The Bad Guys: Everyone, let’s revive the Tang Dynasty together!

Chapter 355 Personal Expedition
Xiao Yan had only three things to ask when he met Zhang Wenwei.

First, although Daliang did not achieve much success in its expedition against Yang Xingmi in Huainan and did not expand its territory to the south of the Huai River, it unexpectedly obtained tens of thousands of oxen after the war. After that, it distributed all of them to the people in the Huaibei states for rent, which was called the ox tax.

However, it was more than ten years ago that Zhu Wen levied taxes on Yang Xingmi. Even though many of the tens of thousands of cows had aged and died, the cattle tax was still in place. Xiao Yan wanted the Ministry of Revenue to abolish this miscellaneous tax.

At the same time, he ordered each state and town to distribute the eliminated military animals to local government offices, which would then lend them unconditionally to the people in counties and townships for use. They should seize the time to expand production as the spring plowing season had not yet completely passed. If any household reclaimed a certain amount of wasteland, the oxen or the eliminated military animals would be rewarded to that household, and the seeds that were missing would be reissued by the government.

Secondly, he ordered the towns of Hebei, Hezhong, and Henan to consolidate their defenses against the State of Jin, and not to start a major war without the order from the central government. Among them, the old, weak, and sick soldiers from the battle in Hebei last year were recalled and resettled locally to serve as military settlements.

At the same time, the tens of thousands of corvée laborers recruited for the expansion of Bianliang this year, except for the thousands of people who were reorganized into the new army, should be sent back to their hometowns as soon as possible to seize the last opportunity for spring ploughing.

Thirdly, let the new army led by Shi Hongzhao escort all the convicted members of the Ghost King's gang to Jiangling to cultivate the land. At the same time, the new army that was escorted would be stationed in Jiangling Prefecture, also mainly for military settlement, and then, after training, they would guard against the Chu State in the south.

Zhang Wenwei was more frightened than the last time he heard these three things. It could be said that each of these three things only focused on one thing.

Spring ploughing.

Bian Jing was in turmoil overnight, and Xiao Yan rose to the top of Daliang as a powerful official. During this day, everyone was wondering whether the first thing the King of Song would do was to place his cronies in the court or to completely purge the imperial guards first.

But Zhang Wenwei didn't expect that Xiao Yan's top priority was to focus on production. The core of each of the three things revolved around the word "farming".

Agriculture is the foundation of the world.

Xiao Yan didn't need to explain anything to Zhang Wenwei. He just gave orders and even directly arranged the placement of the new army to Zhang Wenwei. After all, each of these three things would require money from the national treasury.

Zhu Youwen died, the Ghost King's party was destroyed, the six ministries were all conducting thorough investigations, the Ministry of Works was simply paralyzed, and the Ministry of War had actually been replaced by Chongzhengyuan long ago. Then the Ministry of Revenue, the only department that was still functioning normally, became the most useful department. Agricultural affairs did fall under the scope of the Ministry of Revenue, and Zhang Wenwei was always the most clear about matters that required spending money.

Xiao Yan immediately told Zhang Wenwei that he just wanted the Minister of Revenue to come up with a specific method after returning and then implement it quickly, and then Xiao Yan only needed to go through the process in the court.

Zhang Wenwei had a bitter look on his face, silently calculating the various financial expenses in his mind, but in the end he just breathed a sigh of relief. Even if the expenses were huge, they were put to practical use, and it was not like they were being used to build a palace for Xiao Yan.

But he still couldn't help but worry: "General, you have done things that benefit the people, and I can't help but agree with it, but I'm afraid the governors of the various towns are unwilling to cooperate..."

Xiao Yan smiled, then narrowed his eyes and said, "This is not something that Minister Zhang needs to worry about."

Zhang Wenwei smiled awkwardly, sipped his tea and nodded. He wondered in his heart whether Xiao Yan would take advantage of this incident to take action against a few military governors.

Now that everything had been discussed, Xiao Yan no longer wasted time on Zhang Wenwei. The latter also understood what was going on. Since Xiao Yan was willing to join the Ministry of Revenue, he and all the officials in the Ministry of Revenue could take this step safely. He took his leave immediately.

This was the first state affair of the Tian Ce Mansion, and Zhang Wenwei had to treat it with all his might.

Baguo had seen Xiao Yan make decisions on many important matters in the study room with great swiftness and determination, and he could not help but be shocked. No wonder the word "power" made countless men in the world obsessed with it.

