Volume 2 Chapter 26: Relieving Trouble (Part 2)
Zhao Jiu was too tired to complain, and he had no way to complain.
Regardless of whether Yue Fei was a ragtag army or not, and whether he should be looked down upon by Li Yanxian, who was indeed the most capable and outstanding officer on the front line at that time, Li Yanxian's attitude was actually very direct... His meaning was very clear, asking the central government not to treat him as an outsider. A position like the pacification envoy, which sounded a bit like a position to place a vassal state, was an insult to his personality.
Moreover, there is another meaning here, that is, front-line generals like Li Yanxian who have never come into contact with Zhao Jiu still do not believe in their hearts that Emperor Zhao is really delegating power.
Of course, on the other hand, Li Yanxian's strange temper is more like a display of loyalty and a search for recognition, rather than a deliberate act of causing trouble.
What can we do?
"In this case, you, Lord Lu, have done the job." Emperor Zhao thought for a long time, and after figuring out the logic behind it, he simply issued an order. "If he wants a proper official position, then give him one... Let Li Yanxian be the governor of Shanzhou!"
"The emperor makes a wise decision." After arriving in Nanyang, Lu Haowen behaved more and more friendly. It was unknown whether he would dare to touch the emperor's head after getting drunk.
"What about the matter of the Military Equipment Bureau?" After the matter was roughly resolved, Zhao Jiu continued to ask seriously.
"Reporting to the emperor." Wang Boyan stepped forward and bowed, seeming to be quite ashamed, but no matter what, it was obvious that Lu Haowen had handed him the note about this matter. "I have discussed many things with the Privy Council, and I have also personally explored the place and asked for manpower, but I still feel that there are some difficulties... First, it is difficult to choose a site; second, it is difficult to find craftsmen."
"Tell me in detail and slowly."
"Yes... Good instructor, you know that if you want to set up a military equipment bureau, you must first build a furnace to produce iron. Logically, there is a white river around Nanyang, and there is no shortage of coal around it, so it is a good time to build a furnace." Wang Boyan said seriously. "But there is no strategic location around Nanyang. Wanyan Yinshu could easily rush here from Luoyang, the Western Capital. If the military equipment bureau is placed outside the city, once the war breaks out again, the Jin people will come here with the advantage of cavalry, and the military equipment bureau will inevitably be easily destroyed; but if it is placed inside the city, Nanyang City is already very crowded because of the new construction of the palace, the Imperial College, and the government offices."
Zhao Jiu seemed to be thinking about something.
"As for the craftsmen, it's a bit simpler." Wang Boyan continued. "Most of the craftsmen in Dongjing City were abducted by the Jin people, and most of the craftsmen gathered in Nanyang came from Bashu and Jingxiang. They have not returned home for many days to build the palace, and they don't want to stay in Nanyang for a long time."
When Zhao Jiu heard this, he just felt it was strange... Because according to Wang Boyan's description, these problems were actually not a problem. After all, when the country had reached this point, the weapons and armor of the Military Equipment Bureau were the most important things and they must be obtained at all costs.
Under this guiding idea, not to mention the ridiculous words like overcrowding and craftsmen's homesickness, even in the most extreme case, that is, it was destroyed by the Jin people after only a few months of use, would we not have continued to do it?
At this time, it would be good to have an extra set of armor!
With this thought in mind, Emperor Zhao thought for a moment and was too lazy to play the political game of guessing with Wang Boyan. Instead, he went straight to the point: "Where do you think the Military Equipment Bureau should be placed, Mr. Wang?"
Wang Boyan clasped his hands and said sternly: "Your Majesty, I think it would be better to move it to Xiangyang and settle down there. I think the craftsmen will also feel at ease."
Zhao Jiu suddenly understood... That is to say, how could Wang Boyan, or the Privy Council, or the ministers and officials not be able to distinguish the importance of things and waste time on such things? It turned out that they had been waiting for him to capture Xiangyang from the beginning. Those reasons seemed to be specially made up to ensure that the Military Equipment Inspectorate was moved to the south bank of the Han River.
Of course, it is indeed a good thing to place it in Xiangyang. Zhao Jiu can think of several advantages with his eyes closed. It is convenient for transporting materials and personnel there, and it is indeed safe... However, behind this matter, a large number of officials represented by Wang Boyan do not trust the outcome of a possible war.
Of course, Emperor Zhao didn't quite trust the outcome of the war, because people always have to face reality.
"Then let's go to Xiangyang." Zhao Jiu thought about it, hesitated for a moment, and finally expressed his agreement.
Wang Boyan immediately accepted the order.
However, this matter was of great importance, and Zhao Jiu was quite unwilling to give in, so the two sides discussed it for a long time... Let me say, this Zhao Guanjia is an engineering graduate after all. Although he mostly studied circuits and the so-called engineering practice was at most soldering circuit boards, he was an engineering graduate after all, and he still had some ideas.
