Liu Xin laughed and said: "Prefect Pang has just passed his forties this year. It is the time when men are most attractive. How can you say that you are not too young? In the small village where I used to live, an eighty-year-old man married
There is a poem that describes this eighteen-year-old girl well: The eighteen-year-old bride has pale hair and red makeup. The mandarin ducks are twined under the quilt at night, and a pear tree presses the begonia."
If Liu Xin didn't regard him as one of his own, it would be impossible for him to joke with him casually. Thinking of this, Pang Ji also laughed and praised: "My lord is really good at writing."
Liu Xin quickly waved her hand and said, "Prefect Pang is joking. I don't have any literary talent. This poem was not written by me. It was improvised by a private school teacher in our village to tease the old man."
Zhang Xian, a famous poet in the Northern Song Dynasty, married an 18-year-old concubine when he was eighty years old. At that time, Su Shi, who often sang poems with Zhang Xian, went to visit him with many friends and asked the old gentleman how he felt about getting such a beautiful wife. Zhang Xian
First, he casually recited: "I am eighty years old and your eighteenth year. You are a beauty and I have white hair. We are the same generation as you, but there is only a sixtieth between them." The humorous Su Dongpo immediately joined in a poem: "Eighteenth".
The bride is eighty-year-old, with pale hair and red makeup. The mandarin ducks spend the night in pairs, and a pear tree presses the begonia."
Liu Xin didn't remember many poems. When he was watching Zhou Xingchi's movie, there was a classic line: "I am known as Yushu Linfeng, suave, handsome, talented, knowledgeable, known as a pear blossom crushing a begonia, and people give me nicknames...
..." left the deepest impression on him. Liu Xin didn't quite understand the meaning of "A pear blossom crushing a begonia", so she searched online and found this poem sung by Su Dongpo and Zhang Xian. The language is humorous.
The humor was something he kept in mind.
However, Liu Xin could shamelessly steal other poems as his own, but he did not dare to admit that he had written this poem. If it reached Ma Yun's ears, it would be strange not to call him a bastard.
Pang Ji clicked his tongue and praised: "I didn't expect that a private school teacher could be so talented. The small mountain village where my lord lives is really not simple."
Liu Xin smiled and said: "Let's not talk about this anymore. Prefect Pang, I have read the letter I asked you to bring to you. If you have any ideas, just tell me and don't worry."
Pang Ji knew that the topic was about to begin, so he quickly sat up straight and said, "I have no objections to the matters mentioned in the letter by my lord."
Liu Xin nodded and said, "Well, let me introduce the situation to you in detail..."
On the basis of the separation of military and political affairs in Xiangyang, Nanyang and other five counties, and through research in Jiangxia and Wuling, Liu Xin already had a relatively clear idea of the basic structure of local government. He explained it to Pang Ji in detail
New terms and concepts such as civil power, financial power, taxation power, military command power, and personnel appointment and dismissal power. The prefect only controls the civil power. Each county has a captain to lead the local army, and another captain directly led by the state pastoral office.
The tax collector is responsible for local taxation.
Although the prefect no longer has the power of military command and taxation, Liu Xin gave the prefect the power to appoint and remove personnel. From now on, subordinate officials in the county and county magistrates will be appointed and removed by the prefect. As long as the status of these officials is reported to the prefecture and animal husbandry office
Just filing it on record was enough. This was something Pang Ji didn't expect. In the past, prefects could only appoint and remove officials, but not officials. Pang Ji didn't expect Liu Xin to delegate this power to him, so he couldn't help but be surprised.
Not only that, but what makes Pang Ji even more happy is that taxes are now collected and paid by the Prefectural Mufu, and the salaries of all officials in Jingzhou are uniformly distributed by the Prefectural Mufu in accordance with regulations. In this way, relatively poor people like Guiyang
For counties and counties, there is no need to worry about arrears in salary arrears for officials, and the burden on him as a prefect is suddenly much lighter.
After continuing to listen to Liu Xin's introduction to agriculture, business and other aspects, Pang Ji felt more confident and full of longing for the future of Guiyang. Pang Ji's originally nervous mood gradually relaxed, and then he realized
He forgot to give something to Liu Xin, so he hurriedly took out two letters from his arms and said, "I forgot something important. Please forgive me, my lord."
Pang Ji wanted to give these two things to Liu Xin yesterday, but as soon as he arrived in Wuling, he was dragged to a dinner by Liu Xin. It was said to be a dinner, but it actually started in the afternoon and ended when Pang Ji got drunk.
Pang Ji also wanted to mention this matter at the banquet, but as soon as he mentioned it, Liu Xin interrupted him on the pretext of not discussing official matters.
Liu Xin understood Pang Ji's complicated mood very well. Anyone in Pang Ji's situation would be a little nervous, and it was inevitable to lose everything, so he had no intention of blaming him. Liu Xin took the two letters, and above them were
There was a gift list, but underneath was a letter.
He opened the gift list, smiled, and threw it aside. When he opened the letter again, his face became solemn. He was silent for a long time, and then asked: "Does Prefect Pang know what is written in this letter?"
Pang Ji leaned over and said, "Returning to my lord, Zhang Zi, the prefect of Lingling, only asked his subordinates to give this letter to my lord. It is inconvenient for my subordinates to ask in detail, so I don't know what is said in the letter."
