In the next few days, good news came back that Liang Chongxin and the Mulige tribe defeated and surrendered Tubok, and Shentu transformed the rebel army, which made me very happy. Although there are still 70,000 to 80,000 rebels entrenched in the northeast of Guide Mansion, based on the information I have now, I already have a clever plan in mind to annihilate them effortlessly, and I can only implement it when the time is right. Therefore, I strictly ordered Cui Wenxiu and Kamapov's two divisions to maintain the status quo in Guideok. At the same time, I also asked them to prepare for the expansion of the volunteers and remaining guard forces they recruited, so as to re-establish the Guidefu garrison division as soon as possible. Lay the foundation. On the one hand, the daily work is to eliminate the remnants of the rebel forces, and on the other hand, make various preparations for administrative personnel loyal to me to enter Guide Mansion to take over the work.
In Bonan Province in the south, work went more smoothly. Since the rebellion in the whole government has been subsided, the surrendered rebels have been reorganized in an orderly manner under the control of my army. At the same time, like Guide, a large amount of food has been continuously shipped from Qingyang, and the price of food has been calmed down immediately. I also ordered warehouses to be opened to provide relief to the victims who really could not live. These measures had an immediate effect, and social order was quickly restored. However, the severely damaged economy could not restart for a while. This was not a simple task. Know how much time it will take to complete.
It turned out that when Liang Chongxin reorganized the remaining three regiments of the Bonan Prefecture Guard Division with my consent, he also changed their main officers. The important officers above the battalion captain were all from the 1st and 2nd Jinzhou Key members who are loyal to me will be transferred from the garrison division, and the original officers will be re-arranged after passing the assessment. At the same time, according to my plan, I also started to post announcements to recruit soldiers, enrich the guard force, and prepare to expand it into a complete guard division. Originally, I preferred Liang Chongxin's deputy He Lianbo to serve as the commander of the newly formed Bonan Guard Division, but then I considered that He Lianbo was originally the leader of the bandit organization "Black Tiger" and has a good reputation in the northwest region. In order to avoid public doubts, I gave up this idea and temporarily left this position vacant, and Liang Chongxin was temporarily responsible for the preparatory tasks.
From December 5th to 6th, I led my important advisers Xiao Tang, Ling Tianfang, Su Minshun, and Morun to inspect Guide Mansion, and discussed the current situation in Guide with Cui Wenxiu and Kamapov. On December 9, I came to Bonan Mansion with others. After a brief inspection of Bonan Mansion, I decided to hold a large-scale meeting in Bonan Mansion City. The topic of the meeting was to suppress the rebellion in the four northwest counties. (excluding Yinchuan Mansion and Taixuan Mansion. Due to historical reasons and practical problems, I have no plans to incorporate the two mansions into management in the short term) future development direction and plans, as well as existing problems and difficulties.
This is a very important meeting, and the number of participants is relatively large. In view of the importance and urgency of this meeting, I ask all participants to put forward practical opinions on the scope of work involved, and welcome the discussion. Provide opinions and suggestions on overall work.
The heavy snow cleared and the long-lost sun finally showed its face, but the weather was still a bit cold. Early in the morning, Xiao Tang and Ling Tianfang rushed to the reception room I set up in the former Bonan City Governor's Mansion, where I would discuss the upcoming meeting with them.
Due to large-scale rebellions in Guide and Bonan Prefectures, the local local governments were unable to control the deterioration of the situation. The imperial authorities had already ordered the removal of the original city guards of the two prefectures. Just to prevent the situation from becoming more difficult to control, they temporarily let these two people act as deputies. The city guards were responsible for preventing the cities of the two prefectures from falling into the hands of the rebels.
After my troops entered, the actual management of the two governments has been taken over by the military. Up to now, the military still controls the operation of the entire government agencies. The top priority is to quickly establish local governments, and the local governments will be responsible for revitalizing the local economy and returning to normal. order of production and life, and then restore the prosperity and glory of the past. But this is easy to say, but quite difficult to operate. This is why I called Xiao and Ling to discuss it.
"Your Excellency called us here early in the morning, but what's the important matter?" Xiao Tang's face was still a little sleepy, which was obviously a sign of staying up all night. Ever since he came out to inspect with me, he knew that he might be burdened by me again. From Guide to Bonan, he carefully understood all aspects of the local situation, and on the other hand, he also met with the original local people in accordance with my instructions. level local officials, and comforted these officials who were worried all day long that they might be kicked out one day, and encouraged them to maintain a normal mentality, work hard, keep in touch with Qingyang at any time, and pay attention to Qingyang's own work at any time, It was really hard for him.
In comparison, Ling Tianfang is much more chic. In addition to the work I arranged for the reorganization and reconstruction of the army and the assessment and understanding of officers, his main job seems to be traveling. Everywhere he goes, he has to visit scenic spots. Go, this is probably a habit he has developed through long-term travel. In addition, Jinzhou's work has been on track, and the original foundation is much better than Qingyang, so he seems much more comfortable.
