Emperor Taizong's Growth Plan

It was already late at night, and the majestic and majestic Jinling City, the capital of the Xia Kingdom, had faded from the bustle of the day.A huge city that is rarely compared with it in the world just stands here quietly.

Outside the city, the tall city walls cast shadows, making it even darker.

The soldiers of the Xia army guarding on the city wall heard the sound of rushing horseshoes in the darkness below the city.

As soon as they heard the strange sound of horseshoes, the soldiers on the city wall immediately became vigilant, assembled quickly, pointed their bows and arrows at the city, and lit a warning beacon.

In the darkness, the beacon fire that suddenly lit up on the city wall was extremely conspicuous!
Seeing this, the Xia army stationed in Jinling City also reacted immediately, and began to gather soldiers to prepare the army.

Several beacon towers outside the capital also lit up warning beacons at this time to notify the army stationed in the suburbs of Beijing.

At this time, as long as a bunch of beacon fires are lit on the other side of the city wall, the soldiers in the city who have already assembled the army will quickly dispatch to take over the city defense and meet the enemy.Even the soldiers and horses stationed in the suburbs of Beijing will come quickly to encircle and suppress the rebels who attacked the city.

Judging from Xia Jun's extremely quick and orderly response, it can be known that after Yu Zhaoling ascended the throne, he began to rectify the troops inside and outside the capital, which was obviously very effective!

Captain Xia on the city wall shouted sharply at this moment:

"The gate of the capital city has been locked, and it is not allowed to be opened lightly unless it is an imperial decree or confidential military information! Anyone who dares to attack the gate will die!"

Along with the captain's scolding sound, there was the creaking sound of the bowstring being straightened.If that person still dared to attack the city, arrows would rain down in an instant!

But at this time, below the city, only a few "wows" were heard, and the sound of hurried horseshoes stopped suddenly, and immediately there was an eager response:
"Eight hundred li urgently, Hailing County, Wuzhong County, there is an urgent military situation to report to His Majesty!"

Under the city, several fires lit up, and the torches were held up high, so that the officers and soldiers of the Xia army above the city could clearly see the figure, appearance and attire of the visitor.

Seven or eight generals of the Xia army, travel-stained and tired, escorted an officer wearing a postman's costume and carrying the "urgent" order flag, waiting outside the city with an anxious expression on his face.

Seeing the outfits of the eight or nine people in front of him, the captain of the city guard already believed in him.But to be on the safe side, he hung down the hanging basket, got the verification documents, and after carefully confirming that they were correct, his expression tightened, and he shouted loudly:

"Quickly, open the city gate! Send someone to escort them and go to the palace to report the emergency!"

"Yes!"

With the sound of "da da da" mechanism, accompanied by the sound of the chain turning, the closed suspension bridge crashed down, and the tightly closed city gate opened quickly.

Seeing this, the postman hurriedly urged the horse under his crotch again, and galloped away.

More than a dozen guards and soldiers got on their horses at this time, opened the way ahead, and escorted this person to the palace.

In the middle of the night, in the silent Jinling City, the rapid sound of horseshoes reverberated in the city, and suddenly awakened the caring people in Jinling City...

Half an hour later, palace officials were suddenly sent out from the palace to summon all the ministers in the court late at night to discuss matters in the Jinshen Palace.

At Yin time, the Jinshen Hall was already brightly lit and crowded with people.Most of the courtiers who were woken up in the middle of the night rushed here in a hurry, their clothes were disheveled, and compared with the neat and tidy appearance in the past, they seemed a little funny for no reason.

...

As for Emperor Xia Yu Zhaoling, he was already sitting on the dragon chair at this time, wearing only a single suit, with an extremely gloomy and ugly face.

When the courtiers were almost all here, Yu Zhaoling said in a cold voice:
"Eight hundred li rushed to report. The traitor Zhang Shicheng saw that the situation was unfavorable. He colluded with sea bandits and attacked various places along the coast."

