Song Emperor Jiangshan

Chen Junqing secretly thought that he should go to the table tomorrow to advise him on this matter, but now he can't control it because there are more urgent matters waiting for him.

Seeing the look in Chen Junqing's eyes, Zhao Yuan felt that he was still a little careless, and tried to divert the other party's attention: "What's the matter? Where is someone fighting?"

Chen Junqing stood at the door, did not come in, bowed and said: "Chizhou Metropolitan Commander Li Xianzhong's troops stationed in Jiankang City yesterday, because of the lack of food and grass, they clashed with Shao Tongzhi's deputy general Zhou Hong, and the two sides refused to give in to grab food and grass. , The soldiers fought outside, and when I arrived, more than ten people had died and hundreds of people had been injured."

Zhao Yuan was startled, because a large number of troops had been mobilized to gather in the health area recently, and food and grass were not enough. Two days ago, he had already told Zhang Jun to think about this matter, because he was afraid that there would be conflicts among the troops because of this matter. The shot was loud and promised that nothing would happen, but I didn't expect that it would only be a day later, because of this incident, internal strife started.This matter can be big or small, but if the distribution of food and grass is unfair for a while, it will inevitably cause more generals to follow suit. Not to mention finishing Yan Liang, even his own people will waste half of it in order to grab food and grass distribution!

Although Zhao Yuan was very annoyed and uneasy in his heart, it didn't show on his face. He nodded and said in a calm tone, "Understood, you go to Zhang Xianggong first, let him go to appease both parties, and I will be there soon!"

Seeing that the emperor didn't follow her immediately, Chen Junqing gave Xiao Shan a dissatisfied look and retreated.

When Chen Junqing left and Xiao Shan was the only one left in the room, Zhao Yuan couldn't hold back any longer. One moment his face was as white as a beautiful jade, but the next moment it turned into a boiled lobster, and even the base of his neck was red , Zhao Yuan also gave Xiao Shan a very dissatisfied look, and bent down to put on his boots.

Xiao Shan saw Zhao Yuan bent over, and all the perfect curves appeared in front of him, thinking of the ecstasy of that day, he couldn't feel his soul flying away.It wasn't until Zhao Yuan put on his boots and was ready to go out that Xiao Shan came back to his senses, hurriedly found his clothes on the bed, and wrapped them up indiscriminately.Zhao Yuan frowned and said, "You're already hurt like this, what are you going to do?"

Xiao Shan was already enduring the pain to put on his coat. He walked barefoot on the ground to get his belt, trembling with every step. After tidying up, he found that the other party's belt was not tied, so he reached out to help him tie his belt.

Xiao Shan looked down at Zhao Yuan helping him tidy up his clothes, and felt that he enjoyed it very much, his mind was so excited that he couldn't control himself.

Zhao Yuan cursed as he started: "This is exciting, I think you might as well stop calling yourself a cat and change your name to a male dog!" Only then did Xiao Shan realize that he had already started to set up a tent, and immediately changed the subject: "That Well, Zhou Hong and I have some friendship, he came to Jiankang Mansion to ask for food and grass, now something happened, I might be able to persuade him."

It was only then that Zhao Yuan remembered that on the way back when Xiao Shan went to Xuancheng to suppress bandits, he had sworn vows with Zhou Hong, Jin Sheng and Yu Yunwen. He said the word "good" and tied a belt for him.

Xiao Shan bent down to put on the shoes, but the wound on his back was sore when he bent down, he tried to bend twice, but failed, Zhao Yuan squatted down and said: "Lift up your feet, I'll help you put them on! "

Xiao Shan didn't dare to ask the emperor to squat in front of him to put on his shoes, so he shirked and said, "I can do it myself, how can I let you do this?"

Zhao Yuan frowned and said, "What are you talking about, I don't know what's going to happen if I'm late!"

Xiao Shan was at war between heaven and man, and when Zhao Yuan squatted down, he would think of that aspect, especially when the other party looked up at him from time to time, which made Xiao Shan unable to restrain himself from obsession. When Zhao Yuan was helping him put on his boots, The door was suddenly knocked open, and Shi Hao broke in.

Both Xiao Shan and Zhao Yuan were stunned at the same time, and Shi Hao was also stunned, but he immediately reacted and scolded: "Xiao Tongzhi, what are you doing!"

Zhao Yuan said: "I lost my things, pick them up." As he spoke, he calmly took off the jade wrench from his hand and put it on the ground.

Shi Hao took a step forward, glared at Xiao Shan viciously, helped Zhao Yuan up, and severely reprimanded Xiao Shan: "How can you let His Majesty bend down to pick up things, are you dead?"

Xiao Shan hurriedly squatted down to pick up the jade ring finger that Zhao Yuan had just thrown at his feet, Zhao Yuan noticed that Xiao Shan's shoulders were shaking slightly due to the pain, and beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, his heart ached, but he couldn't go any further help him.

