Wang Ruohai arrived at Xiangyang City and came straight to see Wang Xiaolie.
In the study, Wang Xiaolie and Wang Ruohai sat opposite each other. Wang Xiaolie invited tea and said, "It's been a hard journey to punish me."
Wang Ruohai said: "How dare you. Observe, I heard someone on the road saying that the imperial court has established a new governor. Now the government is divided into three roads, and I am in charge of one road. I don't know if it is true or not?"
Wang Xiaolie nodded: "Yes. I am in charge of the three prefectures of Xiangyang, Ru, Tang and Deng. Chen Qiudao is in charge of Sui and Ying prefectures. Caizhou and Xinyang troops are responsible for the punishment. Except for the promotion of tea and salt officers, the rest of the prisons in the territory The entire government will be abolished! Military and civil affairs will all be decided by the governor."
Wang Ruohai sighed: "The imperial court acted because the governor's power was too great. It was afraid that too many prefectures and counties would be observed and governed, and their strength would be too strong for the imperial court to control. But there are only four prefectures left, how can we support them? An army?”
Wang Xiaoxing said: "The imperial court's move is nothing more than the same saying, before going outside, you must first make peace at home."
Wang Ruohai shook his head repeatedly: "If you can't fight against the Jinlu outside, how can you have peace at home? This year's turmoil in Jinghu and Jiangxi, isn't it because the Jinlu crossed the river and conquered the prefectures and counties, leaving the local areas without control? Alas, the court did this, When will the fight against gold end?"
Wang Xiaolie was silent for a while. Said: "Actually, we all understand the truth. How many people don't understand why the imperial court sets up envoys? Needless to say, some people are inevitably tempted when they think they have great power, or they think it can be hereditary. But most people don't. I will take it seriously. But the most important thing is not to understand, but how to do it. The purpose of the imperial court is to restrict the strength of various places to one place, even if it reduces the ability to resist gold."
Wang Ruohai nodded: "Observation is good, the key is to see how to do it. I wonder what Chen Yun's intention is?"
Wang Xiaolie said: "Shi Yun has no soldiers and doesn't want to go to Suizhou."
Wang Ruohai said: "That's how I understand."
After speaking, Wang Ruohai said goodbye and left without waiting much longer.
Wang Xiaolie sat alone in the study, looking at the gloomy sky outside.
This matter is not complicated, and anyone with a normal mind will understand why the imperial court suddenly set up a governor. Among the local forces, it is undeniable that there are some who are simple-minded and impulsive, and think it is a good thing. But most people don't take it seriously, and some weak ones are even afraid. Before the town and envoys were established, the good and the bad were the officials of the imperial court. The officials of the Song Dynasty still made people feel relatively at ease. Establishing a town governor means that you will have to control your own life and death in the future. Accidentally, it was annexed by other forces.
Are there any benefits to setting up a town and envoy? There are still some. Countless forces from all over the world were restricted to a smaller territory, and the chaotic situation in the world slowly stabilized. The imperial court can free up its hands to deal with the various forces one by one.
The thing is very simple, the key is to see how each person does it. After spending countless efforts, today, it is impossible for Wang Xiaolie to give up his territory. Chen Qiudao and Wang Ruohai cooperate best. If they don't cooperate, they have to stand aside. With money in hand, and most importantly, soldiers in hand, how could Wang Xiaolie be manipulated by the court? It's best to support him in his fight against the Jin Dynasty. If he doesn't support it, Wang Xiaolie will be too lazy to deal with the court.
The most important thing now is to unify our thinking. Not just the top few officials, but also a large number of middle- and lower-level officials. An edict, if it is not important, it is not important at all. It is important and should not be underestimated at all.
Not to mention the weight of the imperial court in this era, during the Anti-Japanese War, there was also the idea that everything passed through the united front and everything obeyed the united front. There are always some people who will be affected by the imperial court's will.
Thinking of this, Wang Xiaolie sighed. The key to one's own power, in the final analysis, is that military power must not be shared with other officials. As long as they firmly hold on to military power, no matter what other officials think, they will not be able to cause actual harm to themselves. No matter how many ups and downs there are, in the end, the violence of the military will speak for itself.
Wang Ruohai just washed up, changed into his official uniform, and took the imperial edict from Qin Zi. A soldier was sent to invite Chen Qiudao to have a gathering at a riverside restaurant.
As Xiangyang City becomes increasingly prosperous, the riverside restaurants have also become very different. A new building was built and the store is much larger. It's just that Wang Xiaolie is not allowed to have female prostitutes in the Jiecai Building at the entrance. It is not as lively as restaurants in other places.
Arriving at the small pavilion on the second floor, Wang Ruohai let the boy get into the water. He took out a bag of tea and said: "This is the good tea produced by the Xinyang Army this year. Please brew it carefully. Remember, do not use freshly boiled water. Let the water become warm before brewing."
