Water Margin people

When the people watching saw the six thieves captured, they all shouted long live in unison.

Zhao Huan looked at the people's reactions and nodded with satisfaction.

Long Zhu slowly returned to the palace hall, and all the officials followed him back. The court meeting had not ended yet, and no one could leave.

"I didn't expect the six of them to have done so many evil things over the years. No wonder there are countless rebels in the world!"

Zhao Huan looked at the imperial student's memorial in his hand and said with regret, as if he only knew all this today.

"I am sending an order that from now on we will no longer go to the south of the Yangtze River to collect flowers and stones. We will stop in the west city and return the land to the farmers. Let the people recuperate!"

Zhao Huan looked at the ministers and said.

"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"

The ministers said in unison, "No one asked Zhao Ji again this time. Hua Shi Gang and Xicheng are now Zhao Ji's private pleasure. Zhao Huan stopped directly. This is cutting off the past."

"Nowadays, money, food, taxes and taxes are not coming in from various places. Dear sir, do you have any good ideas?"

Zhao Huan then looked at the ministers and asked, "Today's meeting will begin with the taxation of money, grain, and taxes."

"Your Majesty, now that the war is about to begin, this money and food are absolutely indispensable!"

Wu Min said, now that Tong Guan has been captured, the Privy Council will be in his charge.

"Hou Aiqing, you are the Minister of Household Affairs. What can you do?"

Zhao Huan looked at Hou Meng and asked.

"Your Majesty, there is a lot of public opinion in the world now. The people have been tortured and oppressed by corrupt officials over the years. If the tax is forcibly collected, I am afraid there will be more rebels."

Hou Meng said, in the world now, the Song Dynasty no longer has much prestige, and the people no longer trust the court, which is very troublesome.

"I asked you about the solution, not your difficulties!"

Zhao Huan was a little angry. He knew that he could not be forced to conquer, and he did not need to be reminded by Hou Meng.

"Your Majesty, taxes can be reduced or reduced according to the disaster situation. There were floods around Tokyo, and taxes were fully paid. There was banditry in the Jinghu area, and the tax was reduced by 30%..."

Hou Meng said his method.

"This statement is feasible, prepare an edict!"

Zhao Huan nodded.

"Your Majesty, the six thieves Cai Jing, Wang Fu, Tong Guan, Zhu Meng, Li Yan, and Liang Shicheng have controlled the government for many years. They have imposed extortionate taxes and expropriated money. They have been corrupt. All their property was obtained through corruption. Your Majesty may order your guards to raid the house and collect the proceeds. There is enough wealth to fill the treasury!”

Li Gang left work at this time and said, he saw that Zhao Huan wanted to wipe away the responsibilities of the previous dynasty and clean up the court. This was what he had always wanted to do, so he was ready to give it a try.

"Ok?"

Zhao Huan was a little moved, but also a little worried. Although these six people had won, all six of them were as high as the Prime Minister, which was the pinnacle of scholar-bureaucrats.

At the beginning of the Song Dynasty, Taizu Zhao Kuangyin placed an oath stele at the royal ancestor worship place in the palace. Several oaths were engraved on the oath stele:

(1) The descendants of the Chai family are not allowed to have additional punishments if they are guilty. Even if they are guilty of treason, they will be sentenced to death in prison. They are not allowed to be tortured or killed, and their relatives are not allowed to be killed.

(2) Do not kill scholar-bureaucrats or those who write letters.

(3) If any of our descendants take this oath, God will surely kill them.

Zhao Huan has also seen this oath monument. As a descendant of Taizu, he must abide by the oath made by Taizu. However, Cai Jing and others are scholar-officials and he cannot kill them. This makes him unable to deal with Cai Jing and others.

"Your Majesty, Cai Jing, Wang Fu, Tong Guan, Zhu Meng, Li Yan, and Liang Shicheng have caused harm to the country and the people. Neither the national law nor the laws of heaven can forgive them!"

