choke element

Chapter 812

After the Kaifeng court was wiped out, the force of the Jurchens completely collapsed.In the next step, Duke Zhou will surely use Kaifeng as his backing, sweep his army westward to sweep the Guanshan Five Roads, and completely control the complete territory of the Dajin Kingdom;As a result, even if Kaifeng's status is not as good as when the country was founded and the capital was established, it will not drop much.

It doesn’t take a brilliant political mind to imagine that within the sphere of influence of Dinghai, Kaifeng can at least compete with Zhongdu and Yidu; the Nanjing of Dajin will continue to be the Great Zhou in all likelihood. of Nanjing.

Then continue to deduce that it is inevitable to establish a left-behind jurisdiction in Nanjing first, and then establish a military and political institution at the level of the Privy Council or the Marshal's Office.

Previously, the soldiers secretly speculated that Monk Luo should be staying behind in Nanjing, or it was also possible that Han Xuan was transferred from Liaodong to come here.

As a result, Guo Ning casually ordered Guo Zhongyuan to stay in Nanjing on the day he entered the city, Yin Chang was the deputy, and Yan Shi was in charge of transportation and financial management.None of these people were from Guo Ning's old Hebei department, and all of them were newcomers who had joined him one after another after his rapid rise.Among them, Guo Zhongyuan, the most senior, has only been with Guo Ning for three years. In three years, he has gone from being a general to staying behind in Nanjing!

The generals and academies of the Ding Navy generally have a view that Guo Ning is generous and has no doubts about employing people.As long as those who take refuge in him are loyal and talented, they will definitely be promoted.When it comes to whether to punish or not, Guo Ning never considers the closeness of the relationship, the depth of seniority, everyone is treated equally, and he has no scruples about the promotion of capable people, which is faster than imagined.

But everyone's imagination was always limited before, and the boldness of these appointments was really unexpected, so that a steady person like Guo Zhongyuan lost his composure tonight.

If Guo Ning heard such flattery from his subordinates, he would probably smile and shake his head without commenting.In this regard, he always felt that his subordinates thought highly of him.

The premise of the so-called magnanimity and equal treatment is that there are real direct descendants available, but they are not used.

Under Guo Ning's subordinates, there is no real direct lineage at all. If he wants to be nepotism, how can he get close?
A few years ago, on the way back from northern Xinjiang to Hebei, Guo Ning once gathered a team of thousands of people, but when he couldn't provide what these people needed, the thousands of people dispersed in a blink of an eye.There were only a few partners who followed him all the time, and they all died in the mud between Tangluo, Hebei.

Since then, Guo Ning has understood a lot.After that, many people gathered in Jingcong, or thought they were Guo Ning's direct subordinates.But in Guo Ning's heart, he doesn't actually expect their loyalty to the death.

Guo Ning naturally rewards loyalty to the outside world to maintain the regime, but at the same time he can tell himself frankly that loyalty can never come from unilateral efforts.He can clearly understand that there is no unreasonable loyalty in the world. Everyone's loyalty to Guo Ning requires Guo Ning to pay something in return, and everyone needs to get something from the rising regime.

This process of mutual giving and receiving is also a process in which the relationship between the monarch and his ministers is constantly matching and becoming more stable.

However, the rewards given by Guo Ning are by no means unlimited.If the regime itself wants to grow and rise, it must abandon some vines attached to the big trees for nutrition.Among them, Guo Ning himself needs to have a clear understanding and use some means to actively restrict or reconcile.

For example, Yelu Chucai, he was the first outstanding civil servant who took refuge in Guo Ning, and he had a very high status in the Ding Navy.The reason why he took refuge in Guo Ning was that he wanted to satisfy his ideal of taking power and reshaping the politics of a great power.

Of course, Yelu Chucai has the talents and achievements that are in line with his ideals.But at the same time, it is inevitable that he has a too close relationship with the old court people in the central capital. With the expansion of Guo Ning's power, his personality of doing everything by himself is sometimes unavoidably seen by the outside world as taking too much power.

What's more, his kindness to the Khitan people has recently caused instability to many tribes on Posu Road, Helan Road bordering Koryo, Heshi Liehuanduan and others complained privately.

For example, Wang Shixian, among the defeated soldiers in Hebei, was good at doing business and lived a relatively healthy life, so Guo Ning often asked him to come forward to support Li Yun when it came to matters involving maritime trade or merchants.But he was very greedy for money in private. Taking advantage of the opportunity of supervising the navy, his family secretly set up a business firm to reap great benefits between Korea and Song.