Liu Xin gently closed the letter and said, "Zhang Zi said in the letter that he wanted to invite me to Lingling."
At this time, Pang Ji also recalled what Zhang Zi had said to him, so he cupped his hands and said: "My lord, Zhang Zi did propose this idea to his subordinates, and asked them to wait for the lord's arrival in Lingling with him.
Repeatedly, there was no answer."
Liu Xin nodded approvingly at him and said, "Prefect Pang, you did the right thing, but I'm still going to go to Lingling."
Pang Ji has now staked all his treasure on Liu Xin. He is still the governor of Guiyang, but the burden on him is much lighter than before. He also thinks that one day he can live to the age where a pear blossom can overwhelm a begonia, but he does not want Liu Xin to
If there was anything wrong with this leader, he quickly said: "Lord, this must not be done! I have known Zhang Zi for many years, and this man is quite powerful. He must have bad intentions when he proposes to invite the lord to Lingling."
Liu Xin said seriously: "Prefect Pang, you still don't know that the conditions Zhang Zi put forward in the letter are really irresistible. He said in the letter that he no longer wants to be the prefect and invites me to go to Lingling to think about it.
Hand over all matters to me in person. In any case, I will not allow Lingling County to be independent from Jingzhou as it was in the past. If what Zhang Zi said is true, it will avoid a big war and ruin of lives."
Pang Ji continued to persuade: "My lord, Zhang Zi wants to invite your lord to Lingling. This subordinate knows about it, but he does not want to continue to serve as the prefect, but I have never heard him say a word."
.My subordinates are worried that there is fraud here, so please think again, lord!"
Liu Xin waved her hand and said: "Prefect Pang, you don't have to worry. When Emperor Gaozu faced Xiang Yu's hundreds of thousands of troops, he still went to the Hongmen Banquet calmly. Could it be possible that when the news came to me, he would be afraid of him, a Lingling prefect? Zhang
If Zi is smart enough, he will do as he says in his letter honestly, and I will arrange a suitable position for him in Xiangyang. If he dares to cheat, huh! I will make him die an ugly death!"
Pang Ji did not dare to persuade him any more, so he stood up and said, "Since the master is determined to go, I would like to accompany you."
Liu Xin pointed at the gift list and said with a smile: "Prefect Pang, we can't live without you in Guiyang, so I won't worry about Lingling. I will arrange for people to escort you back to Guiyang right away. Also, I'd like to thank you for your thoughts.
Okay, as for these gifts, you should take them back. As long as you manage Guiyang well and let the people of Guiyang live a good life, you will give me the best gift."
Pang Ji didn't know that Liu Xin didn't like receiving gifts, he just thought that he didn't like the gifts he sent. It was understandable for Pang Ji to think this way, what he sent was just some gold and silver, beauties, gold and silver
Put aside for the time being, the four women he picked out were not as good as the two that Liu Xin sent to his room yesterday. Pang Ji secretly determined that he would find a way to choose a few for Liu Xin to see in the future.
Give him the eye-catching treasure.
Liu Xin's courage to go to Lingling was not a show of courage. He was silent just now and was analyzing the current situation.
At that time, the economy in the south of the Yangtze River was far less developed than in the north of the Yangtze River. Jingzhou had four counties in the south of the Yangtze River. Among them, Changsha was the best, and Lingling and Guiyang were the worst. According to Liu Xin's understanding, these two counties withheld military pay and defaulted on arrears.
Issues with officials' salaries happen from time to time. Pang Ji also said that all the taxes he had withheld in the past two years were used to repay officials' salaries. With insufficient money and food, naturally he could not support too many soldiers and horses. The situation was worse than
Cao Yu, the better of the two, had only 7,000 men in Wuling City at the beginning, and Zhang Zi could only use 5,000 men at most.
Currently stationed outside Wuling City is the Fourth Army led by Zhao Yun, with more than 12,000 troops. Liu Xin also has 200 flying tiger guards, who are far stronger than Zhang Zi in terms of numbers and combat effectiveness.
.
What's more, if Zhang Zi dares to plot against Liu Xin, he will definitely not dare to make it public. His plan can only be known to a few confidants. Otherwise, not only will the matter be easily leaked, but also will the officials in Lingling learn from Cao Yu's men and kill him first?
After arresting him, no one could tell. As a result, he would have even fewer manpower at his disposal.
However, it is indeed a good move for Zhang Zi to take the initiative to invite Liu Xin to Lingling. If Liu Xin does not dare to come to Lingling, then it is not Zhang Zi's problem. I, Zhang Zi, want to be loyal to you, but you don't want to, can you blame me?
who?
What if Liu Xin really dares to come to Lingling? Zhang Zi has not considered this question, but he quickly gave a negative answer. I, Zhang Zi, do not dare to go to Wuling. In addition to not wanting to hand over power, there is another reason.
I'm afraid that Liu Xin will take the opportunity to do harm. Liu Xin's life is much more valuable than mine, Zhang Zijin. Would he dare to ask him to come to Lingling? Even if he had ten more courages, he wouldn't dare.
Zhang Zi was lying on the couch, still feeling proud that he could come up with such a clever plan, when his subordinates suddenly came in to report that Liu Xin, the shepherd of Jingzhou, had arrived in Lingling!