Lord: Start with a book of Water Margin

Chapter 543 Defense
Wu Yong and Zhu Wu were in charge of the preparation of all the necessary documents, military seals, seals, badges, robes, armor, and five-sided flags. Zhao Zhen issued orders to assign soldiers, and the generals followed the orders and returned to their respective places of administration.

In Bianjing, Gao Qiu, Cai Jing and even the imperial concubine Murong in the palace all received bribes from Song Jiang because of his surrender. After Song Jiang came to see the emperor, Emperor Huizong saw that although Song Jiang was short, no more than six feet tall, he had square lips and a straight mouth, a light beard and a thin chin, a broad forehead and a flat top, and a full face. His eyes were like red phoenixes, his eyebrows were like sleeping silkworms, his ears were like pearls, and his eyes were like lacquer. He did not look like a treacherous person.

Song Jiang was appointed as the general manager of Fangzhou's army and horses, and he could take up the post if he could destroy Wang Qing. He could really manage the army when on horseback and the people when off horseback, and the brothers did not need to be separated and resettled.

Song Jiang was so happy that he burst into tears and expressed his loyalty.

Just then, Zhao Zhen submitted a petition. After reading it, Emperor Huizong summoned important ministers such as Grand Tutor Cai to discuss state affairs. Because Song Jiang had been fighting with Liangshan for a long time and was from the same hometown, he sent someone to summon Song Jiang to the palace to listen and advise.

When Song Jiang received the imperial edict and heard that he was to go to the court to see the emperor, he quickly took out a gold ingot worth ten taels and stuffed it into the hand of the eunuch who announced the eunuch's order. He carefully asked, "Angel, I will go to Huaixi to suppress the rebellion in the next few days. Angel, do you know why the emperor is calling you?"

The eunuch who announced the decree squeezed the gold ingot in his hand and said with a smile, "Don't worry, sir, this is not your business. It is a petition from sir Zhao in Jingdong Road, and His Majesty is discussing it with you sirs. General Gao mentioned that you are from Jingdong Road, so you can give some advice. When you go there, listen more and talk less, and follow the sirs. His Majesty is still in the palace, so leave quickly to avoid His Majesty's displeasure."

While Song Jiang was changing into his official uniform, he said a few words to Lai Yong'er and hurried into the palace.

After listening for a while, Emperor Huizong asked Song Jiang, "Mr. Song, what do you think of Zhao Ze?"

After listening for a long time, Song Jiang could tell that the gentlemen, especially Gao Qiu, had no good feelings towards Zhao Zhen.

After stealing a glance at Emperor Huizong, Song Jiang replied, "I heard that Zhao Zhen is an honest official and is very popular among the people. He is also a man of integrity and loyalty. Many imperial fugitives and bandits have come to him and entrusted their lives to him. Even under my command, there are a few who have secretly gone to him. Because of this, I have made the soldiers under my command so experienced in battle that they will obey my orders without hesitation."

"Zhao Zhen? Doesn't Governor Song know that Pacifier Zhao has changed his name to Zhao Ze?" Hou Meng on the side scolded.

After hearing this, Song Jiang hurriedly said, "Atonement, atonement. He never told anyone about it, so we don't know. I never thought that the Recruiting Envoy would be promoted to the Appeasement Envoy."

"Yes, the Recruiting Prime Minister has now been promoted to the Pacifier of Jingdong East Road and Commander-in-Chief of the Army." Hou Meng said.

Gao Qiu said, "This fellow is a traitor pretending to be loyal. He only knows how to win people's hearts. Hu Yanzhuo is also useless. He has no intention of serving the country. He lost his troops and generals. He was afraid of punishment from the court, so he committed suicide in Liangshan. They are a bunch of thieves and they all deserve to die."

Cai Jing said: "The Huyan family has been passed down for generations, so how could there not be some unfilial sons? Didn't the Yang family also have a Green-faced Beast who also fled out of fear of punishment?"

Gao Qiu said, "Yes, this fellow was originally a palace official. When the flower and stone levy was lost, he did not dare to return to the capital to report it, and fled to another place for refuge. Although he was pardoned, he could not be employed again. I didn't expect that this fellow would actually kill someone and be exiled to Daming Prefecture. Liang Zhongshu promoted him to be a military commander because of his family's loyalty, but he caused many troubles and joined Zhao Ze again."

"Zhao Anfu is now strong and powerful, and these people deserve most of the credit."

Emperor Huizong said, "There is no need to mention the past. Now the pacification envoy Zhao has asked the court to transfer officials to appoint them. What do you think?"

Gao Qiu said, "Your Majesty, it is naturally good for the court to transfer officials, but this Zhao Ze actually used the fact that Jingdong Road had just experienced a war and there was unrest everywhere, and the court was unaware of the situation, and sent people to Jingdong Road to select and appoint people. This is really unreasonable."

"What do you think, Song Qing?"

After hearing this, Song Jiang hurriedly reported, "Your Majesty, although I have become a bandit, it is also a helpless act. The world calls me one of the four great bandits. I dare not be in the same category as Tian Hu, Wang Qing, and Fang La. These three are rebels who changed the era name and established a system to claim to be kings and hegemons. I am just a bandit and never dare to have such a thought. I just hope that one day I can be recruited and become a good citizen again."

"Because I know that the world belongs to His Majesty after all. Haven't you heard that all the land belongs to the king? I have also read the petition, and I think it is inappropriate for Prime Minister Zhao to do this. How can you only want civil officials and not military generals? The prefectures and cities have already appointed their trusted men to take up the posts."

The emperor listened but did not comment. He asked Cai Jing, "I heard from the Imperial City Office that all the officials selected by the Ministry of Rites declined to take up the post, except for Xu Hulin?"