"The pirates on the sea are attacking everywhere. Wuzhong County governs Nanhui County and Changxing Island in Xiasongjiang Prefecture, and Hailing County governs Xiahaimen County and Fuhai Island. Pirates are rampant. Wuzhong County's navy is attacking to meet the enemy, and Hailing County also mobilizes some Soldiers and horses, garrison the coastal defense."

"The rebel Zhang Shicheng took the opportunity to mobilize all his troops and besiege Taizhou City, the seat of Hailing County. Caught off guard, Taizhou City has fallen, and the situation in Hailing County is critical."

As soon as this remark came out, there was an uproar in the entire Jinshen Palace.

Just before, the imperial court received the news that many salt merchants who colluded with Zhang Shicheng had been taken down by the embroidered clothes envoy, and the rebel Zhang Shicheng had no support anymore, and the situation was over!

But they never expected that in just a few days, this thief actually contacted a pirate who didn't know where they came from, which completely ruined the situation in Hailing County in the southeast, and even Wuzhong County nearby was threatened.

Among the courtiers, Dong Wei, the chariot general, walked out quickly, and immediately said:

"The thieves who dare to harass my Great Xia's coastal defense are not weak, and they certainly did not appear suddenly! Your Majesty, do you know where these thieves come from?"

Yu Zhaoling shook his head and said:
"There is no detailed military report yet from the embroidered clothes envoy."

"This, the only way is to ask Your Majesty to quickly dispatch the Jinling Navy to clear the coastal defense!"

As soon as Dong Wei finished speaking, a courtier in the palace retorted immediately:

"No!"

"Most of the warships of our Jinling Navy need to be deployed in Rong County and Dongning to defend against the Yunwai Navy. The remaining warships are not enough to guard Jinling City, how can they be easily dispatched?"

Jinling City is the capital of the Xia Kingdom, and it has a bearing on the safety of the country, which is the most important thing.It is true that the soldiers and horses guarding the capital cannot be sent out easily, lest the capital be empty and be taken advantage of by the enemy.

Before the words fell, someone immediately retorted:
"But if the Jinling navy is not sent to attack, the coastal counties will also be harassed!"

"Hailing County is related to the new salt tax system of the imperial court, and there is nothing to lose. And Wuzhong County is the most affluent place in the south of the Yangtze River. The financial taxes, rice and grain collected every year, Wuzhong County can account for ten percent of the country's total in just one county. One-twelfth. Now that the state affairs are difficult, this Wuzhong County must not be lost!"

Now that Xia Kingdom's financial maintenance is difficult, this wealthy Wuzhong County is even more important!

Yu Zhaoling did not hesitate, and immediately interrupted the dispute among the ministers, and said in a deep voice:

"There are still soldiers and horses stationed in Gyeonggi, don't worry! Immediately order the Jinling navy left behind to dispatch troops immediately to defend the coast and drive out the bandits!"

"From Liyang County and Kuaiji County in the south of the Yangtze River, local county soldiers were transferred to Wuzhong County to prevent pirates from going ashore to make trouble, and Zhang Bandit in Hailing County sent troops."

"Taishan County, Donghai County, Langya County, and Jiaodong County in Qidi also need to deploy their own garrisons to prevent bandits from leaving Hailing County and harassing the four counties in Qidi!"

"Dispatch [-] elite soldiers from the northern border to Hailing County to suppress the rebellion via Yandi. All the food and grass will be supplied by the local government. There must be no mistakes!"

...

Yu Zhaoling has made up his mind, and he is in the hall, and there is no voice of opposition. All the officials bowed and saluted, and shouted:

"Come on, follow your orders!"
-

All the ministers dispersed, but Yu Zhaoling sent palace servants to recall Mei Chong, Dong Wei, Yuan Feizhang and other loyal veterans, as well as Feng Chu, Zhu Feiang and other confidantes in the palace, to Jinshen Palace.

