Chapter 1086 Report and Strategy

Chapter 1086 Report and Strategy

Chapter 1086 Report and Strategy

Zhuge Heng had not set out yet, but the Wang Hui he mentioned was already moving around.

In the second half of last year, when land was surveyed in Hebei, there was another rebellion. After it was suppressed, Wang Hui was ordered to go to Yuyang.

Shao Xun gave him the position of the seventh-rank chief clerk of the Dali Temple and asked him to work under his third brother Shao Fan. Wang Hui was not required to take care of normal affairs, and was only responsible for some secret activities such as liaison and rebellion.

You know, he might not be suitable for other things, but this is just right for him.

Even trash can have its uses, not to mention that Wang Hui is not trash, at least he is an average person, with his family background, he will be successful in this line of work, because many "businesses" are delivered to his door without him having to run for them, such as the matter of Zhuge Heng.

On March 25th, Wang Hui followed Dali Qing Shao Fan and entered the palace through Duanmen.

In the study of Taiji Hall, Empress Yu Wenjun, who had just finished the silkworm ceremony, sat upright and watched Shao Fan and Wang Hui come in. After they performed the ceremony, they were allowed to sit down.

Next to Yu Wenjun was his wife Yang Xianrong. She looked a little bored and didn't seem to care much about certain things. She was simply dragged here to make up the numbers.

"It is a foregone conclusion that Zhuge Hui will be appointed as the General of Zhenjun Army and the Governor of Jingzhou." Shao Fan briefly introduced what happened in Jianye in the past half month, and he continued: "If my guess is correct, Zhuge will take a boat from Jianye to Wuchang, and Zhuge Heng will most likely accompany him. After arriving in Wuchang, he should not stay too long and will cross the river within ten days. This matter is confidential, and Zhuge does not want too many people to know, so I have selected capable personnel to meet him in Jingling and secretly escort him to Pingyang."

Yu Wenjun nodded slightly.

Originally, this matter could not be reported to her, and Prime Minister Wang Yan would have dealt with it directly. However, the situation today was special, so after listening to the whole story, he patiently asked, "How old is the daughter of the Deng family?"

"He is seventeen this year, slightly older than Zhuge Heng." Shao Fan replied.

"How's your talent and appearance?"

"She lives in seclusion, and is unknown to outsiders."

Yu Wenjun pondered for a moment and said, "I will send the Grand Chamberlain to prepare a gift and secretly send it to Pingyang as a dowry for the daughter of the Deng family. Zhuge Junwen is traveling alone to the north and must be short of money. Has the Prime Minister given any instructions?"

"The Prime Minister wants to give Zhuge Heng 500,000 coins and a house in Pingyang in the name of fellow villagers," Shao Fan replied.

Yu Wenjun wanted to laugh after hearing this. What kind of "fellow villager" was this? But she also knew that the money was not from Wang Yan, but from the court, which just borrowed Wang Yan's name.

"That's great." Yu Wenjun said.

Shao Fan paused for a moment and continued to talk about the second matter: "He Nei Shan Clan may need Madam Yang to take action."

Yu Wenjun looked at Yang Xianrong curiously.

Yang Xianrong shook her head and said, "I haven't seen my niece for many years, and I don't know what her personality is like. Dali Qing, maybe I want to persuade her with a letter? Yes, but it may not be useful. As far as I know, there are many cases of the harem interfering in the government of Jin State, and it was this niece who did it. Besides, Yang Pengzu and Yang Zuyan are Shan's biological uncles, so they should come forward to persuade her."

Shao Fan remained silent.

Of course Yang Man and Yang Dan would write letters to persuade him, and Mrs. Yang also had to write. There was no contradiction. After all, there were some things that women were more likely to talk about openly.

However, when he heard Yang Xianrong mention the issue of the harem interfering in government affairs just now, he suddenly realized that his original idea was biased.

He originally wanted to use the relationship between Yang and Shan Shihui to persuade Shan Yinan to persuade Sima Fei to surrender and follow the example of Duke Teng. Now it seems that it is not certain who will persist in resisting between Sima Fei and Shan Yinan.

Thinking of the incident of "Minister Lei" in Wang Dao's family, the custom of the imperial harem interfering in politics in the Southern Dynasties really ran through the monarch and his ministers.

"Forget it, I'll just write a letter." Yang Xianrong sighed and said helplessly.

If Shao Xun were here, he would surely be delighted to see Yang Xianrong like this.

