Shazhou, the most important city in Longyou Road during the Tang Dynasty.
The lights in the governor's office were brightly lit, and Jia Sishun, the governor of Shazhou, was sitting in his study, reviewing official documents from the governor's office.
Rubbing his eyes, Jia Sishun's body was now much worse than before.
Ten years ago, he could still wear armor and lead the Doulu Army to fight against the Tubo Army, but last year he fell ill and it was difficult to even handle the official affairs of the yamen.
Sighing at the lamp, Jia Sishun heard the sound of Hujia playing outside the door again.
"Master Jia, it's time to pay the reward!"
Laozhang is the title given to the elderly in the Tang Dynasty, but there is no trace of respect in this voice.
Jia Sishun sighed, this was Doulu's army coming to ask for reward again.
Since last year's autumn defense and the reward money deducted from the Doulu Army, soldiers from the Doulu Army often come to the governor's office to ask for rewards.
But now Shazhou not only has to deal with spring defense, but also has to be allocated money and food by the imperial court to support Guanzhong.
There was not much autumn food left for the whole year, and Jia Sishun also knew that the people of Shazhou were on the verge of collapse.
Recruiting troops, renting mediocre troops, and doing corvee labor are three big mountains that weigh heavily on the people of Shazhou. The capital of the largest state in Longyou, the governor's office has been so embarrassed that even the printing money has been used to fill holes.
Tang law stipulates that the miscellaneous taxes received by the governor's office and county government offices in various places can be uniformly distributed to the government offices.
Most yamen will use this money to lend, which is the so-called "printing money."
The "printing money" accumulated by Jia Sishun during the Kaiyuan Tianbao period has been distributed to the Doulu army as rewards, but these soldiers still feel that it is not enough, and they have to ask for rewards every time they go on an expedition, and they have to ask for rewards after a victory.
Even if he loses the battle, he still has to come to the governor's office to ask for compensation.
What's even more disgusting is that many of the heads chopped off by Qiu Fang last time were Han people, but few had real Tubo looks.
And the Doulu Army actually dared to ask for a reward of hundreds of thousands of dollars from the governor's office.
This time Jia Sishun refused Doulujun's request, and these guys actually made trouble now.
Jia Sishun had a headache, when a middle-aged man in brocade clothes walked in.
"Father." Jia Sishun's son Jia Qi bowed his hands to Jia Sishun.
"The noisy thieves were not caught and seemed to have fled to the military camp outside the city."
"Got it." Jia Sishun rubbed his temples, but it didn't matter if he just shouted a few words. Anyway, Jia Sishun was used to it since the autumn defense.
"Is there anything else?" Jia Sishun was strict in running his family. His son Jia Qi did not have any official position, so he served Jia Sishun at home.
However, according to the custom of the Tang Dynasty, family members of officials would generally help with official duties, so Jia Qi would also help Jia Sishun with official duties.
Jia Sishun is over seventy years old, and Jia Qi is also a middle-aged man in his forties.
As Jia Sishun was a second-rank official, it was easy to give his son an official position.
But Jia Sishun still refused to seek an official position for his son, which made Jia Qi very dissatisfied.
Jiaqi raised his head and summoned up the courage to say to his father:
"Father, the judge of Shazhou Jiedushi has been vacant for many years, do you think?"
Shazhou is a military state with a garrison. All of Jia Sishun's official positions are Shazhou governor and Shazhou Jiedushi Jiadulu army military commander.
The governor of Shazhou was Jia Sishun's official position. This was a second-grade civil service, which determined Jia Sishun's status in the imperial robe.
The Shazhou Jiedu Envoy and the Doulu Army Military Envoy were Jia Sishun's "envoys", which represented Jia Sishun's power to command the army and people of Shazhou.
The Shazhou Jiedushi Magistrate was the second most senior official in Shazhou's military and political affairs, and was also the deputy of the Shazhou Jiedushi.
The Shazhou Jiedushi commanded the Doulu Army, and now there are only five captains in the Doulu Army: Sha, Wang, Wu, Kang, and Shi. The Shazhou Jiedushi Magistrate has always been vacant.
Judge Jiedu is equivalent to the deputy commander of an army. Now that my father's health is much worse than before, is it necessary to wait for the Jia family to degenerate from officials to ordinary people?
Jiaqi didn't have any talent. He spent many years wandering around Xijing in his early years and was able to pass the imperial examination.
At the age of 30, he went to Shazhou with his father to take up his post, and has now stayed in Shazhou for ten years.
During this time, several captains of the Doulu Army came to him for advice.
"Jia Gong is old, and if Shaofu Jun can serve as the judge of the festival, if anything happens, our Doulu Army will definitely support Shaofu Jun to inherit the festival."
"Can the court admit it?"
"Nowadays, the world is in turmoil, and extraordinary times are extremely lawless. Nowadays, there are many sons who inherit the Father's Day!"
"Then I also have to become a Jiedu judge first?"
"The judge of Jiedu is the personal minister of Jiedushi. He only needs to be appointed by Duke Jia."
This led to tonight's scene, Jia Qi diligently wanted to ask for an official.
But Jia Sishun said: "No! Do you know why I don't set up Jiedu judges?"
Jiaqi quickly lowered his head and said, "My son doesn't know."
Seeing his son's appearance, Jia Sishun hated the iron and said: "You still want to be a judge, after I die, you can still carry the coffin back to your hometown honestly, and you can also protect the whole family of our Jia family."
Ten lives!"
Jia Qi was not convinced, so he kept his head down and endured the punishment.
Jia Sishun said: "The reason why my father did not set up a Jiedu judge was because he was worried that the fifth captain of the Doulu Army would be powerful."
"I used my position as a judge to lure them, and let the five captains restrain each other. Last year Qiu Fang withheld a reward for his father, so there was no mutiny."
"If one of them is promoted to Jiedu Judge, then everyone in the Doulu Army will definitely become the leader, and it will be difficult to control the Doulu Army!"
Jia Qi said unconvinced: "Then if we don't let the fifth school captain be, my son will not be able to be the judge of Jiedu?"
Jia Sishun said angrily: "Is someone instigating you to come here? Does it mean that as soon as my father dies, I will support you as the judge of Jiedu to inherit the throne?"
When Jia Qi saw that his father actually revealed his plot, he was shocked.
Jia Sishun shook his head and said: "With all your scheming written on your face, how can you suppress these unruly warriors?"
"You are not familiar with military affairs and have no foundation in the military. Even if you become a judge, you will be ignored."
"The Tubo invasion is outside, and the jackal generals are here. Then our Jia family will really die without a place to bury us!"
Jia Qi broke out in a cold sweat. What his father said seemed to make sense.
When spring comes, Tibet will definitely invade the border areas, and at that time, driving the Doulu army will definitely require money, silk and military rations.
But the governor's office was already destitute. If he could not get the reward, those unruly soldiers like jackals would be able to tear his bones apart.
In other words, Jia Sishun had a high prestige in the city, so he could control the Doulu army.
Temporarily giving up on his thoughts of becoming an official, Jia Qi asked his father to resign.
At this time, Cui Tao took the urgent military information from the Yanchi caravan players and asked to see Li Yan, King of Jianning.
Li Yan was wearing his nightgown when he heard the news brought by Cui Tao.
"What! The caravan just killed the garrison of the Doulu Army guarding the salt field, and also killed a brigade commander of the Doulu Army?"