Chapter seven hundred and thirty fifth talk on paper
When people grow old, their hair turns white in the west wind, and when butterflies come and go, tomorrow's flowers fade away. Looking back at the end of the world, there is a ray of setting sun, and the jackdaws are counted.
——Excerpt from "Toad Palace Song·Nine Days" by Zhang Kejiu (Yuan Dynasty)
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Seeing Suzong's high mood, Bai Fu added: "The weapons developed this time have amazing firepower and great lethality. With these weapons, the Tang army in Duji Province will be able to gain an advantage in the confrontation with Shi Siming."
I sincerely request that we manufacture them in batches and be the first to equip the Shuofang Army stationed in Heyang."
Suzong had not yet nodded, and the affairs under Tong Zhongshu's disciples were settled, the Minister of War, Lu Pei, came forward and said: "Your Majesty, as the saying goes, if you are in the right way, you will get many helpers, but if you are wrong, you will have few helpers. Our army is the king of justice, and the rebels are the traitors who cause chaos. The destiny of the people and the people are all in control.
In my Tang Dynasty Zhengshuo.
Well-equipped equipment is important, but weapons are also controlled by people. The morale of the people and the military is the key to victory or defeat on the battlefield.
I believe that the commander-in-chief of the army should have great righteousness and encourage the soldiers of the three armies to serve the country with loyalty, and should not focus only on weapons and pin the hope of annihilating the rebels on new weapons."
As soon as Lu Xi finished speaking, all the courtiers looked at Bai Fu. Obviously Lu Xi's words were aimed at Bai Fu.
Bai Fu's anger arose spontaneously, and he thought to himself: "You are shirking responsibility for ensuring military supplies and just digging a hole for me. After all, you are doing it for the benefit of the frontline soldiers. Now you are telling lies with your eyes open, just to deliberately make things difficult for me."
Bai Fu smiled instead of being angry, and said with a laugh: "Lord Lu, you are worthy of being a Jinshi in the first year of Tianbao. You are quite virtuous in ancient times. You can lead the army with orders that put our reckless generals to shame. With your talent, you can stay here
The court is really aggrieved."
After saying that, Bai Fu bowed deeply and said to Su Zong: "Your Majesty, the rebels are now in Duji Road and Henan Road and are constantly attacking cities and plundering territory.
The rebel general An Taiqing is in Huaizhou, Tian Chengsi is in Huaixi, Wang Tongzhi is in Chenzhou (Huaiyang District, ZK City, Henan Province), Xu Jingjiang is in Yanzhou (Yanzhou City, Shandong Province), Yunzhou (Dongping County, Shandong Province), and Xue Cai is in
Caozhou (Cao County, SD Province) plundered the population and seized land.
If the momentum of the rebel front is not curbed in time, once the rebels go south to the Yangtze and Huaihe Rivers and interrupt our water transportation, they will definitely cause heavy damage to the Tang Dynasty.
I urge Mr. Lu to select a group of courtiers who are rich in knowledge and experience and go to Huaizhou and Huaixi to recruit rebels in Duji Road, Henan Road and other places. They will show their great righteousness and give the rebels a head-on blow!
I wonder among all of you, who among you is willing to go with Lord Lu?"
Bai Fu's naked flattery and arrogance made Lu Xi extremely embarrassed.
All the courtiers secretly laughed and said to themselves: "Lü Chen is so stupid. He knows that Bai Fu will retaliate, but he still ignores his own strength? "The king's army is invincible, and the rebels are fleeing." It's okay to coax your majesty. How can it be taken seriously?
An Taiqing, Tian Chengsi and others were all capable generals of the rebels, but Lü Chen was just a talker. If he went into battle, he would probably be killed in one round.
The former prime minister and assistant Fang Guan had no military knowledge and liked to talk empty talk. As a result, Chen Taoxie was defeated in Xianyang and returned with humiliation and infamy. Having learned from the past, will Lü Chi dare to make the same mistake again?"
All the courtiers looked at Lu Bi's jokes without saying a word.
