Lord: Start with a book of Water Margin

Chapter 699 End of Operation
Just as Zhangzhou magistrate Song Ye said, Song Ye led the officials and gentry of Changting County to Ninghua. After entering the city, Song Ye asked the officials and gentry to disperse and went to contact his sons at home. Song Ye handed in the visiting card alone and met Chen Zhifang, the magistrate of Tingzhou, at the county government office.

After hearing what Song Ye meant, Chen Zhifang frowned and said, "Song Zhizhou, you are also an official of the imperial court. Why did you defect to the Liang Kingdom?"

Song Ye said: "Chen Zhizhou, a good bird chooses a tree to roost in. Song State now only has half of its territory, and the current ruler is not a good ruler. Not to mention that he is only the ninth son of the emperor, he has favored eunuchs and treacherous ministers since he ascended the throne, and the country has no place to be stable. Take the Miao and Liu people, who were able to steal high positions after the rebellion. Is such a ruler worth serving?"

"Even if Chen Zhizhou expelled Liu Zhengyan's forces, the court would be filled with people like Kang Lu, Lan Gui, Qin Hui, Wang Boyan, Huang Qianshan, Wang Yuan, Miao Fu, and Liu Zhengyan. Loyal ministers and good generals would have no chance to rise to prominence, the people would suffer, and the world would soon be in chaos."

"Furthermore, does the governor know the current situation in the world?"

Seeing Chen Zhifang shaking his head, Song Ye told him what he had heard from Zhu Wu about the situation of the [Floating Continent].

"In times of chaos, ministers choose their rulers, and rulers choose their ministers. Now that the Liang Kingdom has just been established, it is recruiting talented people from all over the world. Although you and I are surrendered ministers, we must also be given important positions. Isn't the purpose of us reading the books of sages to serve the emperor and benefit the people?"

Chen Zhifang was silent for a moment, then asked, "Has Governor Song met the King of Liang?"

As soon as Song Ye heard this, he knew what Chen Zhifang meant, and quickly said, "That has never happened. The King and perhaps Chen Zhizhou have heard of it before."

Seeing Chen Zhifang looking at him, Song Ye said, "During the Xuanhe period, the world-famous Jiedushi of Qing and Xu Towns in Jingdong Road, Shangzhuguo, the Great General, and the founding Duke of Liangshan is now the ruler of Liang State."

Chen Zhifang heard this and sighed, "So it was him. It was this man who wiped out the four great bandits in Shandong, how could I not know this? Zhao Gou is not a ruler. In this world, in order to protect the people of this state, I am willing to surrender, but I need the commander of Liang to come."

Song Ye listened and nodded, saying, "Zhangzhou Commander [Divine Machine Military Advisor] Zhu Wu has brought his troops here and will be here soon."

Two days later, Zhu Wu led his troops to the city, and Chen Zhifang came out of the city to meet him. Qingxi and Ninghua both surrendered.

After reassuring the people, Zhu Wu asked, "Chen Zhizhou, I wonder how strong Liu Zhengyan's troops are?"

Chen Zhifang heard this and replied, "Wang Desheng, the commander of Tingzhou appointed by Liu Zhengyan, is indeed brave, but unfortunately, most of his subordinates are local soldiers and civilians recruited from Jianzhou and Shaowu. I can only defend Tingzhou because the city is strong. I heard that only Liu Zhengyan's 5,000 men are elite imperial guards from the north, and the rest are just local soldiers to make up the numbers."

"I sent someone to inquire about it. Liu Zhengyan is fighting with Zhao Mi's troops sent by the court in Jianning Prefecture. Liu Zhengyan is at a disadvantage, Wang Desheng has been recalled, and now the Shaowu Army does not seem to have many troops."

Zhu Wu heard this and said with regret: "If this is the case, it is indeed the time to attack Shaowu Army. Unfortunately, there is not enough time now."

Chen Zhifang said, "Military Advisor, although we cannot occupy the prefectures and counties of Shaowu, there are two silver mines near Tingzhou. Perhaps we can occupy them first, which will also cut off Liu Zhengyan's money coffers. I am willing to lead the troops of Tingzhou as a pioneer."

Immediately, everyone led their troops out of the city and headed straight for the neighboring Shaowu Army.

After crossing the border of Tingzhou and before reaching the Jiaokeng Silver Field, they ran into a group of soldiers flying the Liang flag.

Chen Zhifang stopped the team and asked people to come forward and make a speech.

