Wang Ruohai arrived at Xiangyang City and came straight to see Wang Xiaolie.

In the study, Wang Xiaolie and Wang Ruohai sat opposite each other. Wang Xiaolie invited tea and said: "It's been a hard journey to punish me."

Wang Ruohai said: "How dare you. Observe, I heard someone on the road saying that the imperial court has established a new governor. Now the government is divided into three roads, and I am in charge of one road. I don't know if it is true or not?"

Wang Xiaolie nodded: "Yes. I am in charge of the three prefectures of Xiangyang, Ru, Tang and Deng. Chen Qiudao is in charge of Sui and Ying prefectures. The punishments are for Caizhou and Xinyang Army. Except for the promotion of tea and salt officers, the rest of the prisons in the territory

The entire government will be abolished! Military and civil affairs will all be decided by the governor."

Wang Ruohai sighed: "The imperial court did this because the governor's power was too great. It was afraid that there would be too many prefectures and counties to observe and govern, and their strength would be too strong for the imperial court to control. But there are only four prefectures left, how can we support them?"

An army?”

Wang Xiaoxing said: "The imperial court's move is nothing more than the same sentence: before going outside, you must first make peace at home."

Wang Ruohai shook his head repeatedly: "If we can't resist the Jinlu outside, how can we secure the internal affairs? This year's Jinghu and Jiangxi are in turmoil. Isn't it because the Jinlu crossed the river and conquered the prefectures and counties, leaving the local area without control? Alas, the imperial court did this,

When will the fight against gold end?"

Wang Xiaolie was silent for a while and said: "Actually, we all understand the truth. How many people don't understand why the imperial court set up a town envoy? Needless to say, some people are tempted when they see that they have great power, or that it can be hereditary.

But most people don’t take it seriously. But the most important thing is not to understand, but how to do it. The purpose of the imperial court is to limit the strength of various places to one place, even if it reduces the ability to resist gold."

Wang Ruohai nodded: "Observation is good, the key is to see how to do it. I wonder what Chen Yun's intention is?"

Wang Xiaoxue said: "Shi Yun has no soldiers and doesn't want to go to Suizhou."

Wang Ruohai said: "That's how I understand."

After speaking, Wang Ruohai said goodbye and left without waiting much longer.

Wang Xiaolie sat alone in the study, looking at the gloomy sky outside.

This matter is not complicated. Anyone with a normal mind understands why the imperial court suddenly set up an envoy. Among the various local forces, it is undeniable that there are simple-minded and impulsive people who think it is a good thing. But most people do not take it seriously. Some powerful people

Weak, even scared. Before setting up a town and envoy, it was the court officials who were good or bad. Officials in the Song Dynasty still made people feel more at ease. Setting up a town and envoy meant that they had to manage their own life and death in the future. A

Accidentally, it was annexed by other forces.

Are there any benefits to setting up towns and envoys? Yes, there are. Countless forces from various places are restricted to a smaller territory, and the chaotic situation in the world slowly stabilizes. The court can free up its hands to deal with the forces from various places one by one.

.

The thing is very simple, the key is to see what each person does. After countless efforts, finally today, Wang Xiaolie cannot give up his territory. Chen Qiudao and Wang Ruohai cooperate best. If they don't cooperate, they have to stand alone. They have money.

, the most important thing is that with soldiers in hand, how could Wang Xiaolie be manipulated by the court? It is best to support himself in resisting the Jin Dynasty. If he does not support it, Wang Xiaolie will be too lazy to care about the court.

The most important thing now is to unify our thinking. Not only the top few officials, but also a large number of middle and lower-level officials. If an edict is not important, it is not important at all. If it is important, it cannot be underestimated.

Not to mention the weight of the imperial court in this era, during the Anti-Japanese War, there was also the idea that everything passed through the united front and everything obeyed the united front. There will always be some people who will be affected by the imperial decree.

Thinking of this, Wang Xiaolie sighed. The key to his own power, in the final analysis, is that military power must not be shared with other officials. As long as he firmly grasps military power, no matter what other officials think, they will not be able to cause actual harm to him. No matter what

There have been many ups and downs, but in the end, the violence of the military has to speak for itself.

Wang Ruohai just washed up, changed into his official uniform, and took over the imperial edict from Qin Zi. He sent a soldier to invite Chen Qiudao to have a gathering at a riverside restaurant.

As Xiangyang City became more and more prosperous, the riverside restaurants were also very different. A new building was built and the store was much larger. However, Wang Xiaolie was not allowed to have female prostitutes in the colorful building at the entrance, so it was not as lively as restaurants in other places.

In the small pavilion on the second floor, Wang Ruohai asked the boy to fill the water. He took out a bag of tea and said: "This is the good tea produced by the Xinyang Army this year. Make it carefully. Remember, do not use freshly boiled water."

, let the water get warmer before soaking.”

