Xiao Weisong, the chief shopkeeper of Kendeji, is a resourceful person. He has rich business experience. He is from Jiangxi and has many connections in the Handong area.
Nowadays, only one-third of the Huguang army's intelligence investigation, commercial circulation, shop management, and external sales of trophies are handled by the red team, and the remaining two-thirds are almost all handled by Kendeji. .
Recently, Li Laiheng forced the jute gentry to use land interest to invest in the industry and commerce run by the army, and implemented a public-private partnership policy. Most of the public-private partnership industries were managed by Ken Deji, and Xiao Weisong also gained huge real power.
But after all, his energy is limited and he cannot handle all aspects and so many details personally, and the business affairs of Kendeji have relatively high professional requirements, and not ordinary veterans can be competent after a short period of training. Therefore, Xiao Wei Songcai suggested to Li Laiheng that he recruit a group of people who could read and write from various prefectures in Huguang to help assist in the affairs of Kendeji. This is how Gu Junen, a student in Huguang, entered the system of Kendeji.
Gu Junen's main job now is to attract refugees and resettle farmers and mulberry trees in the area bordering Suizhou, Nanyang Prefecture and Runing Prefecture. He has little power but a lot of affairs. In addition, Gu Junen is conceited about his talent. How can he be willing to do this? The position of a minor official? He wanted to make great achievements so that he could get a rapid promotion in Li Laiheng's system, so he racked his brains to find out the spies of the government and army among the refugees from the north.
I never thought that a big fish like Xie Zheng would be discovered before the spy was caught.
Xie Zheng himself is not very strange, but in Gu Junen's view, Xie Zheng went south to Suizhou to watch Li Laiheng's policies, which shows the inner vacillation of the Chu and Henan scholars. It just so happens that the Huguang Army's stall is getting bigger and bigger. Whether it is the camp system, the school system, or the Kendeji business system, there is a lack of manpower everywhere, and the most important thing is the lack of people who can read and write.
If Gu Junen can recruit a lot of scribes for Li Laiheng, will he still worry about being promoted quickly?
Gu Junen was wild and unrestrained, and would do whatever he thought of. He immediately pulled Xie Zheng and several other scribes from the north together, and instigated them to write a letter to Li Laiheng, asking Li Laiheng to "open a subject to obtain scholars" in Suizhou. ”.
Since ancient times, it has been the power of the imperial court only to open the imperial examination. Whoever can open the imperial examination can win the hearts of the scholars. Now even Li Zicheng has occupied most of Henan and has not yet opened the imperial examination. Li Laiheng suddenly opened the imperial examination. Isn't it wrong? Disloyal?
However, according to Gu Junen's observation during this period, Li Laiheng, when he was establishing a government in Suizhou during the festival, he pretended to be a public servant, supported his cronies, formed a clique for private gain, and gathered a group of personal confidants.
Moreover, Li Laiheng's policies in Suizhou were quite inconsistent with those of the Central Plains invaders. Didn't these actions already conceal his disobedience?
On the contrary, Gu Junen felt that his strategy would definitely make Li Laiheng happy and immediately made him his loyal minister.
Together with fellow scholar Liu Jingxia and his brother Gu Junming, he drafted a ten-thousand-word letter "please open Chuke", and added the names of several scribes from the north, including Xie Zheng, to it. They put together a so-called "Sixth Opening of Chuke" "Gentleman", he strongly persuaded Li Laiheng to immediately open a new school to recruit talents to survive the rapid expansion period of the Chuang Army.
Gu Junen used himself to save others. He himself was a despicable scholar who loved dragon slaying and vertical and horizontal arts, so he thought Li Laiheng was also such a person.
But is Li Laiheng a despicable person?
Li Laiheng was in Qishui at that time, busy dividing and winning over the Fifth Battalion of Gezuo. When Fang Yiren sent Gu Junen and other six gentlemen a ten-thousand-word letter "please open Chuke", Li Laiheng had only read it for a while before he was shocked and angry. He tore the book to pieces on the ground and cursed Gu Junen and others because they wanted to trap him in injustice.
It is the emperor's right to open academic courses. He is just a junior scholar, so how can he dare to overstep it?
Li Laiheng should immediately ask Fang Yiren to write back to Suizhou, and ask Suizhou officials to reprimand Gu Junen and Xie Zheng for these rebellious people.
It's just that now is the time to employ people, and there is no need to be too harsh on the bosses. Although these people are wrong in what they do, their intentions are pretty good. "The examination before the government staff" Well, the specific name can be called the Jiefu Examination.
"Although Gu Junen and Xie Zheng are both wild and rebellious, they are suspected of destroying the love of my family, the Li family, and putting me in an unjust position. But read carefully the book of ten thousand words, Leshan, you see, This Gu Junen also said that he should abolish the stereotyped writing and focus on strategic theory. Xie Zheng also said that in addition to the "Five Classics" and "Four Books", they should examine the study of world affairs. Although their approach is sloppy, it seems that they have good intentions and are in compliance with the rules. Chapter, it makes quite a bit of sense.”
