Zhao Gou looked at the important ministers below and said, "Li Yanxian and others have been here for a long time, and the reward has been delayed for a long time. They seem to be impatient. The ministers should decide on Wang Xiaolie's reward early." Come down."
Hu Jiao, a Hanlin scholar, said: "When I went to Xijing, I saw that the people were happy under Wang Xiaolie's rule, and everyone was willing to contribute to the country. His military discipline was strict, which is not comparable to that of ordinary armies. It can be seen that Wang Xiaolie had been in Xiangyang for several years. You really put your heart and soul into it. I think it’s best to reward him generously.”
Prime Minister Qin Hui said: "What the bachelor said makes sense. It's just that in recent years, the expenses have been huge, and the court's income is really limited. If there is a heavy reward, it will be beyond its capabilities."
Lu Yihao said: "Wang Xiaohunting killed tens of thousands of households in Shaanzhou, which was an unprecedented victory. If we don't reward him heavily, wouldn't he lose the hearts of the other soldiers? No matter how difficult it is for the court, the reward cannot be less. Return it. Yes, although Wang Xiaolie is young, his military achievements are there, and his reputation cannot be low."
The two prime ministers, Lu Yihao, was in charge of the external affairs, and Qin Hui was in charge of the internal affairs. Each had its own division of labor. They have different attitudes towards Wang Xiaolie's reward.
After Quan Bangyan talked with Li Yanxian, Lin Wei and Tong Yuanqing that day, he suddenly realized that Wang Xiaolie was a general with more than 100,000 troops and should not be treated as an ordinary person. Moreover, the mountain is high and the emperor is far away, so the court must win over him and cannot stimulate Wang Xiaoxie with rewards. After listening to Quan Bangyan's words, Lu Yihao thought about it carefully and realized that he had thought wrong before. With Wang Xiaolie's status, it is not something that the current court can bargain with.
Wang Xiaolie raised money and food by himself, and with this alone, the court had nothing to restrain him. What would you think if the reward for your official position was deliberately low?
Zhao Gou looked at Hong Xiang, the Minister of Civil Affairs, and Li Guang, the Minister of War. He said: "Do the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of War think that Wang Xiaolie should have any position?"
Hong Xiang held up the scepter and said: "Your Majesty, I think it is appropriate for the generals to be under Liu Guangshi, Zhang Jun and Han Shizhong. We will change the feudal vassal and establish the north-south and north-south roads of Beijing and the north-east roads of Hehe River. Inspect the school and ensure the safety.”
Li Guangdao: "Wang Xiaolie was in Xiangyang and made many military exploits, unmatched by other generals. However, there were constant rebellions between where he was stationed and where he was, and the communication was not smooth. Kong Yanzhou was in Ezhou, but he did not obey the orders of the court and caused trouble for the people. Zhang Taiwei's army It will definitely be difficult to gain a foothold if we recruit. From now on, there will be no obstacles for the imperial court to come to Xiangyang. Wang Xiaolie will be in a high position, and he will rule the lower states and counties, and the imperial court will send officials."
Zhao Zaozhao thought for a while and said: "Even if there is no Kong Yanzhou, there is still no peace between Ezhou and Huangzhou. Moreover, with Dongting Lake Yang Mo, I am afraid that no officials will be willing to serve in Xiangyang. Once there is trouble in Ezhou, they will be with Xingzai Traffic is cut off.”
Hong Xiang said: "When the imperial court takes back the counties, there will always be officials willing to serve as officials."
Xie Kejia, a counselor in political affairs, said: "When the imperial court appoints officials, who will pay these officials' salaries?"
Hong Xiang was a little embarrassed. Said: "It's still the same as before, Wang Xiaolie takes care of it. The taxes there are all in the hands of Wang Xiaolie to support the army. How can the court pay officials' salaries again? Wang Xiaolie has to pay taxes there to support his army of hundreds of thousands. The army cannot be collected by the court."
Qin Hui said: "Since it is a state or county under the imperial court, taxes will naturally go to the imperial court. Wang Xiaolei's army of more than 100,000 is too many, so it should be reduced."
Lu Yihao looked at Qin Hui. Said: "After Wang Xiaolie's victory, he wants him to reduce his army. This matter should be handled by Qin Xianggong."
Qin Hui's expression changed after hearing this, but he didn't dare to say anything.
Hu Jiaoxiu said: "When I arrived in Xijing, I saw that there was a shortage of officials there. Many states and counties could only be governed by petty officials, which was really rudimentary. If the court sends officials, it is a good thing after all. There is nothing wrong with Wang Xiaoli's salary. good."
Zhao Gou said nothing, weighing in his mind. Who pays the salary is not a matter of who pays, but a matter of right and wrong to whom the official is loyal. The income of Zhao Gou's court was quite limited, and many officials could not pay their salaries. But if you can't get a salary, you can still get a salary, in kind, there is always a way to get through it. When you get to places like Xiangyang and Luoyang, you can't mess around, and you can only rely on Wang Xiaolie for salary.