Xiao Yan's entire day's schedule was already full, so he had no time to take care of Baguo, so he just handed her over to Yu Youshu for arrangements. But what was funny was that Yu Youshu brought Baguo with her and taught her how to handle Xiao Yan's daily affairs.

In fact, Ji Ruxue made Xiao Yan most satisfied with these things, but now Yu Youshu can only take on the task part-time. Yu Youshu also has to take care of Ye Bushu, and even Anle Pavilion is very busy. So if Bago is to temporarily act as a life assistant, Xiao Yan would not object. At the same time, it would make Bago seem more like he is carrying out a mission.

He just doubted that with Bago's current behavior, he would be clumsy and mess things up.

Bago had no idea about all these things. She just thought that Xiao Yan was pretending to trust her in order to win people's hearts. She sneered in her heart, and at the same time, she was thinking about how to steal more secrets from Xiao Yan. She learned everything meticulously, for fear that she would miss any details with Yu Youshu.

Afterwards, Xiao Yan met with the generals of the imperial guards separately. In fact, there were not many changes in the original imperial guards system. Except for Liu Xun who was imprisoned, the other generals who died in the turmoil had not yet been replaced. Xiao Yan was not in a hurry to place his own people in. He just had lunch with generals such as He Gui and Niu Cunjie. They did not talk about any important matters, but only said some irrelevant words.

The generals of the imperial guards were quite worried during this meal. First, they were worried that Xiao Yan would suddenly smash the cup as a signal. Then, they were afraid that Xiao Yan would open his mouth too wide and take away all the military power in one breath.

But they also believed that there were nearly 100,000 Imperial Guards, including thousands of generals of all ranks. Over the years, various families had intertwined roots in them, so Xiao Yan naturally could not mobilize them casually, unless Xiao Yan was crazy and wanted to kill all the generals and even the middle and upper-level generals in one go. However, doing so would not only fail to control the Imperial Guards, but would make them panic and then out of control.

So with this in mind, none of the generals took the initiative to mention these things at the dinner, which was clearly intended to make Xiao Yan cautious.

However, until the end of the dinner, after seeing that Xiao Yan did not mention these things, the generals became a little worried, and they could not guess what Xiao Yan was thinking.

Shortly after the meal, He Gui, the commander of the cavalry and infantry of the six armies, was summoned to meet Xiao Yan. No third person was present during the process. However, in the afternoon, when Xiao Yan and Zhu Youzhen rewarded the troops in the Jinshui camp, He Gui was arranged to sit next to Xiao Yan. At the same time, when reviewing the troops, Xiao Yan would turn back from time to time to speak to He Gui.

The generals' eyes suddenly changed when they looked at He Gui.

He Gui was shocked at this time. God have mercy on him. When he was summoned by Xiao Yan, Xiao Yan said nothing. He only talked about his eldest son He Guangtu, who was a talented person. He didn't even talk to him about the affairs of the imperial guards.

But He Gui also thought of a fatal thing. After Xiao Yan killed Zhu Yougui in front of the street, he was the first general of the imperial guards to show goodwill to Xiao Yan. Everyone saw it at that time.

There was nothing wrong with He Gui's doing so in order to protect himself. Even under that situation, he just bowed his head earlier than others. Under that situation, some people would probably believe that Xiao Yan would be supported by the generals and soldiers of Hebei to ascend the throne. No one would dare to disobey Xiao Yan.

But things are different now. Since Xiao Yan is willing to maintain the authority of the central government, the generals have room for negotiation. At least they can choose to unite as one and not let Xiao Yan control them at will.

But He Gui suddenly found that he seemed to be alienated from the other generals... After reviewing the troops, every general of the imperial guards looked at him with suspicion and weirdness. Generals such as Niu Cunjie and Yuan Xiangxian did not say a word.

He Gui felt a little uneasy. He had obviously only met with Xiao Yan alone and had no private agenda. However, he had no chance to defend himself in front of the new emperor Zhu Youzhen and even the ministers and generals.

Xiao Yan would not care what He Gui was thinking. He was dressed in a purple robe and carried no weapons like everyone else present. However, the soldiers in charge of guarding the four sides of the reviewing platform were all from Dingbadu. The Jinwu Guard was temporarily disbanded and only had a name left. All its officers and soldiers were incorporated into the Yebushou. Before the Yebushou was fully established, the guards of the imperial city and the palace were all under the control of Dingbadu.