She often expressed dissatisfaction and looked angry, and spoke rudely to Shao Xun, but every time she was asked to do something, she would do her best, whether it was to satisfy Shao's role-playing fetish or to provide wealth for his cause.

This woman is as proud as a peacock at heart, but she is too easy to manipulate.

After finishing the discussion, Yu Wenjun looked at Wang Hui and said kindly, "My dear Wang, Huifeng has told me about you. Do your job well. When we reward you for your merits in the future, you will definitely have a share."

"I obey your command." Wang Hui replied.

After discussing these two matters, Shao Fan was about to leave. Unexpectedly, at this moment, he heard Yu Wenjun ask, "How is it going in Xiangyang?"

Shao Fan sorted out his thoughts in his mind and replied, "There are farmers in Caizhou. Your Majesty went to the fields himself and led them to seize the farming season."

"In addition, you are also comforting the returning soldiers, distributing rewards, and rewarding meritorious personnel. Your Majesty is so diligent, and the army is pleased."

"He also had conversations with the scholars of Jingzhou, discussing the local customs and practices of Jingzhou, and encouraged them to go south to open up new land and develop commerce."

"We will also examine the sons of the noble families in Jingzhou and recruit them according to their abilities to reassure the people."

Yu Wenjun listened carefully and narrowed her eyes unconsciously.

After listening, he subconsciously asked: "Do all the scholars in Jingzhou obey your majesty?"

"Yes." Shao Fan replied: "Your Majesty is generous and magnanimous, and has broad knowledge. The people of Jing are all impressed by you."

Yu Wenjun felt a surge of joy in her heart, and asked again, "When will His Majesty return to the capital?"

Shao Fan was unable to answer for a moment, so he just said, "It's late March, the weather is getting warmer, it should be soon."

Yu Wenjun nodded.

Seeing that the Queen had nothing to say, Shao Fan and Wang Hui bowed and took their leave.

******
Almost at the same time, Yu Liang, the Minister of the Central Secretariat of Daliang, just walked out of the palace and headed towards his home.

He was given this position at the end of last year.

It is not easy for a legitimate relative like Liangzi to get an official position that is commensurate with his status and is vacant after the mourning period is over. Who in the court doesn't have a background? Would your opponents want to see you come back?
Therefore, even he had to wait for several months before he got the position of Zhongshu Ling (third rank), which was one level lower than Zhang Bin's Zhongshu Jian, and was considered his main deputy - from another perspective, he was also the person who checked and balanced Zhang Bin.

There was a joyous scene on the street.

News from the south gradually trickled back in. The "800,000-man" army swept across Jingzhou, conquering Xiangyang, Anlu, Jingling, Huarong, Jiangling and other famous cities and towns, and almost drove the enemy into the Yunmeng Lake and the Yangtze River.

Tao Kan, who had fought with Le Kai for many years, lost his troops and territory and was almost unable to fight back. This great victory made the people of Luoyang excited and their sense of belonging to the new dynasty stronger.

When Yu Liang was on duty in the government office, he heard that some scholars who had migrated south secretly found their relatives who stayed in the north and tried to establish connections with them. This is a good example.

The impact of this battle is much greater than imagined.

However, Yu Liang despised these scholars who had fled south. When death was imminent, they finally felt afraid?

Back then, Yu stayed firmly in the north and married her daughter to the emperor. Now she is the queen who rules the country.

He has been in mourning for more than two years. When he comes back, he can be the Minister of the Central Secretariat. What are you rotten fish and shrimp? I must catch a few of them and give them a good lesson in the future.

The carriage moved forward quickly and soon arrived at Yu Mansion.

Liang's wife, Xun, personally came to greet him in the hall, accompanied by her eldest son Yu Bin.

When Yu Liang saw his son, he asked, "Agong, we are leaving tomorrow. Are you ready?"

Xun looked at Yu Liang with a reproachful look and said, "My husband, you just came back and you're yelling at A Gong."

Yu Liang looked at his wife with dissatisfaction and said, "This loser is only good at calligraphy, and the rest is just so-so."

"Why do you say that, old man?" Xun pulled Yu Liang's sleeve and said, "Don't you see what you are capable of? I think A Gong is better than you. The emperor heard of his talent and appointed him to the seventh rank as soon as he entered the government. Did you have such a good fortune back then? Go and change your clothes quickly. The wine and food are ready."

