Xuzhou is also known as "Bo Dao". It was called Rongzhou in ancient times and later became Xuzhou District of Yibin City.
This place is located in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, the Jinsha River, and the lower reaches of the Min River. It is an important transit station on the Southern Silk Road.
It borders the important town of Luzhou to the east; Jiading Prefecture, that is, Leshan area, to the west; Fushunjian, a salt-producing place, to the north; and Dali Kingdom to the south.
When the Mongols destroyed Dali, Kublai's army passed through Jiading Prefecture in the west.
Today, Xuzhou is the only way from Dali to the Central Plains.
Because of its important location, the imperial court has always been cautious in selecting officials in Xuzhou, and most of the officials in office are capable ministers and officials.
Generally speaking, it takes about half a month to send a gold-character plaque from Lin'an to Shuzhong, and about twenty days for a less urgent orpiment-yellow-green plaque.
In order to make it easier to transmit news, the imperial court set up many "displays" in Shu. In the middle of Shu, regardless of whether the imperial court intervened or not, official documents were regularly delivered back to the imperial court on the third and eighteenth day of every month. Therefore, "there is no movement in Shu, and Mi is not aware of it."
”.
September 9th, the Double Ninth Festival.
Cao Si, Xuzhou's shop owner, took several official letters and sent them to the magistrate's office.
Mu Liao Li Tonghe received the official letter and entered the official room of Shi Jun, the magistrate of the state. He saw Shi Jun squinting and looking at the map.
"Dong Weng, the official document has arrived."
"It's finally here. There is a change of coach before the battle, but the candidate for the new Shu coach is still uncertain, which makes people anxious."
Li Tonghe knew that Shi Jun was anxious, so he quickly opened it, glanced at it and was about to read it to Shi Jun, when he was suddenly stunned.
"How? But Zhang Dutong?" Shi Jun asked.
"No."
"who?"
"Pu Shangshu of the Ministry of Rites chose the name in anonymity."
Shi Jun was stunned and asked again: "Does the right minister have a letter?"
"Yes." Li Tonghe moved quickly, quickly found Cheng Yuanfeng's letter and opened the envelope.
Shi Junjin passed by, looked at it carefully several times, and handed it back to Li Tonghe.
He walked back and forth a few steps, thinking, frowning...
After Yu Jie's death, Yu Hui served as the envoy of the Sichuan pacification system. Although he had the same surname as "Yu", his actions were completely different.
Yu Hui had a personal grudge with Li Xilu's pacifying envoy Wang Weizhong, and falsely accused Wang Weizhong of sneaking into Mongolia, and took him to Lin'an and beheaded him. When the troops in Sichuan were shaken, the command in Shu was in chaos.
Mongolian general Wang Dechen took the opportunity to station troops in Lizhou and vigorously operated, overlooking Sichuan. Later, he defeated Yuhui in Zijin Mountain. Within a few years, he successively conquered Chengdu, Kuzhu and other places, and had seized the land in western Sichuan.
Fortunately, when Yu Jie was suppressing Shu, he focused Sichuan's defense on Hezhou, Chongqing Prefecture, so that the defense line was stable and could confront the Mongolian troops.
Shi Jun was a disciple of Cheng Yuanfeng and occasionally exchanged letters. In the past few years, he had written more than once to report the critical situation in Shu.
At the beginning of the year, Cheng Yuanfeng sent a letter asking Shi Jun, "Who can succeed Yu Hui if he is dismissed?" At that time, Shi Jun recommended Zhang Shi as the governor of the capital. Zhang Shi was a general under Yu Jie. He had served three times and was appointed governor of Shi Xiangfu. He could be said to have been battle-hardened for a long time.
Finally, news came half a month ago that the imperial court had finally dismissed Yu Hui. At the same time, Shi Jun also received a reply from Cheng Yuanfeng, saying that he had reached a tacit agreement with Ding and Jia to make Zhang Shi the commander-in-chief of Shu.
I thought that everything was settled, but I didn't expect that there would be something unexpected after waiting and waiting without any news.
The final candidate for Shu commander was Pu Zezhi, the Minister of Rites, who was appointed as the pacifier of Sichuan and also had knowledge of Chongqing Prefecture.
It's not that Pu Zezhi is not good, but he is just about to set off now...
After Shi Jun read the letter, he was still a little confused.
Li Tonghe read the letter, raised his head and said, "Dong Weng, at least the handsome man of Shu has been selected."
"According to the information obtained, Wu Lianghetai may have sent troops from Dali." Shi Jun said: "Pu Shangshu... Pu Jieshuai was temporarily appointed, how could he have time to rectify it? How could Zhang Dutong work with him in a short period of time?"
Li Tonghe sighed and said: "Zhang Dutong is a military general after all. It is expected that he will not be promoted."
"Military generals, military generals. In times of danger, civilians and military generals are still in charge." Shi Jun said, "The letter from the right minister last time clearly stated that the ministers had agreed... Military generals, alas."
