When we arrived at the main hall, the previous food and wine had already been removed, and they would be replaced with new ones as soon as Li Jing arrived.
Li Jing took over the honors and took the main seat without giving in.
After exchanging pleasantries and drinking two glasses of wine, Li Jing said: "Mr. Zhang is going back to Beijing to report on his duties. Is it a hurry? If not, how about staying in Jiangling for a few more days?"
Zhang Liang was stunned for a moment. He could feel that Li Jing didn't like him very much, but now he wanted to keep him in Jiangling. He definitely didn't want to entertain him well...
When he thought about how Li Jing had killed Xiao Yu with such ease, he had watched the entire process, and like everyone else, he felt cold in his heart.
Moreover, Li Jing killed Liu Hongji, Chai Shao and others in Shu, all of whom were famous figures, which was really scary.
Zhang Liang also killed many people, but when compared with others, all the people he killed were unknown people, not even the slightest bit inferior.
Zhang Liang calmed down and felt much more at ease when he thought of the masters he had served before. Those were all outstanding figures in the world, and Li Jing was far behind...
Well, in fact, there are only three people who can be regarded as his masters. The current emperor and queen, besides Li Mi, others like Wen Yanbo, Chen Xiaoyi, Xue Wanjun, Su Quan, Xu Shiji, Li Jing and others can only be regarded as his superiors.
Zhang Liang sighed inwardly, but with a flattered look on his face, he cupped his hands and said: "It's enough for the governor to call me virtuous and upright. When I was in Jinyang, I served as a Sima in the Han Dynasty and joined the army. At that time, the Queen
In charge of internal affairs, that's what I'm called.
I am not in a hurry to return to the capital. If the Governor has something to do, he can just give me his orders and there is no need to be polite to me."
Li Jing was also a little stunned. Zhang Liang felt right. He really didn't like Zhang Liang very much. After meeting Zhang Liang a few times, he felt that this person had a vicious character.
Zhang Liang's actions in Xiangyang also proved this. In less than a year, seven people were executed. In fact, as far as Li Jing knew, many people were executed here and were not reported to Jiangling.
It's not surprising that everyone in Xiangyang was as scared as a tiger, but no one who came to Jiangling on business dared to say a bad word about Zhang Liang, and no one even complained, which shows how powerful he was.
But having said that, this person's advantages are also very obvious. He managed Xiangyang County well and spared no effort to eradicate banditry, which is quite consistent with Li Jing's political philosophy.
Furthermore, this person was extremely loyal. You could see it when he killed Xiao Mian. He was the first person to stand up and take action.
Killing Xiao Mian is not an easy task. The death of a prince will definitely have many sequelae. It may be detrimental to the reputation of the murderer. Even many years later, he will have to guard against others seeking revenge.
This is the case for Zhou Faming. After he killed Xiao Mian, his reputation in Jiangyou became very bad. While he was recuperating in Jiangling, there were endless curses in the streets and alleys, most of which were very vicious curses.
Even if the people are like this, the old ministers of the Liang Kingdom hate them even more. People who kill their masters are treated like this in this world. No matter what happened before, it will be your fault in the end.
Yu Wenhua and his brothers are a lesson learned from the past. Not only are their heads missing, but they will also be infamy for thousands of years.
Originally, Li Jing planned to let Zhou Faming stay in Jiangling to help him govern the place, but in the end he let him go to Jiangdu with Wang Ze and others because Zhou Faming could no longer stay in Jiangling.
At that moment, Zhang Liang stood up without hesitation, which left a deep impression on Li Jing.
It seems that the emperor's old subordinates all have such characteristics, they are courageous and loyal, and this is true for Yu Chigong, Yu Wenhuo, Zhang Lun and others.
This shows that the king trusts them, and they also trust the king. They have no worries, and the ministers will certainly not be afraid of difficulties and work hard.
……………………
Zhang Liang's answer was not what he expected, but it was mixed with some private information. I have worked under the Queen's throne, and I am not an outsider. You can take it easy.
Warrior Xun glanced at Zhang Liang enviously and stopped talking, but said in his heart that if he had been more calm and not clinging to Li Yuan, he should be no worse than Zhang Liang now...
Li Jing nodded and slightly changed his opinion of Zhang Liang. After all, he was someone his daughter had used, so he was really not an outsider. However, he did not say what it was about, and raised his glass and said: "Since Dezheng is not in a hurry to return to Beijing,
Then stay a few more days and come, I will borrow flowers to offer to the Buddha today and help you two receive the wind and wash away the dust."
The two raised their glasses and drank together. They had already drank a lot, but the taste was far less intense than it was now.
After drinking a glass and sipping the taste, Li Jing said with a smile: "The wine at Wu Shilang's house is indeed unique. The taste is soft and long, but it is not as strong as the wine in Chang'an. We are all from the north. Are you used to drinking it?"
This sentence made the other three people at the table laugh. The warrior Tong said: "They all say that northerners are good drinkers. Only when I came to Jiangling did I know that southerners are not bad at all, but they like to drink slowly and get drunk gradually.
Only then can I splash out the ink.
If the wine they drink is too strong and they get drunk too quickly, they won’t have time to think of words.”
Several people couldn't help laughing. This is really a wonderful person... but it's not nonsense. There is some truth in it. In fact, no matter the north or the south, people drink to be happy. In addition, it is a problem to keep out the cold, so people in the north drink more vigorously.
