Yi Song

Chapter 112 Old Fox and Little Fox

He was led to the side hall of Huixian Hall of Baozhuan Palace, where Zhao Ji and Cai Jing were talking.

Zhao Ji is sitting on the throne, and Cai Jing is sitting on a round stool not far from the bottom. There is a tea table next to it, with tea and cakes. The monarch and his ministers seem to be having a tea party.

Seeing Liu Guozhang being brought in, Zhao Ji quickly waved, "Erlang, no need to be polite, come in."

Having said that, Liu Guozhang still followed the etiquette and bowed to the sky at the door: "My humble minister Liu Hu has been ordered to meet with the official!"

"No gift!"

Then he bowed to Cai Jing and said, "I have met the Grand Master before."

"You're welcome, Erlang." Cai Jing arched his hands in return.

"We are all a family, and we have so many etiquettes. Come here, bring Erlang a stool." Zhao Ji became even more amiable.

"Yes."

When Liu Guozhang sat down, Zhao Ji said quickly: "Erlang, my eldest brother and you have done a good job in Ruishengyuan's errand. I am very relieved. I have asked my master to draft an imperial edict and give you the title of Dr. Zhi and Zhaowu." The school captain, the brave cavalry captain, and the imperial equipment."

In these days, Liu Guozhang had studied the civil and military official system of the current dynasty, and understood that Dr. Fengzhi was the same as Dr. Zuowu. He was a sixth-rank official who received a salary and enjoyed benefits, but he was a civilian post-salary officer.

This means that he has both civil and military skills, and is no longer a mere military official, and can accept civilian duties in an open and honest manner.

Such a crossover was impossible before Chongning. But now, as long as the officials are happy, it doesn't matter.

Zhaowu Xiaowei is a military official with no position or power. He just gets an extra salary. Xiaoqiwei is a rank of fourth rank, which sounds good.

It's a bit interesting to bring imperial equipment.

During the reign of Emperor Taizu and Emperor Taizong, he was a relative officer of the Imperial City Department, a personal attendant in front of the emperor, and a guard in Zhou Lu.

This is what is known among the people as "the imperial guard with a sword in front of him".

Later, it was gradually converted into an honorary official title, especially when sent to local areas or on military errands. Adding such a title means that this person is a close person of the official family and is an imperial envoy. You all can do whatever you want.

"I thank your Majesty for your grace!" Liu Guozhang immediately stood up and thanked him.

Zhao Ji waved his hand nonchalantly, "I originally wanted to promote you to the position of Defense Envoy or Observation Envoy, but they all tried to stop me, saying that you have just been appointed and if you are promoted suddenly, you may incur criticism from the government and the public."

What attracts criticism from both the government and the opposition?

Wang Guifei, Zhao Kai, Cai Jing, Yang Jian, Bai Shizhong and a group of famous scholars.

It’s not just the objections of those close to me who have objections to me. You have soft ears, feel that the palms and backs of your hands are full of flesh, and always want a bowl of water to be flat.

You are not a master of serving bowls, how can you serve them evenly?

"Your Majesty, I am satisfied with this generous reward and dare not have any more evil thoughts." Liu Guozhang replied quickly.

"No, no, I am unwilling! You are sincere to me and do things with your heart. I can't treat you badly." Zhao Ji waved his hand and said.

Liu Guozhang felt his pulse a little. This Zhao Ji is indeed not a qualified leader.

If he likes you, he can't wait to tear out his heart and soul; if he admires you, no matter how high his official position is, he can't reflect his feelings.

It's too emotional, that's not good!

"But I still have to be wary of those Qingliu people who are criticized by the government and the public. It just so happened that today I was discussing state affairs with the Grand Master. When we talked about this matter, he gave me an idea. Grand Master, tell Erlang."

"That's your Majesty." Cai Jing said, "The Bianhe River starts from Biankou, passes through Zhengzhou, Kaifeng, Chenliu, Nanjing, and goes straight to Sizhou. Along the way, it gathers the Suoshui, Yingshui, and Jinshui rivers, but these rivers are too small and the amount of water is not enough.

