"This -" Li Hong was stumped. Wang Wenzuo's question seemed easy, but the answer was not something he could answer in a short while. After all, there were too many factors involved in the army's combat effectiveness. It cannot be simply generalized. He thought for a moment and then replied: "It must be that in the Western Wei and Zhou Dynasties, although the power of Guan China was not as good as it is today, there were strong enemies on its side and everyone was united. Therefore, although the soldiers were small and the country was poor, the soldiers were refined. It is possible to win with a small number; but now, although the country is rich and has a large number of soldiers, the people above and below have become accustomed to comfort, their weapons and equipment have been weakened, and the soldiers are not as good as before!"
"Your Highness the Crown Prince is right!" Wang Wenzuo nodded: "But do you think that if everyone is accustomed to being at ease every day, and another person comes to wake them up, force them to repair their spears, and organize their troops to practice martial arts, do you think they will like it or not?" Do you hate this person?"
"It must be annoying!" Li Hong already understood Wang Wenzuo's meaning at this time: "Although you say this, you can't just do nothing because you are afraid of what others say, right? Otherwise, how can you explain to your father?"
"I didn't say that I would do nothing!" Wang Wenzuo said with a smile: "I just don't want to make too many enemies! Your Highness, please think about it, if I call in the officials from the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Household Affairs as you said, I will organize the order with great fanfare. I’m afraid everyone inside and outside Chang’an will know about the military affairs the next morning. Your Highness, what do you think will happen next?”
"They will definitely try their best to obstruct it?" Li Hong thought for a while and asked: "But with my support, what are you afraid of?"
"His Royal Highness, don't you know the principle of heaping up ruins and destroying bones, and everyone's words make gold?" Wang Wenzuo said with a smile: "In the final analysis, I am not a saint, and I am in a place of suspicion. How can I order the soldiers of the government without falling into someone else's trap?" . Your Highness, you can protect me once or twice, how can you protect me forever? After all, this country's laws are not set up for just one person!"
When Li Hong heard this, his face became gloomy. After a while, he sighed dejectedly: "What Sanlang said is true. I thought it was simple. Is it so difficult to do something that is beneficial to the country?"
"Of course!" Wang Wenzuo said with a smile: "If the country is a pot of rice, then everyone has a share of how much they can take. The strong cannot take more, and the weak cannot take less. Only in this way can the country be strong and prosperous. But the past dynasties have also How often does this happen? Most of the time, the strong man divides the rice in the pot cleanly. The weak man not only cannot get any of the rice from the pot, but also takes out a lot from his pocket and puts it in. Now this is what the emperor asked me to do It means asking the strong to spit out the rice they have eaten and redistribute it to the weak. Don’t you think this is difficult?”
"Yes!" Li Hong sighed: "It is indeed difficult to support the weak and hoe the strong. So, Sanlang, what are your plans?"
"Public anger is hard to offend!" Wang Wenzuo stretched out a finger: "If you really want to do something, the first step is to seek real benefits for the sake of fame. The emperor said that he wants to rectify the military affairs of the government, so this reputation will go first. Because there are too many people who have benefited from the Fubing incident. If we raise this banner, it will be equivalent to making countless enemies at once, and it will most likely not be possible!"
"Have you lost your reputation?" Li Hong was surprised: "What do you mean? Don't you think you should be the one to deal with this military officer Rong Xuanwei?"
"If possible, it would be best to remove me from this official position after a while! The reason is that it is not good for me to do business!" Wang Wenzuo smiled: "There is no way, with this big hat on my head, no matter what I do, How can I do anything when being stared at by countless pairs of eyes!”
"It doesn't matter. I can talk to my father about it!" Li Hong nodded: "But how can you act without an official position?"
"You can give me any kind of assignment!" Wang Wenzuo said with a smile: "For example, if Taipu Temple gives me an assignment to inspect the pastures, or something else, as long as I can legitimately send people to inspect Guanzhong, the more The less noticeable the better!”
"I understand!" Li Hong nodded and looked at Wang Wenzuo with a more apologetic look: "It's just like this, but it's really hard for Saburo!"
