Su Fengji touched his head to the ground with a very respectful attitude. Seeing this, Zhao Kuangyin dismounted and helped him up: "Forgive me, Mr. Su!"
Su Fengji was not supported, but he still said respectfully: "The army is a general of the imperial court and an envoy of the emperor. He is no more than a puchuan and has sinned against the people. A general should not be called so respectfully!"
Hearing this, Zhao Kuangyin looked at him. His face was pale, his body was pale, and his skin was rough. He was just like an ordinary Longshang citizen. It was impossible to tell that he was already a man with deep clothes, wide sleeves, purple clothes and gold bags. High-ranking officials and powerful ministers. The dust on his forehead contrasted with the humble smile on his face.
Zhao Kuangyin immediately changed his name to "Su Weng". Su Fengji wanted to invite Zhao Kuangyin into the house, host a banquet, and accompany him with his family, but Zhao Kuangyin declined.
Instead, he ordered Su Fengji to lead him around the horse farm and consult him on livestock matters. Su Fengji also very skillfully informed him about the horse farm affairs one by one. He also found the herdsman under his command who was best at raising horses and asked him to explain it to Zhao Kuangyin in detail.
After spending less than half an hour, Zhao Kuangyin got something. He once again declined the warm invitation to stay, refused to accept the banquet, and decided to resign. Although Su Fengji was disappointed, he still smiled and presented the two horses with the best qualifications. Zhao Kuangyin accepted this with a smile.
On the way back to the city, Zhao Kuangyi was a little excited. He kept glancing at the two horses presented by Su Fengji and said to Zhao Kuangyin: "Second brother, these two horses are really good horses!"
"You also know the art of looking at horses? Then tell me, what's so good about it?" Zhao Kuangyin asked.
"Tall, strong and powerful, looking at his eyes, he is quite spiritual!" Looking at the two horses, which were not very good-looking, Zhao Kuangyi held back a few words, and then said: "Then Su Fengji said that this is the horse in the racecourse. The two best horses, I guess he wouldn't dare to deceive me!"
"People say it's a good horse, right?" After hearing what he said, Zhao Kuangyin said, "It's not advisable to follow what others say!"
Showing a hint of embarrassment, Zhao Kuangyi smiled and said excitedly: "Second brother, these two horses, one for each of us brothers?"
Zhao Kuangyin shook his head: "Do you think these two horses are for me?"
Zhao Kuangyi was stunned.
Riding on the horse, with his hands clasped towards the east, Zhao Kuangyin said: "After returning to Beijing, I should offer it to the emperor!"
Zhao Kuangyi became even more puzzled and asked: "It's just two horses. How can the emperor blame you for giving and receiving privately?"
Zhao Kuangyin sighed: "Do you know why Su Fengji was so flattering and humble to me just now? He wanted to tell his situation to heaven through me! When Su Fengji was demoted, I had not yet joined the Forbidden Army, so I didn't do anything to him. I don’t know much about it. However, it is conceivable that when we were powerful for a while, we have ended up like this, which is very disappointing! People like me should also take a warning!"
After carefully appreciating his brother's words, Zhao Er found it difficult to understand, but he obviously gained something. Brother Zhao Kuangyin, through this kind of influence, the effect is obviously good.
"After returning to the city, I bid farewell to the governor and will start heading north tomorrow!" He lightly kicked the horse's belly and sped up a little, Zhao Kuangyin decided, "There is no need to stay in Jingyuan!"
"Second brother is planning to leave Yuanzhou just like this?" Zhao Kuangyi glanced at the state officials who were accompanying him, followed him, and said in a lower voice: "That Li Ye is so rude. Second brother is an angel, and he is here. Jing, instead of coming to greet you, went out to hunt. I heard that at the banquet, there was also a great man, who actually treated him as his nephew and his brother. His words were scornful and arrogant!"
"I am a relative of the emperor and the emperor's uncle, so it's not surprising that I have some ideas!" Zhao Kuangyin smiled faintly: "However, I see that under the rule of Yuanzhou, the land is not deserted, the people have property, and the public security is relatively stable. This is a public ceremony. , but it does have merit!”
"I don't think so!" Zhao Kuangyi said.
Facing his brother's gaze, Zhao Kuangyi explained with a hint of showoff: "Yesterday, my second brother was not in Zhoucheng. Li Shijun opened a court to inquire about a private salt case. I was curious and went to the Yamen to hear the verdict!"
"What problem did you find?" Zhao Kuangyin asked.
Zhao Kuangyi replied: "On the surface, there is indeed nothing unusual. The only thing that makes me feel strange is the amount of private salt, which is twenty stones. Private salt dealers smuggled it in liters, and the court also convicted them on this basis!" Twenty pieces of rock salt are so huge. How can ordinary people have such energy?
