Long Xiao wipes Qingfeng

It is true that Xiao Gong can restrain Concubine Shen. Although Concubine Shen is pregnant with a dragon heir and can be guaranteed to be a prince, this prince is only the hope of the Shen family. For the emperor, whether he can succeed or not is another matter. Although Emperor Longde is worthy In his prime, he is more optimistic about Xiao Gong, who he has carefully cultivated for nearly ten years. Although Xiao Gong is mediocre, he is kind-hearted and steady in politics. It is more than enough to be a conservative king. Next, if Concubine Shen was not the most talented generation of Emperor Qin, Han and Wu Jing, then the throne would naturally belong to Xiao Gong. Although Emperor Longde loved Concubine Shen, he also knew that his relatives should not dominate.

This is also the reason why Shen Yu insisted on getting rid of Xiao Gong. Xiao Gong hindered his way, not only at 01:30.

What Xiao Gong wants to do for Xiao Jiu is to attract Shen Yu for him, and Shen Yu will naturally not think of Xiao Jiu. Xiao Gong is thoughtful.

Regarding the affairs of the court, Shen Yu's family is the only one on the military officer's side, and Liu Yu, the Minister of the Household Department, is attached to him and wants to fight against him for profit. Naturally, money and food are the most important piece besides military power. Fortunately, the Jiang family still has some real power. It is still possible to mobilize Xiao Gong in the household department. All Xiao Gong has to do is to take the initiative to enter the household department and become a living target for Shen Yu and others.

Xiao Jiu smiled and said, "I just wronged my third brother."

Zhong Shuo thought for a while and said, "It's not a grievance. The third prince is a thorn in Shen Yu's eyes, and this move is for himself."

What Xiao Gong thinks, Xiao Jiu naturally doesn't think about it, as long as Xiao Gong can do things, Yongmu Diji has always been so ruthless and cold.

The same is true for my cousin, Xiao Jiu suddenly thought of Jiang Huai whom he hadn't seen for a long time, and suddenly asked: "Is Jiang Huai going to take the imperial examination next year?"

Zhong Shuo said: "Yes, he has been in seclusion for a long time." On the day they left Beijing, Jiang Yanzhao did not come to see them off to avoid suspicion, and only let Jiang Xi take a farewell letter written by himself.

Although Xiao Jiu and Jiang Huai have a good relationship as brothers, the way they have gotten along with each other over the years has been confusing. It is commonplace to slander each other, but the care is also real. Xiao Jiu will not know about Jiang Huai's imperial examination. have him.

Sure enough, Xiao Jiu said: "With Jiang Huai's talent, the top three are expected, and he is also indispensable in the Imperial Academy."

Zhong Shuo said: "Yes, Brother Jiang will naturally not disappoint His Highness's expectations."

Xiao Jiu snorted and said, "Jiang Huai's lifelong wish is to play chess and drink tea. The situation forced him to become an official. When it's time to wait, he probably wants to idle around."

Zhong Shuo smiled and said, "Then, can Your Highness follow Brother Jiang's wish?"

Xiao Jiu said: "Naturally." Jiang Huai's elder brother, Jiang Xi, is more suitable for the court than him. With Jiang Xi in the Jiang family, Jiang Huai can naturally be a simple eater, so he can eat, drink and have fun without worry.

Zhong Shuo pulled the words back, "However, Xiang Zhu has a lot of fate. He and Shen Yu made a fortune together, but they are still in peace."

Xiao Jiu poked the candle on the table with a wooden spoon, "He probably didn't know that Shen Yu was standing behind Lin Ye, and the emperor must have been kept in the dark."

Zhong Shuo thought for a while, and said, "But Shen Yu used Xiang Zhu as a cover-up?"

He has always been smart, so he quickly thought of this level. Xiao Jiu praised: "Yes, Bei Ning understands that this is a fool who can only cling to the powerful. A person like this covers up for him, no matter how much he is greedy, the higher-ups will only think that he is doing everything, and they will not find him."

Zhong Shuo said: "There is no war in the west all year round, so His Majesty just turned a blind eye and let Xiang Si do like this. So for many years, Shen Yu used the military salary from the west to support his private soldiers and the palace officials. Concubine Shen."

Xiao Jiu laughed and said, "Shen Yu didn't expect that Xiang Zhuruo's mistakes would naturally implicate Liu Xie, and it would only be a matter of time before Liu Xie touched Shen Yu."

"It's just that Xiang Zhu is still cautious. Tomorrow, he still needs to start with the military salary."

"Yes, step by step, we are not in a hurry." Xiao Jiu was very patient, after all he had been waiting for many years.

"Okay, let's talk about tomorrow's matter tomorrow, let's go to bed first." Xiao Jiu turned off the light, jumped off the table, and returned to the room with Zhong Shuo and the small flowerpot.

The next day, Zhong Shuo got up early, changed into his official uniform, and followed Xiang Zhu's people to the Admiral's Mansion in Linye.

Because Linye is a border town, it is a bit special, the government office is in the same place as the admiral's residence, Zhong Shuo was on duty on the first day, so he had to report to Xiang Zhu first.

Yesterday Xiao Jiu's majesty was effective, Xiang Zhu waited in the hall early in the morning, when he saw Zhong Shuo arrived, he stopped him to salute, and said with a smile: "Tomorrow we will all be colleagues, the general need not be so polite."

Zhong Shuo insisted on saluting, and said, "Courtesy cannot be discarded, the admiral is the one who is polite."