"But if you think about it carefully, this appointment from the imperial court is actually the most appropriate one."
"appropriate?"
Shi Jun stopped pacing and sat down on the chair.
Li Tonghe pondered and said: "The meaning of the right letter is that... Dongweng knew about Xuzhou and only saw that Wu Lianghetai's army was approaching, but the court thought differently. Chongqing Prefecture is a fundamental place and it is difficult to suppress it without important ministers.
.Zhang Dutong can win a battle, but it is difficult to guard Shuzhong.
Pu Jieshuai was born in Shu. He once served as the military supervisor and worked with Li Jieshuai, the envoy of Jinghu. This time, it was Li Jieshuai who made the Privy Council ministers change their minds. He should be recommended by Li Jieshuai, and he will be promoted from Jinghu
Send 20,000 troops to support Shu. From this we can see that this appointment is indeed the safest move."
Shi Jun was silent for a long time.
Finally, he said with emotion: "Perhaps it is because I, a small state governor, do not have a high vision. Perhaps it is indeed a long-term plan for the imperial court to use important ministers to know Chongqing Prefecture and control the middle of Shu."
"Dong Weng. Looking at the overall situation, Envoy Pu Jie, Envoy Li Jie, and Lieutenant Lu can echo each other. Looking at the entire southwest war situation, it is indeed the wisest decision."
Shi Jun nodded and wanted to say something else, but he couldn't.
Autumn defense is in sight, and the war is about to begin. Yu Hui was dismissed, and after hearing the edict, he ignored side affairs and went to Lin'an. The court was uncertain about the commander of Shu for a long time, and finally ordered Pu Zhezhi to take office in a hurry. Shi Jun felt that... you are so confused.
ah.
But after thinking about it carefully, I feel that this is indeed the wisest decision. Regardless of the overall situation or long-term considerations, Pu Zhizhi is the more suitable candidate... Zhu Gong is indeed a wise man.
But there is a faint uneasiness in my heart... How will Pu Jieshuai reorganize before the battle? How will Zhang Dutong change his defenses?
"Dong Weng, Dong Weng." Li Tonghe reminded in a low voice, "Dong Weng, don't worry too much. To put it bluntly, Dong Weng knows Xuzhou and can't actually care about it at all. So what can you do if you are worried?"
"That's right." Shi Jun sighed, "How can I take care of Shu Commander's affairs once I know the state? Let's continue talking about city defense, autumn grain..."
Suddenly a servant reported: "Zhizhou, someone wants to see you."
"Enter."
"Yes, he claims to be appointed by the imperial court to be appointed as Fuqing County Lieutenant. This is a greeting."
Shi Jun took the invitation, looked at it, frowned, and handed it to Li Tonghe.
"Li Xia, Li Feiyu? They are from my family." Li Tonghe said: "But why does this county captain have the same name? It doesn't say in what year he was admitted."
"In a border area, it's unlikely that people who are new to the officialdom will be sent."
Shi Jun muttered something in a low voice, stood up and said: "Meet him in the hall..."
Li Xia and his party took a boat and sailed upstream from the Yangtze River.
Arriving at Chongqing Prefecture, Nie Zhongyou and Lin Zi left and went north to Suizhou to join Wu Xin's army.
Originally, Liu Jinsuo also had a small military post and could go with Nie Zhongyou, but Nie Zhongyou was worried about Li Xia's safety and asked Liu Jinsuo to follow Li Xia. This was agreed upon in Lin'an.
After parting ways with Nie Zhongyu and Lin Zi, Li Xia and others continued upstream from Chongqing, passed through Luzhou, and finally arrived in Xuzhou on September 9th.
Fuqing County is eighty miles south of Xuzhou City. It is not far away, but the road in the middle of Shu is difficult. You can take a boat through Fujiang, a tributary of the Yangtze River in the south, and it will take another day or two to walk.
Li Xia planned to rest one night in Xuzhou and then set off for Fuqing County the next day. After entering the city, he first paid a visit to the governor of the state, Shi Jun.
Everyone else was resting at the inn, and he only took Han Chengxu to Zhizhou Mansion.
Looking at the hall at this time, I saw that the decoration was very simple and a bit dilapidated.
The tea is pretty good, it's the local "Lu Ming Tea", but it shouldn't be expensive.
The so-called "Fragrant tea comes from Bo Road", as early as the Zhou Dynasty, King Bo here came to the court to congratulate and bring tribute tea. From then on, tea was first known to exist in this place, and it can be regarded as one of the origins of tea.
A total of eight tea and horse farms were set up in the Song Dynasty to exchange tea for horses. Before the destruction of Dali, there were two tea and horse farms in Xuzhou...
These are what Li Xia saw from the local chronicles when he was imprisoned in the Criminal Division.
He has always believed that hard work is more effective than empty talk. This was true before and is true now when he becomes an official.
