I traveled with them to the Northern Song Dynasty

Chapter 226 The Water Margin Plan
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Zhao Yu never expected that the person Zhang Chun recommended to help him deal with the gentry's covert obstruction and resistance against the court's implementation of the two new policies would actually be Song Jiang!
Zhang Chun recommended Song Jiang, the chief of Liangshan Marsh, whose nicknames included Hu Baoyi, Jishi Yu, and Xiaoyi Heisanlang from the novel *Water Margin*.
How can this be.

This is a world of official history, how could there be characters from fictional novels here?

However, the absence of Song Jiang in the novel does not mean that Song Jiang did not exist in this era.

Yes.

There really was a Song Jiang in this era.

He was a leader of a rebellion that broke out in one region during the Xuanhe era of the Northern Song Dynasty.

Historical records indicate that he led thirty-six leaders, rampaging through the Hebei and eastern Hebei regions. Although his forces were small, they conquered cities and territories with swift and decisive attacks, causing great headaches for the government. They fought across ten prefectures, and the government troops dared not confront them. This fierce and courageous spirit bears some resemblance to the momentum of the Liangshan heroes in the novel who led them against the Song Dynasty government troops.

It was obvious that Zhang Chun recommended this bandit leader to Zhao Yu.

After thinking about it more carefully, Zhao Yu realized that Zhang Chun probably wanted him to indulge, no, he wanted him to instigate Song Jiang's uprising, and then use Song Jiang and others to kill all the gentry who opposed and obstructed the court from implementing the two new policies.

Would he allow himself, the emperor, to collude with Song Jiang and his band of thieves?
At first glance, Zhang Chun's suggestion seemed utterly absurd, almost like a joke.

But upon closer examination, isn't this an excellent "borrowed knife to kill" scheme?
'If Song Jiang were to act as the court's front man, the benefits would be countless.'

First, from the perspective of public opinion, the gentry had long been deeply rooted in the local areas, with extensive connections and a certain prestige and even a good reputation among the people. If the imperial court continued to directly and forcibly suppress the Fengqiu exam boycott as it had done, it would inevitably be accused of tyranny, earning the infamy of harming loyal officials and oppressing the gentry, and the people's hearts would be shaken as a result.

Imagine this: Emperor Yongzheng implemented two new policies, and all the donations collected were used for the Yellow River management. Yet, he was still slandered by the literati as a patricide, a mother-killer, a brother-killer, a fratricide, a greedy man, a murderer, an alcoholic, a lecher, a suspicious man, a loyalist, a flatterer, and a sycophant. If Zhao Yu had taken matters into his own hands and fought against the gentry to the very end, wouldn't he have ended up like Emperor Yongzheng?

But it would be different if Song Jiang and his rebel army were to take action.

Song Jiang and his gang were originally "bandits" from humble origins. When they were the ones to deal with the gentry who were obstructing the court from implementing the two new policies, the outside world would only think it was a feud between outlaws and bandits.

If Song Jiang and his followers were to raise the slogan that they were struggling to survive due to exploitation by the gentry, and that the court had introduced new policies to save the people, but the gentry were still obstructing these policies and not giving the poor people a way to live, the court could maintain an "innocent" stance, firmly occupy the moral high ground, and even use this opportunity to win the support and endorsement of the vast majority of poor people, laying a solid foundation of public opinion for the smooth implementation of subsequent policies.

After all, in the eyes of the common people, although Song Jiang and his gang were "bandits," they were forced into it and were heroes resisting oppression. Their actions were undoubtedly a punishment for those greedy gentry, a kind of karmic retribution.

Secondly, from a political perspective, many officials in the imperial court had intricate connections with the gentry. If the court directly targeted the gentry, it would inevitably affect the interests of these officials, causing turmoil in the court and hindering the implementation of the two new policies at every turn.

Song Jiang and his gang were not directly under the jurisdiction of the imperial court, and their actions could operate outside the regular system of the court. Even if the officials wanted to control them or cause trouble, they had no way to do so.

Once Song Jiang and his men have completed their mission, the imperial court will use the pretext of "suppressing the rebellion" to clean up the mess and either grant them amnesty or annihilate them.

In this way, the stubborn forces within the gentry class can be eliminated, direct conflicts within the court can be avoided, the stability of the regime can be maintained, and the majesty and benevolence of the court can be demonstrated. It can be said to kill two birds with one stone, or even multiple birds with one stone.

Furthermore, from an economic perspective, the gentry, by virtue of their privileges, concealed large amounts of land and amassed great wealth, which seriously affected the imperial court's tax revenue.

By leading his men to deal with these gentry, Song Jiang could not only disrupt their plans to resist the implementation of the new policies, but also seize a large amount of money in the process.

The imperial court could easily have recovered this money afterward under the pretext of "recovering stolen goods" and returned it to the national treasury.

