"Kou Wei, the co-prefect of Ishikawa Prefecture, please see the prefect."
"Ishikawa Prefecture's general judge Yang Shuo, see the magistrate."
"The Lord of Ishikawa Palace, Bo Zhou Muhan, comes to see the magistrate."
"Ishikawa Prefecture Governor Wang Xuansong, please see the Governor."
"Ishikawa Prefecture Sima Zhao Yang, see the prefect."
"He Songnian, the recommended official of Ishikawa Prefecture, meets the magistrate."
"Zhang Huaimin, the academic official of Ishikawa Prefecture, meets the prefect..."
All the officials of Ishikawa Prefecture walked into the prefectural lobby and greeted Wang Xu one after another.
Wang Xu nodded in response. In terms of age alone, these people were ten or twenty years older than him. Among them, the oldest fellow student, Kou Wei, looked like he could be his grandfather.
It's just that there is no priority in learning, and the master is the teacher.
Facing Wang Xu, who was born as a scholar and became a great scholar at a young age, these subordinates did not dare to look down upon him.
"sit down..."
Wang Xu waved his hands to everyone, then looked at the officials standing behind everyone, and said: "You also sit down."
"Thank you, sir!"
Everyone took their seats one after another, arranged in order of rank.
When everyone sat down, Wang Xu waved the officers to leave, and then he said: "Who am I? I believe you have already expected it after hearing the name. Thanks to the emperor for not giving up, I have been appointed as the prefect of Ishikawa.
As a government official, of course I can’t let the emperor down, don’t you think so?”
After looking at the people on the left and right, Kou Wei, who was a colleague, was the first to stand up and responded: "What your lord is saying is that now that the White Lotus Rebellion has just been put down, everything is waiting to be done, and a knowledgeable person like your lord is needed to take charge.
."
"Yes, yes, Master Kou is really a wise man in planning for the country." After hearing Kou Wei's words, all the officers present nodded in agreement.
Wang Xu saw this, nodded with a smile, and said: "You are all capable ministers in the world, and with your concerted efforts, the small Ishikawa Prefecture is certainly not a problem. However, the first thing I want to say next is not to resume border trade.
, it’s not about how to rectify the people’s hearts, but about training troops.”
"Training troops?" Everyone looked at each other, waiting for Wang Xu's next words.
Wang Xu did not delay, and said: "The White Lotus Rebellion corrupted the two states, and it took a long time to pacify it. To this day, the soldiers in our Jiaozhou area were either defeated by the White Lotus Rebellion during the uprising, or they were randomly defeated by the White Lotus Rebellion.
We rebelled together with the White Lotus Sect. At present, the Jiangnan camp is about to be dismantled, and the soldiers and horses are returning to various states and governments. The city defense work in Jiaozhou still needs to be done by ourselves.
I came down this time with His Majesty's imperial edict. In addition to taking charge of the people's livelihood in the government, I also have the important task of training new troops for Jiaozhou.
As expected, in a few days, the generals from the Ministry of War will arrive, and they will definitely have to train troops by then."
Wang Xu said cheerfully, and did not tell these people at all that the purpose of training troops was for the barbarians, and it was just an excuse to protect Jiaozhou.
Everyone's thoughts changed after hearing this. Although they couldn't figure out why all the troops in Jiaozhou were organized and trained in Ishikawa Prefecture, they also thought it was a good thing.
You have to eat and drink for military training, and the Ministry of Revenue has to allocate funds.
The soldiers who will be transferred to the state are trained in Ishikawa Prefecture, so the resources will naturally be tilted. At present, Ishikawa Prefecture is full of waste and needs to be renovated. Being able to get an additional allocation will undoubtedly greatly alleviate the financial pressure.
Seeing that there was no objection from everyone, Wang Xu added: "In the next few days, military pay and food from the imperial court will be delivered. Mr. Zhou will be responsible for handing over and sorting out the accounts and storing them in the treasury. In addition, soldiers will be recruited from various governments and sent to them in one go."
Come to Ishikawa Prefecture, Mr. Zhao, as the city commander and in charge of military affairs, you should work harder if you are able."
"Don't worry, sir..."
Lord Bo Zhou Muhan stood up and held up his hands, solemnly saying: "I will definitely check the imperial court's food, fodder and military pay, one by one, to ensure that there is nothing wrong with it."
When Zhao Yang saw this, he stood up and came out of the queue, saying, "Don't worry, sir, leave the camps, training ground, and equipment needed for the soldiers and horses to me."
"very good!"
After talking about military training, Wang Xu nodded with satisfaction, looked at Kou Wei who was sitting on his left, and said: "Master Kou, please go and count how many capable merchants there are in Ishikawa Mansion.
In five days, I will host a banquet with these people and discuss with them the border trade. At present, the White Lotus Rebellion has subsided, and the barbarians have stopped their little tricks. If the border market is closed again, it will not only be a loss for the barbarians, but also for our Ishikawa Prefecture.
Financial losses.”
Ishikawa Prefecture looks inconspicuous, but because it borders the barbarians and has the innate conditions for cross-border trade, it has been making a lot of money.