Xiang Zhudao: "The general came just in time. I took care of my duties and other matters yesterday. Please come with me, general." After speaking, he led Zhong Shuo to the government office.

Putting up the brochure at the government office, and taking the saber and so on, Xiang Zhu handed him the tiger talisman and token, and said: "If that's the case, I will trouble the general."

Zhong Shuo said: "This subordinate dare not, thank you admiral."

He paused, and then said, "Where is the barracks? I can go there tomorrow."

Xiang Zhudao: "The military camp is outside the city. I will go with the general tomorrow to get acquainted with the general and ask some members of the army to come and recognize their faces."

Xiang Zhu explained some more things before leaving.

Zhong Shuo walked around the office assigned to him, flipped through the files over the years, and there were indeed many loopholes.

His position as Xuanwu General did not exist in Linye, and the power was in the hands of the admiral. In order to send him off, the emperor specially made up a position and shared half of Xiang Zhu's power. In shortcoming, Linye's army management is also a mess, the distribution and establishment of the army is a mess, everything in the city is following the rules, and there are no major disturbances.

Zhong Shuo asked someone to look over the account books again. On the surface, there were no major problems, but the actual amount spent was quite different from the money allocated by the court every year. He was in the army all year round, yes. These things couldn't be more clear. At first glance, there is nothing wrong with this account book, but when you look closely, the various supplies selected are far below the market price. It must be that Xiang Zhu colluded with profiteers to minimize the expenses of the soldiers. The garrisons in various places already had fixed merchant supply fees, which were justifiably lower than the market price. Xiang Zhu also made a good plan. He thought that Zhong Shuo didn't understand these things, so he patched up the loopholes and gave him the account books openly.

The food in the army is also a big problem. The food expenses in the account books are only a little too much. It seems that the military rations were deducted from the ingredients. There is no shortage of three meals a day. Take the big head, the remaining small shrimps will be exploited layer by layer, the army is really not a place for people to stay, whether the military salary can be paid is another matter, the sky is high here, the emperor is far away, there is nowhere to sue, If things go on like this, there will only be more and more deserters, and there will be no way to fight without enough food. If the barbarian soldiers approach the city, this paperless Linye may be surrendered in an instant.

There were too many things to deal with, so Zhong Shuo slowly straightened things out, and planned to do one by one. Tomorrow, he would go outside the city to see the situation. There should be people from Shen Yu in the army, and Xiang Zhu's people are nothing to be afraid of. I don't know if there are any available people in the barracks...

Zhong Shuo stayed in the government office for a day, wrote down what he thought, and returned home when he was on duty.

Xiao Jiu was bored waiting at home, and when he was on duty soon, he moved a bed and sat at the door eating melon seeds while waiting for him.

When Zhong Shuo rode to the door of his house, he saw a prince who had no dignity at all eating melon seeds, and the melon seed shells fell on the ground at his feet. When he saw him coming, he handed him the melon seeds in his hand, and said happily: "This melon seed It’s a little different from what I usually eat in Beijing, it seems to have added some spices, it tastes more delicious, you have a taste.”

Zhong Shuo took it, took one and ate it, and it tasted better than the one in Beijing. He said: "Your Highness likes it, so let the shoppers buy more, but eating too much is not good for your health. Your Highness should exercise restraint. Mo eat too much."

Xiao Jiu said: "Okay, listen to you, I just asked them to prepare a meal, let's go eat." He said, took the rein in his hand, and handed the horse to the boy behind him to lead him to the stable.

Although the food in the west has different tastes, it tastes good. Both Xiao Jiu and Zhong Shuo are getting used to it and eating happily. The cook brought from Yanjing has also settled down, and each meal is cooked according to Xiao Jiu’s intentions. The dishes in the west also have Yanjing dishes, which are extravagant and wasteful.

After dinner, Zhong Shuo told Xiao Jiu about Lin Ye's military affairs, and Xiao Jiu naturally agreed that he would go to the barracks tomorrow to find out. They are newcomers, so it can be said that they have no foundation. Military power can be said to be the most vain thing. Now only by solving the chaos in the army step by step can we win the trust of soldiers and have a chance to resist foreign enemies.

Xiao Jiu said: "Did you take the bracelet I gave you earlier?"

Zhong Shuo said: "Take it, and put it in my cage." He went to open the box, took the box out and handed it to Xiao Jiu.

Xiao Jiu took out the bracelet and gave it to him, saying: "Before I married you, I learned that the Hu people made some moves because I have someone in Linye, a scout in the army, surnamed Zhang, who has been favored by my mother's family. It's for my uncle's use, it's not convenient for me to leave the inner house, you can go tomorrow and show him this bracelet, he should know something about the situation in the army."

Zhong Shuo put the bracelet into the inner pocket of his official uniform, and said, "Yes, Your Highness."

Xiao Jiu said again: "Just give me this box. After a few days, you can rest and go out with me, okay?"

Zhong Shuo naturally agreed, but still didn't ask him where he was going or what he was going to do.

The military camp is stationed outside Linye City, the wind and sand are quite strong, the climate is not good for people, or because of poor food, the soldiers in the army look a little bit wrong, and the senior officials look full of fat.

Zhong Shuo and Xiang Zhu were walking in the camp, and they could tell at a glance that few of the soldiers below had enough to eat, their footsteps were weak, their hands holding knives were not steady, and all of them had bitter and bitter expressions.

Zhong Shuo didn't show it on his face, but he was secretly frightened. Xiang Zhu squinted at him as he walked, probably intending to lure him into the gang.