After a while, Zhizhou Shijun came out of the back hall and glanced at Li Xia, seeming a little surprised.
Li Xia and Han Chengxu stood up and cupped their hands.
"I've met Shi Zhizhou."
Shi Jun came to his senses, stroking his beard and pondering for a moment, then said: "You're polite, Fei Yu is a talented young man, how old is he?"
"sixteen."
Shi Jun's qi-raising skills were not very good, so he let out a light sigh and said nothing.
Li Tonghe took the official document from Han Chengxu and handed it to him. Shi Jun glanced at it and then said, "Have you ever been sent by the Right Prime Minister to go north and return with meritorious service?"
"Yes." Li Xia said: "The imperial court does not entrust Xia with important responsibilities because he is a prisoner on death row. The national favor is profound."
Shi Jun was a little confused.
He had just received a letter from Cheng Yuanfeng, but the letter did not mention the newly appointed Fuqing County Lieutenant. How could he be like this if the other party was really a member of the Right Prime Minister?
What's more, he has not yet been crowned and has no fame. The Right Prime Minister should never have such a strange appointment.
"Who recommended you?" Shi Jun asked.
When Han Chengxu heard this, he felt very embarrassed.
The official document did not mention that Cheng Yuanfeng sent him, only "Privy Council". Shi Jun asked "right minister", which was not only to test Li Xia, but also to express his attitude.
At this time, there is no good answer.
"It was recommended by Prime Minister Ding." Li Xia answered directly. There was no use hiding it.
Shi Jun's face turned cold, with a "Sure enough" expression, thinking that only Ding Qingpi's party could make such an unethical appointment.
It’s easy to speculate on Li Xia’s background... The right minister appointed him as a messenger, Li Xia returned from his service, Ding Qingpi took the credit, and Li Xia defected to Ding’s party.
If you defect to traitors today, you can defect to Mongolia tomorrow.
Shi Jun was furious, but although he didn't show it on his face, he still looked down upon Li Xia. His good looks and good looks fell into his eyes, which made him dazzling... The country is in a critical situation, but you still judge people by their appearance?
Serving as a county captain is ridiculous!
Li Tonghe also shook his head, seeing the atmosphere solidified, and awkwardly exchanged greetings with Li Xia.
"Feiyu...who came up with the name Li County Lieutenant?"
Li Xia said: "Fortunately, I was given the title by the official."
Li Tonghe was stunned for a moment, feeling baffled.
This is strange. If the emperor personally gave the calligraphy, it should have been a sign of appreciation, but how could it be "Li Feiyu"?
The name "Xia" means encouragement. When the elder named him, he should have thought of supplementing the name with a Chinese character, such as "Li Chengyu".
Thinking about it, because of Li Xia's meritorious service, the emperor gave him a letter to express his commendation, but he was disdainful of his character, so that's why he was like this.
The two people in charge of the curtain looked at each other and had a clear understanding in their minds.
"Feiyu is appreciated by the officials, and his future is limitless." Li Tonghe still cheered and said a few words.
"Mr. Xie Yizhai's kind words."
Shi Jun was too lazy to be perfunctory anymore and turned to the topic, saying: "On what day did Feiyu leave Lin'an?"
"August fifteenth."
Shi Jun asked: "Have you ever heard of why the Privy Council changed Shu Commander?"
"The official is of low status and has never heard of this matter."
"Do you know if the new Sichuan envoy Pu Shishuai will leave?"
"I don't know." Li Xia said.
He had been running for his life, and he got up immediately after receiving the appointment. It was his first time to be an official, so he didn't care about this.
Shi Jun's face became even more ugly.
If it was said that he just disliked Li Xia's character and had some criticism of the imperial appointment before, now he already did not trust Li Xia's ability.
In this autumn defense season, if you are going to take office in Xuzhou, how can you be qualified to be an official without understanding the first-class matters?
"When do you plan to leave for Fuqing?"
"Leave tomorrow morning."
"Tomorrow I will send officials to take you to your post."
"Xie Zhizhou..."
After a few simple words, Shi Jun served tea to see the guests off, his eyes even more worried.
Li Tonghe let out a long sigh and murmured: "The flames of Ding Qingpi's voice have actually implicated Shu. The current situation is difficult."
"How does Yizhai think of settling him?"
"I have the same opinion as Dong Weng, just put it aside..."
Li Xia and Han Chengxu walked out of Zhizhou Mansion.
"Alang, can you tell?"
"Yeah." Li Xia said, "Shi Jun has a prejudice against me."
"It is appropriate to call the state the governor."
"good."
Han Chengxu said: "Alang's attitude is a bit high in front of Zhizhou. Also, do you want to explain a few things?"
"Could it be that after I explained it, he could look down upon me and say that Cheng Yuanfeng couldn't protect me, so I took refuge with Ding Daquan?"
"This...well, I'm afraid Zhizhou won't change his prejudice easily."
Li Xia nodded and said nonchalantly: "That's it, don't ignore him..."