Lu Pei had always talked about being a scribe, and was very proud of her. Now that she was being bullied by Bai Fu in public, she was extremely embarrassed.
Lu Wei almost blurted out: "Seniors can be killed but not humiliated! Just go, what's so scary! The worst is, I will be wrapped in horse leather and my blood will be spilled in front of the battle!"
As soon as the words came to his lips, Lu Xi swallowed them. As soon as he said these words, he felt happy and won some favors in front of the officials. But if he was sent to the front line, forget about getting promoted and making a fortune. This old life would definitely be ruined.
Lost among the rebels."
"Han Xin can endure the humiliation of his crotch. As the prime minister of the Tang Dynasty, I, Lv Zhen, can tolerate it. Who can't endure it?"
Lu Bi gritted her teeth and pretended to be dumbfounded. Her face turned from red to purple, like a red eggplant.
At the critical moment, Guo Ziyi, the Duke of Dai, was still kind. He laughed and said: "Sharp weapons, loyal warrior spirit, one of them can't be neglected. Mr. Lu is a prime minister. He is in the center, strategizing, and facing the great enemy."
Tang has a greater effect."
Seeing that Guo Linggong came out to smooth things over, Bai Fu restrained his sharpness and stopped trying to squeeze Lu Bian, so as to give Guo Linggong face.
The prince's tutor, Miao Jinqing and Lv Xiang, among the attendants, were all members of the prince's party. Seeing that Duke Guo Ling was intervening, they hurriedly came out to support Lv Xi. Otherwise, they would not be able to do anything with the prince.
Miao Jinqing came out and said: "Your Majesty, there is a famine now. Each bushel of rice is sold for seven thousand yuan. Starving people are dying all over the fields, and they have to exchange their children for food. The national treasury should take the lead in allocating funds to help the victims. We will wait until the victims are resettled before considering
It’s not too late to make weapons.”
Liu Yan, the minister of the Ministry of Revenue, said: "Master Miao's words are reasonable. However, our Ministry of Revenue has already prepared for this. The money and food for relieving the victims and manufacturing weapons have been properly raised. If they are allocated at the same time, it should not be a big problem. Both can be satisfied.
"
Miao Jinqing thought to himself: "I have already expressed my gratitude to you. I have confessed to the prince. If I continue to entangle myself and anger Bai Fu, it is not a joke."
Miao Jinqing stroked his long beard with his hands, showing a look of relief, and said: "Master Liu has prepared for a rainy day, he is really the pillar of the country. I feel relieved now." After that, he laughed and returned to the train.
Suzong had been in the court for a long time, so he didn't know what everyone was thinking. He deliberately wanted the two parties to fight and fight to the death before making a decision, which showed the majesty of the emperor.
Seeing that Lu Xi was the first to provoke, and was easily angered by Bai Fu, with no way to fight back, Suzong secretly shook his head and said to himself: "This Lu Xi does not have a grand heart, and her abilities are even more ordinary. It is so important to ensure military supplies."
He did not dare to take responsibility for the incident and passed the blame to Bai Fu. When he saw Bai Fu's achievements, he felt jealous and had no sense of grace.
More importantly, as my weakling, this person has no eyesight. Since I came to watch the military exercise, I am telling the courtiers that I will fully support the research and development and manufacturing of new weapons.
If you can't even see through this, how can such a person be the prime minister of the Tang Dynasty?!"
The more Suzong looked at Lv Xiang, the former Prime Minister Fang Guan was talking more and more like paper talk, empty talk was ruining the country, and his anger gradually grew in his heart. At this moment, Suzong had already had the idea of changing his appearance.
Suzong cleared his throat, looked around at the ministers and said: "The research and development and manufacturing of new weapons are related to the great cause of counterinsurgency and are the top priority of the government.
All the beloved ministers have also seen the military exercise just now. With these new weapons, the casualties of the soldiers of the three armies can be greatly reduced.
The lives of the hungry and disaster victims are lives, and the lives of the Tang Dynasty soldiers are also lives. They are all my people, and we cannot favor one over the other.
