The Emperor ordered Zhao Tang

Chapter 179: The hustle and bustle of the world
"Jingzhou is located in the north of Hanmian, with benefits all the way to the South China Sea, connected to Wuhui in the east, and to Bashu in the west. This is a country that can be used for military purposes, but its lord cannot defend it. This is probably what Heaven has given to you, General. Do you have any interest in it?" - Chen Shou, "Biography of Zhuge Liang"

Jiangling is the nest of the southern barbarians and the Yingdu of Chu. When Qin Zongquan was rampant in the Guangqi year, Qin Zongyan and Zhao Dezhen were sent to attack. In the first year of Wende, Cheng Li, the governor of Zigui, entered the city with the power of defeating Mao Xiang, Han Chuyan, Mou Quan and other parties. After that, he made rapid progress and fought with Shu several times without losing the upper hand. He had the momentum to become the first lord of Jingxiang.

However, Zhao Kuangning of Shandong and Ma Yin's gang who fled to Hunan restricted his development from the north and south respectively. Later generations lost their minds and coveted the Yang family of Shangguangling and went east to attack Xing Mi. Unfortunately, he had great ambitions but little talent, and ended up committing suicide by jumping into Dongting Lake. As a result, later generations who interpreted this period of history only knew that the Gao family of Nanping was shameless and did not know about the Youcheng family.

As the ruler of eight states and one prefecture, even though Cheng Li, the wandering knight, the fugitive, the monk, and Cai Bing had a rather shameful past, the prefecture still attracted a large number of talented people.

The Chief Secretary Li Ting was the fifth-generation grandson of Li Yan, the Jingzhao Yin of the Dunhuang branch of the Longxi Li family. He became a Jinshi in the second year of Zhonghe.

He Yin of Kongmuyuan was the sixth-generation grandson of He Zhizhang. He also had a cousin named He Tai who worked as a writer in the court and specialized in writing sacrificial texts, inscriptions, and epitaphs.

Lu Yanrang, the prison prosecutor, was from Fanyang. He traveled to Jingzhou two years ago and met Cheng Li at Xianglin Temple. At that time, the evening breeze was blowing, the pine trees were rustling, and the thunder was rumbling in the sky. Lu Yanrang blurted out: "Two or three lightning bolts are about to rain, and seven or eight stars are still in the sky." Cheng Li was amazed and wanted to recruit him on the spot. Lu was determined to take the imperial examination, but Cheng Li repeatedly persuaded him to stay, so he had to accept it. The official position promised by the sage was still very much to his liking - Right Picker of Relics. As long as you want, you can discuss gains and losses with the emperor at any time.

As long as you perform like this once or twice, you will have no worries about bringing honor to your family and leaving your name in history.

Zheng Zhun, the judge of the Ministry of Revenue, was the grandson of Zheng Ting, the former prime minister. In the Jingfu years, the army of Bian attacked the border, and many people fled. Zhun was one of them. After he came to Jingnan with his wife, he became famous and was appointed as the judge of the Ministry of Revenue. He was also good at poetry and prose, and the officials had a very high evaluation of his memorials.

It's not that he didn't want to return to the court to develop, but he was implicated! His aunt Zheng Ying had a crush on Luo Yin, so she brought Luo Yin home. Zheng Ying observed behind the scenes and saw that Luo Yin was ugly, and her love for him disappeared instantly. She burned all her collection of Luo Yin's poems in anger and vowed not to read his poems again. Luo Yin, whose self-esteem was shattered, fled to Hangzhou. The sentence "I am not famous yet, I am not married yet, maybe I am not as good as others" was the feeling he expressed when he met an acquaintance on the way.

After this incident, the Zheng Ting family, who were obsessed with appearance, were despised by scholars, especially bureaucrats and nobles who were not very good-looking. Zheng Zhun tried to enter the government through family patronage, but was rejected three times for his appearance, speech, writing and judgment. He was very angry.

The saint gave him a position as an inspector of Lingwuyuan, in charge of the salt business of Bachi. It was quite standard, and he was hired based on his ability.

Chen Xiaonu, the judge of the Salt and Iron Bureau, was originally a salt official in Fengjie. He was responsible and honest in his work. After several years, he became famous. When Li heard about it, he summoned him and employed him.

Zhao Wu was the coach. Cai was a family of generals. When Qin Zongquan was defeated, he fled to Jing. Li was pleased with his excellent riding and archery skills and appointed him as the coach of the internal and external cavalry.

