Chapter 282: Establishing the Inspection School (asking for monthly tickets)
A question mark popped up in Hegan Chengji's head. No, why are you all looking at me?
Then he realized that maybe everyone was worried that the Tang Dynasty did not have enough money, so they had this question.

Hegan Chengji, who had figured it out, laughed immediately, and his laughter was so hearty.

"Hahaha... You're actually worried that His Royal Highness has no money?" Hegan Chengji wiped away the tears from his laughter and said, "His Royal Highness has mountains of gold and silver, which he can never spend! Not to mention buying these prisoners of war you captured, even if he bought the entire Xueyantuo, he would still have some left over!"

"Really, General?" Tumidu's expression was as if he was a male college student who woke up to find that his roommate had brought him a bag of cigarettes.

"Of course. When has the Tang Dynasty ever deceived you?" Hegan Chengji looked like a lonely master.

At this time, the benefits of good reputation are reflected.

"General, we did it!" Tumidu said viciously. Who would go against money?
Thinking of the coppery smell of Kaiyuan Tongbao, the leaders felt intoxicated.

Don't ask, the answer is Kaiyuan Tongbao, please hit me hard with your big copper coins! Daddy of Tang Dynasty!

The leaders of other tribes responded to Tumidu one after another, clamoring to join this ranks.

No one would complain about having too much money, not to mention that as tribal leaders, they naturally have high demands in terms of enjoyment.

After counting the prisoners, everyone discussed and decided to send scouts to explore the location of the Xueyantuo army first, and then send people to guard the prisoners.

What no one expected was that after the defeat of the front army, Ba Zhuo did not choose to continue advancing, but chose to retreat.

Since they intended to retreat, the Huihe and other tribes did not plan to pursue them and wanted to consolidate the current results first.

Then he sent people to escort the captives to Youzhou, waiting for the Tang Dynasty to settle the copper coins.

A few days later, Li Shiji's messenger arrived at the Uighur tent.

Tumidu met with Li Shiji's messenger. After discussion, the two sides agreed that Li Shiji would lead the troops to fight on the front, while the Uighurs and other tribes would provide support in the rear.

The various tribes certainly had no objection to this idea. After all, the Tang Dynasty did not treat them as consumables.

At the same time, Li Xiang also left Dengzhou and brought his people to Youzhou.

This time when he came to Youzhou, Li Xiang still went to various counties to understand the basic situation before entering the Youzhou government office.

Li Shiji's official position has been changed, and he now also serves as the commander-in-chief of the Hebei Road Army.

But even so, he still had to pay his respects to Li Xiang, the crown prince, first.

"Your Highness the Crown Prince is here to see us." Li Shiji and his subordinates had been waiting for Li Xiang's arrival in the government office.

"Duke Ying, please stand up." Li Xiang reached out to help Li Shiji up, and then said, "Duke Ying is guarding the northern border for the country, and he is truly the pillar of the country."

"I dare not," Li Shiji said modestly.

Although he is only 52 years old now, in the Tang Dynasty, people in their 30s could call themselves old men, so there is nothing wrong with him calling himself an old minister at this age.

It must be said that as the fire-fighting captain of the Tang Dynasty, Li Shiji was a brick of the Tang Dynasty and would be moved wherever there was a need.

During the reigns of Emperor Taizong and Emperor Gaozong, Li Shiji was entrusted with important tasks, whether it was fighting the Turks, the Xueyantuo, or Goguryeo, or destroying the two countries on the peninsula. He could be said to be the man who fought the whole game.

Despite all the hard work, he could still live to be seventy-five. It can be said that his physique is outstanding.

Li Xiang did not say anything serious, but just said a few words about trivial matters, then asked everyone to leave. He then took Li Shiji to the main hall of the Youzhou government office and asked him in detail about the situation on the northern border.

"I received a military report from the Huihe the other day, saying that the Xueyantuo had gathered a large force, led by their pseudo-Khan Bazhuo, to attack the Huihe tribe." Li Shiji reported: "However, the Huihe had already taken precautions and ate up all of the Xueyantuo's cavalry. Bazhuo may have been intimidated by the fact that the Huihe tribes were gathered together and were a force that could not be ignored, so he did not continue to launch an attack, but chose to retreat."

"Not surprising." Li Xiang clapped his hands and laughed, "Bazhuo is a man who cherishes his body when doing great things and forgets his life when he sees small profits. Such a person will never achieve anything."

After hearing this, Li Shiji said yes repeatedly.

