In the main hall, Zhang Yue stayed behind to play.
For a courtier, without WeChat or a phone call, the more times he can stay in person to play the tune, the more the emperor values him.
The official lay on the imperial couch and said: "According to He Guan's report, the Sichuan plains in Lanzhou are wide and flat, and the soil is very beautiful. There are tens of thousands of Qiang people there who cultivate and hoe. The fields are beautiful and suitable for crops, and the soil is fertile enough to support the crops."
Border soldiers.
The imperial court gave people two hectares of land and recruited strong wanderers from Shaanxi to farm and herd as archers.
In this way, the imperial court's farmland could extend from Taozhou to the banks of the Yellow River."
Looking at the smiles on the officials' faces, Zhang Yue said: "Your Majesty, with one more acre of farmland in the border areas, the court can save at least three measures of military rations."
"On the other hand, the land along the Yanyan Road is all desolate. Even so, after decades of cultivation, there is no idle land in the border areas.
"The same is true for Huanqing Road. There is no idle land at all. The last time Yu Chong reported that there were idle fields, His Majesty was very shocked and said that if the fields were deserted, how could they not be cultivated? Later, it was confirmed that there were no idle fields."
"In addition, as reported by the Hedong Transportation Department, the reclamation of Linfu Road over the years has not been worth the gain."
"Over the years, Xixia has repeatedly invaded and disturbed the cultivated fields. If these three groups continue to recruit archers from the abandoned fields, they will no longer be able to do so."
"On the other hand, after Xihe Road took Lanzhou, it was surrounded by big rivers. Xixia wanted to go south to invade and cultivate, but it couldn't."
The most important thing Zhang Yue said was to once again emphasize the importance of Xihe Road.
You must know that even though Zhong'e left, there were still many generals such as Guo Kui who still advocated the plan of sending troops from Fuyan Road and Hedong Road to capture Hengshan.
Therefore, Zhang Yue must continue to have the right to speak in the attack on Xia in front of the emperor.
Faced with Zhang Yue's advice, the officials had to admit: "Your original suggestion was to take Hehuang first, not only to cut off the right wing of Xixia, but also to cultivate fields in Xihe. Now we can expand Lanzhou and raise an army of 100,000 without any worries."
Zhang Yue said: "Among the roads in the margin, apart from Xihe Road, only Jingyuan Road and Qinfeng Road have considerable farmland."
“Before the Dao period, before Li Jiqian besieged Lingzhou, the imperial court transported grain to Lingzhou along the Jinghe River Valley from Guanzhong, Pizhou, and Huanzhou.”
"Because the grain road was difficult, the imperial court set up farming on Jingyuan Road. If they wanted to attack Lingzhou, they had to go out of Jingyuan Road."
“Whether Xihe Road is the main one and Jingyuan Road is the supplement, or whether Jingyuan Road is the main one and Xihe Road is the supplement, there is still a trade-off.”
"But you can't leave Hengshan."
The official smiled and said: "I still remember that you repeatedly opposed my attack on Xia, but now I no longer object."
Zhang Yue said: "I opposed the use of troops against Xia before because I did not think carefully and did not do anything that I was not sure about. Now that the big policy has been decided, I will never go back!"
When the officials heard this, they felt as if they had taken a reassurance.
The king and his ministers had different opinions before, but now they finally reached a complete agreement.
"Axi has been in Mingsha City for a month now!"
Seeing the official say this, Zhang Yue immediately sighed. The official actually called Zhang Zhi by his nickname in front of him.
Zhang Yue said: "Your Majesty, Yu Chong has led an army of 30,000 out of Weizhou. Han Zhen, the privy envoy, has reported that Cai Yanqing, the envoy of Qinfeng Road, will lead his army out of Weizhou to guard against the Xixia general Liang Yongneng and to ensure the safety of the Huanqing Road.
.”
"And Shen Kuo and Li Xian have also left the Huluchuan camp and led their troops to capture Xiaoguan and other places."
"I told Han Zhen to let them do what they can. If they can save, they will save. If they can't, then the whole army will defend the ground first."
