Early Tang Dynasty: forge ahead

Chapter 357 Governing Baekje with the same method as the Tang Dynasty

Chen Qingsi quickly recovered from the shock, glanced at Zhao Chiman, who was walking as fast as flying, and turned to pay attention to the personal guard who had affected Chi Yu and check on his situation.

In ancient times, Confucian medicine was not divided into different schools. Some Confucian scholars in this era were proficient in medical science.

Lu Zhaolin was one of them. Historically, he had studied with Sun Simiao for several years and had good medical skills. He looked at the condition of the crossbow arrows, his expression changed slightly and he said: "The arrows are poisonous..."

He had a solemn expression, but his hands moved very neatly. He first took various medicines from his bag.

Then he broke the tail of the crossbow arrow and pulled it out from the guard's back. He did not stop the bleeding in time, but observed the color of the blood and the condition near the wound, and finally applied medicine and bandage.

After Lu Zhaolin finished all this, Chen Qingsi asked: "How is the situation?"

Lu Zhaolin said: "Fortunately, the crossbow arrow was too powerful and it pierced directly through his waist. The poison on the arrow did not spread to the inside of the body, but flowed out along the blood. As for the small part, there was no It’s no big deal. Just apply the medicine in time and it will clear up naturally.”

Chen Qingsi nodded.

The damage of crossbow arrows lies in their power. The crossbow arrows are poisonous, which is somewhat unnecessary.

But even this unnecessary move can better reflect the other party's determination to kill him.

"That's right!" Chen Qingsi then remembered the voice that reminded him and said to Zhou Kui: "Go and find the person who warned you. I want to thank you in person."

The crossbow's shooting speed is so fast that the distance between dozens of steps is just an instant.

Chen Qingsi couldn't imagine what the outcome would have been if there hadn't been that word of caution.

As far as the power of the crossbow arrows is concerned, if it really hits the vital point, it will not kill it.

The arrow the opponent shot at him would definitely not be aimed at his waist.

"By the way, bring someone with you who is familiar with Buyeo dialect."

Chen Qingsi warned, although the other person's exclamation was in Chinese, he might only be able to speak a few words. Bring a translator who understands Buyeo dialect to avoid any misunderstandings during communication.

Fang Renyu looked at everything arranged by Chen Qingsi with a pale face, and a trace of happiness in his eyes.

He has not yet made a formal handover with Chen Qingsi, and Xiongjin is still under his jurisdiction: when he was under his jurisdiction, a high-ranking governor was assassinated in the street, and he could hardly absolve himself of the blame.

"Grand Governor!"

Fang Renyu wanted to defend himself.

Chen Qingsi raised her hand to stop him and said, "We'll talk about everything when we get back."

He looked forward. Zhao Chiman had captured the assassin and was escorting him nearby.

Zhao Chi was annoyed that he almost killed his benefactor, so when he got close, he kicked him in the butt.

The assassin fell directly to the ground, rolled around three times, and lay in embarrassment in front of Chen Qingsi.

Chen Qingsi took two steps forward and looked down at the assassin on the ground: he looked mediocre at the moment, with a medium build and an ordinary appearance. His mouth was stuffed full of rags, and his hands were deformed and twisted. They were obviously forcibly twisted. , one leg was also seriously injured, lying on the ground twisting like a maggot.

Zhao Chiman said: "Grand Governor, as soon as this man saw that there was no hope of escape, he immediately wanted to commit suicide. My subordinates could only seal his mouth, cut off his hands, and cut off his feet."

Chen Qingsi knew that in addition to catching thieves in Chang'an, Zhao Chiman was also responsible for detailed operations in various countries and was very skillful in dealing with such people, so he said, "I'll leave him to you. Let's see what we can find out."

Zhao Chiman gave a slightly ferocious smile to express his understanding.

The personal guard who was chasing Zhao Chiman came forward with an exquisite hard crossbow in his hand and said: "Grand Governor, this is the crossbow found at the ambush site."

Chen Qingsi stretched out his hand to take it. He worked in the Ministry of War and had a certain knowledge of many sharp weapons of the Tang Dynasty. The crossbow in his hand had a fine structure and was similar to their Tang Dynasty Zhang Zhang crossbow, but there were some differences in details.

Black Teeth Changzhi said: "This is Goguryeo's crossbow. The technology they learned from the Sui Dynasty will eventually see the power of this sharp weapon on the battlefield."

Chen Qingsi nodded, handed it to Cheng Boxian and said, "Put it away."

Zhou Kui then came alone and did not invite the person who reminded him.

He quickly came nearby and bowed and said, "No one was found. The shopkeeper said he left at some unknown time. It was very strange. There were six of them in the group. They came to Xiongjin to buy medicinal materials. They checked out and left early this morning. But for some reason, a girl came back and ordered food by the window on the second floor, but then she disappeared..."

"Gone?"

