Kingdom of Heaven and Han

On December [-]th, the second day of the "Four Ninth Festival", Wang Xiaolie returned to Luoyang.

Chen Qiudao had already led the civil and military officials to welcome him out of the city, and then Wang Xiaolie and his party entered Luoyang City.

In a few months, Luoyang City has changed a lot. Especially the Anximen Street coming in from the north gate and the Huitong Bridge area are paved with bluestone slabs, and large willow trees are planted on both sides of the road, which looks neat and orderly.

Returning to the left-behind yamen, Wang Xiaolie tidied up a little and took a nap in the flower hall.

There were two large charcoal fires burning in the flower hall, which were glowing red, and the warm air made people doze off. Wang Xiaolie sat on the chair, half asleep and half awake.

Suddenly the soldiers came to report, and Chen Qiudao asked to see him outside.

Wang Xiaolie asked for a wet towel to wipe his face and ordered Chen Qiudao to come in.

Chen Qiudao entered the flower hall and saluted Wang Xiaolie. Wang Xiaolie gave him a seat and ordered him to have tea.

Wang Xiaolie asked: "What's important, staff officer?"

Chen Qiudao thought for a moment and then said: "The Holy One wants to stay in Xiangyang, Xuanfu should have known about it."

Wang Xiaolie nodded and said, "I understand."

Chen Qiudao said: "Zhongshu issued a document to Luoyang, requiring us to hand over the South Beijing Road. Handing over means that we will not send officials, troops, or food, and will completely hand it over to the jurisdiction of the imperial court. Because this matter is important, I have never agree."

When Wang Xiaolie heard this, his expression immediately darkened. He said: "To the south of Xiangyang, there is still a large area of ​​land. What do they want from the South Beijing Road! How can we support our hundreds of thousands of troops without enough territory if they don't have enough land?"

Chen Qiudao said: "Although the official didn't say that, it's not allowed. As Xiangyang is in charge, the imperial court has appointed Qin Hui as the prefect, and he will take office immediately after the year. After Qin Hui takes office, he will carry out large-scale construction and build a palace for the emperor. So Xiangyang has to give way. Get out. In addition, Yingzhou is by the Han River, located downstream of Xiangyang. The imperial court wants to transport materials from the Han River, so we have to give it to the imperial court. I am determined not to allow the troops of other states."

Wang Xiaolie closed his eyes slightly and thought carefully. After a long time, he nodded and said: "You did a good job. Other state armies really should not be assigned to the imperial court. Although we are ministers of the imperial court, the current situation of the imperial court It's not clear. For everyone's sake, it's better for us to retain a relatively large territory. To the south of Xiangyang, there is a large area of ​​land that can support Xiangyang. To the north of Xiangyang, we have Dengzhou in our hands, which can also ensure that we are in good terms with the imperial court. Not too far."

Chen Qiudao took a breath and said, "Xuanfu thinks so, I feel relieved."

After the Taiyuan Battle and the failure of the imperial court's attack on the East Road, many of Wang Xiaolie's subordinates became interested. Thinking that when Wang Xiaolie ascends the throne, he will become a minister of the dragon. Wang Xiaolie said that we must never forget our original intention. Is it so easy to not forget our original intention?
Even after large-scale education, many people cannot regain their original aspirations. What really worked was how high Wang Xiaolie's prestige was in the military. If Wang Xiaolie's prestige is high enough, more people will naturally be able to pick up their original aspirations and forget about tampering. But this is just an illusion. As soon as the caliber of propaganda changes, these people's ideas will change again. If Wang Xiaolie's prestige was not high, no one would pay any attention to him.

Wang Xiaolie had this consideration in mind when he used military cadets on a large scale to replace old officers. The old military officers in the past were too mixed, and only a few people could maintain the same thoughts as Wang Xiaolie. Military school students are relatively simple-minded, and their promotion depends entirely on their superiors, making them easier to manage.

