On July 30, Shao Shude arrived at Changxia Palace.
It was the best time of the year on the grassland, so Shao Shude ordered all members of the bodyguard and pro-army troops to assemble.
There are more than 49,000 people in Changxia Palace, and they basically make a living by herding. Under the maximum conscription, there can be about 15,000 people. However, there are only 10,000 people in regular training, and only three of them can fight.
Around five thousand.
Three thousand of the five thousand who could fight left, and Liang Hanyong went north to kick Abaoji's ass, and the rest gathered about seven thousand. Shao Shude personally issued military coupons to each hundred households, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs will ship a batch before the end of the year
Come over and get two pieces per person with your ticket.
Yes, the palace servants were again placed under the control of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
In fact, Bu Shude has been thinking about setting up a separate organization to specifically manage the slave department.
A major element of this organization is that it cannot have too much to do with Zhongshu. Just like the six ministries are directly responsible to the prime ministers and not to the emperor, the palace servants are directly responsible to the emperor, and the prime ministers and privy councilors have no control over it - fact
In the past few years, Shao Shude has severely dealt with several officials who intentionally or unintentionally crossed the line and had personal relationships with the palace supervisors, Wanhu, and Qianhu of the Palace Slave Department outside of official duties.
The Palace Slaves are a private tribe of the Shaw family, not a tribe of Daxia. Anyone who dares to break this red line will kill without mercy.
"The subordinates of Changchun Palace still have to go to battle more and see more blood." Shao Shude said: "Every year, some of the people are rotated to go to war. I think it is good." In terms of appearance, this group of people arrayed is OK.
This is from the perspective of an old warrior who has experienced many battles. If there is peace for a hundred years, this group of people may be called elite soldiers, which has to be said to be a huge irony.
A relatively harsh environment, qualified training, and occasional war experience can greatly delay the decline of an army.
The Guards' Army has been repeatedly recruited over the years. The number of troops is usually about 20,000. They are disbanded after the battle. Not only must they fight in every battle, they have also participated in at least half of the battles. Especially in the tragic fight with Zhu Quanzhong that year, the Guards' Army
I have also experienced the cruelty of the battlefield.
Although they are not a strong force, they are not a weak force that can be defeated at the first touch.
After a hundred years, the palace slaves will be passed down from generation to generation among kings. If there is unrest in the grassland in the future, the palace slaves will be a good suppressive weapon, and the court may be able to save a lot of money.
Of course, the king is not at a loss either. The combat effectiveness of his private troops can still be maintained, which is still very useful in consolidating his power.
The emperor may not be able to defeat the civil servants in political affairs, but he must master the force that can overturn the table. Otherwise, even if the emperor wants to implement reforms on a whim to extend the life of the dynasty, he will not be able to do it.
"Your Majesty, in the previous attack on Khitan and Bohai, our sons and daughters made a lot of contributions and received rewards. Now we are still asking, when will there be another chance to fight?" Changchun Palace Supervisor Shao Zhili said: "Especially for the newcomers this year.
It was howling."
The number of staff in the palace slave department will occasionally increase.
In the third year of Dashun in the former Tang Dynasty (892), because more than 6,000 Bian troops were captured, Shao Shude ordered a thousand elites to be selected and incorporated into the bodyguard army - before this, the bodyguard army only had 4,000 people.
Also in that year, Zhe Zongben won the battle of Xiaojiangkou. Sun Dian, the governor of Fangzhou, surrendered to the state. Shao Shude ordered a thousand elite soldiers to be selected from the surrendered troops and incorporated them into the bodyguard army.
These people have already married and had children on the grassland, and most of them live in Yulin Palace and Woyang Palace.
In the following sixteen years, such supplements continued intermittently, but they did not stop. Because Shao Shude felt that the combat effectiveness of the "original version" of the bodyguards and pro-army troops was a bit eye-catching, Bian, Yun, Yan, Xu, Qing, Xu Liuzhen, and so on.
There are still more people descending into Hongyuan Palace, Xianyou Palace, Yulin Palace, and Woyang Palace.
It can be said that without the addition of these warriors, the combat effectiveness of the bodyguards and soldiers would not have improved so quickly.
And they have nothing to be dissatisfied about. As "external elites", they used to have wives (and perhaps children as gifts), tents, cattle and sheep, and a little money. It made sense, and there was no reason to rebel.
This year, the Changxia Palace also welcomed 2,000 people, most of whom were the terrifying "hundreds of thousands of troops" from Bazhou, Jiangxi.
Selected elites.