The boy smiled and said: "Guanren, please feel at ease. Jiangbian Restaurant is the largest restaurant in Xiangyang, how could you not know this?"
After saying that, he quickly went down, got the tea set again, and brewed it carefully.
Not long after, Chen Qiudao came in. He handed over to Wang Ruohai and said, "Laotixing has been waiting for a long time."
Wang Ruohai said: "No need to be polite. I have just arrived. I brewed a pot of good tea and am waiting for the envoy."
Chen Qiudao sat down opposite. Wang Ruohai picked up the teapot and poured a cup of tea: "This is this year's new tea. I specially selected some for the envoy to taste. After observing Xiangyang, the Xinyang Army specially made loose tea, which has a unique flavor."
Chen Qiudao drank tea. Said: "Good tea! After drinking this tea, your lips and teeth will be fragrant. It is definitely not an ordinary product!"
The two drank tea for a while. When the food and drinks were served, Wang Ruohai raised his glass and said, "Drink a glass of Yicheng's Tanxi wine, and let's chat some gossip."
After three rounds of drinking. Chen Qiudao put down his wine glass and said to Wang Ruohai: "As soon as Ti Xing arrived in Xiangyang, he invited me to drink. He must have something to say. Although we have not had much contact with each other and we work together, we are not strangers. If Ti Xing had something to say, although To put it bluntly.”
Wang Ruohai put down his drink and was silent for a while. Said: "The imperial court has newly appointed envoys for towns and governors. I am the envoy for military towns and governors of Caizhou and Xinyang, and the envoys for transportation are the envoys for the towns and governors of Sui and Yingzhou. These are all for observing the territory under the rule, and we have no army. How do you want to transport the envoys? ?”
Chen Qiudao said: "What else can we do? We have to listen to the imperial order, but we are on the front line of the anti-golden war, and we cannot listen to everything. We just need to understand what the imperial court wants. How to do it depends on reality."
Wang Ruohai said: "It's not difficult to guess what it means to set up a town and envoy."
Chen Qiudao sighed: "Use the power of the vassal town to win over local forces, fight against the Jin Dynasty and suppress the bandits. Create a small territory to prevent the local government from becoming too big. This matter is obvious, so why is it so difficult to guess?"
Wang Ruohai said in a deep voice: "The most important thing is not to use vassal towns to win over the generals, but to allocate small territories to limit local power. How should the envoy deal with the imperial court's thoughts?"
Chen Qiudao was silent for a while. He picked up the wine glass and drank a glass of wine, then said: "To be honest, I am a court official, and I should act according to the wishes of the court. However, the king observed the command of the army. He has won two games in a row this year. Is there any other general in the world who can do that? ? Observe and govern the local areas, deliberately reduce the taxes of the people, and crack down on the local tyrants, and several states have prospered. In this way, it can also ensure that there is no shortage of taxes and sufficient finances, which is also unmatched by other places. If its territory is reduced , It’s really doing a lot of harm and no benefit.”
Wang Ruohai said: "It's not just that. The envoy has only been in Xiangyang for a short time, so he may not know some things. Observation has a gentle attitude towards the officials, but the army is very strict! I have not seen an army in more than 30 years. Dengzhou Army has strict military discipline. Also, at the beginning, it was very difficult to observe that there was not much money in hand. However, the official salaries of the generals and officials under them were always paid in full and were never in arrears. Southwest Beijing The official salary of road officials cannot be said to be particularly high, but it is not low either."
Chen Qiudao nodded. For this, many officials were grateful to Wang Xiaolie. In the most difficult time, Wang Xiaolie did not default on his official salary, and many officials' families benefited from this. As a transfer envoy, Chen Qiudao knew that Wang Xiaolie's money was not well-off, but his official salary was paid in full.
Looking at Chen Qiudao, Wang Ruohai said in a deep voice: "May I ask the envoy if he will go to Fuzhou to serve as the governor?"
Chen Qiudao closed his eyes and was silent for a long time. Then he opened his eyes and said: "I dare to ask about the punishment. Do you want to be the governor?"
Wang Ruohai said: "I already know Caizhou. However, I will not be responsible for this kind of governor. Now is the time to observe the prosperity. If we work together, it will be beneficial, but if we separate, we will be in trouble!"
"Cooperation is beneficial, division is disaster!" Chen Qiudao nodded. "The sentence about punishment is what I said. Two days ago, I observed that the emperor will not accept his orders. We cannot let this edict disturb our minds or mess up our affairs. I will not be the governor of the town. I will go. What to do next, just follow the observation instructions."
One of the provisions of setting up a town governor is to dismiss other supervisors except tea and salt officials. Chen Qiudao's deputy transport envoy, Wang Ruohai, will be sentenced to any sentence. From now on, Wang Xiaolie will have the final say in governing the eight states. Wang Ruohai's responsibilities are clear, but Chen Qiudao's official position needs to be rearranged.
