In the twelfth lunar month of winter, several heavy snowfalls fell, and the sky and earth were covered in silver.
A group of knights galloped into the city from the east of Huazhou City and entered the Daxingtai Mansion smoothly.
After changing out of his military uniform covered with snow and frost, Yu Wentai washed away the antifreeze grease on his hands and face with warm water in a copper basin, drank a large bowl of warm buttermilk served by the waiter, and then
Let out a long, comfortable breath.
After the Yueyang Parade, he led his troops to the bank of the Yellow River, dispatched troops, inspected defenses, and even secretly crossed the Yellow River to inspect Yubi City in the east of the river.
In the first half of the year, Mangshan was defeated. When the Eastern Dynasty would launch another offensive against Kansai has always been a heavy question on Yuwentai's mind.
This string has been straining in his heart for more than half a year, for fear that his subordinates would be frightened by it, and they did not even dare to reveal it in front of others. Even during the Liyang Grand Parade, they had been paying close attention
Personnel dynamics east of the Yellow River.
The Eastern Dynasty's victory was not easy, especially as Gao Zhongmi, a representative of Hebei's powerful forces, defected to Xitou, which plunged the Eastern Dynasty's personnel into a period of chaos.
After winter, although the border area of Hedong was not very peaceful, small groups of Jihu people mainly distributed in Fenbei were running around, trying to take advantage of the situation. Although they also brought some intrusion to some counties in Hedong, it was not considered a serious problem.
What a big trouble.
As for the Eastern Dynasty itself, there are no signs of large-scale personnel deployment.
However, Yuwentai still personally guarded the banks of the Yellow River. It was not until several heavy snowfalls fell one after another that the weather was no longer suitable for the dispatch of the army. Yuwentai finally breathed a sigh of relief. However, he still ordered his troops to break the ice of the Yellow River along the banks to ensure that the Eastern Dynasty
The army could not cross the ice to invade, so he returned to the city with confidence.
After taking a short rest, Yu Wentai rubbed his face again to dispel his sleepiness, then called the waiter and asked, "Is Su Shangshu at home? Call him to see him."
Not long after, Su Chuo, who also looked tired, was ushered into the hall.
Seeing Da Xingtai dozing off at his desk, Su Chuo ignored the waiter's gesture of shaking his head and waving his hands to signal him to be silent. He went straight in and placed several thick volumes of documents on the desk where Yu Wentai was sitting.
Yu Wentai was startled when he heard the sound, glanced at Su Chuo who was worshiping in front of the case, and said with some embarrassment: "I have returned home not long ago. I am tired from the journey, so I am so neglectful."
"I haven't slept for several days, so I know how it feels. Since your Lord is free, please review a few piles in advance."
Su Chuo stared at a pair of bloodshot and dark eyes, and did not say any polite compliments. He just pointed at the documents on the case and said to Yu Wentai, and picked up an important one and began to read to himself.
Yu Wentai didn't care about these false gifts. He put his hands on his knees and pinched them twice to make himself more awake. After listening to Su Chuo's report, he asked his opinion on the matter and then wrote down instructions.
There was a tacit understanding of how they got along with each other. Several official matters were reported and handed over quickly, and other officials were waiting outside the hall. After the Daxingtai documents were approved, they immediately went into the hall to receive and leave the hall for the issuance.
More than an hour passed like this, and most of the paperwork on the desk had been processed, but soon Su Chuo waved to the outside of the hall again.
Seeing two officials bringing another box full of documents into the hall, Yu Wentai finally couldn't stand it anymore, and the corner of his mouth trembled uncontrollably. Seeing that Su Chuo was obviously much thinner than when they left a month ago, he quickly raised his hand.
Said: "Shang Shu looks very tired, please take a rest first!"
Su Chuo was not impressed by Daxingtai's thoughtfulness. He pointed to the box of documents and said: "This box of criminal documents is urgently awaiting the Lord's review and approval. A month ago, during the general reading, many township groups invaded the countryside, and the bandits
The evil deeds of plunder are heinous, and if the people's resentment cannot be resolved in the past year, I may accumulate resentment even deeper!"
When Yu Wentai heard this, he suddenly felt pain in his head. He grabbed a few volumes and browsed them briefly, and his face suddenly became a little ugly.
Most of these files record evidence of crimes committed by states invading villages during their visits to the villages and leagues. Some of them were just robbing some rations to eat, while some of the more serious ones even included incidents that hurt people's lives.
Although the content seemed a bit shocking, after reading it, Yu Wentai was shocked and angry but also full of helplessness.
"The townships and regiments from all the states have dedicated their lives to the cause, and their ambition and loyalty are commendable. It is a difficult time for the country, and even if the performance is bad, the court should be merciful and not demoralize!"
After Yu Wentai flipped through a few volumes, he saw that the contents were all similar, so he stopped reading and just spoke to Su Chuo in a discussing tone.
"Gongs will be rewarded, crimes will be punished. If the Lord confuses the two purposes for his own purposes, I have nothing to say. However, if the state and county suffer more than a thousand families as a result, I don't know what to say."
Su Chuo cupped his hands, lowered his head and sat down at the table, obviously dissatisfied with Yu Wentai's conciliatory approach.
After hearing this, Yu Wentai also had a troubled look on his face, and after a moment he said: "I'm telling the prefectures and counties that anyone who hurts people or property due to the township corps crossing the border will not be given any miscellaneous lessons other than renting and transferring in the coming year. Anyone involved in this matter will
In the township regiment, the military commander reduced his rank to one rank as a punishment!"
He didn't want to indulge military discipline so much, but if the matter was discussed further, it could not be entirely blamed on the township regiment for violating discipline.
