Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

Hanzhong, Xingyuan Mansion.

A group of officials were sitting in the Yamen of the Transfer Department, and the atmosphere seemed quite solemn.

Officials present include:

Lizhou Road transfer envoy Xu Fuyan, deputy transfer envoy Liu Huiyuan, transfer judge Wang Minwen, punishment envoy Liu Yao, Changping envoy Han Siyan, Xingyuan prefect Li Shishi...

"Can you find out more information?" Xu Fuyan asked.

This man was proficient in the Book of Changes and was good at yin and yang calculations. He had served as a censor and a member of the Zhongshu Sheren. He was promoted by Cai Jing to the position of Minister of the Ministry of Punishment. He was ostracized by Wang Fu last year and was originally going to be demoted to Guangnan, but the emperor came forward to protect him and was transferred to Lizhou Road as the top leader.

Liu Yao said: "Everything is normal in Yangzhou City. Only a few officials were killed, all of whom were notorious."

When Tong Guan was conquering Xixia, he proposed to mint large amounts of money in Shaanxi due to insufficient military spending. Liu Yao firmly opposed this matter and offended Tong Guan severely.

Historically, Liu Yao will soon be transferred to Hebei. The Forbidden Army killed good people and took credit, and actually massacred the village. Liu Yao beheaded the leading officer. Tong Guan impeached him for indiscriminate killing, um, indiscriminate killing of officers, and sent him directly to the south to collect wine taxes.

Liu Huiyuan asked: "There are no loyal people in Yangzhou, so we can recruit brave people from the countryside to fight against the rebels?"

Liu Yao wanted to roll his eyes when he heard this, and said with sarcasm: "Based on the government's recruitment in recent years, I'm afraid there are more people in Yangzhou who commit thieves than who kill them."

"Liu Tixing's words seemed to be resenting the imperial court." Liu Huiyuan looked unhappy.

Liu Yao said: "It's not that I'm resentful of the imperial court, I'm just dissatisfied with Wang Fu and Tong Guan."

The transfer judge Wang Minwen suddenly said: "You have a grudge against Tong Guan. My brother has not harmed you. Don't go crazy and bite people randomly."

Wang Minwen was Wang Fu's younger brother. He was still in mourning at this time, but he was allowed to return after a few months of mourning. Perhaps it sounded too harsh and was suspected of being unfilial, so he was released as a local official.

Liu Yao sneered: "If it weren't for the traitorous ministers who brought trouble to the world, how could the Zhu family and his son rebel?"

"I think you have secretly colluded with the rebels!" Chang Ping ordered Han Siyan to yell angrily. This guy was also a member of Wang Fu's party.

"Okay, okay," Xu Fuyan quickly smoothed things over. "The top priority is to recruit troops and suppress the thieves. Don't mess up your position at this time. Even if you win or lose in the quarrel, can the Zhu family and his son surrender?"

Wang Minwen asked: "How many troops do the rebels have?"

Liu Yao stopped scolding the traitors and started talking about business: "According to reports from spies, there are thousands of elite soldiers, well-trained and equipped with plain armor. Zhu Guoxiang is also recruiting soldiers in Yangzhou. Many unemployed young men are thieves, and he doesn't know how many he has recruited. .The above are just bandits in Yangzhou City, we don’t know what the situation is in Zhenfu and Xixiang Counties."

On the Xingyuan Mansion side, they still didn’t know that Ju Ming had occupied Jinzhou.

Han Siyan said: "It seems that there are not many bandits. If we gather the Lizhou Luxiang army and recruit some local soldiers, the officers and soldiers will be able to wipe out the bandits."

Liu Yao immediately poured cold water on him: "Zhu Guoxiang has been running Yangzhou for many years and has a very high prestige among the people. He rebelled and occupied Yangzhou City, but Yangzhou was not in chaos at all. How can it be easily wiped out? He must report it to the imperial court and dispatch the Western Army and the Shu Army. Come and suppress it!”

Li Shishi, the magistrate of Xingyuan, suddenly said: "Can you recruit people?"

Everyone turned around and looked at this guy, thinking he was an idiot.

Han Siyan said: "Zhu Guoxiang just rebelled and was immediately recruited. What did he want?"

Xu Fu said: "You can try to recruit peace, but you have to fight a few battles. Regardless of the outcome, you must let Zhu Guoxiang know that rebellion is not that easy. Only by dampening his spirit can the success of recruiting peace be possible."

