Before Shao Xi could react, Zhao Changsheng reached out and pulled Shao Xi towards the tent.
The big hand pinched Shao Xi's wrist, and Shao Xi could clearly feel the power coming from that hand.
Zhao Changsheng is indeed a famous general of the Jingyuan Empire who has fought in hundreds of battles. He is indeed tall and powerful. With his strength, ten or eight ordinary soldiers cannot get the slightest advantage in his hands.
Everyone entered the tent and took their seats. Zhao Changsheng asked someone to serve tea to everyone and ordered everyone else to retreat outside the tent.
Then he raised his hand and said to Shao Xi: "Master Shao is so young and so trusted by the Holy One. He is indeed a young hero. If the dog can be three points as good as Master Shao, I will be very pleased."
Shao Xi quickly handed over his hand and replied: "The general is ridiculous. I am just lucky. I am also blessed by the Lord. I don't dare to take any credit."
Zhao Changsheng waved his hand and laughed, as angry as a bell.
"Master Shao, you don't have to be too modest. I also witnessed what happened at the school field a year ago. Although Quanzi's defeat was due to his physical weakness, the main reason for his defeat was that he made some flashy things.
"On the other hand, Master Shao's moves are clean and neat, and his foundation is solid. Those who practice martial arts are all under their control. Everyone can see whether a move is good or not. Speaking of which, I would like to thank Master Shao on Quanzi's behalf for his help in the first place. .
"If it weren't for Mr. Shao, my unlucky son would have suffered a big loss. He was not in good health to begin with. If he was seriously injured again, I really don't know what to do.
"I owe Master Shao a favor for this matter. If there is an opportunity in the future, I will repay you generously. If Master Shao has anything that can be of use to me, just ask. I will never be vague."
It can be seen that Zhao Changsheng is a straightforward and cheerful person, and Shao Xi feels very comfortable interacting with such a person.
Compared with the intrigues with those cunning old foxes in the court, it feels much easier to get along with Zhao Changsheng. If you beat around the bush with this kind of person, he will feel hypocritical and artificial.
People in the military don't like to talk nonsense, they just talk about what they have to say, so Shao Xi feels that there is no need for him and Zhao Changsheng to be too polite, and there is no need to be too reserved when talking, it is better to be straightforward, and it is easy to talk about something.
"It was just a simple effort at the beginning, and it was really insignificant. Now that Nan Zhao warrior has been accepted as my disciple. He acted unmeasuredly at the beginning. Today, I will ask him to make amends to the general."
With that said, Shao Xi waved to Wu Qiu'er.
Although Wu Qiu'er has a straightforward temperament, he is not stupid. Seeing his master calling him, he stood up and walked to the center of the tent, cupped his fists and raised his hands to Zhao Changsheng, smiling innocently.
Although Wu Qiu'er didn't speak, all his expressions were apologetic, and Zhao Changsheng naturally accepted it happily.
In fact, when Zhao Changsheng saw Wu Qiu'er for the first time, he was a little surprised. He recognized Wu Qiu'er as the person who fought against his son on the school field, but he didn't understand why he was following Shao Xi now?
When I heard what Shao Xi said just now, I suddenly understood, and I secretly admired this young man Shao Xi in my heart.
Unexpectedly, the enemy he faced back then could be brought to his side now. It seems that this young man is indeed extraordinary and indeed quite talented.
"The martial arts competition in the school is originally based on everyone's ability. It's not the fault of others for Quanzi's incompetence. What's more, it was Lord Shao who came to help in the first place, and Quanzi was able to escape unscathed.
"Now that Mr. Shao has accepted him as his disciple, we are all our own, and there is no talk of making amends or not.
"This man is different from ordinary people. Master Shao can actually accept him as a disciple. It shows that Master Shao has extraordinary martial arts skills and a good character. Only then can people be willing to take refuge in him. I deeply admire him!"
Shao Xi also deeply admires Zhao Changsheng's open-mindedness. You must know that Zhao Wenxuan is Zhao Changsheng's only son. Military generals are passed down from generation to generation, and they attach great importance to the sons in the family.
Wu Qiu'er almost seriously injured Zhao Wenxuan. It would be a lie to say that Zhao Changsheng was not worried.
However, the greatest advantage of most generals is that they have a straightforward temperament and do not care too much about everything, so talking about things is naturally much simpler and more direct.
"General, I am not here because I was sent by the Holy One, but because I have something to ask the general for advice?"
Zhao Changsheng was deeply surprised when he heard that Shao Xi said that he did not come to Yulong Pass under the orders of the Holy One.
You must know that Shao Xi is an official of the fourth rank in the imperial court. If he leaves the capital without the assignment of the Holy One, it would be a crime of disrespect to the Holy One!
What's more, they have come to Yulong Pass, which is the frontier to the Western Regions. Looking at this situation, Shao Xi and others are planning to leave the pass and head to the Western Regions.
If this matter was not authorized by the Holy Father, it would be the same as treason. It would not be an exaggeration to beat him to have access to foreign countries. This is not a small matter.
Now seeing Shao Xi saying that he had something to ask him for advice, Zhao Changsheng felt even more suspicious. He went to the border privately without the emperor's order, and now he came to his military camp again. He didn't know what he wanted?
"Didn't Mr. Shao come to Yulong Pass under the order of the Holy One? It's a long way from Kyoto. If it wasn't for the Holy One's order, how could Mr. Shao travel far away from the capital? If I guessed correctly, Mr. Shao planned to leave the pass and go to the Western Regions?