Chen Qingsi asked.

Zhou Kui nodded and said: "It's gone! The shop owner said that there is no business in the winter, and there is only one girl on the second floor. He heard someone shouting 'assassin' on the second floor in the lobby, and hurried to the second floor to see what was going on, but she was nowhere to be seen. Any figure."

Chen Qingsi said: "It doesn't matter, maybe the other party doesn't want to meet, but there is no ill intention."

"Let's go to the Governor's Mansion first!"

He ordered Fang Renyu.

Fang Renyu was still in shock and said hurriedly: "Yes, yes, yes, let's go to the Governor's Mansion first."

As he spoke, he immediately made new arrangements for the generals around him. The number of guards around Chen Qingsi doubled.

Chen Qingsi passed by the hotel that reminded her loudly. She turned around and couldn't help but look at it. Recalling the exclamation "Beware of assassins", she felt that she had seen it before.

Surrounded by people, he arrived safely at the Governor's Mansion.

Fang Renyu wanted to explain what happened to the assassin.

Chen Qingsi was obviously not interested in hearing the explanation, and said: "Everything has happened, so there is no need to dwell on it. What happened will be known once Zhao Youyi finds out the reason. Instead of spending your time on the assassin, it is better to spend your time on it." On official business.”

Fang Renyu quickly agreed: "What the Governor said makes sense."

Chen Qingsi went directly to the main seat and took his seat.

When Fang Renyu saw Chen Qingsi sitting in his original seat, his expression darkened and he sat down.

Chen Qingsi said: "I heard that Fang Gong implemented benevolent policies in Baekje and won over the local nobles and gentry. He is quite famous."

Fang Renyu was quite proud and said with a smile: "Serving the imperial court is what you should do."

Chen Qingsi was quite disdainful, but did not show it. He just said: "Let's do this. Tomorrow, Mr. Fang will invite all the wealthy gentry who are friends with you in Xiongjin City, so that I can get to know you."

Fang Renyu did not doubt that he was there. If he wanted to govern the place and was unfamiliar with the place, he had to first make friends with the local gentry and nobles and use their influence to appease the people. He immediately nodded and said: "I'll make arrangements."

"Thank you for your hard work!" Chen Qingsi said politely, then asked some general information, and let Fang Renyu go because the journey was hard.

Fang Renyu originally lived in the Governor's Mansion, but in order to facilitate Chen Qingsi's handling of Baekje affairs, Li Zhi specially rectified Baekje's internal affairs and transferred the five Governor's Mansion of Xiongjin, Mahan, Dongming, Jinlian, and De'an to the Governor's Mansion. After becoming the Governor's Mansion of Xiongjin Prefecture, Fang Renyu moved out of the Governor's Mansion and only visited the mansion once a day to deal with things.

Now that Chen Qingsi is here, he has no reason to stay here for long. Chen Qingsi did not rest, but followed the instructions from the Governor's Mansion and went to the archives room where Baekje official documents were stored.

As a small and remote country, Baekje did not have its own script. Although they spoke the Buyeo language, they always used Chinese script.

In the archives of Baekje, Chen Qingsi is the same as in any archives in the Central Plains, there is no difference.

Chen Qingsi has always maintained that in order to govern a place, one must first understand it. If he doesn't even know what the local situation is, he just governs indiscriminately. What's the difference between that and talking on paper?
Chen Qingsi did not imply anything here, he was referring to Fang Renyu’s governance methods.

No wonder the situation in Baekje deteriorated so quickly. Fang Renyu was fundamentally wrong.

Chen Qingsi looked at the situation in Baekje seriously.

Many of Baekje's national policies imitated the Central Plains, but they were not copied blindly. They had their own characteristics. They converted the territory into a three-level system of squares, counties, and cities, and divided the country into five parts: east, west, south, north, and middle. Square, set up a square city as the center of one side. The chief officer of Fang is Fang Ling, who is appointed by the official rank Dasu. Before Hei Te Changzhi, he was Dasu of Baekje.

In other words, controlling these five parties is equivalent to controlling the entire Baekje.

This is also the origin of the previous five governor's offices of Xiongjin, Mahan, Dongming, Jinlian, and De'an, but they did not achieve very good results.

Chen Qingsi read it carefully bit by bit, especially when she saw Baekje's domestic taxes, a smile gradually appeared on her face.

Before I knew it, it was already midnight.

"Grand Governor!"

When Chen Qingsi heard someone calling her outside, she said directly without raising her head: "Come in."

He recognized Zhao Chiman's voice.

He deliberately took Zhao Chiman as his confidant and showed his trust in him on any occasion, even if the other party was not suitable to enter the administrative storage area of ​​Baekje.

Zhao Chiman came to report the results of the interrogation.

Chen Qingsi put down the document in his hand, first motioned for Zhao Chiman to sit aside, and asked, "What's the result?"

