In the afternoon, Liu Zhiyuan, the nearest magistrate of Jiezhou, heard the news and came out with 1,500 soldiers to investigate the situation. Seeing that his immediate boss Fan Zhongyan was actually here, he was immediately frightened.
Fan Zhongyan was indeed very dissatisfied. Yingzui Cliff was more than 30 miles southwest of Jiezhou and was under the jurisdiction of Jiezhou. Liu Zhiyuan, who was beaten so darkly, had no idea about it until then. However, Fan Zhongyan also understood that Liu Zhiyuan
The reason is that there are not many soldiers and horses in the rear state capital, and most of the soldiers and horses in Jiezhou are transferred to the frontline state capital. The total number of troops in Jiezhou does not exceed 2,000, and this number includes the patrols and inspections by the government officials.
As the state capital in the rear, it could only defend itself. Even if enemy cavalry appeared in the hinterland, it would not dare to engage in battle. What's more, he was not notified of the battle at all. Without knowing the truth, he
Naturally, the safety of Jiezhou must be the first consideration.
After a few casual scoldings, Fan Zhongyan invited Su Jin to accompany him to Jiezhou to rest for a night and wait for the troops who were going to the rear to escort the supplies. The supplies were stored at the mountain pass just after entering Yongxing Military Road, and it would take a long time to transport them here.
It won't arrive until midnight.
That night, Liu Zhiyuan, the prefect of Jiezhou, hosted a banquet in honor of Fan Zhongyan, Su Jin and others. During the dinner, Su Jin humbly asked about the situation in the northwest and what he should do after going to Weizhou. Fan Zhongyan did not hold back, giving Su Jin detailed instructions and telling him the important things.
Su Jin benefited a lot from the tasks and taboos.
What Fan Zhongyan said was very pertinent. He first warned Su Jin not to think that coming here to be the prefect was a good job. Not to mention the lack of supplies in border towns and the hardship of life, the most important thing was to tighten his nerves and keep an eye on the enemy's movements every day.
Just for defense, it is enough to make people exhausted.
"Defense is the top priority. Although the current situation is stable, the stability is actually only because the Western bandits have not found a chance to fight me decisively. The strategy of solid counterattack with strong walls and clear fields advocated by me is to avoid a head-on confrontation with the Western bandits;
It is true that some people in the court criticized me for being "cowardly" and "fearful of the enemy". Some people scolded me behind my back. They just said that I did not dare to fight the enemy and was acting like a coward. But these people don't know the depth of the matter.
Ignore them all."
Su Jin nodded and said: "Fan Gong, please don't be moved by the villain's words. Although the lower official is still young and has little knowledge, he also knows that Fan Gong is making a strategy based on local conditions. The Western bandit cavalry is strong and Jiezhou is north of Qinzhou.
Most of it is deserted and flat sand. To fight against it with infantry on such terrain is to seek destruction. If we in the Song Dynasty had a hundred thousand cavalry, how could we be afraid of the Western bandit cavalry? We would have defeated the bandit bandits in one fell swoop."
Fan Zhongyan has a deep sense of knowing and getting closer to Su Jin. Although the northwest states currently follow his countermeasures, except for Han Qi who is in Qinzhou, few people understand his strategic intentions from the bottom of their hearts.
Su Jin's ability to say such words shows that he has superior vision.
His goodwill increased, and his words became more heartfelt: "Defense is the first priority, remember this matter; Wang Yan of Weizhou is about to be transferred back to Beijing, and you will take over his position. There are currently nearly four soldiers in the Weizhou garrison.
Thousands, plus the miscellaneous armed forces under the jurisdiction of the state capital, 43,000 to 4,000 people are more than enough, but Weizhou is the forefront, and the defense of this mere 40,000 soldiers and horses is insufficient, so don't even think about attacking; besides, the military supplies
Supplies are also in short supply, and there is a shortage of hundreds of thousands of arrows alone. Think about how distressing it is to have a bow but no arrows, and to see the Western thieves wandering in front of you."
Su Jin was dumbfounded. He didn't expect that even the small arrows were not enough. What kind of battle could he fight? No wonder he always lost.
"What happened to the imperial court? Military supplies are insufficient and logistics cannot keep up. How can we fight?"
"Mr. Su, the imperial court also has difficulties. I heard that you took the lead in handling the food affairs last year. You should know the financial situation of the imperial court. The imperial court is empty, with empty warehouses and shortage of materials. It is enough to guarantee the quota supply to the front line every year.
It’s the emperor’s favor. Alas! Natural disasters are easy to eliminate but hard to eliminate. The government’s policies are inappropriate, wasteful and corrupt. If the corruption is not cured, what if the weather is good? We will still be struggling to make ends meet, which is really worrying.”
Su Jin did not dare to intervene, because he knew that Mr. Fan would soon go to reform, and was slandered by everyone. As far as Su Jin was concerned, there was nothing wrong with the reform, but Fan Zhongyan was too radical, and even suddenly caused everyone to besiege him.
, leading to the failure of the reform; judging from the information revealed in Fan Zhongyan's words so far, he already has the idea of reform, and it is very urgent.
Fan Zhongyan consciously made a mistake. He usually kept such harsh words in his heart and never revealed them, but for some reason, he revealed them in front of Su Jin today.
