Dawn of the Empire

Chapter 39

Wang Fu thought about it for a while, and then said: "Although the Hebei camp claims to have 20 troops, there are good and bad ones, so we have to select elites from the capital's army and the Xijing camp to enrich it." He paused, hesitated for a moment, and then said : "Liu Yanqing is deployed in the camps in Hebei, and his command is not strict, and the army has no discipline. In recent years, there have been many cases between the soldiers in the camp and the local government. If your majesty intends to manage Youyan, you should choose another good general to replace him." Liu Yanqing leads the army."

Zhao You's face was covered with a dark cloud, and his brows were tightened even more. Liu Yanqing was the most loyal to the imperial court among the three commanders of the battalion, but he was also the most incompetent.In addition, he had long intended to weaken the power of the intertwined hereditary generals in the three major camps of Hedong, Hebei, and Xijing.Compared with the Yang family, Zhe family in Hedong, and the Cao family and Pan family in Xijing, the ancestors of Liu Yanqing deployed in the Hebei camp were not relatives of the emperor. Migration is a new general who has only flourished in recent generations, and it is relatively easy to solve.

Zhao You pursed his lips tightly and tapped lightly on the table while thinking about it. Seeing this, Li Bangyan, the deputy envoy of the Privy Council, cupped his hands and said, "Whether it is the Khitan invasion to the south or the king's division to the north, the camp in Hebei will bear the brunt. Yan, replace Liu Yanqing, choose another good general, and reorganize the camp in Hebei."

"Oh?" Zhao You raised his eyebrows slightly, raised his eyelids to look at Li Bangyan, and said in a deep voice, "In Li Qing's opinion, who should go to replace Liu Yanqing?"

Li Bangyan felt hairy when Zhao You saw it, and he still said boldly: "The Hebei camp is the northern barrier of the capital, and the main place to rush. The camp has a total of 20 troops, which is already the largest among the three camps." , if you choose elites to enrich them, your strength will be greatly increased, and you will even be able to rival the Forbidden Army of the capital. As the saying goes, "sharpening a knife is not good for hatred, and the sharpness of a knife hurts people's fingers." I think that in this way, the camp in Hebei must be the most loyal to His Majesty , His Majesty is also the most trusted general to be in command. I think..."

Li Bangyan spoke hesitantly, which made Zhao You slightly unhappy, and shouted in a deep voice, "Who exactly does Li Qing want to recommend?" Although he trusted the few confidant ministers present, whenever he discussed matters related to the country, such as establishing a reserve, military power, etc., But instinctively added a layer of defensive psychology.

After eating and drinking, Li Bangyan fell to his knees with a thud, and said: "I am bold enough to recommend Tong Guan, the commander of the infantry of the guards, to be deployed in the Hebei camp. His Royal Highness Prince Wei will accompany the army and reward the troops. "

"Huh?" Zhao You was slightly taken aback. Li Bangyan's recommendation of Tong Guan to go out of the town of Hebei was what he expected, but it was unexpected for him to recommend the prince Zhao Ke to supervise the army. He thought that the prince Zhao Ke asked him to marry him the day before yesterday The daughter of Zhu Berna, the military governor of the Wukang Army, did not directly agree, but said that she had to consider something, "It seems that in order to win over the Cao family, I married Cao Di's daughter to Qi'er, but let Ke I can't sit still." Zhao You thought to himself, "But when did Li Bangyan make friends with the prince?"

Prince Zhao Ke was born to the late Queen Li.Empress Li's temperament is respectful and frugal. When Zhao Youshang was hiding in the East Palace, Li Shi had already been registered as the crown prince and concubine. The only son Zhao Ke.Because of this, even though Zhao You didn't like the eldest son Zhao Ke, he didn't replace him from the crown prince for so many years.

"This child who is timid about everything, actually knows how to make friends with important ministers, and even asked him to be the supervisor of Hebei. It seems that I really favor Qi'er too much, which makes him feel uncomfortable. Anyway, good queen, Ke'er is us after all. My child, let me give him another chance. Ke Er has always been good at attracting scholars, if he can subdue the arrogant soldiers in the Hebei camp, I will be relieved to hand over the Great Song Dynasty to him after a hundred years."

Zhao Youshang was still thinking about it, and Zhao Zhifu, a political adviser, bowed and said: "Private Li has considered the matter carefully, and the minister seconded it. Liu Yanqing has been deployed in the Hebei camp for many years. Changing the commander rashly will definitely make the army's morale fluctuate. The prince has a grand prestige, and the world calls him a wise man. , If you go to Fujun in Hebei, it will have the effect of stabilizing the morale of the army."

Since the present dynasty, only one or two eunuchs have gone out of town as eunuchs. Li Bangyan recommended Tong Guan to go out of town in Hebei. Immediately knelt down on the ground and said: "The minister also seconded. The servant is not talented, and I am willing to do my best for my emperor, and I will die."

At this time, the three important ministers present have agreed to replace Liu Yanqing with Tong Guan as the deployment of the Hebei camp. Neither spoke.Li Bangyan was still kneeling on the ground, Cai Jing had a gloomy face, Tong Guan restrained his inner excitement, Zhao Zhifu suppressed his heavy breathing, Shen Yun seemed to be calmly standing with his hands down, and Wang Fu waited loyally for the official Zhao You. Decide.

