There were a lot of charcoal fires burning in the tent, and it was as warm as spring.
Fan Zhongyan also followed what Zhao Jun said and opened several windows for ventilation to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning.
Everyone came in and took their seats. After everyone was seated, Fan Zhongyan asked curiously, "Zhongyi, I heard that you left Bianliang just four days ago. How come you are here so soon?"
Wang Su smiled and said, "My lord, you may not know this yet, but the new canal from Bianliang to Hebei Road is now fully open to navigation. It only takes one day to travel from Bianliang to Damingfu."
The straight-line distance from Daming Prefecture to Kaifeng Prefecture is actually only 170 kilometers. If you ride fast, you can reach the destination in one day.
However, in ancient times, due to the natural barrier of the Yellow River, travel was much slower. If traveling by land, it would often take three or four days.
Now that the new canal has been opened, even if ships travel at a speed of 8 kilometers per hour, twenty-four hours a day is more than enough if they travel day and night.
Fan Zhongyan sighed and said, "Han Long's words are indeed true. If you want to get rich, you must first build roads. Once the roads are smooth, many problems can be easily solved."
Wang Su smiled and said, "The Prefect is full of praise for you, my Lord. If it weren't for the Prefect's unwavering support, I'm afraid all the officials in the court would have written to criticize you."
"Um?"
Fan Zhongyan frowned and asked, "What's going on?"
"There are recent rumors in Bianliang."
Zhu Yunzhong, the deputy envoy of the imperial guard, said: "Your Excellency is in control of the army in Hebei. If they show signs of rebellion, they will immediately march south to invade Bianliang."
In an instant, Fan Zhongyan felt creepy and felt as if he was being roasted on a fire.
He had been very cautious before. Even when Wei Huanzhi said he wanted to destroy the Liao Kingdom, he did not respond. In fact, he was deliberately reducing his influence.
Otherwise, if he started talking big and threatened to destroy the Liao Kingdom, and the news reached the ears of the court, even if Zhao Zhen and Zhao Jun trusted him, the civil and military officials in the court would probably spit in his face and drown him.
But even so, there are already rumors within the government and the opposition.
If it turned out as he expected, perhaps when the rumor spread in Bianliang, many officials in the court would have already written letters to request his return.
really.
Wang Su was heard saying, "Many officials have been impeaching the Prime Minister in the past few days. Even Ouyang Yongshu has come forward and said that even if the commander cannot be replaced, at least a military supervisor and two deputy governors should be sent to check and balance the situation."
Fan Zhongyan's face darkened. The military system of the Song Dynasty partially inherited the Tang system, that is, the military supervision system, in which eunuchs served as military supervisors.
However, in the early and middle periods of the Northern Song Dynasty, the right to speak in the military was mainly in the hands of civil officials. The role of the military supervisor was often just to monitor, but he did not directly intervene in military affairs. It was not until the end of the Northern Song Dynasty that people like Tong Guan became the main generals in the army.
After Zhao Jun reformed the military system, although he still continued the old system of using the army as a unit, that is, on ordinary days, a general could only command a maximum of 5,000 people, he abolished the military supervision system and no longer allowed eunuchs to supervise the army.
It was fine in normal times, but once a war broke out, the imperial court would send a military governor, who would suddenly become the supreme commander of the army, and with no one to supervise him, his military power would be extremely great.
This was undoubtedly a very bold change, because even in later generations, our army needed the chief officer and the commissioners to work together to fight. Many things had to be discussed by several major commanders of the army before they could act. It was rare for a commander-in-chief to have such great power.
Therefore, it can be said that Fan Zhongyan's ability to command the entire Hebei Road army was a sign of Zhao Zhen's great trust in him. If Fan Zhongyan really wanted to rebel, given his prestige in the army, he could have threatened the imperial power.
If Fan Zhongyan had been stubborn in the past, he would have been furious when faced with such criticism from the whole court. He would not have thought deeply about the pros and cons, but would have cursed these people as parasites that brought disaster to the country.
But at this time, Fan Zhongyan was no longer the young man who impeached Lu Yijian with the intention of promoting all officials. He had already understood the interests involved. Moreover, since even Ouyang Xiu had submitted a letter to the court, one could tell how much turmoil this incident had caused to the court officials.
Therefore, faced with such a situation, he could only sigh helplessly and said, "I understand the court's concerns, so if the court sends a military supervisor and a deputy governor, it would be a good thing."
Although doing so is likely to make him lose a lot of his say in the army, and may even lead to some disagreements, for example, he wants to fight slowly, but some people want quick success and force the army to attack, just like the disagreement between him and Han Qi in history, one wanted to attack and the other wanted to defend, resulting in military losses.
But there is no other way. If we don't do this, we can't stop the people in the court from complaining, nor can we calm down the possible concerns. So for the sake of stability in the rear, we have to give up some military power.
"Since you can think this way, it is worth it that His Majesty and the Magistrate support you so much."
Wang Su smiled and then said, "This time, Deputy Envoy Zhu and I are here to supervise the army. But don't worry, sir. The prefect instructed us not to interfere in daily military affairs when we arrived. This is also for your own good."
Fan Zhongyan nodded, sat there, cupped his hands, and said, "Then I'll have to trouble you two. Fan Xiwen would like to thank His Majesty, the Minister of Justice, and the many officials of the Constitutional Council for their trust in me. Please rest assured that if you find that I have any ulterior motives, even if you kill me on the spot, I will deserve it!"
"My lord, you are too kind."
Wang Su and Zhu Yunzhong quickly bowed in return.
After he finished speaking, Zhu Yunzhong smiled and said, "What you don't know, sir, is that ever since the rumors started spreading in Bianliang, the prefect has ordered the Imperial City Bureau to conduct a thorough investigation. Guess what happened?"
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