"It doesn't matter, that's what a wise person does!" Wang Wenzuo said with a smile. What he said was true. In fact, in the final analysis, many famous and important official positions in ancient China had names that were harmless to humans and animals at the beginning, such as prime minister. , which started from the family prime ministers in the Spring and Autumn Period, that is, the stewards of the nobles. After those nobles usurped the royal power and turned the family into a country, the prime minister became a prominent official position; A subordinate official, one of the six ministers, is responsible for managing the emperor's documents. Since Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the inner dynasty was established, and the ministers of the Shaofu were used to handle the world's documents and memorials. From then on, the minister's desk became the center of the imperial court, and the minister's order was even more humble. In terms of weight, in the Eastern Han Dynasty, the three Dukes and the generals plus "Lu Shangshushi" were the actual rulers. After the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the Shangshutai separated from the inner dynasty, and the Shangshuling became the actual prime minister.
In the final analysis, as long as the emperor and the prince trust him, it doesn't matter which official he is; if the emperor and the prince cannot trust him, then even if the third rank of Zhongshu's sect is added to the official name, he will only be closer to losing his head. If Wang Wenzuo could be chosen, he would like to set up a "Datang Central Agricultural Policy Research Office", "Guanzhong Peasant Military Sports Research Association", "Donggong Rural Development Research Liaison Office", and "Datang Central Statistical Survey Center". An unknown organization. Anyway, the most difficult thing about rectifying the troops in Guanzhong is not to issue orders, but to collect detailed first-hand information: of the 261 Zhechong Prefectures in Guanzhong, how much land, how many people, and how many soldiers each Zhechong Prefecture actually has? How much land is occupied, by whom, and for what reasons. With this detailed information, we can target who to attack, divide and win over. Rather than handing out a piece of yellow paper in Chang'an, it would be completely different when implemented. Not much was accomplished, but the prefectures and counties were filled with complaints, making people and animals uneasy, and in the end they could only step down in despair.
"Okay! Everything will be done according to Sanlang's plan!" Li Hong nodded: "It will probably take a few months before you are removed from observing the army and Rong Xuanwei is disposed of. After all, this is related to the face of the imperial court. As for others, Yeah, what do you need me to do?"
"It won't be needed for the time being!" Wang Wenzuo said with a smile: "I plan to pick a relatively remote prefecture and county first, collect some local idlers from Chang'an City, and let them explore the situation first. In this way, even if something happens, it will not be implicated. You can’t do it without me. Once you understand a state or county, you’ll be rectifying it. The conditions are immature and the situation is unclear. I’d rather do nothing than give someone a handle!”
"Okay!" Li Hong was also infected by the confidence in Wang Wenzuo's words. He smiled and nodded: "Sanlang, you don't have to be too careful. Don't forget that you are still the leader of the Sixth Army in the East Palace. No matter when, you have Enter the palace and see the power of this king!"
"Thank you, Your Highness the Crown Prince!" Wang Wenzuo hurriedly thanked him. Of course he knew the meaning of Li Hong's words. The outcome of political struggles in ancient China largely depended on who could control the access to the palace, so the leader of the army and the strategist were The official positions of military lieutenant had very special significance in the central politics of Han and Tang Dynasties. The East Palace of the Tang Dynasty was located within the palace city, only one step away from the Tai Chi Palace. Li Hong gave Wang Wenzuo the right to enter the East Palace to see him within 24 hours, which meant that Wang Wenzuo had actually become one of the very few people with the right to intervene in the palace. Political general.
After seeing the prince off, Wang Wenzuo returned to his study and began to continue his work, which he did not finish until midnight. In the bedroom, his wife rubbed his stiff shoulders distressedly and complained: "Sanlang, with your current official position, why do you need to do everything yourself? Isn't there a capable person around you?"
"There's no way!" Wang Wenzuo laughed bitterly: "My subordinates can draw far more bows than they can write. If you don't feel comfortable using outsiders, it would be great if Ijilenbode is still there!"
"It's great that Mr. Yi is here!" Cui Yunying rolled her eyes: "It would be great if Mr. Lu came back to Chang'an with you!"
"Lu Zhaolin?" Wang Wenzuo smiled: "He should forget it?"
"Isn't Mr. Lu bad?" Cui Yunying was a little unconvinced: "His literary talent is rare in the world!"
"It's not a matter of literary talent!" Wang Wenzuo smiled: "Both he and Wang Bo have the same problem. What they think more about is gaining fame, and then going straight to the top and ruling the world. But the problem is that what I am most taboo about in this matter is Let others know that letting him come is not much different from committing suicide!"
"So troublesome?"
