The little wise man governs things, and the wise man governs people.

"The task of leadership is nothing more than decision-making and employing people." Which great man said this, Zhu Pingjin couldn't remember, but he was very impressed by this sentence. Now in the entrepreneurial stage, Zhu Pingjin has to do everything himself, but he still habitually thinks about whether there are suitable candidates under him.

He has reached a consensus with his wife on the establishment of the Military and Political University, and what is needed now is implementation. However, the first difficulty in opening a school to train cadres is the lack of cadres, which is inevitably a bit of black humor. I was expecting to recruit Brother Yun'er's teacher in, but I asked Li Sixian to invite him, but it has been more than an hour but there is no return!

Zhu Pingjin pressed his irritability, picked up a few recent submissions from the governor's yamen from his desk and flipped through them.

Since the death of the prince, the governor's yamen has been submitting a letter every three or five days, and the density may not have been since the Shu Wangfu sealed Sichuan. Did the old boy Liao Daheng see that his son was rich and had soldiers, and was ready to move closer to the organization? Zhu Pingjin guessed like this, and also quietly tried it through the other party's contact person, Master Li, but there was no response from there.

Or maybe the submission at this table is the response?

In the absence of a reply to a specific matter, the content of the Governor's Yamen's submission is very simple, and the form is also formatted, similar to Zhu Pingjian's previous life briefing. It is nothing more than the tone of the lower officials, to report to the nominal monarch of Shu, what are the latest developments in Beijing, what important instructions the emperor has, and what big things have happened in the whole country and in Sichuan, such as disasters, auspicious or banditry, etc.

In order to speed up the processing of his official documents and ensure that important content would not be missed, Zhu Pingjin instructed his secretary Cheng Xiangfeng to issue instructions on the format of official documents within the palace, requiring that the official documents submitted should be abridged by themselves, and that the matters that need to be approved by themselves must be clearly stated. But the governor's yamen is not a subordinate of the palace, so the abridgement can only be written by Cheng Xiangfeng or the handling staff.

Zhu Pingjin picked up a copy of the submission and pulled out an abridgement from it. The abridgement is extremely concise, with few figures:

On the seventh day of the first month of May, the yellow thieves plundered the city of Bazhou.

How many times has Bazhou fallen? Chongzhen once every seven years? Chongzhen again in ten years? Zhu Pingjin himself can't say clearly. The most impressive time for him was on Chinese New Year's Eve last year, when Zhang Xianzhong was on the way out of Sichuan, pretending to be Yang Sichang's messenger, and fraudulently opened the Bazhou city gate, and then a large group of men rushed in, killed the Bazhou officials and gentry, and obtained a large amount of supplies.

The fraud of Bazhou is not over.

Zhang Xianzhong borrowed Bazhou to carry out full repairs, and then waited for work, first defeated the vanguard of the Chu army, Mo Chongwen and Jia Denglian, and then annihilated the fierce tiger in Huanghou City, Kaixian County. Zhang Xianzhong won two battles and sang all the way out of Sichuan. Seeing that Jingzhou's defense was strong, Zhang Xianzhong repeated his old tricks, and used the same method to deceive Xiangyang, kill King Xiang, and sound the death knell for the supervisor Yang Sichang.

Bazhou is the springboard and training ground on Zhang Xianzhong's road out of Sichuan!

Zhu put down the submission and continued to work on other documents. When the table was empty, he thought for a moment, picked up the brass bell on the table and shook it.

A subordinate of Cao Sanbao, a little eunuch named Zhang Wei, quickly appeared at the door.

Zhu Pingjin instructed him: "Please invite Mr. He, Director Liu and a few staff officers to come and have a short meeting!" ”

The office of the General Staff is in the west hall, not far to the left of the door.

The west side hall has three bays, all of which are separated independently. Each bay is divided into front, middle and rear rooms according to the position of the beams and columns. The one to the south is Shu Guoping's military supervision department, and the north one is the office of the Song brothers and other military officers. The middle bay is larger than the two sides, and there are more people in the staff department, so they work in the middle bay. Cheng Xiangfeng's office is in the ear room at the corner of the corridor on the east side, which is closest to the main hall. The Intelligence Bureau is a subordinate agency of the General Staff, so Liu Mingsheng found a few rooms in the wing room behind the west side hall to work. The east side hall is now temporarily empty, because Zheng Anmin has his own office in the Changshi Division.

