Prince of Song Dynasty

Chapter 671
The official road from Jingzhaofu to Gyeongju.Ye Chen walked forward unhurriedly with more than 1 people.One of the three deputy envoys of the Department of Internal Affairs of the Huaxia Weifu is in charge of the food, grass, food and clothing along the way, and Feng Gang, who is known as the God of Wealth, is in charge of business transactions in the northwest.This is not difficult for him.

In the middle of the team was a large four-wheeled carriage specially made by the Weapons Division, pulled by four tall Dawan horses.It can seat up to ten people inside.

But at this time, there were only three people in the carriage.

Ye Chen sat in the main seat, on the left sat Yang Jiye who was known as Yang Wudi on the battlefield, and on the right sat Han Xizai who had been prime minister in the Southern Tang Dynasty for more than 20 years.

Needless to say, Yang Jiye was No. 1 in the Northern Han Army three years ago before he was rescued by Ye Chen with a suicide knife in the Battle of Jinyang.His abilities in training, commanding, fighting, etc. have been verified by more than ten years of bloody battles with Khitan, Song and other countries. He is a general who is not weaker than Cao Bin.

In addition, Ye Chen knew from later generations the experiences of Yang Jiye and the Yang family in the original history.It is enough for Ye Chen to reuse it and regard it as the No.1 in the army after the founding of his country.Before surrendering to the Song Dynasty, Yang Jiye had always lived in a simple way, and Zhao Kuangyin invited him several times, but he was unwilling to come out of the mountain.This time Ye Chen asked, but he had to agree.On the one hand, it was because Ye Chen had saved his life; on the other hand, Yang Jiye knew very well that if he did not leave the Song Dynasty with Ye Chen, the entire Yang family would be wiped out by His Majesty the current Emperor of the Song Dynasty.

However, Han Xizai was able to be the prime minister in the Southern Tang Dynasty for more than 20 years, and he could not fall down, and when Li Yu ignored the government, he used his own strength to stabilize the situation in the Southern Tang Dynasty, and he fought openly and secretly with the Maitreya Sect without losing the wind.This process itself is a manifestation of ability.

Of course, the corruption in the Southern Tang Dynasty must have something to do with him, but the root lies in the lord Li Yu.Of course, Han Xizai also has the problems of greed for power and money.However, Ye Chen, who came from later generations, has a different understanding and attitude towards this point.

In Ye Chen's view, as long as they are normal people, they are greedy for power and money, it's just whether it is serious or not, or the strength of self-control ability.This is also the root cause of repeated prohibitions of corruption in all dynasties, or in ancient and modern China and foreign countries.

And a person who is not greedy for power or money at all is either a fool or a saint.And these two kinds of people are rare species in the world.It cannot be theorized as usual.

Therefore, the key lies in how to curb the greed in the hearts of officials.Kings since ancient times, and even the governments of later generations have thought of many ways to do this.For example, as early as the Qin Dynasty, after Qin Shihuang unified the six countries, he established Yushi as an official position of supervisory nature, responsible for supervising the court and officials of the princes, and continued until the Qing Dynasty.There is also Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin with a high salary and a high salary.Ming Taizu's harsh punishment and the establishment of Jinyiwei and factory guards were originally to curb corruption of officials.Until the government of later generations advocated the rule of law, the existence of various legal institutions such as the Commission for Discipline Inspection and the Procuratorate also served the same purpose.

To be honest, these methods or strategies are fundamentally good methods and strategies, and are even indispensable for the existence of a dynasty or government. Wages are significantly lower than the average social income, so is corruption serious?You must know that all the work that everyone does is for the sake of living...not everyone who eats public food has reached a very high level of moral quality or self-control.

But even if you think about it, or use all the necessary strategies, you still can't completely solve the problem.The reason for this is that all the methods are implemented by people. If there is a problem with the person who implements these methods, these methods will naturally be deformed and out of shape during the implementation process.

Therefore, the governments of later generations have been pursuing the soundness of laws and the improvement of supervision, reporting and other institutions. Naturally, there is nothing wrong with these, and they will definitely be effective.But still can not completely eradicate official corruption.

Ye Chen has such an understanding, but it doesn't mean that he has a way to solve this eternal problem.But on the basis of this understanding, he concluded another understanding - the severity of corruption in dynasties or later governments is directly related to the wiseness of the king or leader of this country.The reason why Tang Zong and Song Zu have been praised for thousands of years is because they are wise and recognized as wise emperors through the ages. They have done a lot of work for the people to live a good life and prevent officials from being corrupted. Therefore, during the time of Tang Zong and Song Zu, corruption Corruption is relatively much less, and people's lives are naturally better.