"I'm afraid that Xingyuan Mansion can't defend it." Li Shishi said worriedly.

Wang Minwen mocked and said, "Why don't Magistrate Li go there in person? Brother Qin has an old relationship with the Zhu family and his son. Maybe they will recruit him."

"That's nonsense," Li Shishi said angrily, "How could my brother-in-law, the deputy prime minister, have an old relationship with the rebels? Don't spit on me!"

Li Shishi is Li Bangyan's younger brother (actually from the same hometown, the blood relationship is already very weak).

Because of his connections, he entered Imperial College to study, and because of his connections, he was granted a Jinshi status. He became a magistrate within a few years.

Xu Fuyan had a headache and once again stopped the quarrel: "It's time like this. Don't get involved in personal grudges. Let's discuss the strategy of suppressing thieves."

Liu Yao said: "The official document has been sent out, and the states and counties are recruiting troops and food. I suggest that if the rebels attack, they can abandon Chenggu County and gather troops to defend Xingyuan City. Xingyuan City is tall and strong and can defend at least three or five people. Month. By then, the vigor of the thieves will be weakened, and the Shu Army and the Western Army will also come to the rescue. They should be able to defeat the thieves with one blow!"

Wang Minwen said: "From Yangzhou to Xingyuan Prefecture, there is a flat river, and there is no danger to defend. It is better... to withdraw the officers and soldiers to Lizhou, take advantage of the dangers of the mountains and rivers, and divide the troops to garrison at dangerous passes along the way. In this way, nothing will happen, and we will be able to wait for friendly forces to rescue us. .”

"Confused!"

Liu Yao scolded: "If we don't defend Xingyuan Mansion, the whole Hanzhong will be lost. How can the Western Army come to the rescue? You are greedy and afraid of death. If you want to escape, run away quickly. Stop ruining the situation with your nonsense!"

Wang Minwen muttered a few words in a low voice, which seemed to be cursing her mother, but she said nothing more in the end.

Xu Fuyan had already noticed that among the many officials in front of him, Liu Yao was the only one who was relatively reliable, while the rest were just a bunch of losers.

Of course, Liu Huiyuan can also do things, but he can only deal with logistics.

When Fang La rebelled, Liu Huiyuan served as Jiangdong transport judge, and he was promoted for his meritorious service in transporting grain to Tong Guan.

Xu Fuyan made a decision: "I am the commander-in-chief of the suppression of bandits, Liu Tixing is the deputy commander, and deputy commander-in-chief Liu is fully responsible for the transportation of grain and grass. You can recommend some more capable generals to organize and train the rural soldiers."

The meeting ended and everyone dispersed.

Wang Minwen returned to his mansion and immediately ordered his wife and children: "Pack all the belongings in boxes, and prepare a large boat and dozens of mules and horses. Once the bandits come, flee to Shaanxi quickly. Don't do anything in recent days." Go out again."

Han Siyan thought so too.

However, Liu Huiyuan ordered the collection of ships to transport money and grain from various states and counties, and soon found that the two largest official ships were impounded.

After careful inquiry, I found out that of the two boats, one was requisitioned by Wang Minwen and the other was borrowed by Han Siyan.

Liu Huiyuan was so angry that he ran to Xu Fuyan to complain and cursed loudly: "Wang Minwen and Han Siyan are both villains! Before the thieves came to kill them, they tried to escape and used the largest official ship for personal use. .”

Xu Fuyan could only comfort him: "Wang Minwen is the younger brother of the Prime Minister, and Han Siyan is also a confidant of the Prime Minister. Don't argue with them."

Liu Huiyuan could barely be regarded as Wang Fu's, and he immediately exposed it: "What kind of clan brother is Wang Minwen? He has nothing to do with Wang Xiang, they are just from the same hometown and have the same surname, and they are related to each other somehow. And there is Han Siyan. , I was just giving a gift to the Prime Minister’s servants. I was invited to sit there for a while, and then I would brag to everyone I met that I was a guest in the Prime Minister’s house. You can bluff others, but you can’t bluff me!”

Xu Fuyan persuaded him kindly: "In times of crisis, there are very few ministers like Vice Envoy Liu, so don't argue with those people who eat nothing but corpses."

Liu Huiyuan asked: "Do I deserve to be scorned by those birdies because I am capable of doing my job?"

"Calm down your anger, calm down your anger, and bear with each other for the sake of the country."