Yu Liang was speechless. Then he thought of the past when he worked hard with the emperor in Guangchengze, and he actually felt a little nostalgic, so he said: "How can a woman know about state affairs? The relationship between me and the emperor, hey!"

Yu Bin followed closely behind.

He is in his twenties and has never been an official before.

He first read various classics at home, then managed several farms at home to accumulate some experience. Then he participated in several discussions, made friends with scholars, and made a name for himself.

In my spare time, I learn calligraphy from my mother.

Madam Xun had profound attainments in calligraphy. It was rumored that she was no worse than Madam Wei. Yu Bin had already acquired 60% to 70% of his mother's calligraphy skills.

Just this month, for some unknown reason, the emperor suddenly appointed him as the magistrate of Caizhou Garden.

Yu Bin did not refuse.

This was not a noble official, but the emperor liked this kind of officials who did practical work. Letting him manage Caizhou was indeed a key training, and he had no reason to refuse.

Besides, he was in his twenties, and it was almost time for him to enter the government. As the eldest son, he had to consider the family, and Caizhou Yuanling was a very good starting point, and Shaofujian Yu Hua was his great-uncle, which could provide him with many conveniences.

This position was tailor-made for me. The emperor was really good to the Yu family, no wonder my father was so devoted to him and wrote countless letters to the palace during his mourning period.

Not long after Yu Bin arrived at the dining hall, Yu Liang changed into a robe, sat down carelessly, and asked casually, "I heard that many businessmen have come to you for favors?"

"Yes." Yu Bin replied.

"What are you going to do with them?"

Yu Bin replied: "Jiangxia and Jingling are very peaceful, and there are not many civilians. Some died during the war, some fled, and some were relocated by the Wu people. Now they are empty and in a mess."

"And if there is no place to collect food when the two armies are fighting, they will have to transport it over long distances, which is not only dangerous but also very wasteful. I think it would be better to encourage merchants to go to Jiangxia, Jingling, and Nanjun to farm, and the food they get can be sold to the court. It doesn't matter if the price is two or three times higher, it is still cheaper than transporting it from Henan. After farming for a few years or ten years, the land can be given to the merchants."

"In this way, the royal army will get food and grass, and the army will not have to worry about food; the court will save expenses, because the transportation from Henan is too expensive; the people will be spared the pain of transportation, which can kill people. This is a win for all three parties. Those lands were originally barren. If the court did not give them to merchants, no one would cultivate them. They would just be left to grow grass. So why hold on to them?"

"When merchants cultivate the land, they must build dams, repair roads, and clear polluted land. If there are more merchants like them, the wild landscape of Jiangxia and Jingling will surely be greatly improved."

"Some say that it is difficult to develop a water-rich country. But buying grain at two or three times the price is not a small amount. In the future, we will give them the land they have cultivated for a long time, which will be a fortune that can be passed down to their descendants. If it is still not enough, we may give them an honorary title, or even let the county officials promote their family status. Some merchants have huge wealth, but their family status is very low, so they will be willing to do it."

"I will offer this proposal. If the emperor agrees, I will recommend these merchants to the emperor. If he disagrees, forget it."

After listening to this, Yu Liang pondered for a long time.

This is indeed an idea. Jiangxia and Jingling counties were indeed destroyed. Tao Kan moved all the people who could be moved to the north bank of the Yangtze River. The rest also suffered heavy casualties, and the population dropped sharply.

Nanjun was slightly better, but also suffered heavy losses.

The ruined Jiangxia, Jingling, Nanjun and Xiangyang were indeed not enough to support the army for a long time. Considering that the counties of Nanyang were also in great deficit, the grain could only be transported from Henan, which was too expensive.

Not to mention two or three times the amount of food, even three or four times is acceptable. After all, the loss on the road is not a small amount.

In addition, the emperor has actually always wanted to develop the Yunmeng Lake. For this reason, he generously stated that the farmland in Jiangxia, Jingling and some counties and towns in Nanjun would not be measured. He should be willing to see merchants come to farm.

To put it bluntly, if someone is willing to pay money in exchange for official positions, family background, and land that can be passed down from generation to generation, then that's fine. As Yu Bin said, in order to make farming more convenient, these people must inevitably transform the local area, and this is what the emperor wants to see.

"Write a letter for your father tonight and take it with you when you leave tomorrow." Yu Liang made a decision and said.

"Yes." Yu Bin was delighted and replied.

There is no need to guess, this letter must be written to the emperor.

(End of this chapter)