In short, Ye Chen is not afraid of the corruption of Southern Tang officials headed by Han Xizai, because he is confident that as long as he establishes a country, he will establish a very complete supervision, law enforcement and other anti-corruption institutions, and he will try his best to be a wise king.Confidence to squeeze out all the abilities and experience of governing the country or the locality possessed by these people, and these people will be voluntary, even very happy, and very enthusiastic.

To put it bluntly, everyone has fear and utilitarianism, and Ye Chen wants to use rewards and punishments to drive these people's motivation.

"The lord and the imperial court wanted Xiazhou, Yinzhou, and Lanzhou. These three places form a line for the Northwest of the Great Song Dynasty, and form horns for the lord's fiefdom. It can be said to be very hard work!" Yang Jiye took a sip Cha, thinking about the ability, strength, wisdom, and status of this young man who is as old as his own son, can't help but feel that such a person who is like a godsend, even in the entire history, is rare. few.

How could Han Xizai let Yang Jiye speak before Ye Chen, and immediately said: "The choice of these three states is enough to show the prince's foresight and foresight."

Speaking of this, Han Xizai paused for a while and said: "Yinzhou is located in the upper reaches of the Yellow River and west of Hetao. The land is fertile and rich in grains. It is especially suitable for rice and wheat. The water and grass are rich and suitable for both agriculture and animal husbandry. There are Hanyan and Tanglai canals. The advantage of water conservancy is that it is suitable for settlement and reclamation. The land connects Helan and leads the Yellow River. Its position is important. It can be used as the base camp and foundation of the prince's founding of the country, and it is also our grain and rice warehouse. In addition, Yanzhou near Xiazhou supplies With [-]% of the salt in the Northwest and even the Western Regions, there is a lot of money, which should be a strong financial backing for us. Lanzhou is the only way from the Western Regions to the Central Plains and even Khitan. It is actually a unique silk business route. , is also a great source of income for our side.”

Hearing this, Ye Chen couldn't help but smiled and nodded slightly to Han Xizai, expressing his satisfaction, and said: "Han Xianggong is from the south of the Yangtze River. As far as I know, he has never been to the Northwest. But he can understand the geography, commerce, and agriculture of these three states." It is so clear, on the one hand, it can be seen that Mr. Han has already begun to plan for the establishment of our country in private. At the same time, it also shows that what Mr. Han has learned in his chest has not disappointed me."

Ye Chen gave such a high affirmation, and Han Xizai was overjoyed at once. Although he had already guessed that Ye Chen would probably reuse him, and privately, he had repeatedly considered Ye Chen's subordinate officials, thinking that he was the best candidate to be the founding prime minister.Although I think so, I am not sure after all, for example, Xu Xuan has the advantage of Ye Chen's confidant.Therefore, these days, he racked his brains to show what he had learned all his life in front of Ye Chen, and even for the 1 people who ate, drank, slept, etc., he took the initiative to invite Ye Chen and brought thirty Southern Tang vassals with him. Handle it all.The journey was well organized, which made Ye Chen have a better understanding of him and these Southern Tang surrenders.

Ye Chen highly affirmed Han Xizai's words, and then turned to Yang Jiye and asked, "Just now, Xianggong Han analyzed the benefits of choosing these three states from the perspective of people's livelihood and economy. How about Yang Taiwei analyze my choice from a military perspective? The true purpose of the Tri-State."

Yang Jiye obviously had a plan in mind, without thinking, he said with a smile: "First of all, let me talk about Lanzhou. Although Lanzhou City is small, it is protected by the majestic Gaolan Mountain in the south, the surging Yellow River in the north, and the east. It is Mount Maheng, with the famous Elm Valley leading to the southwest, the situation is very dangerous, it can be said to be the hub of the northwest region."

"After Qin Shihuang unified the six countries, the land of Lanzhou belonged to Yuzhong, and the Great Wall was built here 'because the river was a fortress'. The Han Dynasty controlled the Hexi Corridor. After connecting the Western Regions, in order to strengthen the control of this area, the Jincheng was set up. County, Jincheng County. In the Sui Dynasty, it was named Lanzhou because of the nearby Gaolan Mountain, and it is still in use today. In addition, Lanzhou is located in the north and south, and it is the throat of the East and West. It has been the throat of the East and West military since ancient times. You need to know Lanzhou To the west is the famous Hexi Corridor, and to the east is the vast Guanzhong Plain. Therefore, its gains and losses are crucial to the great cause of the prince's founding of the country. The old man guesses that this is also the reason why the prince wanted Lanzhou City."

