"Although the shortage of charcoal in Chang'an has been alleviated, it is bound to come back this winter. The court lacks experienced people to deal with this matter. Before, Aiqing was the charcoal envoy. Now I hope that Aiqing will continue to be the charcoal envoy."
Li Longji helped Zheng Shuqing up and said with a smile.
Zheng Shuqing was anxious to salute and burst into tears of gratitude, but he was disapproving in his heart and wanted to spit on Brother Ji.
Let's put aside this bragging, if there is no official body of high quality to support him, whoever takes office will be beaten into a dog's head!
Seeing that Zheng Shuqing had a good attitude, Brother Ji sat back in his seat and motioned for the other party to sit down and chat slowly.
After the latter sat down, Li Longji screened Gao Lishi away, and then said in a deep voice: "Ai Qing previously served as the Yushi Zhongcheng, and he was an upright official, so I want to establish a new yamen, parallel to the Yushitai, with you as the head. official."
Why are you still talking nonsense? Zheng Shuqing groaned secretly in his heart.
Because the Emperor of Chang'an kept making detours without saying what he was going to do, it was definitely not good. After decades of ups and downs in the officialdom, Zheng Shuqing had seen the world. As soon as he heard these words, his whole body muscles tensed, waiting for the next step.
He was so anxious that he got angry, but he suppressed it and refused to show it.
Seeing that Zheng Shuqing couldn't take the bait and refused to express his position at all, Li Longji sighed and said:
"This yamen is called the Inspectorate. It specializes in detecting lawlessness among officials and nobles. It can also suppress the Yushitai and investigate and deal with the officials of the Yushitai. Its chiefs must be highly virtuous and highly respected."
Zheng Shuqing still didn't speak, because he knew that his current reputation had nothing to do with being "highly respected".
If he is considered highly respected, then just catching a wild dog on the streets of Chang'an can be considered highly respected.
Zheng Shuqing believes that this so-called "Inspection and Inspection Institute" has no meaning at all if it is based on Ji Ge's words. It is just a matryoshka doll of power. This kind of matryoshka doll game has been boring for all dynasties in the past, and it has a mature operating mechanism.
This situation is similar to the Ya soldiers causing trouble in the middle and late Tang Dynasty. Jiedu used Ya soldiers to restrain the Ya soldiers. When the Ya soldiers couldn't control them, they set up courtyard soldiers to suppress the Ya soldiers. When the courtyard soldiers couldn't control them either, they relied on the so-called adopted sons. The town is a typical nesting doll.
Before Brother Ji told him his true purpose, Zheng Shuqing had no intention of agreeing, and he just pretended that he was too old-sighted to understand what the emperor was saying.
"My dear, the country is currently short of military expenditures and money is in short supply. I don't want to reach out to the people and make them resentful.
Therefore, I am entrusting you to make money for the country. "
Li Longji sighed with emotion and couldn't help but wipe the crocodile tears from the corners of his eyes.
"Ask the sage to give orders, I will not give up even if I die."
Zheng Shuqing breathed a sigh of relief and bowed respectfully to Brother Ji.
Making money is no big deal, he is very familiar with this.
Seeing that Zheng Shuqing had agreed, Li Longji nodded with satisfaction.
Lao Zheng is good at this, he is soft-boned and easy to control, there are no conditions, and there is no need for him to use his ultimate move.
"As for the Inspection and Inspection Institute, it is responsible for supervising the discipline of hundreds of officials. I will also assign the imperial censor in the palace to your banner, so that the functions of the censorship station will not be duplicated.
As for what to check, this lover should think about it himself.
I only have one request, which is to make amends for small mistakes and collect money to atone for my sins. Of course, no matter how you investigate, you can't make too much of a fuss.
There is no need to take care of the big things that are inconvenient for you to deal with. Just check the small things.
As long as I can squeeze money from officials and nobles without causing trouble, I will give you my full support. I will deal with anyone who stumbles you!
I appoint you as the dean of the Inspection Institute, and by the way, I promote Yan Zhenqing, the imperial censor in the palace, as the deputy dean to help you.
In order to prevent anyone from violently resisting the law, I will allocate a battalion of 500 elite Shence Army troops, with a palace eunuch as the supervisor. They will be on standby at all times. You will be there at your call. Even if he is my brother, my prince, it is up to you to investigate.
