Dawn of the Empire

Chapter 481 - 90

Jia Yuanzhen smiled and said, "So you didn't go to the Military Quartermaster's Office, but came here instead. Otherwise, the first seat of Ma Jun would be indispensable in the six departments." .As Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty said, the unrivaled Han Peng is nothing more than a falcon and dog.”

Facing the situation in the DPRK and China, these imperial students' minds are like a mirror.No matter how prominent the suppressing party and the Baoyi army were for a while, the only ones who firmly occupied the center of the imperial court were the prime minister's mansion and the six civil servants.Now that a lot of waste is waiting to be done, many scholars are seeing this, so they desperately rush to the position of the Sixth Ministry.Tai students are officials selected by the imperial court and have a great relationship with the Neo Confucian Society.For example, Chen Dong, Cao Liangshi, Wu Zilong, etc. all vigorously recruited the imperial students who escaped from Bianliang as assistant officials.Because of the dust on the sage, the imperial examination was temporarily abolished, and now the civil servants in all ministries are appointed by the superiors. Once a good superior is cultivated, it is conceivable that the future will rise to the top.However, Ma Yuan, Jia Yuanzhen and others still declined the invitations of teachers, friends and classmates from all sides, and stayed in the Baoyi Army wholeheartedly.

"Let's not talk about me," Ma Yuan said with a smile, "you all have a good place to go, but you are willing to stay here."

"It's better to live happily here than to be depressed and grow old in paperwork." Liu Wengu sighed, "Working with Mr. Zhao, I feel that there is no restriction, and the sky is high and the sea is wide. Unlike other places, it always makes people feel depressed."

Liu Wengu's words seemed to have touched Jia Yuanzhen, he sighed and said: "If you don't carry this chronic illness with you to the door of the rich and powerful, and you don't want to endure those mediocre people pointing fingers at you, if you join the Sixth Department of the Prime Minister's Mansion, you will probably die in the office of Yu Yu too Middle." He said thoughtfully, "Nowadays the imperial examinations are abolished, the state and county shepherds, the prime ministers are elected by county schools, and the six ministers are competing to introduce private individuals. These people will inevitably be intertwined in the long run. In the past, Mr. Huang said that the emperor regards the world as Private property, regards the world's children's wealth as flowers. The dignitaries in the court form a party for private interests, so why don't they regard the world as private property? However, from one person exploiting the people, it has become dozens, thousands, tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of people It’s nothing more than exploiting the people together. Is it true that someone like Mr. Zhao who is dedicated to the public should be excluded from the center of the court and let them do whatever they want?”

Several military officers fell silent. Huang Zhoushan's public discussion and election, even if someone opposed it, it was mostly from the perspective of the prime minister usurping the throne on his own.But the few of them were born in Taixue, and they also had a lot of knowledge about the imperial court, so they had their own considerations that others couldn't match.

"If the northern captives are expelled in the future, Mr. Zhao will make great achievements. With such a huge reputation, he will not be able to become a general in the first place." Liu Wengu said a little unwillingly, "At that time, we can continue to follow Mr. Zhao." For him However, it was a last resort to throw a pen into the army, and there was still a glimmer of hope in my heart that I would become a civil servant in the future.

"When that day really comes, will we people be different from the 'treacherous' party?" Ma Yuan's eyes darkened, and his voice was almost unknown, "Everything in the world is for profit!" The prospect of the future engenders a sense of dread.It seems that the white Jiang Wu can't see clearly.Although he devoted himself to the Baoyi Army, he has mentors and classmates who have served as officials in the central and other places. Even in places where the Lishe dominates, there are mixed fish and dragons, and the behavior of some people is quite contemptible.

After being silent for a long while, Ma Yuan burst out laughing: "Whether I can live long enough to expel the captives is another matter. It's really unfounded to worry about! I'll just wait until I can concentrate on it." Laughing, pointing to the scenery on the river bank, just now all the traces of melancholy were wiped away.

On the opposite side of Jiang Wu, at the head of the Yellow Crane Tower, several gentlemen in silk clothes stood in front of the window, watching the Baoyi army go out.

"Brother Liang, do you think Zhen Guo and the Baoyi Army can really defeat the Liao Army?" one of them asked.

Liang Shenyan frowned, and sighed: "The Liao army is as powerful as a broken bamboo, and it is difficult to stop them." He secretly calculated that since the Liao army invaded, the land price in Jiangnan has dropped a lot, and many wealthy gentry have sold it. After losing the land, the family moved to Guangnan and other places far away from the Liao people.The Liang family also bought a lot of land. According to their eyeliner in Jinling, the land price will rise a lot in the near future, because the Liao bandits have plundered gold and silver and their children's wealth, but the land cannot be taken away. go.After understanding this point, the rich households in places who do not want to move will try their best to exchange their money for land.

For Liang Shenyan and Cai Fengji, since the Liao army and the Bianliang court reached a certain compromise and collected taxes in Jiangning, it means that the Khitan people still have some rules, and people are far from their hometowns. Even if the Liao army comes, they will If you want to stay in your hometown, you only need to survive the burning and killing of the "rebellious" soldiers, and you just change to another court to pay taxes.Of course, from the bottom of their hearts, they still hope that the Baoyi Army will win.As a big family, Liang Shenyan, Cai Fengji and others all made considerable donations to the Military Quartermaster Office.

