Lord: Start with a book of Water Margin

Chapter 652 Blinded
Zhao Zhen, who was at the head of the group, heard this and asked, "How does the Grand Commandant want me to cooperate?"

Sun Jing said, "Nothing else matters, but you must not let Yang Wen, Han Cunbao and others who you have captured go back to me."

Wu Yong said, "What kind of threat can the Ten Jiedushi pose? Sun's words may be enough to fool others."

Sun Jing said: "Although the ten governors were once powerful figures in the martial arts world, they are old after all. They have been enjoying wealth and luxury for so many years, and their martial arts skills have become rusty, and the soldiers are not good at training. There are also people like Xiang Yuanzhen and Jing Zhong who colluded with the rebels early on."

"Besides, when I returned, the Prime Minister told me that although Fang La in Jiangnan was defeated, there were still many fish that escaped. It was precisely because of these people who colluded with each other that the army was defeated and lost. Countless people died on the battlefield and were unable to fight again. Thanks to the rescue of the Prime Minister, we were able to suppress the rebellion in Shan and Xu states."

As expected, it was Gao Qiu who made such shameless remarks.

Zhao Zhen thought that Gao Qiu's return to the capital was just a trick to deceive the emperor, but he didn't expect that Gao Qiu was even more cruel and wanted to frame ten military governors.

Wu Yong heard this and asked, "What do Zizhou and Qizhou say?"

Sun Jing said: "Since you have done such a great deed in pacifying the minister, the court will naturally give you some rewards. However, all these will be handled by the Grand Commandant after he returns to the capital."

Wu Yong said: "One more thing, since you have done a great job in pacifying the minister, your official position should be promoted, right?"

"this···"

"Why, this is difficult?"

Sun Jing said: "I have heard the Grand Commandant say that His Majesty is very concerned about your current position, and I am afraid the Grand Commandant is not easy to say. Your Excellency has gained four more states, which is already a real thing, so why should you care about the empty name."

Wu Yong listened and shook his head repeatedly: "Otherwise, if the name is not right, then the words will not flow. To appease the lord, he has already governed the two routes of Jingdong, so there must be a name."

After hearing this, Sun Jing could only respond, "I will report this matter to the Grand Commandant and we will discuss it later."

Wu Yong nodded and said, "The last question is, how can we ensure that the general will not break his promise and become rich?"

Sun Jing said: "With Secretary Tong here, how can the Grand Commandant cheat?"

Zhao Zhen said: "Scholar, what Sun said is correct. The Grand Commandant is not a treacherous villain."

Wu Yong said: "That's true"

"Scholar, the Grand Commandant has to maintain his dignity, so there is no need to say more." After that, Zhao Zhen said to Sun Jing, "Sun, Staff Officer, go back and make an agreement with the Grand Commandant. I will withdraw my troops on a certain date."

After Sun Jing left, Wu Yong said, "Sir, Gao Qiu is not to be trusted."

"I know Gao Qiu's character. But now that I have reached the third level, I can't delay any longer. I need to finish things here quickly."

After hearing what Zhao Zhen said, Wu Yong nodded.

In Chuqiu City, Gao Qiu listened to what Sun Jing said, and agreed immediately, saying: "Just agree to it first, and we'll talk about it when we return to Bianjing."

When Sun Jing came again, Zhao Zhen avoided him and Wu Yong and Zhu Wu received him.

Everything else was fine, except for one thing, about Zhao Zhen's official position. Sun Jing pretended to be embarrassed, and Wu Yong said, "Officer Sun, don't be embarrassed. An Su Xiang has already explained that the Grand Commandant and the Prime Minister have always been on good terms. This time it was the Prime Minister who negotiated for peace, so naturally we can't embarrass the Grand Commandant."

"Please do your best for this position, Taiwei. For the sake of the Prime Minister, I won't force you. However, before you leave, Taiwei, please transfer the officials of Zizhou and Qizhou to leave so that we can take over."

Sun Jing was stunned and said hesitantly: "This..."

Wu Yong said: "Why, the commander wants to deceive us?"

"How could that be?" Sun Jing replied quickly. As if he knew this was Liang Shan's true thought, Sun Jing said, "The Grand Commandant only has the power to command troops, and he can only offer advice and suggestions in front of His Majesty. Fortunately, Cheng Ziming, the Military Commandant of Zibo Prefecture, and Gao Chonghan, the Military Commandant of Qizhou Prefecture, are both students of the Grand Commandant, and they can cooperate with him."

