The warehouse looks ordinary from the outside, but once inside, it feels like the space is huge and the utilization rate is high. Various large wooden shelves are almost touching the roof.
Various materials are placed on the wooden shelves. This is the armor warehouse, which stores a total of 38,000 sets of armor, including the 3,000 sets of heavy armor that Chen Qing has been thinking about.
"I heard that these three thousand sets of heavy armor were obtained from the Liao Kingdom. They are the same armor as the Iron Buddha. Wan Yanchang wanted to build an Iron Buddha cavalry in Hedong, but for some reason, he has not started to build one.
.”
This reason is more reliable. The strategic resources of the Liao Kingdom are divided among several factions, and it is impossible to give them all to one faction. It is reasonable for the faction on Wanyanchang's side to get some of the heavy armor.
As for why heavy armored cavalry has not been established for a long time, Chen Qing knows the reason. The key is war horses. Chen Qing also captured some kidnapping horses in Xixia, among which the main horse was Tiefutu. The heavy armored warhorse carried a heavy armored cavalry. This
The war horse needs to be quite strong and able to carry more than 300 kilograms of weight while running.
Passing by the horse pen just now, Chen Qing saw that there were some good war horses in the horse pen, but they were very few. Cao Changchun of the Yellow-headed Uighur promised to support Chen Qing with two thousand war horses that could serve as heavy armored cavalry.
The war horses were soon available, but what was needed now was armor. Chen Qing also considered how to make heavy armor, but he didn't expect that it would take no effort at all to get it.
At this time, the warehouse manager took Chen Qing to the corner, where there were densely packed long wooden boxes, thousands of them.
"That's them."
The steward pointed to the big wooden box and said: "A wooden box is a set of heavy armor, including a complete set of soldiers and a vest for a war horse, weighing fifty or sixty kilograms."
Chen Qing knew the weight. He stepped forward to open a box and immediately narrowed his eyes. Sure enough, it was full iron armor, exactly the same as the iron pagoda armor he captured in Xixia. Even the color did not change.
Chen Qingdang immediately ordered: "Send these three thousand sets of armor to my camp immediately by ship!"
"I humbly obey the order!" Hu Yanyun hurriedly went to make arrangements.
At this time, a soldier came over and whispered to Chen Qing: "Prince, they are all here."
Chen Qing immediately ordered: "Go to the Marshal's Mansion!"
Chen Qing walked to the warehouse door, turned around and asked: "How much grain and salt is stored in the warehouse?"
The steward hurriedly bowed and said: "Report to the prince, there are 400,000 shi of grain, which cannot be stored here. Together with the forage black beans, they have all been transferred to the official warehouse. The salt is about 100,000 shi."
Chen Qing nodded, turned and left.
Today Chen Qing entered Taiyuan City. In addition to inspecting the heavy armor, he also had to meet with two important figures, Wang Lianqing, the head of the famous Wang family in Taiyuan, and Xue Yang, the head of the Xue family.
Not long after, Chen Qing arrived at the Marshal's Mansion, which was originally the official office of the Xuanfu Envoy on Hedong Road, but was changed to the Marshal's Mansion by Jin Bing.
Entering the inner hall, Chen Qing's aide Pei Xiangjun and the two old men stood up, and the three of them bowed together and saluted, "Your Highness, the Prince of the County who joins the army!"
Chen Qing smiled and waved his hand, "I've kept you two waiting for a long time."
A very tall old man stepped forward and said: "My dear fellow, Wang Lianqing, I have heard for a long time that the Duke of the County is famous. I am lucky enough to see you today."
The Wang family has always been a big family in Hedong. During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the Wang family of Taiyuan was one of the five surnames in the family. There were many talents in the Wang family, such as Prime Minister Wang Jin, poet Wang Wei, powerful minister Wang Gong, etc. Even the Li and Tang royal families had to compete with them.
In terms of marriage, the first queen of Emperor Gaozong Li Zhi of the Tang Dynasty was from the Wang family in Taiyuan, and was the one who was killed by Wu Zetian.
However, the current Wang family is no longer the Five Surnames and Seven Wangs of the Sui and Tang Dynasties. It is at best a local prominent family and still has some influence in Taiyuan Prefecture. Many officials in Taiyuan Prefecture came from the Wang family academy and were actually trained by the Wang family.
As soon as Chen Qing came, he dismissed all the officials in Taiyuan Prefecture. Didn't they agree that they could self-evaluate? Why, they were all gone! How could the Wang family not stomp their feet in a hurry?
Chen Qing saw that he was so respectful that he was about to kneel down, so he smiled and said: "You're welcome, Mr. Wang, please sit down, please sit down, Mr. Zhang, too!"
