Chapter 246 The Governor
The letter from Governor Xue finally arrived.
Jiang Shaohua twitched his lips with unclear meaning: "Send the letter over."
Chen Jinyu responded and handed over the letter. Jiang Shaohua took the letter and quickly opened it and read it.
Xue Cishi is a high-ranking official of the imperial court and the highest-ranking civil servant in Jingzhou. In the past, when King Nanyang was still alive, Governor Xue often sent letters and sent greetings, and the correspondence was quite close. After King Nanyang died of illness, it was natural for him to become estranged.
It is normal for people in officialdom to drink tea to cool off. Jiang Shaohua, the Nanyang Princess, is just an underage girl. Governor Xue maintained a superficial respect, which was enough for him, and there was no need to fawn over him.
For more than two years, Jiang Shaohua has been secretly recruiting troops and hoarding strength while rectifying his administration, but he has kept a very low profile to the outside world. What is most often mentioned are the letters and generous gifts sent to Jingyang Palace every month. In the view of Governor Xue, this was clearly Jiang Shaohua's guilty conscience and lack of confidence to use the big tree of Empress Dowager Zheng to provide shade.
For this reason, Governor Xue did not take Princess Nanyang seriously.
I never thought that if the princess did not move, the ground would shake.
Xue Governor received a letter from the princess a few days ago. After reading it, he was shocked and speechless for a long time. Then, he took up the pen and wrote this reply.
In the letter, Governor Xue expressed his sincere gratitude and respect for the princess's generous action in sending troops to suppress the bandits, and expressed his deep gratitude to the princess on behalf of all the people and officials in Jingzhou. Finally, he also expressed that he would give money to reward the Nanyang Army officers and soldiers.
“This Governor Xue is very wise.” Jiang Shaohua laughed happily after seeing this, and gave the letter to Feng Changshi: “Feng Changshi doesn’t have to worry about military expenses.”
Feng Changshijiang He read the letter hastily, relaxed his frown, and said happily: "It is indeed good news. When the court asks questions in the future, Governor Xue will be there to block us."
Jiang Shaohua hummed.
Chen Jinyu now has a broad vision and is quite knowledgeable. Hearing this, he laughed in a low voice and said: "In my opinion, this Xue governor is extremely shrewd. After the princess gave the order, the Nanyang army boldly sent out troops. Xue How could the governor not be frightened, so he generously donated a sum of money to the army? "
Jiang Shaohua smiled lightly: "He is the best to be sensible."
The next sentence is, if he is not sensible, this princess will teach him to be sensible.
The princess is becoming more and more domineering in her words and actions.
Chen Jinyu looked over with admiration. Jiang Shaohua was amused: "Okay, don't play tricks here. Go and prepare pen and ink. I want to write a reply to Governor Xue."
......
Five days later, the governor's office.
"Sir," a middle-aged man of ordinary stature entered the study room holding a letter: "The princess's personal reply has arrived. Please take a look at it."
I've been so anxious lately that I can't sleep or eat. Governor Xue, whose eyes were red, immediately put down the document in his hand, took the letter, and read it carefully.
Nanyang Princess Jiang Shaohua wrote exquisite hairpin flowers in regular script, just like an ordinary lady. The content of the letter made people's hearts beat.
"...The Nanyang Army is the garrison in Jingzhou, and it is obligatory to protect the safety of Jingzhou. This dispatch must wipe out the bandits. If there are not enough troops, there are still more soldiers in the Nanyang Guards Camp. Elite soldiers are on standby. Please relax and wait for good news.”
How could he relax?
These words are like a huge stone weighing on my heart, so heavy that I can't breathe.
Seeing that the governor's face was ugly, the staff member asked in a low voice: "Why does the Lord look so bad? Is there something wrong with the princess's letter?" This staff member's surname was Zhang. Not going well. At that time, Governor Xue was just an ordinary sixth-grade official, so he was recruited as an aide. After that, Xue's official career went smoothly, and he became the governor of Jingzhou all the way. Zhang's staff followed him all the time.
There are currently five aides in the Governor's Mansion. Staff Zhang is the oldest and most trusted by Governor Xue.
Governor Xue sighed and gave the letter to Staff Zhang. After looking at it, Staff Zhang's expression became solemn, and he lowered his voice and said: "Sir, this princess is really not simple."
Isn't it?
He quietly controls the Nanyang Army, and has an elite and invincible personal guard under his command. With such brazen military strength, they are enough to run rampant in Jingzhou.
Xue Jishi calmed down and said: "No matter what, it is always a good thing if the princess is willing to send troops to suppress the bandits. Otherwise, there will be such a bandit near the official road in Jingzhou, and the merchants will not dare to People have their lives when they come in and out "You should go to Hufang now and ask Hufang to pay 50,000 taels of silver and order people to send troops to the Nanyang Palace. The military expenses should be paid by the Governor's Palace." ”
Staff Zhang thought for a moment and said in a low voice, "Otherwise, the military expenses should be sent directly to the Nanyang Military Camp? The money has been spent, so those military men should think about the benefits of the Governor."
Xue Governor Frowning: "That's inappropriate! The Nanyang Army is the princess's territory. What I do is Go beyond the princess to win over the soldiers. "
"Let's not talk about whether fifty thousand taels of silver can win over the soldiers. Even if it is of some use, it will anger the princess. It is really not worth the loss."
I have to say that to be the governor of a state, Xue governor is indeed outstanding. Once he became aware of the formidable strength of the princess, he immediately adjusted his respectful posture and acted with extra caution.
Secretary Zhang smiled coquettishly: "Your Excellency, you are still thoughtful, but I was too reckless."
Governor Xue said calmly: "Go to the household and complete this errand. Also, always pay attention to the movement of the court. If there is any news, report it immediately."
Secretary Zhang stepped down in response.
A few days later, the silver was delivered to the Nanyang Palace.
Jiang Shaohua was not polite and ordered Feng Changshi to collect the money and put it into the treasury to use as military expenses.
In the past few days, Yu Chong's Nanyang Army has found traces of the bandits and fought against them. On one side are the bandits who lack weapons, horses and armor, and on the other side are the elite soldiers who eat, drink and train all day long. They will show their superiority in a fight.
The bandits were defeated and fled.
Yu Chong's troops were divided into three groups and pursued endlessly. Several hundred bandits were killed and more than three hundred people were captured alive.
This battle was fought cleanly and beautifully. After the imperial court received the battle report, it praised the Nanyang Army lavishly. The Nanyang Army also became famous.
In the guard camp, Qin Zhan and Meng Dashan both felt a little regretful and unwilling.
"The princess ordered the Nanyang Army to send troops, which made the Nanyang Army stand out. If it were our guard camp, we would have won a decisive victory."
"Isn't that true? If you want anything alive, just chop it all up!"
Liu Hengchang's expression remained unchanged, and he whispered: "It would be too eye-catching if the personal guard camp was sent out. The princess ordered the Nanyang Army to send out troops, and they were wiped out. People's bandits will not arouse the fear of the imperial court."
Qin Zhan and Meng Dashan looked at each other and said nothing.
Others don't know what's going on, so they naturally know the real strength of the Guards Battalion. In short, it should never be the strength that a vassal king or princess should have. It should indeed be more low-key.