Zhao Chiman said: "According to the confession, the alleged envoy was Yeon Gaesumun of Goguryeo."

Chen Qingsi was not surprised by this answer. Goguryeo did have a motive.

The purpose of Datang's acquisition of Baekje was to use Baekje as a stepping stone to attack from three sides with Silla and Liaodong.

This is a fly on the head - it's obvious.

Yeon Gaesomun was also considered a tycoon of his generation, and it was reasonable to want to make Baekje even more chaotic by assassinating him.

However, those who want chaos in Baekje are not only Goguryeo, but also Japan, Silla, and even Baekje itself...

Chen Qingsi asked: "Is it really Goguryeo? Is it possible that it was deliberately misleading?"

"Yes!" Zhao Chiman did not hide anything and said truthfully: "This situation is not uncommon. There are some dead soldiers who are very determined and can go through most tortures. It is difficult to break their mouths. Many times, they If he can't hold on anymore, he will die in one breath. If he goes deeper into the interrogation, he will lose his life. The information revealed at this time is the most credible, but there is a possibility that the person behind the scenes has already prepared a back-up plan. , it’s really hard to say if reasonable people behind the scenes have been arranged in advance.”

Chen Qingsi thought for a moment and asked: "When he was interrogated, there were no outsiders present, right?"

Zhao Chiman shook his head and said: "Some of my subordinates' methods come from the market. Some of them are underhanded, but they have miraculous effects and are inconvenient for outsiders to observe."

Chen Qingsi was a little curious, but did not intend to find out. He just said: "Don't tell outsiders about this result. Just say that the wealthy gentry of Baekje arranged this assassination."

Zhao Chiman immediately said: "I understand."

Chen Qingsi said it was hard work and asked Zhao Chiman to go down and rest.

Zhao Chiman also bowed and said caringly: "The Governor should also go to bed early."

Chen Qingsi continued to read the files for a while before going to her bedroom to rest.

Perhaps due to the hard work on the road, the assassination, and staying up late, Chen Qingsi was rarely awakened by her biological clock and slept until dawn.

By the time he woke up, it was already three o'clock in the morning.

While he was washing, Zhou Kui came nearby and said: "Master Lang, Fang Gong came early in the morning. He was accompanied by nine people, all of whom were respected gentry near Xiongjin. Lu Wenwen had already received him in the front hall. ”

Chen Qingsi nodded and said: "Ask Bo Xian to capture all nine of them and throw them into the prison. By the way, prepare two breakfast meals. If the landlord asks to see you, bring him to see me."

Zhou Kui was startled at first, but seeing that his husband was not joking, he gave it up and went ahead with it.

Chen Qingsi washed up unhurriedly, then sat down and ate breakfast, which consisted of rice porridge, dried fish, and a piece of biscuits.

In ancient times, supplies were scarce in winter, especially in Baekje, where food was easy to eat.

Fortunately, Chen Qingsi was not picky about food and ate the dried salted fish with gusto, until Fang Renyu walked in with an angry look on his face.

He was filled with anger and kept suppressing it forcefully. He bowed and shouted: "Grand Governor!"

Chen Qingsi spit out the thorn in her mouth, swallowed the food, and then smiled and said: "Fanggong, sit down, this dried fish tastes good, why not sit down and taste it together?"

Fang Renyu did not answer and asked: "Is it the governor's order to put all the gentry in prison?"

"That's right!" Chen Qingsi nodded and said, "I had people take them down."

Fang Renyu said with anger: "Why is this the Governor? They have high prestige in Xiongjin and Baekje. To take them down for no reason like this, doesn't it chill the hearts of everyone in Baekje?" "

Chen Qingsi chuckled: "They can't replace Baekje."

Fang Renyu asked a little aggressively: "Is there a reason to be important? Do you know that in order to win them over, I, Corporal Li Xian, spent a lot of effort to establish a good relationship with them. It would be better for you to win over them on the first day you come here." What can I do now that I’ve been offended?”

Chen Qingsi shook her head slightly and said, "Fang Gong, why do you think I am here again?"

An arrow to the heart.

Fang Renyu couldn't say a word when he was in time.

"If your courtesy corporal is useful, why would I have to come all the way here?"

Chen Qingsi seemed to feel that it was not enough, so she asked again.

Fang Renyu's face flushed instantly.

Chen Qingsi said word for word: "Fang Gong, do you know where your biggest mistake is?"

He looked at Fang Renyu, who looked confused, and said word by word: "You are governing Baekje with the same method you use to govern the counties of our country in the Tang Dynasty... You think that this wonderful method of making a huge profit is indeed feasible in our country of the Tang Dynasty, but now The place we are in is Baekje. Although it is now under the control of the imperial court, the people and gentry here have no loyalty to the imperial court. Do you really think they will give up their own interests easily and cooperate with you as an outsider? "

(End of this chapter)