Five Dynasties River Mountains Fengyue

Chapter 167 Mainstay
In autumn and August, the Mid-Autumn Festival is just around the corner.

Shi Congyun completely relaxed, transferred Luqiu Zhongqing from Xiacai to Shouzhou along the waterway, and then along the waterway to Luzhou, entered the Yangtze River waters to join him, presided over all the gold and silver, materials, major events, and the rewards and punishments of the various armies.

The materials obtained from the Southern Tang Dynasty, together with the money he brought, should be rewarded to the soldiers of each army. Shi Congyun understood that blocking is worse than sparse, and it is only natural for soldiers to work hard to get rewards.

It's just that the country doesn't have enough ability to pay the soldiers at this time. In many cases, the generals can only figure out their own way and pay for it themselves. What can most generals think of?Naturally, let the soldiers grab it.

For example, Guo Wei, the founding emperor of the Zhou Kingdom today, when he entered Daliang a few years ago, he also allowed soldiers to rob Kaifeng as a reward.

People often compare Zhou to Sui and Qin because they were both the founders of a unified dynasty.

But from an objective point of view, the Later Zhou Dynasty is completely incomparable with the Sui Dynasty and the Qin Dynasty. No matter how you say it, during the Diansheng period of the Later Zhou Dynasty, there were only about four provinces in the territory, and many problems could not be solved, such as a perfect bottom-level organization, bureaucratic system, etc. Wait.

Han and Tang didn't need to think too much about these issues. People knew that Liu Bang had three chapters in the law, but they didn't know that Liu Bang ordered him to conquer all the officials of the Qin Dynasty. Strict laws, the rest of the laws are all retained.

The Sui and Tang dynasties are also the same. People in the world are already familiar with the previous dynasties, and they have recognized the unification of the world. The subsequent dynasties can inherit the political and cultural heritage as long as they correct the mistakes made in the previous trials.

But the current situation is more complicated and difficult. For example, in the past two months, Shi Congyun has executed more than a dozen middle-level officials while fighting wars, because they embezzled military supplies and filled their own pockets.

Afterwards, he was really puzzled and asked those people, is it because Lao Tzu didn't give enough?He felt that he had treated the soldiers preferentially enough, he paid them out of his own pocket to reward them, why should he embezzle?
As a result, he got an unexpected and reasonable answer.

Because the emperor will change every few years, and it is hard to become an official to manage some affairs, of course he must make a quick profit. Now the whole world is like this, from the princes and generals to the grassroots officials.

He asked Li Chuyun, Si Chao, Pan Mei and others in private, and they all gave affirmative answers, yes, this is the current atmosphere, because on average, the emperor changes every five or six years, and the rules of the world must also be changed. I don't know who will be in the world in a few years, so it will become a trend to make a fortune.

Loyal minister?almost nonexistent...

The emperor can't control it
If in Qin or Sui, there must have been a complete legal framework, grass-roots officials and middle-level organizations, and people behind many problems can continue to use them as long as they make improvements, which is not feasible now.

After experiencing this, Shi Congyun realized more and more the importance of Luqiu Zhongqing, Li Gu, Wei Renpu and others. Force is the guarantee for a country to run completely, but not everything can be solved by force.

A large number of middle and low-level officials are very important, and what is needed to coordinate and dispatch these officials is not force, but a reliable and feasible personnel system.

And these can only rely on people like Luqiu Zhongqing, Li Gu, Wei Renpu, etc., which are lacking in the Zhou Dynasty now. If the Zhou army had strict military discipline at the beginning, Huainan would not have fought for so long.

Therefore, Shi Congyun temporarily handed over the water army to the commander of Si Chao, and handed over the matter of rewarding and punishing the soldiers and the handover of the Southern Tang Kingdom to Luqiu Zhongqing. He took a small number of personal soldiers and the cavalry of Shao Ji and Wang Zhong to the north to take over and surrender. Luzhou, and at the same time solve the problem of the Baijia Army.

When the Southern Tang Dynasty surrendered, the Baijia Army lost the meaning of resistance. Shi Congyun gave a lot of money to comfort the soldiers who were attacked and died by the Baijia Army.

As for the Baijia army, he personally led the soldiers from village to village to persuade them, pardoned them and let them surrender.

At first the common people didn't believe it, but Shi Congyun led a large group of cavalry, each in armor, and everyone was armed to the teeth. It was completely different from the village soldiers they had seen and fought against before, so they lost their fighting spirit. It's all written with anxiety.

Shi Congyun was on his horse and could clearly see through the fence that the yellow and thin children in the village looked at him with flickering eyes, frightened and uneasy.

He sighed in his heart, it shouldn't have come to this point, Zhou Jun just entered Huainan, and these people provided fodder for Zhou Jun, and took the initiative to welcome their arrival, because the Southern Tang Dynasty's master and even the subsequent masters had no ambitions and only cared for personal pleasure , didn't even think about governing the country well, and could only exploit the people in order to satisfy their own enjoyment. The corvee and taxes in Huainan were very heavy, and the people suffered unspeakably.

