"Thank you for your kindness, sir. Xiao Tang has nothing to repay, but he can only do his best to repay your kindness!" There was already a trace of moisture in Xiao Tang's eyes.
I was a little emotional, but I still smiled and nodded, "Well, then I'll see how you perform."
Seeing that Ling Tianfang's face was a little gloomy after reading the information, my originally smiling face also became heavy. Even Xiao Tang beside me felt the change in the atmosphere.
"What? Have you finished reading? What are your thoughts?" I picked up the lid of the tea bowl, and the milky white water mist curled up. The green color of the soup was pleasing to the eye, but at this time I was not in much mood to appreciate this seemingly pleasant sight. everything of.
"I didn't expect the situation to be so serious, but why didn't the central government know anything about it?" Ling Tianfang's voice became a little erratic and seemed a little uncertain.
"Tian Fang, have you heard of the Taiping Sect?" Although my face didn't look good, my expression was quite relaxed.
"Well," nodded, "I heard about it when I was traveling in the Central Plains a few years ago, and I also witnessed their gathering by chance. I didn't know much about them at the time, but their power was It doesn't seem that big." Ling Tianfang had a lot of doubts in his eyes.
Xiao Tang had already taken the intelligence information handed to him by Ling Tianfang and started reading it. To be honest, I was very upset. Seeing that the northwest was about to be pacified, I thought it would be stable for a few years, but now another Taiping sect appeared. , it seems that the agenda of chaos in the world is finalized, and I think that "it is impossible to be at peace even for a moment, and it will eventually be dragged into the quagmire of war, so I have to seize the period before it breaks out, prepare for a rainy day, and make some preparations for contingency."
"According to intelligence, the Taiping Sect is developing quite rapidly. Except for our northwest county, which has not yet established a foothold in the ten counties of the empire and the special administrative region of the imperial capital, it seems that it has already reached a considerable scale in other places, but it is still hidden in the dark. I think it won't be long before they surface." What makes me quite gratified is that the Taiping Sect doesn't have much power in the northwest county, but we must take precautions and take precautions before things happen.
"Well, this situation should attract our great attention. Once these messy things mixed with religious beliefs penetrate into our territory, it will take a lot of effort to eradicate them. However, there are some capable people in this Taiping Sect. Their The founder, You Daofang, also known as the Grand Master, his three disciples, and several important figures in their religion cannot be taken lightly. They are all outstanding in terms of literary talent and military strategy, but they do not know that the empire How could the huge intelligence department not be aware of it? This is really puzzling." Ling Tianfang's attention was always focused on how the empire responded.
After reading the information, Xiao Tang also expressed his own opinion: "I had heard of the Taiping Sect when I was still in my hometown in Beiyuan County. At that time, I thought it was just some swindlers using some deceptive tricks to preach some gods. Things like Buddhas, ghosts and monsters are used to deceive the foolish men and women in the countryside. Only after reading these things today can I understand what these people are planning. However, in just ten years, they can use this cover to spread their power all over the country. This You Daofang is definitely not simple. The slogans they put forward, such as freedom and fraternity, equalization of wealth and poverty, and land distribution, as well as the equality of all living beings, the abolition of slave status, and the abolition of class distinctions, are indeed very tempting. and appeal, especially to the people of the middle and lower classes, it has a great influence, and it can be said that they speak their minds. There will be chaos in the sky, and monsters will emerge one after another! However, these teachings of theirs obviously contradict the laws and systems of the empire, How could the Empire remain ignorant for so many years? If they knew why no measures were taken?"
"There may be many reasons for this." I also carefully analyzed and studied this information, combined with my usual views, "There are several possibilities. First, in the past few years, the Taiping Sect was only in the empire. The middle and lower classes carry out activities in the name of preaching and treating diseases. It is reported that the Taiping Sect has also been registered in the name of a social group by the local internal affairs department of Yanyun County in the empire. Moreover, they originally did not propose any idea of equalizing wealth and abolition of the hierarchy. There are some slogans that are obviously contrary to the imperial legal system. These slogans have only been put forward in the past year or two and are only spread among those who are more loyal in the religion. Ordinary believers are not aware of it; secondly, , I estimate that the Taiping Sect has also penetrated into the upper echelons of the empire in recent years. Some officials in the empire must have been bribed and controlled to a greater or lesser extent, and it is very likely that some local officials are also covering up for them; third, their The power has deep roots in the Central Plains and western counties, even Jiangnan County and Wuhu County, where the gap between rich and poor is relatively serious. I judge that there are some people with ulterior motives within the empire who want to take advantage of them, so they are so laissez-faire; but Taiping The people who teach this group of leaders are also extraordinary people. You have a good plan, and I have a ladder. We all use each other to see who will be the ultimate beneficiary."
