a future, but where did I sell my brother?"
Zhang Cheng snorted, "You're of your level, but you still want to stir up trouble in Shu?
You are a younger brother of a certain family, but if a certain family doesn't tell you, doesn't it appear that a certain family is a pure and lonely minister?
As a saint, Peng Pai needs the identity of this lonely minister.
Eat quickly, a certain house will kick you out after you finish eating. After you finish submitting the letter, let Brother Wang Jiu train you. Otherwise, you will die if you go to Shu Kingdom. "
(End of chapter)