Wang Shixian was the first to bear the brunt of the previous riots in Zhongdu. The rebels smashed his face and door with heavy objects and almost died on the spot. He has not recovered yet.But under such circumstances, he still came to Kaifeng with the army to prepare for the military affairs consultation, which can be said to be extremely loyal to state affairs... Could Guo Ning really criticize his family's small business in the open?

Everyone is like this, and the same is true for ordinary soldiers in the Ding Navy.

These soldiers have experienced the absurd governance in the last years of the Great Jin Kingdom, the humiliation of being ridden on the head by the Jurchen, and the fear of being slaughtered like grass by the Mongolian army. Therefore, when Guo Ning gave them safety , position, and glory of victory, they rejoiced.

However, can this guarantee that they are all loyal to Guo Ning?
Not necessarily.

At this moment, when Guo Ning already had a clear order, so many people dared to throw the general order aside for the sake of a little money in front of them, or the two taels of meat in their crotch.Regardless of the fierce fighting on the battlefield, if there is temptation outside the battlefield, are these soldiers reliable?

If you doubt them, it is an insult to throw their heads and blood, but if you want to talk about unconditional trust and connivance, a generation of heroes should never be like this.

This is why Guo Ning beat Li Ting from time to time.

Guo Zhongyuan and many military officers heard that Guo Ning was furious because of the wanton behavior of Li Ting's troops, and had already gone to Li Ting's camp, ready to kill people and establish rules.They saw the serious expressions of the military judges patrolling the city, and they became more and more convinced that Li Ting had caused a lot of trouble. This time, Zhou Guogong not only wanted to chop off people's heads, but he might also have to peel Li Ting's skin.

His news is not bad.

Guo Ning had indeed arrived at Li Ting's station, and he did furiously ordered Li Ting to strictly enforce military discipline, and immediately recruited his subordinates. Outside the tents of the Chinese army, hundreds of soldiers heard Guo Ning's scolding, and they were all terrified. .

The night was getting dark, and the tent door of the Chinese army was kept open because Guo Ning wanted to keep an eye on the deployment of troops outside.

But the soldiers who broke out wildly were difficult to stop for a while.Although Li Ting's personal guards rushed to report back, as far as Guo Ning could see, there were still dazzling fires caused by rioters and arson. Occasionally, the wind direction changed, and thick smoke would flow into the army tent with the wind, causing the two of them to cough.

After persevering for a while, Li Ting couldn't help but get up and slammed the tent door shut.

He and Guo Ning have a deep friendship, and both have the grace of saving lives on the battlefield.When others were around, he cared about the distinction between superiors and inferiors, as if he couldn't hold his head up when Guo Ning scolded him.Don't dare to talk nonsense.He closed the door, but his brother was talking, so he relaxed, and first went to the corner of the military tent to get a big pot and two cups.

He was seriously injured in the fire today, and now his body, left leg, right shoulder, and arm were all wrapped in thick white cloth, which smelled strongly of medicine.Because of the tight bandage, his movements are very inconvenient, and he is very careful when holding cups, pots and other objects.

Turning around, he put his arms on the back of the chair, poured himself a cup of what was in the pot, and drank it with his head raised.

Guo Ning saw his tired and lazy appearance, and could only sigh: "When I came here, I was worried that you were burned and unable to control the troops. Now it seems that your spirit is very good!"

"I had a great fight today, how could I not be energetic?" Li Ting looked at Guo Ning and asked with a smile, "Duke, would you like a drink?"

Guo Ning frowned: "Is this wine?"

"It's just fermented glutinous rice! Just a little bit of wine smell! You just won the Kaifeng, what's wrong with drinking some fermented glutinous rice!"

Guo Ning took the cup and took a sip.Where is fermented glutinous rice, it is obviously wine, and it is still good wine.

Li Ting was getting more and more courageous, but Guo Ning was not angry.

There was no outsider in the tent, and his attitude became much more relaxed and natural. After drinking the wine, he asked: "As mentioned earlier, have the people and clans that should be cleaned up been settled?"

Li Ting replied: "I'll handle the matter, don't worry. Most of the people who are in charge of the action are my confidantes who can kill people and get money and food benefits; in addition, there are also a few difficult thorns in the army, just to take this opportunity , Pursue the blame, and cut it clean."