Zhang Yang was not an ordinary official. He was the magistrate of Taiyuan Prefecture. After the Jin soldiers captured Taiyuan, he was appointed magistrate again. Within two years, he retired from office on the pretext of illness.
Chen Qing actually guessed the purpose of Wang Lianqing's visit. He dismissed all the officials in Taiyuan Prefecture and directly poked the Wang family in the eye. How could he not come looking for him?
This kind of situation where local officials are controlled by wealthy families is more common. There are some in Shaanxi Road and more in Xihe Road. Although Chen Qing does not like this kind of local political situation controlled by noble families, at least at the current stage, he still accepts it.
Simple, as long as he gets the support of the powerful local nobles, he is equivalent to getting the full support of the local officialdom.
In the competition with the court, this point is very important. Simply put, it means to be grounded.
There are dozens of officials in the entire Taiyuan Prefecture, including eight counties and one Taiyuan Prefecture. Chen Qing only appointed the core magistrate of Taiyuan Prefecture and the magistrate of Yangqu County. Yangqu County is Taiyuan City, and he appointed all the officials of Taiyuan Prefecture.
To remove him is to make a wealthy family like the Wang family come to him and make him clearly express his support. This is tantamount to giving the Wang family and the Zhang family a hard blow.
Chen Qing said calmly: "I understand Wang Yuanwai's mood very well, because Hedong Road is not Sichuan and Shaanxi, the imperial court must want to intervene, and the imperial court must want to control Hedong Road by appointing officials. This is how the imperial court negotiated with me on Sichuan Road.
Moreover, the court’s reasons are very good. These officials on Hedong Road were appointed by the Jin State. They betrayed the Song Dynasty and were traitors. Therefore, they must be removed and the officials will be appointed by the court. This is tantamount to infringing on my interests. I have lost several lives in battle.
Thousands of soldiers worked hard to seize Hedong Road, and the court took it away without spending a penny. Wang Yuanwai, Zhang Yuanwai, do you think I can accept it?"
Wang Lianqing and Zhang Yang looked at each other, and they felt fear in their hearts. They had both supported the money and food, and the soldiers of the CCP Army had also mobilized them. If the imperial court intervened on Hedong Road, it would be their doom. Not only would their power be completely destroyed,
Their own lives are also in danger.
The two of them shook their heads together and said, "Of course you can't accept it!"
Chen Qing sighed: "Yes! It's human nature not to accept it, but there are too few officials under me. I originally had some reserves. After destroying Xixia, I sent them to support Lingzhou Prefecture and Xiazhou Prefecture. I really don't have any.
Therefore, after discussing with five cabinet ministers, I decided to use a two-way evaluation method. First, let the Hedong Road officials evaluate themselves, and then the Supervision Department and the Department of Human Resources will send people to evaluate. If they pass both evaluations, they can continue to serve as officials.
, they just changed their allegiances, I don’t care if they have served the Jin Kingdom, as long as they don’t help the tyrants and harm the people, that’s the most important thing.”
Zhang Yang gave a thumbs up and praised: "Everyone is praising the prince for being tolerant. Only now do I really realize the prince's broad-mindedness!"
“And be pragmatic!”
Wang Lianqing said from the side: "Everyone hates these officials for surrendering to the Jin Kingdom and curses them for not dying. In fact, officials are also in trouble! They have parents, wives and children. If they die, what will happen to their parents, wives and children?
Of course, they can also take their parents, wives and children and flee to the south, but if they run away, what will the people do? They are the parents and officials of the people, how can any parents leave their children and escape on their own?"
Chen Qing said coldly: "The king is surprised by what he said! Officials are unwilling to serve the Jin State. It is national integrity to abandon their official positions and leave. Surrendering to the Jin State should be held accountable, but I will not hold them accountable. I am just open-minded."
That’s all, it doesn’t mean that I support them.”
Wang Lianqing blushed and said, "The prince is right! It's because I have a narrow vision."
Chen Qing said again: "Except for the magistrates of Taiyuan Prefecture and the magistrates of Quyang County, I need officials from other counties and prefectures to be honest and capable officials. I hope that Taiyuan Jinshen can recommend some good officials. You can write a joint letter."
Come on! I will listen to what ordinary people think of them. If there are no problems, then I can officially take office."
Wang Lianqing and Zhang Yang were overjoyed and stood up and saluted: "Thank you, the king, for giving us this opportunity!"
Chen Qing smiled slightly again and said meaningfully: "In fighting against the imperial court's interference with Hedong Road, our interests are the same, don't you two?"