...

Civil and military officials gathered together.

Cheng Lifang was in his early forties, strong as a tiger, wearing a round-necked purple robe and a Jinxian crown. His thick and tangled beard covered his jaw. His lips were thin, his cheekbones were long, and his sparse eyebrows were in the shape of an inverted eight. His facial features showed a fierce, cunning, and arrogant character.

Of course, Cheng Li was kind and not greedy for money, and he liked to make friends with wise men, which had a great positive impact on his control of eight states and one prefecture in the early stage. But in the middle and late stages, he also suffered from the disease of the powerful and wealthy - the heart of a dictator, and became increasingly arrogant.

When his subordinates played polo, he thought they were honing their leg strength and had rebellious intentions. When Yang Xingmi sent them the children's book "Encouraging Learning", he did not realize that it was a humiliation. His subordinates got upset and resigned, and the assassin killed him. At this time, Cheng Li was not crazy. He was humble in words and deeds, and did not neglect small kindnesses. He was still an excellent governor.

On the main seat, Cheng Li was thinking with his eyes closed. After learning about the Saint's words, Li was unhappy. He only sent a governor, and he was in the barren land of Beidi County. Just like that, why should he move the town? It's too stingy!
At the same time, he was also a little annoyed. He was unwilling to enter the court, but he was reluctant to give up eight states and one prefecture. He was not strong enough to clear the court. The king's army had 150,000 soldiers, which was fake! But when Tong, Pu, and the capital had to leave soldiers to defend, the merchants still sent out 30,000 soldiers to fight against the Jin Dynasty. There should be 70,000 or 80,000 infantry and cavalry. Judging from the performance of annihilating the more than 20,000 Bian divisions and the speed of the parallel attack, it was a powerful force.

If he rebelled, Cheng Li counted: Zhao Ze and his two enemies Lei Man and Wang Jianzhao would respond, Wu Tao and Ma Yin would be eager to distance themselves from him, as they had come to power by force and could easily be provoked into a mutiny by an imperial edict, and the governors of Hezhong, Bo Man, Qingjiang Man, and Bazhong would send troops to attack him. The brothers Yang Shouliang stationed in Guozhou might also join the army to attack him.

What’s even more fatal is that micro-changes may occur internally.

Bianliang has been contacted, but Zhu Wen is busy in the east and is too busy to handle everything, not to mention that he is too far away to reach out.

Alas! I thought it would take a few more years for the sage to have time to supervise the military affairs in Jiangnan.

What to do? Cheng Li was very confused.

"The emperor is at Mount Wudang, and wants to summon you and me to the court to receive the salary. I don't have any idea, so tell me what you think."

"Just enter the court." It was Li Ting who spoke first.

"The royal family is covered in dust, and the sacred artifacts are in danger. The spirit of heaven mourns and gives birth to a saint. The emperor has been in office for six years, and politics has been completely renewed. The imperial court's prestige has revived the four directions. The Book of Songs says: Although Zhou is an old country, its destiny is to be renewed. This is what is called the destiny of heaven cannot be reversed. Secondly, Jiangnan and Bashu are different from Heshuo. Zhao, Wei, Qi, Yan, and Cang have been managed for hundreds of years and generations, and the generals and soldiers have been stuck for generations. Although they want to turn the tide, they cannot do it, and Tian Bu died; so they let it go. Jiangshu is where the king's rule is, and it is difficult for people to work together. If they have a little evil intention, they will have a big disaster. Therefore, Liu Pi, Li Qi, Zhu Mei, Chang Fu, and Mao Zhen died quickly. Since they took it by rebellion, they cannot keep it. The imperial edict appointed them, but they are the lower to overcome the upper, and the ministers to fight the king, how can they last long?"

"The envoys did not obey the imperial edict, and in vain angered the six armies that moved here. They collected the minced meat at Danfeng Gate, the sea of corpses at Mibei Lake, the pile of skulls at Changchun Palace, and the crying ghosts at Chongyang Valley... I hope the Marshal will investigate and punish them."

Many people nodded slightly after hearing this.

Li Ting's meaning was very clear. This was indeed an era of chaos, but the foundation of separatism in Guanzhong and the south was weak. Warriors were not afraid of the imperial power and had thieves' intentions, but the general public did not like this. You could not do what the towns in Heshuo did - the people would take the initiative to help you resist the central government's expedition with food and drink. There was only one choice, and that was to obey the court again.