Xiao Shan put the jade wrench finger in front of Zhao Yuan with both hands: "Your Majesty is sorry for your impoliteness."

Zhao Yuan hummed, took the jade wrench, turned and went out and said, "I'm waiting for you outside."

Xiao Shan bowed and watched Zhao Yuan go out, then put on the other boot tremblingly.

Outside the door, Shi Hao taught Zhao Yuan Zunzun: "Your Majesty, the etiquette of a monarch and his ministers cannot be abolished. Although it is a trivial matter, it is not worthy of the emperor's honor to bow and kneel in front of his ministers."

Zhao Yuan was perfunctory: "I know that Xiao Shan is injured and can't move easily, so I do it occasionally, it's not an example."

Shi Hao wanted to continue to persuade, Zhao Yuan saw him open his mouth and immediately changed the subject: "What is the urgent matter of Shi Qing's family?"

Shi Haodao: "There was a conflict between Li Xianzhong's department and Zhou Hong's department because of the food and grass issue, so they came here to report it."

Zhao Yuan nodded, chatted with Shi Hao about other things, the two waited outside the door for a while, Xiao Shan finally came out fully dressed, his expression was a little distorted when walking.

Zhao Yuan noticed that the top tie of the robe he was wearing was tied with a dead knot, and when the three of them led a group of people towards the south of the city where the accident happened and no one was paying attention, Zhao Yuan lowered himself on the horseback He whispered to Xiao Shan: "I didn't see such clumsy hands when I touched my body just now."

Xiao Shan was at a loss, Zhao Yuan glared at him: "The last strap of the outer robe is a dead lump!"

Zhao Yuan rode Xiao Shan and walked, it was very difficult to move, Xiao Shan felt his ass split again every step he took, at this time he was sweating profusely, enduring the pain and entangled with the dead pimples on his clothes.

When the group came to the south of the city, it was already a mess. The bundled hay was scattered all over the place, bags of grain were thrown around the grain depot, and many bags were torn from their openings. The rice mixed in the dirt, not to mention some flour, was basically useless.

The sergeants on both sides each held torches, Li Xianzhong and Zhou Hong confronted each other, watching their men fight and grab things without stopping.

As soon as Zhao Yuan saw this scene, he became furious in his heart. With a wave of his hand, the imperial guards in front of the palace immediately dispatched to isolate the people and horses on both sides. what happened?"

Seeing Zhao Yuan coming, Li Xianzhong and Zhou Hong hurried forward to salute. Zhou Hong first said: "Your Majesty, this is the food and grass that was distributed to my Zhenjiang Mansion. General Li insisted on grabbing it! We are just protecting our rations." .”

Not to be outdone, Li Xianzhong said: "Your Majesty, this batch of grain and grass was intercepted by the Jin people when he passed by the Zhenjiang mansion. It was taken back by more than ten brothers who died in my department. It is obviously only [-] dan. But he insisted that there are ten thousand loads, please learn from your Majesty."

Zhao Yuan frowned, he didn't want to judge justice with these two people at this time, he just ordered: "Let's talk about this matter tomorrow, first send someone to tidy up the grain and put it in the warehouse. General Zhou belongs to Zhenjiang Mansion, so Shao Hongyuan, the commander of Zhenjiang Mansion, came here see me!"

Li Xianzhong is a veteran who has been famous for many years, but Zhou Hong is only a sixth-rank military general. Not too dissatisfied.

Because of Zhao Yuan's arrival, a conflict over grain grabbing subsided quickly, and the two generals went back to their respective places. Zhao Yuan gave Xiao Shan a wink, and Xiao Shan walked towards Zhou Hong, and returned to the camp with him. , By the way, what is going on.

After Zhou Hong walked all the way, he complained to Xiao Shan: "Brother Xiao, you are full of sacred favors now, and you are stationed at the foot of the emperor. Naturally, no one dares to block your food and grass, but brother, who is not liked all the year round, is out of luck."The [-] dan of grain promised by the imperial court was exploited everywhere, and only [-] tan was obtained, and they would be robbed if they met friendly troops.You are from our Zhenjiang mansion, so you have to help the old team speak on this matter.

Xiao Shan comforted Zhou Hong a few words, then suddenly asked: "Ten thousand dans of grain is enough to eat, so it won't come here and kill people, right?"

Zhou Hong blinked at Xiao Shan, and said meaningfully: "It's good enough for those soldiers, but it's not enough for us!"

Xiao Shan then understood what he meant, he was going to sell the embezzled grain and grass in the market to make money. Usually these generals don't have many chances to make a fortune, but in wartime, those who embezzled grain and grass, embezzled their salaries, and embezzled rewards from the imperial court Yes, it can make a lot of money after accumulating, and Li Xianzhong's move obviously blocked Zhou Hong's way of making money.

