Late Tang Dynasty Floating Life

Chapter 1735 Prime Ministers

Wang Yao, Deputy Envoy of the Beiya Lower Court, Zhao Kuangming, the Privy Councilor, and Xiao Yongzhong (Xiao Aguzhi), the Recorder, came to the Beiwei Army garrison at the foot of Mang Mountain.

The Beiwei Army was established just a few years ago, so the history of the camp is naturally not very long.

Wang Yao still remembers that there were several sparse villages here.The villagers work at sunrise and rest at sundown, accompanied by lonely ghosts - yes, most of them near Mang Mountain are lonely ghosts who have lost their sacrifices.

No matter how prominent and powerful you are, you are no match for the vicissitudes of life and the changes in the world.When the dynasty falls and the family business collapses, everything becomes nothing.

Those with better luck will be able to leave a few marks in the history books and not be considered completely dead.

With little luck, future generations can only learn about the life of the tomb owner from the epitaph.

If you are unlucky, the tombstones have become part of the farmer's pig pen. The handwriting is obscure and difficult to read, and there are no records in the history books. No matter whether you were a general or a governor during your lifetime, wouldn't you end up being forgotten?

Now, many years later, the village has disappeared, replaced by a large military camp and an even larger school ground.The first-class national highway passes by on the east side. Pedestrians traveling from south to north can often see the scene of sergeants going out for training, which can be regarded as a scene in Mang Mountain.

"Where have all the people here gone?" Wang Yao turned around and asked.

"It is said that he went to Suizhou, Guangzhou, Shouzhou and other places." An envoy who followed closely replied.

"Fortunately, it's not too far." Wang Yao said with a slightly thankful tone.

Suizhou is a state directly under the Taoist government. Although it is far away, it is not a wild place.

Guangzhou is a prefecture under the old Huaixi Town and one of the core bases of the Cai thieves. During the wars in the late Tang and early summer, the population suffered a huge loss.

Shouzhou is a prefecture of Huainan Town and a battleground for the Jiangdong regime. The war has never stopped. The villages are sparse and the population is sparse. It is normal to immigrate here.

All in all, the place for the people at the foot of Mang Mountain is pretty good. At least they don't go to Qianzhong to fight with the natives like the people in Hebei, competing for the few flat valleys in the high mountains.

"Yes..." After hearing Wang Yao's words, the envoy forced a smile and said.

He has relatives living in this area and went to the Anfengtang area in Shouzhou.Every winter, they were drafted to go up the river and soak in the freezing cold lake water. While dredging and digging, the silt was transported to another place to fill in several small swamps and transform them into fertile farmland.

After living like this for too long, it is normal for the body to collapse, let alone problems with the legs and feet.Who is willing to open up wasteland?

Wang Yao didn't say much more to him and quickly led a group of people into the military camp.

The order to mobilize troops was announced a few days ago. They came today purely to urge it, because the saint mentioned it again in the court meeting.

There was a commotion in the military camp. Wang Yao looked at it and shook his head.

Although the Beiwei Army is composed of elites from various grassland ministries, from generals to soldiers, all have certain unique skills, but the military style and discipline are still a bit poor, not as good as the various ministries of the Forbidden Army.

It may sound outrageous.Since ancient times, grassland soldiers have been more "animal" and more able to endure hardships and stand hard work. However, since the late Tang Dynasty, soldiers in the Central Plains have become even more "animal".

On the one hand, they are arrogant and domineering, killing generals and driving commanders at every turn.

On the other hand, even with seven feet of snow on the flat ground, they dared to pursue bravely without fear of the severe cold.Li Keyong fought several battles with Youzhou, all in the first month and February, when Daibei was bitingly cold and snowy. The two sides fought with their lives in the cold and windy valley, often without even hot soup or rice.

I recall that when the soldiers were ordered on a snowy night in Anlu Mountain, Tian Chengsi's men rose up from their sleep in a short time, put on armor and weapons, and stood in the heavy snow for half the night. They called the names according to the roll, and there was no shortage of them.