"In addition, the Huihe people also said in their report that they captured more than 10,000 prisoners, and said that Your Highness offered a price of 20 strings of cash per person to buy them. I wonder if this is true?" Li Shiji asked again.

"It is true." Li Xiang nodded with a smile and said, "It seems that Hegan Chengji is not idle either. He really conveyed my meaning to the point."

Hearing this, Li Shiji asked hesitantly: "Your Highness, if you pay to buy prisoners of war, I'm afraid it will cause rumors..."

"When a strong wind blows down a phoenix tree, others will judge its merits." Li Xiang said indifferently, "How can I ask someone to shut his mouth when his mouth is on his body? Besides, the purchase of prisoners of war is beneficial to the country and the people. I don't believe it. Why would anyone criticize such a good policy?"

"I am an old and stupid minister. Please enlighten me, Your Highness. These prisoners of war..." Li Shiji still had some doubts.

It’s not that I’m worried about anything else, but I’m mainly afraid that Li Xiang’s reputation will be damaged because of this incident.

Li Xiang also knew the loyalty of this old minister, so he patiently explained: "The saint appointed me as the Grand Marshal of the Army of the whole country this time, and concurrently the Grand Chancellor of Hebei and Henan Provinces. His intention is not to control the army of the whole country, but to be the Grand Chancellor of these two provinces."

He looked up at Li Shiji again, and said with a smile: "The saint means that I should not interfere in military affairs. After all, Duke Ying and Prince Jiangxia are veterans of the battlefield, and they can easily defeat Xueyantuo. His main purpose is to let me manage the rear area and let me replicate the strategy I used in Dengzhou to build Youzhou."

"So that's how it is." Li Shiji said suddenly.

He also roughly guessed some of the purposes, such as the matter that Li Xiang did not mention that could communicate between Dengzhou and Andong Protectorate.

"To build Youzhou, we naturally need manpower." Li Xiang said again: "Without manpower, conscription will make the people suffer. It would be better to capture some prisoners of war to avoid disturbing the people. So under my suggestion, the saint also agreed to use money to buy prisoners of war from the northern grasslands."

"So that's how it is. Your Highness is kind-hearted and I, an old minister, am ashamed." Li Shiji bowed.

Li Xiang thought to himself that he was worthy of being a man who could land smoothly under the hands of Li Zhi and Wu Zetian. Look at what he said, it was flawless.

In fact, Li Shiji has another unknown hobby, which is medicine.

Of course, he wouldn't take any medicine until he passed out.

The "Tang Materia Medica" was compiled by him, Xu Jingzong, Yu Zhining and others, so the "Tang Materia Medica" is also called "Ying Gong Materia Medica".

The "Duke Ying" here refers to Duke Ying Li Shiji.

In addition, Li Shiji also wrote a volume of "Pulse Classics" by himself, which can be said to be very knowledgeable in medicine. After having a brief chat with Li Shiji about the current political situation in Youzhou, Li Xiang also had a rough idea in his mind.

The local area will never be a solid block. Even if it is, this strong dragon can still grab the local snake's neck and swing it left and right.

After all, Youzhou is a superior province with a long history and intricate connections. The situation there is much more complicated than that in the corners of Dengzhou.

If we want to reform, it will inevitably infringe on the interests of some people.

Li Xiang is also very open-minded. You conservatives, either change my thinking or change my brain (physics).

Of course, the matter should be left to Xu Jingzong.

Li Xiang's first decree was issued soon. He asked the army to select a number of smart and capable young people who wanted to make progress. He selected more than 600 people and temporarily assigned them to his Hebei Dao Grand Secretariat.

Of course, when gathering people together, they cannot do without a name. As the saying goes, only with a right name can one speak legitimately. After much deliberation, Li Xiang named this special force "Jianxiu".

The meaning of "Jianxiu" is very simple, it is a temporary institution. Li Xiang didn't want to admit that he had other meanings.

The chief inspector was called the commander, a name given by Li Xiang himself, and his official rank was temporarily the fourth rank. Under him were two assistant commanders, whose official rank was temporarily the fifth rank. After them were six colonels, each with a hundred men.

After much deliberation, Li Xiang chose Duan Zan for the position of commander-in-chief; the position of left assistant commander was temporarily given to Xu Jingzong, while the position of right assistant commander was concurrently held by Li Jingren.

Li Xiang did not assign them any tasks, but mysteriously handed Duan Zan a booklet and asked him to train according to the methods above.

Duan Zan didn't think anything of it at first, but when he opened the booklet, he couldn't help but shudder.

