Yuan Wendu received guests in the government office, while Xu Jing was responsible for receiving the twelve people in the inner garden.
Although Xu Jing is just a eunuch, he also has an impressive background. His godfather is a regular servant of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, a person who serves the emperor. Among the officials who came tonight, few have a better background than him, and behind Xu Jing's back It's Yang Ming.
Yang Ming had already seen the list of these twelve people, and he had a rough idea of their origins and who was behind them.
At the banquet, the orchestra brought by Gao Yue performed songs and dances to add to the fun. Of course, Gao Yue himself would not appear.
Yang Ming took advantage of this time to quietly look at the twelve people below.
Among the twelve people, there are two general managers, one governor and five prefects, namely:
Zhou Fashang, the governor of Lingling County in Yongzhou, Zhou Yao, the governor of Hengyang County in Xiangzhou, Fan Zigai, the governor of Yuanling County in Chenzhou, Murong Sanzang, the governor of Jiangling County, Jiang Piao, the governor of Changsha County, Li Chongyi, the governor of Hengshan County, Zheng Yuanshou, the governor of Guiyang County, Yiyang Zhao Changwen, the prefect of the county.
Among them, Zhou Fashang was originally General Zuowuwei, but now Pei Ju took over Zuowuwei Mansion. For unknown reasons, Zhou Fashang was kicked out. He also just took office as the general manager of Yongzhou half a month ago.
The remaining four are Xiao Xuan, the prime minister of Jiangling County, Fei Chun of the Fei family in Jiangxia, Wu Xingdao of the Wu family in Changsha, and Wang Lang of the Wang family in Changsha.
Yang Xuangan really didn't come, and he seemed to listen to the advice, but Yang Ming guessed that the other party would definitely scold him behind his back.
But it didn't matter, he didn't care if he offended Yang Xuangan.
After the music and dance, Yang Ming first looked at Zhou Fashang below and asked with a smile:
"I often hear the name of the general from my brother, but I don't know that the general has been transferred to Yongzhou. When did he come?"
The person Yang Ming took the initiative to ask for the first time chose Zhou Fashang. The reason for this was because the other person was similar to himself, and they were both new here.
Zhou Fashang stood up with a face of honor and said, "Reporting to Your Highness, I arrived in Yongzhou on the ninth day of December and was recommended by Duke Su."
He is also very smart, knowing that he is a newcomer in Jingzhou and has not yet established himself. Since the King of Hedong gives him such honor and mentions that he is often talked about by His Highness Yang Zhao, the King of Jin, it is a good time to take advantage of today's gathering of people. , took the initiative to explain that he was sent by Suwei.
In this way, these guys will not bully people for the sake of King Jin and Duke Su.
Of course, Yang Ming heard what he was planning, and he smiled and said, "That's it."
Zhou Fashang is still good. He will follow his father in two expeditions to Goguryeo in the future, and he will also play a role in putting down Yang Xuangan's rebellion.
Moreover, Yang Ming also guessed that this person's release to Yongzhou was probably just a transition, because this person was a general and was not suitable for the position of governor.
Then, Yang Ming looked at a young man in his twenties not far away.
"But cousin Xiao Xuan?"
Xiao Xuan, who was dressed as a Confucian scholar, stood up quickly after hearing this and said with a smile:
"I dare not call you brother in front of His Highness."
Yang Ming quickly waved his hand and said with a smile: "How can I deny my relatives? Brother, there is no need to be polite."
This man's father is Xiao Cong, the half-brother of Yang Ming's mother and concubine Xiao, so Xiao Xuan can be regarded as Yang Ming's cousin.
Although Xiao Xuan served as Jiangling County Magistrate, he was actually a freeloader. This was only informed to Yang Ming after Yuan Wendu investigated clearly.
I have always been on a free salary and held a sinecure position. I have never heard of a second-in-command position. This guy is really brave.
It is said that he travels between Jiangling and Jiangdu all year round, doing water trade.
Since they are relatives, Yang Ming will not embarrass the other party for the sake of his mother-in-law.
The people here could only wait for Yang Ming to ask, but no one dared to take the initiative to speak, because it was their first time to deal with Yang Ming and they still couldn't figure out his methods.
So when Yang Ming's eyes scanned the hall again, everyone hoped that they would be the third person to be questioned.
"Is this Fan Zigai, the uncle of Shangcai County?"
Fan Zigai, who was already in his fifties, stood up quickly and said, "Can you be honored by the palace?"
It is an honor for me to know this. "
Yang Ming smiled and nodded, raising his glass to the other party for the first time. Seeing this, the latter quickly raised the wine on the table and drank first as a sign of respect.
Yang Ming also had an impression of this man. Unfortunately, he would also be Brother Xuangan's future rival. When Fan Zigai later stayed for Dongdu, Xuangan rebelled, and he defended Luoyang for nearly a month, blocking Yang Xuangan's fierce attack. .
There is an interesting story in history: Xuangan rebelled, and Li Mi offered three strategies: middle and lower.
The best strategy was to attack Zhuojun in the Beijing area and guard Yuguan Shanhaiguan to block the Sui army's retreat from the expedition to Goguryeo.
The central strategy is to attack Daxing and occupy the Guanzhong area.
The next strategy is to attack Luoyang.
As a result, Yang Xuangan disagreed. He felt that attacking Luoyang was the best policy and attacking Zhuojun was the worst policy.
As a result, Fan Zigai defended Luoyang, and Yang Xuangan fought for nearly a month without defeating him. He forced Yu Wenshu, Qu Tutong, Zhou Fashang and others to come to relieve the siege of Luoyang and wiped him out.
