Chapter 306 Bad News, only 10,000 People Came, the General Is Called Di Qing

At the end of February in the fifth year of the Qingli period, the transfer order of Wang Chu, the governor of Yongzhou, had already arrived in Yongzhou. He was demoted to the magistrate of Wuping County, Fujian, because he knew about it but did not report it.

However, before the new governor arrived, he had to carry out the handover work and could not leave for the time being.

So when he saw Nong Zhigao arrogantly entering Yongzhou City and calling him "Wang County Li" with the Huang brothers, he almost got angry.

But there was nothing he could do.

This matter was investigated by the Imperial City Department. It happened that the court dealt with the Western Xia and Liao Kingdoms, freeing up its hands to prepare to eliminate the Yue Dynasty, and as a result, this mess was discovered. If he didn't demote him, who would be demoted?

After Nong Zhigao entered the city, he became the co-governor of Yongzhou, and before the new governor of Yongzhou came, he became the temporary top leader.

He did not make any arrangements immediately, but stayed in his co-governor and waited.

After all, his status is different now, and he has to think about his career. If he messed around before the new Guangnan West Road Transport Commissioner and Yongzhou Zhizhou came, and angered his superiors, it would be a big problem and not good for his career.

A few days later, Zhao Wenzuo, the former Gaozhou Zhizhou, arrived first. After a smooth handover with Wang Chu, the Zhizhou and Tongzhi of Yongzhou were all present.

Nong Zhigao began to contact him, and the two worked together for more than ten days.

The reason why Zhao Wenzuo took office was not only because he was a Tongzhi in a neighboring state and was familiar with the local situation in Yongzhou, but also because of his outstanding political achievements and his advantage of knowing the ethnic minorities in the border areas.

The court sent a secret letter to Zhao Wenzuo, asking him to have a good colleague relationship with Nong Zhigao, and also expressed the court's determination to recover the southwest and beat Vietnam this time.

Knowing the court's intention, he went in and out with Nong Zhigao during this period. Even if he encountered something, he often had to discuss with each other. In this way, the two quickly established a preliminary friendship and their relationship became increasingly close.

In early March, Yang Cha, the transport commissioner of Guangnan West Road, finally arrived.

He was originally the co-magistrate of Suzhou, and was appreciated by Zhao Jun. He was promoted repeatedly, first to the prefect of Yingzhou, then to the prefect of Shouzhou, then to the position of Longtu Pavilion attendant and supervisory censor, and last year he was also the Hanlin scholar and the acting prefect of Kaifeng Prefecture.

Now Kaifeng Prefecture is basically managed by Bao Zheng, the co-magistrate of Kaifeng Prefecture, and Bao Zheng was officially promoted this year, so there was an unwritten rule for the prefect of Kaifeng Prefecture before.

That is, the prefect of Kaifeng is a transitional official, and after serving for one or two months, he can often be promoted to various departments as a minister.

But after Yang Cha became the prefect of Kaifeng at the end of last year, when he was about to be promoted to various departments, he was suddenly assigned to Guangnan West Road as a transport commissioner. Although he was still a senior official, his future was not as bright as that of a minister of a department. For a time, many people in the court thought that he had offended someone and was sent out.

Only Yang Cha himself knew that this was an important task entrusted to him by the court, asking him to organize and lead the southwest military forces to completely eliminate the Yue Dynasty in the south.

So when he arrived at the southern route of Guangxi, he did not stay in Guizhou, the capital of Guangxi, but went directly to Yongzhou.

March 9, outside Yongzhou City.

As the ancient city of Nanning, the capital of Guangxi Province in later generations, the geographical environment of Yongzhou was still quite good.

The Yongjiang River passed through it, irrigating a plain area in the north and south. In addition, there were fewer hills, dense forests, and rich timber resources. It was biased towards the southwestern subtropical region, suitable for reclamation and human habitation.

Yang Cha rode on horseback, surrounded by the guards of the transport envoy, and could see the Yongzhou city located on the bank of the Yongjiang River in the distance.

The city was not very tall, and there were dense fields on the nearby plains, and some villages flourished. But more of it was the countless dense forests nearby, which were almost endless.

This southern route of Guangxi is indeed full of jungles, so it is no wonder that there are so many miasma.

