The water bandit matter can be delayed for two months at most. As time goes by, all subordinate yamen will come to the general manager's office to complain. By that time, Yang Ming will have to send troops.
What he wants to solve now is to control the Xiangyang Navy in his own hands.
Therefore, Zhou Zhongmou received a letter from Yang Ming at the beginning of the year, which confirmed that he had disguised the Xiangyang navy as water bandits to rob merchant ships.
With this evidence in hand, Yang Ming had an excuse to deal with Cai Ju in Xiangyang Huqi Mansion.
On this day, Cai Ju, who was summoned by the Governor's Mansion, came from Xiangyang with his subordinates. He thought that Yang Ming's summons to him this time was probably to ask the Xiangyang Mansion to send troops to suppress the bandits, so his mood was disturbed along the way. very good.
Suppressing bandits is a great opportunity to make money. The longer you suppress bandits, the more money you make. He understands this.
When he entered the lobby, his face was still full of joy and he saluted:
"I received the order from His Highness and came here overnight. I hope there will be no delay."
"No delay," Yang Ming smiled and looked down at Pei Xizai.
Pei Xizai stood up, handed a stack of files to Cai Ju, and said, "General Cai, please take a look at these."
"Okay," Cai Ju took it with a smile, but when he finished reading the first few lines, his expression had already changed.
After reading it, I felt even more pale.
Hearing a thump, Cai Ju knelt down in the lobby and said, "Your Highness Mingjian, you are humble and do not know anything about this. Is there someone slandering you behind your back?"
"Slander?" Pei Xizai sneered: "It has the signatures and signatures of several brigade marshals of the Xiangyang Navy. Do you recognize them? These people are currently being held in the General Manager's Mansion. Do you want to bring them out to confront General Cai? ? This will help clear the general’s suspicion."
Zhou Zhongmo did really well this time. After all, he was a general, so he still had some tricks.
He had obtained both witnesses and physical evidence. Although he didn't know the specific process, the result made Yang Ming very satisfied.
The Xiangyang naval forces disguised themselves as water bandits and robbed merchant ships along the Han River for many years. As long as they ran out of money, they would go out and do it. They were the water bandits and they were the ones who suppressed the bandits. Not afraid of being investigated.
Although this dossier's oral confession did not directly involve Cai Ju, it did involve Cai Ju's brother-in-law, the cavalry general Chen Chong.
Chen Chong was in charge of the Xiangyang Navy.
Cai Ju was really panicking right now, because the act of pretending to be a water bandit was basically what he had instructed his brother-in-law to do.
Fortunately, in this confession, my brother-in-law didn't confess him, which was so righteous...
He couldn't escape without being charged with negligence.
"This was a delinquent act of neglect. Please forgive me, Your Majesty."
Yang Ming smiled: "General Cai, please get up first."
"I don't dare to do this because of my humble position." Cai Ju lowered her head and continued to kneel, begging for mercy sincerely. The crime of neglect could be serious or minor, depending on what the King of Hedong thought.
If you don't like him, this matter won't be taken lightly.
Yang Ming said dullly: "I heard that General Cai served under Duke Han of Shangzhu State and once invaded Jiankang. For his meritorious service, he was awarded the title of Hussars General of Xiangyang Prefecture. Since he is a meritorious person, I will not punish him severely."
This Han Gong is Han Qinhu. Cai Ju used to hang out with Han Qinhu. After Han Qinhu died, he took refuge with Han Sengshou again.
In the Sui Dynasty, both civil servants and military officers had the custom of not interfering with the two masters. This was to some extent influenced by Confucianism.
Lu Bu is a mighty general in the world, but for thousands of years, he has always had the title "house slave of three surnames" on his forehead. This shows that people who serve two masters are despised by the world.
For example, this Cai Ju, since he relied on the old Han family to start his family, he would not join anyone else unless there was no one left in the old Han family.
Han Sengshou is also willing to accept his brother's retainers and staff and regard them as one of his own.
Of course, Yang Ming did not intend to impose a heavy sentence, not because of Han Sengshou's face. Han Sengshou's only face with him was because he was Li Jing's uncle.
He did not impose a heavy sentence because there was no need for it. Cai Ju had been a hussar general for more than ten years and still had great influence in the Xiangyang generation. Furthermore, the other party did not
It won't affect my subsequent arrangements, so just think about it.
"Recently, banditry in the Han River has become increasingly rampant. I am still wondering why so many bandits appear out of thin air? It turns out that the government army is causing trouble."
Yang Ming said calmly: "As the general of Xiangyang Mansion, you don't know anything about it. How do you think this king should deal with you?"
When Cai Ju heard Yang Ming mention Han Gong, she guessed that she must be fine. If Yang Ming really wanted to mess with him, he would not mention Han Gong. If he did, he would be merciful.
"It is a crime to hold a humble position, and I will leave it to your Highness's disposal."
Yang Ming glanced around the hall and said, "What do you think?"
Yuan Wen, who had long been discussing with Yang Ming, stood up and said:
"General Cai has meritorious service, and I am willing to believe that he does not know anything about it, so in my opinion, a fine is enough."
Yuan Chang Shi Renyi... Cai Ju was overjoyed. The fine was nothing. That salary was not enough for me to buy a concubine.
"This is too light," Du Ruhui said in counterargument: "Water bandits are rampant and wreaking havoc on the rivers. During this time, water departments everywhere are in a mood. Official ships have been robbed, and merchant ships have suffered serious losses. The Xiangyang military government has If something like this happens at this time, His Highness is determined to give a light sentence, and I'm afraid the Metropolitan Water Department will not be happy with it."
Cai Ju's heart was relieved just now, but after hearing these words, she felt paralyzed again.