Upon inquiry, it turned out that the man who came was Wu Song, the Tiger Subduing Tai Sui of Liang State. Chen Zhifang sent someone to urge Zhu Wu, who was behind him, to come over. After greeting, Zhu Wu immediately asked, "Commander Wu, why did you come to the Shaowu Army?"

Wu Song told how Nanjian Prefecture surrendered without any soldiers being involved and the situation was settled by issuing an edict. "Nanjian Prefecture surrendered, so we led the prefect Lin Hua in the vanguard and attacked Taining County along Jinxi River. Unexpectedly, there were not many defenders in Taining County. After we captured Taining County, we left General Shi Yong to guard it, and Brother Lu Zhishen led the six brothers Yan to the north to Shaowu County, while I went south to attack Jianning. Today, I rushed here to conquer Jiaokeng Silver Mine and ran into the military advisor here."

Zhu Wu smiled and said, "We only fought once in Zhangzhou and killed Miao Yu, the brother of Miao Fu."

As he spoke, he pointed at Chen Zhifang, Song Ye and others and introduced them, and then said: "With the cooperation of the two masters Chen and Song, Zhangzhou and Tingzhou are stable. I think that although there is not much time, we can also join the Shaowu army to occupy a few silver fields, so I led the troops to kill them."

Wu Song heard this and said, "So, isn't Jianning Prefecture the only place left in Fujian Road?"

Zhu Wu nodded and said, "We originally planned to send troops in three directions. I will occupy Zhangzhou, and Commander Wu will occupy Nanjianzhou. We have already exceeded our target. I wonder how Commander Lu is doing?"

Wu Song said, "Ten days ago, news was sent that Commander Lu's progress was relatively smooth. Miao Fu robbed the camp and was killed. There is only one place left in Fuzhou, which is in the hands of Yang Yizhong, a general of the Southern Song Dynasty. I don't know what the situation is now."

After the two talked, Zhu Wu led his troops back to Ninghua, began to count the harvest, and prepared to return to Beijing.

When the month is up, the two worlds separate.

world log
In June, he conquered the whole world of Zhao Gou of the Southern Song Dynasty and occupied Zhangzhou, Tingzhou, Nanjianzhou, Shaowu Army, Fuzhou in Fujian Province, Jian'an, Ouning, Zhenghe, Fengguojian in Jianning Prefecture, Chaozhou, Meizhou in Guangnan East Road and Wenzhou in Liangzhe Road, gaining 36 counties.

Big win.

Liang State’s reputation +1, politics +1, economy +10, military +1, culture +2.

Luck +5000.

After seeing it, Zhao Zhen was overjoyed.

Conquering [Southern Song Zhao Gou] World This month, Zhao Zhen not only paid attention to the war, but also had no time to spare. Bao Shuya, the right assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue, has been recommending talents one after another these days. After Zhao Zhen looked at them, he also arranged positions one by one.

The two people Zhao Zhen valued the most were He Taiping and Chen Dong.

Let's talk about Chen Dong first. He was originally a student of the Imperial College. Because of his outspokenness, Gao Qiu found a reason to deprive him of his status as a student and exiled him to Qizhou. Later, when Zhao Zhen materialized the fantasy world, this person also appeared in the [Floating Continent].

Because he had no fame, he could only find some copying work to make a living. Later, he wanted to take part in the imperial examination of Liang State, but he fell seriously ill and registered but never appeared.

Bao Shuya was evaluating Liang officials, starting with Liangshan Prefecture. One day, he heard a minor official mention this man, so he personally summoned him to examine him, and found that he was indeed talented, so he recommended him to Zhao Zhen.

Zhao Zhen summoned Chen Dong and learned that he had actually written a letter to the emperor to execute Gao Qiu. He was a man who dared to speak out and make remonstrances, so he issued an imperial decree to appoint Chen Dong as the acting Right Censor of the Censorate.

As for He Taiping, he turned out to be the reincarnation of the Emperor Lei's Palace Shizhong Pushe Shangxiang Zhenjun. He had a yellow and wrinkled face, pale hair and beard, a slightly hunched back, a peaceful step, and a quiet voice. He was nicknamed "He Bisti". He was originally the chief inspector in Jingdong Road, but was later dismissed by Gao Qiu and Cai Jing when the government adjusted the deployment of Jingdong Road to guard against Zhao Zhen.

