In the small room behind Jin Xiangdian's study, Guo Shao turned the case on the wooden frame into a mess. The shrill voice of the eunuch Cao Tai came from behind: "Your Majesty is looking for a dossier, and the slave maid asks for help." ”

Guo Shao didn't respond, he finally found a stack of files, took them to the table and sat down to read them for a while, his eyes lit up, and he stretched out his finger and pressed a name: Feng Jiye.

Guo Shao patted his head, and finally remembered this name, which was exactly the person he was looking for.

Who is Feng Jiye? Yuan Shuofang Jiedu envoy (Lingzhou), brutal and warlike by nature, when serving in Lingzhou, often attacked and intercepted the tribes, and the relationship with the northwest tribes was very poor; He was later deposed by Guo Shao.

At that time, Guo Shao compromised with the party members in order to make a northern expedition to Youzhou and stabilize the rear of the northwest, and one of the conditions negotiated was to kill Feng Jiye...... It can be seen that this person is resented by the party members! Guo Shao didn't kill that guy, but he deposed him and let Zhe De Ran replace him.

"Where is Feng Jiye now?" Guo Shao asked.

Cao Tai looked dazed, thought for a while and hurriedly said: "The slave and maid immediately go to the ministry and ask the officials of the ministry to play Your Majesty." ”

Not long after, Cao Tai brought Feng Jiye's condition. Bureaucrats of Feng Jiye's level, whether they were in office or not, would be noticed by the imperial court, and after being dismissed and returning to their hometowns, it was usually the magistrates who took up this duty.

Cao Taidao: "Feng Jiye returned to his hometown, and the news at the end of last year said that he bought a lot of land and was herding sheep......"

"Tell him to stop herding sheep." Guo Shao said straightly, "Ask Wang Pu to give an order, appoint Feng Jiye as the defense envoy of Lingzhou, command the troops of Lingzhou Town, and then transfer cavalry from the northwest towns to him." ”

Cao Tai hurriedly said: "The slave obeys the order." ”

Guo Shao said in a deep voice: "Secretly order Feng Jiye to punish those whose sins are unforgivable. ”

After he finished speaking, it was as if he smelled a smell of blood from the vibration of his voice...... In a word, sometimes it means a river of blood.

Realizing the consequences, Guo Shao suddenly thought: In the depths of his heart, how much benevolence and cruelty are there? But what he can be sure of is that he is definitely not so benevolent, even if he once used Xuanren as the era name.

He was very tolerant and benevolent to the people around him and the people of his ministers, but that was only a wise move. Guo Shao believes in one thing, if it goes against the interests of the majority of people and everyone is dissatisfied with themselves, no matter how powerful, it will definitely be over.

…… A few days later, in the Jinxiangdian Dynasty, under the attention of hundreds of civil and military people, Li Chuyun obtained the military power of the commander of the Western Expedition, and was personally awarded by the emperor with seals, royal orders, military charms and other things.

Li Chuyun, Shi Yanchao and other generals were in charge of the army, but they needed the assistance of at least four central yamen. At the same time, the "Hexi Qianying Military Government" will be formed, with the privy deputy envoy Wei Renpu as the military governor, the prime minister Li Gu as the transfer envoy, responsible for the dispatch of military quartermasters, and Zan Jurun, the squire of the Ministry of Works, as the supervising army.

The Hexi Army is expected to be composed of 50,000 cavalry, and the Janissary Guards in the Central Plains and the Northwest Prefectures will gather the Guards, and it is estimated that it will take about a month for the army to be organized.

The military government took the lead in establishing the "former camp military office" yamen in the school barracks northwest of Anyuan Gate, and only after forming an organization could everything be arranged according to the rules.

In the rough barracks lobby, Li Chuyun was dressed in military uniform and armor, and walked into the military mansion with his sword held high. A large group of people in the room looked sideways, some clasped their fists and saluted, and some bowed their hands.

Li Chuyun strode up to the top, looked back left and right, raised his hands, and dozens of people gradually quieted down.

He first placed the Great Seal on the official case, and then took out the holy decree and told his followers to take it down and show it to everyone.

Li Chuyun cleared his throat and said loudly: "According to the edict of Emperor Daxu, this duke will be the commander of the Hexi Army!" From now on, they shall have the right to command, transfer, deploy, and dispose of the following armies......"

He read it very solemnly. Although this house is so rough and old, and the place is not big, this ceremonial scene makes Li Chuyun excited, "God bless my emperor, longevity is boundless!" ”

"God bless my emperor, long life knows no bounds!" Zhu Wenwu immediately echoed and shouted, which was to admit that Li Chuyun's military power came from the emperor's courtesy!

Li Chuyun stood there, looking at the dust flying in the sunlight outside the gate, the familiar sound of horses' hooves was incessant, and his face turned red. He looked back and said: "The majesty of Daxu will follow the iron horse of the Son of Heaven and preach in all directions." ”

…… The war machine in Tokyo Daijo is working well. The news of the war was not uncommon to the officials and people of Xu State, and people had long been accustomed to it, because there seemed to be no year in these years that there had not been a war.

No one can say why the war in the imperial court went so smoothly...... The common people did not hate the wars of the Xu army, because in recent years the wars have always been in distant places and have not had any impact on the lives of the common people. Military generals will not refuse war, they need military merit, military merit brings the face of the ancestors, brings a lot of income, and the silver coins from their own country continue to stimulate the desire of the soldiers.