The boy smiled and said: "Guanren, please feel at ease. Jiangbian Restaurant is the largest restaurant in Xiangyang, how could you not know this?"

After saying that, he quickly went down, got the tea set again, and brewed it carefully.

Not long after, Chen Qiudao came in and handed over to Wang Ruohai: "Lao Ti Xing has been waiting for a long time."

Wang Ruohai said: "No need to be too polite. I have just arrived. I made a pot of good tea and am waiting for the envoy."

Chen Qiudao sat down opposite. Wang Ruohai picked up the teapot and poured a cup of tea: "This is this year's new tea. I specially selected some for the envoy to have a taste. Observing Xiangyang, the army in Xinyang specially made loose tea.

, has a unique flavor.”

Chen Qiudao drank the tea and said: "Good tea! After drinking this tea, your lips and teeth will be fragrant. It is definitely not an ordinary product!"

The two drank tea for a while. When the food and wine were served, Wang Ruohai raised his glass and said, "Drink a glass of Yicheng's Tanxi wine, and let's chat some gossip."

After three rounds of drinking, Chen Qiudao put down his wine glass and said to Wang Ruohai: "As soon as Ti Xing arrived in Xiangyang, he invited me to drink. There must be something to say. Although we have not had much contact, we work together and are not strangers. Ti Xing

If you have something to say, just say it."

Wang Ruohai put down his wine and was silent for a while. He said: "The imperial court has newly appointed the envoy to the town. I am the envoy to Caizhou. The envoy to the Xinyang Army is the envoy. The transport envoy is Sui. The envoy to the Yingzhou town is the envoy. These are all areas under the observation rule.

, and we don’t have an army, how can we carry out our mission?”

Chen Qiudao said: "What else can we do? We have to obey the orders of the imperial court, but we are on the front line of the fight against the Jin Dynasty, and we cannot listen to everything. We just understand what the imperial court wants. How to do it depends on reality."

Wang Ruohai said: "It's not difficult to guess what it means to set up a town and envoy."

Chen Qiudao sighed: "Use the power of the vassal town to win over the local forces, fight against the Jin Dynasty and suppress the bandits. Create a small territory to prevent the local government from becoming too big. This matter is obvious, so what's so hard to guess?"

Wang Ruohai said in a deep voice: "The most important thing is not to use vassal towns to win over the generals, but to allocate small territories to limit local power. How should the envoy deal with the imperial court's thoughts?"

Chen Qiudao was silent for a while. He picked up the wine glass and drank a glass of wine, then said: "To be honest, I am a court official, and I should act according to the court's wishes. However, Wang Kuan has commanded his troops and has won two games in a row this year. The world is still

Which general can do this? Observe and govern the local area, deliberately reduce the taxes of the people, and attack the local tyrants, and several states have prospered. In this way, they can also ensure that there is no shortage of taxes and sufficient finances, which is also unmatched by other places.

If we reduce its territory, it will do a lot of harm and nothing good."

Wang Ruohai said: "It's not just that. The envoy has only been in Xiangyang for a short time, so he may not know some things. He has a gentle attitude towards the officials, but he manages the army very strictly! I have never seen an army in more than 30 years.

Dengzhou Army has strict military discipline. Also, at the beginning, it was very difficult to observe that there was not much money in hand. However, the official salaries of the generals and officials under them were always paid in full and were never in arrears. Southwest Jingxi

The official salary of road officials cannot be said to be particularly high, but it is not low either."

Chen Qiudao nodded. For this, many officials were grateful to Wang Xiaolie. In the most difficult time, Wang Xiaolie did not default on his official salary, and many officials' families benefited from this. As a transfer envoy, Chen Qiudao knew that Wang Xiaolie was in the hands of Wang Xiaolie.

Although he was not well-off, his official salary was paid in full.

Looking at Chen Qiudao, Wang Ruohai said in a deep voice: "May I ask Yun Envoy whether he will go to Fuzhou to serve as the governor?"

Chen Qiudao closed his eyes and was silent for a long time. Then he opened his eyes and said, "I dare to ask about the punishment. Do you want to be the governor?"

Wang Ruohai said: "I already know Caizhou. However, I will not accept this as an envoy. Now is the time to observe the prosperity. If we work together, it will be beneficial, but if we separate, we will be in trouble!"

"Together will be beneficial, but to be divided will be disastrous!" Chen Qiudao nodded. "The sentence "imposition of punishment" means. Two days ago, I observed that I will not be punished by the king's orders. We cannot be punished by this edict.

The decree has disturbed the mind and confused everything. I will not go to this governor. What to do next, please follow the instructions."

When setting up a town envoy, one of them was to remove other supervisors except for tea and salt officials. Chen Qiudao's deputy transfer envoy and Wang Ruohai's deputy envoy were to be dismissed. From now on, Wang Xiaolie ruled the eight states, and all the governors were dismissed.
Chapter completed!