Although the court has made it known that miasma is spread by mosquitoes in recent years, and let the people in the south start a war to eliminate mosquitoes, Yang Cha still feels a little scared when he sees this endless subtropical forest.

After about twenty minutes, he finally arrived at the foot of the city.

Zhao Wenzuo, Nong Zhigao and other officials in the city came over and greeted him.

"Zhao Wenzuo, Nong Zhigao, Huang Wei, and Huang Shimi greet the commander."

Everyone bowed their hands and bowed.

"Well, no need to be polite, let's talk about it after entering the city."

Yang Cha nodded slightly.

Many officials secretly looked at him.

They found that he was not very old, only 34 years old this year, and his face, which did not look old, was quite mature.

Everyone was quite surprised. Huang Wei, the newly appointed Wuyuan County Magistrate, who was in the crowd, whispered to the Xuanhua County Magistrate next to him: "Brother Zhang, is Si Shuai so young?"

The Xuanhua County Magistrate smiled and said: "Brother Huang, you don't know, Si Shuai is young and promising. He won the first-class Jinshi in the first year of Jingyou. Although he didn't win the top three in the first class, he was the fourth. Moreover, he has outstanding political achievements and is appreciated by the court. He has a bright future and naturally has a prosperous career."

People only know that there are only three people in the first class, that is, the top three, and the third place, but they don't know that it was during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Before that, there were five people in the first class in the Song Dynasty, but only the top three had exclusive titles, and the fourth and fifth did not.

However, even so, those who can win the first class, whether they are the first or the fifth, are very smooth in their official careers, especially Yang Cha, who took only seven years from entering the officialdom to becoming a transport envoy in history.

Now eleven years have passed. He should have been promoted to various ministries as a minister, and returned to the local area as a fourth-rank transport envoy, which is considered to be a bad career.

Hearing the words of the Xuanhua County Magistrate, Huang Wei was filled with envy for a moment.

Although he was also a Jinshi, he was the last Jinshi in the fourth class. His starting point was very low, and he had no connections. He was always in the selection state. He joined Nong Zhigao's team because he could not be selected.

Compared with Yang Cha, a child of destiny, the gap is still too far.

The group quickly entered the city.

Zhao Wenzuo had already set up a banquet in the city's restaurant.

Yang Cha was exhausted from the journey and was indeed hungry. There were many things to talk about at the dinner table, so he did not refuse.

The restaurants in Yongzhou were not as good as those in Bianliang. The most luxurious restaurant was only two stories high. Looking around, the whole city was full of bungalows, and even two-story buildings were rare.

Zhao Wenzuo entertained Yang Cha and said guiltily: "General, the southwest is remote and not as prosperous as the capital. Please bear with me."

"No problem."

Yang Cha nodded slightly, then sat down and said: "Sit down."

"Yes."

Everyone sat down one after another.

While waiting for the dishes to be served, Yang Cha said in a deep voice: "Where is the Tongzhi of Yongzhou?"

Nong Zhigao hurriedly said: "I am here."

Yang Cha turned his head and looked up and down, and found that the other party was only about twenty years old. He was quite surprised and asked: "I wonder how old the Tongzhi is?"

"Reporting to the commander, I just turned twenty this year."

Nong Zhigao was a little uneasy, he was afraid that the other party would look down on him because of his young age.

"The Tongzhi is young and promising."

Yang Cha laughed and said, "I heard that as early as four or five years ago, the Tongzhi could not bear the excessive greed of the Yue Dynasty and raised troops to resist. Doesn't that mean that the Tongzhi was only fifteen or sixteen years old at that time?"

Nong Zhigao smiled bitterly and said, "Guangyuan Prefecture was originally the territory of the court, but Li Yue extorted border residents and plundered the people. I can't stand it anymore."

"Good."

Yang Cha praised, "The Song Dynasty needs young men like the Tongzhi."

As he said, he looked around and said, "The prefect has named the Tongzhi and said that he has such courage. He can be regarded as a pillar of the future of the Song Dynasty."

"I have long seen that the Tongzhi is extraordinary and has unlimited future prospects."

"Hahaha, Tongzhi Nong will definitely have smooth sailing if he can catch the prefect's eye. If you get promoted in the future, don't forget us."