The better, and over time it will become a habit.
It's just that the people at the table were all northerners, and they were the victors in this war, so what they said was naturally meant to disparage the southerners.
Li Daliang also came to join in the fun, "Northerners are high-spirited and like to sing with their swords and curse the heaven and earth after drinking. Many southerners are well-versed in arts and sciences. They write poems when they are drunk, sad for spring and sad for autumn, and ridicule the past and present. In fact, they are virtuous."
All pretty much the same.
That’s why people say they tell the truth after drinking, and even intelligent people are not exempt from this.”
Everyone nodded one after another, and within a few words, the atmosphere became lively, but the topic was all in Li Jing's hands.
"So wine is a thing that makes people both love and hate it..."
Speaking of this, he couldn't help but think of the time when he ran back to Chang'an from Mayi in embarrassment. While drinking with someone, he lamented the bumpy career and said a few bad words about Li Yuan. The news spread the next day and he was almost killed by Li Yuan.
brain.
Of course, he would never admit that he had said those words, and it was not a good reputation for him to make gaffes while drunk.
"By the way, when you left Xiangyang, had Huang Jingyun already arrived? If so, why didn't he come with you to Jiangling to meet you?"
Huang Jun, whose Chinese name is Jingyun, was born in the Huang family of Jiangxia. He was the son of Huang Cha, a famous general in the late Sui Dynasty. He was considered to be a member of the Jiangnan family.
This man first served Li Mi, then returned to Li Yuan, and followed Li Xiaogong to Shu to serve as the governor of Yizhou. When Li Jing and others led the army into Shu to attack Yizhou, this man defected and surrendered to the Tang Dynasty.
After entering Chang'an, he quickly resumed his service in the Ministry of Civil Affairs, and now he is appointed as the governor of Xiangyang County. Li Jing and Huang Junhan spent some time together in Shu, and he felt that this person was indeed a very talented person.
Zhang Liang didn't know much about Huang Junhan, and didn't care about the grievances this man had with Li Jing. He just replied honestly: "Prefect Huang has arrived in Xiangyang, and Xiaguan set off after handing over to him. When Xiaguan left, Taishou Huang said,
I will come to Jiangling to meet the governor in a few days."
Li Jing nodded and said no more, turned to the warrior Yun and said: "You still need to worry more about money and food this year. The Ministry of Household Registration has been urging you to enter the household registration. It must be sorted out and submitted to the Ministry of Household Affairs within this year.
At the same time, we have to re-measure the acres of land, and how much the annual income of Jingxiang will be next year depends on whether we can complete these things this year. It is related to the contribution of Jiangyou and the people in governing the people, and we cannot ignore it."
The warrior Tong Chengzhu was well aware that he had arrived in Jiangling last winter and had been staying here for almost half a year. He had not been idle. He had visited various counties and already had a good idea in his mind.
"Don't worry, Governor. Our household registration, land acres and other matters here are well documented. Even if last year's war affected this, the discrepancy will not be too big.
The only obstacle is the return of refugees, and some people in Lingnan are disobedient. In this case, when we report it to the Ministry of Household Affairs, it may not be accurate, and it will increase or decrease at any time. Can you please check it first?
Tell the court about our difficulties?"
Li Jing has seen the hard work of the warrior Yu in the past six months. He is very satisfied with his diligence and talent. He even feels that Li Yuan still has some discernment in employing people. The people around him are not all incompetent people like Pei Ji.
Of course, the one who is more discerning is his son-in-law, who can ignore his family background and his past and just appoint him as usual.
"Of course, I think the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Affairs also expected this. It is like this everywhere, not just here in Jiangling.
Furthermore, there were a lot of bad policies in the former Sui Dynasty. I heard that there was an intention to reform the imperial court, so I may have to start with the matter of money and food. If you have any good ideas, you can also write to the imperial court. There is no need to taboo anything."
The warrior Xun was very grateful after hearing this. Such a suggestion was extremely rare for him. It is said that there are people in the court who are easy to be officials. This is the truth. One is promoted and the other is well-informed.
He had been away from Chang'an for half a year. Apart from letters from home, he had no sources of information and knew almost nothing about the trends in Chang'an's officialdom. This was not a good thing for a high-ranking local official.
Being insensitive to political trends means that the chance of making mistakes increases. Perhaps a letter from Chang'an can save him from the worry of being overturned.
"Thank you very much, Commander-in-Chief, for your advice. I would like to express my gratitude to you, Commander-in-Chief."
Li Jing smiled slightly, raised his glass and drank with him. Now he is getting more and more comfortable in winning over people, and his favors are almost without trace. Compared with the Prime Minister of Mayi County who offended people in a confused way in the north, he is already much better.
They are completely different.
It can be seen that these two years of holding a powerful position have really been very training, and now he is no longer afraid of offending others. When he lets go, his sharpness can be said to be fully displayed.
This time, it was Zhang Liang's turn to be a little envious. Working with the abbot would bring many benefits. He couldn't help but think about what the governor would use him for in the future and whether he could create some connections.
He had been honest in Xiangyang for more than half a year and did not get close to Li Jing. Now he felt that it was a bit of a mistake.
There was no way he could do it. He was so frightened by Li Jing's daring behavior that he just wanted to hide away... The same goes for Yu Chigong. I heard that he hadn't been to Jiangling much after going to Jiangxia. He was probably afraid of being bullied.
The governor was buried in the pit...
This chapter has been completed!