Duan Zhigang is the person selected by Xu Liang in Shaanxi Jinyiwei, compared to the unfamiliar Qianhu Honggang, Xu Liang is willing to accept this Duan Zhigang who has an old friendship.

What Xu Liang solemnly asked Duan Zhigang to do in the teahouse was to find out Hong Gang's intentions. Jinyiwei is different from ordinary yamen, and the cases it has taken over are all clear.

Although it is said that the death of the seventeen officials of the capital command envoy department, Xu Liang pushed it all to the people's army in Shaanxi, and then this is something that cannot withstand scrutiny after all, if the pervasive Jinyiwei is so persistent in investigating, Xu Liang is worried that things will get worse and worse.

Nearly ten days have passed since the day Commander Ma was killed, and I believe that the ministers in Beijing have already learned the news. So far, Xu Liang has not received any reprimand, according to Xu Liang's understanding, either there is still controversy in the court and he can't make up his mind, or the court is brewing a big conspiracy, and the mountains and rains are about to come!

Approaching the end of the year, Xu Liang was not in a hurry, and unhurriedly implemented his recruitment strategy.

Three days before the Chinese New Year's Eve, the honor guard of Yang He, the governor of the three sides, finally entered Chang'an City. The place where he settled was not Xu Liang's governor's yamen, but the Shaanxi political envoy.

At an impromptu meeting of high-level officials in Shaanxi, Governor Yang's face was full of seriousness, and the table in front of him was banging.

“…… The fact that we can have today's relatively stable situation in the northwest is the result of the painstaking management and hard work of our officials and colleagues. Governor Yang glanced at the high-ranking officials of Shaanxi sitting on both sides of the hall of the political envoy department, and said loudly. The finances of the court are becoming increasingly difficult, and it is necessary to guard against Liaodong. And look at the northwest, all the officials here. They should all do their best to contribute to the court. Share the worries of the saints! ”

Yang He spoke, and his eyes fell on Xu Liang, the governor of Shaanxi, his eyes were very annoyed, and he scolded: "Some young officials, who have been favored by the emperor and hold high positions, do not understand the situation in the northwest, and at the beginning of their tenure, they were blindly radical. Regardless of Shaanxi's ability to bear food and wages, blindly recruit troops! This official heard that in order to raise military rations, most of the officials in Chang'an City ran out of food years ago! ”

Yang He slammed on the tabletop, his eyes wandering above the heads of the adults, but everyone could understand the meaning of the words.

"For such a short-sighted act, this official, as the governor of the tripartite, is extremely disapproves." Yang He Senran said, "Besides. Due to the radical behavior of some political officials, the Shaanxi Metropolitan Commander Si Zima commanded the following 17 officials to be intercepted and killed, and died in the suburbs! Such an appalling thing, some people are still indifferent! For the court to appoint such a cold-blooded official to govern a province in Shaanxi. As the governor of the tripartite, this officer is very worried. ”

After Governor Yang finished speaking, his eyes slowly swept over the adults in the hall.

Quiet! Very quiet!

The meaning of Governor Yang's words. None of you are stupid, and you can understand it very clearly. These words were meant for Xu Liang, the governor of Shaanxi.

There was a sneer on the corner of Xu Liang's mouth. After the eyes of all the officials almost fell on him, he elegantly took a sip of tea, smiled slightly, and said in his heart that Governor Yang had been absent for two years, and he still hadn't made much progress, and Xu Liang didn't care about such a verbal provocation. So, Xu Liang said unhurriedly: "Ladies and gentlemen, for Governor Yang's instructions, as the governor of Shaanxi, this official very much agrees. There are nearly two or three hundred thousand people's troops in Shaanxi Province, and the establishment of various places is still largely intact. ”

The adults were slightly stunned. Shaanxi Xuezheng Ding Shiyou pouted and said secretly: This Xu adult is really good at sycophancy! I hated Governor Yang to death in my heart, and on the surface, I was ashamed to say words of great admiration for Governor Yang, shameless, shameless!

Facing the strange looks of several adults, Xu Liang's face was as usual, and then he changed his words and said, "But! You should understand that the calm in Shaanxi is temporary, and there are still as many as 300,000 civilian troops floating around the country. Blindly recruiting An Huairen, the people's army descended and reverted, and the cycle began again and again, and in the long run, it can be said that the symptoms are not cured. This official thinks that it is the best policy to maintain a certain number of main battle troops and adopt the method of dividing and pursuing the 300,000 civilian troops and breaking them individually. For this reason, when this official first arrived in Shaanxi, he made up his mind to expand the army and strengthen the armament to cope with the war of suppression of chaos in the coming year. ”

"Your Excellency Governor's words are wrong......," Shaanxi political envoy Qian Yongtai will always be the urgent leader of Governor Yang, and immediately interjected after hearing Xu Liang's words.