"I'm afraid that the countries and forces surrounding the empire will not turn a blind eye to such an opportunity. Maybe there is support from foreign hostile forces behind the Taiping Religion. Otherwise, even if they have some talents, they will not be able to develop so fast. This will definitely be inseparable from a large amount of financial and intelligence support." Xiao Tang further expressed his opinion.
"Everything in the world is bustling for profit; everything is bustling for profit. People say that businessmen are like this. As long as there is profit, they will find ways to get it. In fact, isn't this the case between countries? This Taiping Sect force The development of the empire will inevitably endanger the rule of the empire, and will eventually lead to civil strife. Whether the Taiping Rebellion succeeds or the empire suppresses it, it will greatly damage the vitality. In the end, it will be the fishermen in the surrounding countries who benefit, so it can stir up chaos within the empire. The more chaos the better, the more opportunities they will have to take advantage of, and of course they will spare no effort to support the development of the Taiping Religion. But with this war, the people of the world will suffer." I sighed and nodded, agreeing with Xiao Tang's view.
"In prosperity, the people suffer; in death, the people suffer. The winner is the king and the loser is the bandit. On the political stage, you step down and I take the stage, competing for the upper hand. No one cares about the life and death of your people." Xiao Tang also felt deeply.
"We don't have the energy to express our feelings yet, so we should first implement the work we must do." Ling Tianfang was more realistic, "Intelligence shows that although the Taiping Sect has not yet taken root in our northwest, since both Qingyang and Jinzhou have accepted There are a large number of immigrants, many of whom come from areas where the Taiping Religion is quite rampant. There will definitely be their personnel among them. We must immediately launch an investigation and monitor these people. If there are key elements, special and necessary measures must be taken. We will resolutely resolve it with all possible means.”
"I think all these evil ways have their basis and conditions. The empire is currently experiencing many internal and external troubles, intensified domestic class conflicts, and intensified polarization between rich and poor. This gave the Taiping Religion a chance. As long as we step up economic development , people can live and work in peace and contentment, I think it will be difficult for them to do anything in the northwest. Of course, we cannot take it lightly. There are always some stubborn people who want to make trouble. Tianfang’s opinions are very important. We must strengthen our own monitoring capabilities. , those dangerous elements must be suppressed with an iron fist and cannot be merciful. In addition, I think we must also make early preparations. We can send people to try to infiltrate them just like we did with the rebels, but I estimate that there must be quite a few among them. The Taiping Religion is not as difficult as those rebels. It will take a lot of effort to sneak in. We can discuss it carefully." I synthesized their opinions and analyzed them.
Then I raised my concerns, "But now the Taiping Sect has formed a considerable climate. Even if they can't cause trouble in the northwest, according to my judgment, within two years, they will definitely be in the heart of the empire." Triggering a great chaos, all forces in the entire empire will inevitably be involved, and there will also be foreign forces adding fuel to the fire. I don’t know how we will respond at that time? So we can only seize the time now and step up our efforts to strengthen our various forces. On the one hand, we must strengthen our strength, and on the other hand, we must develop the army at all costs, even if it has some influence on other areas. I invite you two here today to explain this to you. "
Seeing that both of them nodded in understanding, indicating that they understood what I meant, I turned the topic back to the selection of city guardians, "Okay, let's not talk about the Taiping Sect for now. The soldiers will stop them, and the water will cover them. I don’t think a mere Taiping Sect can scare us, not to mention that our northwest is relatively stable. Let’s first talk about the selection of these four city guards and officials from various subordinate departments. I wonder if you have any outstanding talents to recommend. ?”
The two looked at each other, and then cautiously closed their mouths, as if they were worried about something.
"What? I don't think you two even have anyone you can like, right? Or do you think it's hard to recommend if you want to avoid suspicion?" I looked at the two of them with a smile. It seemed that even Ling Tian had been in the empire for a long time. I also learned the word caution in speaking.
"I think you should have a suitable candidate in your mind. Why don't you ask your Excellency to propose it first, and Lord Ling and I will serve as a reference for you. What do you think?" Xiao Tang broke through the embarrassment and expressed his opinion.
I shook my head and said, "This is not good. Although I have some candidates in my mind, they are not yet mature. I want to hear whether your opinions have anything in common with mine. At the same time, you also need to talk about the basis for recommending them. What."
