Elegy of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 128 The next stop is full of slots

In the lobby of the Ganzhou government office, Fang Chongyong looked at the eunuch who came to deliver the order with a strange look on his face, wondering what he was doing here.

When he was awarded the title of governor of Ganzhou before, it was normal for eunuchs to come to deliver the decree, because Ganzhou was a central state and the rank of governor was the fourth grade.Officials of the sixth rank and above must be appointed by the emperor himself. Appointments without an imperial edict are invalid.

But now Fang Chongyong clearly understands what he has done. This official transfer is 100% demotion!

Demotion is not something that can be done casually. Does the palace need to send special personnel to go all the way from Chang'an to Ganzhou, a journey of more than 1000 miles?
Is it really not too much trouble?

"Fang Shijun, you are truly unparalleled as a holy family member. I am the Niu Xiantong, who is serving as the prisoner for those who are visiting me in the province. I would like to say hello to Fang Shijun."

The middle-aged eunuch named Niu Xiantong said calmly and quietly extended his hand to Fang Chongyong.

If you don’t get the red envelope, I won’t save your life.During the Kaiyuan period, it was normal for eunuchs to eat and take cards when delivering edicts.

If local officials don't take good care of them, they will be forced to wear little shoes until they die!

"Uh, are you related to Niu Xianke Niu Shangshu?"

Fang Chongyong looked at Niu Xiantong and asked in a slightly frivolous tone.Turning a blind eye to the hand extended by Niu Xiantong.

"Uh... Well, we must have been a family for hundreds of years, haha, hahahaha."

Niu Xiantong said with a stiff face, and then quietly stretched out his hand. He was so embarrassed that he wanted to turn around and leave immediately!

"Since it doesn't matter...then it doesn't matter. Let the servant of the cow declare the imperial edict."

Fang Chongyong didn't want to say anything to Niu Xiantong, who was obviously trying to get close to him. He had read a strange book in his previous life, which happened to record how the eunuch Niu Xiantong died.

This unfortunate eunuch seemed to have angered Brother Ji for something, and Brother Ji ordered strict punishment.

So Niu Xiantong was first beaten with hundreds of sticks, then his heart was dug out, and finally his heart was eaten alive by an old eunuch named Yang Sixu who had outstanding military exploits!
This kind of restricted-level plot should not appear in history books. Strange novels are where it belongs.

Chongyong, the eunuch of the Tang Dynasty, basically knew people like Gao Lishi, but the tragic end of Niu Xiantong is so tragic that people can't even forget it. His death was too much of a "performance art".

Fang Chongyong didn't want to have anything to do with this unfortunate guy.

"He went to Ganzhou to be the governor, moved to be a member of the Ministry of Rites and Shrine Department, Wai Lang, and went to Shazhou for business. He was also appointed as Shazhou regiment training envoy and Doulu army branch envoy. He was stationed in Yaoquan, so he didn't have to go to the small town of Shazhou on official business."

Niu Xiantong's drake voice read out the imperial edict, which made Fang Chongyong look confused.

There were so many flaws in it that he didn’t even know where to start.

As a "student master" who studied hard and read every day, Fang Chongyong had already understood everything in the officialdom of the Tang Dynasty.

I don’t know who came up with this appointment of an official who lacked great virtue.

It’s almost like stacking buffs, it’s totally off the charts!Fang Chongyong wanted to ask him face to face who was the master who could combine these three "waste" official positions without seeming to be inconsistent.

The Temple Department of the Ministry of Rites is responsible for managing Buddhist temples. Giving monks ultimatums and so on is a routine matter.Hosting national-level Buddhist celebrations and other activities is also within its jurisdiction.

Yuan Wai Lang is the second-in-command of the Temple Department, and he seems to have some power.

However, the power of the central department must be returned to the Yamen to be effective!The central officials who are out of town don’t even have the official seal!

A fish out of water cannot swim a step. This phenomenon also applies to the officialdom of the Tang Dynasty.

