The Happy Life of Small Officials in Northern Song Dynasty

()(Happy Dragon Boat Festival!)

In the afternoon, Liu Zhiyuan, the nearest prefect of Jiezhou, heard the news, and led [-] soldiers to find out the situation. Seeing that his immediate boss, Fan Zhongyan, was here, he was immediately filled with panic.

Fan Zhongyan was also very dissatisfied. Yingzui Cliff was located more than [-] miles southwest of Jiezhou, and was under the jurisdiction of Jiezhou. Liu Zhiyuan, who was beaten so darkly, didn't know about it, and he didn't come late until this time; but Fan Zhongyan also understood Liu Zhiyuan. Because of the difficulties, there are not many soldiers and horses in the rear state capital, and most of the soldiers and horses in Xiezhou are transferred to the front-line state capital. The total strength of the entire Xiezhou state does not exceed [-].

As the state capital in the rear, it can only defend itself. Even if there are enemy cavalry infested in the hinterland, it will definitely not dare to fight. What's more, he was not notified of this battle at all. Naturally, the safety of Xiezhou should be the first consideration.

After a few casual reprimands, Fan Zhongyan invited Su Jin to accompany him to Xiezhou to rest for a night, and by the way, he waited for the men and horses to escort the supplies to the rear. Can't get there until midnight.

That night Liu Zhiyuan, the magistrate of Xiezhou, hosted a banquet in honor of Fan Zhongyan, Su Jin and others. During the meeting, Su Jin humbly asked about the situation in the northwest and what to do after going to Weizhou. Su Jin benefited a lot from affairs and taboos.

What Fan Zhongyan said was very pertinent. First, he warned Su Jin not to think that being a magistrate here is a good job, not to mention the lack of supplies in the border towns and the hardships of life. If it is defense, it is enough to make people burn out.

"Defense is the top priority. Although the current situation is considered stable, it is only because the West Pirates have not found a chance to fight me decisively. The strategy of strengthening the wall and clearing the field for a solid counterattack advocated by the old man is to avoid a direct confrontation with the West Pirates; It is true that some people in the court criticized the old man for being 'cowardly to fight' and 'fearing the enemy', and some people called me Fan Wugui behind their backs. Ignore them all."

Su Jin nodded and said: "Fan Gong, don't be moved by the villain's words. Although the seniority and knowledge of the officials are still low, they also know that Fan Gong's strategy is adapted to local conditions. The western thieves cavalry are strong. Most of them are wilderness and flat sand, and using infantry to fight against them on such a terrain is asking for their own destruction; if my Great Song Dynasty also had [-] iron cavalry, how could I be afraid of the western bandit cavalry, and I would have wiped out the bandit bandit in one fell swoop."

Fan Zhongyan has a deep sense of knowing and encountering him, and he has become closer to Su Jin. Although the northwestern states follow his strategy, except for Han Qi who is in Qinzhou, few people understand his strategic intentions from the bottom of their hearts. Su Jin's ability to say such words shows that he has a superior vision.

The favorability increased, and the words he said were more heartfelt: "Defense is the first, and this matter must be remembered; Weizhou Wang Yan is about to be transferred back to Beijing, and you will take over his position when you go. There are currently nearly four defenders in Weizhou. In addition to the miscellaneous armed forces under the jurisdiction of the state capital, there are more than 4000 people, but Weizhou is the forefront. The defense of this mere [-] troops is still insufficient, so attacking is not enough; besides, military supplies There is also a shortage of arrows alone, there is a shortage of hundreds of thousands of arrows, just think about how distressing it is to see thieves dangling in front of your eyes with bows but no arrows."

Su Jin was dumbfounded. She didn't expect that even small arrows were not enough. What kind of battle is this damn?No wonder they always lose.

"How did the court do it? The military supplies are not in order, and the logistics can't keep up. How can we fight?"

"Master Su, the imperial court also has difficulties. I heard that last year's food affairs were handled by you. You should know the financial situation of the imperial court. The imperial court is just empty, with empty warehouses and a shortage of supplies. Every year, the rationed supply for the front lines has been maintained. It’s the emperor’s favor, hey! Natural disasters are easy to eliminate, but the government’s policies are wrong, wasteful and corrupt. If the wind of corruption is not cured, so what if the weather is good? It’s really worrying that people will still have enough money to eat without food.”

Su Jin didn't dare to speak out, because he knew that Master Fan was going to reform soon, and was slandered by everyone in the end. As far as Su Jin was concerned, there was nothing wrong with the reform, but Fan Zhongyan was too radical, and even caused everyone to besiege all of a sudden. , leading to the failure of the reform; Judging from the information disclosed in Fan Zhongyan's words, he already has the idea of ​​reform, and it is very urgent.

Fan Zhongyan consciously made a slip of the tongue, and he usually kept such complaints in his heart and never uttered them. For some reason, he revealed them in front of Su Jin today.