Li Gang saw Zhao Huan's worry and continued to speak.

"Taizu once swore not to kill scholar-bureaucrats and those who wrote petitions. These people bring disaster to the country and the people, and must be severely punished, but I cannot violate Taizu's oath!"

Zhao Huan looked at the ministers and said, today he used Taizu's petition to capture Cai Jing and others. He relied on Taizu's words not to kill scholar-bureaucrats and petitioners. Even if there are no problems, he can use this oath to calm everything down. .

But the problem lies in this oath. Many officials are confident.

"Your Majesty, these people can be dismissed from their posts and sent to the far evil military state!"

Immediately some officials came out to say that they did not want Cai Jing and others to die, not that they wanted to speak for Cai Jing and others, but to protect Cai Jing and others from death in the future. "That's it, Li Gang. First, I will promote you to the position of Minister Youcheng and Tokyo Remainer, responsible for interrogating those people!"

Zhao Huan looked at Li Gang and said.

"My subordinates, the people have been fleeing Tokyo for some time. We should issue an edict earlier to appease the people and let them return to their household registration."

Someone added another word.

"Draft an edict and submit it!"

Zhao Huan nodded.

The court meeting ended soon, and the ministers left the palace with their own concerns.

North Jing Road, Runing Prefecture.

A carriage is being loaded with goods.

"Quick, quick, we have to transport it back to Tokyo early! Our boss is still waiting for us!"

Cao is urging the guys who are loading the goods.

"Brother Cao, don't worry, I can install it with a stick of incense!"

The guys laughed. Some of them were rogue idlers brought out of Tokyo, and some were "guys" recruited from the local area.

A Kongmu came over with a team of servants.

"Kong Mu, the goods are all packed, what's the reason?"

Cao Zheng looked at Kong Mu walking over with a smile, took out a gold ingot from his sleeve and handed it over.

Kong Mu's eyes lit up when he saw the gold. It was common for him to accept bribes. He looked like he wanted to shake hands, so he naturally put the gold into his sleeve.

"What's wrong with the Zhang family's caravan? It's an old business in Tokyo!"

Kong Mu smiled and took out the certificates he had issued, proving that most of the people in this caravan were from Runing Prefecture and their identities were innocent.

Being able to operate a caravan in Tokyo is backed by officials. Local officials will naturally open the door to convenience when they get benefits and will not cause trouble for themselves.

"Thank you Kong Mu! I will definitely explain Kong Mu's help to my boss when I get back!"

Cao Zheng smiled and took the excuse and said.

"Haha, brother Cao Zheng is a wonderful man. He is much more sensible than those people before. Come on, I will give you a drink to see you off!"

Kong Mu smiled and invited Cao Zheng.

"Thank you Kong Mu, but the goods have been packed. My boss is anxious to let me go back. Kong Mu also knows the situation in Tokyo!"

Cao Zheng smiled and declined.

"Haha, then I wish Brother Cao a happy journey!"

Kong Mu said with a smile, Tokyo is currently in dire need of supplies, and if we transport them back a day earlier, we can sell them at a better price.

The same thing happened in Yingzhou and Ruzhou. A large number of Liangshan soldiers were mixed into these caravans.

The caravans loaded up their goods and headed towards Tokyo. With official credentials, they didn't have to worry about entering Tokyo.

At this time, in the Tokyo Prison, Li Gang was interrogating Cai Jing, Wang Fu, Tong Guan, Zhu Meng, Li Yan, and Liang Shicheng.

"Li Gang, don't think that you can compete with us just because you become the Minister of Finance. You are not worthy!"

Zhu Meng looked at Li Gang and shouted.

"Li Gang, don't try to scare us. You can't punish us if you can't punish the officials. At the beginning of the founding of the Song Dynasty, we made an oath not to kill scholar-officials!"

Liang Shicheng looked at Li Gang and snorted coldly.

Several people were confident and did not look like prisoners. They sat directly on the chairs on both sides of the lobby. (End of chapter)