Lord: Start with a book of Water Margin

Chapter 653: Honored Officers and Wu Sanguan

Gao Qiu said, "No wonder. Although the Tenth Jiedu is old, he is not something that a small state like Shanzhou or Xuzhou can resist. I'm afraid many people in Jiangnan have not been killed."

"Your Majesty, in order to prevent the resurgence of Jiangnan and hinder the Northern Expedition, the two states of Xu and Shan must be extinguished as soon as possible. I think that Liangshan can be called to send troops."

After hearing this, the emperor hesitated.

Gao Qiu said, "Your Majesty, Zhao Zhen is still restrained by the Prime Minister, and the people in the south of the Yangtze River are the real threat. Now that the Liao Kingdom is being beaten back by the Jin Kingdom, the northern expedition to Youyan is a golden opportunity that we cannot miss. Even if we want to use Liangshan, is it possible that he is willing to send troops now?"

"Why do you say that, Grand Commandant?" asked the emperor.

"Your Majesty, Zhao Anfu married Fang La's daughter after all. If you want him to send troops, I'm afraid you will have to give him some benefits to lure him." Gao Qiu said.

Cai Jing said: "He wants to capture Shan and Xuzhou. These two prefectures will be under his jurisdiction. Isn't that a huge benefit?"

Gao Qiu said: "That being said, I'm afraid this fellow is not willing to try his best."

After that, he asked the soldier who came from Jiangnan to report the victory, "Have you ever heard of Shen Shou and Huan Yi?"

The military envoy said: "It seems to be a fake councilor and secretary under Fang La."

"Are you sure?" Gao Qiu's eyes lit up and he asked urgently.

"I am the guard of Minister Tan, and I have heard many important military events. Therefore, I have heard the names of these two people. However, these two people were not among the prisoners."

Gao Qiu nodded and said, "These two are now the governors of Shanzhou and Xuzhou, so they have naturally not been beheaded. When I attacked Shanzhou, I heard the names of these two rebels. Jiedushi Xiang Yuanzhen was ambushed by Huan Yi and died in Xuzhou."

"I don't know how many of them have escaped the net and are now gathered in Shanzhou and Xuzhou. Fortunately, they were discovered early. If we give him a chance to catch his breath, when the prime minister launches an offensive in the spring of next year, he will take the opportunity to cause trouble here, which will be very bad."

Cai Jing said, "Your Majesty, what the Grand Commandant said is correct. The Northern Expedition to Youyan was initiated by Emperor Taizong, and all the feudal lords in the past dynasties were established for this purpose. Your Majesty is attacking the Tanguts of Western Xia and attacking Hehuang in the northwest. If you can recapture Youyan, the prosperity of the Song Dynasty will be in your hands."

The emperor was very happy when he heard this.

Gao Qiu took the opportunity to say, "In that case, why not promote Envoy Zhao to a higher rank? The court won't lose anything, but it will just encourage Envoy Zhao to contribute."

"What position do you think the Zhao pacification envoy should be promoted to?" asked the emperor.

Cai Jing said: "Zhao Anfu is the governor of Liangshan. According to the rules, he can be promoted to the governor of the two towns."

"I think the title of Jiedushi of two towns is just right, but it is not easy to grant him the title of Three Masters and Three Orphans, let alone give him the power to open a government office. The honorary official can even be promoted to Shangzhuguo." Gao Qiu said.

Hearing this, the emperor laughed out loud.

This honorary official system began in the Western Wei Dynasty. There were twelve ranks of honorary officials, each with different treatments, such as being granted permanent farmland according to rank, being exempted from some labor service and corvée, having the right to redeem one's sentence with honorary titles, entering officialdom, enjoying family connections, conferring titles on one's mother and wife, and having one's own government and assistants, and so on.

Later, these treatments and privileges were gradually reduced. During the Chunhua period of Emperor Taizong of this dynasty, the last bit of redemption of punishment by honorary officials was also lost. In the third year of Zhenghe, it was no longer granted to civil and military officials. It was only granted to foreign countries, as well as foreign officials and foreign soldiers in China.

Zhao Ze now holds the honorary title of Light Cavalry Commander.

The emperor suppressed his laughter and asked, "What honor was bestowed upon him?"