After thinking for a while, Wang Xiaolie said: "It will be difficult to find a good opportunity like Taiyuan for the next battle with the Jurchens. To besiege the Jin army, we need a lot of troops. We will expand our army in the next year. It is tentatively decided to use the three prefectures of Jin, Jun and Fang to expand the army by one division; use the two prefectures of Deng and Ru to expand the army by one division; use the two prefectures of Sui and Tang to expand the army by one division; use the two prefectures of Cai and Ying to expand the army by one division; use the two prefectures of Cai and Ying to expand the army by one division; use the two prefectures of Deng and Ru to expand the army by one division. Expand the army by one division. Only by expanding the army by five divisions can we barely surround the Jin army." Chen Qiudao was shocked after hearing this. Said: "Expanding the army by five divisions means more than [-] troops. Are our troops too many?"

As soon as the words came out of his mouth, Chen Qiudao felt regretful. Where did Wang Xiaolie expand his army? Looking at the several places where he expanded his army, it was clear that he was aiming to encircle Xiangyang. It seems that Wang Xiaolie was wary of Xing Zai's presence in Xiangyang and had arranged his troops in advance.

Wang Xiaolie said: "When we were recruiting, we said that normal military service would be five years. How could we break our promise? When we started recruiting, most of the soldiers were recruited from these states, and it was time for them to retire. Later, the army expanded. Most of the soldiers are from Shaanxi and Hedong, and they have not yet retired. The positions of retired soldiers are still being filled from Shaanxi and Hedong. The state army with retired soldiers cannot stop serving as soldiers just because the last batch of soldiers retired. Children have to grow up, and when they grow up, they will become soldiers, so the army is expanding in these states."

Chen Qiudao said: "Xuanfu has profound thoughts, and I admire him!"

What Chen Qiudao said about admiration was that he discovered a phenomenon. Every time Wang Xiaolie wants to do something beyond the norm, he can always find an excuse, and this excuse can be convincing. For example, this military expansion was obviously done by Wang Xiaolie to encircle Xiangyang, but he could find an excuse for veterans to retire.

Wang Xiaolie said: "Your Majesty is stationed in Xiangyang, which is close to us. Many things are different from before. The Left-behind Department and the Xuanfu Department will also change accordingly. There is no way not to change. If you don't change, you can't adapt to the changes in the court. At least, The missing officials must be filled first.”

After Wang Xuanlie occupied Luoyang, he fought continuously in a short period of time and had no time to recruit officials, so many positions were vacant. When Zhao Gou arrived in Xiangyang, it was very close to Luoyang, so it would not be appropriate if there were vacancies. More importantly, Wang Xiaolie needs to recruit talents for himself.

Chen Qiudao said: "Yes, the Xuanfu Department and the Left-behind Department are short of many officials."

Wang Xiaolie said: "Leave this matter to Dezhi, and leave the matter of the Xuanfu Division to Wang Ruohai. You should list in detail the officials needed by the two divisions, what vacancies there are, and it is best to add a few recommended places. If not, don’t force it, and don’t write random people just to make up the numbers.”

Chen Qiudao Gong claimed so.

Wang Xiaolie sighed: "Your Majesty is stationed in Xiangyang, Luoyang has entered a troubled season. Everyone should be more careful when doing things in the future."

Chen Qiudao said: "Whether the Holy One comes or not, we are loyal to Xuanfu. As long as we stick to this point, it won't matter if the Holy One comes to Xiangyang."

Wang Xiaolie looked at Chen Qiudao and nodded. Said: "The staff officer has a clear view of things."

Chen Qiudao said: "This official is loyal to the public, but he only remembers the teachings of Xuan Fu, so there will be no obstacles in his work."

Wang Xiaolie smiled and said: "You must remember what I said and don't make any articles on it. Remember, what I said is what I said. What I haven't said, don't use it yourself. If you don't use it yourself, do things. It probably won’t be wrong.”

(End of this chapter)