Xiao Shan tentatively asked, "Shao Tongzhi sent you to snatch it?"

Zhou Hong chuckled, and patted Xiao Shan on the shoulder: "Brother, didn't you ask the question knowingly? If Shao Tongzhi doesn't speak up, how dare I, a sixth-rank general, provoke Li Xianggong?"

Xiao Shan nodded, knowing it clearly, and after talking to Zhou Hong for a few more words, he excused himself and walked straight towards the Jiankang government office where Zhao Yuan was.

The rest of the officials were still dealing with the aftermath of the food fight and other aftermath. There was no one else in Zhao Yuan's office, only two eunuchs were by his side.Seeing Xiao Shan coming, Zhao Yuan drove the two eunuchs out and asked, "What do you think is the best way to deal with this matter today?"

Xiao Shan said: "Your Majesty already has an idea in mind, doesn't he? Otherwise, I wouldn't have asked the minister to ask Zhou Hong just now."

Zhao Yuan sighed slightly, and said, "I do have an idea in my heart, but I can't make up my mind."

Xiao Shan said: "No matter what your Majesty decides, I will support you."

Zhao Yuan sat on the spot, silent for a while, weighing the pros and cons in his mind.Issues that were not very prominent in the past caused by this war have gradually surfaced.Needless to say, civil servants and officials, the corruption and shortage of food and salaries in the army are the top priority.When there is nothing to do in normal times, generals eat empty pay, and greed for food and grass is also harmful, but it is not as harmful as in wartime. Now that the troops are stationed along the Yangtze River, this problem has become increasingly prominent.Especially when the number of such sergeants is increasing day by day, the national treasury is empty, and food is in short supply, most generals still embezzle military salaries as usual to make a fortune.

This time, Li Xianzhong and Shao Hongyuan had conflicts over food and grass, and the handling could be big or small. If it was small, it would be fine if the two parties calmed down.

Although it is impossible to completely eliminate this kind of thing from all over the country, but taking the opportunity to find out the number of military departments in various places, the situation of starvation can be eliminated in one fell swoop.

It's just that this phenomenon has existed for many years and involves a large number of people. If it is really necessary to thoroughly investigate, it will inevitably cause dissatisfaction among a large number of generals. Wan Yanliang is on the other side. If he takes the opportunity to provoke and win over, it will be very troublesome.But if this opportunity is missed, Wan Yanliang is also on the other side. It is difficult for such an army to fight to the death in wartime, and more soldiers choose to flee.

Xiao Shan's troops fought bravely, not only because he was well-trained, but also because he never withheld the soldiers' food and pay, and the rewards from the court were fully in place.

No matter what to do, there will be certain risks, and Zhao Yuan is a little hard to make a choice.

Seeing that Zhao Yuan didn't speak for a long time, Xiao Shan suddenly said: "Your Majesty, do you believe that an army that lacks food and clothing can travel thousands of miles without being defeated?"

Zhao Yuan shook his head without thinking, "I don't believe it."

Xiao Shan said: "For some reason, that army had to travel thousands of miles, cross Jiajin Mountain, walk through the deserted grassland, surrounded by enemies in front, and pursued by enemies in the rear. Everyone has only rations and no salary, but they have always fought bravely. , no one is afraid of death and cowardly.”

Zhao Yuan smiled and said, "Make up a story that is more reliable."

Xiao Shan said: "I never speak in vain. A firm belief is one of the reasons for supporting this army. Now that Wan Yanliang invaded the south, our army regained the old frontiers in order to defend the country. This is an excellent belief. And it will not collapse And one of the more important reasons why they fought more and more bravely was that their finances in the army were transparent, officers and soldiers were consistent, and everyone who didn’t eat didn’t eat together. The belly also needs to achieve faith. Although Wan Yanliang is coming fiercely now, most of them are just signed troops. The real elite is only 8000 people. If our army crosses the river to fight, it may be difficult, but relying on the natural danger of the Yangtze River, we can definitely resist it There is no need to worry about losing the Yangtze River due to some too drastic measures. This incident is a good opportunity. Even if there are some losses, the internal affairs will be reorganized and the atmosphere will be clear. If you want the Northern Expedition to be successful, you can't take any chances or take risks, and you have to clean up the internal affairs sooner or later, and sooner rather than later."

Zhao Yuan was silent, he was also weighing in his mind.

Xiao Shan also stopped talking, and stood beside him quietly.

The candles in the hall gradually became shorter and finally burned out, and Zhao Yuan sat in the darkness.

When the first ray of light came into the room through the windows in the hall, Zhao Yuan stood up suddenly: "I don't want to be in a corner, I vow to go north and take back the old frontier!"