"Although General Zhao is a modest gentleman, his subordinates are not easy to deal with. They are not as strict as the military discipline of the suppressor." Liu Jing shook his head resentfully. He has suffered a bit. They fought against the Liao army in the front, but they were in the fishery behind, and now it is finally the turn of the Baoyi army to issue certificates." A smile could not help but appear on the corner of his mouth.

Liang Shenyan frowned, a little impatiently.At this time, Cai Fengji comforted: "However, the Baoyi army are all rough people, and it is understandable that they don't know Brother Liu's identity." He secretly laughed in his heart, Liu Jing is the richest man in the county, but he is stingy, I obstructed the payment of taxes and taxes in the county school, but the Baoyi army came to urge me to collect them once, and I have been honest since then.

"Nowadays the world is in chaos, and our garrison on Jingbei Road Tanshang Township Police and Baoyi Army is already in the best of luck." Liang Shenyan sighed, "If it is a 'chaotic' soldier crossing the border, it is not I know how it will ruin the place." He heard that in the north of Xiangyang, many wealthy households were not only looted by the rebel soldiers, but even their people were killed.

At this time, the attic suddenly brightened up, and a round of morning sun "revealed" from behind the thick clouds. The clouds were dyed in shades of red, like a splendid sky full of splendor, while the sails of the Baoyi Army As if coated with a layer of gold powder, the cheers of the people on both sides of the strait were louder and louder.Faced with this rare beauty, everyone forgot to be full of melancholy for the time being.

............

From Ezhou to Shuzhou, the journey was smooth and smooth. The Baoyi Army gathered the volunteers and food from the prefectures and counties, and the momentum became more and more powerful.Wherever they passed, the common people often went ashore to watch the military appearances. In order to boost the morale of the soldiers and the people, Zhao Xingde ordered his subordinates to make many flags and 'insert' them on the boats, and displayed them to the soldiers and civilians along the way.He also sent many envoys ashore to declare to the counties loyal to the Xiangyang court that Xiangyang and Ezhou are gentlemen fighting for righteousness, and now they have formed an alliance temporarily.Under the attack of two groups of Liao soldiers, if everyone does not work together to expel the northern captives, the relatives will be hurt, and the enemies will be quick!Xiangyang has not clarified these claims.Some prefectures and counties were skeptical, while some prefectures and counties listened to it, provided food and grass to the Baoyi Army, and even sent troops to help.

Zhao Xingde's rule of the army is not to blindly cultivate direct descendants and reject dissidents, but to establish rules so that everyone can keep their own duties and do nothing other than kill the enemy and make meritorious service.The official customs of the Song Dynasty were to shirk responsibility for everything, no matter how big or small, and push it down layer by layer. As a result, the subordinate officials below were miserable, and no one could really take responsibility.Shangguan is euphemistically called "planning a strategy and winning a decisive victory thousands of miles away."Among the original forbidden army, among bandits and water bandits, flattery prevailed, and it was not uncommon for subordinates to worship marshals as foster fathers, and soldiers to worship officers as godfathers.It has long been a common practice in the army for generals to entrust soldiers to build private houses and transport and trade goods for profit.The favored soldiers are like the eunuchs in the palace. They usually serve tea and water, but they are lucky. They usually look forward to gaining personal gain from it.It is quite disgusting that he is clearly a strong man, but he behaves like a servile and humble man.After Zhao Xingde rectified the Baoyi army, wherever he went, if the general flattered him a little, he would definitely scold him severely, so that he didn't call him for several days.No matter how busy Zhao Xingde is, he must personally do his own affairs, from washing horses, sharpening weapons, arranging armor and military robes, to writing official and private letters, and formulating strategies. In this matter, this person never encroached on other people's merits for himself.Correspondingly, the generals and civil servants under Zhao Xingde have their own responsibilities, and they are not ordered by him like slaves.Work from top to bottom, these subordinates do not enslave their subordinates.Over time, the top and bottom of the Baoyi Army took their own responsibilities and kept their own duties.Except for a few people, most people don't feel like being "sent here and there" by the superiors. Everyone acts within a certain authority and can do things in an orderly manner.Occasionally, those who are lucky enough to advance, or cater to the superior, or interfere with other people's duties, must be despised and rejected by everyone.This is also one of the reasons why Ma Yuan and others feel that they "joy doing things" under Zhao Xingde.Although the prefectural and county volunteers were newly under the control of the Baoyi Army, they felt that as long as they followed the rules and were not discriminated against, they would be at ease.

After the Baoyi Army arrived in Nankang, more than [-] prefectural and county soldiers came to join, and Zhao Xingde divided them under the control of the left and right armies.Along the river, land and water advance side by side, and the noise is overwhelming.The Baoyi army was originally formed by bandits from various water villages, and the whole army has long been familiar with sorting out the affairs of the mob.

At the wharf in Nankang, Zhao Xingde received a letter, and he couldn't help being overjoyed when he saw the letter, and said, "God help me too!" Said: "Han Shizhong, the commander of Hengjun on Jingdong Road, led his troops to the south along the coast, and broke Kong Yanzhou's water fortress in Jiangyin. He was going up the river. General Han sent a letter to attack the Liao soldiers with us from east to west!"