Think about it, how much blood and sweat have the gentry sucked from the court and the people over the years? Shouldn't they pay some of it back?

Finally, from a long-term perspective, as long as we use Song Jiang and his men to eliminate these stubborn gentry, and then find a way to intimidate the remaining gentry, the two new policies may be successfully implemented.

Once the imperial tax system stabilizes and the burden on the people is reduced, social conflicts will ease, and the foundation of the Song Dynasty's rule will naturally become more solid.

As for the damage caused by Song Jiang's uprising?
Even if this matter is handled well and is controllable, how much damage could the Song Jiang uprising cause if it gets out of control?
Historically, there were more than 400 peasant uprisings during the Northern and Southern Song Dynasties. Some of the larger ones involved hundreds of thousands of people, and there were countless others with hundreds of thousands. However, the Song Jiang uprising in history only involved 10,000 to 20,000 people, making it much smaller in scale. Its damage to the Zhao Song Dynasty was negligible. In fact, neither the Northern Song nor the Southern Song Dynasty was ultimately destroyed by peasant uprisings, but by foreign invaders.

Therefore, this risk is not worth mentioning at all.

Furthermore, since Zhao Yu ascended the throne, there has not been a peasant uprising. How can this be compared to the average of about 1.36 peasant uprisings per year during the Song Dynasty?
In other words, Zhao Yu hindered other Song emperors in causing peasant uprisings.

Shouldn't Zhao Yu have instigated one or two peasant uprisings to boost the "achievements" of the Zhao Song Dynasty?

After this change of mindset, Zhao Yu asked Zhang Chun to elaborate on it.

Zhang Chun's thoughts were similar to Zhao Yu's, except that Zhang Chun thought about things more deeply than Zhao Yu.

—Aside from what Zhao Yu thought of, Zhang Chun felt that the stamp duty could be made good use of.

Specifically, after Song Jiang and his men had killed all the gentry in a place, they would try to seize and burn all the land deeds belonging to the gentry.

After Song Jiang and his men left, the imperial court only recognized land that had been registered with the court, that is, land that had been measured in accordance with the two new policies and for which the court had issued new land deeds. As for the rest of the land, firstly, the court had already made it clear that it was not protected by the court, and secondly, because it was impossible to prove who owned the land, it was all taken over by the court. At that time, the court would take the lead in using the land to hire local people to grow cotton, vigorously develop the textile industry, and provide jobs and income for the local people.

Once this news spreads, many gentry will likely request the court to send people to measure their land. Otherwise, when bandits like Song Jiang attack, they will lose more than just tax revenue; they will lose all their land, and even their lives, their families, and everything in between.

After listening, Zhao Yu realized that Zhang Chunzhen was a talented person, or at least a cunning one, as he could come up with such a vicious scheme.

Zhao Yu asked, "Then how do we get Song Jiang and his gang to obey the imperial court's orders?"

Zhao Yu did not naively believe that Song Jiang would be like the Song Jiang in "Water Margin," who was eager for amnesty and willing to sacrifice 108 brothers until only 32 remained in order to obtain it.

Zhao Yu really needs to be careful; if Song Jiang gets too powerful, he might really rebel.

Didn't Emperor Ling of Han just overplay his hand and give them an opponent with no bottom line? Zhang Chun said confidently, "If Your Majesty is worried about them, you can send some loyal people to start a rebellion with them."

Zhang Chun's idea was that Zhao Yu could select some people who would definitely be loyal to the Song Dynasty to join Song Jiang's rebel army.

If Zhao Yu is still not at ease, it's simple: he can send a pre-selected army to suppress Song Jiang, pretend to be defeated, and then send the generals, soldiers, and equipment over to wipe them clean.

When they arrived at Song Jiang's side, these troops wouldn't allow Song Jiang to touch them, and they obeyed his orders but not his summons.

To put it bluntly, by then, even if Song Jiang is not made a puppet, he cannot be given absolute military power. In that case, Song Jiang will never be able to escape Zhao Yu's grasp.

They further promised that as long as Song Jiang obeyed, he would be given a high-ranking official position and generous salary when he was later granted amnesty.

In short, one must have both the compassion of a Bodhisattva and the ruthlessness of a Vajra.

In this way, as long as Song Jiang isn't stupid, he will definitely obediently accept the control of the imperial court.

After all, rebellion could lead to the execution of nine generations of one's family, while starting an uprising under imperial decree was different. If Song Jiang were pragmatic, he would understand that starting an uprising under imperial decree was not a death sentence, but rather an excellent opportunity for him to bring glory to his ancestors and secure titles for his wife and children. At that time, he could not only shed the stigma of "bandit" but also transform himself into a high-ranking official of the Zhao Song Dynasty. His brothers would also be able to obtain official positions, clear their names, and gain wealth and honor.

