"Guohua, you have been working in the Ministry of Personnel for more than half a year! How about it? Have you encountered any troubles or difficulties? Are the ministers and officials still worthy of your use?" Li Tao calmed down some of the anger accumulated in his mind. He looked at Shen Wenbing, showed a warm smile, and expressed concern for the work of his subordinates.
Upon hearing the question, Shen Wenbing smiled modestly and responded calmly: "Thank you very much for your concern, Mr. Xian! Thanks to the majesty of Mr. Xian, everything is well, the departments are running normally, and the staff are doing their best. With the foundation laid by Mr. Xian, the subordinates only need to act according to the rules. It wasn’t any trouble.”
Li Tao was obviously very satisfied with his attitude. He looked at him and said, "Guohua is also from a famous family. He has been promoted to Jinshi. He has served in many positions and is a good official in politics. He should bear heavy responsibilities and serve the court. Only then can you give full play to your abilities." talents.
Originally, I recommended you to take up the post of Kaifeng Mansion, but His Majesty preferred Li Gu. However, the Ministry of Personnel is an important position in the heavenly officialdom. As the head of all the imperial offices, the power and responsibilities are equally important and should not be underestimated. With your help, it has also reduced a lot of my burden..."
After being stunned for a moment, Shen Wenbing said with a humble look on his face: "I would also like to thank my husband for the promotion!"
"In this way, regarding the appointment of Chu and Si, you should go back to the Yamen and select some suitable candidates. After all, this is an important state in the Huaihe River, and it is not suitable for non-talented officials. It requires many considerations. We rejected Wang Pu's recommendation and asked the Emperor Over there, we need to make some preparations to avoid being questioned and saying that I am blocking the way to recommend talented people!" Li Tao ordered.
"Yes!" Shen Wenbing responded, hesitated for a moment, and said, "I would like to inform you, Mr. Chongzheng Hall, have you been asking about the appointment of officials in Jinghu Lake frequently recently?"
"Then the Second Zhao State dared to interfere with the official affairs?" Li Tao was a little scornful.
Shen Wenbing said: "Before, officials were selected and sent to Jinghu. Zhao Pu had been ordered by His Majesty to inspect the officials in the south."
After hearing what he said, Li Tao's eyebrows narrowed slightly. He thought for a moment, looked at Shen Wenbing, and asked with some vigilance: "Is there any problem with the transfer of officials in Jinghu?"
Shen Wenbing seemed to be a slow-tempered person, and he responded slowly: "The selection from the imperial court and from inside and outside is all in line with the imperial system. However, the assessment of the old officials in Jinghu and their retention... The lower officials only heard about it. At the beginning, Officials who went to the south for assessment took bribes and changed the assessors!"
"Is this really happening?" Li Tao's body was shaken.
Shen Wenbing responded: "There is no evidence yet, just rumors!"
Although Shen Wenbing said this, Li Tao's face turned ugly. Last year, after the imperial court sent troops to pacify Jinghu, in addition to transferring officials from the central and local governments, it also retained a large number of old local officials, and only sent special envoys south to conduct assessment and evaluation. It was Li Tao who arranged this matter at that time.
At this time, hearing what Shen Wenbing said, Li Tao felt offended and deceived. After pondering for a while, Li Tao told Shen Wenbing: "There may be no reason for the groundless rumors! Otherwise, why would the Second Zhao of Chongzheng Palace pay so much attention to this matter? In this way, you secretly sent people to investigate this matter, especially the officials who were responsible for the assessment when they went south. Officials, please figure it out!"
"Yes!" Shen Wenbing still calmly said with his hands raised: "I'm resigning!"
"Go!"
After Shen Wenbing left, Li Tao couldn't help but pinch the bridge of his nose hard. When he was alone, a trace of tiredness that could not be concealed appeared on his face. After the chaos in Guanzhong, he was no longer so high-spirited, but he still showed the authority of the leader in front of others. Now it seems that there is indeed a feeling that everything is not going well. Being in such a high position, not only enjoying the glory and fame brought by power, but also the pressure exerted from above and below is not small at all.
Of course, if Li Tao could be like Feng Dao, it might be easier. However, he is not Feng Dao after all. Furthermore, for Emperor Liu Chengyou, there is no need for another Feng Dao, unless he wants to be Su Yugui, but that is far away from the center of power...
Thousands of threads finally turned into a low murmur: I, Li, am not such an easy strategist.
Li Tao seemed to feel that someone was plotting against him.
Shen Wenbing left the political hall and stopped to look back for a moment, his face as usual, a calm and gentle expression. I was just thinking about my relationship with Li Tao. Just now, Li Tao treated him with the utmost sincerity, gave him good advice, and relied on him as a confidant.
It is undeniable that Li Tao was kind to him, but Shen Wenbing was also very clear-headed. His job as Minister of Civil Affairs was also an appointment by the emperor. Even though Li Xiang was powerful and in charge of the civil affairs of the world, he could not fulfill his position as minister of civil affairs without the emperor's approval.
Shen Wenbing has a gentle temperament, is humble, polite, and a gentleman, but this does not mean that he is pedantic. Recently, I can feel something unusual from the wind direction in the middle.
