xymnovel Chapter 21 Zhongshi chose a master whose will was unyielding and unshakeable.
Chapter 21 Zhongshi chose a master whose will was unyielding and unshakeable.
However, after the successful coup, Yuan Yao actually faced a seemingly very awkward problem.
That was because, in order to win over others to his cause, he promised the civil officials and military generals a huge sum of money that Yuan Shu had accumulated over the years, splitting it 30/70.
There is only one share of money, yet it is divided among two factions, each taking 70% of it. How is that possible?
The answer is that it is entirely possible.
Although it sounds outrageous, it's actually not that difficult.
Yuan Yao: "General, stop cursing and listen to my explanation too."
However, Zhang Xun's attitude was firm: "There's nothing to explain! Grand Commander, I must tell you, if you insist on supporting Yang Hong and withholding our military funds, then the military will consider you a traitor!"
Yuan Yao narrowed his eyes: "And then, what are you planning to do?"
Zhang Xun, with his neck stiff, said, "If necessary, we might consider restoring His Majesty's health so he can resume handling state affairs."
Yuan Yao sneered, his tone unyielding: "Fine, then you can go to the outskirts of the city and invite him there. I'll simply leave. Let's see who can handle this mess that's been created by the Zhong family!"
Zhang Xun was momentarily speechless. He suddenly realized that he didn't seem to have any leverage to control Yuan Yao.
Because no one wanted Yuan Shu to return, this precious thing was a disaster for everyone in the Zhong family.
Therefore, from the moment the coup ended, Zhang Xun had no way to deal with Yuan Yao. Unless he was forced into a corner, they could only compromise with each other.
But Yuan Yao, not one to back down, slammed his fist on the table, his spittle almost landing on Zhang Xun's face: "Zhang Xun! I'll ask you one more time, were you threatening me just now? Don't forget, I'm not the incompetent late emperor, nor am I Liu Xie, the puppet ruler in Xuchang! I'm the Crown Prince of Zhong, who rose step by step, gathering provisions, training troops, fighting on the battlefield, braving fire and water, a tough guy who's fought his way through countless hardships! The battles you can fight, I can fight; the battles you can't fight, I can fight too! Last month in Shouchun, I wasn't afraid of Liu Bei's 50,000-strong army standing in my way, do you think I'm afraid you'll drown me?"
The roar echoed throughout the room, so much so that even Yang Hong, who had just left and hadn't gone far, heard it and was utterly astonished.
Zhang Xun finally came to terms with reality. He realized that Yuan Yao was not so easy to talk to, and what was worse, he could not afford to fall out with him.
The conflict between the two men ultimately stemmed from their disagreement over the division of spoils. However, these spoils originally belonged to Yuan Shu, and exchanging them for Yuan Shu would only result in greater losses for Yuan Shu himself.
Zhang Xun said helplessly, "Please forgive me, Grand Commander, I misspoke."
Yuan Yao, who had gained the upper hand, quickly changed his expression: "I also have to apologize. I lost control of my emotions just now. I hope you will forgive me for any offense I may have caused."
It's easy to talk things over.
Since Zhang Xun was willing to back down, Yuan Yao naturally had to reciprocate in kind; otherwise, it wouldn't be good to make things too ugly.
Thanks to the fact that both sides were experienced senior bureaucrats, the unpleasantness from earlier was quickly forgotten—at least on the surface.
Yuan Yao took out the plan that Yang Hong had led the compilation of again and said to Zhang Xun earnestly, "General, regarding the matter of rebuilding the army, first of all, it should be stated that the large-scale conscription you mentioned is not realistic in the short term. The situation in Huainan is what it is. If we really pull up an army of 100,000, we will definitely be in chaos before any foreign invasion even begins."
Zhang Xun nodded in understanding. This was originally a long-term plan, and he had only brought it up before to show that he had big ambitions and would not be easily satisfied.
Yuan Yao continued, "As for other requests, including paying the army's back pay, replacing worn-out weapons and armor, strengthening food supplies and reserves, expanding and renovating barracks, etc., these are all fine."
When these specific issues were brought up, Zhang Xun immediately shook his head: "No, I don't see these in the existing plan. I only see that military spending has been drastically cut, even less than before."
Yuan Yao laughed and said, "Minister Zhang, don't limit your attention to this military document. Take a look at other places too, like here."