As for the atonement money, it is collectively called the guilt money, which is used as military expenses for border towns and is used exclusively for special purposes. Paying off one's crime with money is one of the laws of the Tang Dynasty, and it is not too much for me to do so. "
Brother Ji spoke eloquently, and Zheng Shuqing automatically filtered out a series of qualifications, only remembering the dozen or so words "Small mistakes will be punished, and money will be paid to atone, no one can investigate", and his head was buzzing.
He understood Brother Ji's intention, wasn't he just to ask for money from Baiguan and Xungui? The emperor himself was embarrassed to speak, so he found Kuhaha to do the work.
But the question is, what kind of things are considered small things and what kind are considered big things?
Zheng Shuqing was quite confused because the scale was extremely blurry and even distorted and exploded.
For the powerful people in Chang'an, it was definitely a big deal to rebel and assassinate the emperor in Chang'an, but killing a few domestic slaves was not a big deal in their eyes. Even the laws of the Tang Dynasty stated that domestic slaves were not considered human beings and were ranked with livestock. If they were killed, they would be killed.
In the eyes of others, killing is a big deal, but in the eyes of the powerful, it is not.
Therefore, it is difficult to control this scale. If it is not done properly, people will die and the boat will capsize.
However, Brother Ji did not explain clearly. Obviously, he did not know or did not find out what the tolerance level of officials and nobles was.
Enforcement is light, has no deterrent effect, and does not cost much money.
If the law enforcement force is tightened, it will inevitably cause a strong backlash from officials and nobles, and the political situation will be chaotic.
The difficult part about this matter lies in the intensity of execution.
"Saint, this matter..."
Before Zheng Shuqing finished speaking, Brother Ji raised his hand to signal him to shut up.
"I know it's difficult, but it's not a problem that the soldiers in Bian Town are in arrears over and over again.
Some people will definitely criticize me in the history books of future generations regarding the matter of the Inspection Institute. But I'm not worried about being infamy. My dear, just let it go. The country is the most important thing. "
Brother Ji's words made Zheng Shuqing want to cry.
You are just watching the show while riding on the horse. I am the one who will be criticized by future generations, okay?
If Brother Ji were not the emperor, Uncle Zheng would have been so angry that he walked away early in the morning, but who would let others reincarnate?
The lesser of two evils, Zheng Shuqing felt that it would be better for him to be the dean of this so-called inspection institute than for the Zheng family in Xingyang to gradually decline without a prominent figure. If you get scolded, just get scolded. Anyway, there are enough people who have scolded him now.
"Wei Chen understands and can take office tomorrow."
Zheng Shuqing crossed his hands and saluted Li Longji.
"Hey, it's not like we're in such a hurry. The Inspection and Inspection Institute is going to be established, and the formalities for the Zhongshu Sect to go to the province are still required. It'll take a few days.
After hearing that you are now unemployed at home, Fang Guozhong strongly recommended you for this official position in his letter. You should thank him very much. "
Brother Ji said with a smile, and sold Fang Chongyong in a blink of an eye.
"Fang Guozhong?"
Zheng Shuqing didn't understand who this guy was for a while, and he vaguely heard it somewhere.
"It's Fang Chongyong who is familiar with you. He is now serving as the military governor of Longyou."
Brother Ji said calmly, deliberately omitting the word "agent".
"Longyou Jiedushi?"
Zheng Shuqing was shocked. Is Fang Chongyong already a military governor?
Brother Ji waved his hand, not wanting to talk about Fang Chongyong.
"The matter of the Inspection and Inspection Institute is quite important. I will take my leave first and go home to think about it."
Seeing that the emperor had nothing to say to him, Zheng Shuqing had no choice but to bow and leave with full of doubts.
Looking at his leaving back, Brother Ji was thoughtful.
Fang Chongyong gave him two sets of combined punches, one light and one dark, which could relieve the military's urgent need. The Inspection and Inspection Institute has one thing on the surface, but there is another thing secretly. But, who should be left to handle the secret work?
Brother Ji has been trying to figure out a suitable candidate, but he still has no clue.
…
The channel guarded by the Anren Army has a nice name, "Xingxuchuan".
This road is the only way from Longyou to Dadou Valley. Of course, the middle section of this road is an area controlled by the Tibetan army. It is inaccessible and the conditions are poor. The Tibetan people have no stronghold there.