"Lord Qian, the official hasn't finished talking yet." Xu Liang interrupted him unceremoniously, and continued: "The previous thing is about the protection of the army, and now this official wants to talk about the fact that seventeen officials, including Sima Commander, the political envoy of Shaanxi, were intercepted and killed on the way to Beijing!" Xu Liang showed anger on his face, glanced at the circle of adults, and said: "The northwest is in turmoil, and the world is extremely unpeaceful, and these adults all know it. It is not uncommon for a small group of officers and troops to encounter a large group of civilian troops, resulting in the annihilation of the entire army! Alas, the death of Commander Ma and others is also very sad and unexpected! On the day this official got the news, he repeatedly instructed Shaanxi to make every effort to crack the case and return the fairness to Commander Ma and others! ”

Xu Liang looked at Qian Yongtai and the others, and said bitterly: "This official did this, and all the adults were also present at that time, and they all saw it. Why do you want to suspect in your hearts that this official framed Commander Ma and the others? Such groundless speculation is groundless and very hurtful. I hope that you will respect the facts and refrain from being suspicious. After speaking, Xu Liang looked at Qian Yongtai, smiled toothily, and said, "Okay, this governor has finished speaking, if Lord Qian has anything to add, I can say it now." ”

Qian Yongtai was stunned when he heard this, he originally had the intention of flattering Yang He, the governor of the three sides, but when Xu Liang said this, it seemed that he was born a little lower than Xu Liang, and his momentum was a little lower.

"That...... Ahem, Lord Governor, Lord Governor. Although he was very tired of Xu Liang, the governor of Shaanxi, dozens of high-ranking officials in Shaanxi were in the court, and Qian Yongtai didn't want to mess with the rules and be impeached for disrespecting the officials. Because no matter what you say, Xu Liang, the governor of Shaanxi, is indeed in charge of the three divisions of Shaanxi.

"Shaanxi has been in war for many years, the people are miserable, and the taxes and silver collected by the court are getting less and less year by year. The daily expenses of maintaining the yamen at all levels are already very reluctant, if you want to maintain the supply of tens of thousands of troops. That's simply not possible. Qian Yongtai said, and then arched his hand towards Yang He, the governor of the three sides. bluntly said: "The subordinate officials think that the financial resources of Shaanxi Province can only maintain the basic supply of 20,000 troops. As for the number of troops, there is nothing that can be done. ”

Xu Liang pursed his lips, Xu Liang was not interested in Qian Yongtai's remarks at all, squinted his eyes slightly, and only took a nap.

Yang He, the governor of the three sides, stayed on Xu Liang for a moment, and saw that Xu Liang was deaf. As if he was asleep, he couldn't help but feel angry, stared at Xu Liang, and said in a deep voice: "Lord Xu, have you heard what Lord Qian said?" ”

Xu Liang raised his eyelids slightly, and said lightly: "What did Lord Qian say?" ”

Yang He, the governor of the three sides, raised his voice and said, "Lord Qian just said that with the financial and material resources of Shaanxi Province, it can only maintain the basic operation of 20,000 troops. ”

"Well, I heard you."

The trilateral governors waited for a while. Seeing that Xu Liang actually disappeared after saying this, he couldn't help but be annoyed and angry, and shouted in a deep voice: "Xu Liang! Based on the situation in Shaanxi Province, don't you think it's too impatient to increase the number of troops by nearly 50,000 in a hurry? Before the Governor came to Chang'an. It was reported that you instructed the Fengxiang guerrilla general Wan Wenshan to take over the defense of Chang'an and increase the number of troops to 30,000. He also ordered Pingliang guerrilla Luo Rucai to increase his troops to 30,000! And Hanzhong garrisoned He Huchen, and Qingyang garrisoned He Renlong waved down his soldiers and horses. Accordingly, it has also increased! Ben asks you, "What do you have to feed the extra fifty or sixty thousand horses?" ”

Xu Liang opened his eyes. looked at Yang He, the governor of the three sides, and smiled indifferently. Arching his hand to Governor Yang, Shi Shiran said: "The situation in Shaanxi, this official also believes that it is indeed as Lord Qian said. It's just that the official thinks that the total number of civilian troops in Shaanxi is nearly 300,000, and if the official doesn't prepare an army of 180,000, he won't be able to sleep well at night. As for the supply of money and food, this official thinks so, the strength of Shaanxi Province is insufficient, and there is not a Governor-General! ”

Xu Liang said indifferently, took it out of his arms for a long time, and then took out the fold in front of everyone, respectfully presented it to the table of Yang He, the governor of the three sides, and said: "Well, this is the fold that the official has been thinking about for several days to sort out. This official has calculated that if you want to maintain 100,000 soldiers and horses in Shaanxi, you need at least 500,000 taels of silver every year. Hehe, Your Excellency the Governor, this matter of silver will trouble you, Your Excellency......"