At this time, those in Jinshen Palace are all the confidantes that Yu Zhaoling now relies on to control the court.At this time, the recall, everyone knows that there must be a military plan to be entrusted with important matters!
Sure enough, after everyone arrived, Yu Zhaoling said in a deep voice:

"At this time, Zhong Zizhuo is still in Hailing County. The situation in Hailing County is critical now. I want you all to mobilize everyone to support him at all costs!"

Everyone in the hall was slightly taken aback when they heard the words.

Although Zhong Zizhuo is now a giant embroiderer, he has great power.But in reality, the position of the second-grade embroidered clothing envoy is only a mere thousand stones.He's just a spy chief, the emperor's eagle dog, so Yu Zhaoling shouldn't be treated so seriously.

Seeing the incomprehensible expressions of the ministers, Feng Chu coughed lightly, and explained in a deep voice:
"Commander Zhong was ordered by the emperor to thoroughly investigate the local salt merchants who colluded with Zhang Shicheng. Within a few months, he raided 43 salt merchants in the two prefectures of Hailing County, and confiscated more than 730 million taels of gold and silver!"

Speaking of this, Feng Chu couldn't help but sighed lightly, and said:
"The reason why the embroidered envoys reacted so slowly to the Hailing County incident was that all the local embroidered envoys were dispatched by Commander Zhong to escort the gold and silver back to Beijing... such a huge amount of gold and silver, It was too difficult to transport, and in the end, we still couldn't leave before the situation in Hailing County was turbulent."

Upon hearing the huge amount of over 700 million taels of silver, all the officials in the hall couldn't help but hold their breath.

Isn't the reason why Xia Guo's situation is so difficult now is that he has no money to make troubles!
Previously, in order to train more soldiers and horses to consolidate the border defenses and resist the cloud army, Mei Chong had exhausted his strength and scraped the treasury and palace treasury several times, but he only collected 80 taels of silver for immediate use.

At this time, if they can get the more than 700 million taels of silver in Zhong Zizhuo's hands, then most of the difficulties faced by the court will no longer be a problem!

The old official Mei Chong, who was a little bit sluggish because he was awakened in the middle of the night, was shocked at this time, his eyes burst into radiance, and he took the lead to say:

"Yu Zeyang, the governor of Liyang County, and Lu Ruiyi, the governor of Donghai County, were both former servants of the old minister. I will immediately write a copy of the book and ask them to send someone to meet them!"

Dong Wei, the chariot general, continued:
"Wuzhong County Lieutenant, was once a school lieutenant under the command of the minister. Although the situation in Wuzhong County is not good at this time, it should be no problem for him to send some people to go."

"I used to be in the army, Paoze. After resigning from the military post, I established a Jianghu sect in Hailing County, and there were hundreds of disciples. I wrote to him, asking him to take his disciples to take care of him. At this time, the Jianghu sect The soldiers and horses of the court should be more convenient!" Yuan Feizhang also said in a deep voice.

When he was in the southwest, Zhu Feiang, the second son of Marquis Changfeng, a military disciple who had taken refuge in Yu Zhaoling's command, also said at this time:

"Your Majesty, the fiefdom of the Marquis of Changfeng is in Hailing County, and we can also mobilize people from the mansion to help!"

...

Local civil servants, military generals, nobles, plus the forces in the rivers and lakes.

These forces, mobilized through the relationship between Dong Wei and the others, exerted an effect that was much more useful than Yu Zhaoling's imperial decree!
Yu Zhaoling exhaled slightly, then turned to look at Feng Chu, nodded and said:

"Embroider envoys in nearby counties must also mobilize as many as possible!"

Feng Chu bowed slightly, and said in a deep voice:

"Please rest assured, Your Majesty, I will do my best!"
-

At this time, in Taizhou, Hailing County, in Sanshui County.