He just squinted his eyes and looked at the imperial guards with their flags flying, sitting below Zhu Youzhen in silence.

Most of the money and goods used to reward the troops came directly from the national treasury, and the additional money was naturally taken by Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yan was very rich. After he led the bad guys from the Yanzhou branch to control Caozhou, Caozhou had always existed as his base in the Central Plains. Over the years, the north and the south had traded, and large quantities of commodities such as horses, tea, grain and silk were traded in all towns south of the Yangtze River. The wealth he accumulated amounted to millions of strings of cash, and was continuously gathered in Caozhou for storage through various methods.

In addition, he roamed Hebei, plundered the grasslands, and opened a football market and a banknote exchange. According to Miao Chengtian's financial statistics, Xiao Yan had nearly tens of millions of strings of cash.

In addition, including the Ghost King Zhu Youwen and the Underworld Emperor Zhu Yougui, there were so many noble families in Bianjing whose property was confiscated, and all the money seized naturally fell into Xiao Yan's hands. Moreover, there were also decades of savings of the Xuanming Sect and even its branches, all of which would be given to Xiao Yan for free. Even if it was just the beginning, according to predictions, there would be at least tens of millions of strings of cash.

But this money cannot be spent all at once. Xiao Yan needs to train a strong army, consolidate his power, and manage everything he needs. It costs money, a lot of money. Twenty or thirty million strings of cash may seem like a lot, but in a country that controls the Central Plains and includes Guanzhong and Hebei, these twenty or thirty million strings of cash cannot fill this bottomless pit.

It is said that Xiao Yan single-handedly forced Zhu Wen to abdicate and establish a new dynasty. Although he was extremely powerful, he could only intimidate everyone temporarily. If he overturned the table and started killing people at will, trying to regard half of the world as his private property, then he would not be able to maintain this status for too long. Letting Daliang fall apart was not what Xiao Yan wanted to see.

Therefore, his money also needs to be used to maintain the normal operation of the new dynasty. In addition to the Dingba and Guide armies, this money is also Xiao Yan's real confidence and must not be wasted at will. Therefore, he has to dig money from the court, dig out a lot of money.

The new dynasty has just been established, and now is the time when Xiao Yan is most powerful. If he doesn't make the court explode with gold coins at this time, and wait for a while, he will probably have to waste his time again. After all, if he wants everyone to act according to his rules, then he must also maintain these rules.

The powerful weapon of overturning the table is most deterrent only before it is used. Once it is used, the deterrent effect will be reduced again and again until no one follows the rules at all and the people who created the rules are attacked by the crowd.

But if the court had to pay for everything, it would be too greedy. Xiao Yan then asked Wanyan Agunai, who had been recuperating in Caozhou after being severely injured by Li Maozhen last year, to lead the Yeluohe group composed of Jurchens and Mobei people to escort more than one million strings of money and grain into the capital. When they arrived in Bianliang this morning, the scene was so grand that everyone in the city knew about it. No one would doubt whether the order issued by the Tiance Mansion before could be implemented.

At this time, there was a slightly weird atmosphere on the podium. The ministers and generals sat in two rows, and the soldiers below just kept distributing money. Every time a box of money was distributed, the soldiers would shout "Long live the emperor", which made Zhu Youzhen, who was sitting in the middle, very excited. He didn't even notice anything unusual around him.

Jing Xiang stroked his beard, listened to Zhang Wenwei's whispers, and nodded from time to time. At this time, everyone saw that Ding Zhaopu, the eunuch who was serving Zhu Youzhen, suddenly leaned over to Zhu Youzhen's ear and said a few words.

Zhu Youzhen first suppressed his excitement, but he was still interested. He just looked at He Gui and said with a smile: "Mr. He, I heard that your eldest son He Guangtu is famous?"

He Gui was stunned, but he just stood up and clasped his fists: "Your Majesty, I am just an ordinary man, how can I have any reputation? I only hope that my son's personal morality is not damaged, and that's all I ask for."

Zhu Youzhen laughed out loud, as if he had heard something funny, but seeing Xiao Yan was below him, he did not dare to play any tricks. He just smiled and said, "He Qing is an important official of the country, so he should be a son of a tiger father. Don't be so modest."

Having said that, he went straight to the point and conferred upon He Guangtu the title of Hanlin scholar and palace supervisor, allowing him to serve in the imperial court.