Zhang Xun looked in the direction Yuan Yao pointed, picked up the bamboo slip and read it for a few minutes, then suddenly leaned back tactically.
"You actually placed the barracks renovation and construction under the palace construction department, and assigned it to the Directorate of Works?"
"Is there a problem? Those craftsmen from the Imperial Workshop used to build the Shouchun Imperial Palace. They're more than capable of building barracks for you now."
"That's fine, but... um... this..."
Zhang Xun hesitated, seemingly having something difficult to say.
Yuan Yao knew what the other person was struggling with.
Whether in this life or the past, contracting engineering projects is a very tedious, boring, and lucrative job.
Therefore, Zhang Xun was naturally unwilling to back down in this matter and hoped to personally handle everything and share the burden.
Yuan Yao reassured him, "Don't worry, the Imperial Workshop won't act on its own. I've already told them to communicate more with the military."
Zhang Xun: "Hesitant and incoherent."
Well, as a military general, Zhang Xun's needs were not just about making money. For him, making money was of course the best, but building good barracks was equally important.
After all, he really needs to go to the front lines, and on the battlefield, you get what you pay for.
Having understood the background and consequences of the barracks renovation and construction, Zhang Xun was able to apply this knowledge to other situations and roughly understand what was going on with the other military expenses.
Yuan Yao took out another bamboo slip from the plan: "The supplementary payment of back pay and the adjustment of officers' salaries are respectively placed in the Military Affairs Department and the Civil Affairs Department. This will continue in the future, with military pay being uniformly allocated by the central government."
Other aspects, such as food and fodder reserves, warhorse procurement, and weapon and equipment upgrades, are similar; they are all just different names for being diverted from dedicated military spending, but the essence remains the same.
At this point, Zhang Xun fully understood Yuan Yao's meaning.
Regarding the enormous inheritance left by Yuan Shu, Yuan Yao ingeniously divided it into ownership and usage rights.
The ownership of the money belonged to the military group, and theoretically, the vast majority of this money was indeed invested in the military field, fulfilling Yuan Yao's promise.
The right to use the money belonged to the civil officials, who were responsible for how to use every penny and could also skim some profits for themselves.
Zhang Xun wasn't sure what expression he should have. On the one hand, it was indeed a good thing; the reconstruction of the army was truly his top concern. On the other hand, the significant reduction in the paper military budget meant that his power as a general had also shrunk considerably.
Seeing Zhang Xun's hesitant expression, Yuan Yao knew that the other party was wavering, so he took the opportunity to offer his trump card, which he had just used not long ago: "Our army is in dire need of reconstruction, and we must seize this rare opportunity to become strong as soon as possible. By the way, Zhang Qing, I also have something I would like to entrust to you in this regard."
Zhang Xun: "What is it?"
Yuan Yao: "To build a strong army, we need excellent recruits. I remember that Lei Bo and Chen Lan of Qianshan have tens of thousands of able-bodied men under their command. Minister Zhang has a past with them. Could you do me a favor and revive the process of recruiting them?"
Zhang Xun remained silent. Yuan Shu had interfered in this matter last time, causing him great loss of face.
Yuan Yao continued, "Of course, I know that this matter has had some twists and turns in the past, and it would be much more difficult to handle it again now. Therefore, I have specially granted Zhang Qing a sum of operating funds and approved it through special channels, so that it can be handled as a special matter."
Zhang Xun immediately changed his sitting posture, waiting for Yuan Yao to continue.
"As for the specific amount, well, as long as it doesn't exceed 500,000 coins, I can accept it."
------------
Half an hour later, having reached an agreement, Zhang Xun left Yuan Yao's room, generally satisfied with today's gains.
As soon as I stepped outside, I saw Yang Hong standing not far ahead, seemingly sunbathing.
Zhang Xun, as always, disliked civil officials. He intended to pretend he hadn't seen them and simply turn away.
Unexpectedly, Yang Hong had been waiting for him on purpose, and asked with a smile, "May I ask, General, do you have any further guidance on the plans we have compiled?"
Zhang Xun's facial expression became incredibly interesting, and his emotions fluctuated wildly.
After a long pause, he finally managed to give a reasonably fair assessment:
"It's a good job, but a bit lousy."