"Let's talk about the two prefectures of Yinxia. With these two prefectures as the center, the northeast reaches Fuzhou and Linzhou, the southwest reaches Huanzhou and Zhenrong, the west reaches the banks of the Dahe River and the foot of Helan Mountain, and the north reaches Hetao Jiuqu. That is to say, control The acquisition of the two prefectures of Yinxia not only represents the control of the land of the two prefectures, but also includes Lingzhou, Yanzhou, Dingzhou, Jingzhou, Longzhou, Shunzhou, Shengzhou, and Huizhou under the radiation of the two prefectures. The land of eight states, of course, these places are not the fiefdoms of the prince, they are still in the hands of the Song Dynasty. The prince has no army in his hands now, and he will wait for three years to operate in the fiefdom of the three states. With the financial resources controlled by the Huaxia Weifu, it should be able to Build a strong army of at least 5 to [-] people. At that time, it is time to consider taking the land of the eight states into your own hands. With the land of the eight states, plus Lanzhou, Yinzhou and Xiazhou, based on these eleven states, is the time when the prince founded the country."

Ye Chen smiled slightly, and said: "Yang Taiwei did not disappoint me, he saw the military essentials clearly."

Speaking of this, Ye Chen looked solemn, and said solemnly: "Since this is the case, this king will no longer hide the two of you. This king has an army of [-] people and will fight from the Hengshan wasteland in a few days to capture these eight states. place."

Yang Jiye and Han Xizai couldn't help being surprised when they heard the words, and looked at Ye Chen in disbelief.

Ye Chen smiled, and said: "The Dangxiang clan has already fallen into the hands of this king as early as the beginning of the year."

Yang Jiye and Han Xizai suddenly realized, and then they were overjoyed, especially Han Xizai who was already ecstatic.The two thought that Ye Chen would need at least several years to manage the country, but unexpectedly, the great cause of the country was just around the corner.

After all, the two were not ordinary people, so they quickly recovered their calm. Yang Jiye said solemnly: "The [-] troops under Gao Huaide, the northwestern frontier army of the Great Song Dynasty, are all powerful troops. With these [-] troops, how can the prince conquer the eight states?"

Ye Chen said: "My king has already made arrangements. If everything goes well, Gao Huaide will send 5000 people to Sancha Valley in three days. After these 5000 people go, they will be trapped in Sancha Valley and it will be difficult to get out in a short time. In the Yandi Valley area of ​​the Hengshan Grassland, there are 1 soldiers from the Northwest Frontier Army among the six army strongholds of the Song Dynasty. The king has set a trap so that they will not send troops to stop the party's 3 cavalry at the beginning, but when they react, they have already It's too late. The remaining 3 are in the northwest frontier of Gyeongju headquarters. The king will use himself as a bait to temporarily keep them away from the eight states. The opportunity has been lost, and [-] men are no longer enough to resist [-] party cavalry."

Yang Jiye and Han Xizai's hearts were already thundering, and their hearts were shaken. They have been following Ye Chen from Kaifeng all the way to the northwest these days, and they haven't seen Ye Chen make any moves, but they don't want Ye Chen to lead the Huaxia Weifu. Such a big deal.

After a while, Yang Jiye regained his composure, and asked again: "The Zhe family in Fuzhou and my brother's Yang family in Linzhou will definitely not sit back and watch the prince win the Bazhou."

Ye Chen said: "Bai Canghai and Huang Louping led a large number of killers and spies to Fuzhou eight days ago, and Shangguan Bingyun and Duo Luoduo had sneaked into your brother's mansion six days ago. There will be great chaos in Fuzhou and Linzhou, although it will not shake the foundation of these two families, but it will be enough to make them fearful, too busy to take care of themselves, and dare not act rashly."

Yang Jiye breathed a sigh of relief when he heard the words, then looked at Ye Chen and hesitated to speak.

Seeing this, Ye Chen smiled slightly, and said, "Don't worry, Taiwei, this king has already explained to Shangguan Bingyun, if it is not necessary, he will never kill the direct descendants of the Yang family in Linzhou."

Yang Jiye clasped his fists at Ye Chen and said, "Thank you, my lord."

Ye Chen said: "It's nothing, it's just that Linzhou will become an enemy of this king sooner or later, Taiwei Yang has time to think about how to save the Yang family of Linzhou from the disaster of the sword."

Speaking of this, Ye Chen paused for a while and said: "Okay, this matter will last forever, let's talk about it later. Now the two of you are going to start working."

When Han Xizai and Yang Jiye heard the words, their expressions became solemn, and they immediately cupped their hands and fists to Ye Chen respectively, and said in unison: "Please order, my lord."

(End of this chapter)