Cai Jing said, "Your Majesty, it is true. At that time, Jingdong Road was in turmoil and no one dared to go there. Only Xu Hulin dared to take the responsibility. Prefect Song, have you ever heard of this man in Qingzhou?"

"I have indeed inquired about the situation of Zhao Anfu's subordinates. This Xu Hulin is capable and has now been promoted to the position of Qingzhou Tongpan. I heard that he has a cousin named Xu Rongfu who has already joined Zhao Anfu." Song Jiang reported. Cai Jing said, "Your Majesty, Huaixi is in a critical situation now, and Governor Song has rested for three days. It is better to set off early to prevent Wang Qing from becoming more rampant."

Emperor Huizong said, "Yes, Lord Song, are you ready? Are you still short of weapons?"

Song Jiang said: "Your Majesty, I am ready and will go to war as soon as your Majesty orders me to do so."

"Okay, my dear minister, go back and prepare today. Tomorrow, the Grand Commandant Chen Zongshan will go to reward the troops, and then we will set out. I am eagerly waiting for you in Bian Jing. My dear minister, if you have made great contributions soon, I will not be stingy with high positions and generous salaries."

After hearing this, Song Jiang thanked him and left the hall.

Cai Jing said, "Your Majesty, Song Jiang is a recent surrender, so we cannot trust him. In my opinion, even if Zhao Ze has no intention of being disloyal, he still wants to follow orders and not obey orders, and is unwilling to serve the court wholeheartedly. In this case, we still have to be on guard."

"But now that Privy Councilor Tong is suppressing Tian Hu, and there is also Fang La rebelling in Jiangnan, it will be difficult to force Zhao Ze to rebel again. It is better to go along with this guy first, and then deal with him after Tian Hu, Wang Qing, and Fang La are pacified."

"So even if the court selects officials, they may not be valued, and there is also the worry that they will be bewitched by Zhao Ze and change their positions. It is better to select some old and incompetent people and send them to him. In this way, Zhao Ze will be appeased and the problem of many incompetent officials in the court having nowhere to go will be solved."

The emperor listened and nodded, saying, "What the Grand Master said makes sense. Let the Grand Master supervise this matter and select and send them within ten days. If there are still those who are unwilling to go, they will be dismissed."

After Cai Jing finished thanking him, Gao Qiu said, "Even so, we must be on guard."

"Your Majesty, I heard from Gao Lian that Zibo Prefecture borders Qingzhou to the east and Yanzhou and Yizhou to the south. The prefect and the military commander are both incompetent. They can only be used to defend the city. In order to prepare for the future, it is better to replace them with capable people together with Qizhou, which is adjacent to Yunzhou."

After hearing this, Emperor Huizong asked someone to bring the map for a closer look. Seeing that it was exactly as Gao Qiu said, he asked, "Who do you think is qualified?"

Gao Qiu said, "Your Majesty, Cheng Ziming, the general manager of the East City Military Department, has a leopard head and round eyes, yellow hair and tiger beard. People call him the "Golden Hair Iron Lion". He uses a five-finger sharpened iron spear that weighs fifty pounds. He is braver than ten thousand men and has served in the northwest. This man can go to Zibo Prefecture and be a military commander. The Zibo garrison is Yun Tianbiao. Although he did not make any contributions in the campaign against the Qingzhou bandits, he did not surrender to the bandits. Let him make meritorious contributions in front of the army while guilty."

"There is another person, the commander of the Palace Front Department. He is nine feet tall, with broad shoulders and a round waist, a face as blue as indigo, and great strength. He is known as Gao Chonghan, the "Strong Man Who Can Pull Mountains". He is good at using a golden spear, and dozens of people cannot get close to him. This person can go to Qizhou to command the troops."

"These two places are close to Liangshan and Qingzhou. Once troops are sent out, it will make it difficult for Liangshan's troops to take care of both ends. To the west of Liangshan is Hebei Road, which is heavily guarded and is not afraid of his attack. Xingren Prefecture to the south is not so well guarded, and one more person is needed to cut off Liangshan's invasion route to the south. Then send the military commander of the five military prefectures under Jingdong to order General Ji Anbang to go to Xingren Prefecture to supervise the troops for defense. He was born in Jizhou and has always worked hard on the border. He is proficient in literature and martial arts, and has a lot of strategies in his mind. With this army, Liangshan will never have a chance to take advantage of him again."

"As for the governors of Zibo and Qizhou, they need to be selected by the Grand Tutor."

Upon hearing this, Cai Jing said, "The governor of Qizhou is quite courageous. When the northern route was used to suppress the Qingzhou bandits, he also mobilized a lot of food and grass to the front. But this governor of Zibo is incompetent. It is better to depose him and select a capable person from the three ministries to go there."

The emperor listened and nodded.

However, after Song Jiang went to war, the selection of officials by the Ministry of Personnel to take up posts in Jingdong Road in Bianjing City finally stopped. The officials selected were either old or had no money to bribe people.

After the selection, his official position was not announced to anyone. He only called a team of imperial guards to escort him on the road all the way to Liangshan Prefecture.

After hearing this, everyone looked at each other in surprise.

It wasn't that no one resisted. The Ministry of Personnel received an imperial decree and dismissed the few who stood out on the spot. Seeing this, no one dared to refuse. Those who were reluctant to give up their official positions had to bite their teeth and accept the task, hoping that they could return safely.

As for the governor of Zibo Prefecture, he was also selected. His surname was Wen, and his single character was Yan. He was from Tokyo, and was originally a flatterer. Because he was good at flattering, he was admitted to the office of Grand Tutor Cai, and that's how he got this job.

(End of this chapter)