But they can send troops from here. They can attack Dadou Bagou in the north and Shanzhou in the south. The Tang army had actually been in a strategically passive state in Longyou. It was Tubo who initiated the attack, and it was Tubo who decided whether to fight or make peace. It was Tubo, not Tang, who decided.
To put it bluntly, the Hehuang Valley is a "low land" with lots of wind and abundant water and grass. To defend the place and confront the Tibetans, a large number of troops must be stationed. There is no second way for the time being.
Not two days had passed since the last time the Heyuan Army conquered Wang Rao, Fang Chongyong led a group of people who were imprisoned in the Heyuan Army camp, those who participated in the mutiny and the Anren Army rebels, to Datong City in Xingxuchuan.
Also called "Datong Fort".
Compared with the loose distribution of the camps of the Heyuan Army, the camps and fortresses of the Anren Army showed a trend of integration. They were structured like wooden forts outside the stone city and were run very strictly.
Seeing the Anren Army building a neat camp, Fang Chongyong couldn't help but nodded. He finally saw a reliable person in Longyou. It has to be said that Ge Shuhan is still quite talented and does more things than his own job. During his tenure, he continuously strengthened the defense of the fortress and expanded the layout of the camps outside the fortress. There are many arrow towers and horses.
Of course, Ge Shuhan also dug his own hole and buried himself.
The shortage of personnel in Longyou Army is actually a long-term annual event that lasts for decades and does not happen overnight.
And this kind of thing is very resilient.
Once the situation between the Tang Dynasty and Tubo eased, such as when Princess Jincheng married a Tibetans, the relationship between the Tang Dynasty and Tubo eased a lot, and the war stopped. Then the Longyou Army will begin to lack personnel, eat empty pay, and let the recruited soldiers go home to plow the fields.
On the surface it seems unbelievable, but in fact the border army has to do this because of the heavy pressure on military expenditure.
Fang Chongyong remembered that in his previous life, there was an Internet celebrity battle example on the Internet, "The Tang Army defeated Tubo."
According to historical records, at a place called Hunya Peak near the Longyou'an People's Army station, an unnamed general resisted the Tibetan army of 400,000 with a force of 5,000, and won the battle, neutralizing the Tibetan offensive.
Let’s not talk about other flaws. There is a key piece of information here, which is that the Anren Army has 5,000 people! In other words, the Anren Army only had 5,000 men at that time, or in other words, it could only handle 5,000 men!
Fang Chongyong believed that the 400,000 Tubo people suddenly invaded the territory, and the Anren Army actually left half of them in the camp to give one hand to fight the Tubo people. This was too much, and it did not follow normal logic.
Therefore, these five thousand people are most likely the entire strength of the Anren Army.
Originally, he was dismissive of this kind of "Internet celebrity historical records", but today he found out that maybe the historian was not wrong, but he was just too embarrassed to talk about the free money.
At that time, there should be only 5,000 soldiers in the Anren Army who could fight. One of the reasons was that they had to eat a lot of empty pay. It is also possible that many wounded soldiers could not leave the camp or those who died in the battle had no time to replace them. However, the number of Longyou troops in the Tang Dynasty is sometimes less than expected, which is no problem.
The military envoy of the Anren Army in his previous life was probably not Ge Shuhan, and Fang Chongyong didn't know what changes he had made since he became the envoy of the Anren Army.
However, after investigation, Fang Chongyong discovered that Ge Shuhan, in his position as the envoy of the Anren Army, was actually the one with the least pay among the Longyou armies!
So when the court owed wages, the Anren Army had the least amount of money in the "small treasury" and could not make ends meet. Finally, they couldn't bear it and mutinied!
As for the other armies in Longyou, because the envoys still had a small treasury in their hands, they could deal with it and replenish some spring and winter clothes appropriately, so the trouble was not so serious.
To put it simply, Ge Shuhan, an honest man, has not adapted to the new changes in the workplace.
In Fang Chongyong’s view, the right and wrong way to execute something also depends on the external environment. There is no absolute good or absolute bad. There is an invisible and flexible unspoken rule.
"General, I will pay my respects to Fang Jieshuai!"
Ge Shuhan, whose beard was half white, was showing signs of fatigue and knelt down on one knee to salute.
He was a Turkic Turk, and he joined the army quite late. He did not join the Longyou Army until he was forty years old. Although he climbed very fast, he was actually the oldest among the military envoys in Longyou.
He is much older than Wang Zhongsi, who is currently serving as the governor of Hedong!
