Lord: Start with a book of Water Margin

Chapter 555 Plan
Zhao Zhen listened and said thoughtfully: "In that case, please ask Xie Yu to go with you. He is a very prudent person."

Wu Yong said: "This is the best. This person does not need to observe government anymore. Just follow me to Dingtao and come back to learn the government of Liangshan later."

Wu Yong then said, "Sir, since these people are all capable of being used, why don't you take this opportunity to write a letter to the court, saying that Puzhou sent troops to plunder Yuncheng without authorization, and that the officials of the Guangji Army were corrupt and abused the people, and then ask the court to select officials to take up the post?"

Liu Hui Niang said, "Besides this, we will have to hold another special examination. It is June now, so we don't have to wait until September. We can hold the examination on the day of Qiqiao next month. All the scholars in the prefectures and the scholars who are close to Liangshan can sign up. We will also promote one or two more capable officials to serve as examples."

After hearing this, Zhao Zhen nodded repeatedly and immediately issued an order to all prefectures and cities to post a notice to inform the local authorities.

After Wu Yong left, Zhao Zhen said to Liu Hui Niang, "It is easy to conquer a country, but difficult to defend it. The ancients were right. Nowadays, the prefectures and cities are still lacking people to govern. Although Song Qing broke into the cities and villages of Dengzhou and Laizhou, he never caused any harm to them. There are too many powerful people left. The Qing relied on land and population, and there were obstacles everywhere. If it were not for the soldiers in various places to maintain suppression, I am afraid these people would never hand over the population and land registers. Even so, there are many concealments."

Liu Hui Niang glanced at Zhao Zhen and said, "Sir, throughout history, officials and gentry have always annexed land, concealed population, and accumulated wealth. The officials relied on land and population, levied land tax and abolished the capitation tax. The interests of the rich and powerful were damaged, so they naturally refused to surrender. Fortunately, most of it has been completed. Without any help from outside, these two places are just fish on the shore."

"After their disturbance, it is not entirely without benefit. At least the farmers who lost their lands are on your side. If you also order the reclamation of wasteland, within two years, there will surely be plenty everywhere."

Zhao Zhen also laughed after hearing this and said, "What Hui Niang said is right. Reclaiming wasteland is not only for the purpose of dividing the land, but also for future taxation. The cancellation of the Ding tax is precisely to encourage childbirth. More people will create more wealth."

Shi Qian was still the one who led his men to Bian Jing to deliver official documents.

Because it was an official document sent from Liangshan, the Tongzhengsi did not dare to delay after receiving it and immediately presented it to the emperor.

After seeing this, the emperor's face suddenly darkened. For this reason, a eunuch was late in delivering tea and was punished by the emperor.

Cai Jing, Gao Qiu, Su Yuanjing and other high-ranking officials were summoned to the palace. The emperor showed everyone the official document sent by Zhao Zhen, and then asked, "What do you think?"

Gao Qiu was the first to report: "This is really outrageous. This fellow has already occupied eight states, but he is still not satisfied. Now he has seized Puzhou and Guangjijun under the pretext that Puzhou sent troops to plunder Yuncheng and Guangjijun officers and officials were corrupt and abused the people. Although there are witnesses and material evidence, it is not credible."

Su Yuanjing also said: "That's right, this fellow is just as the Grand Tutor said, a traitor pretending to be loyal. Now he is like this, he must have seen through the strengths and weaknesses of the court, so he is so reckless and invades the prefecture."

The emperor heard this and said, "My dear ministers, do you have any ideas?"

Cai Jing coughed and said, "Your Majesty, this guy is undoubtedly a treacherous villain. General Gao mobilized Jizhou, Zibo and Xingren Prefecture earlier. Now it seems that he is preparing for a rainy day. Puzhou, Guangji Army, and even Jizhou are not important places for defense. I think it is better to appease them. As long as they don't attack Xingren Prefecture and don't enter Hebei Road, it doesn't matter if they give way to this villain first. As long as Tian Hu, Wang Qing, and Fang La are wiped out, and the three armies arrive together, we will see how rampant this guy can be."

