Do you know: I am the crown prince

Chapter 385 Fishing
"Your Majesty!"

Hu Zhongyan quickly objected: "If we draw troops from nearby counties and prefectures, what will we do if the rebels spread to these counties?"

"I think the right thing to do is to order the nearby counties to defend themselves strictly, curb the development of the rebels, and then send more troops to quickly quell the rebellion!"

Zhao Xing looked at Han Zhang and asked, "Does the great lord have any good ideas?"

"Your Majesty, what Minister Hu and Privy Envoy Zeng said are both reasonable. In my opinion, it would be better to adopt a compromise approach and transfer a group of troops from the prefectures and counties near Bianliang," said Han Zhang.

"Ok?"

Zhao Xing was stunned at first, then he showed joy.

He had been caught in a misunderstanding.

The Song Dynasty's military forces include not only the imperial guards, but also the garrison troops from various places that cannot be ignored.

The Song Dynasty now has nearly 1.4 million soldiers and horses, but the imperial guards have less than 800,000, and the remaining 600,000 or so soldiers are local troops.

Although the local troops were less powerful, they were more than enough to suppress the rebellion.

Drawing troops from other places might affect local stability, but drawing them from states near Bianliang would have no effect at all.

Although there were constant rebellions in the Song Dynasty over the years, there were almost no rebellions in the states near Bianliang.

There is no other reason. Bianjing is surrounded by the Central Plains and there is nowhere to hide.

Moreover, the imperial court reacted very quickly. Launching a rebellion in the Central Plains was no different from seeking death.

"My dear Zeng, I leave this matter to you. Quickly dispatch 30,000 troops from the states near Bian Jing to Jiangzhou and have them obey the command of the Song Dynasty!" Zhao Xing ordered.

"I obey your order!" Zeng Gongliang replied.

"Okay, the issue of increasing troops has been decided. Next, let's talk about thoroughly investigating the issue of funding the rebels. I plan to send Hanlin scholar Wang Anshi to Jiangzhou to be responsible for thoroughly investigating this matter." Zhao Xing said lightly.

"Your Majesty is wise!"

There are still debates on whether to increase troops and where to mobilize them, but there is no dispute on thoroughly investigating those who secretly funded the rebels.

Funding the rebels is tantamount to treason. Who dares to stop the thorough investigation?

"Your Majesty, Jiangzhou has suffered from a flood and is in great shortage of food. If more troops are dispatched, even more food and fodder will be needed. Now the court is building the Great Wall, suppressing the rebellion, and increasing troops in Hehuang, all of which require a large amount of food and fodder. After the rebellion is suppressed, food and fodder will also be needed to resettle the people. Although the autumn tax has been collected, it cannot withstand such a toss." Hu Zhongyan said.

"Since Minister Hu said so, is there any way to solve the food problem?" Zhao Xing said with a smile.

"I don't know what I can do. If I want to solve the problem of food shortage, I can only increase revenue and reduce expenditure. However, food comes from the land, so I can't increase revenue in time, so I just cut expenditure. I..."

"Lord Hu is the Minister of Rites, not the Minister of Revenue. Since you have no other options, then you should stop worrying about things that you shouldn't worry about!"

Zhao Xing interrupted Hu Zhongyan before he finished speaking.

"I have said too much." Hu Zhongyan bowed and retreated.

Zhao Xing glanced at Hu Zhongyan indifferently and announced the adjournment of the court.

He had already made up his mind to deal with Hu Zhongyan once the rebellion in Jiangzhou was quelled.

If Hu Zhongyan didn't seem to have connections with the Wizard Cult, Zhao Xing would have wanted to take action against him a long time ago.

After all, the Minister of Personnel is in charge of personnel appointments.

For the emperor, as long as he holds on to personnel appointments and financial and military power, and delegates power in other areas, his rule will not be shaken.

…………

After Hu Zhongyan left Longtu Pavilion, he returned to the Ministry of Personnel and stayed there for a while, then went home on the pretext of feeling unwell. It must be said that the officialdom system in the Song Dynasty was very relaxed. Officials had many holidays, and no one would say anything if they made up an excuse to go home during work.

After returning home, Hu Zhongyan asked someone to call Ruyu and went straight to the study.

Not long after, Ruyu arrived at the study.

"grown ups!"

Ruyu bowed and smiled, "I wonder why you called me here? Your wife is old and still very jealous. If it's just a small matter..."

Hu Zhongyan interrupted Ruyu and said, "Your Majesty has just issued an order to dispatch troops from several states near Bianjing to Jiangzhou to quell the rebellion."

"what?"

Ruyu's face changed when she heard this, and she asked, "Didn't you promise that you would definitely prevent the emperor from sending more troops to Jiangzhou?"

"What I promise is that I will not continue to send imperial troops to Jiangzhou," Hu Zhongyan corrected.

"Ah…"

Ruyu laughed angrily when she heard this: "Do you think this is fun, sir? We are all in the same boat. If something really happens, we will be the only ones left alive, but what about you, sir? I'm afraid the government wants to kill you now. If the matter is exposed, I'm afraid your entire clan will be in danger!"

"Ever since I started cooperating with you, I have expected this day. This kind of threat is useless to me. I am telling you the news now, and you can notify your people to evacuate." Hu Zhongyan said lightly.

"Evacuate?"

Ruyu sneered at the words and said, "Your Excellency, that's easy to say. Do you know how much effort our people have put in to launch this rebellion? If we withdraw now, all our efforts will be in vain!"

"As long as the green mountains remain, there will be no shortage of firewood. Don't you understand this principle?"

"But if we evacuate hastily now, many people can't leave at all. The mountains are gone, so where will we get firewood?"

"Anyway, I've told you the news. What you do is up to you."

"Does your Excellency think that by letting a bastard go, you can preserve the bloodline of the Hu family?"

"How did you treat Xu'er?"

Hu Zhongyan stood up abruptly upon hearing this, propped his hands on the desk, glared at Ruyu, and gritted his teeth and said, "Do you really want to fight me to the death?"

"Don't worry, sir. Your son and grandchildren are fine. And you are wrong, sir. Sometimes even if all the fish die, the net may not be broken." Ruyu said with a smile.

Hu Zhongyan sat down dejectedly after hearing this. He was silent for a long time before saying, "Tell me, what do you want to do?"

"I need Lord Hu to stop the imperial court from sending more troops to Jiangzhou." Ruyu said.

"You don't think that 70,000 imperial guards can't deal with the hundreds of thousands of people in Jiangzhou, most of whom are holding farm tools? Even if we don't send more troops, it's only a matter of time before they are pacified, and the distance between them and the rebellion won't be too far." Hu Zhongyan said sarcastically.

The imperial court increased the number of troops only to quell the rebellion as quickly as possible, not because of a shortage of manpower.

But Ruyu's meaning seemed to be that if the court did not send more troops, they would have a way to deal with the 70,000 imperial guards in Jiangzhou.

"Don't worry about that, sir." Ruyu said lightly.

"I'm sorry, I can't do it. Why do you think I would send someone to send a bastard away? Because His Majesty has already suspected me. The entire Hu family is now under surveillance. Maybe the emperor has already known about your existence." Hu Zhongyan sneered.

"Impossible!" Ruyu's face changed drastically when he heard this, "If the government knew, why didn't the government do anything?"

"I heard that Guanjia has loved fishing since he was a child. I wonder if you have ever fished?"

Hu Zhongyan didn't wait for Ruyu to answer, and said to himself: "When fishing, you can't just pull the hook when you see the fish bite. You have to wait until the fish bites firmly, so that the fish can't escape after you pull the hook."

(End of this chapter)