"Don't just think about fighting." Shao Shude said with a smile: "Has the school been built? I don't need sons and daughters to be admitted to the Jinshi, but proficiency in writing and calligraphy is necessary. In the future, if you are sent to work as an official, you will not even know the words and can't speak fluently.
?"
"Your Majesty, two schools have been built. There are more than twenty children studying in each school." Shao Zhili said: "There are probably children from ten thousand, one thousand, or one hundred households."
Shao Shude nodded lightly.
This is inevitable. First of all, ordinary herders do not have the vision to send their children to school, and their family conditions do not allow it. After all, children are also a labor force. It is better to practice riding and archery and work hard to gain wealth in the future.
Secondly, you can’t win even if you fight. Do you have money to go to school?
The cruelty of feudal social relations lies here. Not to mention that the palace slaves are not a pure feudal society, and there are many remnants of slavery, which is even more impossible.
Shao Shude took one last look at the bodyguards and soldiers who were still standing in the wind. It was not time yet, and he would hand it over to the Crown Prince when his body felt no better.
In fact, if you think about it carefully, he has accomplished a lot in this life and made a lot of preparations for future generations, but he has also laid a lot of hidden dangers, because there are no absolutes in this world.
It can only be said that children and grandchildren will be blessed. One person cannot do everything, and there is no law in the world that can last forever. The wisdom of future generations is very important, and he can only lay the foundation.
Shao Shude was preparing to leave Changxia Palace on the third day of August.
The day before leaving, we received news that Yang Yue, deputy envoy of the Nanya Privy Council, passed away in his private residence in Beiping Mansion on the 71st day of the Spring and Autumn Period. According to Yang Yue's last wish, his family buried him in Yuduole City, Lingxia, and the queen issued an edict to stay out of court for three days as a sign of his death.
Condolences. The old people are gone one by one.
Shao Shude suddenly felt a little empty.
He still remembered that when the campaign against Tuoba Sigong was in full swing, Yang Yue went south from Yuduole City to Xiazhou and inquired about Shao Shude's ambitions. After receiving a satisfactory answer, he led more than 4,000 cavalry to return, in order to defeat the Tuoba party.
It’s a great contribution.
More than four thousand soldiers and horses are not worth mentioning in the eyes of Shao Shude today. But at that time twenty-seven or eight years ago, they were a key force that influenced the situation of the war.
Lao Yang is gone...
Shao Shude was sitting on the dragon chair, looking melancholy.
Zhuge Shuang, Li Shao, Qiu Weidao, Wang Yu, Li Xiang, Li Keyong, Zhe Zongben, Yang Yue...all left.
In the past few years, Li Xiaochang, Dongfang Kui and others also left one after another.
"I visited the old people of Guanxi, Li Xiaochang, Dongfang Kui, Li Yuanli, Cheng Zongchu, Zhu Mei and other people's children to comfort me. If they have actual achievements, they can be promoted more." Shao Shude said: "The children and grandchildren who are talented in literature and martial arts can be sent here.
On my side. No, send them all. I will take the exam myself and give you a reward."
"According to the order." Pugu Cheng'en stepped back gently.
The last ray of sunshine in the sky has also fallen.
In Changxia Palace, Shao Shude sat in the shadows, falling into unspeakable loneliness.
****
On August 15th, the Mid-Autumn Festival, the army arrived in Ruping County, Lisuo, Ruzhou.
The summer in the depths of Yanshan Mountain is still very comfortable. No wonder the Qing Emperor wanted to build a summer palace in Chengde. Walking on the mountain path, Shao Shude looked left and right, only to feel that his eyes were full of greenery, the birds were singing and the flowers were fragrant, and his mood was revived.
The safety of the world depends on him, and he has no right to hurt the spring and the autumn.
Ruzhou governs five counties: Ruping, Longhua, Fengning, Chengde, and Dading. It has resettled many Youzhou tribes and moved many people from Guanxi. So far, there are only more than 5,400 households and less than 28,000 people.
.
The conditions are like this. There is indeed room for growth, but not much.
Zhong Jieyu's father, Chong Jushuang, the governor of Ruzhou, has been working for several years. How should I say, he has done a good job in culture and education. A bunch of tribes who were settled in Youzhou during the former Tang Dynasty were classified as household members, and now they have all changed to Han
With this surname, people cultivated fields in the river valleys and herded sheep on the hillsides. They became resources that the imperial court could utilize, and they were no longer the black households they once were.
Other than that, everything else is average and quite satisfactory.
