bookrandom Chapter 1107 Godson
Chapter 1107 Godson
Chapter 1107 Godson
When Zhang Yue was riding a horse back to his mansion from the palace, he found that the road in front of the mansion was being rebuilt.
The potholes on the road were filled and compacted with new soil. However, two days later, the road in front of Zhang's house was re-rammed.
While ensuring the passage of traffic, the skilled craftsmen of Kaifeng Prefecture rebuilt the roadbed, replaced the stone slabs, and widened the road slightly.
The scene of tamping and the banging of the big wooden hammers were noisy and lively, which was in line with the custom of official promotion and getting rid of the old and welcoming the new.
The man is still the same man, and the horse he rides is still the same horse, but the man has changed his clothes and the horse has a new saddle.
Unbelievably, this project, which should have taken at least ten days or half a month, was mostly completed in just two days, which made people marvel at the high efficiency of Kaifeng Prefecture. Zhang Yue looked at the newly built road surface. The hard and solid newly rammed earth seemed to be part of the prime minister's authority and will.
Zhang Yue dismounted in front of the mansion gate and saw that the gate and outer walls had been repainted.
When Zhang Yue returned home, he first saw more than a hundred guests waiting for his congratulations.
After escaping, Zhang Yue returned to the mansion to meet Zhang Gen.
Zhang Gen had received a transfer order to take up his post at the Sixth Route Privy Council, so he was packing his luggage with the help of Shiqi Niang and the maid.
No matter how many guests there are outside and how important their identities are, to Zhang Yue, they are not as important as the few people in this room.
Zhang Gen didn't like to be close to him since he was young. He felt that as a parent, he was too seeking to be "moderate" in everything, which made him pedantic and did not agree with his idea of being open and inclusive, and first destroying and then building.
The father and son often only talk for a few words before the conversation ends.
This trip to the northwest can be regarded as fulfilling Zhang Gen’s wish.
Zhang Yue didn't say anything. It was Shiqi Niang who gave the instructions.
Zhang Yue hurriedly ordered the kitchen to prepare Zhang Gen's favorite side dishes, but found out that Shiqi Niang had already given the order.
Zhang Yue felt a little ashamed, and Zhang Gen said, "Dad, I heard my cousin say that the population of Shaanxi is four times that of Western Xia, and we have the financial support of the whole world, so why can't we destroy Xia?"
Zhang Yue smiled and said, "When two countries go to war, it's not just a competition of troops, but also a competition of national strength."
"Take the Tanguts as an example. For every regular soldier, they need two auxiliary soldiers. What about our Song army? An expedition of hundreds of miles, with tens of thousands of soldiers and horses, how many civilians will be required, and how many donkeys, mules, and camels will be conscripted?"
"If we send out an army, not to mention the casualties among the soldiers and civilians, even if half of the livestock dies of exhaustion or disease, that's the minimum we can expect."
Zhang Gen said: "So we occupy Lanzhou and go downstream, right?"
Zhang Yue said: "Yes, but the Yellow River is not as good as the Yangtze River after all, and its transportation capacity is limited. Hehuang is also a new area, so it will take at least several years to operate."
"Dad, as a commander, has only one secret, which is to 'build a strong camp and fight a stupid battle'. It is not about how to defeat the enemy, but to be invincible first."
Seeing Zhang Gen's expression, Zhang Yue said, "I'll tell you ten thousand times, but you won't listen. But what you learn from books is shallow. You have to practice it yourself to know it well."
"When doing things, we must remember to 'think big and start small.'"
"Don't start with the big picture and focus on the small details. This way you will end up neither high nor low."
Zhang Yue's words are all about his life experience. Even though he knows Zhang Gen won't listen, he still wants to tell him his experience. It's not necessary now, but it will be useful in the future.
Zhang Gen thought that Zhang Yue's words made sense, but they were not practical, so he said, "Dad, the Lanhui Xihe Administration you just mentioned is in charge of money and salaries, and usually the soldiers are in charge of the generals. How can the Privy Council control the troops? Will it be a vassal in the future?"
If someone else said this, Zhang Yue would definitely be angry. He was the one who founded Xihe Road. Didn’t he know this?
To Zhang Gen, Zhang Yue patiently said: "Han Zhen did this, why do you care?"