Li Tao became more and more powerful, coercing all the ministers. There were many party members inside and outside the government. He appointed many people to various ministries and yamen and important local positions, and his momentum was unprecedented. But at the same time, the public opinion is gradually declining, there are more and more criticisms in the DPRK, and Fan Xiang and Xue Xiang seem to be getting closer.
After thinking carefully for a while, Shen Wenbing regained his composure, walking calmly, and worrying too much is useless. For him, he can see clearly and just do his part...
In the Privy Council, Chai Rong stood with his hands behind his back, staring at the map hanging in the hall in trance. Li Chuyun stepped in lightly, saw him, noticed where his eyes were heading, and couldn't help but said: "The Prime Minister is still thinking about the chaos in Guanzhong?"
"We have to worry about it!" Chai Rong responded: "Although it has been settled, the impact of this matter is very great! I am wondering whether the deployment of Daozhou Dusi's troops is too weak?"
Hearing this, Li Chuyun shook his head: "Otherwise, this incident broke out in various counties, but it subsided within less than twenty days, which is enough to prove that the government's control over the local area is still tight enough. It's just that after many years of peace, coupled with The deployment and control of troops are mostly at the border, so they are lax and taken advantage of by the rebel army. Furthermore, this turmoil is a disaster for the Shu prisoners. If they were ordinary people, they would be wiped out faster and would never have caused such a big disaster. movement!"
"What you said makes sense!" Chai Rong nodded: "However, we should still take it as a warning. I would like to suggest to Your Majesty that all the Taoist forces have troops. In addition to guarding important towns and important places, they should also organize timely Battalion inspections. Reasonable adjustments should be made to the deployment of troops and horses in various areas. If there is such a dangerous situation, it is necessary to ensure that the local garrison can respond in a timely manner. County and town warriors should also strengthen organizational training and assist Public security, fighting chaos and controlling violence!”
"The Prime Minister's concerns are all about seeking peace for the country, and they are to the point. Your Majesty should accept them!" Li Chuyun kept nodding his head, fully approving of Chai Rong's thoughts.
"But the specific provisions require us to plan carefully!" Chai Rong showed a smile.
"yes!"
Looking back at Li Chuyun, Chai Rong raised his finger and asked, "Zhengyuan, do you think the ministers in the Political Affairs Hall will propose how to deal with the remaining Shu army prisoners?"
"The prime ministers will naturally come up with stable solutions when they are old enough to plan for the country!" Li Chuyun said lightly, noticing Chai Rong's bright eyes, he raised his hands and asked: "What do you think, Prime Minister?"
"The Shu army has always been regarded as a weak force by our dynasty. Several battles between Han and Shu ended with our dynasty winning. But it would be biased to despise the Shu soldiers based on this. Thinking about the Shu army's historical defeats, it has only been peaceful for many years. The soldiers are poorly trained, lack actual combat skills, and lack the talent of generals. In addition, the state is in a state of decline, which affects the combat effectiveness of the army..." Chai Rong said eloquently:
"However, there are many strong men among the Shu people, and the captured Shu soldiers can also be regarded as a good source of soldiers. I have always felt that it is a great waste to use those captives as slaves and hard labor. Of course, Due to the limitations of the situation, it is not possible to fully absorb them.”
"Originally, I proposed to Your Majesty that all suitable Shu prisoners should be incorporated into the army to conquer Shu and be retrained. They have suffered so much, and instead of being liberated and given the chance to escape from their suffering, they will definitely explode with great strength, or they can Reduce the damage of the Forbidden Army and the Southwest Frontier Army..."
As he said that, Chai Rong couldn't help but sigh: "However, after the chaos in Guanzhong, it is not easy to return to the peace of the past in a short period of time. It is a pity that the people were injured and killed, the money and food were lost, and the fields were destroyed, but The instability in Guanzhong will affect the preparations for the war against Shu. If the army is raised again this year, I am afraid that there will be many ministers in the court who will oppose it. If the attack against Shu fails, I will be too worried about the prisoners of Shu. !”
After listening to Chai Rong's words, Li Chuyun also thought about it and said: "Prime Minister, I think it might not be a bad thing to delay the time of conquering Shu. We captured Qin Feng last year and Jinghu last year. If we do it again this autumn, To destroy Shu, we have to fight every day, which places an excessive burden on the court, the army, and the people. If the chaos in Guanzhong allows His Majesty to temporarily suspend his desire to destroy Shu, it will also give the superiors and subordinates more breathing space. Even if it is only one more In two years, the imperial court will be more fully prepared for war, and the results will be better..."
"I got what you said!" Chai Rong smiled and said, "However, your Majesty has not yet made a decision, so the preparations that need to be made must not be relaxed, and the training of soldiers to conquer Shu must not be relaxed. Especially in Jiangling, Zhang Yanqing is ordered to not neglect the training of the navy!"
"yes!"
Chai Rong noticed the memorial in Li Chuyun's hand and asked, "What's the matter?"
Li Chuyun submitted it: "Bai Chongzan of the Yongning Army reported that the training of the Dingzhou Army has been completed. Please review it with the Prime Minister!"