"Well! If it leaks out, only eight out of ten people in Chang'an City will be eager to eat my meat! That's why I can only cook it myself!" Wang Wenzuo sighed: "Going against the trend, I can only eat more by myself. What a pain!”
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While Wang Wenzuo was patiently conducting investigations and research in Guanzhong, the situation in the northeast was taking a turn for the worse. In the spring of 671 AD, the only remaining ministers and famous generals of the Silla Kingdom from the era of Queen Seondeok, the general Daejiao Ganjin Yushin finally passed away. . His death was like a thunderbolt falling on the emerging country of Silla, giving people an ominous premonition.
Silla capital, Jincheng
The cold rain fell, turning the red granite walls into dark red, like coagulated blood. Jin Famin held the queen's hand tightly and led her through the masonry courtyard to the heavily guarded sedan. "I want to ride a horse so that I can watch my father leave with my own eyes!" the queen objected.
"But you are still pregnant, and the weather is still very cold!" Jin Famin whispered. This is his wife's third child. Her health was not very good to begin with, and she suddenly encountered the pain of losing her father: "If Yu Xingong was still alive, He doesn’t want you to risk yourself and your children, and he also wants you and me to act like kings in front of the Tang people’s envoys. We can’t be like drowned rats and let the Tang people look down upon us!”
The queen did not speak. Her skin was pale and lacked vitality. Supported by the black mourning clothes, she looked like a corpse. This made Jin Famin feel more distressed. He held his wife's cold hand and kissed it: "I swear to you, Everything will work out!"
The queen looked into her husband's eyes, tears lingering in her eyes, and finally she nodded. After entering the sedan chair, the queen leaned on the pillows and peered out of the window at the rain curtain. "The Bodhisattva is crying for his father. The raindrops are his tears."
"We need blood more now than tears!" Jin Famin thought to himself, but he had no background. Jin Yuxin died late at night the day before yesterday. After learning the news, Jin Famin quickly rushed to Jin's house. The old man's body was lying on the bed. The veins on his fingers were exposed, his mouth was open, and his eyes were wide open, as if he wanted to shout. He will never forget the scene at that time. Jin Yuxin's son whispered: "My father was pressed with a pillow and suffocated to death. The accompanying guard died beside the bed, and his Adam's apple was crushed!"
Even now, Jin Famin can still feel the chill on his back. He knows Jin Yuxin's personal guard very well. The taciturn big man is a strong man. When Jin Famin was a child, he once saw him get into the horse. Under his belly, he lifted a mare. Of course, he was old now, but even so, his arm strength still did not weaken. Such a brave man was strangled silently beside Jin Yuxin's bed. If Was it me that the assassin came to kill that night? Jin Famin didn't dare to think about it anymore!
The sedan slowly walked down the slope, with two Hwarang riding in front. The rain soaked the white armor and white robes on the white horses. Behind the sedan was the fiftieth fully armed royal guard.
The queen carefully lifted the curtains, and the streets outside were crowded with people, which made her feel better: "Your Majesty, everyone has come to mourn my father!"
"Yes!" Jin Famin sighed: "After all, Yu Xingong is dead. No matter how much people hate him, they will not fight with a dead man! Next, we have to face those rats hiding in the gutter. Got it!"
In the center of Jincheng, in front of the magnificent tomb of Jin Chunqiu, made of granite, the crowd of mourners was far less than the number of guards arranged by Jin Famin around the square. There will be more people coming, Jin Famin thought to himself as he asked the guards to help his wife get off the sedan. After all, there are nobility all around now, and later, civilians will be allowed to come to the funeral. I will come again in the evening to worship so that the civilians can see my sorrow. Without their support, it will be difficult for me to deal with the enemies hiding in the darkness.
Xue Rengui stood in the first row. As an envoy of the Shang Kingdom, his status was higher than everyone present, even Jin Famin. But his face looked blank. This assassination had nothing to do with him? Jin Famin thought to himself, but this might also be a disguise. After all, for the people of Tang Dynasty, even if Jin Yuxin could still breathe, he was a huge threat. Compared with Xue Rengui's arrival, Jin Yuxin's death was too coincidental.
Xue Rengui's thick palm stretched out from his brocade robe, like a hard rock. Jin Famin quickly stretched out his right hand and shook it.
"Your Highness, please express your condolences and take care of yourself!" Xue Rengui said in a low voice.
"Thank you!" Jin Famin nodded: "Manager Xue, please!"
(End of chapter)