An official from the central government was sent to Dunhuang, two thousand miles away, to manage the cause of Buddhism. Fang Chongyong could guess with his toes that he was on a business trip to build a "monument of merit" for Brother Ji!

Of course, the specific work is not to repair, but to "watch"!In other words, there is nothing to do. The people who are really responsible for the progress of the project are the relevant officials from the Ministry of Works.

For example, when the Leshan Giant Buddha was built during the Kaiyuan period, the imperial court arranged for special personnel to supervise it. Similar incidents are not isolated.

There are countless stone Buddhas built on the mountains in Dunhuang, which have been unique since the Northern Wei Dynasty. The Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang are world-famous.Wailang, a member of the ancestral department, went there on business. To put it bluntly, it was a trip at public expense.Just take a look at the Buddha murals you have built to see if they meet the "main theme" required by Brother Ji.

If it does not meet the requirements, it needs to be corrected or even redone.These matters are watched by Wai Lang, the director of the Ministry of Rites and Temples.

To put it simply, you don’t have to do anything, you just have to take care of it if something goes wrong.

Anyone who can bury a hole here must be a super old coin!
Fang Chongyong scolded Brother Ji for being shameless in his heart.

As for the Shazhou regiment training envoy, it is easy to say. The regiment training envoy is responsible for training the united soldiers, but he has no military power, cannot mobilize the army, and cannot recruit soldiers.

But one thing that is intriguing is that because Shazhou is short of food, the Doulu Army in Shazhou has been strictly controlling its troops and making up for the shortage immediately.The proportion of the local agricultural population is much lower than that of other states in the Hexi Corridor, and there are many off-the-job people suitable for serving as soldiers.

When Fang Chongyong was the governor of Ganzhou, he approved many official documents, all of which were for the transfer of grain to Shazhou.

Therefore, there is no extra food in Shazhou to support the semi-off-the-job united soldiers, and the local people are strong and there is no need to support the united soldiers.

In Shazhou, this position can only be used to coax children, but can't do anything.

And the most deceptive position is that of the Doulu Army's envoy.

Because among the armies in Hexi, only the Chishui Army with 4300 soldiers had a separate branch envoy and had some financial independence.The Doulu Army, with only [-] soldiers, had never had the position of "Zhi Du Envoy" before!
This matter is also easy to understand. If a person has a fortune of 100 billion, he must find a "financial assistant" to help manage the money. If he only has 1 yuan, it is better to worry more about his future livelihood!
The Doulu Army, which has no more than five thousand soldiers, has much less logistical pressure than the Chishui Army. Of course, there is no need to set up a special "support envoy" position.

There are branch envoys under Liangzhou Jiedu Mansion, who are responsible for the financial expenditures of the armies under their command.

In other words, this position of "Doulu Army's envoy" was only recently "invented" by the imperial court. Fang Yanei was the first envoy of the Doulu Army... and most likely the last one.

Therefore, there is no reference at all and no clear explanation of what a person holding this official position needs to do, what he can do, and what he should do.

If Fang Chongyong is willing, it doesn't matter if he does nothing, because the inherent system between Hexi Jiedufu and Doulu Army runs smoothly, and similar official positions are not included in the "Liu Dian of the Tang Dynasty" that Li Linfu is still compiling at this moment.

The three official positions looked very intimidating.However, after careful analysis, I found that...it seemed like nothing needed to be done.

Fang Chongyong took the imperial edict with expressionless hands, waved his hands impatiently and said, "The servant Niu can go back and resume his life."

Now he doesn't even bother to be polite to the other party.

Seeing that Fang Chongyong was so ignorant, Niu Xiantong really wanted to throw up his sleeves and run away.But there was nothing he could do about it, so he could only hold back the evil anger in his heart and said to Fang Chongyong with poor words: "The saint also has an autographed letter for the envoy... Oh, now he is no longer the envoy, but a member. "

He reluctantly took out a letter from his sleeve and secretly cursed Fang Chongyong, a stupid kid, for not knowing etiquette.

