The First Great Ancestor of the Five Dynasties

Chapter 56 The complex struggle situation

There were a lot of people in the front hall. In addition to the generals and county magistrates from various places, almost all the officials and generals with positions and titles in the Changyi Army were present.

Shi Kuangwei is sitting in the center of the throne, wearing black gauze with his feet raised, a round collar robe of purple scarlet, with a bunch of flowers embroidered on his chest, and a pair of vivid lions under the flowers.

Since the reign of Emperor Wu, the imperial court has developed a tradition of distinguishing grades based on the patterns on official robes.

It's just that official robes embroidered with patterns were mostly used as regular and fashionable clothes. They were given by the court to officials at all levels according to different seasons. The style of supplementary clothing in the Ming and Qing Dynasties has not yet been formed.

The grade of a Jiedushi envoy ranges from the second to the sixth grade, and is often determined based on the official title of the Jiedushi envoy.

Shi Kuangwei served as the governor of the Zhangyi Army and also held the title of governor of Jingzhou. According to the system, he enjoyed the treatment of the fourth rank in the imperial court.

People of the third rank and above wear purple, and those of the fifth rank and above wear red. According to the rules, Shi Kuangwei is not qualified to wear purple.

It's just that after years of war, rituals and music have collapsed, and most of the vassal towns have become independent. As long as they express their submission and loyalty to the central court, the emperor and the court will turn a blind eye to other small sections.

As a small warlord, Lao Shi was the local emperor in the three-thirds of the land of Zhangyi Army, and Jiedu Mansion was his small court. It was understandable that he had lived as a noble official.

Compared with those military commanders who wear ocher yellow robes in private and regard themselves as princes, Lao Shi is already quite low-key and shabby.

Of course, even with Zhang Yijun's conditions as a beggar, Lao Shi would not be allowed to be arrogant and domineering.

There were two empty chairs placed slightly lower on the left and right sides of Shi Kuangwei. No one was sitting on them yet. Zhu Xiu dusted off the snowflakes on his body and stepped into the hall. He glanced at the two empty chairs and knew that he was not the last person to enter.

In the hall, the noisy private discussions suddenly stopped, and more than a dozen pairs of eyes looked at Zhu Xiu, their eyes full of doubt, curiosity, and repulsion.
Obviously, they already know that a new young man has appeared next to Shi Jieshuai, and Zhang Yijun may need a pair of chopsticks at this already small dining table.

"Students pay homage to the handsome man!"

Zhu Xiu had a sullen face and bowed meticulously.

Shi Kuangwei pointed to an empty seat on the left side with a smile: "No courtesy, sit down!"

"Thank you, handsome man!"

Zhu Xiu walked towards the empty seat, bowed his hands in greeting to the two nearby officials, and then sat down quietly, looking at his nose, nose and heart, with a calm expression on his face.

Sitting in the first place above him was the envoy Pei Jin, and the one above him was the judge Song Shen.

The magistrate is in charge of the four affairs of warehouses, soldiers, cavalry, and helmets in the feudal town, and at the same time has financial power such as money, food, taxation, etc. His status in the feudal town's civil service system is second only to the marching Sima.

The envoy is under the magistrate and is responsible for assisting the magistrate and handling specific cashier matters.

Sitting below him is the official in charge of prison litigation, which is equivalent to the chief judicial officer in the feudal town.

Zhu Xiu sat below the envoys and above the official officials, which was exactly the position of the secretary-general in the bureaucracy of the feudal town.

Shi Kuangwei arranged it this way, and his intention was obvious.

All the officials looked at each other in confusion. Could it be that the commander-in-chief wanted this young man to hold the post of secretary?

Judging from his appearance, he is still a young man. Is he too young and too sloppy?

Skuangwei was holding a large pottery bowl and sipping tea leisurely, seeing the reaction of his subordinates, his black face was expressionless.

Zhu Xiu's face was indifferent, she raised her eyelids and glanced quickly, with a sneer on the corner of her mouth.

Since he decided to stay in the Changyi Army and serve as Lao Shi's dog-headed strategist, sooner or later he would have a head-on collision with these old forces, and Zhu Xiu had already been prepared for this.

Just looking at the reaction of everyone in the hall, it seemed that they did not welcome him as a newcomer to Jiedu Mansion.

It seems that what Lao Shi said is right. Even if he is the commander of the festival, Zhang Yijun is not his only one.

There were at least two chairs, almost equal to him.

Zhu Xiu looked at the first two empty chairs. Commander Jie was sitting high in the hall, but he had to wait patiently for his subordinates to arrive. These two people were really arrogant.

A quarter of an hour later, two men in brocade robes walked back and forth into the hall.The officials who were dozing and whispering hurriedly pushed each other to remind each other, stood up one after another, and saluted the two men with respectful expressions.

