Eastern Jin Dynasty: My powerful father

Chapter 405: Dispatching Troops to Hedong (Part )

When Huan Xi walked out of the carriage, 100,000 Hu people cheered loudly.

No one would resist a generous commander who could lead them to victory.

Huan Xi felt the enthusiasm of the crowd. He did not rush to get off the carriage. Instead, he stood on the carriage and waved his arms at them in response to their cheers.

When in Chang'an, Huan Xi regarded these 100,000 soldiers from Hetao and Hexi as a hidden danger, and even sent Wang Meng to look after them.

When people are idle, they tend to have wild thoughts. When these Hu people were resting outside the city of Chang'an and had nothing to do, Huan Xi had to be careful to prevent them from getting restless and causing trouble.

But once he really got on the battlefield, Huan Xi would naturally put this distrust behind him.

In fact, if Huan Xi did not trust them, he would not have mobilized these 100,000 Hu people from afar. Along the way, their food, clothing, housing and transportation alone would cost a lot.

Fortunately, during the rest period of the 100,000 soldiers, they spent lavishly in Chang'an, and Huan Xi was able to recover some of his losses through taxation.

Wang Meng had already come forward. He bowed and said:
"Wei ministers pay homage to Duke Liang."

Huan Xi quickly got off the carriage and helped him up:
"No need to be polite, sir."

Wang Meng turned around, took the brocade box containing the military token from the plate held by his personal follower, and presented it with both hands.

This military token was specially made by Huan Xi to facilitate Wang Meng's management of these Hu soldiers.

To others, this military token meant power, but in front of Huan Xi, it was worthless. He did not rely on this military token to command the three armies.

The military token is just an inanimate object. Its special meaning was given by Huan Xi. If Huan Xi wanted, he could choose another object as a token of trust.

When Huan Xi came into conflict with the holder of the military token, the soldiers would stand on Huan Xi's side unconditionally.

When Fu Jian was seriously ill, Fu Jing took the opportunity to rebel. He lied that Fu Jian was dead and led his troops to attack the imperial city. However, as soon as Fu Jian showed up, Fu Jing's troops scattered like birds and beasts. This is the reason.

Huan Xi took the brocade box from Wang Meng. Without even opening it to check, he handed it to Shen Chiqian and asked him to keep it for the time being.

Of course, doing this is more about showing his trust in Wang Meng in front of everyone.

Huan Xi patted Wang Meng on the shoulder and said in a friendly tone:

"After you go back, take a good rest at home for two days and spend time with your family."

Huan Xi felt relieved to let Wang Meng take two days off because Xie An was currently doing a pretty good job in the Secretariat.

Wang Meng knew that Huan Xi was thinking about him, but he still declined Huan Xi's kindness. Perhaps it was because he had handed over 100,000 troops and unloaded the heavy burden on his shoulders. Wang Meng was relaxed and joked with Huan Xi:
"I only see the new people laughing, but I don't see the old people crying. If I don't go back to the Shangshutai, I'm afraid there will be no place for Meng to stay."

Huan Xi couldn't help laughing when he heard this. He deliberately put on a straight face and said:

"So after I leave Guanzhong, you must be alert. If anything goes wrong, don't blame me for being ruthless."

Although many truths were spoken in a joking manner, the conversation between Huan Xi and Wang Meng today was definitely not one of them.

Wang Meng's position in Huan Xi's mind cannot be replaced by Xie An.

Xie An was just a desperate man who had to add icing on the cake, while Wang Meng was the man behind Huan Xi, assisting him step by step to create the current situation.

Huan Xi trusted Wang Meng unconditionally. After he went to the front, he handed over the financial, political and military power of Guanxi to Wang Meng. Such trust was not something Xie An could get. "The autumn assessment, recruitment and dismissal will all be decided by you alone. There is no need to discuss with others. I believe in your vision and you will be able to select talents for me."

Before leaving, Huan Xi talked about the embryonic stage of the imperial examination system. Wang Meng was both the Shangshu Ling and the Minister of Personnel, in charge of personnel. The 108 people recommended by the prefects from all over the country were originally being examined in the Ministry of Personnel. No matter how busy Wang Meng was, he would take time out to serve as the chief examiner.

"I am in charge of the Ministry of Personnel. It is my duty to select talents for the country. If I appoint the wrong people, it is all Meng's fault. I will apologize to Lord Liang and accept the punishment of the country."

Wang Meng said seriously.

Previously, a group of mediocre officials were in charge of the local government. This was not Wang Meng's fault. It was the result of Huan Xi taking away the right of the gentry to recruit soldiers and making the door more convenient in personnel arrangements.

Of course, later on, during that campaign-style rectification, those people who were not qualified for their positions were demoted to unimportant positions.

Huan Xi nodded. He was not worried that Wang Meng would use this as an opportunity to form a clique for personal gain.

Not to mention that Wang Meng is not an ambitious person. Now that he is so successful, there are probably countless jealous eyes hidden in his eyes.

Therefore, Wang Meng has always been very cautious in his actions and never gives others the opportunity to take advantage of him.

For example, Huan Huo.

Although Huan Huo was in Luoyang, he was always concerned about the situation in Liang State. He once expressed his dissatisfaction to Huan Xi through Huan Wen, believing that Huan Xi trusted outsiders too much and neglected his own brothers.

As for Huan Huo, not only Wang Meng, but even Huan Xi could do nothing about it, after all, he was his uncle.

Uncle, uncle, since he is related to father, you have to endure it even if he is scolded.

As it was getting late and 130,000 soldiers were still waiting for him, Huan Xi did not talk to Wang Meng for too long.

He said goodbye to Wang Meng with reluctance. The relationship between them was not just a simple master-servant relationship. They were comrades and close friends, a friendship that was enough for him to entrust his wife and children to.

Following Huan Xi's order, 100,000 soldiers from Hetao and Hexi, and 30,000 elite cavalrymen surrounded Huan Xi's carriage and embarked on the long journey eastward.

When Wang Meng returned to Chang'an, he wanted to go straight to the Secretariat, but he was worried that people would ridicule him for being power-hungry.

After thinking carefully for a moment, Wang Meng finally changed his mind. He decided to follow Huan Xi's advice. Since Xie An handled things in an orderly manner, why should he rush back to announce that he was the master of the Secretariat?

Wang Meng lifted the carriage curtain and said to the driver:
"Let's go back home instead."

Although Huan Xi handed over the financial, political and military affairs to Wang Meng before leaving, Wang Meng still planned to let Xie An participate more and share some of the responsibilities with him.

After all, people's words are scary. If one holds on to power, it will inevitably cause dissatisfaction among those below. By then, there will be many people making false accusations. Even Huan Xi will have to do something when three people make a tiger.

It’s not that he no longer trusts Wang Meng, but Wang Meng has aroused opposition from all officials, so naturally he can no longer serve as the head of the ministers.

Huan Xi knew this very well, but still handed all power to Wang Meng. However, he hinted to him before leaving that he should give up some power appropriately.

The effect of Wang Meng taking the initiative to share power with his subordinates would naturally be better than Huan Xi depriving him of his power and transferring it to others.

It can be said that Huan Xi was putting himself in Wang Meng's shoes, and Wang Meng also came to his senses at this time, and the touch in his heart was self-evident.

(End of this chapter)