The official said: "I know that you are in a dilemma between the country and your personal affairs. If Axi had not been cut off at the foot of Mingsha City, the tens of thousands of troops on the Jingyuan Road would have hardly survived."
"If he can be safe and sound, I can forget about it."
Zhang Yue said: "I thank your Majesty for your kindness on behalf of my nephew. I dare not show favoritism. Mingsha City is not a pity, but the soldiers under Zhang Zhi's command are all brave soldiers after hundreds of battles for the rest of their lives."
The official said with emotion: "I have been on the throne for many years, and it is inevitable that I will have a soft heart for my old friends. I have no choice but to do so in this position."
He knew the official's intentions. Mingsha City had been besieged for so many days, and Zhang Zhi was afraid that there would be more misfortune, so he was willing to use it as a favor.
As for the friendship with Zhang Zhi, Zhang Yue wonders if His Majesty has considered it.
But ordinary people are always very simple and have wishful thinking.
Zhang Yue remembers a saying that if you have a childhood friend or a good friend who crosses the social class and reaches a level that you can't even look up to, what should you do?
There is a saying that goes like this, except for reminiscing about old times, don’t contact him on a daily basis, send a message to greet him during the holidays, and wait until one day you encounter a difficult and very important matter and want to ask him for help, then go to him.
And this favor can only be used once, and you two will never owe each other anything in the future.
Of course not everyone is like this, but most of them are just common people's good wishes.
Zhang Zhi served as the military envoy of Xihe Road at a young age, and the officials treated him well.
Thinking of Zhang Zhi, Zhang Yue felt a little depressed, but for the whole country's major events, Zhang Zhi and Mingsha City seemed so insignificant.
This was not the main content of the discussion between Zhang Yue and the Emperor.
After Zhang Yue let the officials rest, he walked out of the main hall and returned to the Zhongshu Television Hall.
Cai Bian said to Zhang Yue: "Prime Minister, this is drafted by the lower officials."
"Since the first year of Xining, the imperial court has occupied the fields of Tongyuan Army. This place has become the source of money and food on Xihe Road. The number of households has been reduced to 300,000. If the army is not controlled properly, it should be upgraded to a prefecture.
, it is proposed to be named Gongzhou."
"This time when the imperial court captured Tiandu Mountain, Li Yuanhao built seven halls here as a palace. It was rich in water and grass and could control more than 100,000 Tibetan people. It was planned to establish a state here, under the control of Qin Feng Road, and the name of the state was proposed to be Xi'an Prefecture.
"
"In addition, Shen Kuo built Pingxia City and entered Huluchuan here. He planned to set up an army here and return to Jingyuan Road to control it. He planned to name the army Huaide Army."
After Cai Bian finished speaking, he looked at Zhang Yue. Although Zhang Yue was in a bad mood, he still said: "In this way, the front lines of Jingyuan Road, Qinfeng Road, and Xihe Road have advanced dozens of miles towards Dangxiang."
"Although the army was defeated this time, the victory of Lanzhou, Xi'an, and Huaide's army can be regarded as an explanation to the world."
"You mean well!"
Zhang Yue didn't look happy after he finished speaking.
Hearing this, Cai Bian lowered his head and said: "Prime Minister, Mingsha City has done its best, and now it depends on fate."
Zhang Yue smiled bitterly when he heard this and thought again.
Cai Bian is indeed talented.
The Tongyuan Army was promoted to a state, its status was also improved, and it had more resources to dispatch.
Official rewards also come from a source.
The same is true for Huaide Army in Xi'an Prefecture.
Regardless of whether a state or an army is inconspicuous, the following are all "organizations".
With the establishment, meritorious officials can be properly rewarded. For officers along the way, there will be more resources in their hands.
When Zhang Yue captured Xihe Road, many of the officials who followed him were promoted and made fortunes.
This is a real shortage, not an empty position where people are promoted to official positions and paid without being dispatched.
Tongyuan Army was upgraded to a state, and a Lanzhou was added. The Xihe Road soldiers who followed Li Xian and Zhang Zhi were very happy.
Of course, the Qinfeng Road had meritorious service in transporting grain for many years, so it was given to Xi'an Prefecture. Shen Kuo's Jingyuan Road also had meritorious service, and although it was not a small improvement, it was compensated by the Huaide Army.
