Thousands of miles away, Fang Jie didn't know what Nalan Dingdong did in Eastern Xinjiang, and how unexpected he did it. He just chose the right person to go to the right place, and then gave him enough freedom and rights. This kind of laissez-faire use is actually a double-edged sword, and choosing the right person will get twice the result with half the effort. If you choose the wrong person, the consequences will be even more serious.
During these days, what Fang Jie has been busy with is rectifying the troops.
Even if Fang Xie was anxious about the chaos in Eastern Xinjiang, there was nothing he could do about it. If he didn't get rid of the threat from the Mongols, Fang Jie would not have the energy or energy to send troops to Eastern Xinjiang.
Fang Jie basically entrusted Wu Yiyi and Dugu Wenxiu to discuss and deal with matters related to government affairs. Unless there were major matters that were difficult to decide, other matters did not need to be reported. In fact, this is still a laissez-faire use, and I am afraid that others would not dare to do it. When entering Chang'an City for the first time, if someone else is Fang Xie, he must keep an eye on everything and do everything by himself.
"Except for food, there is a shortage of everything in Chang'an City right now."
Dugu Wenxiu sighed: "There are granaries in the southeast and northwest of Chang'an City. Although they were forced by Gao Kaitai to dare not open the city gates for several years, the food consumption of these four granaries is only a drop in the bucket. Even if we don't mobilize grain from other places , the food stored in Chang'an City is enough to support the army going out."
"At the Ministry of War, the armor and equipment are basically gone."
Dugu Wenxiu said: "I asked the officials of the household department. At the peak of the Sui Dynasty, the household department had enough armor and equipment to equip an army of 500,000 troops. But now, they can't even produce 500 sets of leather armor. Yu Jian However, there are still some. As for the horizontal knife and long lance, not even one piece is intact. In the first Western Expedition, Emperor God Blessed took away a large number of equipment and armor. The second Western Expedition summoned mostly civilian braves, and they almost It emptied the inventory of the Ministry of War.”
"Later, when Yang Jian led the troops to go out, he took some away. Later, Chang'an City was trapped, and the empty warehouses of the Ministry of War could not be replenished."
"It's more than that."
Chen Xiaoru interjected from the side: "According to what I know, many officials stole and sold a lot of inventory when the city was in poverty because they couldn't get their salaries. However, most people dare not buy these things that were made by the Sui army. Even if someone bought it, they would not dare to wear it blatantly. Therefore, the officials who stole the stock must have a lot of stock in their homes. If the lord gives the order, I will take people to check it now, and I will still be able to find some after all."
Dugu Wenxiu's expression changed, but she didn't speak. He glanced at Chen Xiaoru, and there was something very unusual in his eyes.
"Go and check."
Fang Jie said: "But we have to treat them differently. If it is really difficult to maintain the family, don't hold them accountable. If you just want to take advantage of the chaos to make a fortune, just deal with it according to the law. Dugu, let someone leak it, just say Gu wants to order a thorough investigation of the treasury, and anyone who has moved something will quietly send it back, Gu will pretend he didn't see it."
Dugu Wenxiu quickly lowered her head: "I understand."
"The weapons and armor made by the workshops of the two camps of our Black Banner Army are still sufficient, but the transportation is far away, especially the workshops of the Yunnan Road. It takes at least four or five months to transport them here. I can't wait at all. This time, we need to recruit Minyong, so we have to send people back to the Zhuque Mountain camp to bring all the workshop's inventory."
"Recruitment of civilian bravery is already underway. There are not many people in Chang'an who have signed up to join the army..."