Governor Yang looked at the fold on the table in front of him, and wanted to pick it up and flip it over, but suddenly heard Xu Liang quote a sky-high price of 500,000 taels, and suddenly shouted angrily: "Ridiculous! Where is the governor going to get 500,000 taels of silver? ”

For a while, he didn't have the mood to look at the fold, Yang He didn't even flip it, threw the fold back to Xu Liang as it was, and said angrily: "Since the governor guarded the three sides, the silver in the treasury has not exceeded 10,000 taels!" Hmph, 500,000 taels! You can really say it! ”

Yang He pointed at Xu Liang and said in a deep voice: "Xu Liang, this official told you that the strength of Shaanxi is maintained at a maximum of 20,000 troops. One more, the court will not admit it. The tens of thousands of troops that were temporarily put together a year ago were all returned to Bendu! ”

Xu Liang looked straight at Yang He and asked slowly, "Lord Governor, did you say this?" ”

Yang He glared angrily and said, "That's what the governor said, Xu Liang, you dare to disobey?!" ”

Xu Liang snorted, stood up from his mount, smiled coldly, and said, "Since the governor has said everything about this, the official will also stack his words here today!" Shaanxi's 100,000 soldiers and horses, this official has been raised! Hmph, the food and salary that the court can't give, the official will give it! The people's army that cannot be destroyed by the court is suppressed by this official! If the court can't kill people, this official will kill them! ”

With that, Xu Liang snorted angrily, got up and strode away.

Behind him, there were dozens of pairs of eyes with different expressions.

"......" Governor Yang looked at Xu Liang in a daze, trembling with anger.

After Xu Liang strode away, Fengxiang guerrilla Wanwen Mountain, Pingliang guerrilla Luo Rucai, Qingyang guerrilla He Renlong, Hanzhong garrison He Huchen and other important generals also wanted to get up, arched their hands towards Governor Yang, and left one after another.

Seeing that several chairs were empty all of a sudden, Governor Yang said angrily, "What are they going to do?!" ”

Strode away from the Yamen of the Political Envoy Division, boarded the carriage and rushed to the governor's yamen, Xu Liang suddenly instructed the Tsing Yi guard on the side of the carriage on the carriage: "Order, from now on, any army movement must have the order of the governor's yamen!" The taxes and silver collected by the government at all levels are no longer reported to the Shaanxi Political Envoys, but directly to the governor's yamen! ”

After ordering these orders, a cold light flashed in Xu Liang's eyes.

After Xu Liang left, what else did Governor Yang say, Xu Liang didn't know very well, but it didn't matter, someone would report to Xu Liang.

An hour after Xu Liang returned to the governor's yamen, Deng Shuiqing, the envoy of Shaanxi, and He Zhun went to the governor's yamen together. In the lobby of the governor's yamen, the guards served tea and snacks, and Xu Liang asked with a smile: "How is it, after the official left, what else did Governor Yang say?" ”

According to the inspector Deng Shuiqing, he arched his hand, his face was full of smiles, and said: "Your Excellency is in the prestige of the political envoy today, and the lower officials are deeply touched, and they are ashamed of themselves. After Governor Yang saw that the adults were gone, and then General Wan, General Luo, General He and others also followed without hesitation, he stood behind the desk, his hands and feet trembled with anger, and he couldn't speak for a long time. In the end, the meeting could not be continued, and it dispersed. ”

Xu Liang nodded slowly, and added according to He Zhun of the Inspectorate: "However, although Governor Yang disbanded the meeting, he still deliberately left the political envoy Qian Yongtai, Jinyi Wei Qianhu Hong Gang and others into the backyard to talk secretly. What exactly was said, the lower officials didn't know. Xu Liang waved his hand disappreciatively and said: "Yang He, this person, is the wax gun head of the Silver Building, which is useless!" He has been in the west for so many years, and the situation in the northwest has not only not improved, but has become more and more chaotic! Where does he look like a man doing things? The whole! ”

"Huh!"

"Haha!"

Deng Shuiqing and He Zhun followed closely and laughed.

The three of them were laughing, and Qi Chu, the prefect of Chang'an, also walked to the door of the governor's yamen lobby and looked inside. Xu Liang smiled and called the Qi prefect in to taste tea.

The prefect of Qi came to the governor's yamen to report to Xu Liang on the meeting after Xu Liang left, and after learning that Deng Shuiqing and He Zhun had reported it, the prefect of Qi was slightly embarrassed.

In order to liven up the atmosphere, Xu Liang changed the topic.

"That's right, Lord Qi." Xu Liang asked casually, "Commander Ma was intercepted and killed, and this official remembers to hand it over to you?" Now, have all these seventeen people been laid to rest? ”

Governor Qi thought for a moment and said, "Except for the bodies of Commander Ma and Deputy Commander who were carried away by Jinyiwei yesterday, everyone else has been successfully buried in the ground. ”

Xu Liang's face sank, and he said: What are the commanders and deputy commanders of Ma still kept? ”

Qi Zhifu said: "According to the people of Jinyiwei, they also have to check the injured knife wounds on the backs of the horse commander and the deputy commander. (To be continued.) )