Su Yuanjing said, "But we can't let him off so easily. If we indulge him, he will become more and more unscrupulous." Cai Jing said, "As the saying goes, it is better to be still than to move. Su Taiwei, have you forgotten that we have concluded the [Sea Alliance] with the Kingdom of Jin? Liao and Jin have been defeated in the war and will surely perish. If we want to retake the states of Yanyun, this is a golden opportunity. However, the Kingdom of Jin is also a northern barbarian and cannot be trusted. The Zengtou City in Lingzhou that Liang Shijie, the governor of Daming Prefecture, visited a few days ago was a spy from the Kingdom of Jin. He used horse trading as a cover to pass on information. Now that there is chaos in the country, it is unable to take care of Yanyun. I am afraid that the intelligence has been sent to the Kingdom of Jin."

"In my opinion, it would be better to eliminate this group of Jin spies first. Hebei, Huaixi, and Jiangnan have been reporting victories frequently, especially in Hebei. It will not be long before Tian Hu is wiped out. At this time, it is better to be stable."

Emperor Huizong listened and nodded, saying, "What the Grand Master said is exactly what I want. But how to appease the Zhao pacification envoy will take some thought. We can neither let him think that the court is empty, nor provoke him to revolt."

Cai Jing thought for a moment and said, "How about choosing a princess to marry?"

After hearing this, the emperor couldn't help but frown.

Cai Jing continued, "Your Majesty, since Song Gongming sent out his troops, he first attacked Fangcheng, the outer city of Wanzhou, and killed four of Liu Min's generals, Lu Cheng, Zheng Jie, Kou Meng, and Gu Cen, in one battle. He besieged Wanzhou for more than ten days and captured the defending general Liu Min alive. In the victory report from the military supervisor Chen Jin, he praised Song Jiang a lot, saying that his subordinates were brave and the soldiers were brave. If Song Jiang's subordinates were like this, then Zhao Ze's subordinates, who had defeated Song Jiang many times, would be even more brave. If we can get Zhao Ze's sincere service, our chances of winning the battle in Yanyun will increase."

Su Yuanjing said, "No, this plan is good, but it cannot guarantee that Zhao Ze will contribute to the country. If this guy only wants to preserve his power, we can do nothing about it. We all know that Zhao Ze has bad intentions, so why let the princess fall into the tiger's mouth? It would be better to reward the palace maids."

Gao Qiu said, "Hey, didn't you give palace maids and female musicians last time? But you never asked who this guy took as a concubine. No matter how many palace maids there are, if they don't please him, what's the use. This guy is lustful, and he uses concubines from their mother's families. If the princess can persuade Zhao Ze, it would be the best. Besides, Zhao Ze has no children. If the princess can give birth to a eldest son, the road to Jingdong will naturally be stable."

"How can we rely on a little girl to handle national affairs?" Su Yuanjing said angrily. "This is absolutely not feasible."

Cai Jing said, "Your Majesty, the young lady of Secretary Tong's family once joked that she wanted to marry Zhao Ze as a concubine. Why not ask Your Majesty to grant the marriage and test it out. If this guy readily accepts, he must have no ambitions. Then we can see whether to marry the princess to him."

Su Yuanjing said, "Grandmaster, although this young lady from the Privy Council's family is as beautiful as a flower, her reputation is not very good. Wouldn't it be counterproductive to marry her to Zhao Ze?"

Cai Jing said: "That's exactly what's going on."

Su Yuanjing was stunned for a moment, then reacted and praised, "Grand Master, your advice is good."

Seeing that everyone agreed, Emperor Huizong said, "Secretary Tong is still on the expedition against Tian Hu, so I don't know how long it will take for us to get married."

"The emperor will order the eunuchs to go and get the news. If Envoy Tong is interested, the emperor will grant the marriage and send someone to Liangshan to see how he responds." Gao Qiu said.

(End of this chapter)