Wu Yiyi took a look at Fang Jie's expression: "Everyone knows that this time we are going to fight the Mengyuan people. The people in the city are secretly spreading the word that the Mengyuan people are like beasts with green faces and fangs. God blessed the emperor back then." The two expeditions and the two defeats were all due to the inability to defeat the Mengyuan people... There are many discussions like this. Besides, the people in Chang'an City have always had a very strange character, that is... "
Wu Yiyi tidied up his wording, which seemed difficult to describe: "The people in Chang'an City think of themselves as superior to others. They all think that they are the most noble people in the Sui Dynasty, and they live at the foot of the emperor. Naturally, they are compared with the emperor in other places. People are more close. So they all have a special kind of pride, but... It is difficult for these people who think they are the most loyal to the Sui Dynasty to join the army and fight the enemy. When Emperor Tianyou recruited troops in Gyeonggi Province, Gyeonggi Province More than 100,000 people joined the army, and less than 1,000 people joined the army in Chang'an City..."
Fang Jie shook his head: "The people in Chang'an City have formed a habit. You are not as noble as I am because I am a high-ranking citizen of the country. But when the battle is about to take place, the high-ranking people can't go up. Naturally, the low-ranking ones are going to die. Even if people are recruited as soldiers, they are not useful on the battlefield. There are not many people in Gyeonggi Province, and the number of recruits is limited. How about this... "
Fang Jie thought for a while and said: "The recruiters slow down beforehand, and urge the Zhuqueshan camp to send all the weapons and armors, and then raise troops when the day comes, without delay. Recruit troops along Jiangbei Road, especially in the Yangtze River. Recruiting troops along the coast, the fishermen on the banks of the Yangtze River have good water skills, which is exactly what they need."
"Here."
Wu Yidao and the others bowed their heads in response.
"My lord, do you value Song Zihui too much?"
Dugu Wenxiu was silent for a while and then said in a very slow voice: "Let him lead the army alone when he came. Although he has led soldiers before, the thousands of civilians and tens of thousands of soldiers are incomparable. After all, he is just an army. civil servant."
"You are also a civil servant."
Fang Jie smiled and said: "If I give you 20,000 people to conquer the west, can you go there?"
Dugu Wenxiu was stunned for a moment: "I can go, but I really don't know how to make meritorious service."
"Stop talking about Song Zihui."
Fang Jie waved his hand: "Turn back, you will draw up a list of vacancies for officials in various ministries and yamen of the imperial court, and I will give you a standard. Thirty to seven... 30% will be selected from the local area. Selected, you have to read the list after you hand it over."
"Here."
Dugu Wenxiu immediately bowed her head.
Fang Jie glanced at Wu Yidao: "Master Hou will also select a group of people from Huotong Tianxiahang. Now the imperial court is very short of people, and some yamen are completely empty. Especially the household department has a lot of accounts. To investigate, people in Huotong Tianxia Bank can call some of them, and then they will fill up official positions in various ministries and government offices."
"Here."
Wu Yidao also responded, and when he got up, he glanced at Dugu Wenxiu consciously or unconsciously. The eyes of the two people crossed for a moment, and Dugu quickly avoided it.
…
…
Chen Xiaoru seemed to have something to say all the time, but he hesitated to speak.
It wasn't until Fang Jie returned to Changchun Garden Wind and Rain Tower that Chen Xiaoru came up from behind: "My lord, I have something to say, but I'm just afraid that my lord will feel that I made things difficult for him on purpose, so I endured it until now."
"If you fart, let it go."
Fang Xie cursed as he walked, and when he went upstairs, he took two fruits from the plate on the coffee table in the living room, threw it backwards, and threw one to Chen Xiaoru. Chen Xiaoru stretched out his hand to take it and felt warm in his heart. After all these years, the lord has still treated him like this, so he was naturally moved.
Fang Jie gnawed on a pear and went up to the third floor, and then put himself in the couch: "Talking with those courtiers for a while is more tiring than marching for three hundred miles. On the surface, everyone looks loyal and humble, if anyone believes their superficial words, they will swallow them whole sooner or later."
Chen Xiaoru smiled: "Nothing can hide from the Lord's eyes..."
"What's up?"
Fang Jie said: "If you don't say anything else, get out."
Chen Xiaoru hurriedly said: "I just recently found out some things about Lord Dugu, but most of them are speculative rumors with no real value, so I have been undecided whether to report to you. Said, because there is no solid evidence, such rumors And Zuo really shouldn't, and it seems that the minister is targeting Lord Dugu. If you don't say it, I'm afraid it's true and it's not good for the lord."