One Zhou Fashang and the other Fan Zigai, from Yang Ming's point of view, they will all be heroes in the future.
Yang Ming also roughly knew the details of the remaining people. After greeting them one by one in the order in his mind, he began to chat about some anecdotes about the Jingzhou area.
It was not until three o'clock in the morning that Yang Ming yawned.
Seeing this, Zhou Fashang hurriedly said: "Your Highness has been tired from traveling all the way. I think you haven't had a good rest in the past few days, so I won't bother you."
Yang Ming smiled and said, "Maybe I'm not used to it. I always feel tired."
Next, the group of people stood up to leave one after another, and Yang Ming ordered Xu Jing to see off the guests for him.
The door of the General Manager's Mansion was only opened for two hours and then closed again.
The front yard was almost filled with congratulatory gifts from officials and wealthy families from all over the country. Xu Jing would count these things and put them into storage.
But what is surprising is that Yang Xuan's guest did not come, but the gift did.
However, his gift somewhat embarrassed his daughter Yang Yinjiang.
Because his gift is four beauties, four beauties with different styles.
In the Sui Dynasty, it was not unusual to give women as gifts, but it was quite unusual for people like Yang Xuangan to give women to the prince during the New Year's Eve.
Yang Xuangan's first wife was Yuwen, Yang Yinjiang's biological mother. She was born in the Northern Zhou Dynasty royal family and passed away very early.
Xin Xuxian's first wife was Mrs. Cui, and she bore him two sons.
As for the concubines, Yang Xuangan followed Yang Su, and there were a lot of them, but he was better than his father, and none of the concubines had been abducted so far.
What to do with these four women? Yang Ming would definitely not keep it for himself.
So he simply rewarded the four girls to Yuan Wendu, Pang Niu, Chen Kui, and Pang Niu's cousin Pang Tao respectively.
Yang Ming admired Ma Laoliu for not being a womanizer. He was a real man who had such determination.
Yuan Wen always had a wife, but he didn't take her with him when he went to office this time. Yang Ming was afraid that he would be lonely, so he picked the most beautiful one for him.
As for Pang Niu and Pang Tao, Yang Ming rewarded the plumpest ones to the two, leaving the youngest to Chen Kui.
Next, Yang Ming stayed up late with Yang Yinjiang and others in the inner garden. He did not go back to his room to rest until midnight.
Nuan Dong Liang Xia was taken away by Yang Yinjiang, and now the ones warming her bed are two other maids, personally chosen by the mother-in-law Xiao.
Under the covers, enjoying the massage on his feet, Yang Ming gradually felt sleepy.
The next day is the New Year's Day. As a rule, the government is not open on this day, and they also have a holiday.
How many days? Three days.
And Yang Ming planned to take a good tour of Jiangling City in these three days.
So he went out early in the morning, accompanied by Yuan Wendu, Pang Niu and others. The guards all changed into casual clothes so as not to attract too much attention.
Jiangling County consists of ten counties, Jiangling, Changyang, Yichang, Zhijiang, Dangyang, Songzi, Changlin, Gong'an, Anxing, and Ziling.
The county governor Murong Sanzang handles daily government affairs.
Jiangling City is very lively. It coincides with the New Year. There are still many pedestrians on the streets, but most of the shops on both sides are closed.
Those responsible for patrolling the city during festivals are the county government's Kuaishou, that is, the policemen.
There is no military government in such a crucial place in Jiangling County. The entire Jiangling City's garrison strength is less than 500 people, not as many as Yang Ming's troops.
Public security in the city basically relies on the county government.
The county government has less than 200 kuaishou in total, and Jiangling County, with a population of 110,000 households, relies on these 200 kuaishou to maintain public order.
Can it be done? It works!
First of all, the county captain of Jiangling County is from the Wen family, the most powerful family in the area, and the county captain is in charge of public security, so everyone will give him face.
As for him, the county captain was not bought, let alone passed an exam, but was appointed by the county governor himself.
This is the tradition of the Sui Dynasty. Generally, the two positions of county captain and county captain are held by the most successful local people.
These people themselves are not good birds, otherwise they would not be able to suppress the local wealthy families and ruffians.
On the streets, you can see young masters leading more than ten or twenty domestic slaves everywhere, wandering arrogantly among the crowd. When Kuaishou meets these people, he will smile and say hello, as if they are friends.
As for the real common people, most of them have low eyebrows and are submissive because they are at the bottom of the class.
The fact is that it is very frustrating, but there is nothing you can do about it.
If Yang Ming wants to change this situation, it is a fantasy. The only thing he can do is to try his best to make the people under his jurisdiction less bullied.
So the first thing Yang Ming did in Jingzhou was public security, and the biggest problem with public security was those who helped manage security.
As the saying goes, there are three fires for a new official to take office, and Yang Ming's first fire will be on the heads of those county and county lieutenants.
As for making money, Yang Ming was not worried at all because Yang Yinjiang gave him an idea.
This idea really shouldn't come from a woman, but when it comes from Yang Su's granddaughter, it seems so reasonable.
Search your home!
If you are short of money or have no money, you can just find a bully who is causing trouble in the village and confiscate his house. This will not only calm the public's anger and gain popularity, but also make a small fortune.
The proceeds from confiscating a family's property will not go into the government's account, but just give them some money. This is called hush money.
It is said that Yang Su did this when he led the army on an expedition and was short of military pay.