A loud voice came from outside the door: "All the staff of the staff department are ordered to report for duty!" ”

This is Hong Qixin. Zhu Pingjin knew who it was when he heard it.

"Please come in!"

"Mr. He, please take a seat." Zhu Pingjin pointed to the stool across from the desk, and then handed over the letter from the governor's yamen.

He Youyi was appointed chief of the general staff, worked beside Zhu Pingjin for several months, and was already very familiar with the style of this Shu prince. He thanked him, took the submission with both hands, and then sat down unceremoniously opposite Zhu Pingjian. Liu Mingsheng stood at the table with three young staff officers.

Zhu Pingjin was not polite, and went straight to the topic: "It has been nearly 20 days since the fall of Bazhou. Who's in charge? ”

He Youyi took out the excerpt and skimmed it, and said simply: "It's Hong Qixin." ”

Zhu Pingjin shifted his gaze and looked at Hong Qixin. It was a young man of about twenty years of age, tall and thin, with a round face, pointed chin, and large eyes, and he appeared very alert. After strict military training in Bifengxia, he always stood straight in front of Zhu Pingjian and deliberately showed his image as a soldier.

"Have you all seen it?" Zhu Pingjin glanced at the five people.

After receiving an affirmative answer, he said to Hong Qixin: "Since you are the manager, what do you think about the fall of Bazhou?" ”

"Report to the son, this year, the local rioters came out to rob, nearly two months earlier than last year! This only means one thing: they are currently short of food! ”

Hong Qixin's answer was correct. When the yellow thief comes out to loot, he will also calculate the yellow calendar. Yellow thieves generally choose to go out of the mountain in August and September of the lunar calendar, when the autumn grain has just been harvested, and it is still piled up on the drying field, and it is the best time to grab it without entering the city and entering the warehouse.

Regarding Hong Qixin's answer, Zhu Pingjin was noncommittal. Although Hong Qixin's answer was correct, the General Staff Department was not a guessing class, but an assistant to the commander-in-chief, and it had to draw up a plan for the whole army to deal with it, so it was necessary to have a complete grasp of the situation in all aspects and make a prediction.

"None?" Zhu Pingjin asked Hong Qixin.

Perhaps Hong Qixin sensed Zhu Pingjin's dissatisfaction. He hurriedly added: "There is also the fact that after Bazhou was broken by the sacrifice thieves, the defense force has been exhausted. So ......"

"Intelligence judgment is a matter for the CIA. What is the job of a staff officer, and who will answer? Zhu Pingjin's eyes turned to the two He brothers.

"Report to the prince, as the name suggests, the staff officer is to participate in the planning and make suggestions." He Gui replied.

"That's right! Staff officers must not only strategize, but also strategize! How to mobilize troops, how to match generals, how to choose roads, how to transport grain and grass, these big and small matters are all within the scope of the staff officer's responsibility. Zhu Pingjin looked at Hong Qixin, "Does Staff Officer Hong understand?" ”

"The Admiral understands!" Hong Qixin straightened his waist and replied.

"Mr. He, Director Liu, what do you think?"

He Youyi didn't answer immediately, but glanced at Liu Mingsheng, meaning to let him answer first.

Liu Mingsheng opened the paper clip in his hand and read:

"Shake the yellow thief, also known as Yao Huang, and the people are commonly known as the local tyrants. Because there were two large bandits at the earliest, there were two large bandits shaking the sky and Huanglong, so it was named. In the fifth year of Chongzhen, the yellow thief appeared in various parts of Hanzhong. In the winter of the sixth year of Chongzhen, the yellow thief and He Yilong entered the Tongjiang River from Xixiang. Break my Tongjiang, Dongxiang (now Xuanhan County), Taiping (now Wanyuan County), Xinning (now Kaijiang County), Kaixian County, this is the beginning of the Yellow Thief's attack on Shu.