Zhao You thought for a moment, nodded, and said to Tong Guan: "This time going to Hebei, in addition to rectifying the troops and horses, we must also carefully observe the reality of the Nanjing Road in Liao Kingdom, and understand the situation of mountains and rivers, deployment of troops, and people's support In my heart, I thought that I would use Youyan to prepare for the future. It is the last wish of my ancestors to study Youyan. Emperor Wuzong once had a decree that those who regain Youyan will not hesitate to reward the king. Dao Fu, I have high hopes for you. This trip is no small matter, there is Tell me what you want now." Li Bangyan agreed, and decided to replace Liu Yanqing with Tong Guan as the deployment of the Hebei Camp.

Tong Guan immediately kowtowed to thank him, saying: "There is nothing else, but Liu Yanqing's cronies have deployed all over Hebei camp for more than ten years, Liu Yanqing values ​​kindness and righteousness but 'chaos' military law, and the generals in the camp have been rebellious for a long time. I am going alone, I am afraid that the guards will not accept it, please Your Majesty give me the sword to clarify the military law, and then allow me to select [-] elites from the forbidden army in the capital, form a new army to go with me, and deter the camp in Hebei The second is to train a strong army for the future management of Youyan."

Although Tong Guan is an eunuch, but his appearance is strong and powerful, with a slight beard on his face, now he is kneeling on the ground, looking like he is doing his best for the king's affairs, which makes Zhao You quite satisfied, nodded and said: "The Taoist has such intentions. , I am relieved, and I will accept your request to select five thousand elites from the front of the capital hall, the guards and the three government guards to go to Hebei together." He took out a sword hanging beside the imperial case, stood up and handed it to Tong Guandao , "This is the imperial sword bestowed by Emperor Taizu back then to Duke Cao Zhongwu to control the generals. You can bring this sword to deter the troops in the camp. If anyone below the deputy general violates the military law or does not obey the general's order, you can cut it first and then play it."

Tong Guan was overjoyed and thanked him verbally again.And the civil servants beside him, even Cai Jing frowned slightly, and chose the elite of the three yamen to frighten the arrogant soldiers in the Hebei camp. It is because the country has not been established for a long time, and most of the generals in the Southern Expedition have made great achievements in opening up the territory. If it were not for the royal sword, Cao Bin's military exploits and prestige would not be enough to overwhelm the generals. Xian, did not dare to use it.Now that the country has been at peace for a long time, although the generals in Hebei have some actions to disturb the local area, the degree of rebellion is far from comparable to that of the five generations of old generals at the beginning of the founding of the country. Some make a big deal out of a molehill.Moreover, Tong Guan is an eunuch, so how can he compare with Cao Bin, the loyal military master who is dedicated to death and deserves to enjoy the Taimiao.

The official words and deeds are exaggerated, which is well known to all the officials, so although the civil servants were dissatisfied, they did not speak, leaving Tong Guan to express his loyalty with gratitude, but Zhao You said again: "This time the prince Wei The king and Daofu went to Hebei to supervise the army. The prince is no better than me in both civil and military skills. He lives in the deep palace and only loves to read some sage scriptures. There are some hard-core people around you, and occasionally they say nothing, so you have to be tolerant."

Tong Guan immediately kowtowed and said: "I know." What Zhao You actually meant was that although the crown prince was appointed as the supervisor of the army, he still couldn't let him get too much of the military power.The matter involved military power, even if Tong Guan had a conflict with the prince because of this, he would support Tong Guan.Although what the official said was cryptic, Tong Guan, who was by the official's side all the year round, naturally understood it.

The national policy of rectifying Hebei to prepare for the management of Youyan was decided, and the deputy prime minister Zhao Zhifu said: "If Your Majesty has the ambition to manage Youyan, the matter of building a large ship to go to Huaiyuan country must be shelved for now, otherwise, the country's wealth will be limited. , I am afraid it will be difficult to take care of money and food expenses."

Cai Jing and Tong Guan originally advocated shipbuilding and going to sea, but now Tong Guan has the important task of commanding an army of 20 in the Hebei camp, which is much better than being a nominal envoy, so he no longer insists on the original proposal, but is a little worried about the delay in shipbuilding and going to sea He experienced Youyan's great achievements.And Cai Jing didn't make any objection for some reason.

"Yeah." Zhao You murmured for a moment, then changed the subject, "Recently, I took the Imperial College Examination, with the topic of 'Traveling the Four Seas and Huaiyuan Country', and got a quite innovative theory, dear friends You might as well take a look." After he finished speaking, he waved his hand, and Tong Guan, who was born as a eunuch with palm prints, immediately stepped forward obediently, and respectfully invited a piece of policy theory on Zhao Youyu's case with both hands, and then handed it to Prime Minister Cai Jing with both hands. .

The grand examination of Taixue Shangshe is a major event in the selection of talents for the country, and many rising stars of civil servants entered their official careers from this path.This big exam also involves the issue of shipbuilding and going to sea, which is a dispute in the court. All the officials here, even if they are high-ranking and powerful, such as the prime minister Cai Jing and the political counselor Zhao Zhifu, pay special attention to this. Zhao Xingde's article was ranked first by the officials. These six people have carefully read the policy theory several times below, and pondered the pros and cons of it several times.At this moment, in front of the officials, everyone is just pretending to watch, full of calculations.

"Your Majesty, the old minister thinks that this policy theory is not out of fashion, with deep intentions, grand plans, and detailed considerations. However," Zhao Zhifu said slowly, "the sea road is vast, and the sea country is far away. , The policy of the same text, if it is to be really effective, it must have decades of work. The current situation can be as short as a few years, and it can be as slow as ten years. There must be a battle between our dynasty and Liao. I'm afraid it's difficult to take care of the sea and the border."