Yu Zhaoling and the others were extremely worried, thinking that Zhong Zizhuo, who thought he was in a dangerous situation, was now leading his men and staying safely in the county town, eating and drinking, without showing the slightest sign of embarrassment. Worrying and nervous, with a calm and calm look.

The embroidered envoys who were temporarily dispatched to guard the huge amount of confiscated clothes were all shocked and fearful after Sanshui County was occupied by bandits, worrying day and night, for fear that the bandits outside would find their traces.

But when I saw the calm appearance of my commander and felt a little relieved, I couldn't help but feel deep admiration.

In such a situation, you can still be calm and composed, Commander Zhong, you really have the style of a general!

However, Zhong Zizhuo, who was considered by his embroiderers as a general, was discussing the next matters with the guards at the sticky pole who were dressed as embroiderers.

"This time, so many salt merchants were copied, and a total of 280 million taels of silver was obtained. That greedy Yang Xun only reported 7307 million taels to the court."

Having said that, Zhong Zizhuo couldn't help but raise his head and said:

"Speaking of this money, do you really want to hand it all over to Emperor Xia?"

Zhong Zizhuo was in the court of the Xia Kingdom, so he naturally knew that the reason why the Xia Kingdom behaved so badly now was because he had no money to make trouble.

If such a large amount of money is handed over, more than half of Xia Guo's predicament will be solved. For Yun Guo, it is naturally not a good thing!
The guard at the sticky pole next to Zhong Zizhuo raised his head slightly at this time, revealing the face of Jumeng, the envoy of Yiwei at the sticky stick.

In this play, Meng is mainly responsible for the affairs of Xia Guo's sticky pole.He had disappeared for a long time before, but he never thought that he would stay beside Zhong Zizhuo, pretending to be a low-level embroiderer!

"Yang Xun is very greedy and untrustworthy. I asked you to secretly send Mi Zhe back to Jinling City and tell Emperor Xia the truth. You wanted to take Yang Xun's head in exchange for Emperor Xia's greater trust in you. .”

"Also, arrangements have been made at the preparation office. Afterwards, you will run into a bandit army. After the battle, about [-]% of the gold and silver will be robbed by the bandit soldiers. And you, leading the army, You desperately protected the remaining [-]% of the gold and silver... You must send this money back to Jinling City, otherwise your credit this time will be greatly reduced!"

Although only [-]% of it was protected, it was definitely not because of Zhong Zizhuo's lack of protection.And for the Xia Kingdom court, which is extremely short of money, this is tantamount to a life-saving straw. Yu Zhaoling is overjoyed, and he will definitely reward Zhong Zizhuo for his credit.

And the sixty-seven million taels of silver, although a lot, was actually in exchange for Zhong Zizhuo gaining more trust from Emperor Xia and standing on a higher position in Xia Guochaotang.

As long as it is used properly, Xia Kingdom's court will no longer have any secrets about Yun Kingdom!It is not impossible for the entire Embroidered Clothes Envoy to be used by Yun Guo.

When the war between the two countries resumes, it is estimated that the casualties of soldiers and the cost of conquests avoided due to the detailed information will be far more than a few million taels!

Ju Meng glanced at Zhong Zizhuo, and continued:
"And the money that was robbed will be sent back to Yun Kingdom through Henghai General Wang Zhi. One tenth of it will be given as your reward. Only when the world is unified and Xia Kingdom is destroyed, You will be rewarded with high officials and rich titles, as well as countless gold and silver rewards!"

Zhong Ziyan, who is now dealing with this position is more and more important, can no longer use the previous tough methods at the sticking rod.We must always give enough bargaining chips to let him continue to serve with his heart.

Hearing Ju Meng's words, Zhong Zizhuo couldn't help being ecstatic, nodded repeatedly, and said in a vibrating voice:
"I, Zhong Zizhuo, will definitely do my best to die and not let His Majesty down!"

Emperor Taizong's Growth Plan