Cleaning up Kaifeng was a tacit understanding between the two of them early in the morning.Although Li Ting said that he had suffered a lot when he entered the city, he still managed to do it now, citing the chaos and difficulty in controlling the army.

If Li Ting did this, he would take the initiative to commit the crime of indiscriminate killing. He and Guo Ning would not be able to trust each other even a little bit less.

Guo Ning nodded slightly and did not continue speaking.

Li Ting waited for a while, feeling a little strange, and moved forward.Seeing that Guo Ning was thinking, he couldn't help laughing and shouting: "Looking at your expression, I'm afraid you're going to arrange something for me!"

"Be quiet!" Guo Ning tapped on the table in front of him, and said in a deep voice: "You have suffered a lot of losses and massacres this time, even if you judge meritorious deeds, you have to convince the public."

"Then why don't you let me fight a few more battles, make some contributions, and pay off the crime?"

He answered casually, and seeing Guo Ning shaking his head, Li Ting frowned.

After thinking for a while, he suddenly realized: "This trip to mobilize troops has exhausted all the wealth we have accumulated for a long time. Otherwise, you wouldn't be cutting grass and roots in Kaifeng to rob the wealth of those Jurchen nobles. In the next year For half a year, we all have to tighten our belts to live, we won’t fight any more big battles, right?”

Guo Ning nodded: "Don't say a year or a half, it's better not to fight for three to five years, I really can't afford it."

"Then where do I go to make meritorious deeds?"

Li Ting looked at Guo Ning's expression again, and rolled his eyes twice: "I understand, I have been deliberately accused of arson, robbery and murder, and I must have nowhere to go! Where should I go? Guan Shan? Or Xijing Road?"

"On the side of Xijing Road, Zhao Jue, Qiu Huiluo and others are in charge. There are plenty of people, and you don't need to meddle. I'll give you two months to select the troops, appease the families of the soldiers, and select a few generals who are compatible. , go to Guanshan."

"Guan Shan?" Li Ting pondered for a while: "Going to Guan Shan is fine! But there are three conditions."

"Just talk."

"Firstly, Guanshaan Fifth Road has always been poor, with insufficient supplies, and military resources depend on the support of Nanjing Road. The person in charge of Nanjing Road must be a reliable person, otherwise..."

"Guo Zhongyuan will stay behind in Nanjing."

Guo Zhongyuan was Li Ting's partner when he was a gangster in Dadu, and the two have known each other for more than ten years.Knowing this appointment, Li Ting obviously became happy: "Okay, great!"

"What about the second condition?"

"Not all my tribesmen in Hebei are willing to go to Longshang. This matter cannot be forced. Those who don't want to travel far can still claim their merits, which happens to be reserved for the next Ying Navy Jiedu envoy. When I go to Longshang, I have to recruit troops on the spot. Select generals, arrange for military households to garrison fields, and then award shade households."

"There are gold medals, silver medals, testimonials and so on; the number of recruits, including the tribe you brought to Longshang, is limited to 3 people. If there are more, Guo Zhongyuan can't afford to dig three feet of ground. "

"Yes! 3 people are enough!"

"What about the third condition?"

Li Ting coughed twice, and said seriously: "To go to Guanshan, I have to have a name that is enough to bluff people. Otherwise, firstly, it will be difficult to do things, and secondly, outsiders will think that I, Li Erlang, have been relegated. Kamisu is not pretty."

The last thing to say is often the most important.Li Ting was born in Zhongdu. Since he was a child, he often resented his humble background and was often despised by others. So now, he is more enthusiastic about official positions than ordinary people.

Guo Ning likes his temperament of speaking openly behind closed doors, and he is not polite at the moment:
"After taking Kaifeng, there will be follow-up actions by the imperial court in the central capital. In a month or two, my title of Zhou Guogong will change, and the entire official system will also be greatly changed. I will no longer follow the old customs of Jurchen... Jinqing already has a plan for this. By then, you will have a majestic and terrifying title!"

"Let's talk about things later, what about now?"

"Right now, in the name of the Marshal's right deputy capital supervisor, you will lead the military affairs of the Guanlong Fifth Road! However, our force has been exhausted. You can't let Song or Xia take advantage of it, and you must stabilize it as soon as possible. Stay tuned to the local situation and avoid turmoil or fighting!"

Since ancient times, the most difficult task is to have both.However, when Li Ting heard the title of "Marshal's Right Deputy Chief Superintendent", he became visibly happy.

He nodded again and again, "That's very good!"

(End of this chapter)