This person also had the ability to judge people, so Zhao Zhen appointed him as the Deputy Director of the Ministry of Personnel. As soon as he took office, he recommended four people in succession. One of them was Lu Shaohe, who had served as the governor of Zibo Prefecture. Like He Taiping, Gao Qiu and Cai Jing used the excuse of being on guard against Zhao Zhen to slander and dismiss him.

Another one was Zhang Mingke, who was the magistrate of Yucheng County in Qizhou when He Taiping was in office.

The last two people are a couple.

The woman Zhao Zhen had heard about this man from Lady Wang a long time ago. This man was her cousin and was very knowledgeable. She had no less than a hundred servants in her mother's family. She could tell the virtuous from the treacherous at a glance, and everything came true later.

After she reached the age of 15, she married. Her husband's surname was Zhang and his given name was Ji. He was a descendant of a noble family and inherited a military position. She reluctantly learned some martial arts. She had many old friends and relatives, and they recommended her along the way. She was promoted to the position of General Manager of the East and West Roads of the Capital.

If we were to talk about his skills, it was only his flute, which was unparalleled in the world. As for military theory, he knew nothing about it. He was also cowardly and liked leisure but was afraid of hard work. Fortunately, he had a wife, Jia, who was extremely talented.

Zhang Ji watched the military performances in the office, but he relied on his wife behind the curtain to see everything. Zhang Ji only listened to his wife's decision behind the screen and rewarded or punished according to her. This Madam Jia held the military power for him. All the military affairs were decided by Madam Jia. Therefore, the generals and officers in the army gave him a nickname, called "General Justice". The two of them matched like a phoenix and a sparrow.

Later, General Zhang became weak and ill and could not attend to his duties, so he asked to resign and stay at home to recuperate. After Lady Wang got married, they visited each other less frequently. Later, Zhao Zhen asked her to take up an official post. Lady Wang saw that women could also be officials, so she recommended her cousin Lady Jia to Zhao Zhen, but she never found her.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Ji and Madam Jia were recuperating in Gaoping Mountain. Later, their condition gradually improved. Two days ago, under the auspices of Madam Jia, they moved to Liangshan County to live.

After hearing that Lady Wang was now the magistrate of Liangshan Prefecture, acting as the governor of Liangshan Prefecture, Lady Jia wanted to visit her, so she went to the street to buy gifts. Zhang Ji had nothing to do, so he hired a pleasure boat and went to Liangshan Waterside for a leisurely cruise.

Seeing that the lotus flowers in the water were in full bloom, he took out his flute and played a tune.

The flute sounded melodious and was heard by He Taiping. He went forward to talk to him, recognized Zhang Ji, and recommended him to a career in government.

Zhao Zhen summoned these four people, and except Zhang Ji, the other three were also reincarnations of Thunder General.

Zhang Mingke is the Zhengjue Zhenren of Penglai Fairy Palace, Madam Jia is the Miaozheng Yuanjun of Qinghua Fairy Palace, and Lu Shaohe is the Dingguang Zhenren of Taihang Cave Palace.

After looking at the attributes of the four people, Zhao Zhen appointed Lu Shaohe as the governor of Fuzhou and Zhang Mingke as the magistrate of Qizhou. As for Zhang Ji and his wife, [General of Justice] Zhang Ji was the deputy envoy of [Jiaofang and the place in charge of Jiaofang], and Mrs. Jia was the deputy minister of the Ministry of Personnel.

In addition to these people, there were others who were recommended from various places. One person was recommended by Wen Da, the former military commander of Daming Prefecture. This man was called Wang Lin. He was a general under Wen Da. He fought against the brothers Wang Ding who died in Zengtou City. He used a giant axe to split mountains and was very skilled in martial arts. Because of an incident in Daming Prefecture, Wang Lin was also implicated and lost all his wealth. He fled to Jingdong Road with his family.

After hearing about it, he wanted to go there to join him, but he didn't want to travel all the way. His father was already unhappy because of the death of Wang Ding. Wang Lin was dismissed from his post and fell ill in Jinyinzhai, Yuncheng County. Wang Lin had no choice but to hire a doctor in Jinyinzhai to take care of him. As he didn't have much money, Wang Lin, a fighter, had to go outside the city to chop firewood to make a living.

Although Wang Lin chopped wood to make a living, he chopped more wood every day than others because of his great strength. Even seven or eight people could not match him. He was exposed to the wind and sun every day, and he was very filial to his parents. He made a name for himself in the Gold and Silver Village, and people called him "Black Erlang".