There was another moment of silence. Seeing that I was getting a little impatient, Ling Tianfang finally couldn't help but speak: "Since your Excellency has said this, I will mention a few for your consideration. Anyone like Mo Lun or Su Minshun I think you all know that they are enough to take on the important task of guarding the city, so I don’t need to say more. I think James, the director of the Finance Department of Jinzhou Prefecture, and his deputy and classmate Yang Zhengbin are both rare talents, especially He is quite outstanding in financial work, and his views on financial work are very innovative. Also, the young man Tang Qiren of the Jinzhou Economic Development Department is also quite capable. Although he is young, he has the style of a general. I will start with Mention these three people and let your Excellency make your decision.”
I nodded. I have been deeply impressed by James' ability. He is also one of the candidates in my mind. I have also heard about his deputy Yang Zhengbin, but I don't know much about Tang. It seems that I need to pay more attention. Understand understand.
Seeing that Ling Tianfang had taken the lead to speak, Xiao Tang no longer held back, "I recommend two young men, Mu Haoran from the Qingyang Administration Department and Jin Ning from the Intelligence Department. These two adults know each other well and their abilities are It is also obvious to everyone that Mu Haoran is very good at administration and diplomacy. It is thanks to his help that I can run all aspects of Qingyang Mansion. Jin Ning, a young man, is born to engage in intelligence collection and analysis. He is a good candidate. I know that he has made great contributions to many of the results achieved by Mo Lun's intelligence agency. Mo Lun has also recommended him to me many times." After hesitating, Xiao Tang expressed his opinion again, "There is another person who is also very good. Talent, but he has not been in our government department for a long time. He is an immigrant from the Kingdom of India. He now works in the Agriculture and Water Resources Department of Qingyang Prefecture. He originally graduated from the University of Heidelberg in the Western Continent and later worked in India. I have worked in the government department of the Kingdom. This person has very comprehensive abilities. He is not limited to agriculture and water conservancy. He has skills in everything. However, he joined our government agency for a short time, only one year. His name is Leo. .”
I nodded, "National origin is not a problem. The problem is to find out the origin of Leo. Don't let people with ulterior motives get into our company and hold important positions. That would be a joke. It can make security The department will carefully check his background. This is also a necessary procedure. Anyone who needs to be promoted to an important position must be reviewed by the security department, and those who meet the conditions and have no problems will be appointed."
Xiao Tang and Ling Tianfang had no objection to this point. They both knew that since they recommended these people, they would bear the responsibility of recommendation. Once problems arise, they would also be implicated. Of course, they hope to solve the problems in advance.
"I know most of the candidates you recommend, and I've heard of the ones you don't know. They are roughly the same as the candidates in my mind. That's what the so-called heroes think alike." I have already made a conclusion in my mind, "I think The position of director of the Northwest County Administrative Office will be held by Xiao Tang, and you will be mainly responsible for handling the administrative affairs of the entire northwest county. In addition, I will soon form the northwest army, and I will serve as the commander of the army for the time being. I think, Tianfang, you will serve as the chief of staff of the northwest legion that will be formed, and you will be responsible for all matters related to the formation of the legion. From now on, I will leave more military affairs to you."
When the two of them heard my arrangement, although they were mentally prepared, they still couldn't suppress their excitement. They stood up and saluted almost at the same time, "Thank you for your love, sir. I will definitely live up to your trust."
I waved my hand to indicate that they didn't have to do this, and paused before continuing, "The economic construction of Qingyang Mansion is basically on the right track, and all aspects of development are proceeding step by step, and Qingyang is the capital of Northwest County. The capital has a special geographical location. To ensure stability, I have decided to let Molun serve as the city guard for the time being. The situation in Jinzhou City is quite satisfactory. This is also our current financial backbone. There can be no mistakes here. James serves as the city guard. As for Guide and Bonan, I consider that the economy of these two places has now reached its lowest point, and the agriculture in these two places is not developed. In the past, they were mainly industrial and commercial. If you want to expand in the short term, To revitalize the economies of the two places within a short period of time, great efforts must be made.”
The two people present also nodded in agreement with my opinion, especially Xiao Tang who thought further. From the moment he was appointed as the administrative director of Northwest County, his head was spinning rapidly, how to use the best possible method. The rapid speed has allowed the economies of Guide and Bonan to recover and regain their former glory. This issue has become the primary issue before us, but it is no longer possible for the empire to provide as much financial support to these two places as it was when Qingyang was developing. Now, the empire itself has a lot of troubles, and a lot of money needs to be spent in many places. In addition, there are currently many ministers in the central empire who are dissatisfied with the change of ownership in the northwest. It is the greatest support not to cause trouble for the future work of the northwest county, so Just stop thinking about other things. Xiao Tang saw this very clearly.