Rebellion, bloodthirsty cruelty and strict military discipline, the seemingly contradictory qualities combined together created this very peculiar group of warriors.

In Wang Yao's opinion, the guys who carried Weijun were a little far behind.

"Why did Privy Wang come to urge you?" Wang Bei, who is currently the military envoy of Beiwei Army and was born in Zangcai Dangxiang, greeted him with a smile and said: "We can send out troops tomorrow, with six thousand infantry, four thousand horse soldiers, equipment, food and grass. Everything is ready.”

Wang Yao hummed and warned: "There are not many opportunities to make meritorious deeds. Has the purpose of sending troops this time been clear?"

"Understood." Wang Bei said.

He felt a little bored.

What is Wang Yao's background?The son of Wang Chongying, the former military governor of Hezhong, once competed with Wang Ke for the position of Commander-in-Chief Pu, and eventually led a wolf into the house and lost the Wang family's property.

Brothers Wang Chongrong and Wang Chongying, one of whom was Pu Shuai and the other Shaanxi Commander, had the dangers of mountains and rivers and the advantages of salt ponds. They were considered well-known figures in the formation in the late Tang Dynasty. But in the end, they ended up like that. Why are you so proud?

However, Wang Yao is now the deputy privy envoy, and his status is different. Wang Bei still has to respect him in general.

As for telling the gist of the war, he also understood.In fact, it is not to eliminate the Khitan. In fact, it cannot be eliminated. People can run away, and most likely no one can stop them.Even if they don't run away, Daxia won't be able to occupy their land, and the end result will be their resurgence.

The real purpose of the imperial court is to drive away tigers and devour wolves, allowing them to consume each other with Persia and Dashi, and reap the benefits of the fishermen.

Of course, the sage once said that he would make a strategy and plan before every battle, but when it came to actual fighting, he rarely followed the plan.The enemy is not a fool. If he can be led by the lead of your battle plan, how bad is his level?In the same way, if the imperial court wants the Khitans to harm Dashi, Persia and even the numerous Turkic tribes scattered on the vast grasslands in the west, this plan will probably go wrong.

The biggest question is whether future generations of kings are interested and determined to intervene in the affairs of the Western Regions.

When the Khitans integrated multiple tribes to attack Samantha and gained the upper hand, was the imperial court determined to mobilize a large number of troops to intervene in this war?
Another one, do the Persians accept your favor?Will it pay for military expenses?These are all problems.

Therefore, Wang Bei felt that this method was a bit risky.But he is not a strategist, he just executes orders.After riding [-] steps westward, he joined the Beiting camp and accepted Fu Cunshen's command. There was no need to think too much about the rest, and it was not his turn to dictate.

Fu Cunshen is old. He heard that he ate too much sand in the Western Regions and is not in good health. He may be transferred back to Luoyang at any time.He should have a certain sense of urgency. If this time passes, he will fight if he doesn't get it right.

So, don’t think too much, just gain military exploits.As Wang Yao said, there are not many opportunities to make meritorious deeds.

******
When the Bei Ya group was dispatched, in the Nan Ya Privy Council located in the Imperial City of Luoyang, two deputy privy envoys, Li Zhong and Qian Liu, were discussing matters.

To be honest, Li Zhong still envies Qian Liu.

It's not because of Qian's huge wealth and boundless wealth, but because of his well-maintained body.

I am only over 70 years old, and sometimes I feel powerless and have a lot of physical problems. However, Qian Liu is over [-] years old, and he still looks energetic. He handles official duties with ease and does not feel tired at all.

Ma Yin, who was recently promoted to deputy privy envoy of the Nanya Lower Court and works diagonally across the street, is the same age as Qian Liu and equally energetic, which is quite puzzling.

Qian Liu had been practicing martial arts since he was a child, and was good at archery and long spears. However, he had no chance to become a soldier and later became a smuggler in salt.When Dong Chang was recruiting troops, Qian Liu, who was in his twenties, went to join the army and gradually became prosperous.