"Master Shao, don't blame me for meddling in other people's business. If Master Shao wants to leave seclusion without the permission of the Holy Master, I'm afraid I will stop him. However, I think Master Shao will never do anything unwise with his intelligence.
"Just now Master Shao said that he wanted to ask me something, but he didn't know what he was asking about? As long as I know something, Master Shao can just ask, and I will definitely tell you everything I know."
Shao Xi saw that Zhao Changsheng seemed to have misunderstood him, so he quickly explained to Zhao Changsheng: "General, please don't misunderstand. This official does intend to leave the country and go to the Western Regions, but this matter has been approved by the Holy Emperor.
"It's just that the official is leaving the country to handle private matters, rather than being sent out to do business by the Holy One. The general distinguishes between public and private affairs. He is indeed the pillar of the country, which makes the official deeply admired.
"However, although Xianguan came to see the general this time, although he was not sent by the Holy One, it was indeed for an official matter. Xianguan came to Yulong Pass with the caravan. When he settled in Yulong Town, he heard that the wages of the Western Army in the town had been paid. Arrears have not been paid for a long time.
"I was thinking that this matter is related to the stability of the border fortress and the safety of the Jingyuan Empire, so I came here to visit the general. I want to understand the whole story and discuss how to solve the matter with the general. Please let the general know."
Zhao Changsheng was relieved when he learned that Shao Xi's trip to the Holy Land was fully known, so that he would not have to be torn between public and private matters.
Shao Xi said that he had some kindness to him, but compared to his loyalty to the Jingyuan Dynasty, if Shao Xi really did something that violated the holy will and betrayed the country, he would have no choice but to sacrifice small kindnesses to achieve greater justice.
But he still felt guilty after doing this. Now that Shao Xi explained it like this, he finally felt relieved.
Since Shao Xi's trip to the Western Regions was approved by the Holy Spirit, not only could he not stop him, but he had to ensure that Shao Xi was thorough before leaving.
If a fourth-rank official of the current government made any mistakes at Yulong Pass, he, as the border guard, would not be able to absolve himself of the blame.
At this time, when he heard that Shao Xi asked about military pay, Zhao Changsheng's mood, which had just been somewhat relaxed, suddenly became depressed again.
"Alas! As a minister of Jingyuan, I should be cautious in my words and deeds, and should not complain to the court, but the more than 20,000 soldiers of the Western Army in Yulongguan Town have not been paid for half a year.
"I have also written to the Ministry of War many times to urge me to pay for it, but the reply from the Ministry of War to me is that the Ministry of Household Affairs has been delaying the payment of pay. Although I am a military general, I know a little about the affairs of the DPRK.
"It's okay for these civil servants in power in the court to be procrastinating in their actions, but there are many people who are Jingyuan's ministers but do not want to serve the Holy Emperor. They only think about personal profit. If they are repeatedly delayed in paying their salaries, they are afraid that some people will line their own pockets.
"The soldiers at the border are working tirelessly for the safety of their homeland and protecting the country with their lives. However, some people are greedy for the hard-earned money just for their own selfish interests. It really makes me feel chilling."
The various ministries and departments in the DPRK are at odds with each other, seemingly in harmony with each other, but discord has long existed.
Zhongshu Province, Menxia Province and Shangshu Province cooperated with each other but also restricted each other. As for the actual implementation of policies, the six departments of Shangshu Province also contradicted each other.
Among them, the Ministry of Personnel is in charge of the appointment and dismissal, promotion, assessment, transfer and honors of all officials in the DPRK. The other five departments naturally do not dare to offend.
But the other ministries are not so harmonious. The Ministry of War is in charge of the world's soldiers and horses, and is the largest consumer of money and food among the six ministries. The Ministry of Husband is in charge of the world's money, food, taxes, and household registration.
One wants money and food, and the other is in charge of money and food. They often have disputes over money and food.
One said that the affairs of the world's soldiers and horses should not be taken lightly, while the other often said that due to the lack of money and food due to multiple arrangements, delays would inevitably occur.
At this point, the two parties often quarreled over the issue of payment.
There are many uses of money and food in the world, especially in disaster years, large sums of money and food must be allocated for disaster relief.
However, there is no room for any slack in military defense matters, especially since the war with Dongmu Kingdom has been ongoing for many years, so the payment of money, food and grass cannot be delayed.
However, the military pay for the Western Army in Yulongguan Town has been delayed for more than half a year. Is it true that the Ministry of Revenue really cannot get out any money?
Presumably not, as Zhao Changsheng said, many of them were indeed colluded by officials from various ministries and departments in the DPRK and China, corrupted by corruption, and enriched themselves.
The biggest rival of Yu Ji, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, is Zhou Chengye, the Minister of the Ministry of War. Almost every time these two go to court, they will argue in front of Xiao Changyi over the issue of salary allocation.
Shao Xi knew what kind of virtue Yu Ji was. This guy should make a lot of money on weekdays to bribe other officials in the court, collude with each other, and rely on each other.
It seems that I need to give him a good beating in the future, as the Minister of the Ministry of Finance.
The border guards actually dared to default on their military pay. For the sake of their own selfish interests, they simply did not care about the safety of their family and country.
If we don't squeeze some oil and water out of him, we will really be sorry for those border soldiers who shed their blood for the country.