It is no exaggeration to say that the people of Ishikawa Prefecture rely on cross-border trade to support themselves, and 99% of their fiscal revenue comes from this.
"Sir, can you give me a few more days of grace? The chaos is brewing right now, and many merchants who have fled have not returned yet. I'm afraid it won't be possible to open the border market at this time." Covey touched the beard on his chin and said worriedly.
After hearing this, Wang Xu pondered for a moment, shook his head and said: "There is no need to wait for them. Since these people abandoned the city and fled, it means that these people are just grasshoppers. Those merchants who did not leave are the ones who are of the same mind as the people and are worthy of big responsibilities."
A conscientious businessman.
As for the size, this is not a problem. With our support and the support of the barbarians, it is not easy to make the business bigger.
The territory of the barbarians is rich in mountains, forests, rivers, and not much else. It has all kinds of medicinal materials and furs. In the past few years, the border markets have been closed, and the barbarians have accumulated an unknown amount of inventory, which they exchange for salt, cloth, spices, and fine wine.
It’s a huge profit tenfold every time you go back and forth, so it’s not difficult to grow bigger.”
"Isn't this inappropriate?"
Covey wanted to say something more, but even the officials present looked strange.
Wang Xu felt something in his heart, looked at everyone's expressions, and whispered: "Are you adults worried that without those big merchants, there will be less filial piety and less tax revenue?"
"Well..."
Everyone looked at each other, wondering whether they should accept this statement.
Wang Xu didn't take it seriously and said: "Don't worry about this. As long as the market is there, there will be no shortage of businessmen who want to do business. The rules are still the same as before. I think compared with those who dominate people's trade and eat the marrow and know the taste,
Big businessmen and newly supported small businessmen are more likely to be controlled by us.
All the adults present must have read my new work.
If you have read it, you should understand that the Confucian philosophy I advocate is to cultivate one's moral character, regulate one's family, govern the country, and bring peace to the world.
This Qi family is still in charge of the country, so how can it block everyone's way of making money, don't you think so?"
When everyone heard this, they felt a little relieved.
We rely on mountains to eat mountains, and we rely on water to drink water. We rely on border trade, and of course we also make a living from this.
As long as everything remains as usual and their money is indispensable, they do not consider who will trade with the barbarians.
After all, what Wang Xu said makes sense. Those big businessmen with huge wealth are not so easy to control because they have great hands and eyes.
The White Lotus Sect uprising shattered the original interests, and after the interests were redistributed, the new small businessmen who came to power were still not at their mercy.
After chatting and laughing and discussing some trivial matters, the matter was finally concluded.
In the blink of an eye, three days passed.
People from the Ministry of War came, including two generals who were from the Forbidden Army and were posted to the Ministry of War. They were accompanied by twelve generals who assisted in military training, and hundreds of lieutenants from the Central Military Academy.
Wang Xu warmly received these people. Two of the generals were from famous families. One was Qin Yun and the other was Qin Wu. They were descendants of the Qin family, whose ancestors were the famous Wu War God Qin Shubao.
It goes without saying that these two people represent the eyes of today's emperor.
Wang Xu didn't care about this. Before Dong Zhongshu only respected Confucianism, there were still situations where warriors led troops into battle.
After only respecting Confucianism, it has become the consensus of the world that warriors can only serve as vanguard generals and cannot be commanders.
He doesn't need to worry about whether he will be deprived of his position as commander if he appoints these two as his deputies. If today's emperor has this idea, the Confucianists will definitely force him to abdicate and imprison him for life, so these two people are here to monitor him.
All we can do is monitor him.
Wang Xu has no intention of rebelling, and is not afraid of surveillance at all. As long as the two of them have real abilities, he will not only use them, but also make great use of them.
"Qin Yun, Qin Wu, do these people you brought know how to train troops?"
"When we return to the Governor, the brothers who came with us are all good men in the Forbidden Army. They are skilled in bow and horse, and have good knowledge of military arts, battle formations, and strategies."
Facing Wang Xu's questions, Qin Yun and Qin Wu were full of confidence.
Wang Xu liked this kind of confident people and said: "The soldiers I want to train are not ordinary soldiers, but elites who are familiar with rear operations and special operations. I have a training manual here. When training, you must follow it.
Just practice this, and if you don’t understand, come back and ask me.”
The land of the Southern Barbarians is mountainous, forested, and full of rivers, making it difficult for large groups of troops to deploy.
In contrast, small troops of less than 100,000 people are the main force in fighting against the barbarians. As long as they do not encounter large tribes, it is difficult for small and medium-sized tribes in the millions of barbarian mountains to withstand the 100,000 elite soldiers of the human race.
In Wang Xu's mind, his soldiers should focus on special operations, harassing, burning food, outflanking, and running long distances, just like Huo Qubing who led tens of thousands of soldiers and horses to fight against the exhausted monsters.
As long as the enemy is crippled, exhausted, and exhausted, the Central Army will naturally press forward.
On the other hand, if it were a head-to-head fight, his half a million people would be a drop in the bucket. If he could barely defeat two or three large tribes, he would have to injure the enemy by 1,000 and lose 800 to himself, and he would have to withdraw from the battlefield.