"He's family is really well-educated. He comes from such a noble family and has wielded such real power. He can always recognize himself...it's not easy."
Lin Bei smiled softly.
Wei Ran remained silent.
Old Sun Yi blushed, knowing that he was talking about himself, and he had no confidence to refute.
He glanced at Fang Jue cautiously, wondering whether the general mentioned this intentionally or unintentionally.
Compared with He Feng, are you nothing?
His family background, his sect, his background, his backers... who is not better than you, Sun Yi?
But what about He Feng? How upright is he? Look at your Lizhou camp again?
"No wonder the He family has existed since the Taihuang era." Fang Jue also sighed sincerely.
If it were anyone else, with such a background and experience, wouldn’t he be dragged to heaven?
But He Feng was still cautious and cautious, and did not give anyone any excuse. Fang Jue could not find anything wrong with this show of kindness.
"It can be said that He Feng and I have nothing in common. His show of goodwill is probably more than that simple..."
Fang Jue was thoughtful and then got a guess.
"Suzhou Camp may really participate in this Northern Expedition."
"What does the general mean?" Several generals are also familiar with the art of war and understand some of the ways of the world. After careful consideration of He Feng's affairs, they can come up with some guesses.
"No way?"
Lin Beidao: "The He family's surrender of military power in Gyeonggi Province was the result of a compromise with His Majesty. Will Your Majesty allow him to make new achievements so soon?"
"Brother Lin, you are wrong. Your Majesty is just afraid of the He family, not suspicious of the He family. Now that the He family is willing to give in, your Majesty will naturally let He Feng be promoted back as soon as possible." Wei Ran said.
Sun Yi also nodded: "Yes, Your Majesty can rest assured of the loyalty of the He family."
In this regard, several people have the same attitude.
If given the opportunity, He Feng should be able to make meritorious deeds and not be left at the border for a long time.
Because it is really a waste for talents like He Feng to be left to mold at the border for a long time.
The emperor's previous weakening of the He family's military power was not because he thought the He family would rebel, but just as a precaution. Naturally, he would not easily doubt the He family's reputation of being loyal and good for generations.
Even if there is a He An, it is a side lineage, not the family background of the He family.
In this confrontation with the He family, the He family compromised, and His Majesty was in debt, and he would definitely make up for it from other places.
"He Feng has established the Suzhou camp and made new achievements, I'm afraid he will be able to return to Beijing within two years." Sun Yi said enviously.
The generals stationed abroad are all envious of the prosperity of the capital. They are not just greedy for enjoyment. Being able to return to the capital to serve is a greater trust and power.
The most important thing is that future generations can establish themselves in the capital and become true nobles, which can change class.
Today's garrisons in various states, especially those at the border, are frankly marginalized, and the officials who are truly trusted and re-employed are all near Gyeonggi Province.
Just like the He family in the past, they already controlled the military power of the entire Gyeonggi Province.
The Mo family, on the other hand, controls the Imperial Guard and a prosperous and valuable place like the East China Sea Port.
Looking at the people at the border, except for Sun Yi who recognized Prince Ning and had a background, Wei Ran didn't have a background.
Because the Wei family has declined, the only thing that is gratifying is that the family still has a piece of iron coupon given by the Emperor to get away from sin.
But there is no one in the court, so this thing is only good-looking but of little use.
"Since He Feng is so righteous, I can't be ignorant and ask the messenger Babaili to rush back to Beijing, suggesting that the Suzhou Camp and Ganzhou Camp be mobilized to break up the rear of our army."
"The general is wise."
…
Suzhou.
As soon as the army left, He Feng arrived.
Seeing that Suzhou was devastated and in ruins, He Feng felt a headache.
On the day he arrived in Suzhou, He Feng went to help with disaster relief, and his deputy general Xiao Neng began to recruit troops.
Recruitment requires the permission of the imperial court, and any battalion must follow the regulations, unless it is necessary to recruit more troops to protect the frontier during wartime.
But that also has to be notified to the court.
The regulation is to prevent mercenaries from respecting themselves.
Some people may say that we can recruit more troops but not report them?
Great cleverness, can you give me the military pay and rations?
Military pay is distributed from the Ministry of War, and is distributed according to the number and rank standards of each battalion. It will not pay an extra penny. Because when the Ministry of War asks the Ministry of Household for money with the military registration, the Ministry of Household will not give an extra penny.
Without military pay, no fool is willing to sacrifice his life for you, how can a mercenary respect himself?
With the general's treatment, he can only support dozens of private soldiers. If there are more, he will not be able to feed himself.
As for just a few dozen more, you can still make a huge difference.
"Master Cai, when will the Suzhou government office take office? There is too much backlog of government affairs in Suzhou and we cannot always let us take care of it... This matter is against regulations." He Feng asked Cai Yan.