Zhang Gen said, "What if Mr. Han comes to ask me?"
Zhang Yue said: "If you can't control yourself, then don't do it. I will talk to Li Xian in person."
"There are more Tibetan soldiers in Xihe Road than Han soldiers. How can we make them obey us?"
"The elite Han soldiers should not be moved lightly. Usually, we should mobilize the foreign soldiers to meet the enemy, and then provide generous rewards and severe punishments. Li Xian likes to monopolize power, so you must not bypass him to inquire about Xihe military affairs."
"What should we do if the troops from all over the country are not getting paid?"
"I can't help it. Let's send the most unpaid troops to meet the enemy. If they are defeated, we will deal with them later."
Zhang Yue thought that Zhang Gen's questions were all on point and quite insightful.
Zhang Yue answered them one by one.
At this time, Shiqi Niang asked the maid to bring food.
Zhang Yue asked Zhang Cheng to invite Zhang Shi's family to dinner. Zhang Shi and Yu's granddaughter Lu came together.
Everyone gathered together and sat leisurely, the lights were friendly.
While Zhang Shi was serving food to Zhang Gen, he asked, "Why hasn't Dalang sent a letter from home in such a long time?"
Yu asked the same question, while Lu lowered her head to hide her expression.
Zhang Yue glanced at Lu and changed the subject, "I did receive a letter from Ah Xi more than 20 days ago. It's very good. As the commander-in-chief of the Song-Xia War, he has to work very hard."
Zhang Yue did receive a letter from Zhang Zhi before he killed Wang Zhongzheng.
Zhang Yue finally understood why there was a sense of determination in Zhang Zhi's letter.
It means that if you fail, you will die.
In the letter, he also entrusted his affairs after his death, including arrangements for his parents and Lu, and the Xihe Road soldiers who followed him.
At the same time, Zhang Zhi also told himself a secret. When he was stationed in Xihe, he fell in love with a woman and took her as his concubine without telling his family. Now she is settled in Qinzhou.
The woman was the daughter of a military commander in the imperial court, and was exiled to Xihe for committing a crime. When Zhang Zhi saw her, he felt pity for her for some reason.
His concubine had already given birth to a son for him, and before he went to war she was pregnant with another.
After reading the letter, Zhang Yue exclaimed three times, "Wow!" This kid did what he wanted to do but didn't dare to do.
When you were studying, I saw you looking at the emperor's uncle and I knew that you had a bright future. You really had the style of a member of the Zhang family.
Zhang Zhi told himself that if anything happened to him, he would tell his parents, Mrs. Lu, about the identity of his mistress, bring her and her back to Bian Jing, and write her name into the family tree.
At the end of the letter, Zhang Zhi said that he had wanted to explain this matter to Lu and his parents in person, but now he could only entrust it to himself. Since ancient times, it has been difficult to be both loyal and filial. If you are loyal to your country, you cannot be filial to your family.
He also wanted to take care of his parents for a hundred years and then die, but for the sake of state affairs, he dared not say it.
After reading the letter, Zhang Yue sat there for a long time, not knowing what to reply. In the end, he sat there all night.
He often told Zhang Zhi that scholars should take it as their responsibility to "cultivate themselves, regulate their families, govern the country and bring peace to the world", but it was not so easy to put it into practice.
So Zhang Yue sat there all night, and when it was almost dawn, he wrote back to Zhang Zhi, saying, "It's no use telling me about this. You should report it to Zhang Shi and his wife first."
Here Zhang Yue played a trick.
Today, facing Zhang Shiyu, he told a lot of lies to calm the two of them.
After the banquet, he saw Mrs. Lu crying quietly, and Shiqi Niang came forward to comfort her.
Zhang Yue walked to the side of Zhang Gen, wanting to say something. Zhang Gen was originally full of ambition to leave Beijing. Zhang Yue saw that Zhang Gen was arrogant and irritable, and he didn't care about others. He knew that he would suffer a loss if he entered the officialdom.
It doesn't matter if you suffer losses, but you must make progress.
Zhang Yue said earnestly, "The most valuable strength in the world is to seek and to learn. There is no difference between wise and foolish people in the world at the beginning, but they become different because of these two things."
(End of this chapter)