So when I heard that the Northern Dynasty sent troops, many people welcomed them on their own initiative. As a result, the Zhou army's military discipline was lax, and they burned, killed and looted in Huainan, forcing these people to the opposite side. one of the reasons.

Shi Congyun thought, if he had been recruiting envoys from the beginning, he would never have allowed such a thing to happen. If they had won the support of the Huainan people in the first place, they might have killed the Yangtze River by then.

So he got off his horse and went up to explain to the village head himself, telling them that as long as they give up resistance and become the people of Dazhou, they will not blame them for the past, and they will be exempted from taxes for three years in the future.

At the same time, he ordered the opening of treasuries in Luzhou, Shengtang, Dingyuan, Chuzhou and other places to help the surrounding people.

He asked Luqiu Zhongqing to revise the book on his behalf when he was still in the middle of the matter. He told the officials in the above table that the reason is very simple. These places were finally brought down. If the public opinion is unstable and the people's hearts are appeased, it may soon be chaos.

The officials probably also suffered from the Baijia Army, and they were very far-sighted, so they immediately agreed to his suggestion and told him that the counties and counties around Huainan that had suffered serious war disasters could be exempted from taxes for three years.

In addition to wearing armor all over, Shi Congyun also had Shao Ji and Wang Zhonghu by his side. He is not stupid, but he is afraid that some second fool will come to him and try his best.

After more than half a month of going from village to village to go deep into the grassroots to lobby, coupled with follow-up measures, his reputation spread later, and he was greeted by local people every time he went to the villages behind.

Shi Congyun took the opportunity to learn about the situation of many grassroots villages, such as their population, income, work and rest time, and main crops. He also talked with some elders in the village about how to govern the grassroots and asked their opinions.

Of course, he didn't have the power to decide anything, he was just curious so he asked, and felt that the opportunity was rare.

In August, Liu Yanqing, the guard of Chuzhou, surrendered according to the order of the Lord of the Southern Tang Dynasty. He tried his best to go back to the Southern Tang Dynasty and asked repeatedly.

However, all the letters were seized by Shi Congyun. He knew that Liu Yanqing was a tough guy. In history, he used 1000 people to resist tens of thousands of Zhou troops for more than 40 days. Guo Rong was so angry that he slaughtered Chuzhou cleanly.

Such a person asked him to go back to the Southern Tang Dynasty. I was not at ease, so while appeasing Liu Yanqing, he made a statement to the officials, which meant that Liu Yanqing would either kill him, or give him a high-ranking official with a generous salary, and transfer him to Daliang.

By the end of August, Shi Congyun finally solved the matter of the Baijia army completely, and then the navy army came north from Luzhou to take over, and Shi Congyun joined Zhou Xian again.

After solving the Baijia Army, the last major event in Huainan was also solved.

Finally, I can rest assured to do something I like with Zhou Xian.
In autumn, there are few people in Daliang City, and the sky is high and the clouds are light.

Since the 10,000+ army went south one after another, many young and strong people near Daliang went south, and the city was no longer bustling and lively.

It is the Mid-Autumn Festival again, and many families are looking forward to the return of their husbands, sons, and brothers to the south.

It was the same for them last year, but last year it was hopeless, but this year they are full of hope, because since the front line changed recruiters, there have been frequent success reports.

Before the Mid-Autumn Festival, the news that Shi Congyun came to Jinling and the Southern Tang Dynasty was forced to cede territory and surrender, and bowed his head to surrender, had reached Daliang, and it was widely spread.

Goulan restaurants, teahouses and restaurants are discussing this matter everywhere, and Shi Congyun's strategy and martial arts have been talked about to a new height.

The focus of the people's attention is not all military achievements. Most people don't even know where the Southern Tang Kingdom is, where Shouzhou, Chuzhou, etc. are.

It’s just that Liang’s young and strong will not be able to return for almost two years, and his family members in Beijing can’t stand it. It just so happens that Shi Congyun won the battle as soon as he took office, quickly won the Southern Tang Dynasty, and allowed the army to return home. That’s why everyone praised him.

But in the palace, it is another scene.

When the good news came one after another, the court and the central government were naturally encouraged, and Shi Congyun's various tactics of using troops also made many officials of the Privy Council applaud.

But when the Southern Tang's surrender table and the battle report written by Pan Mei were sent to the capital at a fast pace, the court and China were divided into two factions.

Some people praised Shi Congyun's ingenuity and means. He used 2 people to insist on [-], which frightened the Southern Tang Kingdom to death, and did not dare to resist at all.He was also commended for his contribution and skill in conquering the enemy in Huainan. He was considered a pillar of the country and should be commended.

Represented by Wei Renpu and Wang Pu.

Others reprimanded Shi Congyun for being inappropriate, blatantly asking for bribes, and forcibly robbing the princess of the Southern Tang Kingdom, which is a disgrace to the state.