But just as he started talking, he was interrupted loudly by someone else.

"The official statement is wrong!"

Cheng Li and the others looked in the direction of the sound, and saw a military officer in scarlet robes standing upright with his hands clasped, talking eloquently: "Now the country has lost its way, and the prefectures and counties are in chaos. The land of kingly rule still exists, but it is hard to find people with moral integrity. If you were all loyal and committed, how could you sit in the military office today and talk about your duties as a minister? When a thief in the nest makes trouble, the whole country will respond. Zhu Wen, a clown in Dangshan, claims to be the master of Bianzhou and no one dares to question him. Is this the will of the people in the Tang Dynasty? The peasants only care about how much grain they can collect, and the nobles only care about official titles and power, and they will follow whoever is stronger. But as long as you have military force, why do you care what these people think?"

"Shu Zhen!" Li Ting could not help but scold, "Master Wang is right beside my bed, how dare you speak without restraint?"

This military officer was Shu Zhen, a native of Xuchang, and one of the five commanders of the 3,000 Zhongwu Army guards of Zhu Jingzi, the former military supervisor of Jingnan. In the Zhonghe year, Shen Tucong returned from serving the emperor and defeated this group of domineering warriors. After the troops were scattered, some returned to their hometown in Henan, and some became horse thieves and water bandits. After Cheng Li held the imperial seal, he recruited Cheng Junzhi and Shu Zhen. Because the two were both Xuchang generals, both civil and military, they were appointed to military posts.

"General, I'm going to say something disrespectful." Shu Zhen ignored Li Ting and continued, "The Saint has formed his own faction and has no use for us if he returns to the country now. Besides, which is easier, killing a general of the imperial army or executing a yamen official? It's better to make your own decision than to look at other people's faces. In my opinion, we should join forces and move forward. As long as we defeat the Saint, it won't be difficult for the other princes to defeat him. Besides, the Saint's biggest enemy is still the bandits in Bian. Even if we can't defeat them in battle, I can retreat to the city and hold on. How long can the Saint stay in Jingxiang?"

Cheng Li didn't comment, but he was actually a little shaken.

Was he frightened by the might of the saint who paid the deposit and killed Wang Yanzhang, who only escaped with his life? Sitting on the eight states and one prefecture in southern Jing, if he didn't take a chance, would he be a man? He led 40,000 soldiers to the court without firing a single arrow... But he was still afraid. The king's army was not weak, and there were many neighboring enemies, so he had little chance of winning. Ambition and fear of the saint fought fiercely in his head.

The righteous soul and the evil nature fight each other repeatedly.

Should I help others in need and be the first to die, or should I be a tyrant until my death? Anyway, if I win, I will make a lot of money, and if I lose, I will not lose anything.

so hard.

"Since ancient times, great undertakings have been sought in danger. If Liu Bang had not rebelled against King Xiang and was willing to die in Nanzheng, how could the Yan Han Dynasty have existed for 400 years? If the sage had retreated to the capital, the eight counties of Jingxiang would have been yours." Seeing his brows relax and then frown, Shu Zhen further tempted him, "Jingzhou is located in the north of Hanmian, with benefits all over the South China Sea, connected to Wuhui in the east, and connected to Bashu in the west. This is a country that can be used for military purposes. This is probably what God has given you. Don't you have any intention? You can follow the example of Liu Bei. Secure Jingzhou and then plan for Yizhou. If you do so, you can become a vassal."

Li Ting rolled his eyes, marveling at the greed of the Henan killer.

Cheng Li rubbed the back of his hand slowly without saying a word.

Maybe it's time to do it first.

Feng Xing's attack failed because he was not strong enough.

But what if things don't go well and your subordinates rebel and want to kill you and take your place or surrender?
Oh! It would be better if I could be a governor of another place.

"Mr. Li." Thinking of this, Cheng Li looked up at Li Ting and said, "Can we move the garrison to Jiangxi, Qianzhong, Jiannan, or Guangzhou?"

"This..." Li Ting's expression froze.

Zhao, Wei, Cang, Qi, Yan, Yun, Yan, Jin, Wu, She, Yun, Lu, Xing, Zhejiang, Pu, Xia, Fujian, Yiwu Army, Zhenwu Army, Tiande Army, Jiankang, Xiangyang, Hunan, Eyue are all taken. Bian, Xu, Chen, Cai, Shaanxi, Henei are in the hands of Zhu Wen. You don't think much of the Five Commanderies. The eight towns in the northwest of Beijing were reduced to ashes. Are you going to Dunhuang and Zhangye in Guanxi?