The civil servants no longer stopped the war, and the dividends of the money bank came quickly, much easier than collecting land rent; Compared with deploying a large number of men and horses to defend on the frontier, the attack made the officials in power feel that the national defense was much easier, and the land wealth they owned could also be guaranteed. Under the rising power of the country, the increasingly wealthy life made the officials not want to stop the emperor's ambitions.

Just like this expedition to the west, the ministers didn't know how it happened. Groups of soldiers gathered in the northern city of Tokyo, and people realized that the war was about to begin like this, and everything was like an absurd dream. The national policy of reckless military force can be so smooth and smooth, and it seems that it has gradually departed from the teachings of the ancient sages.

The privy envoy Wang Pu once accompanied Guo Shao to play chess in the Yangde Palace, and he talked about this, "The old minister can't say anything wrong, but he occasionally feels uneasy. Great Xu Wenzhi martial arts, the image of the prosperous era, but the prosperous era should not be like this. ”

Guo Shao asked: "What does the king think it should be?" ”

Wang Pudao: "When you look at Zhenguan, the prosperous world is peaceful, the world is ruled by Datong, and the emperor is wise through the ages." ”

"Keeping old doesn't necessarily mean being stable." Guo Shao put a chess piece on the chessboard, "I asked the king, why is the peaceful and prosperous era always unsustainable, and it will eventually lead to troubled times?" ”

Wang Pu frowned and said: "Your Majesty, I'm afraid that one or two sentences can't be explained clearly, and I have to say tens of thousands of words." ”

Guo Shao shook his head and said, "I think the most fundamental reason is that the land and resources are not enough, and I can't afford the growing population; Therefore, wars and plagues have caused the population to plummet and re-equilibrium. This is true of all the countries of the world, both in the East and the West. ”

Wang Pu felt very curious when he heard this, and he was stunned for a while.

Guo Shao glanced at him: "The Tao Te Ching says that heaven and earth are unkind and all things are dogs. The rules of the human world are similar to those of birds, beasts, moles, and ants, and if you want to achieve the great harmony in the mouth of the saints, and the paradise on earth, I am afraid there is no way.

I'm wondering what to do...... But until now, I still feel that the country with expanded space and expansion is more able to survive. When the population is too large, they migrate to other places to relieve stress.

In the past two years, a way has been found to exile all prisoners who have broken the law, people who have been implicated, and those who have rebelled against the law. Atonement of criminals in remote places is also a form of rebirth. ”

Wang Pu couldn't refute Guo Shao.

Guo Shao knew that Wang Pu was very wise, but even genius was subject to knowledge. Obviously, Wang Pu had no way to refute Guo Shao with ancient knowledge...... Wang Pu didn't dare to argue, after all, he was facing the emperor.

But Wang Pu was silent and did not approve of Guo Shao's remarks.

Guo Shao somewhat understands Wang Pu's feelings......

I remember hearing a sentence in my previous life, some people said that Chinese have no religious beliefs since ancient times, and it is difficult to understand that they can last so long. Guo Shao feels that people have another kind of belief, which is similar to Wang Pu's current feelings; That belief is not a belief in a specific god, but a very vague idea: reverence.

Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism are all like this, and the world is not very pious about anything, but scholars will do some things to build roads and bridges to accumulate good karma, and they faintly feel that there are gods in their heads, and they dare not let go of what they do. Even a monk who believes in Buddhism does not dare to curse the gods in the temple at will.

And now that Guo Shao completely ignores the path of the ancient sages and does everything he believes in, it is no wonder that those with knowledge are worried.

After a long time, Wang Pu spoke: "Feng Jiye should be in Lingzhou soon, what will he do over there?" ”

Guo Shao looked at him and was speechless.

"I only do what is right." Guo Shao said suddenly. There was a trembling sound in his voice, maybe he himself was not very awake at this time, but as an emperor, he should not show unconfidence.

Whether in his previous life or in this life, Guo Shao is just a young man, and he can't even understand the Book of Changes until now, so he really has a limited understanding of the world...... But he feels like a doer.

"Has the king seen the world of Datong? We don't have to paint a dream, there is still a way, which is to go down and try. Guo Shao said.

He stood up, took out a glass bottle from a drawer, and handed it to Wang Pu.

Wang Pu took it and looked at the gray powder inside, and asked, "Your Majesty, what is this?" ”

"Limestone and volcanic ash are mixed together, burned in a brick kiln, ground into ash, mixed with water and sand, and can be made into clay." Guo Shao said, "I spent several months trying out the clayed soil with various minerals. ”

Wang Pu pointed the bottle at the light of the window, looked at it carefully for a while, and said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty wants to use this thing to build a fortress on the battlefield?" ”

Guo Shao said: "That's right. Iwami Castle has confirmed the defensive power of Rokka Castle, and I am trying to find a way to strengthen this fortress and construct a more stable defense organization; When it is completed, no one will try to take it. ”

His eyes were blazing, and he said with a little excitement: "I will build a fortress wherever I can reach, so that the warriors of the guards can guard the vast territory!" ”

Guo Shao could not suppress the idea of mastering the operation of the world in his heart, whether it was a simple mixture of **, a ship made of wood and sails, or a fortress made of clay and earth-rammed bricks, he felt that he could rule the whole world with the most rudimentary technology.

When people's hearts become bigger, everything is difficult to suppress.