Once you have a territory, you will have soldiers, financial resources, and personnel rights. In the final analysis, "organization" depends on resources.
Zhang Yue said to Cai Bian: "From now on, all officials in Lanzhou, Xi'an, and the Dehuai Army will be appointed by the envoys who recommend them. If the imperial court has no other arrangements, officials will not be transferred from elsewhere."
The power of appointing officials is still returned to the imperial court, but who to appoint is decided by the Zhizhi envoy and the military envoy.
There is ‘organization’ and motivation.
If you don't give people promotions, who will work hard for you?
Of course, this will undoubtedly lead to the "vassalization" that the emperor was worried about. It is instinct for the superiors to be suspicious, but when employing people, you must dare to delegate power. If Chongzhen does not understand the details, the country will perish, and power is still firmly in his hands.
At this moment, Zhang Yue's heart felt like a stone was weighing down on him. He had never been like this since he became the Prime Minister.
He said to Cai Bian: "Yuandu, come with me to travel incognito!"
…
Zhang Yue and Cai Bian went to the teahouse on Ma Xing Street to drink tea.
The tea doctor here makes good tea, and there are many scholars here, and they often discuss current affairs.
Zhang Yue often came to this teahouse to rest and listen to the people's sentiments. Therefore, he reserved the elegant room of this teahouse all year round and went to this teahouse to drink tea when he was tired.
However, there are many "impassioned" speeches from scholars.
Some people say that the defeat of the Song army in the northwest was all due to the willful use of the Tibetan army. They did not use the Han army to protect the country and pinned their hopes for Pingxia on the Tibetan army. This is like a son failing the imperial examination.
, the father asked the gunman to take the exam for himself,
It's really ridiculous.
Zhang Yue couldn't help but laugh out loud and said to Cai Bian: "Let me find out who this person is?"
After hearing the order to inquire, Cai Bian returned from his private room and reported to Zhang Yue: "This man is half the Prime Minister's hometown, a native of Yanping, and his surname is Huang Mingshang."
Zhang Yue smiled and shook his head when he heard the name.
Cai Bian asked: "Has the Prime Minister heard of this person's name?"
Zhang Yue said: "I have heard a little bit. I heard that this person is familiar with Taoism."
After hearing this, Cai Bian invited a man in his thirties to come in.
There are so many dignitaries in the capital. When Huang Shang entered the elegant room, he knew that this person must be extraordinary, but he was not surprised or afraid.
Zhang Yue looked at the other person and saw a few patches on his clothes. He smiled and said, "I just listened to what you said, and I have a lot of insights."
Huang Shang said: "I don't dare to accept it. I wonder what Huang Shang will learn from the high official's invitation."
Zhang Yue said: "I don't dare to accept my advice. I heard you talk well, so why don't you just sit down and have a chat."
Huang Shang was a generous man and immediately said: "It is better to obey orders than to be respectful!"
Now the three of them sat down and chatted, and they were having a good time.
After talking for an hour, Huang Shang stood up and said goodbye. Zhang Yue smiled and said, "That's fine. Wherever Sheng Zhong lives, I'll take you back!"
Immediately, Zhang Yue and Cai Bian sent Huang Shang back to his residence with carriages and horses.
Huang Shang's residence was quite shabby, so he said to Zhang Yue, "Farewell!"
Zhang Yue said: "Wait!"
After saying this, Zhang Yue asked Peng Jingyi to take out a dozen gold beads and give them to Huang Shang and said: "Sheng Zhong, living in the capital is not easy. You have to spend money on food, clothing, housing and transportation. I hope you will accept a small gift."
When Huang Shang saw this, he said: "I don't know if there is anything worthy of Zhang Guan's respect for this humble scholar. I dare not accept such a generous gift."
Zhang Yue and Cai Bian looked at each other and smiled.
Zhang Yue said with a smile: "Sheng Zhongduo worried, since you and I are fellow townsmen, and we have the friendship of meeting each other today, there is no need to see each other outside."
"Besides, these golden beads are not worth mentioning to me today, but they can be of great help to you, so why not do them."