The governor of Qianzhong is the traitor Wang Jianzhao. If the saint dares to move the town, he will dare to rebel. The court does not want to interfere! Guangzhou... a precious land that even Huang Chao could not get, how can we give it to you? Jiannan, it is also impossible. The court would rather let it continue to be in chaos than let an unreliable person be the governor. Let's take a look, where can we change it for you?

As for Jiangxi.

Last winter, Zhong Chuan was dismissed from all his titles, positions, and duties because of his secret connection with the Bian bandits. Legally speaking, he is now a commoner, but there is no news on whether he is dead or alive; he should still be struggling with his subordinates and the governor of another state.

If the saint wants to move a town, Jiangxi is probably the only vacancy he can offer.

The probability of agreement is also relatively high.

But the problem is that going to Jiangxi is no different from fighting for territory all over again. You have to lead an armed army to take office. If you fail, you can become an inspector, but if you fail, you will die in battle. When Ma Yin and his gang were fleeing for their lives, they tried Jiangxi and got beaten up, so they came to Hunan.

Sure enough, Cheng Li’s face turned dark.

"Mr. Lu, why don't you say anything?" He looked at Lu Yanrang again and asked.

"Enter the court, enter the court." Lu Yanrang emphasized it twice before adding, "I was born in Fanyang, and I often worked with the Youzhou soldiers, so I know military skills. Last year, I went to the capital on official business and saw the king's army at Bashang. Although there were tens of thousands of people marching, they were silent. When they were discussing military matters, they drew up formations, changed teams, shot arrows, and struck spears. Without orders from the commander-in-chief, they stood like pine trees, sat like bells, and rested on their own. Their morale was steady, they were neither arrogant nor impatient, and they were indeed sharp soldiers."

"Zhao Wu, what about you?" Cheng Li pointed to another person.

"Let's fight first, otherwise how can we accept our fate?" Zhao Wu smiled.

"Coach Zhao..." Seeing that Zhao Wu was about to give a long speech, Li Ting suddenly called out softly.

Zhao Wu looked back.

"That year, Li Maozhen failed to capture the palace, and the army was in turmoil. Maozhen was afraid and did not even dare to lead the army. He fled to Fengxiang with only a few hundred confidants. On the way, he received a report that his fake son Li Jikan had seized the throne. He had no choice but to flee north in a panic and join his subordinates. On the way, he was ambushed by his allies and trapped in Macheng." Li Ting spoke in a calm tone, as if he was narrating a non-existent fictitious event: "During the period of being trapped, his confidants fled one after another, and even his eldest son left him. In order to survive, he ate all the mice, tree bark, grass roots he could find, and the only personal soldier who refused to leave - Sanlang. Afterwards, he broke out and reached Dazhen Pass, and Xingyu led his troops to him."

"After months of fierce fighting, both armies ran out of food, and Maozhen and Xingyu were both eaten by the rebels."

"Maozhen's wife Liu worked as a camp prostitute for half a year and was beaten to death. Two of her three daughters jumped into the river and disappeared without a trace."

"Han Jian's wife and daughter were raped by the Central Commander Wang Congxun and then awarded to the Tianwei Army."

"Wang Xingyue's wife and daughter, along with the sage Meng Cairen and Zheng Zhaoyi, were also raped..."

"After Feng Xingxi was defeated, his wife, Lu, was raped and then killed, his eldest daughter, Feng Susu, was dismembered, his second daughter had her neck broken, and his seven sons were killed."

The hall fell silent.

"You!" Zhao Wu was about to say something, but Li Ting raised his hand to stop him: "I know Coach Zhao is not afraid of death, but you should think about your family. To be honest, the saint has warned me that if I don't go to court for ten days, after Jiangling is captured, all officials, gentry and soldiers will be killed. It's like slaughtering the Tubo in Jincheng and the Dangxiang in Wuzhou. You should think carefully and give the soldiers and civilians in the city a chance to live. And you, Shu Zhen, Cheng Junzhi."

Sitting in the main seat, Cheng Li felt his head buzzing and dizzy, and sat there with a wooden expression, like an old monk in meditation.

The sage is not like a sage, and does not abide by the ethics of martial arts... How can he be a prince?
(End of this chapter)