"You are innocent."
Fang Jie waved his hands.
Chen Xiaoru lowered his head and said: "Thank you, my lord... I heard that Lord Dugu is in charge of the court affairs, especially now that there are so many vacancies in various ministries and government offices, many people are watching. From the past few days, Lord Dugu's house often sees guests at night , most of the people I saw came from aristocratic families in Chang'an City."
He looked up at Fang Xie's face and saw that Fang Xie was not unhappy, so he continued: "There is a list of people who enter and exit Lord Dugu's mansion."
He took out a folded piece of paper from his cuff and held it in both hands and handed it to Fang Xie: "I also found out that shortly after entering Chang'an City, Master Dugu sent someone back to the Zhuque Mountain camp to pick up her mother." Come, but did not live together, but placed in the station, I live in the mansion and my mother lives in the station, it seems a bit inappropriate."
Fang Jie sat up from the reclining chair and patted his forehead: "I forgot, Dugu is now living in the house of Qin Anli, a senior scholar, because he has to do all the affairs of the ministries, and the court room outside the Taiji Hall is too small. Li's house is the closest to Tai Chi Palace, so he lived there, I reported this matter, but I forgot... Mu San!"
Fang Jie called out, and the little eunuch Mu San hurriedly trotted over from not far away.
"Go and tell Dugu Wenxiu that the house will be given to him. Hurry up and take the old lady over from the post."
"Hey, this is a great favor."
Mu San smiled: "Maidservant, can I ask Lord Dugu for a reward?"
"Can."
Fang Jie smiled and said, "If he dares to give it to you, what are you afraid to take?"
Mu San shook his head again and again: "Let's forget it... I don't have the guts to serve you."
Chen Xiaoru's complexion was a little ugly. Although he didn't fabricate these things to frame Dugu Wenxiu, he did not like Dugu Wenxiu. One is that Dugu Wenxiu is too powerful now, and he has mentioned Xiaoqi School in front of Fang Jie more than once. bad words, and even tried to persuade Fang Xie to reduce the functions of Xiaoqi School. Second, it was because he really felt that a person like Dugu who was reused by Fang Jie should not have selfish motives.
"Chen Xiaoru, do you know why Dugu let his mother live in the inn?"
Fang asked.
Chen Xiaoru shook his head: "I don't know..."
Fang Jie said: "Qin Anli's house is not his, he lives there temporarily, and he is performing the duties of the imperial court. If he takes my old lady in, he will give someone a handle. It is a government office, not his private house. Have you ever thought about whether Dugu is looking forward to someone taking part in his crime of unfilial piety?"
Chen Xiaoru's expression changed suddenly.
That's right... Dugu Wenxiu should be very happy for someone to participate in the performance of his unfilial piety, and the matter of placing his mother in the post... On the one hand, this incident can be said to be Dugu Wenxiu's unfilial piety, but on the other hand, doesn't it mean that Dugu Wenxiu has a clear distinction between public and private
"Go."
Fang Jie waved his hand: "Although your thoughts are meticulous, but when it comes to doing things thoughtfully, Dugu is still better than you. So many people come and go in and out of his residence, isn't he afraid of others knowing? Others may have seen it. It's tricky, so you feel that there must be something tricky, and then you check, check and check, and find that there is nothing tricky... How do you end up?"
Fang Jie's tone suddenly turned cold: "In three years, I don't want to hear someone play Dugu Wenxiu's excerpts and play his words. I let you take charge of the Xiaoqi School not because you are stupid and promised you so much power." It's not because you're stupid, so don't let me think you're stupid anymore."
Chen Xiaoru didn't know why Fang Jie changed his face, but he knew that Fang Jie was really angry this time.
"You remember it for me. If the conversation today spreads, I will kill you nine clans."
Fang Jie said something in a cold voice, and then kicked Chen Xiaoru's ass: "Get out and do something."