Zhu Xiu also stood up and bowed with his hands.

"My brother came back from the expedition, but my brother failed to come out of the city to greet him. It's really rude. Please forgive me, Master."

Xue Xiuming, the marching commander, bowed and saluted with a face full of shame. Next to him was his younger brother, Xue Xiuliang, the military commander.

Shi Kuangwei sat upright with a golden sword and asked with concern: "How is the old man?"

Xue Xiuming said gratefully: "Thank you for your concern, handsome man. My father occasionally caught wind and cold and had a sudden headache this morning. Now after the doctor's diagnosis and treatment, he is much better. He just slept peacefully."

"That's good." Shi Kuangwei nodded and pointed to the chairs on both sides: "You two can sit down."

"Thank you, handsome man!"

After sitting down, Zhu Xiu had the opportunity to observe carefully.

The marching Sima Xue Xiuming, who is sitting in the first place on the left, is about 40 years old. He has a slim appearance, a goatee, and a plain expression. He is somewhat dignified as a member of a distinguished family.

Xue Xiuliang, the military envoy on the right, is in his thirties, with a sultry face and a ferocious appearance. When he saw the ceremony just now, his attitude seemed a little arrogant.

Zhu Xiu looked at the two of them and secretly slandered that the two brothers were definitely not born to the same mother, nor even the same father.
Shi Kuangwei put down his tea bowl and cleared his throat: "Everyone is here, let's start the discussion!"

Xue Xiuming was the first to speak, giving a brief statement to Shi Kuangwei on the overall situation of the Changyi Army over the past year.

Zhu Xiu listened for a while and couldn't help but nod. He heard that Xue Xiuming was a scholar in the second year of Qingtai in the Later Tang Dynasty (935) and a Jinshi in the fifth year of Tianfu in the Later Jin Dynasty (940). As expected, there was still some ink in his stomach. After some words It is clearly organized and detailed, and a rough guy like Lao Shi can easily listen to it. He knows the situation of the two Jingyuan prefectures in the past year.

After Xue Xiuming finished speaking, Judge Song Shen stood up and reported again.

This Song Shen is also extraordinary. In the third year of Changxing in the Later Tang Dynasty (932), he passed the Jinshi examination at the age of only 20 and was called a child prodigy.

Song Shen spoke more verbosely, and quoted scriptures from time to time. Zhu Xiu listened with great interest, but Shi Kuangwei kept yawning.

Song Shen talked a lot and clearly explained the four matters he was in charge of. When it came to the logistics and general affairs of the entire army, it was not easy for him to summarize them clearly by category.

After mentioning a few financial matters incidentally, he gave the opportunity to introduce important matters of money and food to Pei Jin, the envoy.

Pei Jin's speech was concise and the content was also very simple. Two words summarized the current financial situation of Changyi Army: lack of money and lack of food.

To sum it up in one word: poor!

After hearing this, Shi Kuangwei's face turned darker and darker, and he scratched his head hard.

Next, skipping Zhu Xiu, the promotion officer, inspector, etc. reported their work in turn.

Among the main civil servants of the Jiedu Prefecture sitting in the first row on the left, only Zhu Xiu did not make a report.

Shi Kuangwei looked to the right again, and the military commander Xue Xiuliang said in a rough voice: "Shuaiye, in April, there were mobs in Linjing and Liangyuan counties who were dissatisfied with the grain requisition and rioted. I led my troops to suppress it and damaged the army. There are many soldiers and horses, please allow me to recruit strong and brave men, and then expand the Yawai army to [-] troops!"

Shi Kuangwei frowned: "With insufficient money and food, I'm afraid it will be difficult to support a thousand soldiers."

Xue Xiuliang said with a smile: "Recently, Guanzhong is not peaceful. A large number of refugees have fled from Ningzhou and Binzhou. In order to prevent the mob from causing chaos, it is necessary to expand the Yawai army! If the handsome man allows it, my Xue family can bear the burden for the handsome man." Food and wages for thousands of soldiers and horses.”

Shi Kuangwei stared slightly, then smiled and said: "Most of the money and food for the [-] tooth soldiers are provided by the Xue family. How can we add burden to the Xue family? What's more, the population of Yuanzhou in Jingzhou is thin, and if we expand the army, If so, I’m afraid it will be difficult for the people to afford it, and this is not feasible!”

"But handsome man."

Xue Xiuliang still wanted to fight for it, but Xue Xiuming interrupted loudly: "With the current situation of the Zhangyi Army, it is indeed impossible to recruit more men into the army. We will talk about this later!"

Xue Xiuliang lowered his eyelids, clasped his fists with some reluctance, and said, "I will obey your commander-in-chief's order!"

After briefly asking about Jingzhou's defense, Shi Kuangwei coughed and said, "Everyone, I have an important arrangement to announce today!"

(End of this chapter)