This year's parade was a bit hasty and reluctant from the establishment to the preparation. After the township groups were reunited, the prefectures and counties could not allocate sufficient food, so that many township groups set out on the road with insufficient food. If they did not forage along the way,
I'm afraid that before they even reach Yueyang, their troops will be completely defeated.
He wants to recruit a large number of powerful soldiers to fill the army, but the reserve for traveling in Taiwan is really weak and difficult. If he continues to punish the prisoners rashly, then this year's parade will be held in vain, and it will also expose the difficulty of the national destiny.
fact.
Su Chuo was not completely unkind. Seeing that Daxingtai was silent after explaining the solution, he was obviously in a heavy mood, so he talked about other things: "The affairs of accounting and registering in Jinzhou in Guan Nei are gradually coming to an end.
, there are several states and counties that have achieved gratifying results in household expansion, would your Lord want to hear about it?"
"So fast? Then you really need to listen carefully!"
Yu Wentai, a powerful hero in the world, would never let his mood be occupied by negative emotions for a long time. After hearing this, he quickly cheered up and said with a smile.
The increase in the registered population is the most direct improvement of the national power of the imperial court, and it is also the basis for administration and military use. Yuwentai is naturally extremely concerned about this.
In previous years, the state and county officials were in short supply, which often had to be postponed until the New Year's Eve. Under the urging of Daxingtai's several orders, the states and counties would gradually submit their supplies. Unexpectedly, this year there is still more than half a month before the New Year's Eve, and some states and counties will advance the payment.
Reporting after completing the task is naturally good news.
Seeing this, Su Chuo held up the scroll and read: "Qizhou has compiled 43,600 households..."
"Zheng Daoyong is indeed a talented man from a well-known family and a great official of the country. How many households were registered in Qizhou last year? Thirty-two thousand households. In just one year, the number of registered households has been increased by more than 10,000. This is really... If everyone followed this
Human beings, why worry about not being able to make the country rich and the people prosperous?"
After hearing this first report, Yu Wentai raised his eyebrows and smiled widely. Although he did not like Zheng Daoyong's somewhat complicated and conceited style, he had to admit that this person was indeed shrewd and capable. In just a few years, he
So a small state with only three thousand households was transformed into a large state with tens of thousands of households.
However, what Su Chuo reported next shocked Yu Wentai even more: "Jingzhao County has 66,300 registered households..."
"Wait a minute! Did you pronounce Lingchuo wrong, or did I hear it wrong? How much is it in Jingzhao? How much was it last year?"
When Yu Wentai heard this number, he suddenly felt a little uneasy. He didn't have time to wait for Su Chuo to answer, so he jumped up from the table, grabbed the official document and checked it carefully. After a while, he couldn't hide his surprise and said: "There is something strange, there is...
...Immediately summon Cui Shi to come into the house. No matter how late it is, I will wait for him at the house! In the past, although he was strong-willed, he was also sincere. If he is boasting because he is greedy for position, my law is not in vain!"
Cui Quan was appointed as Jingzhaoyin at the beginning of the year. Less than a year ago, he directly expanded the number of households by more than 20,000. This was very unreasonable in Yu Wentai's view, and he had already concluded that Cui Quan was lying.
"Yue Qianchen has summoned Cui Shiyue to the palace for a confrontation. What he said are all facts, but there is indeed a hidden secret in the matter."
Su Chuo took out a stack of papers from his side and presented them with both hands with a precious look on his face. He had been carrying this stack of papers with him for several days. Every time he took them out and admired them, he was always amazed and his fatigue was reduced a lot.
"The situation in Jingzhao is complicated. It's true that I appointed Cui Shiyue to this position because of his stubbornness. I hope that he can be strong and deal with the chaos quickly. But even if he has such a strong backbone, it will be difficult..."
Yu Wentai was still sighing and angry, but when his eyes fell on the top page of the album handed over by Su Chuo, his voice suddenly stopped, and he held the album in his hand and murmured to himself: "This style..."
"This style of writing is novel, and I have also seen it before. Although the writing style is still scattered, the method of writing ink is very unique."
After Su Chuo heard this, he couldn't help but praise the beauty of the font, and then quickly said: "But this is not the point. Please read the articles carefully, and you will understand why Cui Shiyue expanded his household so quickly."
After hearing this, Yu Wentai flipped through the next page, paused again, and then flipped through it faster and faster, with the look of surprise on his face getting thicker and thicker: "Was this book copied by a special person? That's not right.
The word spacing and strokes are exactly the same. Could it be that Cui Shi made an appointment with him or that his Dongzhou clan members moved to Guanyou to help him..."
Yu Wentai is not unsmart, but his limited knowledge made him unable to guess the key point for a while, and he even had the speculation or fantasy that the entire Boling Cui family would move to Guanzhong to help Cui Tan with his official affairs.
"Cui Shiyue did have a relative from Dongzhou who came to the pass, but it was not a member of his family, just one person. This person's name was Li Boshan, and he returned to Yiyi with Captain Gao. In the middle of the year, I also visited several generals' mansions to view his calligraphy style.
, the memory is still fresh.”
Su Chuo couldn't help but feel a little distressed when he looked at the messy papers that Yu Wentai was flipping through. To others, these papers might seem boring, but in his eyes, they were works of art filled with beauty.
"Li Boshan? I know this son, but what does he have to do with it?"
No matter how busy Yu Wentai is, he will never be forgetful. Hearing this name one after another in a short period of time, it is difficult to ignore it. After hearing what Su Chuo said, the handsome and handsome man from Jingyuan subconsciously appeared in his mind.
Shoot the young general with an arrow to kill the fleeing hare.
"My lord, this son is a great talent! Looking at the simplicity of his fortune, I am ashamed and unable to match him."
Su Chuo first explained the printed document, then picked up a scattered document and smoothed it carefully, and said with emotion.