The Capital Water Department is affiliated to the Ministry of Industry and is under the direct control of the Ministry of Industry. He is from Guanzhong. If this bad thing about the Xiangyang Military Mansion is reported back to Guanzhong, he will lose his head.
He was led away by Du Ruhui's words and completely ignored the important point, which was that the Capital Water Department had the courage to be dissatisfied with Yang Ming. Even if Yang Ming delayed the suppression of the bandits, they did not have the courage to report it to the Ministry of Works.
This is Jingzhou, and Yang Ming dares not to touch anything except the treasury.
"It's better than this," Pei Xizai said: "Since Xiangyang Mansion happens to be in the limelight, why not let General Cai claim his illness and return home to avoid the limelight. Your Highness will act as a guarantee. How dare other yamen have any objections?"
"It is exactly what I want," Yang Ming nodded and said with a smile, "there will be no penalty for the salary. General Cai can go home and reflect. He is not allowed to return to the military mansion without my order."
"I thank you for your great kindness, Your Highness." Cai Ju burst into tears of gratitude and kowtowed to Yang Ming.
This is the best result. Just avoid the limelight. When the limelight passes, you can naturally return to the military mansion.
In fact, he didn't know that Yang Ming asked him to reflect at home this time, not for a while, but for a long time.
As for when to come back, it depends on whether Yang Ming needs him. If he doesn't need him, he will never come back in his life.
Only by removing Cai Ju, the top leader of the Xiangyang Military Mansion, could Yang Ming arrange for his own people.
At this time, Pei Xizai said again:
"Then what should we do next with Navy Cavalry General Chen Chong?"
Du Ruhui said: "This is really not safe. It has white and black writing, and there are signatures and stamps. He pretends to be the mastermind of water bandits robbing merchant ships. I can't do it without killing him."
Yang Ming looked at Cai Ju and said, "What does General Cai think?"
"Kill! Must kill! If this thief is not eliminated, the people will be angry," Cai Ju said righteously.
He was just a brother-in-law, and he was abandoned as soon as he was given up. He was not his biological son, so Cai Ju had no psychological burden at all.
Yang Ming came again: "The navy cannot be without generals for a day. After Chen Chong, who will be in charge of the navy? Does General Cai have a suitable candidate in mind?"
Yes, of course there is. Didn't His Highness send Zhou Zhongmo there early? Ready-made candidate.
Cai Ju hurriedly said: "My humble position recommended Cao Cao to join the army and Zhou Zhongmo to take over the post of general of chariots and cavalry."
"Well...since General Cai has an excellent candidate here, I am still confident in you," Yang Ming nodded and said, "That's it."
Cai Ju knew that he had nothing to do here anymore, so she hurriedly resigned.
The Xiangyang Huqi Mansion is under the jurisdiction of the Left and Right Mansion of Zuoling among the Twelve Guards, and the Zuoling Mansion is also responsible for personnel appointments.
But Yang Ming was different. He was the general manager and the commander-in-chief of the military affairs of the twenty-two counties, so he had the right to appoint any military general within his jurisdiction.
In military mansions outside Jingzhou, he wouldn't have this ability.
I'm patient.
Last month, news came from the capital that Li An, the general of the Left and Right Mansion, had passed away, that is, Li Xiaogong's father.
The prince Yang Guang recommended the general manager of Jianzhou to protect his son and serve as the general of the left and right mansions. However, Yang Jian did not pass the recommendation and instead appointed Dugu Zheng, the seventh eldest son of the Dugu family in Luoyang.
Dugu Zheng is the younger brother of Dugu Jialuo and a relative of the Sui Dynasty.
In fact, before Li An, the general who led the left and right mansions on the left was a member of the Dugu family. His name was Dugu Tuo. He was the half-brother of Empress Dugu and the sixth eldest child in the family.
This old man did something shameless. He used witchcraft on his sister Dugu Jialuo and Yang Su's wife Zheng.
When Yang Jian knew about it, he wanted to kill him at that time. Later, Dugu Hou begged for mercy and was saved from death. He was demoted to a commoner and died at home.
Dugu Tuo's wife is Yang Su's biological sister. This boy was also a prominent figure in the Dugu family back then. He had the title of Duke of the County of Wuyao, the rank of General, and was in charge of the left and right mansions. He had great power. .
If he hadn't acted recklessly, the Dugu family wouldn't be in such a miserable state.
Poor Dugu Jialuo wanted to support him, but his family failed to live up to expectations.
At present, in the Dugu family, there is only Lao Qi, a flesh-and-blood brother of the queen. Although he has no ability, as the only seedling, Queen Dugu can only help her to the throne.
It seems that I will have to wait in Jianzhou for a few more years to take care of my child.
The Xiangyang Navy will be handed over to Zhou Zhongmou from now on. Most of his subordinates are children of the Zhou family. They are familiar with water and will be gradually assigned to important positions in the Navy.
Next, Yang Ming wrote to the court, asking for funds to rebuild the navy and build new warships to quell the floods in Jingzhou.
Building a ship is very labor-intensive and may even take several years.
But Yang Ming is not worried, because the scale of the water bandits is still under control and it is not difficult to eradicate them.
That's what happened. The problem of water bandits was only delayed to the current situation because Yang Ming needed money from the treasury to rebuild the navy. It was undoubtedly a disaster for those who relied on water transportation for their lives.
But Yang Ming had to do this. How could we not have a decent navy on the Yangtze River?
There will definitely be some impact on the people on both sides of the strait at the moment, but after the navy is built, the various water systems of the Yangtze River will no longer have floods. Especially during the great chaos in the late Sui Dynasty, with a powerful navy, both sides of the Yangtze River will have no worries.
It is difficult for a while, but it will be of infinite use in the future.