"Well, it's nothing urgent, but there is a meeting tomorrow. I want the three of us to talk about some important issues first, and by the way, I will also listen to your opinions and suggestions." I answered him lightly, as a servant After bringing the tea and coffee and leaving, the door to the reception room was tightly closed.
While I picked up the fire tongs and stirred the hot charcoal in the brazier, I was thinking about some issues thoughtfully. "Sir, I wonder what the problem is?" Seeing that I didn't say anything for a long time, Xiao Tang couldn't help it.
"Well, it's about personnel adjustments and military reorganization." I finally stopped what I was doing and lay down in the comfortable fur chair.
"Oh?" The two exchanged glances almost at the same time and made a surprised sound.
"What? It's a bit unexpected, isn't it?" I asked with a smile.
"Yes, there are indeed some surprises. I thought that the adults would make personnel adjustments after this meeting, but I didn't expect that adjustments would be made at the meeting." Xiao Tang nodded, not hiding his surprise.
"Sir, are you going to form a new army? Isn't it too hasty? The army we have now is large enough to cope with the current situation." Ling Tianfang was so hasty to me, as soon as he took over the power There is also some confusion about the need to massively expand the army. This is very different from the opinions he and I originally discussed.
I didn't answer Ling Tianfang's question. I just took out a piece of information and handed it to Ling Tianfang. It was a thick piece of paper. It was information obtained by several intelligence agencies after a lot of hard work. The content was quite detailed.
This information immediately attracted Ling Tianfang's full attention. I then turned around and asked Xiao Tang: "The situation is developing very fast now, especially our external situation is pressing. I want to identify candidates for some important positions as soon as possible, so I called you here to ask for your opinions."
Seeing that Ling Tianfang was completely focused on reading the intelligence, Xiao Tang was a little cautious. He also guessed the relevant issues I wanted to discuss with him, but these personnel matters have always been decided by me alone, and he never Interrupt, so as not to give people an excuse to say that he is a clique. "Sir, these matters should be decided by you. I'm afraid it's not easy for us to interfere."
I waved my hand and replied with a smile: "What? What other worries do you have? Since I asked you to refer to it, I think there won't be any other trouble."
Seeing what I said, Xiao Tang had no choice but to say nothing more, "Then I wonder which candidates you want to make adjustments to?"
"Everyone knows that I have been appointed by the empire as the military and political envoy of the northwest county, so it is impossible for me to continue to hold the position of city guard of Qingyang and Jinzhou. Also, Bonan Prefecture has been pacified, and Guide Prefecture has also been pacified. will be completely under our hands in the near future. Both of these places were once glorious and important towns, with developed industry and commerce, convenient transportation, and prosperous people. However, now the economies of these two places are close to collapse and the people are in great hardship. We must work harder in these two places. To promote its recovery as soon as possible in a short period of time, the task before us is quite heavy."
At this point, I couldn't help but sigh before continuing, "And the work of Qingyang Mansion has just begun to go on track. There is still a long way to go to make it a veritable capital of the northwest. Although Jinzhou was less affected by the war than these other prefectures, due to the tax reduction and exemption policy implemented by Qingyang to stimulate economic development, fiscal revenue is almost zero and will only gradually recover after this year. All fiscal revenue during this period All expenditures depend on Jinzhou, so the pressure is very high, and the work can only be stepped up but not relaxed. The government structure at the northwest county level also needs to be established urgently, and the preparatory work is also quite heavy, which requires a lot of manpower and material resources."
Seeing Xiao Tang listening carefully to my words with a serious expression, I raised the question: "The most urgent task now is to select the person in charge of the establishment of the county-level government agencies and the city guards of the four prefectures under its jurisdiction."
Maybe it was because I raised such an important issue straightforwardly, but neither Xiao Tang nor Ling Tianfang was mentally prepared. They both looked at each other in silence for a long time, and then Xiao Tang asked cautiously: "I wonder if there is a suitable idea in your mind?" Candidate?" Ling Tianfang's eyes also fell on me.
"There is one candidate, Xiao Tang. I originally wanted you to succeed me as the city guard of Qingyang Prefecture." At this point, I paused.
When I said that I wanted Xiao Tang to serve as the guardian of Qingyang City, Xiao Tang's heart couldn't help but beat a few times. After all, the lord of a city dreamed of this man who was born a commoner and was once a prisoner awaiting death. , his face was flushed with excitement, but he also understood that what I didn’t say must have been other arrangements, "Your Excellency, you value Xiao so much. How can Xiao dare to take on this important task?"
"Xiao Tang, Xiao Tang, you underestimate yourself too much. You don't need to be humble here. Talent is talent, and mediocrity is mediocrity. You don't think that I, the Jiedushi, can even recognize people. No!" I laughed loudly, "I originally wanted you to be the guard of Qingyang City because I wanted you to fully utilize your talents in this position and also to train you, but after thinking about it, I really can't think of anything. One person can replace you to prepare the subordinate organizations of the County Jiedushi Mansion, so I have to give up this plan, and let you take over the hearts of the entire northwest county."