Overlord's Road to Ancient Emperors

The generals of the frontier army could not leave for a long time. Several generals returned to Beijing in the name of visiting relatives. When they arrived, their hearts became more settled.

Autumn is extremely short, but it is full of joy, because it is the harvest season. After the autumn harvest, one ship after another is loaded with grain from the south to the north, and then distributed to various places, including tens of thousands of tons Grain was shipped to the steppes.

The imperial court is also very happy recently. Tax revenues in various places have increased, and the national treasury has also become abundant. At least the officials don't have to worry about not being able to pay their salaries.

Seeing that winter is about to begin, several generals of the Northwest Army jointly signed a letter requesting King Zhenbei to return as soon as possible. They may not like the commander-in-chief of the First Prince very much, but there is no leader for a day, and their internal opinions are not unified, so they cannot make a decision on anything. , If they encounter an enemy attack, they don't even have a person to give orders.

"Ahem, please tell me, who should I choose as the commander of the Northwest Army?" The emperor coughed a little in autumn, and his throat was often dry and uncomfortable after saying a few words.

In today's court there are only a few military generals who are still firmly standing beside the eldest prince, and the rest have already determined that Li Xu will become the next emperor. The strange thing is that the emperor has never mentioned the matter of establishing a crown prince, and he doesn't know what he thinks in his heart.

A general stood up and said, "Your Majesty, King Zhenbei has been in the Northwest for many years. He has never made any major mistakes, and the Northwest has always been stable and peaceful. Why not continue to let King Zhenbei lead the Northwest Army?"

Today is the Great Court Meeting, and Situ Yong is also in the main hall. He retorted: "Although the king of Zhenbei has not committed any major crimes, he has not made great achievements. The Huns have been busy with civil strife these years, and the number of people who go south every year is less than ten thousand. If even this few people It can't be stopped, and the Northwest Army may be able to withdraw. Of course, the general does not think that the king of Zhenbei is not good, but the king of Zhenbei is noble, and there are constant wars in the northwest. For the sake of the prince's safety, the general thinks it is not appropriate to continue to appoint Zhenbei. king."

The emperor raised his eyelids and glanced at him, then asked lightly, "Oh? Who does Commander Situ think is suitable?"

Situ Yong said bluntly: "There is indeed an excellent candidate for the final general, General Kou Xiaokou. General Kou is young and vigorous, has led the army for many years, has military exploits and experience, and is strong in martial arts. He will definitely lead the Northwest Army to strive hard and guard the country. .”

The military general before said sarcastically: "General Kou is so brave, he is also the god of war in South Vietnam, not in the northwest, and there is a big difference between the north and the south. The Xiongnu soldiers are not comparable to a few scattered fugitives."

"There is indeed a big difference between the north and the south, but the tactics are common, and the leadership ability of a person is divided into high and low. Does it mean that a general who is invincible in the south will become a tortoise in the north? Besides, how do you know? General Kou doesn't understand the military of the Northland?"

The emperor raised his hand to stop their quarrel, called Kou Xiao's name, and asked, "Kou Aiqing, what do you think?"

Kou Xiao stood up and said loudly to the emperor: "Your Majesty, please go to the northwest and purge the Northwest Army!"

The civil and military men of the Manchu Dynasty were frightened by his self-confidence. Most of the time, military generals invited themselves to the border. It happened when they were in danger. At this moment, the northwest is calm. Only Lu Qingqiu can stand shoulder to shoulder with Dayan, so what can Kou Xiao do?

Others recommended Kou Xiao, and the ministers could pretend that they didn’t hear it, but he was a bit overconfident when he came forward to recommend himself. The military commander just now said that there is a big difference between the north and the south, and Kou Xiao may not be able to display his talents in the northwest.

The emperor glanced at King Shun who had been silent all this time, pointed at him and asked, "King Shun, do you also agree with Kou Xiao's self-recommendation?"

"That's true. I believe Kou Xiao. Before that, Kou Xiao had been learning about the customs and customs of the Northwest, the topographical features of the Northwest, and even learned the Huns language. Military power, everyone thinks that the Northwest Army is calm and calm, so it must be brave and invincible, but what Erchen learned is that the Northwest Army has no leader and is like a mess. The family and children are sent to the capital or other rich places, and if a war breaks out, they can withdraw at any time."

"It's impossible!" The eldest prince ran up to Li Xu angrily, pointed at his nose and cursed: "Li Xu, you slander me like this with empty teeth, what is your intention in slandering the meritorious officials? This king knows, You have always wanted to clear the way for Kou Xiao, and you have been displeased with me for a long time, but you can't slander me and the soldiers, how chilling are you for the soldiers?"

The First Prince, a burly and tall man, was about to shed tears, as if he had been greatly wronged. Many emotional officials also felt that King Shun's words were too arbitrary.

"For the safety of their families, it is understandable for the soldiers to place their families elsewhere. The homes of several generals are also in the capital. This does not mean that they will flee before the battle. The prince's words are inappropriate." Wei Xiangye stood up and said for the eldest prince said a word.

The corners of Li Xu's mouth curled up, and he turned to face everyone, "I know that words alone will not convince everyone. Do you know what's going on in the Northwest these years? Everyone here, who has been here in recent years?" Northwest, please stand up."

Everyone started talking in low voices, and soon, two officials stood up. They were not high-ranking officials, a middle-aged official and a young man. The middle-aged official was wearing a blue official uniform. He must be a fifth-rank official. He took a few steps forward, not daring to lift his head, "Xiaguan is from the border of Shangjun, also counted in the northwest, and went home to worship ancestors on New Year's Eve last year."

Another young man stood at the entrance of the hall, walked over with one hand and one foot, and said softly: "The official is from Liangzhou, and he was promoted to the Taipu Temple last year."