After He Feng wrote to Fang Jue, he began to preside over the recruitment of soldiers and assisted in the reconstruction of the Suzhou government office.
However, most of the officials at all levels in Suzhou Prefecture died in that battle, and the officials sent by the imperial court had not yet taken up their duties.
After Suzhou returned to order, government affairs were backlogged, and the state government offices had not fully resumed their functions, so He Feng had to intervene to discuss matters with Cai Yan.
It's just that this kind of operation is wrong. The separation of military and political affairs is the regulation of the imperial court.
Cai Yan said: "There is no way. The officials sent by the imperial court encountered trouble on the way and are not accustomed to the local environment. It will take a long time to arrive."
Cai Yan was a little worried about He Feng, the new Suzhou general, at first. After all, he was from a famous family and had a concubine and sister.
Cai Yan was afraid that if He Feng wanted to control the military and political affairs in Suzhou, the country's laws would be disturbed.
But he didn't expect that He Feng didn't want to take care of it at all. If there was nothing he could do, Cai Yan took the initiative and asked He Feng to lend him people, because He Feng didn't want to have anything to do with the state government.
"The government office of the state government should be rebuilt as soon as possible. I don't want to be impeached by the Yushitai, and Qin Shiyi will kill everyone in Ganzhou with the Emperor's Sword." He Feng said calmly.
Of course he is not afraid of Qin Shiyi, but this kind of official is really stubborn, and his reputation will be tarnished easily if his mistakes are found.
He Feng may not care about himself, but the lintel of the He family must not be unfair in the slightest.
"General He, at what stage has the reconstruction of Suzhou Camp that you presided over reached?" Although it has only been two days, Cai Yan also knows that both He Feng and Xiao Neng are capable, and the past two days have been smooth.
He Feng said: "According to regulations, although Suzhou is on the edge of the northern border, Liangzhou is in the lead, and our military strength cannot be higher than the Liangzhou camp."
"So I prepared to recruit 25,000 people, and now there are more than 20,000 people."
"In less than two days, so many people have been recruited?" Cai Yan was shocked.
He Feng smiled and said: "Don't talk about the imperial court recruiting troops. At this time of year, anyone with money and food can recruit tens of thousands of troops with just one call from a high position."
That's called rising up.
Cai Yan coughed and expressed awe. He did not dare to talk about this in depth.
"The Yulin Army and the Young Division have done a good job. Although there are some treacherous people in Suzhou, there is no such thing as mob chaos. Our recruitment and reconstruction work is also very good." He Feng sighed.
"Actually, this is not a good thing." He Feng shook his head.
The recruitment of troops is too fast, which shows that the people are now too miserable and are not willing to live a peaceful life and are willing to join the army and work hard.
Nowadays, there are too many refugees and disaster victims in the Suzhou area, and it is impossible for the Yulin Army to resettle them because they don't have that much money and food.
Post-disaster reconstruction is the most troublesome. It takes a lot of work for one family to live in one house.
This matter can only be left to the prefectural government offices, but the officials of the prefectural government offices have not yet taken up their posts, leaving these refugees with nowhere to survive and can only rely on the court for disaster relief.
However, the food provided by the court for disaster relief was only enough to keep people from going hungry, and it was difficult to eat enough. Naturally, they had to find a way out on their own.
Today's Suzhou is full of waste and does not require so much labor, so most people will naturally be idle.
The imperial court conscripted troops, provided for adequate food, and provided for military pay of thirty taels per year, which could immediately solve the current urgent employment problem for young and middle-aged people.
Not all of these people are willing to work as soldiers. Many of them are helpless because they have fathers and wives at home. As the mainstay of the family, they naturally have to find a way out.
And in Suzhou right now, becoming a soldier is the only and best way out.
In just two days, 20,000 troops were recruited, which shows that there were too many refugees. Those who could enter the military camp were all screened, and there were even more people who could not enter.
He Feng came to recruit troops, but he brought some money and food. This was extra allocated by the Ministry of Household Affairs to the Suzhou Battalion for reconstruction.
As long as some food and salary are provided first, there will naturally be an endless stream of people willing to join the army.
This is also the reason why the imperial court will take the opportunity to recruit troops after every disaster year.
Normally, one can only rely on force or conscription under the military household system, but at times like this, ordinary people are begging to become soldiers.
"The imperial court sent me to Suzhou and dispatched officials at the same time. I went all the way around to get there. Why haven't they arrived yet... Are we really in trouble?"
He Feng had some doubts: "It's not that they feel that it's bitterly cold here and there's a lot of waste waiting to be done. They don't want to come because it's hard work, so they deliberately slacked off in the middle of the journey?"
"This..." Cai Yan said awkwardly, "I don't know this, but it's not impossible..."