He Gui was stunned again, then subconsciously looked at Xiao Yan, and immediately thanked him in a panic.

There was a sudden silence on the stage. All the ministers and generals looked at He Gui with amusement, and the generals of the imperial guards such as Niu Cunjie were even more silent.

Zhu Youzhen didn't understand why and thought that these ministers were not afraid of him, the new emperor. He even wanted to get angry.

But at this moment, Xiao Yan, who had been sitting as steady as a mountain, suddenly stood up, saluted Zhu Youzhen with his arms crossed, and then pressed his belt and said, "Your Majesty, General He is a talented general, the so-called son of a general. I also know General He's eldest son He Guangtu, who is a handsome man. I heard that General He is good at commanding infantry. As General He's descendant, you can appoint He Guangtu as the commander of the first battalion of the Guide Army Infantry, and concurrently the military assistant of the Cavalry Cao of the Tiance Palace."

Of course Zhu Youzhen would agree. He didn't understand why Xiao Yan had to report all these things to him. After thinking about it, he thought that Xiao Yan was just trying to boost his prestige, so he was overjoyed and agreed.

He Gui was a little stiff, and bowed again: "On behalf of my son, I would like to thank the emperor for his grace and the general for his appreciation..."

After that, Xiao Yan continued, "Now that the new monarch has ascended the throne, he should have offered sacrifices and granted amnesty to the people as usual to calm the people. However, I received an urgent military report yesterday, saying that the Shu army had invaded Hanzhong and was trying to use the map of Qi to plot against Guanzhong. They must be trying to take advantage of the new dynasty to conspire with Jin to attack our Daliang country!"

Everyone on both sides changed color, and Jing Xiang paused in stroking his beard.

Some people stared at Xiao Yan in amazement. "King Song, are you embarrassed to say this?" The turmoil was just the night before, and the emperor abdicated only yesterday. Could the Shu army have foreseen the future and invaded Hanzhong in advance?
Zhu Youzhen didn't think about these things. He just stared at them. His only thought was that someone was trying to shake his throne. So he hurriedly said, "General, with General Yang in charge of Guanzhong, it should be as solid as a rock, right?"

"Captain Yang is in Chang'an to supervise the army, so the defense line of Guanzhong is naturally safe." Xiao Yan said calmly, "However, the State of Jin has been ready to attack our dynasty half a month ago. In addition to the Shu army, there are also threats from Qi and Jin on the Guanzhong line. I am afraid that Captain Yang cannot handle it alone."

"Then what should we do?" Zhu Youzhen stood up quickly.

But Xiao Yan only looked around for a moment before saying, "Your Majesty, I ask you to lead the army in person."

The words were like thunderbolt, Jing Xiang narrowed his eyes suddenly, and the ministers were even more shocked.

Zhang Wenwei opened his mouth in a daze.

My goodness, my King Song, weren't you telling me this morning to let the towns secure their defenses and not to start a war without authorization?

Zhu Youzhen was even more stunned, his face turned pale: "I... personally lead the expedition?"

Xiao Yan smiled, pointed at the troops below the stage, and said, "Your Majesty has 100,000 brave soldiers, and your power is feared by the world. But this time, the Shu army still dared to invade. Why? This is underestimating Your Majesty and the New Dynasty! They are even coveting our Daliang's position of dominating the world! In this case, how can Your Majesty not let the heroes see who is the orthodoxy of the world?"

Zhu Youzhen rolled his Adam's apple and seemed to be hesitant to speak.

But Xiao Yan didn't give him a chance to express his opinion. He turned around and faced the ministers. He pressed his belt and said coldly, "Our dynasty has thousands of good generals and millions of soldiers, but the new dynasty has just been established, so we should rest and recuperate, waiting for the opportunity to unify the world. However, Wang Jian is ambitious and has never respected the will of heaven. If the Shu army is unstable, it will not be able to shake the south of the Yangtze River, let alone hunt in Taiyuan in the north! It would be fine if Wang Jian didn't come, but since he dared to spy on the Central Plains this time, I will punish him on behalf of the emperor!"

All the ministers were stunned. They could see that Xiao Yan had already had this in mind. They all looked serious and secretly glanced at Jing Xiang, He Gui, Niu Cunjie and others.

