The spring breeze in the window was chilly, and the branches in the courtyard of the government office were faintly green. Two tall and strong warriors were playing chess in the signing room, but there was no leisure and elegance. Zhe Dejian knew that the emperor had just settled down in summer and had a lot of things to do. Without that heart, how could there be that kind of emotion
There was only the sound of chess pieces falling on the board, and both of them stared at the board in silence. But perhaps they were not thinking about Go, at least Zhe Dejian's mind was not on the board at all.
When Guo Shao said that people only know their leaders when they are dependent on them, but they don't know that the country is very easy to split, he was referring to the Tubo Dangxiang, but Zhe Dejian heard the hidden meaning.
Zhe Dejian made such a judgment not only because of that sentence, he thought a lot about it.
Judging from the general situation of the country, the trend of weakening the military governors was not started during the Xu Dynasty. The military governors had once grown stronger in the late Tang Dynasty, but after five generations of war, the Central Plains court had begun to gradually weaken the local military governors during the Zhou Dynasty. First, Zhou Shizong took away the elite soldiers of the military governors to strengthen the imperial guards; then he took back the administrative power of the military governors and issued an order that the military governors should not interfere with the orders of local officials.
After the current emperor Guo Shao came to power, he further removed the financial power of the military governors by relying on his outstanding military achievements and the intimidation of his elite soldiers and generals. He established a post of transport envoys, a position delegated from the central government to the local governments, and directly stripped the military governors of their financial power. Now the military governors in the mainland are in name only, with no money, no food, no soldiers, and no power. All power has been divided up by the central and local officials, and there is no military governorship left.
However, the only people who were not moved during this process were the frontier commanders. Because the situation in the frontiers was complicated, Zhe Dejian thought that the court dared not move. Now it seems that there is no one that Guo Shao dared not move.
There were many garrison commanders at the frontier, and the five largest warlords were: King Zhe, King Qin, King Feng, King Jing and his son, Yang Ye, Liu Ren, Zhan Jiangnan, Gao Yan and Chou Shu army.
Among them, Yang, Liu, and Gao were all surrendered soldiers. Whatever the emperor said was true. Yang Ye was no longer a warlord. He had a front camp military office under him, which decentralized and monitored all kinds of power. Wang Jing was old, and his son was not as good as his father. The most difficult one was the Zhe family.
Now that the imperial guards general has lost his military power, it's time to deal with the border generals.
Guo Shao was quite straightforward. As soon as he took action, he first targeted the Zhe family, the warlord who was least influenced by the imperial court.
If you ask me whether it is better to be a warlord or a duke, if I have a choice, of course it is better to be a warlord.
Warlords are more dangerous, and are usually watched and guarded by the court. But your fate is in your own hands. The court has to negotiate terms and compromise with you; as for your own territory, it is almost the same as the emperor, and no one can control it. Whatever the court does, it must first ask your consent, otherwise it will tear your face apart. It is better to meet on the battlefield. Now we are playing chess, which means to discuss with Zhe Dejian.
The Duke is different. He receives a salary from the court and eats from other people. The people in the imperial court can decide how to treat him. His fate depends on the emperor's attitude.
But is there a choice
The emperor was unwilling to break off relations. He brought more than 70,000 elite soldiers with him. His current strategy was not to rush to expand his territory, but to target Lingzhou Zhejia. If the imperial army attacked Lingzhou directly, they would have a great chance of winning. However, regardless of the casualties caused by the civil war, how would the other generals feel
In the southern part of Pingxia, there are a bunch of small warlords. They used to be the military governors to defend against the Tanguts. Now Pingxia has become the frontier of the imperial court, and the towns in Guanzhong have become the interior of the country. They will be eliminated. Everyone is waiting to see whether the elimination will go smoothly.
Zhe Dejian sighed secretly. Playing chess is a game of strategy. The scene before him is indeed a game of strategy.
If it were another emperor, he would have had more choices, but it happened to be Guo Shao and the powerful army around him.
Guo Shao frowned, the big dragon in front of him couldn't even make a dragon eye. Zhe Dejian pressed on step by step, leaving him no chance. Seeing that a chess piece was about to be surrounded and killed, the pressure was great.
Guo Shao was once again certain that Zhe Dejian had always been giving him the upper hand when playing chess with him before. But today was different. His moves were very fierce, leaving him completely powerless to defend himself.
Pa Zhe Dejian made his moves very casually and quickly. Guo Shao thought for a long time but could not think of a way to resolve the situation.
He looked like he was deep in thought, but he wasn't just thinking about the chessboard; there were many other things on his mind.
After a long while, Guo Shao sighed and laughed: This chess game is easy. Such a large piece is gone. No matter how many pieces there are, there is no way to turn the tide. The outcome is already decided. I lose. General Zhe is really amazing.
Zhe Dejian clasped his fists and said: Your Majesty, I appreciate your submission.
Guo Shao slammed the table and said: The prize must be fulfilled. I will issue an edict now to confer the title of Duke of Xia on General Zhe.
Zhe Dejian hurriedly left his seat and said politely: "How can I thank the emperor for his grace?"
Guo Shao rubbed his forehead with his hand and said with a smile: Don't mention it, playing chess is very brain-intensive. Let's play something else.
Zhe Dejian bowed and said: Since Your Majesty is in a good mood, I will certainly accompany you.
Guo Shao led Zhe Deqian out of the signing room and came to a storeroom. As soon as they entered, Zhe Deqian's face changed slightly. There were many weapons and armors inside. They were all real swords and guns used in battle. As soon as they put down the elegant objects, a murderous atmosphere came over them.