After Li Laiheng tore the Wanyan book into pieces, his anger subsided a little, and then he slowly said to Fang Yiren: "Gu Junen actually has a good intention. Now when I am employing people, I can't let them down. That's good. Let's start with Gu Junen and Xie Zheng and his two men are responsible for raising academic affairs and taking charge of government examinations. Oh... also, take a look at the Leshan of Ten Thousand Words Book and see how you can put it back together and do something about it."
Fang Yiren had a strange look on his face. After looking at Li Laiheng up and down twice, he suddenly asked: "If word gets out about the tearing of the Wanyan Book, I'm afraid it will hurt Gu Junen and others' desire to serve. Shouldn't this matter shouldn't be spread outside?" ?”
"Hi!" Li Laiheng's eyes suddenly widened and he yelled angrily, "I, Li Laiheng, have always been open and honest about everything I do to others. Why is there any need to hide this matter? Don't hide it!"
"Okay... ah no, I mean I understand what the Palace Master means." Fang Yiren shrugged his shoulders, showing an amused look at first, then turning helpless, and nodded in agreement, "The Palace Master is the Prince of Chicheng. Man, I have a villainous heart."
Li Laiheng used too much force when he shredded the books, and Fang Yiren had to waste a lot of effort to glue them back together. Hei Xiucai was amused, thinking that although the palace lord was a "Chicheng Grand Duke", but he was The performance and acting skills are still too poor. If it really spreads out like this, magnanimous people like the Generalissimo and Li Guo may not think too much about it, but how can Niu Jinxing, Song Xiance and others not understand?
Alas, I still have to polish it myself. I still need to learn something about the Palace Master's performance.
"Let's not talk about this matter for now. What is the current attitude of King Zuojin and King Zhishi?"
Li Laiheng sat back on the chair, making tea for himself, while mentioning the matter of Ge Zuo's fifth battalion again: "Lin Ying has already given up the idea of joining our Chuang Army. Of course, now let Lin Chengcheng continue to follow Ge Zuo. , it will be more beneficial to us if a few people mix together, so I am not in a hurry to let him change his banner and make a complete adaptation."
"They are easy to get along with. Ever since the master of the palace allocated a large amount of food and meat to Lin Chengcheng, He Jin and Liu Xiyao have been coming to me every three days to inquire, either when they will be needed to cooperate with the invasion army or when they will be needed. How can we enjoy the same treatment as Lin Ying?" Fang Yiren immediately said with a solemn expression, "It's just that I was very restless when I returned to the second camp. What's worse is that after Zhang Xianzhong went south without permission to attack Huanggang City, they attached themselves to Xi Ying, and their attitude Even more arrogant. Recently, the two battalions of Ge and Hui violated the military discipline and laws of the Chuang Army and burned and looted several villages and ruins south of Qishui without authorization. General Hao led his troops to suppress it, but they also clashed with Ge and Hui, and each suffered casualties. Dozens of people.”
Zhang Xianzhong suddenly broke out of the camp and attacked Huanggang just three days ago. The Eight Kings were indeed outstanding in their bravery and bravery. Li Laiheng did not expect that the Xiying camp could suddenly attack a city as soon as it arrived in Huguang, and the invasion of the army in return was quite impressive.
Li Laiheng also had to smile bitterly and said: "The Eight Kings have good tricks. According to the situation discovered by Yan Xin, Xiying sent hundreds of soldiers from Huguang in advance, pretending to be scholars and the bookboys and servants who served the scholars, and marched into Huanggang in a big way. City. The burdens carried by the bookboys and servants carried the Four Treasures of the Study on top, and daggers and daggers were hidden underneath. Huanggang City was high and deep, and Shen Zhuang's army had never conquered it in the past. Unexpectedly, Zhang Xianzhong used a few fake scholars to break the city. .”
"The Huanggang defenders are really sloppy and rash. How come they can't even spot some fake scholars?"
"How many of the bandits are literate? And how many of them can pretend to be scribes? I heard Lin Chengcheng say that there are two military advisors in Xiying, one is named Xu Yixian and the other is Pan Duao, who are the right-hand men of the Eight Kings. They spend a lot of money. It took a little effort to train those fake scholars into a decent person."
"What a pity! What a pity!" Fang Yiren held the folding fan in his hand and sighed, "The Xiying took Huanggang City, and they have a foothold, so they will not be controlled by the intruders. But Ge Liyan and Lao Huihui , with the help of Zhang Xianzhong outside, it will not be easy for us to subdue him. Also..."
"Also, Palace Master, the Eight Kings have repeatedly invited you to join the alliance in Huanggang. Do you want to go or not?"
After Xiying captured Huanggang, its arrogance doubled. Before this, Zhang Xianzhong refused to go to Qishui County, a county controlled by the Chuang Army, to participate in the alliance. Now his attitude was even more arrogant, and instead asked Li Laiheng to come to Huanggang to join the alliance.
"He wants to turn against the guests!" Li Laiheng said with a snort. "Zhang Xianzhong is full of tricks. I'm afraid he will be fooled when he goes to the meeting alone. But the foundation of the Huguang Army is much deeper than that of Xiying. There are many elites such as Wagqi, Pi Tu, and Ma Bao. With the protection of fierce generals, I am not afraid of going back to Huanggang City."
"Don't let the Eight Kings panic when the time comes!"