"I will return to the city immediately, take the imperial edict, and personally go to Zibo Prefecture and Qizhou. After returning to the capital, I will complete the paperwork, and that's it."

At that moment, Sun Jing indeed obtained a written order from General Gao, ordering Guan Sheng [Big Knife] and Bian Xiang [Kaishan Luohan] to lead the troops to take over Qizhou and Zibozhou.

Under the city of Chuqiu, Zhao Zhen withdrew his troops, and Hua Rong, Qin Ming and other state commanders also led their troops back to their respective garrisons.

Outside Chuqiu City, only Zhao Zhen's personal troops were left.

In the city, General Gao was relieved when he heard that Zhao Zhen had mobilized the army to withdraw.

Ten days later, the governors of Zizhou and Qizhou saw Sun Jing and the handwritten order of General Gao, and led their confidants to withdraw to Hongnong, waiting for General Gao's arrangement. Wen Yan, the governor of Zizhou, and Kou Jianxi, the governor of Qizhou, saw that the Liangshan troops had taken over the city. They were both mediocre and timid, so how could they dare to stay? After a secret discussion with Sun Jing, they also took their confidants to Hongnong.

The two of them thought clearly that staying would definitely not bring them any good results. Instead, they went to Hongnong. In order to appease them, General Gao would make life easier in the future.

After receiving the message from Guan Sheng and Bian Xiang, Zhao Zhen also broke camp.

As for the four captured military governors Yang Wen, Li Congji, Han Cunbao and Xu Jing, both sides tacitly did not mention them.

As for the heads of Xiang Yuanzhen, Jing Zhong, Mei Zhan and Wang Wende, Zhao Zhen returned them to Gao Qiu.

Wang Huan and Zhang Kai had no idea what Commander Gao had promised them, so they cooperated with him to lead the troops back to Beijing.

However, General Gao returned to the capital and submitted a memorial to the emperor. Due to the extremely cold climate, the army and horses could not acclimate to the climate and water. In addition, the rebels in Shan and Xu states occupied the advantageous terrain, so the cavalry and infantry could not advance in a hurry.

There were also two generals, Xiang Yuanzhen and Jing Zhong, who were ambushed and killed before the main army could join them. All ten military governors were old and not strong enough to fight. Eight people died in the battle, and only two, Wang Huan, the governor of Henan and Hebei, and Zhang Kai, the governor of Zhongshan and Anping, were highly skilled in martial arts and had made many contributions in battle. However, the two were old, so I hope the emperor will issue an order to promote their sons to serve.

As for the other eight towns, they can all be abolished and county officials can be sent to take over.

As for Xuzhou and Shanzhou, we will wait until the next spring when the weather gets warmer, and then we can select soldiers and generals. For the time being, we should stop fighting and return to our camps to rest for a while, and don't wait for the emperor's order.

After hearing this, the emperor summoned Gao Qiu and Cai Jing for a secret meeting.

Cai Jing had already received the news of Gao Qiu's defeat, and this memorial was submitted after the two of them discussed it together.

After the ceremony, the emperor asked, "How are Shan and Xuzhou doing?"

Gao Qiu said, "Reporting to the emperor, the chief eunuch Hu Chun was killed by Jiangnan [Lingying Celestial Master] Bao Daoyi. This man once served as the false Celestial Master of Fang La in Jiangnan."

"Also, we thought that Shan and Xuzhou were just occupied by Liangshan. In fact, the remnants of Fang La's army in Jiangnan were also involved in the invasion of Jizhou."

The emperor was surprised when he heard this and said, "A few days ago, Tan Zhen, the governor of Liangzhe, wrote a letter to capture and kill Fang La."

After saying this, he sent someone to summon the military envoy who had reported the victory to inquire about the matter.

Gao Qiu heard this and broke out in a cold sweat.

After the military envoy arrived, he heard the emperor's question and did not dare to hide it. He said, "Your Majesty, although Fang La in Jiangnan is dead, many of his subordinates have escaped. Even Fang La's family members have not been killed. There are rumors that many people have gone north to Jingdong Road to hide."

After hearing this, Gao Qiu quickly said, "It seems to be true."

(End of this chapter)