In his mind, after the establishment of the Arsenal, as a time traveler, even if he could not come up with any earth-shattering inventions, he could still learn from high-end online articles to promote assembly lines and standard weights and measures, experiment with the optimal gunpowder formula, inspire the craftsmen, lay the legendary wooden track, run a donkey-powered train, and make some big news. Wouldn't that be a natural thing to do and benefit the country and the people?
However, the more Emperor Zhao talked, the more he felt that his words were just clichés, even though Wang Boyan agreed very readily... To put it bluntly, after yesterday's farce on the riverside, Zhao Jiu had great doubts about the quality and execution capabilities of the Song Dynasty bureaucrats.
So, after saying some of these empty things, Emperor Zhao stopped talking.
"What about Guanxi?" Another topic was brought up. This time, without Lu Haowen's guidance, Zhao Jiu looked directly at Yuwen Xuzhong.
"Since Shanzhou was recovered, and General Han came to Xijing to confront Wanyan Gushen and Yelu Yudu, and Wuguan and Yangzhou (the eastern part of Hanzhong) were open, I have roughly learned about the situation in Guanxi." Yuwen Xuzhong responded quickly. "In Guanxi, the enemy chief Wanyan Loushi continued to move west after breaking through Chang'an, sweeping the Wei River, but he was exhausted in Gongzhou (now Longxi), so he withdrew to Hedong..."
"It's not exhaustion," Zhao Jiu sighed. "It's still Li Yanxian. If Li Yanxian hadn't recovered Shanzhou at this time, how could Wanyan Loushi retreat to Hedong in one breath? In terms of military merits, Li Yanxian's own strength is almost as strong as the 100,000 soldiers of Zongliu, and not weaker than the four generals Han Zhang of Huaishang and Yue Zhang of Jizhou... No wonder he got angry... When he was appointed as the governor of Shanzhou, he was awarded an additional level of military merit."
"Yes." Yu Wenxuzhong bowed in response, but continued to introduce himself.
Emperor Zhao had also heard almost everything… It turned out that after Wanyan Loushi swept through the Guanzhong Plain and withdrew, the area was in a mess, just like the situation in Jingxi before. It was impossible to distinguish between the rebels and bandits, and they almost occupied the entire Guanzhong Plain. The good news was that due to the rapid retreat, most of the remaining Western Army troops were saved in the mountainous areas of Guanxi. Among them, high-level officials and generals such as Wang Shu, the governor of Fuyan Road and the governor of Yan'an Prefecture, Xi Gong, the governor of Huanqing Road, and Wang Xie, the governor of Wenzhou, survived.
As for the generals at the command level, there are seven or eight who are confirmed to be alive and have troops, including Qu Duan, Xin Qizon (the second son of the Xin family), Liu Xi, Zhao Zhe, and Liu Xiliang... However, they are scattered everywhere, and there are only reports of their activities.
"Forgive me for speaking frankly," Yuwen Xuzhong said sternly. "The Guanzhong Plain is still out of control, and we are out of reach. Unless the various tribes recapture Fengxiang and Chang'an , there is no way to gather them together. But once Chang'an is recaptured, we should immediately send an official to Shaanxi to appease the people."
Zhao Jiuqing knew that there was really nothing he could do about this matter, so he could only encourage Yuwen Xuzhong and then move on from the matter.
Next was the issue of the Yuanyou Party, which Xu Jingheng was responsible for... There were too many people involved in this matter, and it goes without saying that there were some "unsatisfactory" aspects. It was nothing more than a conflict between the government's political stance and the general political cognition of the bureaucrats.
However, just when Prime Minister Xu was about to strongly advise Emperor Zhao, Emperor Zhao suddenly skipped the matter and only had a talk with Xu Jingheng about the local decision. Then he discussed with everyone about summoning those talents to the palace for the examination in a few days. Before he knew it, the sun was already setting... Then Emperor Zhao no longer hesitated, and directly used the excuse of time issue to let the prime ministers disperse, and then called for Scholar Xiaolin to follow him, and then he went into the harem himself.
It was a common practice for Hanlin scholars to be on duty in the palace, so although this move made several new scholars a little jealous, they had nothing to say, especially since this extremely shrewd scholar Lin had just made a great contribution.
However, just as the officials were leading the crowd to see the official off, greeting each other and inviting each other, and just as they were preparing to return home after a long period of time, suddenly, Scholar Kobayashi returned accompanied by Yang Yizhong and Liu Yan.
"Four gentlemen, please stay." Scholar Kobayashi called out to several of them from afar.
When Lu Haowen and the others heard this, they were already nervous, and when they turned around, their scalps tingled... It turned out that this scholar Xiaolin actually held four pieces of paper with wet ink in his hand. At the same time, the people around, from Zhang Jun on down, were stunned after seeing the situation clearly, but instead quickened their pace and left the hall one after another.
I can only say that this official's method of forcing people to do things is really terrifying... Of course, there must be people who are eager to enjoy this kind of treatment of a note.
But no matter what, the four of them had already gone back helplessly, and Mr. Lu even had the nerve to peel off the notes from Lin Jingmo's hands.