"Of course, the highest rank of Shangzhuguo must be given." Gao Qiu said. "Of course, the Wusanguan must also match it, and the Zhenguo Dajiangjun is the right one." The main recipients of the Wusanguan in this dynasty were also foreign officials and foreigners.

There was naturally a sense of humiliation at the beginning, but with Tong Guan around later, the issue of minor officials and honorary officials was brought up again.

"What about the title?" the emperor asked again.

Gao Qiu replied, "Your Majesty, Zhao Anfu is now the founding marquis of Liangshan. He can be promoted to the founding county duke, and it will not cost the court a penny. As for the dispatch, all of them can be exempted."

"I have a position but no assignment. I will make plans after I recover Youyun and pacify Wang Qing. Only Jingdong Road is left. Now the emperor is extremely favoring Liangshan. The prime minister knows this and naturally has to thank the emperor. In addition, the Duke of Liangshan is building a mansion. The emperor has allocated some unused wood and stone materials from Genyue as a reward. He also asked the Duke of Liangshan to build a magnificent mansion."

The emperor listened and nodded, trying not to laugh.

"This matter is under the charge of the Grand Commandant. Please make sure that the Duke of Liangshan obeys the king's orders."

After hearing this, Gao Qiu immediately agreed.

"Your Majesty, to show the court's favor to the Duke of Liangshan, the generals in Qizhou and Zibo can also be withdrawn. First, these two places do not affect the safety of Bianjing. Second, it will also allow the Duke to transfer troops to Shan and Xu in the south. Third, it is just right for the generals in these two places to take over the ten military governorships."

After hearing this, Cai Jing also said, "This is a good idea."

The emperor said, "Since both of you say so, let's do it. The Grand Commandant should send someone to Liangshan to issue the decree."

The two of them left the palace and returned to Grand Tutor Cai's residence together.

Cai Jing said to Gao Qiu, "Captain, it is not difficult for us to conceal this from His Majesty. It is no problem for Liangshan to occupy Zibo Prefecture and Qizhou. However, I am afraid that the Duke of Liangshan has deceived us. This fellow is as ambitious as Tian Hu, Wang Qing, and Fang La. I am afraid that Song Jiang is just a knife in his hand. I am afraid that if he explodes one day, it will not end well."

Gao Qiu said, "Grandmaster, let's deal with the current situation first. When the time comes, even if it explodes, we will have the Prime Minister to support us."

"We just need to make more preparations for the future," said Cai Jing.

"Yes, what the Grand Tutor said is true. But this matter is not urgent. Now that the eight military governors have died, we should first select the personnel to help His Majesty relieve his worries." Gao Qiu said.

At that moment, the two of them discussed it and spread the news to select officials to take up posts in various places.

As for the upper four armies returning from Yingtian Prefecture, Gao Qiu had already made arrangements. These people were already under Gao Qiu's jurisdiction on a daily basis, and before leaving, Gao Qiu opened the Yingtian Prefecture treasury to reward the troops. The families of the dead soldiers were also compensated, and people were selected from each family to join the imperial guards, so naturally no one caused trouble.

Most of the people in the court were followers of Grand Tutor Cai, Grand Marshal Gao and others, so naturally no one talked about the news of Gao Qiu's defeat.

The one who went to Liangshan to announce the decree was Gao Qiu's disciple Liu Bin, and Sun Jing, the Hedgehog, also followed.

For no other reason, Gao Qiu wanted to capture and execute officials from Shanzhou and Xuzhou when he led his army back. Wu Chang, the governor of Jizhou, and Jia Juxin, the deputy judge, were still detained in Liangshan.

Sun Jing went there to solve these two hidden dangers.

Of course, in addition to the imperial edict, Gao Qiu naturally sent people to select many wood and stone materials that the emperor didn't care about from Genyue. Not only Qizhou, Zibozhou, Shanzhou, and Xuzhou were given to Zhao Zhen, but even the official positions, honors, and scattered officials were promoted. Even if Wu Chang and Jia Juxin leaked the secret, Liangshan would not bother to investigate immediately. It would take some time to stabilize the four states. By the time the four states were stabilized, Gao Qiu had already dealt with the beginning and the end.

(End of this chapter)