Although such things as extorting bribes and robbing people often happen in the army, and the officials and the court are also difficult to control, but Shi Congyun's identity is there. As a country's Huainan envoy, he is a country representative. Representative, it is really outrageous to do such a thing that is disrespectful to the country, as if they have never seen a woman in Dazhou.The most outrageous thing is to add the matter of wanting women to the armistice agreement, it should be rectified.

This school of views is headed by Fan Zhi.

On the contrary, the officials were not in a hurry to express their views.

On the west side of the Chuigong Hall, in the afternoon, the sun is sparse and mottled on the ground, and occasionally you can hear nice birdsong. Wang Pu is playing chess with the officials.

But he was absent-minded, the official family has always been a busy person, so there is not much leisure time, so it made him feel a little strange.

He is one of the most trusted close ministers of the official family, and he knows the emotions of the official family best.

At the beginning of this year, the officials were not happy, even to the point of killing people because of the unsatisfactory war in Huainan at that time.

The official family executed Sun Yanxi, the enshrined official, on the street.

At that time, the imperial court rebuilt the Yongfu Hall and ordered Sun Yanxi to supervise the work.

Sun Yanxi is a veteran minister who has done many such hard work for the two generations of monarchs, and he is also very diligent in doing things.

Unexpectedly, one day the official family was in a bad mood. When they passed by Yongfu Hall, they saw that some of the servants who were repairing the palace used tiles for food and wooden chips as spoons.

At that time, he was furious, and immediately ordered Sun Yanxi to be executed, and many priests were dismissed from their posts.At that time, people thought that Sun Yanxi had worked hard for many years, but because of the anger of the officials, no one dared to intercede in front of him.

Wang Pu also felt that Sun Yanxi was not guilty of death, but he understood the official's temper very well. After all, the official was an irritable and bloodthirsty person, but because he had ambitions in his heart, he tried his best to control himself.

But if he got angry, it would be his own death if he got into trouble again, so he could only keep silent.

In this case, only Queen Fu's words can be effective most of the time, and the reason is very simple. Li Yun, Fu Yanqing and others in the north must rely on them.

Fu Yanqing is okay, she is more respectful to the court, so the officials will also give them face for the Fu family and Empress Fu.

But Li Yun has contradicted the imperial court many times, and even imprisoned the military supervisor sent by the official!The officials could only endure it, in order to devote all their troops to the southern battlefield.

So the north endured the humiliation, in exchange for the south's full use of troops, but the war did not go well, no wonder the officials were angry.

The officials are actually under tremendous pressure. If the opportunity obtained by forbearance is still unable to win Huainan, then those Jiedu border generals in the north may become even more domineering, and they will not take the court seriously!

Fortunately, after Shi Congyun was appointed as the recruitment envoy, the battle situation in Huainan was reversed in an instant. In just four months, an extremely beautiful battle was fought in the entire Huainan, turning the world around.

Outsiders don't know Wang Pu, but they know that when the news that Shi Congyun defeated the Southern Tang's [-] troops entered Dajiang and made an emergency landing in Southern Tang reached Daliang not long after, generals from various towns in the north wrote congratulatory memorials one after another.

Even Li Yun, who had always been disrespectful to the imperial court and imprisoned the military envoys of the officials, hurriedly sent someone to send a congratulatory form, with a respectful tone and humble words, which rarely made the officials laugh.

It can be seen that the officials have been patient for too long.

Wang Pu and the officials knew it well. This is the truth. Loyalty, filial piety, benevolence and righteousness are often unreliable.

Li Jun was also a loyal minister and general of the Xianjun at the beginning, and Guo Wei, the Xianjun, trusted him so much that he was given such great power to rule the six states alone.

As a result, when he has more soldiers and more generals, his strength will naturally become domineering.

When Shi Congyun was powerful in Huainan in the south and the 10,000+ army of the imperial court freed up, he immediately became honest and became a respectful "loyal minister" of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Wang Pu has seen too many such things over the years.

I am also feeling in my heart, Shi Congyun is really the pillar of the country, the mainstay!
If it weren't for him to turn the tide of the battle so quickly, many people in the north would still be domineering, and the officials would have to grit their teeth and endure, and the situation would be difficult to deal with.

Halfway through the chess game, the officials gradually became no match for him, so he gave up thinking on the chessboard, raised his head and asked him with a smile: "Uncle Wen, what kind of person do you think Shi Congyun is.

Wei Renpu said that he was a loyal minister and good general, and that Han Xin was still alive; Fan Zhi said that he was dizzy and morally corrupt. "

Wang Pu didn't make a move, but retracted his raised hand, and replied: "They view Shi Congyun according to their own standpoints and preferences, so naturally they have different opinions.

If you stand on the side of my country of Zhou, I think that Shi Congyun is my pillar of the great Zhou, the mainstay. "

(End of this chapter)