It is rumored that the two of them, Shao Tiandong and Huang Long, participated in the Xingyang Conference at the end of the winter of the seventh year of Chongzhen together with giant thieves such as the thief, the sacrifice thief, and the Cao thief. After the Xingyang Conference, Shaking Heaven and Huanglong returned to the land of Bashan to continue to suffer. In the ninth year of Chongzhen, the yellow thief went out of the mountain to join forces with the thief Mantianxing, plundered Baoning, Shunqing, Dazhou, and Luchuan, and was defeated by the general soldier Hou Liangzhu in the Taohong River of Tongchuan. After escaping back to Guanzhong, he partnered with Gao Chuang in July, and was later exterminated by Sun Chuanting, the governor of Shaanxi.

After the death of the shake yellow, the rest is still called shake the yellow, and the number of shares is very large, and it cannot be counted. There are about thirteen famous people who have a large share. They are Yuan Tao, the king of heaven, Bai Jiaolong, the king of heaven, Zhang Xian, the king of neatness, Wang Gao, Wang Guangxing (Note 1), Xing 100,000 Hu Jiusi, Liu Weiming, Wang Youjin, the king of food, Liang Shizheng, Huang Harrier, Jing Keqin, Ma Chao, Yang Bingyin, Chen Lin and so on.

The local tyrants gather and scatter, and sometimes several or even a dozen families go out together to attack Dayi, a county in our state; Sometimes they are divided into small groups of more than a dozen people, wandering around and robbing. ITS LEADERS ARE CALLED ZHANG PANZI, THE SECOND IS CALLED THE LEADING SENTRY, THE PEOPLE ARE CALLED HAIRY DOGS, AND THE PEOPLE ARE CALLED AUNTS, ALL OF WHOM ARE BORN FROM BORING POOR, XIA, DESERTERS, THIEVES, LOCAL HEROES, ETC., WHICH CANNOT BE DESCRIBED IN DETAIL; Among the minions at the bottom, there are old thieves and habitual bandits, as well as coerced people. After a long time of inquiries from his subordinates, the size of his troops was really unknown. But what is certain is that its equipment is much better than that of the Niujiaozhai bandits, with armor and bows and arrows. As for firearms and horses, there are some, but there are not many of them. ”

"The main source of intelligence of the Intelligence Bureau in northern Sichuan is Zhuangzi of the royal palace in Boryeong Province. He Yongnian heard the important news, so he would send someone to deliver it quickly. He Youyi added.

The Zhuangzi of the palace in Baoning Mansion is the He Jiazhuang dedicated by He Youyi's family. Zhu Pingjin smiled and nodded: "Thank you for your hard work, Mr. He." Bazhou, one state and two counties, have all fallen, and the officers and troops are afraid to attack. Now Langzhong is the front line! Protecting the country and the people is the purpose of the armies of our royal palace. Mr. He lives in Boryeong Mansion, I don't know what to do with these local tyrants? ”

He Youyi bowed his head and said in disgrace, and then said: "The minister is vain, please forgive the son!" ”

"Advice, what is the sin of the position of a gentleman?"

"The minister thinks that the local tyrant must not only suppress, but also sleepy! The local tyrant had his back to Daba Mountain and Micang Mountain, and if he was slightly unfavorable, he retreated into thousands of mountains and ravines, and even if he had a large army of 100,000, he could not surround it. Moreover, the back road of the local tyrants is open, backed by Shaanxi, and the county governments of Chenggu, Zhenba, Hanzhong, Xixiang, and Xing'an have long been looted by thieves......"

"Map!" Zhu Pingjin commanded.

Hong Qixin heard Shizi's order, walked quickly to the north partition wall of the office, and opened the two satin curtains on the wall, revealing a framed map of Shudi. This picture was found by Zhu Pingjin in the archives of the Dusi Yamen after spending a lot of effort and silver. Because it has been stored for too long, many places have become moldy and black. But in this way, Zhu Pingjin still regards it as a treasure, and intends to use it as a blueprint for revision and reproduction.