According to the "normal" situation, Fang Chongyong should have been kind and complimentary to him, and then offered him "escape money".Then Niu Xiantong "reciprocated the courtesy" and sent the saint's personal letter to Fang Chongyong.

This is how the routine should go!

Niu Xiantong couldn't understand what Fang Chongyong was thinking, and he couldn't understand why the other party was not happy at all when he became a capital official. Anyway, it was wrong for the other party not to please him. When he returned to Chang'an, there would be such a good-looking person!

He was secretly angry in his heart, but the other party made a salute with crossed hands with a smile on his face, then turned around and left the Ganzhou government office.Holding this imperial edict with complicated contents and profound routines, Fang Chongyong read it again and again, and suddenly remembered what Niu Xiantong had called him just now.

Now he is no longer Fang Shijun, but Fang Yuanwai!

Fang Chongyong felt a little bit weird when he thought of those rich and pregnant "members outside" in the TV series in his previous life.

It seemed that he had entered the bizarre and bizarre circle of the officialdom of the Tang Dynasty, and became an indescribable alternative in this circle.

"Your Majesty, this..."

Yan Zhuang came over with a wry smile and asked, now basically everyone in the Ganzhou government knows about Fang Chongyong's transfer.

Officials in the Tang Dynasty generally served four-year terms, and after four years they would rotate to wait for election.This waiting time can be long or short. The long time can be decades, and the short time can be to take office immediately.But it is rare to see people who are transferred as frequently as Fang Chongyong.

It's enough to see a bright future.

According to Bai Juyi's later complaints in history books, officials in the Tang Dynasty would be embarrassed to say that they had a "prosperous official career" unless they were rotated more than twenty times.After three or four rotations in a lifetime, there is no sound. There are many Luthors in the officialdom who have been waiting for decades.

Changing official positions in exchange for hard work is not only not unlucky, but it is a symbol of great potential.

"After I establish a foothold there, I will find a way to arrange for you to go there. Or will you resign now and go with me as my staff?"

Fang Chongyong pulled Yan Zhuang aside and asked.

"Of course I'm going with the envoy... Yuanwai! Whoever the Bird County Lieutenant wants to do can do it!"

Yan Zhuang gritted his teeth and said.

Hearing this, Fang Chongyong was a little surprised, but then he felt relieved after thinking about it.

The county captain is usually the first official position for a person who has failed the imperial examination and has no background.Anyone with some background in Mingjingke would not be willing to go, let alone a Jinshi.

The summary of this official position is: a small amount of power brings a lot of trouble!

Although the "theoretical" functions are mainly judicial arrests of thieves, hearing cases, making judgments, collecting taxes, etc., in fact, all matters in the county are under the jurisdiction of the county captain.For example, if Zhangye County needs to communicate with the city outside Zhangye City, can the county magistrate take action?It must be that the county lieutenant went to do official business. If the official business can't be done, he will think of other ways later!

This is a low-level existence among the "officials", and Yan Zhuang is actually not uncommon at all.

By Fang Chongyong's side, he could act as a "low-ranking" assistant officer. To put it bluntly, he was a figure similar to a master, but he had a staff, and it was just Fang Chongyong who paid him a salary.

"In addition to party members, central officials who go to remote places usually have their own cooks, dancers, medical officers, assistants, and guards. Why don't you hire some people from Ganzhou itself?"

Yan Zhuang asked in a low voice.

Fang Chongyong was stunned for a moment, then thought secretly:
Fang Dafu can cook, he is considered a cook, and he and Duan are both guards.

Anaye comes from a family of genuine medical officers, knows medical skills, and is a descendant of a barbarian girl from the Western Regions. She can barely be considered a medical officer and a dancer.

Yan Zhuang handles some small daily affairs as an assistant, and he has Fang Laique, the "holy son" of Buddhism, by his side.

Although this lineup is a bit under-equipped, it is quite neat.

"No need, too many people is troublesome. Now everyone around me is trustworthy. If we really need manpower, we'll talk about it later."

Fang Chongyong waved his hand and said helplessly.