Since the Ministry of Revenue has a complete plan, I have no worries. I have made up my mind, and the Ordnance Supervisor is working hard to produce these weapons as soon as possible, transport them to the battlefield, and equip the three armies!"
Suzong's words were awe-inspiring, pertinent and well-founded. All the courtiers saluted and praised him.
"Looking at the appearance of the army, Xuan comforted the deposed envoy." The eunuch Yu Chaoen saw the opportunity and said, "Your Majesty, Sir Bai and the craftsmen have made great contributions. Why not give them a reward as an encouragement?"
Suzong laughed heartily, patted the armrest of the dragon chair, and said: "What Ai Qing said is true. I was so happy that I forgot about this. Come on, Bai Fu comes forward to listen to the order."
Bai Fu hurriedly bowed deeply and said: "Your Majesty, I have done nothing and deserve it. The success of weapon research and development is all due to your Majesty's great blessing and God's blessing on the Tang Dynasty.
In addition, thanks to the generous help and full support of Mr. Liu and Mr. Tong from the Ministry of Revenue, we have the manpower and money to complete this task."
Bai Fu hated the Minister of War, Lu Chi, for digging a hole for him, and deliberately did not mention this Minister of War, who was at the same level as him.
Suzong smiled and said: "I am very relieved that Bai Aiqing is so humble and kind. Liu Yan, of course Tong Yan has merit, but you take the greatest credit.
Today I will confer you the title of Minister of the Ministry of War and give you a palace in Chang'an.
Liu Yan, the minister of household affairs, was granted the title of concurrently serving as the censor Zhongcheng, Duzhi, casting money, and salt and iron envoy. Tong Yan, the minister of household affairs, was also granted the title of deputy envoy of Duzhi, casting money, and salt and iron."
Bai Fu could not refuse, so he could only accept the order with Liu Yan and Tong Yan to thank him.
After the defeat of Xiangzhou, Guo Ziyi, the former Minister of the Ministry of War, took the initiative to take responsibility, lost his military power and became an idle official. Since then, the Minister of the Ministry of War has been vacant.
Today, Suzong granted Bai Fu the title of Minister of the Ministry of War, and his favor was beyond words. All the courtiers said to themselves: "It would be better to be your majesty's consort. The promotion is so fast that it is staggering that we, the old ministers, can't keep up!"
The eunuch Yu Chao En flattered and said with a smile: "Your Majesty, although the three adults have done the most great work, the craftsmen who developed the weapons have also contributed a lot. Should they also be rewarded?"
Suzong was in a good mood today and said with a smile: "That's natural. The craftsmen who developed this batch of weapons are invited to meet in person."
Li Jin, a doctor in the Ministry of War, led several officials from the Ministry of War, such as Wai Lang, Ling Shi, Shu Ling Shi, etc. to have an audience.
Suzong asked several questions about the research and development of weapons, and Li Jin and others answered fluently, which showed that they had real talents and knowledge. Suzong was delighted, and he was promoted to various positions and received generous rewards.
Eunuch Yu Chaoen asked curiously: "Why didn't Ma Daifeng, the young eunuch in charge of weapons research and development, come to see him?"
Li Jin's eyes turned red when he heard this. He bowed to the ground and replied: "Reporting to your lord, Sir Ma was installing and debugging the eight-oxen giant crossbow in Heyang Tower the day before yesterday. Unfortunately, he was lost in the enemy's hidden sentry. He was unable to receive treatment and has passed away..."
"Ah?!" Eunuch Yu Chaoen was shocked.
Suzong let out a long sigh and said: "Ma Daifeng died in the line of duty, which is commendable for his loyalty and bravery. He was posthumously named the Inspector of Arms (fourth grade) and was given the title of Viscount of the founding of the country. It is hereditary and will not replace him."
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After the military exercise was over, Bai Fu called for his subordinate Colonel Tian Bulang and said: "From today on, you will secretly protect Master Li Jin and see who will get close to him recently.
The people who have his ideas are secret spies of the enemy country if they are not protected!"