He Youyi is very familiar with the office of the prince. He walked over to the bookcase, picked up a bamboo stick from the corner next to the bookcase, then walked to the map and used the stick to draw a line from left to right on the top of the map (Note 2).

"From Guangyuan to the state, there are mountains behind it. Mt. Seomicang, Mt. Dongdaba. To the north of the mountain is Hanzhong and Xing'an (now Ankang City), and to the south of the mountain is Sichuan.

There are many ancient roads in the mountains that connect Han Shu: from Guangyuan out of Chaotianguan, Qipanguan into Mian County (MIAN, now Mian County), Ningqiang Prefecture (now Ningqiang County), Hanzhong, this is the way of the stone ox into the Sichuan, so it is called the Golden Bull Road. From Nanjiang County, the dam patrol division entered Xixiang; From Tongjiang County, Mengba, Yangquan Mountain, two patrol divisions into Dingyuan, Zhenba. These several roads over Mt. Rice Warehouse are collectively referred to as Rice Warehouse Road. From Dazhou, Kaixian out of Taiping County, Dongxiang, can enter Xixiang, Xing'an, this is the Qinba ancient road, also known as Yangba Road.

This number of passes, Chaotianguan, Qipan, Ningqiang all the way, there are my Sichuan Army Chuanbei Town (also known as Guangyuan Town), Lizhou Wei and Qin Army to defend; Dazhou, Taiping, Xing'an Road, the existing Chu army Mo Chongwen Department guarded. Only the Nanjiang River and Tongjiang Road in the middle have all fallen, and the thieves will come and go without hindrance!

Since the sixth year of Chongzhen, Shaanxi thieves have repeatedly entered and exited Hanzhong and attacked our Shu land. In Chongzhen's seventh year, the thieves invaded Hanzhong and were trapped in the plank road, Chen Qiyu accepted bribes from the thieves, let the thieves go, and missed the golden opportunity. Therefore, the minister thought that the danger of Bashan had been shared with me. Han and Shu are interdependent, and blessings and misfortunes are shared. Hanzhong is restless for a day, and my Shu is restless for a day; If Hanzhong is lost, it will be difficult for me to protect Shudi! ”

Hanzhong is the territory of King Duan, Zhu Pingjin can't interfere at will, but He Youyi repeatedly emphasized the importance of Hanzhong, what does he want to explain? The story of Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong trapped in the carriage gorge, Zhu Pingjian's previous life was also read in a famous mainstream. At that time, there were few books, and it would be nice to have books to read, where would you screen whether it was nonsense or not.

"The meaning of Mr. lies in the defense of the main, in the defense of the offense." Zhu Pingjin stood up and expressed his opinion.

He walked to the map, took the bamboo stick from He Youyi's hand, and clicked a few times on the names of several cities on the map from left to right.

"We attacked the Yao loess thieves, and in the face of thousands of miles of mountains and attacks, we won but gained nothing, and the defeat left endless disasters. So the first thing is to hold on to several big cities: Guangyuan, Bazhou, and Dazhou, and occupy the first line of defense! Only then can we gradually forge ahead, recapture the counties and passes of Nanjiang and Tongjiang, and slowly trap the thieves in the mountains, so that they will be starved of food, and if there is no food, the soldiers will scatter. Or press it back to Shaanxi and leave it for the future! ”

Note 1: Wang Guangxing, that is, the younger brother of Wang Guangen, the king of Xiaoqin in Yunyang. Wang Guangen's younger brothers are Wang Guangtai (also known as Wang Guangxing, Wang Er) and Wang Chang (Wang San). When Gao Doushu guarded Yunyang with Jingnan Province, Wang Guangen was under his command and recruited his younger brother Wang Guangtai to return, "Guangxing changed its name to Guangtai".

Mr. Gu has a detailed description of the three brothers Wang Guangen's anti-Qing Dynasty in the "History of the Southern Ming Dynasty". In real history, Wang Guangxing later became one of the thirteen families in Kuidong, and the initial ranking was still before Hao Shaoqi.

Note 2: The map of the Ming Dynasty is still from north to south, left to west, right to east, which is consistent with modern maps. This is evidenced by the facts.