Oh my god!
After letting Duan Zan start the training, Li Xiang was not idle either. Instead, he asked Xu Jingzong to start the training and placed some of the officials brought from Dengzhou into the Wuqing government office.

After all, Wuqing is the Tianjin Wei of later generations. It has a superior geographical location and is backed by Youzhou, a superior provincial capital. Youzhou is also the end point of the Grand Canal. It can communicate with the inland through the canal and has canal advantages that Dengzhou does not have. Wuqing can also serve as a transit station to connect Caoxian Peninsula and Dengzhou, and has obvious location advantages.

It can be said that building Wuqing is much easier than building Dengzhou, and it will also be of greater strategic help to the Tang Dynasty.

About half a month later, the first batch of prisoners of war were also sent to Youzhou.

Li Xiang readily paid in cash. This kind of account obviously cannot be overdue, especially since it is the first transaction. He would only be satisfied if he could see that the money is in the pocket.

Li Xiang used this group of prisoners of war to build the port of Wuqing.

At the same time, the one hundred ships he ordered to be transferred from Dengzhou also arrived in Wuqing.

The fishing boat rental business is still carried out in accordance with the rules of Dengzhou. There is no charge for the use of fishing boats. After the fishermen return from fishing at sea, 30% of the fish catch will be collected as rental for the fishing boat.

However, the common people of Wuqing did not know about what happened in Dengzhou, and were still wary of renting a boat.

Their concerns are actually normal, and it is also normal that they have not heard about what happened in Dengzhou.

After all, the Tang Dynasty today is not like the later generations, where once something happens, people would want to spread it throughout the country on the same day.

Even if the Tang Dynasty could spread throughout the country, not everyone would read and have the knowledge.

Most ordinary people turn a blind eye to matters that do not concern them.

Who would rush forward without having seen it with their own eyes?
Li Xiang had anticipated this situation and was not in a hurry. After all, he had already arranged a childminder among the crowd based on Xu Jingzong's advice.

The nanny was found in Wuqing. The young man had thick eyebrows and big eyes, and he looked like an underground worker at least.

The conditions offered by Li Xiang were very generous. He could work as a stooge and follow the fishermen from Dengzhou out to sea. When he came back, he could work as a yamen runner in the local county government and eat a bowl of imperial food.

Hearing the Crown Prince's assurance and favorable conditions, the young man named Chi Guang readily agreed.

The fishermen from Dengzhou arranged by Li Xiang were also very reliable. They were the Wei old man and his family from Dengzhou, the first family to go out to sea.

Nowadays, Old Man Wei's family has long lived a prosperous life, and even his three little grandsons have been sent to study in the school in Dengzhou.

Since they were the first family in Dengzhou to go out to sea, Old Man Wei was naturally remembered by Li Xiang. At his invitation, Old Man Wei and his family readily agreed to the request of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to go to Wuqing.

Are you kidding? Who would refuse an invitation from His Royal Highness the Crown Prince? This is a very honorable thing.

This certainly has nothing to do with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's promise to allow one of his grandsons to study at the Tang Royal Academy of Literature. Absolutely not!
Things like going out to sea to fish, especially deep-sea fishing, even if you haven't seen it with your own eyes, it will always leave a mark in your mind.

Now with this young man named Chi Guang leading the charge, everyone is waiting and watching to see if this young man can come back alive!

Chi Guang actually felt a little guilty, but when he thought about the lucrative job of the yamen runner and the reliability of Old Man Wei's family, he gritted his teeth and followed Old Man Wei out to sea.

After Chi Guang went out to sea, Li Xiang was not idle either, and continued to have people build Wuqing.

There was not much conscription for corvée labor, and Li Xiang only spent money to hire a group of craftsmen. The ones who really contributed were the Xueyantuo prisoners of war.

In fact, the Xueyantuo prisoners of war were not very honest and were not very resigned to their jobs.

After killing a few troublemakers, everyone calmed down.

As the saying goes, it is better to live a miserable life than to die a good death. Compared to losing one's life directly, working like this every day does not seem unacceptable.

However, their food was not very good. After all, the people of Wuqing had not yet developed the fishing industry, so naturally there were no fish intestines, fish meat, fish heads, etc. for them to eat.

After dealing with the Xueyantuo people, the action of the inspector was also put on the agenda.

After some training, the inspector finally achieved some temporary results.

After all, they are all good fighters in the army and have a solid foundation. All they need is some refinement.

However, what Li Xiang did not expect was that the first battle of the inspector was not against the local tyrants in Youzhou, but against Dengzhou.

(I typed 4,000 words in a daze, using my phone... What a torture!)
(End of this chapter)