Xu Fuyan felt like he had become a grandson. He, the Cai party who was marginalized by Wang Fu, had to step forward to mediate the conflicts between the three royal parties.

…

The five counties of Jinzhou were basically stabilized. Ju Ming immediately took a boat to Yangzhou, passing by Daming Village on the way without stopping.

When he met, he asked: "How is Yangzhou?"

Zhu Guoxiang said: "Everything goes well, where is Jinzhou?"

"It's almost the same," Ju Ming said. "We will wait until Hanzhong is conquered to adjust the system and salary, but we should officially open the government."

Zhu Guoxiang said: "There are not enough talents."

Ju Ming said: "Even the grass platform team has to be set up."

Zhu Guoxiang said: "Let's talk about the arrangements in Jinzhou first. Someone must be transferred to take charge of the overall situation."

Ju Ming expressed his thoughts: "Zhang Guangdao has the most prestige and seniority. Currently, he is the only one who can guard a state. No one else can convince the people. My plan is to make Zhang Guangdao the chief general of Jinzhou and command the troops of the five counties. Responsible for military training. Then promote Liu Shiren to be the magistrate of Jinzhou, and the two of them will work together as a team."

"Okay." Zhu Guoxiang nodded.

Jinzhou is the east gate of Hanzhong. If the Zhu family and his son want to expand westward and southward, they must leave a general to guard Jinzhou.

Zhang Guangdao's military talents have not yet been revealed, but he can convince the crowd and make the generals below him obedient. This alone is enough.

Ju Ming said: "Dean Zhu, give yourself an official title."

Zhu Guoxiang had already thought clearly: "How about the Sichuan Gorge Economic Strategy to appease the envoy?"

"Okay," Zhu Ming said, "I will be the commander-in-chief of the Chuanxia Army General. I will engrave the official seal and issue a proclamation to let the world know."

The father and son opened their own houses to clarify administration and military affairs to avoid confusion in orders.

Ju Ming's "General's Mansion in charge of the Chuanxia Army and Horses" quickly established a drafting team.

Fatty Zheng and Bai Erlang were recalled by him from Xixiang County.

That is, Shi Yuangong, Bai Sheng, Zheng Hong, Dai Chengsi, and Bai Chongwu gathered under Ju Ming's account to listen to orders, and then a group of civil servants came to take action.

After the expansion of Jinzhou's army, five thousand troops were transferred to reorganize and train, and military law teams, miscellaneous troops, etc. were formed.

Ju Ming's personal soldiers numbered more than 180 people.

Gu San served as the captain of the personal soldiers, and most of his soldiers were young men from Shangbai Village, and some brave young men were added to join. The other ones are the Musketeers, all trained by the Golden State Orions.

Gong Xiu, the leader of the gold mine, compiled a new army and added 1,000 soldiers.

After half a month of emergency drills, the new recruits in each unit had a little bit of appearance. Zhu Ming couldn't wait any longer and led the troops towards Chenggu County in a hurry.

He can continue to train new soldiers, but so can the government.

We must take advantage of the lack of troops in Xingyuan Mansion and quickly attack and seize the city.

This decision was correct. The government was too slow to gather troops.

In less than twenty days, Xingyuan Mansion summoned thousands of troops. Further away in Xingzhou (Lueyang), Lizhou (Guangyuan) and other places, the governors of prefectures and counties are still recruiting young men, and they have to wait at least a month before they can send troops.

By the way, there is Sanquan County (Ningqiang) between the state capitals. It is located at the strategic point of Sichuan and Shaanxi and is a county directly under the central government.

There are nominally 2,500 troops stationed in Sanquan County, with a capital commander in charge. But the country is so poor that it relies entirely on financial transfers from Hanzhong, and the food is appalling.

Looking at the Sanquan County troops who came to defend the city, Xu Fuyan's face suddenly turned dark.

There are indeed 2,500 soldiers, but less than 500 are fully equipped with soldiers and armor. Many of the soldiers are no more than beggars.

I'm afraid he really is a beggar!

First, he ordered the rural security chief to send young people. If the number was not enough, he arrested people in the county and gathered 2,500 people and rushed to Xingyuan Mansion immediately.

Xu Fuyan was not qualified to reprimand him, because he was under the direct control of the central government and was not under the control of him, the Lizhou Road Transport Envoy!

"The thieves are coming, the thieves are coming!"

A speedboat came from the east, and the officer jumped to the shore and ran to shout.