Not to mention Ma Yin, he was born as a thief.He worked as a carpenter in his early years and had a hard time, so he may have worked part-time as a thief in private.After defecting to Qin Zongquan, he gradually became prosperous due to his unparalleled bravery and many meritorious deeds.

These two people are actually warriors who have been fighting for half their lives, but their bodies are so tough that it is puzzling.

It is impossible to climb up from the bottom without bravery and military exploits.In the era when warriors were in charge of the country, family background was of no use, and the chance of climbing up was only through meritorious service.

These two guys were probably very lucky and didn't suffer any injuries.Li Zhong sighed slightly and said: "The imperial edict has been issued and several other ministers have signed it. You and I should also sign it."

After saying that, he picked up the writing brush, signed the appointment letter, and then pushed it to Qian Liu.

Qian Liu picked it up and looked at it carefully, and then signed it.

The Privy Council sounds like it has a high position and is responsible for the assessment and promotion of generals, the mobilization and replenishment of the army, the procurement and supply of logistics, etc. But in real terms, it cannot actually command a large number of soldiers.

Twenty years ago, when the Xia Dynasty was first founded, few generals were willing to come to the Privy Council. They all thought it was a sinecure to support the elderly, and many looked down upon it.

After more than 20 years, as the foundation of the imperial court became increasingly solid, the warriors gradually abandoned their inherent impressions, changed their understanding, and understood the power of the Privy Council.

The Imperial Guard is the royal court's Imperial Guard, not a private army.From this point of view, the position of the Imperial Guard is not as valuable as the position of the Privy Council. Therefore, many people are now willing to come to the Privy Council, mostly retired generals of the Imperial Guard.

Qian Liu entered the Privy Council very early. Because of the surrender of the towns of East Zhejiang and West Zhejiang, he was directly promoted to Deputy Privy Councilor. Of course, this was his starting point and probably his end point.

Old money has a good mentality.

Handle military affairs meticulously and conscientiously.At the same time, he does not strive for power.How to deal with a matter according to the law and the wishes of the saints, without deliberately targeting anyone, but without fear of offending others.

Anyway, the saint allowed him to keep his wealth, and he could not be promoted, so there was no need to wrong himself - it is impossible for a person who has served as a governor of two towns to have no temper at all. It is difficult to overly wrong his own mind. arrive.

Before him was a letter of appointment.

Li Lin, a well-known general in the martial arts department, was appointed as the commander of the Shule camp, while Li Siyuan was transferred back to Luoyang and did not hold any position for the time being.

Qian Liu smelled something unusual from this personnel adjustment.

The prince has arrived in Chang'an and heard that he is giving sword lessons to a new batch of martial arts students who have joined the Forbidden Army as low-level officers.

This kind of thing used to be done by the saint himself, but now it's the prince's turn, and the signal is very obvious.

And Li Lin is almost one of the banners of martial arts students.He served as the commander-in-chief and replaced the Hedong surrendered general. On the one hand, it reduced the possibility of accidents at the sensitive moment of power transfer, and on the other hand, it allowed the prince to slowly win over and take over the martial arts department.

It means a lot.

The saint used to trust the general, but now he has to be cautious, hey!

However, it doesn’t mean that there is no need to surrender generals.

Wang Jian, the envoy of Gumo Town, led 3000 soldiers of Gumo Town to Bakhanna this year. He killed more than [-] Jihadists and seized a large amount of grain, grass and baggage, which attracted the attention of the saint.

Just yesterday, the prince went to Shule, the saint approved it, and the Privy Council issued a transfer order: Wang Jian was appointed as the envoy of Shule Town.

There are only [-] soldiers in Gumo Town and [-] soldiers in Shule Town. This is obviously a promotion.

Moreover, it was the Crown Prince Shangshu who requested credit for him. Regardless of whether he wanted to or not, Wang Jian would be regarded as one of the Crown Prince's party.

I hope he is another black-toothed person.

Qian Liu handed the signed appointment letter to Privy Councilor Li Changyuan and ordered it to be sent to the Western Regions.

When the power is transferred, there is an undercurrent. If I have no desires, I will be strong. What can I do?

(End of this chapter)