However, the warehouse was very small and could be seen at a glance. There were no ambush troops, only Guo Shao and Zhe Dejian.
Guo Shao picked up a firearm and some complicated things, and fiddled with them skillfully, as if no one was around. From loading lead bullets and gunpowder to setting the primer, his movements were very skillful. It is possible that the soldiers were not as fast as him.
After he installed it, he handed it to Zhe Dejian and said:
Zhe Dejian had a complicated expression and said hurriedly: "I dare not hold a weapon in front of the emperor."
Guo Shaodao: If you believe in me, I will believe in you. What is there to be afraid of
Zhe Dejian bent down and took the firearm from Guo Shao with both hands. Guo Shao said: After aiming, the primer pot has been opened. Click this mechanism and it will fire. Let's go out and try it.
After saying this, Guo Shao walked straight out of the room with his back facing Zhe Dejian who was holding a firearm.
Zhe Dejian hurriedly followed out, looked around, pointed at a bowl that was placed somewhere twenty or thirty steps away, and said: I will use the bowl as a target.
Guo Shao nodded.
Zhe Dejian picked up the firearm, and Guo Shao personally stepped forward to adjust his posture so that the wooden handle was against Zhe Dejian's shoulder.
Bang
The two walked out of the smoke, only to find that the bowl was still there. Guo Shao laughed loudly, and Zhe Dejian said with shame: "I can only admit defeat when it comes to handling this weapon. I have made a fool of myself."
Guo Shao looked up and felt the wind direction. Even if I hit that bowl, I might not hit it. It all depends on luck.
Zhe Dejian said in astonishment: Your Majesty, I have always known how to shoot, but this is only twenty or thirty steps.
Guo Shao shook his head and said: This thing can hit seventy or eighty steps away, but it will be inaccurate if there is wind, and its deflection is also unpredictable.
Zhe Dejian pondered for a long time.
Guo Shao added: "But in the battle formation, a whole row of volleys, there is more than one person on the opposite side. General Zhe understands, right?"
Zhe Dejian suddenly realized: So that's it
Guo Shao said: General Zhe must understand these weapons. The imperial guards all use the equipment in the house. Plate armor, swords, spears, firearms, bows and crossbows, each of them has its own use.
Zhe Dejian seemed to be thinking about something, because those equipments were not for the military.
Guo Shaodao: The imperial court's military force is not only composed of generals. There are only a few people with high positions and power, and they are all acquaintances, so they are easy to talk to.
With a rich family background and many connections, he generally wouldn't do anything too embarrassing. This was also the reason why Guo Shaona was calm and composed with his back to Zhe Dejian. He was not only courageous.
He added: But what is really difficult to control are the mid- and low-level generals and soldiers.
Zhe Dejian nodded and said: Your Majesty knows the military well.
Guo Shao smiled and said: I am talking about the guards. If it is in the military town, there will be no such problem. Each general has a string of subordinates, like servants, and they are usually well disciplined.
Zhe Dejian bowed and was speechless.
Guo Shao suddenly said: I want to appoint Duke Xia as the temporary governor of Pingxia Province. Are you willing
Zhe Dejian said without hesitation: "I am your Majesty's minister and I will only obey your Majesty's orders."
Guo Shao nodded with satisfaction, and excitedly invited Zhe Dejian to go back to the signing room, and asked someone to take out the map, pointing to the names of the cities on the map and said: Starting from Wuding Fort, along the Wuding River, and then to Youyouzhou in the south, each state built six flower forts, and the guards moved in. There are two large forts, Wuding Fort and Xiazhou Fort, each with 2,000 people, and the rest of the small forts each have a commander.
Don't think that there are not enough people. Even if Xiazhou rebels, they will definitely not be able to break through these fortresses. And the fortresses extend to the interior, so the court has enough time to send troops to reinforce, and can also get protection and supplies along the fortress group.
I will also send a chief secretary and a transport envoy to assist Mr. Zhe in setting up the front camp military headquarters in Xiazhou Dabao to jointly govern the military and political affairs of the Pingxia area.
Zhe Dejian looked serious and said: Your Majesty is in control of the strategy and I admire you very much.
Guo Shao glanced at him. Pingxia is a vast land, and I have high hopes for it. Zhe Gong should not only use Han officials to manage the states, but also win over the local Tangut clans and grant them official positions. In the early stage, we should not exploit them too much, and stabilize the local area with benevolent policies. Select good officials, teach those Tangut nobles the teachings of Confucius and Mencius, and the Ministry of Rites will grant them honors. Tangut people who are willing to move to the interior will be dispersed and resettled, and given seeds and agricultural tools. Han people who are willing to buy farmland in Hengshan should also be supported; Han people exiled by the court will be given official land to farm at the beginning.
Once this place is assimilated, the province will no longer exist, and prefectures and counties will be set up according to the inland areas.
Guo Shao added: "If Mr. Zhe can live up to my expectations and return to the court tomorrow, I will not treat him unfairly."
Zhe Dejian saluted and said: "I will devote my life to the cause until my death."
Guo Shaodao: The imperial court will also treat the generals and soldiers of Shuofang Town well. The good ones will be selected into the imperial army, and the rest will be granted farmland and grain in Guanzhong and Longyou, and will be registered in the army and under the jurisdiction of the guards.
Zhe Dejian pondered for a moment and said: "I have something to report. I have a feud with the Li family of the Dangxiang."
Guo Shao nodded and said: "I already knew it. If you capture Li Yiyin and his family, I will definitely reward you."