Qin Hui suddenly said: "When Wang Xiaolie was in Xiangyang, he accumulated a lot of money by printing Xiangyang Huizi. I thought it would be better to bring Xiangyang Huizi back to the court and make it popular all over the world. In this way, the court could be rich and Huizi would be popular all over the world. It can be used, doesn’t it kill two birds with one stone?”
After Lu Yihao heard this, he couldn't help turning his head to look at Qin Hui, and for a moment he didn't know what to say.
Wang Xiaolie had no shortage of money in Xiangyang, and Huizi played a great role. Most of the courtiers knew about this. It seems to be a good idea to bring Xiangyang Huizi back to the imperial court, print more copies, and spread them all over the world. However, if someone prints it out from a hunt by Wang Xiao, the Huizi of Xiangyang, someone will use it, but if it is printed by the imperial court, can anyone still believe it?
Li Guangdao: "Wang Xiaolie has more than 100,000 troops, and they spend money everywhere. If Xiangyang Huizi is brought back to the court, where will the military expenses come from?"
Qin Hui said: "Every year, Wang Xiao hunts several million troops to support his army. It's just a matter of printing more. What's the difficulty?"
Meng Shou, the political advisor, said: "Whenever a general goes out, the imperial court allows Huizi to be sealed. It can only solve a temporary emergency, and cannot be passed for several years. It is not difficult for Xiangyang Huizi to be brought back to the imperial court, but it can be done well. , I’m afraid there are no such talents in the court.”
Qin Hui said: "Sealing Huizi is nothing more than making the printing well so that people can't steal it. It also uses the method of mentioning to prevent Huizi from becoming lighter, that's all. What's the difficulty in this matter? Send a minister to promote it. That’s it.”
Lu Yihao said: "Wang Xiao hunts hundreds of thousands of troops. After the new victory, the court should not cause unnecessary trouble. Just give him a high official position and give him some money so that he will not feel that he has lost face. Your Majesty, I must Just a reminder. Wang Xiaolie’s army is 120,000 to 30,000, and he can kill tens of thousands of Jin troops in one battle. Don’t forget this!”
Zhao Gou nodded and said nothing.
As an emperor, Zhao Gou was extremely sensitive to the military power of his subordinate officials. How could he forget this? All the ministers have forgotten it, and Zhao Gou will not forget it either. However, from Zheng Chen's narration, Zhao Gou felt that Wang Xiaolie was not like other rebellious generals, such as Li Cheng, Kong Yanzhou, Fan Qiong, etc., and should be a loyal minister. Loyal ministers will of course suffer some injustice. Otherwise, how can he be a loyal minister?
Qin Hui said to Lu Yihao: "What reward does Lu Xianggong think should be given to Wang Xiaohunting?"
Lu Yihao said: "According to Wang Xiaolie's report, they have occupied Jiangzhou, Jinzhou, Huaizhou, Weizhou, Zezhou and Longde Prefecture on Hedong Road, plus Hezhong Prefecture and Jiezhou on Yongxing Military Road. , Shaanzhou, and Guozhou, almost all the way. He was asked to serve as the envoy of the Southwest, North, and South Henan Roads in Beijing, and also knew the Henan Prefecture. He was given the title of Founding Duke, and he was responsible for inspecting the school and being a minor security guard. He could change the town to a large vassal .Among the generals of this dynasty, he is second only to Liu Guangshi, Zhang Jun and Han Shizhong."
After speaking, he looked at Zhao Gou.
Zhao Gou looked at everyone, nodded slowly and said, "That's fine."
After a while, Zhao Gou said again: "Wang Xiaolie governs Xiazhou County, the court should still send officials."
Lu Yihao said: "Wang Xiaolie is also short of people to use, so it is natural to send officials. However, the officials sent must still listen to Wang Xiaolie and not cause unnecessary trouble. Wang Xiaolie has an army of hundreds of thousands, and the court has thousands of people. Don’t forget this.”
Lu Yihao repeatedly emphasized Wang Xiaolie's hundreds of thousands of troops, and of course the ministers knew what he meant. At present, the most numerous soldiers in the imperial court are none other than the three generals Liu Guangshi, Zhang Jun and Han Shizhong, each with 30,000 to 40,000 men. The three of them combined did not have as many soldiers and horses as Wang Xiaolie.
In the past, one could still think that Wang Xiaolie was similar to other thieves, and that an army of hundreds of thousands was just a number and only made people laugh. At the same time as the great victory in Shaanzhou, Wang Xiaolie won at Zhongmou and Hucheng at the same time, telling the world the combat effectiveness of these hundreds of thousands of troops. Which minister now dares to doubt that Wang Xiaolie's army cannot fight?
There are hundreds of thousands of soldiers who can fight. With this alone, the court must deal with it carefully.
What Qin Hui and others mentioned earlier about what they should do to Xiangyang Huizi and others was all nonsense. Lu Yihao understood that he made Wang Xiaolie unhappy and tore up the imperial edict. What could the court do to him? At that time, officials will still have to be sent to comfort the victims.