Fang Chongyong immediately understood that Ge Shuhan did not climb up by working hard and daring to attack. He must be a man rich in military strategy and strategy, and good at commanding troops. Otherwise it would be impossible to explain why he climbed so fast.
In fact, Ge Shuhan's age does not allow him to mess around on the battlefield.
"Envoy Geshu, the Anren Army mutinied a few days ago, and I am here to deal with the matter. Behind me are the dozens of Anrenjun assassins. Bring them back first, and you can arrange them well, waiting for the imperial edict. Before the imperial edict arrives, Before, we couldn’t kill them, otherwise it would be suspected of wiping out human evidence.”
Fang Chongyong said calmly, because Wang Nannan had told a lot of inside information, and coupled with what Guan Chongsi had told him before, he had a very clear understanding of the internal situation of the Anren Army.
But now he has to pretend that he knows nothing.
"General, I will understand. Fang Jieshuai will come in."
Ge Shuhan made a gesture of invitation, his eyebrows were lowered and his eyes were extremely respectful, and there was no domineering arrogance in him that Bian Zhenqiu Ba should have. In fact, now that Ge Shuhan has not defected to Tubo, he is already mentally strong. If it were someone else, he might have run away long ago.
Thousands of the Anren Army were captured by the Heyuan Army, and hundreds more were missing. The losses were considerable. Fortunately, Ge Shuhan was having a meeting in Longyou Jiedu Mansion at that time and had a large number of witnesses to prove his innocence. Otherwise, the charge of "inciting mutiny" would have been established long ago.
"Well, go to the Chinese Army."
Fang Chongyong nodded slightly and said, not angry but confident. At this moment, the Anren Army was filled with a tense atmosphere. They knew that their fate depended largely on Fang Chongyong's suggestions on how to deal with the imperial letter.
The acting Jiedushi was unhappy, and the consequences were serious.
Entering Datong Castle, Fang Chongyong curiously observed this strategically important stone castle.
It is located on a hill along the Baoku River, guarding the narrowest throat of the Xingxuchuan River. It is truly surrounded by mountains and rivers. It is a geomantic treasure. There is no shortage of water sources at all, enough to ensure that an army of ten thousand people can drink water without worry. .
The narrow passage under the hill is less than ten meters. Whether it is Tibetan infantry or cavalry, passing through here will be ambushed by the Anren army on the hill. There are mountains on both sides of the road, and the Baoku River on the other. When the gods come, they can only shake their heads and sigh.
It has to be said that Guo Zhiyun, the commander-in-chief of the Longyou Army of the Tang Dynasty who originally chose the site to build the city here, did have extraordinary vision. The Heyuan Army's camp is mediocre and can be broken with a single poke, because it is just to control the nodes. Don't show off in places that cannot be defended.
The An people's army's fortress was built with great efforts, and it also followed the principle of "save what is needed and spend what is spent".
Fang Chongyong, led by Ge Shuhan and others, walked into the security room where the chief general of the Anren Army worked, which was also where Ge Shuhan lived.
This is the highest residence on the hill. Apart from being sturdy, the other furnishings are very simple no matter how you look at it. The conditions are indeed very difficult to live in this kind of place for a long time, and this is already the best accommodation in the Anren Army fortress.
Under such bitterly cold conditions, the imperial court still owed winter clothes for two years, and there were not enough spring clothes.
Fang Chongyong probably understood why the Anren soldiers took the lead in mutiny.
If nothing else, the imperial court is a real dog in this matter! It is indeed not that the Qiuba people on the Anren Army side are deliberately causing trouble, but that life is hard, treatment is poor, and wages are owed. Who can bear this?
After dismissing everyone, Ge Shuhan knelt down and kowtowed to Fang Chongyong and said: "Commander Jie has also seen what conditions the Anren Army has for its settlement. I would like to ask Commander Jie to show his respect for this matter! All officers and soldiers of the Anren Army of a certain generation would like to express their gratitude to Commander Jie!" "
"Hey, General Geshu gets up first and then we talk."
Fang Chongyong helped Ge Shuhan up, sighed and said: "The Anren Army has set a very bad precedent. The saint is furious. I am afraid this army cannot be retained."
He made a chopping motion with his hands.
Is it that serious?
Ge Shuhan had already stood up. When he heard this, he fell down on the stone bench next to him, so frightened that he was speechless.
(End of chapter)