During the Jianlong period of Taizu, the Min River was dug to guide the Wei River to flow northeast, thinking that the Huimin River would enter the Bian River and connect the west of Beijing to increase the water volume. However, the main volume of water in the Bianhe River is still the Yellow River water introduced from Biankou. The Yellow River is sandy, especially the section from Chenliu to Nanjing. The terrain is flat, the river meanders with many bays, and a large amount of sediment is deposited.

Therefore, the Nanjing section of the Bianhe River is dredged and blocked every year. But this year, Xue Rugui, the former governor of Kaifeng, neglected his duties and did not pay attention to dredging. As a result, the Bianhe River was blocked again and again, which even affected the transshipment of this year's summer tax and autumn grain. As a result, the court was unable to even provide relief to hundreds of thousands of victims. "

Cai Jing was talking eloquently, and Liu Guozhang was also fascinated by it.

Unexpectedly, these civil affairs matters were all in the mind of this traitorous minister, and he came up with his mouth.

"Now that it is winter, the water is dry and the bed is shallow, which is a good opportunity for dredging. The old man recommended Liu Erlang to the officials, Quan promoted him to be the water supervisor of Nandu, and the governor of Bianhe River was promoted to be the supervisor of river repair, and he was in charge of the northern section of Bianhe River. Clearance matters.

Although this is a hard job, running in the wind and rain, and running in the wilderness of the river bank, it is very hard, but it is easy to achieve achievements. The Bianhe River was dredged before the spring news. The officials, people, soldiers and people of Kaifeng City all felt grateful to Liu Erlang. When the officials increase rewards and promotions, everyone will have nothing to say. "

Looking at Cai Jing's kind eyes and smiling face, Liu Guozhang just wanted to say one thing, I believe you are a ghost! You're such a bad old man!

You would be so kind! Send such a generous gift to me who has no relatives or friends?

I had an old grudge with your Lao Wu before. I put his face under my shoes and stepped on him. Wouldn't you be angry?

Back in Kaifeng City's West Prison, your fourth son tricked me and I secretly killed him. Although all the evidence points to the Khitans doing it, you, the old fox, can definitely tell the difference and cast doubt on me.

No evidence?

What solid evidence do you need to reach such a high position as yours? Just get suspicious.

To sum up, dredging the Bianhe River is a deadly trap that you, an old fox, have carefully crafted and tailor-made for me. Now you are waiting for me to jump into it.

When he was thinking of a reason to refuse, Zhao Ji spoke.

"Erlang, you are the only blood relative of Queen Mingda's mother-in-law, and I really want to promote you. But in this court, you are a carrot and you are in trouble. If you are promoted, you must have military and political achievements that can be used to block the long-term progress of the world. mouth."

Old uncle, why should I block the mouths of the people in the world? I should block the mouths of those favored ministers who oppose me.

The talents in the world are not in your heart.

For example, dredging the Bianhe River will affect summer taxes and autumn crops, shit! In fact, what you are most worried about is that the Hua Shi Gang in the southeast is affected and cannot bring good luck. When have you ever thought of relieving hundreds of thousands of victims?

Well, hundreds of thousands of disaster victims dredged the Bianhe River.

Liu Guozhang had an idea in his mind.

"Your Majesty has so much trust in me. I will do my best to handle this job well and strive to resume the transportation of Caogang as soon as possible so that summer taxes, autumn grain, and all kinds of transportation can reach Bianjing smoothly."

All kinds of luck, good!

Zhao Ji nodded with satisfaction.

Cai Jing's eyes couldn't help but flash.

"Your Majesty, I have a suggestion."

"Oh, you say."

"Today is my aunt's memorial day. I accompanied my fifth sister to give away clothes and porridge outside the city. I found that hundreds of thousands of disaster victims gathered in Yangwu County, which is only a hundred miles away from the closed city. There are rampant cults, cliques, and unruly people inside. , are everywhere. I feel that it may have an impact on the public security of Bianjing, and I am worried.

It happened that the Grand Master recommended Wei Chen to dredge the Bian River, so I thought, why not follow the usual practice and organize the hundreds of thousands of victims into a Xiang army to dredge the Bian River. This eliminates hidden dangers and dredges the Bianhe River, killing two birds with one stone. "

Zhao Ji thought it was good, but turned to look at Cai Jing out of habit, "Master, what do you think?"