Scholar Xiao Lin smiled slightly, but spoke first: "The emperor has said before that these are small matters, not for you gentlemen to do. After you discuss, you can hand them over to others to deal with them quickly."
This just meant that the four people were asked to give legitimacy to these four notes. Lu Haowen's mind moved, and he naturally became calm.
When the first piece of paper was opened, the words "gunpowder shop" were clearly written on it.
Without waiting for the doubtful Lu Xianggong to ask, Lin Jingmo simply explained: "The government has said that a gunpowder workshop should be set up in Nanyang. It is just a gunpowder workshop, independent of the Military Equipment Bureau. There is no need to discuss it. It will be set up near Nanyang and it must be done quickly."
Lu Haowen nodded slightly, and felt that this matter was indeed simple, so simple that he wanted to hold the note and do it himself, because the Song Dynasty had a special gunpowder workshop many years ago... But under the watchful eyes of the public, and with the official's oral order, he could not force himself to do such a simple thing to show his ability. Instead, he could only turn around and ask Wang Boyan who was related to this matter... This is also the boredom and helplessness of the prime minister's life:
"Who does Mr. Wang think should be given to it?"
Wang Boyan thought for a moment, and when he saw the man following Xiaolin, he simply responded, "This is a matter of military affairs. How about letting the Imperial Guard handle it, Commander Yang?"
Yang Yi Zhong looked calm and stepped forward to greet him. Lu Haowen felt confused and immediately handed the note to Yang Yi Zhong, who was at ease, and then he peeled off the second one.
When the second note was opened, it was exactly the three characters "Hu Hong Xiu".
Prime Minister Lu had no idea who Hu Hongxiu was, but Lin Jingmo immediately spoke up: "The emperor said that this is the person who recently made military proposals. He is probably among the two Xin commanders. Please find this person. It would be best if we could go to the palace together in a few days and take the palace examination together."
Lu Haowen suddenly realized and felt that the matter was not worth mentioning. He even wanted to hand it over to Liu Yan directly. But since this matter involved the military, it was not easy for Yuwen Xuzhong to pass it on. Yuwen Xuzhong was straightforward. He just took it casually and handed it to Liu Yan without any delay.
Perhaps because the first two things were too simple, Mr. Lu had already unfolded the third note.
And sure enough, the things on the third note were not worth mentioning, and were even expected, but they were the three words "Uncle Wang Zhan"... Scholar Kobayashi didn't need to explain to everyone that the government wanted to make Uncle Wang Zhan, who had caused such trouble yesterday, pay the price!
However, Lu Xianggong has always been kind to others, and even if Wang Shuzhan himself guessed that he was going to be in trouble, he didn't want to take over the matter. Moreover, considering that Xu Jingheng Xu Xianggong had scolded Wang Taichang in public yesterday and was firm in his attitude on this matter, Lu Haowen naturally looked at Xu Jingheng.
Of course, Xu Xianggong didn't care. He just glanced at him and simply named someone: "The Imperial Censor Hu Yin originally intended to impeach Wang Shuzhan, but he was just holding back because of the talent selection tomorrow. Let him find a crime and report it!"
Lu Haowen was a little hesitant when
The matter was thus exposed.
Perhaps because the first three things were too simple, Lu Xianggong gained confidence. He took the fourth note directly, opened it in his palm, and saw the words "city defense".
"The government said that Nanyang was expanded too hastily and the city defenses are unstable. I'm afraid they are not enough to deal with the war." Lin Jingmo said seriously. "The government wants to rebuild the city defenses."
Lu Haowen sighed. How could he not understand? These notes were simply the credit given by the government to those trusted ministers. It was just because they were afraid that they would be snatched away if they were publicly proposed at the court meeting, so they specifically let the ministers stay here to take the blame.
However, although he understood, Lu Xianggong did not hesitate at all and blurted out: "Let Yan Xiaozhong do it, I will go out and find him to do it myself."
Scholar Kobayashi did not take it seriously and did not comment. He just nodded slightly and went back.
Just like that, that day Emperor Zhao threw the blame away as if he was assigning homework, and went off to enjoy himself.
However, late at night, Emperor Zhao was awakened from his gentle sleep and learned a great piece of news - just a few days ago, Li Yanxian took advantage of the victory after regaining Shanzhou, crossed the Yellow River, occupied Zhongtiao Mountain, and sent troops north to successively capture Anyi, Jie County, and Wenxi, and almost all of Jiezhou was recovered by him! After Jiezhou was recovered, the road to Taihang Mountain was also open!
Zhao Jiu was stunned, and then ecstatic... What palace infighting, what alchemist, what assembly line gunpowder shop, what rehabilitation of the Yuanyou Party, are all bullshit?
Where on earth did this immortal Li Yanxian come from? Why have I never heard of him?!
Just when Emperor Zhao returned to bed, almost too excited to sleep, suddenly, another urgent military intelligence arrived - Han Shizhong was defeated in Xijing.
Emperor Zhao really couldn't sleep this time.