"It turns out that the Tongzhi started an army at the age of fifteen. He is really a young man with courage. This success is indispensable."

Seeing that Yang Cha valued Nong Zhigao very much, everyone also hurriedly praised him.

This is how the officialdom works. When someone above you praises you, the people below you can only flatter you, except for envy, jealousy and hatred.

Nong Zhigao was flattered by the praise and quickly returned the gift. In the Song Dynasty, the status of these border residents was not high. For example, Huang Wei and Huang Shimi were Jinshi graduates.

Because the identity of border residents has never been valued, they were not even assigned to them during the selection process, and they could only be redundant and idle officials.

He was a failed juren, not even a Jinshi, so he was naturally looked down upon in the officialdom of Yongzhou.

Now that he was treated like this all of a sudden, he felt like living in a dream.

Yang Cha smiled when he saw how flattered he was. Zhao Jun asked him to comfort Nong Zhigao. After all, the Song Dynasty had treated him a little unfairly before.

It was clear that Nong Zhigao had written many letters to request his allegiance, but the court did not get the news because of the selfish desires of the prefect of Yongzhou.

Not only did it make the border residents feel disappointed, but it also made the Song Dynasty unaware of the invasion by the scoundrels, which was simply a shame.

But after a moment, Yang Cha straightened his face and said, "But Nong Tongzhi, before the prefect comes, I have something to remind you."

Nong Zhigao hurriedly said, "Please scold me, General Si."

"The prefect said that the Song Dynasty is a country that embraces the world. No matter what nationality, whether it is Han or Yi people, since they are willing to be the people of the Song Dynasty, they will be treated equally and will not be treated differently."

Yang Cha said seriously, "Since you are willing to submit to the Song Dynasty and become an official of the Song Dynasty, you should eat the salary of the emperor and be loyal to the emperor. Like your father, you must not do things that presumptuously establish a country and usurp the throne of the emperor. Do you understand?"

Nong Zhigao was forgiven this time because he repeatedly wrote to explain the reasons for the establishment of the country. Secondly, he also expressed his willingness to submit many times and did not try to usurp the throne of the emperor.

He founded the country to raise a big flag and call on the ethnic minorities on the border to submit to his big flag.

At present, he is just establishing a kingdom.

It was not until he rebelled and conquered Yongzhou in history that he established the Great Southern Kingdom and called himself emperor.

So from his behavior, at least at present, Nong Zhigao is a bit like Li Yuanhao who is loyal to the Song Dynasty. He has not yet raised an army to rebel and try to establish himself as he did later.

Now his power is not strong, with only a few thousand people under his command, and his ambition has not expanded with the growth of power. The court has given him a status of a fellow Jinshi and the title of Tongzhi of Yongzhou, which has already made Nong Zhigao very excited. How dare he dare to transgress?

Therefore, upon hearing Yang Cha's words, Nong Zhigao was so scared that he quickly stood up and bowed his hands repeatedly, saying: "General, the court must be clear. I founded the country to make the border people submit and call on the border people to fight against Li Yue together. Otherwise, Li Yue invaded the border and claimed that it was Li Yue's land. If the border people did not have the protection of the country, how could they dare to fight them?"

"Okay, the court naturally knows. If not, can you sit here safely? That is naturally your majesty's clear observation and the prefect's clear observation."

Yang Cha bowed his hands to the north, and then smiled and said: "The co-prefect does not need to panic. The court will reward you because of your merits. This time you just need to do your best and cooperate with the court to eliminate Li Yue. That is a great achievement."

As he spoke, he looked at the other officials around him and said: "The imperial court will never forget its meritorious officials. Those who have merit will be rewarded, and those who have made mistakes will be punished. This is the rule set by the Constitutional Yuan, and this rule also applies to everyone. So this article The official is here to express his position. As long as there are meritorious service this time, I will report it truthfully and you will be generously rewarded. "

"Thank you, Commander-in-Chief!"

Everyone stood up and saluted.

"Sit down."

Yang Cha pressed his hands down to signal everyone to sit down.

By the time Nong Zhigao sat down, his back was already soaked with sweat.

Yang Cha first hit Guzao with a stick and then hit him with a stick. The beatings made him panic.

But what he said later still made him feel at ease.

Because there is a meaning in Yang Cha's words - that is, if he can make a contribution in this war to destroy Vietnam, then he will probably become famous in the future.