Fan Zhongyan picked up the tea cup and took a sip, then slowly said: "After defense comes internal affairs. The imperial court's policy of prohibiting the inward migration of border people is right. Border people going to the hinterland in large numbers will not only breed banditry, but more importantly,
It is a blow to people's hearts, but so many people stay in the local area, and they cannot farm outside the city, so they can only be brought into the city. The difficulty of internal affairs can be seen. In Yanzhou City where I am, there are more than 150,000 soldiers and civilians, and every day
Feeding so many stomachs is a big deal, not to mention that the city is crowded and chaotic, with robberies, fights, and murders happening all the time. To guard against foreign enemies, we also need to guard against internal troubles. It can be said that everything is very tiring and tiring."
The beautiful blueprint in Su Jin's heart was torn apart one by one by Fan Zhongyan. She thought that when she came to be the prefect of Weizhou, she would be the Supreme Emperor of Mu Shou. Every day might be busy, but not sad, but after Fan Zhongyan reminded her,
Immediately, a picture was drawn in his mind of a scene where thieves were rampant, public order was chaotic, and everyone was uneasy.
Fan Zhongyan said seriously: "I am not an alarmist. If you go to Weizhou, you will know that what I say is true. For you, there is an even more difficult thing, which is interpersonal communication; Wang Yan is originally from Jingyuan.
Lu Jingluo appeased the envoys. He knew that Weizhou did not need to consider these things, because the envoys had the authority to command the headquarters and deploy the horse and infantry troops under their jurisdiction. However, Zhizhou did not have the right to mobilize the troops and horses deployed by the capital.
Quan, so I'm afraid you can't mobilize any of Weizhou's 40,000 horses, so this is the biggest problem for you; even if Wang Yan resigns and returns to Beijing, someone else will take over the post of Jingyuan Road Envoy. The problem
The same exists, so if you want to run Weizhou well, you must have a good relationship with Lu Shidububu and others, otherwise you will never make any achievements."
Su Jin's heart felt cold. It turned out that he was not going to be the Supreme Emperor, but was going to be the emperor. It was fine if he didn't understand. Zhao Zhen was so damn unreasonable. He was given a state governor but not military power. What the hell was he doing?
"It's okay if I don't have military power. At the worst, I won't care about fighting against the Western bandits. Who cares about who cares? I'll just mess around." Su Jinyan said insincerely.
Fan Zhongyan chuckled and said, "What you said is easy. Something went wrong in Weizhou. I am the first to question you, the governor of the state. Furthermore, when I send you to Weizhou as a pastoral guard, do you think I am asking you to mess around?"
Su Jin spread his hands and said: "I don't have any rights, how can I do anything? I can only mess around."
Fan Zhongyan said: "How can something be accomplished if it is not difficult? Can you accomplish anything in the world with just a few moves? What is accomplished easily is not called ability. What is accomplished if you can accomplish something under heavy pressure and constraints?"
A capable official. When the emperor sent you to Weizhou, he must have thought that you had this ability. The northwest is not a place where mediocrity can hang out. Since Yan Sansi let you come to the northwest, he must have thought that you are qualified. Otherwise, Yan
The influence of the Three Divisions can probably keep you as an official in the capital and lead a peaceful life. I guess there is also a sense of experience and tempering involved."
Su Jinxin said: "This does not mean that having money to buy things is not a skill, but being able to buy things without money is a skill. Isn't this the logic of a bandit?"
"Actually, this is also the hard work of the Emperor and Yan Sansi. Let's say something privately. If you have heard it, you will count. Either you will become a hero or a coward in the northwest. If it is a good piece of material, just roll around in the northwest.
The qualifications go straight to the center, and those who are flashy and unrealistic will immediately show their true colors when they come here. Mr. Su is just a young man. If he can do some deeds, he will definitely be able to join the center and rule the world in the future. Even if he is Xia Song Pangji and his ilk, I despise it.
As a person, none of them is a well-known figure. They are all capable and thoughtful people. Each has his own ability, so he can be transferred to the central government to hold important positions."
Su Jin originally wanted to retort: What about you? But then he thought, history has proved that it won't be long before Fan Zhongyan and Han Qi will promote the central government to serve as prime ministers. This just verifies Fan Zhongyan's statement.
Su Jin thought for a while and said: "Mr. Fan, I have learned a lesson. I take back what I said about being a bastard. At the same time, I would like to ask Mr. Fan to put in a few good words for me. This trapping of Li Ningming is a great achievement.
Can you please allow the emperor to appoint me as the envoy of Jingyuan Road so that I can do my best?"
Fan Zhongyan shook his head and said: "The position of road envoy must be held for three years or more as governor of the state before it can be granted. I'm afraid the emperor will not agree."
Su Jin said frustratedly: "Is there any workaround?"
Fan Zhongyan said: "How to adapt?"
Su Jin said: "If we don't send a new envoy to take over Lord Wang's duties for the time being, wouldn't it mean that no one will restrain me?"
Fan Zhongyan thought for a while and said: "This is possible, but the generals deployed are not easy to deal with. Speaking of which, they are not under your command. You may not be able to command them."
Su Jin said: "As long as they can't control me, it will be fine. I have my own way to control them."
Fan Zhongyan said in astonishment: "Can you control them? How?"
Su Jin blinked and said, "The mountain man has his own clever plan."
Fan Zhongyan said: "You are not allowed to act recklessly. Yan Sansi wrote to me and Han Shuai, asking us to keep an eye on you."
Su Jin scratched his head and said, "Do you think I am a random person?"
Fan Zhongyan looked at Su Jin for a long time and said calmly: "It looks like, very similar."