As Zhao Yun, Huang Zhong, and Ma Chao were about to return to Xiangyang, Liu Xin had already guessed what the purpose of Chen Gong's visit was. Ma Chao stayed overnight in the Huns king's tent, and also kept the wives and concubines of the Xiongnu Chanyu in the tent.
Even Ju Shou was dissatisfied with the matter, let alone the upright Chen Gong. Of course, Liu Xin appointed Chen Gong as the supervisory censor, responsible for supervising all officials, because he took a fancy to Chen Gong's upright character.
In fact, the phantom secret agents under Ju Shuo are more capable of providing timely information about civil and military officials, but although Liu Xin is not a gentleman, he is not ashamed to use this kind of espionage method on his subordinates. He hopes to get more information from Chen Gong.
Heard the news about the officials, because Chen Gong’s duty is to supervise the hundred
Official, no matter what means and channels he uses to obtain information, it is a matter of course and aboveboard. Of course, if it involves rebellion or rebellion, the Phantom Secret Agent will spare no effort to spy. Jushou is also because of Ma Chao
His actions were suspected of treason, so he came to report to Liu Xin.
However, Liu Xin did not intend to tell Chen Gong that she already knew about this matter, because doing so would reveal that she had another source of information, and it would also distrust Chen Gong. Therefore, Liu Xin put on a show
As if he was ready to listen, he said with a smile: "Come on, Gongtai, sit down and talk slowly."
Due to the arrival of Liu Xin, chairs have gradually become popular throughout the Han Dynasty, and they are indeed more comfortable than sitting on the floor. However, in many places, those who maintain their own status still prefer to use the kneeling posture when encountering important occasions.
However, this situation has completely changed in Jingzhou, because the chairs are indeed very comfortable to sit on, and their state pastor likes to sit on the chairs, and others naturally follow suit. Nowadays, few people still sit on their knees.
Because of the posture, even a more traditional person like Chen Gong also likes the chair.
Having followed Liu Xin for a long time, we all know that Liu Xin is actually a very easy-going person. Therefore, Chen Gong did not show any pretense. He thanked him and sat on the chair. He also adjusted his posture habitually to make himself more comfortable.
, then he submitted a letter and said: "To report to my lord, my subordinates have received a secret report about Ma Chao, the general of the Sixth Army. It records many of his illegal things. Please read it, lord."
Liu Xin took the letter and glanced at it hastily. It was exactly as Jushou said, but there was one more thing than Jushou reported, that is, Ma Chao secretly took the captured good horse for himself.
The reason why Ju Shuo was able to get the news many days before Chen Gong was due to the high efficiency of the phantom secret agent and the special message transmission system. Chen Gong's message transmission mainly relied on the stations set up along the road, and Chen Gong was serious about his work.
After getting the news, he felt that the matter was of great importance and sent people to conduct further verification before reporting to Liu Xin, so it was a little later than Liu Xin originally estimated.
These two sources of information, one explicit and one implicit, corroborate each other, but also prove that the content of the information is accurate from another aspect.
Liu Xin had already told Ju Shou that he would not pursue this matter. However, facing the upright Chen Gong, he still pretended to be solemn and asked: "Gongtai, in your opinion, how should this matter be handled?
"
Since Chen Gong felt that this matter was of great importance, he had naturally thought of how to deal with it before he came. When Liu Xin asked, he almost blurted out: "Back to my lord, what Ma Chao did is truly treasonous, and the actions of my subordinates should be severely punished!"
Liu Xin pretended to be deep in thought, and then said for a while: "Ma Chao is young and ignorant, and he probably doesn't think that much. Besides, the Xiongnu has been merged into the Han Dynasty, so it doesn't matter what the king's tent is. Where he lives should not matter. .”
When Chen Gong heard these words, it was clear that Liu Xin was trying to excuse Ma Chao. Chen Gong was slightly dissatisfied and said seriously: "My lord, the matter is not that simple. In the eyes of the Huns, the royal tent is a symbol of royal power, not to mention Ma Chao also touched Yuv Luo's woman, which is tantamount to treason!"
What is the crime of treason? It is a serious crime of confiscating a family and exterminating a clan. When Liu Xin saw Chen Gong's solemn words, she couldn't help laughing and said: "Ma Chao is just a child, how can it be that serious? You said he lived in the king's house I believe it. You would be a fool not to live in such a big tent. Even I would live in it. However, I will never believe it when you say that Ma Chao met Yuvrou's woman. Those women on the grassland are born with vaginas. It smells like mutton, but if you touch it, haha, you know."
This sentence is quite true. There are also twelve Hun girls in the Prefectural Mufu. They are all pretty and have hot bodies. However, the smell on their bodies makes people stay away. If Diao Chan and Cai Yan didn't want to They learned the dances and musical instruments on the grassland, and Liu Xin had already kicked them out of the house.
Chen Gong heard Liu Xin's fight and was unmoved. He raised his hands and said: "If the lord thinks that Ma Chao is just a child, then he should be deprived of his military power! How can a child be allowed to lead troops in war? Spread the word Wouldn’t it make people laugh at me because there is no one in the Han Dynasty?”
Liu Xin looked stunned. He didn't expect that Chen Gong would immediately catch the flaw in his words. It seemed that the wise men of this era really should not be underestimated.
In fact, Chen Gong is not the kind of person who is single-minded. What he said is to give Liu Xin a step down. He admits that Ma Chao is a child and does not pursue Ma Chao for the crime of treason. However, he must remove Ma Chao from his official position and deprive Ma Chao of his military power. , which can be regarded as a severe punishment for Ma Chao.