All the way east turned into all the way west.Dunhuang was the last stop where the Tang Dynasty's troops could fully control it. It seemed that there was a vast Western Region further to the west, but in fact Dunhuang was the edge where the power of the Tang Dynasty continued to be projected.

Further west, the Tang Dynasty's national and military power could not cover everything, and there were loopholes everywhere.

The arrangement that Brother Ji gave him was really... quite subtle.

"What a bastard. It's almost winter and you're traveling in the desert. Brother Ji really doesn't have any good deeds on weekdays!"

When he walked out of the gate of the government office, Fang Chongyong felt the chill in the wind and couldn't help but curse.If we can't arrive in Shazhou on time, it will be a lot of trouble.

And driving in the desert in winter can make people sore that their whole body twitches.Fang Chongyong, who had had a bad experience in his previous life, really didn't want to brave the wind and snow to go to Shazhou in the winter.

……

The Nine Surnames Tiele gradually formed during the period when the Turks were dominant, and surrendered to the Turks, maintaining the independence of their own tribe.

This is the organizational model of the grassland empire. It cannot maintain a large establishment. It can only form large tribes from small tribes, and build up an "empire" level by level.

The nine surnames Tiele gradually formed Huihe, Pugu, Tongluo, Bayegu, Sijie, Qibi, Hun, Baximi, Geluolu, etc. The "nine" here is actually not a fixed number, but It means much.

During the Kaiyuan period, Uighur was the most powerful among the nine surnamed Tiele.

In the autumn of the 27th year of Kaiyuan, under the plan of Youzhou Jiedu envoy Fang Youde, Li Longji issued a secret decree to form an alliance with Jiu Xingtiele, and according to Fang Youde's plan, the grassland was divided into nine pieces of different sizes.

After agreeing to eliminate the Turks and divide their territory, each tribe moved according to the territory agreed in advance.

As for any subsequent conflicts that need to be argued over, we can discuss them again.Determine the elimination of the Turks as the most important event.

The Bayegu tribe, which borders the Tang Dynasty, took the lead in attacking. Qibi, Pugu, Geluolu and other tribes also launched troops in turn to jointly attack the Turkic Yazhang.

Fang Youde, who was stationed at Qikou, stood still and ordered Shuofang Jiedushi to provide food and fodder.

The Uighur tribes who had been watching this chaos finally couldn't hold it any longer and went south to attack the Yazhang of the Later Turkic Khanate.Marked by the entry of Uighurs, the northern grasslands of the Tang Dynasty once again entered an era of chaos!

The Turks were in disarray and quickly retreated from Xiakou Mountain north of Hexi, but it was too late.

When they returned to the Turkic Yazhang, they happened to encounter the Uighur cavalry who had caught nothing because they were late.

A fierce battle broke out between the two sides near the monument of Bijia Khan north of the Yazhang of the Turkic Khanate!The Turks were defeated and routed by the Uighur cavalry!
Since then, the Turkic Khanate has been destroyed and replaced by Tiele.At this time, Fang Youde was taking five thousand elite cavalry to various Tiele tribes to demonstrate military power. Everywhere he went, he asked the chiefs of the tribe to go to Lingzhou, where Shuofang Army was stationed, for a meeting to wait for the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, Li Longji. Meet!

I have to say, this scene is quite ironic.

Because in the 23rd year of Kaiyuan, in order to concentrate on dealing with Tibet, the relationship between the Turks and the Tang Dynasty improved, and the Turkic Vega Khan respected Tang Xuanzong as his father.So a monument to Viga Khan was erected near the tooth tent.The inscriptions extensively record (and brag about) the "great achievements" of Viga Khan.

For example, which Tiele was killed today, and the Khitan people were beaten tomorrow, etc. There are even records of the robbery of Shandan Racecourse in the early Kaiyuan Dynasty.

Unexpectedly, he was poisoned to death not long after, and the Later Turkic Khanate also fell into pieces and finally perished.

　Chapter 2
　　
　
(End of this chapter)