To be honest, Zhao Yu was a little envious of Song Jiang. This guy was just too lucky; it was like an official position falling from the sky while he was sitting at home.

Then, Zhang Chun took out the list of students who participated in the imperial examinations in Jingdong West Road this year, pointed out a person to Zhao Yu, and said, "This person can act as an envoy to persuade Song Jiang to obey the imperial court's orders and lead the people in rebellion."

Upon looking at the name Zhang Chun had pointed out, Zhao Yu realized that it was indeed "Wu Yong".

Upon closer inspection, Zhao Yu saw that Wu Yong came from a well-to-do family in Cheshi Village, Yuncheng County, Shandong Province. His father was a renowned scholar in the area who had imparted all his knowledge to him. From a young age, Wu Yong was intelligent, diligent, and well-read. He was skilled in all the arts, including music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, and was well-versed in the Four Books and Five Classics.

Now that Wu Yong has passed the provincial examination, he will soon be going to the capital to take the imperial examination, and he will be delivering himself to our doorstep.

Seeing this, Li Lin said from the side, "I remember there is a Lin instructor in the Palace Guard who is exceptionally brave and can be considered one."

Seeing that Zhang Chun and Li Lin had recommended Wu Yong and Lin Chong respectively, Ye Shiyun felt that if she didn't recommend one, she would seem a bit out of place.

So Ye Shiyun said, "The Imperial Golden Spear Squad seems to have a guy named Xu Ning, he can be counted as one too."

Zhang Chun said, "There is a general in Daming Prefecture, Hebei Province named Lu Junyi. He is courageous, insightful, and well-versed in military strategy."

Li Lin said, "There is a valiant general in Jinan named Guan Sheng, who is both loyal and brave."

Ye Shiyun, that lazy bum, doesn't even want to go out and about. How could she know any civil or military officials? She only remembered Xu Ning because she heard someone call his name by chance, and because of his connection to Xu Ning, the Golden Spearman in "Water Margin".

Zhang Chun, on the other hand, frequently perused the registers of officials and generals of the Zhao Song Dynasty, knowing them intimately.

As for Li Lin, he was in charge of military personnel for Zhao Yu, so he naturally knew all the news about the Song generals.

But not wanting to lose face, Ye Shiyun guessed, "There's another one named Yang Zhi who could also be used."

Zhang Chun said with a smile, "There is a man named Zhang Qing in the Eastern Army. His arrows fly with feathers and he can defeat the enemy without fail."

Li Lin said calmly, "The Jingse Army has a general named Huyan Chuo, who is very brave."

This time, having learned from her previous experience, Ye Shiyun was even more uninhibited. She genuinely thought Zhao Yu knew nothing and made up a story: "Ah, there's a guy named Wu Song, with a pair of iron fists that can kill a tiger."

Seeing that Ye Shiyun had even mentioned Wu Song, Zhang Chun and Li Lin immediately felt bored. The people they were talking about were all real, verifiable figures. Ye Shiyun mentioning Yang Zhi first was one thing—after all, there really was a fierce general named Yang Zhi in the Western Army. But now, Ye Shiyun had even mentioned Wu Song, shamelessly claiming that Wu Song could kill a tiger—that was utter nonsense! If Ye Shiyun continued, she'd probably bring up Lu Zhishen uprooting the willow tree.

What's the point of comparing these?

The key is that with Zhao Yu here, Zhang Chun and Li Lin can't embarrass Ye Shiyun.

Zhao Yu, standing to the side, didn't say anything, but in his heart he couldn't help but complain: "I asked you guys for advice, and what do you do? You come here to assemble the Liangshan heroes. What, do you really want to gather 108 Liangshan heroes to start a rebellion?"

It's no wonder Zhao Yu was complaining in his heart. He simply didn't know anything about the people Zhang Chun, Li Lin, and Ye Shiyun were talking about. Could he be sure that they wouldn't turn from undercover agents into real bandits after they went down the bandit path?

For these kinds of things, you still need to use people who can truly withstand the test.

For example, Yuwen Xuzhong, who infiltrated the Jin Dynasty for eighteen years to become the imperial advisor, was betrayed by Zhao Gou and Qin Hui, resulting in the tragic deaths of over a hundred members of his family, yet remained loyal to the Song Dynasty.

Of course, the people the three women mentioned could also go with Yuwen Xuzhong to make up the numbers.

Creating a fictional "Water Margin" could add some interest to the story and provide some material and historical data for Shi Nai'an to write "Water Margin" in the future.

Of course, Zhao Yu did not stoop to the level of the three women. Instead, he chose to listen to what they had to say and then pretended to write it down.

Afterwards, Zhao Yu summoned Yuwen Xuzhong and said to him, "I have a top-secret matter to entrust to you and the Embroidered Uniform Guard."

Without even asking what the matter was, Yuwen Xuzhong accepted the order and said, "Yes, sir!"

……

(End of this chapter)