, is a qualified bureaucrat, but not yet a capable official. Shao Shude saw Tuoba Sijing here.
He came here to inspect the medicinal materials and wild goods in the mountains for the Beiping Prefecture's Xia Trading Company to see how the quality was. If possible, he would use this place as one of the sources for purchasing goods in the future.
"You are getting old too." Looking at Tuoba Sijing's white hair, he sighed. "While I can still move, I can walk more for Your Majesty." Tuoba Sijing said with a smile. "Have you delayed all your own business?
Shao Shude asked.
"The Tuoba family fought against Your Majesty many times back then and committed serious crimes. Fortunately, Your Majesty was forgiving and we were able to survive." Tuoba Si sighed in admiration: "And today, life is not bad, and the family is getting prosperous. Every time I think about it, it is Your Majesty's kindness.
also."
Shao Shude smiled and said: "This boy from Yichang has done a good job in suppressing bandits and protecting the people in Yizhou. I intend to send him out to increase the burden. If he can achieve meritorious service in the future, the Tuoba family can too.
Take it to the next level.”
"I would like to thank your Majesty for your kindness." Tuoba Sijing was overjoyed and thanked him. He didn't know what a good day it was today, he only knew that he was lucky.
His great-nephew Tuoba Yichang originally served as a soldier in the Imperial Guard Army, and later became a palace guard, and was transferred to Yizhou as the commander of the state army. This is actually not a good job. It is impossible to become the governor if he retires. If he retires, he will return to the Imperial Guard Army.
, the position has been taken by someone else, which is very embarrassing.
Now I want to be sent abroad!
Tuoba Sijing thought for a while and heard that the palace supervisor of Hongyuan Palace was old and might retire at any time. Could it be...
"In the past, Minister Chen advised me to strictly limit the exchanges between the grasslands and the Central Plains. After all these years, I have also realized that it is unrealistic." Shao Shude said: "Since we can't limit it, then accept the facts and actively participate. You were there back then.
Guanbei mainly deals with the grassland and Guanzhong business, how is it now?"
"Leave it to the clansmen to do the work and earn a few thousand yuan a year, so that's okay." Tuoba Sijing replied.
"Thousands of coins are a lot. When I got married in Xiazhou, the mansion given to me by Marshal Zhuge is only worth a thousand coins." Shao Shude said; "Next, Changxia Trading Company should invest more energy in the Seven Saints
State. They have a lot of honey, dried fruits, medicinal materials, and skins. Well, they are all the business you often did back then, so you should be very familiar with them. Think of a way to ask Changxia Trading Company to help them bring more goods."
"This is an easy matter." Tuoba Sijing said, "I will leave for the north to investigate in the next few days. It should not be difficult." "Okay." Shao Shude said happily: "If this can be done, the border will be more peaceful.
"
The reputation of Changxia Trading Company has been increasing day by day over the years, because they can always get goods that others cannot get. Or even if others can get it, I have more quantity and better quality. Therefore, it has become the name of Chang'an, Luoyang, Bianzhou, and Peking.
The top comprehensive commercial firm in the country is making a lot of money every day.
Shao Shude set up this "supermarket" mainly to promote marine products. Now it seems that Changxia Trading Company, which occupies prime locations in major cities, has huge potential.
With such a business platform in hand, you can really do so many things.
The Manchu and grassland trade depended on Shanxi merchants. However, Shanxi merchants were mainly involved in wholesale and retail. Changxia merchants were mainly engaged in retail but they also had purchasing agencies. What needs to be done now is to connect them with the grassland and slowly spread the
goods.
There is no doubt that this is a wholesale and retail enterprise with both commercial and political overtones. To a certain extent, it is more political, serving the political interests of the monarch and the country, and making a little money at the same time.
If this platform is properly utilized, it can bind the grasslands and the Central Plains more closely economically.
Shao Shude can't wait to look through his books. If possible, continue to open a few more outlets to make it more powerful. He doesn't know whether future generations of monarchs will have enough ability to make money. But leaving more legacies will benefit future generations.
If you lose your fortune, you can lose more slowly and for a longer time.
Once you reach the middle of the dynasty, the ability to make money is very critical - if you don't have money, there will be some small troubles on the border, and you will retreat as soon as the accounts are settled, isn't this condoning careerists?
After parting ways with Tuoba Sijing, Shao Shude did not delay any longer and continued southward with his army, returning to Beiping Prefecture at the end of August. On the first day of September, he attended the Shuowang Dynasty Meeting in Jintai Hall of Linshuo Palace and officially announced the return of the master.