At this moment, the food finally started to arrive.

Yang Cha did not get down to business right away, but instead greeted everyone with a smile to eat.

With what he just said, the atmosphere quickly became heated.

Everyone's motivation to eliminate Li Yue Dynasty has also increased a bit, and they are full of longing for the future.

The main reason is that the imperial army has been too strong in recent years, and both Liao and Xixia were defeated by the north.

Compared with the Liao Kingdom and Xixia, the Vietnamese Li Dynasty was really a small country.

Even if the Li Dynasty had a population of two to three million, the Liao Kingdom had less than 10 million, and Xixia had only 800,000.

But when it comes to combat effectiveness, Li Chao can only describe it as meager.

Because of the high mountains and dense forests and blocked roads, the level of Chineseization in Vietnam is not comparable to that of Goryeo, Japan, and information is extremely closed.

This led to the fact that Vietnam's smelting technology was quite backward at that time, and its weapons and equipment, military and horse training, and logistical supplies were very poor. Not to mention compared with the Liao Kingdom, Xixia could beat them.

For example, during the Sui Dynasty, Emperor Sui Yang easily eliminated Vietnam and incorporated it into China's territory.

Therefore, these officials who were temporarily transferred from other places to reshuffle the local officials in Yongzhou were actually quite confident in destroying the Yue Dynasty.

Only Nong Zhigao knew that even if the Song Dynasty sent heavenly troops, it would not necessarily destroy the Yue Dynasty.

Because they are not accustomed to the acclimatization and are susceptible to diseases, they have always been troubled by problems.

Even if Emperor Sui Yang wiped out the Yue Kingdom casually, what would happen next?

The Sui Dynasty had not yet perished, but it immediately became independent again.

So this is a problem.

But think about it carefully, if the imperial court eliminates Vietnam in the future and you behave better, will the imperial court leave Vietnam to you?

With my familiarity with Vietnam, I might be able to hang out and be a little king there.

Thinking of this, Nong Zhigao suddenly became excited again. After the meal, he immediately asked Yang Cha: "Commander, the border people have been harassed by the Yue Dynasty for a long time. They have long been filled with anger and are waiting for an order from the imperial court. I don't know when the imperial army will arrive." Come, I’ll prepare early.”

Yang Cha smiled and said: "Don't worry, the imperial troops have already set off and will arrive in Guangxi soon."

"oh?"

Nong Zhigao said happily: "I wonder how many soldiers and horses there are? Is the commander Fan Xianggong? It's better for the officials and the prefect Zhao to make preparations and gather some food and grass."

"It's a small country, why does Mr. Fan need to go to war?"

Yang Cha shook his head.

Li Chao is really not worthy of Fan Zhongyan.

Nong Zhigao was a little disappointed when he heard that it was not Fan Zhongyan, the God of War of the Song Dynasty.

But he immediately said: "Could it be Mr. Wang or Mr. Zhang?"

If Fan Zhongyan can't come, it would be a good idea for Wang Deyong and Zhang Kang to come.

Some people have long said that in addition to Fan Zhongyan, during the Song Dynasty, Wang Deyong, the privy envoy, and Zhang Kang, the deputy privy envoy, used troops like gods.

Zhang Kang, in particular, is now well-known. He went hundreds of miles deep into the hinterland of Xixia, intercepted the retreating main force of the Liao Kingdom, and made countless gains, earning him immortal battle honors.

If one of these two people were there, they should be able to beat Yue Chao.

"No."

Unexpectedly, Yang Cha waved his hand and said, "How can you kill a chicken with a bull's knife?"

"That is?"

Nong Zhigao was shocked.

Although the Li Dynasty was not worth mentioning in front of a behemoth like the Song Dynasty, it should not be so underestimated.

No matter what, we should send a big future.

However, I heard Yang Cha say: "The imperial court plans to send 10,000 troops this time, led by General Yuhou Di of the Imperial Guard Infantry Army."

"Ten thousand?"

Nong Zhigao almost collapsed at that time.

imperial court.

Actually only planning to pay 10,000?

And he's still a little-known guard, waiting in front of the palace?

That moment.

Nong Zhigao only felt that the imperial court's plan to destroy Vietnam seemed to be a joke.