Fan Zhongyan took a sip from the teacup, and slowly said: "After defense, it's internal affairs. The imperial court's policy of prohibiting the internal flow of border residents is correct. A large number of border residents going to the hinterland will not only breed banditry, but more importantly It was a blow to the hearts of the people, but so many people stayed in the area, and they couldn't farm outside the city, so they could only bring them all into the city. The difficulty of internal affairs can be seen; in the city of Yanzhou where the old man lives, there are more than 15 soldiers and civilians. It’s a big deal to feed so many stomachs, not to mention the chaos in the city, the constant robberies, robberies, fights and murders, and the need to guard against foreign enemies as well as internal troubles, it can be said that it’s a lot of trouble.”

The beautiful blueprint in Su Jin's heart was torn apart one by one by Fan Zhongyan. He thought that when he came to be the magistrate of Weizhou, he would be the Supreme Emperor who guarded the side. Every day may be busy, but it will not be sad, but after Fan Zhongyan reminded, Immediately, a picture of robbers running rampant, law and order chaotic, and everyone uneasy was outlined in my mind.

Fan Zhongyan said seriously: "The old man is not alarmist. You will know that what I said is true when you go to Weizhou. For you, there is a more difficult thing, and that is interpersonal communication; Wang Yan is originally from Jingyuan. Lu Jing slightly appeases the envoy, he knows that there is no need to consider these in Weizhou, because the envoy has the right to command the headquarters and deploy the horse and infantry under his jurisdiction, but Zhizhou is not, and has no actual mobilization of the troops deployed in the capital. Quan, so you may not be able to mobilize any of the 4 horses in Weizhou, so this is the biggest problem for you; even if Wang Yan resigns and returns to Beijing, someone else will take over the post of Jingyuan Road envoy, the problem The same exists, so if you want to run Weizhou well, you must establish a good relationship with Lushi Dubu and others, otherwise there will be no achievements."

Su Jin's heart is cold. It turns out that he is not going to be the Supreme Emperor, but the Emperor. It's fine if he doesn't understand. Zhao Zhen is also fucking dishonest. To give a state but not to give military power, is this what you call yourself an ass?

"It's fine if you don't have military power. In a big deal, I don't care about the enemy with the Western Thieves. Whoever cares about it, I'll just mess around." Su Jinyan said insincerely.

Fan Zhongyan chuckled and said, "You said so lightly, there was a mistake in Weizhou, and I will be the first to ask you as the governor of Weizhou, and then send you to Weizhou Mushou, is it because you are going to mess around?"

Su Jin spread his hands and said: "I don't have any rights, what should I do? I can only mess around."

Fan Zhongyan said: "If it is not difficult, how can you accomplish things? Can you accomplish everything in the world today? Things that are easily done are not skills. If you can accomplish things under heavy pressure and obstacles, that is true." Capable official; the emperor sent you to Weizhou because he thought you had the ability. The influence of the third division can keep you as a Beijing official, and you can spend your days in peace and stability, the old man guesses that there is also the meaning of experience and tempering."

Su Jinxin said: "This does not mean that buying things with money is not a skill, but buying things without money is considered a skill. Isn't this the logic of robbers?"

"Actually, this is also the painstaking efforts of the emperor and Yan Sansi. Let's say something in private. If you hear it, it counts. The land in the northwest will either become a hero or a coward. The qualifications go straight to the center, and those who are flashy will immediately show their true colors when they come here. Mr. Su is a young man. If he can do something, he will be able to become the leader of the center in the future. They are people, but whoever is not a famous person, they are all capable and thoughtful people, each with their own abilities, so they can be transferred to the center to take on important positions."

Su Jin wanted to retort: ​​What about you?But on another thought, history has proved that it won't be long before Fan Zhongyan and Han Qi will raise the center to serve as chancellors, which is exactly what Fan Zhongyan said.

Su Jin thought for a while and said, "Mr. Fan, I have been educated as an official. I take back the words I said about being a fool. At the same time, I would like to ask Mr. Fan to say something kindly for me. It is a credit to trap Li Ningming this time. Can you let the emperor appoint me the post of envoy of Jingyuan Road so that I can do things more conveniently?"

Fan Zhongyan shook his head and said: "The post of Lushi can only be conferred after three years of serving as a prefect. I'm afraid the emperor will not agree."

Su Jin said in frustration: "Is there a workaround?"

Fan Zhongyan said: "How to be flexible?"

Su Jin said: "I won't send a new envoy to take over Lord Wang's position for the time being. Doesn't this mean that no one will restrain me?"

Fan Zhongyan thought for a while and said: "This is possible, but the generals who are deployed are not easy to deal with. Speaking of which, they are not under your command. If you want to command them, you may not be able to."

Su Jin said: "As long as they can't control me, they will be fine. I have my own way to control them."

Fan Zhongyan said in amazement: "Can you manage them? How?"

Su Jin blinked and said, "The mountain people have their own tricks."

Fan Zhongyan said: "No nonsense is allowed. Yan Sansi wrote to me and Han Shuai, asking us to keep an eye on you."

Su Jin scratched his head and said, "Do you think I look like a fool?"

Fan Zhongyan stared at Su Jin for a while, then said calmly, "Like, very similar."