Liu Xin knew that Chen Gong was very difficult to deal with. If he did not agree to remove Ma Chao from his official position, he would definitely make another statement about Ma Chao's intention to rebel, which would be endless, so he could only nodded and said: "Then it will be as you say. However, Ma Chao also made a lot of achievements this time. If you have merit, you will be rewarded, and if you make mistakes, you will be punished. This is the principle of Liu's life. Now, the crimes Ma Chao committed will be punished according to your instructions, but what he has established I still want to reward you for your contribution. I plan to..."
Unexpectedly, Chen Gong was already prepared. Before Liu Xin could finish what he said, he immediately clasped his fists and said, "My lord is wise, and it should be like this. However, this Ma Chao is just a child, so I'll just reward him with some gold and silver."
Liu Xin was speechless. He originally planned to remove Ma Chao from his post as a general to punish him for living in the Huns' tent without authorization, and then commend him for his two great contributions in this battle. He was directly promoted to the position of a general without being promoted or demoted, and he was playing some political tricks. As a result, he told Chen Gong this, which directly blocked his path. It seems that Chen Gong would not dismiss Ma Chao from office. Come on, I don’t know why Chen Gong has such a hatred for Ma Chao.
In fact, Chen Gong and Ma Chao have no grudges. Moreover, he is the supervisory censor, and Ma Chao's father Ma Teng is the left minister of the Ministry of War. The two often meet on some important occasions. Since they both work under Liu Xin, they look up to each other. No need to bow your head, Chen Gong really has no need to embarrass Ma Chao.
Chen Gong did this just to discuss the matter. Although he is upright, he is not inflexible, otherwise he would not agree to just dismiss Ma Chao from office. If Ma Chao simply took a good horse as his own, Chen Gong would definitely not do this.
Looking into it more deeply, Chen Gong thought that Ma Chao's move into the Hun king's tent was too outrageous. If he was not dismissed from his official post, it would be inevitable that he would not do more disrespectful things in the future.
Now is not the time when Liu Xin first arrived in Xiangyang. At that time, he lacked talents around him. Anyone with two skills would be entrusted with important tasks as long as they were proven to be loyal and reliable after a little inspection. Now, Liu Xin has a lot of talents under his command.
, and the system is becoming increasingly perfect, anyone who wants to be promoted must go through the corresponding procedures.
Although Ma Chao joined the Han army not long ago, his ability to become a general was entirely due to his own efforts and military exploits, earned bit by bit. Now he was beaten to the end by Chen Gong with just a few words.
, it is not that easy to be promoted to the position we have today.
The composition of Liu Xin's army is like this. Each legion has a legion commander, one deputy legion commander, two deputy generals, two partial generals, two assistant generals, and several captains. The following are the hundred commanders, the captain, and the corps commander.
and ordinary soldiers.
Originally, when Ma Chao became a captain, he was promoted as an exception, so that he could accumulate military merits and be promoted to a general in a short period of time. Of course, Liu Xin also paid special attention to him. Now, Ma Chao is already a general.
He has a certain degree of independent command power, which is what Liu Xin said: "The general will be outside, and the emperor's orders will not be taken care of." As long as he has enough ability, he will have the opportunity to make greater contributions in the war. But after Chen Gong did this
As soon as he did this, he was directly reduced to an ordinary soldier, that is, he became the kind of person who "obeys orders and obeys commands". He has no autonomy at all on the battlefield, otherwise he will really be subject to military law. In this way,
Come, he will have a long way to go if he wants to be promoted to a captain, let alone a general, because great achievements like defeating the Liu Bao and Yu Fulu tribes are very rare.
Two days later, Zhao Yun and Huang Zhong led some of the soldiers who went to Xiongnu back to Xiangyang City. There was excitement inside and outside Xiangyang City. This kind of scene has been happening since Xiliang, but the welcoming crowd in Xiangyang City was more enthusiastic.
Crowded in the streets and alleys of the city.
This time they braved the heavy snow to go on an expedition, not only to eliminate the Xiongnu, but also to completely transform them into Han people, and to incorporate the grasslands where the Xiongnu had been nomadic for generations into the territory of the Han Dynasty. Such achievements cannot be overestimated.
Although the Xiongnu grassland has been included in the territory of the Han Dynasty, it has not been officially announced, and there are still many systems to be established regarding fair trade issues, but rumors have spread like wildfire. The most important thing is that the Han Express has begun to recruit people to send to the Xiongnu.
Household registration officers from various ministries, this is the best proof.
Nowadays, the people under Liu Xin's rule have no objection to strict household registration. Because Liu Xin no longer taxes on a per capita basis, on the contrary, as long as the household registration is registered, you can get "social security".
The term "social security" was of course "invented" by Liu Xin. However, the social security here is different from the old-age care and medical insurance of later generations. Instead, it means that in the event of a major disaster, ordinary Han people who have registered their household registration can receive government benefits.
Relief. The people's requirements are not high, and this is enough. Therefore, although the new household registration system is very strict, it is still welcomed by the people. This kind of social security system is also applicable to those who have just surrendered.
The Xiongnu tribe and the grassland herdsmen who have suffered from natural disasters are also willing to accept it.
At this time, Ma Chao, who had just returned from the grassland, was riding proudly on his horse and was welcomed by the people among the team. It was he who conquered Liu Bao's tribe, and he also conquered Yu Fuluo's tribe. The scimitar that symbolizes the royal power of the Huns He was also the one who sent Liu Bao's and Liu Bao's heads back to Xiangyang, so he had reason to be proud.