Cai Jing remained silent.

Liu Guozhang guessed what the old fox was thinking.

In his mind, the first priority was to dredge the Bianhe River. It didn't matter whether he recruited civilians or used Xiang troops.

Only if he takes this job, will he have the chance to kill himself.

After a while, Cai Jing said: "Your Majesty, Erlang's suggestion is very comprehensive. There are hundreds of thousands of victims in Yangwu, and the veteran is also suffering from headaches and has no solution. Now we can kill two birds with one stone, which is just right."

I guessed right! Then you can keep adding money—and ask for benefits.

"The grand master also said yes, that's great. Your Majesty, I have two more requests."

"That's what Erlang said."

"Your Majesty, please do your best to ensure the money, food and materials needed for these hundreds of thousands of disaster victims to be organized into Xiang troops to dredge the rivers."

"Well, dredging the river is the first priority. For minor matters such as money and food, just ask the Grand Master to allocate them."

"Your Majesty, the Grand Master is in charge of three provinces, and the affairs of the country are very heavy. How can we trouble him with everything? Why not appoint Zhang Cui, a doctor in the Accounting Department of the Ministry of Household Affairs, as the Deputy Envoy of the East and West Roads in Gyeonggi and Gyeonggi. He will be my deputy and be responsible for dredging the rivers. Money, food and materials are allocated and transferred.”

How could I let Cai Jing hold my lifeline in his hands?

He could find any excuse and wait for half a month and twenty days, but he could still bite him. I don’t know how to arrange a deputy who can directly adjust grain and money from various Changping warehouses.

Cai Jing's eyes flashed and he had no objection.

Zhao Ji nodded, "Yes!"

"Your Majesty, we don't know how many traitors and villains there are among the hundreds of thousands of victims, but we can be sure that they have many connections with the Shui Kou Mountain Bandits on the East and West Roads of Jingdong and East and West Huainan Roads. They will then collude with both internal and external parties to rob money and food. It’s a small matter, I’m worried that they might take the opportunity to rebel, but that’s a big deal.”

The feudal dynasty was most worried about people gathering together without food or drink, and it would be easy for them to rise up.

There are hundreds of thousands of disaster victims in Yangwu, and it is very dangerous to leave Feng within easy reach.

But Zhao Ji and his ministers were accustomed to acting like ostriches, and they had long been insensitive. And because there were tens of thousands of forbidden troops inside and outside the city, it was more than enough to deal with hundreds of thousands of victims, so they remained indifferent.

Now that Liu Guozhang has broken through this layer of window paper and put the matter on the table, he needs to think carefully.

"What do Erlang think?" Zhao Ji asked thoughtfully.

"Your Majesty, please allocate 2,000 infantry troops and 1,000 horse troops to me from Chenliu, Xiangyi and Nanjing. With 3,000 forbidden troops, I am confident that I can suppress these hundreds of thousands of victims."

Give military power?

Cai Jing's eyes flashed sharply and he objected.

"Your Majesty, there may be something wrong with Erlang's new arrival, who has no achievements and no authority. He suddenly takes charge of troops and horses."

Before Zhao Ji could speak, Liu Guozhang immediately echoed: "The Grand Master has thought very carefully. Only thousands of forbidden troops can suppress the hundreds of thousands of victims, but Wei Chen is a newcomer with no skills and is in charge of the army. Unconvinced both internally and externally.

Therefore, I sincerely request your Majesty to appoint an experienced and important minister to take over this important task. "

Cai Jing narrowed his eyes!

broken! I fell into a trap!

You little fox has seen through it a long time ago and doesn’t want to take on this job at all, so you deliberately made various demands to make me object.

You are still too young and can't hold your breath. You answered the conversation too quickly and exposed your flaws!

*******

happy New Year to all! I wish everyone all the best in the new year! May all your wishes come true!

At the same time, I would also like to trouble all book friends to give me a ticket and add it to my collection! Let's go in both directions!

(End of this chapter)