The people in the village knew that he was a military officer, so many people asked him to take the military examination. Because he had no wife, many people in the village came to propose marriage, but Wang Lin did not dare to accept it because he had to take care of his parents.

Recently, his father's condition gradually improved, but the medical expenses were very high. Seeing that there was no money at home, he knew that even if he went to seek refuge with Wen Da, it would be useless. So Wen Da arranged for him to marry a wife, and Wang Lin went to Mizhou for this reason.

When Wen Da met Wang Lin, he knew that he was an expert in martial arts, so he recommended him to the court.

After Zhao Zhen met him and tested Wang Lin's martial arts, he appointed him as the military commander of the Guard Cavalry Battalion. Wang Lin's wife, Ah Xi, was originally a prostitute in a hotel and was very good at playing the pipa. After seeing the recruitment order of the Jiaofang Division, she went to the [Jiaofang and the Jiaofang Office] to apply for the job. After Le He and Zhang Ji reported to Zhao Zhen, they served as the head of the [Pipa Se].

As Liang State was gradually getting back on track, he also recommended the Buddhist Records Office and the Taoist Records Office, two places that Zhao Zhen had always attached great importance to.

Among them, the Baoen Temple in Yanzhou, the Buddhist Temple in Puzhou, and the Huguo Longxing Temple in Bozhou donated their temple heritage, many scriptures, and the original pharmacopoeia in order to gain government support among all the temples.

Zhao Zhen also gave rewards according to the rules. The three temples were originally large temples, and now the three abbots Zhixin, Mingjue and Dayuan were all appointed as merit envoys, in charge of the Buddhist affairs of the state.

The monks in these three places were all ordinary monks and had not practiced any magic.

Only a torn animal skin scroll donated by the Huguo Longxing Temple allowed Zhao Zhen to activate the earthly evil spell [Tongyou] in the heavenly book.

Then, Wu Shunchen, the county magistrate of Jinxiang in Jeju, recommended a foreign monk, who was the first monk Zhao Zhen had ever seen who could perform magic.

This man had a strange body shape, a leopard head, sunken eyes, and a purple complexion. He wore a chicken-wax headband and a flesh-red robe. He held an iron rod in his hand and had a messy moustache under his chin.

He practiced two earthly magics, one for great power and one for staff liberation. When he met Zhao Zhen, he presented both volumes of Taoist books to him. The name of this foreign monk was Nara Sapo. According to him, he lived in the Tang Dynasty and was over 200 years old. After meeting him, Zhao Zhen saw that he was interested in practicing in Liang State, so he granted him the Tianfo Temple in Yanggu County to practice.

After hearing Zhao Zhen talk about practicing the art of sex from the "Dongxuan Sutra", Narāśva presented him with two medicines, the "Fuyang Pill" and the "Huijing Paste", along with their prescriptions.

Both medicines are second-level elixirs. After Zhao Zhen tried them, he found that they indeed had many benefits for spiritual practice.

The two prescriptions were also sent to Bai Zhi, who selected medicinal materials from the warehouse for refining. Ji Xuan sent people to sell them in Gao, Lu, and Cao. Because of its efficacy, dignitaries rushed to buy it, and it was sold at a much higher price than [Bone Washing Powder].

These two medicines also became the most popular goods sold abroad by Liang State.

However, if these two medicines cannot be controlled, not only will they be useless, but they will also be life-threatening.

Of course, not all are good. There is an example here at the [Imperial Medical Academy] headed by the [Miracles Doctor] An Daoquan.

In Yanzhou Prefecture, there was a doctor named Guoxianqiao, who was highly respected by the gentry in the city for his immortality and became a ninth-rank training officer. Because Zhao Zhen ordered the recruitment of famous doctors and the compilation of the pharmacopoeia, this man was recommended to the court by Yanzhou prefect Xiao Rang, a "sage scholar".

Chen Lu'an and Zhang Luchu were both famous doctors in Yanzhou. After seeing this guy, they told An Daoquan about it. An Daoquan didn't believe it at first, so he deliberately sent a sick apprentice to test him. He found that this guy was just as the two said, with no medical knowledge and only some diuretic and ventilation drugs that could only make people feel better.

This was reported to Zhao Zhen.

Zhao Zhen sent his father-in-law Bai Duo and others to investigate the matter with medical knowledge, and found that the man was indeed a fraud based on his appearance. Zhao Zhen ordered that the man be sent to the Black Tiger Temple Coal Supervision Office to mine coal.

(End of this chapter)