Xiao Yan ignored the expressions of his ministers and immediately gave the order in a cold voice: "The emperor will lead the army in person, Ding Badu will be the imperial guard, the Dragon and Tiger Army will be the rear guard, and Zhu Hanbin, the commander of the Dragon and Tiger Army, will be the commander of the rear army. In addition, order the Shenwei, Gongchen, and Zhuosheng armies to advance into Guanzhong first, and choose a day to send troops to Fengxiang, without any mistakes."

Before the ministers could catch their breath, they heard Xiao Yan speak indifferently again.

"The emperor has moved, and the emperor emeritus has also followed the army. Han Yanhui is appointed as the prefect of Kaifeng and the governor of Dongdu in Bianjing. All matters in Bianjing are decided by Han Yanhui alone."

As soon as Xiao Yan finished speaking, Han Yanhui in the right row stood up and saluted: "I obey your command."

Xiao Yan did not pause, and even ignored Zhu Youzhen who was stunned behind him. He just glanced at the ministers with his sharp eyes: "Where is Yu Zhong?"

In the left column, Yu Zhong suddenly stood up and knelt on one knee: "General!"

"The king orders you to lead the Guide Army to defend Bianjing and take over the military power of the Imperial Guards to assist the Eastern Capital. Do you dare to accept the order?"

"For the General, I will not hesitate to die!"

At this moment, all the ministers had already fallen silent, and even the soldiers below the reviewing stand had quieted down, as if they could hear the words above. Apart from the sound of the wind, there was only Xiao Yan's cold voice in the world.

“In addition, Wang Yanzhang of Cangzhou was ordered to lead the Longxiang and Tianxing armies to the north of Youzhou to guard against the State of Jin. At the same time, the acting Grand Tutor Ge Congzhou and the acting Grand Guardian Kang Huaiying were summoned back to the capital.

All the imperial guards, except for the generals of the garrison, will march west with the army. He Gui, the general of the left guard, will be the commander of the infantry, Niu Cunjie, the commander of the left dragon and tiger army, will be the commander of the cavalry. The rest of the generals will be on standby. This time, all the troops will be dispatched together to drive out the thieves of Shu, deter the Qi Kingdom, and strengthen our Daliang! "

Who dared to speak out at this time and in this situation? The chaos of the previous night was still before our eyes, and Zhu Wen abdicated just yesterday. Although Xiao Yan was wearing a purple robe of a civil official, his body was covered in blood. Not to mention that he put He Gui and Niu Cunjie on the fire with just a few words, causing the short-lived alliance of the imperial army to fall apart in the blink of an eye. I'm afraid that even if the generals were not split, no one would dare to oppose it at this time.

Everyone also understood why Xiao Yan wanted to reward the imperial guards.

This Tian Ce general who holds the power in Daliang clearly intends to lead the two emperors westward to intimidate Yang Shihou in Guanzhong, and then completely consolidate his position with a great victory!
Xiao Yan just held his belt and glanced at the ministers: "Everyone, the emperor is personally leading the army for the sake of Daliang. Is there anyone who is unwilling to follow?"

Everyone's throat was dry, no one dared to continue sitting, and everyone stood up. At the same time, they couldn't wait for Jing Xiang to express his opinion, and they all said at once: "I will obey the general's order..."

Xiao Yan had no expression on his face. He turned around and saluted Zhu Youzhen: "Your Majesty."

Zhu Youzhen's face turned pale, all the heroic spirit he had just had was gone, the feeling of intimidation from Xiao Yan yesterday surged up again, making him tremble uncontrollably, and he just looked at Jing Xiang who had not expressed his opinion yet.

But it was only a moment, Jing Xiang also sighed softly, crossed his hands and bowed: "I will obey the general's order."

In this case, Zhu Youzhen could only laugh dryly and made a gesture of support: "Just follow the general's advice. The general is loyal and brave, and he is also my pillar of support..."

Xiao Yan stood up instantly, holding his belt, walked from the bowing ministers to the stage, just glanced at them, and then laughed: "Within five days, all troops will be fully staffed, military supplies will be complete, and food and fodder will be sent first, and the king's army will be raised in Guanzhong!

In this battle, I want to let the world know what the Daliang Imperial Army is! "

Almost in an instant, the Dingba and Guide army formations below the stage suddenly raised their flags and weapons, became extremely excited, and just shouted wildly.

"General Tiance! General Tiance!!"

Until the very end, tens of thousands of imperial guards rushed in together, countless spears raised high, everyone was excited, and the only cheers in the world were "General Tiance", which lasted for a long time.

(End of this chapter)