Facing them, Li Xu asked earnestly, "Can you tell everyone the truth, what is the situation in the Northwest? How are the people doing? How is the Northwest Army?"

The two looked at each other, the shock in their eyes could not be concealed, they lowered their heads, and hesitated to speak.

The emperor scolded suddenly: "If you tell me, just say it. If you dare to hide it, I will punish you for the crime of deceiving the emperor."

The two of them used to be the background wall when they went to court. How could they have faced the emperor's accountability, not to mention that King Shun was still standing beside them. The chatterbox has already been opened, and the chatter has become more and more excited, and the more angry, the more civil and military people in the court are dumbfounded.

What did they hear?This little official said that the Northwest has to increase taxes by [-]% on the people every year?Generally speaking, this kind of thing is reported to the emperor. Taxes can't be increased by local people, but why don't they have the impression of such a thing?

The officer also said that Northwest conscription is mandatory every year, and the general in charge said that if your family wants to produce two males, your family must produce two, otherwise you have to buy your own quota with money. It means that people are on the list, but they don't have to actually enlist in the army. In this way, the army they belong to not only gets a sum of money for nothing, but can also ask the court for military salary as usual, and the military salary does not need to be paid to the person.

In addition, during non-wartimes, the Northwest Army often recruited civilians, sometimes saying that they wanted to repair the city wall, and sometimes said that they wanted to build roads. To cultivate land, one has to deal with all kinds of exorbitant taxes from the Northwest Army, and Latin men of various names, and their life is even more difficult for those who are not rich.

Speaking of this, the young man was already sobbing, he choked up and said: "There are six brothers in the Xiaguan family, the first five elder brothers, three of them died on the battlefield, and the two elder brothers died of corvee. They all died of overwork. For this reason, The parents of the family did their best to provide for the lower officials to study, hoping to keep the only heir in the family."

The emperor stood up from his seat and pointed at the eldest prince with trembling hands, "You... stand up, I want to hear you say it again, is he telling the truth?"

The eldest prince knelt on the ground, wiped away tears that didn't exist, and said, "Father, my ministers are only responsible for leading the army and fighting, how can they manage the people's livelihood? Isn't that the job of civil servants from all over the Northwest?"

The emperor sneered and said: "Conscription is a matter for civil officials? Is it also a matter for civil officials to conscript corvee and build city walls? Is it also a matter for civil officials to spend money to buy quotas?"

"This... this, I know something about it, but there has been no trouble, so I thought it was normal. The city wall is the first line of defense. Naturally, it needs to be repaired. Conscription is also normal. It's just that spending money to buy places This matter may be something that individual generals have done, and my ministers are completely unaware of it."

"That one doesn't know at all!" The emperor pointed angrily at another middle-aged official, "Go on, I want to see what else I don't know about under my rule."

The middle-aged civil servant had calmed down, took a step forward, and explained clearly what he had seen and heard in the Northwest. He had been away from home for many years and only returned home every few years. He dare not embarrass his family, but his neighbors, his relatives and friends are not treated like this. It seems that every time he goes back, his hometown will change a little bit, that kind of lifeless place like the setting sun, where the people live numbly , because the Northwest Army does not allow local people to move out of the country, they can only be sent at will.

Everything the youth said exists, but there are many more tragic things than this.

As he described the current situation in the northwest with his calm words, the emperor's face turned from red to blue, and many officials in the court also changed their faces.

"Your Majesty, everything I said is true, if there is any falsehood, I am willing to bear all the responsibilities!"

The emperor clutched his chest and fell down on the dragon chair, "Why is this so? For so many years, no official has mentioned this matter, and no one has said that the Northwest is not good? Are all censors eating shit? You so-called Are all the pillars of the country deaf and blind?"

All the ministers lowered their heads, but Li Xu raised his head and glanced at everyone, and said with a sneer: "Aren't the adults completely ignorant of this matter? I'm afraid they can't? At this time, everyone pretends to be innocent and ignorant, but it's because of the Northwest It's not your territory, even if you know about it, you won't care about it. What's more, there was the King of Zhenbei back then, with an army of 30, which won the trust of the emperor. Every year, the army's salary is sent over continuously. Who would dare to say that the Northwest is not good? King Zhenbei is not good?"

The First Prince had already grown weak all over, and he retorted: "Li Xu, you are spitting blood!"

Li Xu looked at him indifferently, "Brother Huang said that he didn't know about it, and that some things are normal, so you have seen those so-called normal things with your own eyes? What kind of life do you think the people who are as cheap as ants live? Do you really know? Do you know how the Northwest Army expropriates? Do you know what the 30 Northwest Army do every day in the Northwest? These ten years of peace have made everyone weak. The heart is broken, the heart is blackened, the King of Zhenbei may really not know, but you are in charge of 30 Northwest Army, can you shirk the responsibility if you don't know?

Someone said just now that King Zhenbei had no major faults in the northwest, so what kind of fault is his fault?Doesn't regulation count?Doesn't it count as lax inspection?Doesn't it count as conniving your subordinates to do things that hurt the world?What is the responsibility of King Zhenbei?Good things are all due to you, and bad things are all done by the subordinates. Brother, how can you be so capable? "

The eldest prince was sweating profusely. He looked up at the emperor and saw that he closed his eyes and didn't look at him at all. He knew that he would not be able to pass this test. He regretted it a little. Why did he let people stop Kou Xiao?Whoever goes to the northwest is not going, anyway, it can't be me.

And the mess in the northwest, what can Kou Xiao do after he goes?Could it be that he can rectify the Northwest Army on his own?It's really whimsical, which of those generals in the Northwest Army are obedient, if they don't feed them with money themselves, how can they be obedient?