Li Shijun seemed to have noticed. After his trial, he found out that he was a salt official from Yuanzhou who had colluded with others to resell official salt for personal gain, so he was convicted and sentenced to death in court! "
Zhao Kuangyi's eyes shone with intelligence and he said: "I was thinking that selling private salt is a serious crime of beheading. No matter how bold the salt officials are, they don't dare to be so public. Stealing such a large amount of official salt at once is shocking. . And Li Shijun’s urgency in solving the case and his eagerness to convict make people wonder if there is something hidden in it!”
After listening to his analysis, Zhao Kuangyin couldn't help but look at the young man beside him. He knew that his younger brother was intelligent and usually smart. However, I am afraid that he is too smart.
Asked: "Kuang Yi, what do you want me to do when you state this to me?"
Seeing his brother's attitude, Zhao Kuangyi couldn't help but said: "Don't you, brother, be curious about what's going on and dig out the hidden secrets behind it?"
Taking a deep breath, Zhao Kuangyin said to Zhao Kuangyi in a serious tone: "First, my responsibilities in this trip are not in state and civil affairs. If there are any problems, it is the matter of the Procuratorate! The second one should not be involved. There is no need to pay attention to the matter, and there is no need to even be curious!"
Zhao Kuangyin said seriously, he thought for a moment, and then added: "Keep this matter in your heart and don't show off to others!"
"Yes!" I dare not disobey my brother.
...
In Yanzhou, in the autumn of last year, the Han court reorganized the border army here with a force of 1,500, including 500 horsemen. Wang Yansheng was appointed as the envoy of the border army to act as defense agent.
Last year, he was sent to Yanzhou by the emperor Liu Chengyou for disobeying the palace and rushing into the prime minister's office. After taking office, Wang Yansheng put away his defense, and with his strong character, the general atmosphere changed drastically.
There are many Hu people in the territory, and the control and influence of the imperial court are very weak, and the policy of restraint is adopted. Under his rule, barbarians often violated the law, caused chaos, and bullied the Han people.
After Wang Yansheng arrived, he enforced strict laws, and because of his anger, he basically vented it on those barbarians. He only listened to half of the advice Wei Renpu gave him in Tokyo. It was not his style to be gentle and comforting. It was his style to be tough and intimidating. He is not a kind person, let alone benevolent to subdue the barbarians.
It took a month to rectify military affairs, and then began to severely crack down on lawlessness in the territory to achieve public order.
There is a salt pond in the northwest of Yanzhou, which was formerly occupied by the Dangxiang tribe. Wang Yansheng used it to steal the property and directly sent people to seize it. The tribe refused to obey and resisted. Wang Yansheng was even more decisive and directly sent troops to attack and behead their leader. Of course, it is not just tough, and all tribesmen and property, except cattle and horses, will be distributed to other barbarians in the territory.
In this way, they not only obtained the salt pond, but also added cattle and horses to attack the most powerful party tribe in the territory, and at the same time established the authority of General Wang, without causing too much turmoil. When word of this incident reached Tokyo, the emperor's feedback was, well done!
Around the salt pond, another market was set up, called Baishi, for trading. With Wang Yansheng as his escort, merchant trade within the territory gradually prospered. And every month, when Wang Yansheng inspects the pass defense, he comes to take a look.
Since the beginning of spring, the trading volume of Baishi Market has increased significantly. People from the Han Dynasty have gathered to exchange their needs. There are also obviously more merchants from Guanzhong.
Under the protection of his own soldiers, Wang Yansheng wandered around the market as if inspecting his territory. The captive merchants and Hu people who knew him subconsciously lowered their heads wherever he went, not daring to look sideways, like avoiding tigers and wolves. Wang Yansheng was very satisfied with the effect and had a smile on his face.
"Recently, in the market, have these barbarians been at peace, or have anyone made trouble and broken the law?" Wang Yansheng asked the accompanying city officials.
The city officials laughed along and complimented Wang Yansheng: "The military envoy is famous for his reputation, and all the barbarians are intimidated. How dare you violate the law?"
Wang Yansheng clicked his tongue, as if it was a pity. When the city official saw it, he couldn't help but shuddered. He thought of Ambassador Wang's "bad habits".
Last year, Wang Yansheng summoned his staff, hosted a banquet for the clan leaders in the country, and ordered someone to bring a prisoner who had raped Han women. Without further ado, he tore off its ears in front of everyone, grilled them over fire, and then drank wine and ate them.
The scene was very bloody, the military envoy was very calm, and all the officials and Hulu leaders were afraid of submission. After that, every time Wang Yansheng committed another crime, he would eat his ears first and then punish him. As a result, the name "General Tao'er" spread like wildfire in the northwest frontier.
The result is that, although it is difficult to prevent crimes under Yanzhou's rule, the crime rate has plummeted, and few people dare to violate the law. Until now, in less than a year, Wang Yansheng has had dozens of dishes.
