Yinshan Record

Chapter 397 Calmly Arranging for All Parties to Move (Part 1)

With power in hand, one can act arbitrarily.

Su Che sat upright in the main hall, his eyes sweeping over Wang Jian and Xiong Shou.

Now that Li Yizhen has been ousted, it's our turn to rule Cizhou.

"Wang Changshi, quickly order people to set up soup kitchens outside the four gates to provide porridge to the refugees. People from all over are coming to Cizhou. Every bowl of porridge we give away will reduce the number of rebels and leave more vitality for the court and Cizhou."

Su Che pulled out a chair, sat down, and began issuing orders.

"However, in such a hasty situation, the treasury should not have so much grain, and if the rebel army attacks, these are all vital military provisions."

"I will provide the grain."

Su Che looked at Wang Jian and said, "You just need to arrange for people to gather firewood and maintain order."

“Li Xing, once war breaks out, this is no small sum.”

Xiong Shou opened his eyes and looked at Su Che.

"I have my own way."

The Azure Emperor's Treasure Garden is Su Che's greatest source of confidence; with the Azure Emperor's Treasure Garden there, there will be enough food.

"That's good."

Xiong Shou nodded and said nothing more.

"Don't touch the Chief Clerk's private troops; they are his capital. As for the remaining soldiers in the city, divide them into three shifts and have them take turns defending the city from today onwards, and to reorganize the weapons and equipment."

The old, weak, and disabled soldiers left in Cizhou City are of no use whatsoever, and Su Che has no hope for them.

It's simply to give them something to do. Firstly, it can stabilize public sentiment and make people feel that the court still has a way to deal with them. Secondly, it can prevent them from messing around and exploiting the people everywhere.

"From this day forward, the four gates of Cizhou are wide open, and everything will proceed as usual."

Su Che looked at Wang Jian and asked, "Has Chief Secretary Wang finished writing his memorial?"

"Yes, I will draft it right away."

"Write it down quickly, and the three of us can submit it together. I will draw men from the Imperial Guard to send it to Jiankang today."

Xiong Shou nodded and said, "That's very good. Please start writing as soon as possible."

Wang Jian didn't stand on ceremony. He laid out his writing implements, ground the inkstone, and began writing a magnificent piece of prose in parallel prose. Su Che picked up the paper and glanced at it quickly; it was full of self-serving and blame-shifting remarks.

The core meaning is three points.

First, Cizhou is doomed; the imperial court must come to its aid immediately. Second, Li Yizhen's handling of the situation has been disastrous; he has lost all his remaining troops, and Cizhou is now isolated and vulnerable to attack at any moment. Third, the Great River Alliance has rebelled, gathering a group of powerful cultivators. Currently, only Young Master Su and Imperial Censor Xiong are holding out here; the imperial court must make plans as soon as possible.

Su Che glanced at it once and handed it to Xiong Shou, who was an imperial censor from Yuyang Mountain. Xiong Shou then signed the document directly on the paper.

“Wang Changshi’s writing is excellent. I think there’s no need to revise it. Send it to Jiankang immediately, the sooner the better.”

According to everyone's official rank, after Xiong Shou signed his name, it was Chief Secretary Wang Jian's turn, and finally, Young Master Su San took his place.

“Through the channels of the Censorate.”

Wang Jian sealed the memorial in a wooden box: "I will have them send it to Jiankang right away."

“There is one more small matter.” Xiong Shou looked at Su Che and said, “Chief Secretary Wang is not familiar with military affairs, and I am also somewhat of a layman. Li Xing comes from a military family of our dynasty, and the name of the Su family of Duling is known throughout the land. At present, I think that Li Xing can temporarily handle the affairs of Cizhou, with Chief Secretary Wang assisting him. I wonder what you two think?” “We will do our best.”

Su Che immediately agreed, since that was exactly why he had come.
With Xiong Shou making such a suggestion, Wang Jian naturally had nothing to say. Su Che disregarded everything else and took his seat in the Imperial Censorate to begin handling matters large and small.

The first thing is the access control for the four doors.

Shi Chibao stayed at home, waiting to be dealt with by the court, while the imperial guards naturally surrounded Xiao Su Lixing.

All four gates were now managed by Su Che's elite guards. Except for cultivators who might be demons, entry and exit were unrestricted. All cultivators were brought before Su Che for registration and management.

Anyone unwilling to obtain a license will be treated as a sorcerer; they will either be barred from entering the city or face the consequences of Xiao Su's methods.

The porridge kitchen outside the gate also opened. At first, it was used by poor people who had wandered over. Later, residents of Cizhou City also came out to get a bowl of porridge.

At first, the guards below tried to stop them from taking advantage of the situation. But when the news reached Su Che, Xiao Su Lixing announced that anyone could eat there, and not only could they eat, they could also take a bowl with them.

If there are elderly people or children in the family, it will save them the trouble of going in and out.

The people were naturally grateful. They had only ever heard of porridge being distributed during famine years, never of porridge being distributed during a rebellion. The Su family stewards initially complained, saying that although they didn't know where the grain came from, it was still Su family grain. Giving away such valuable grain to the poor was a sin!
It was the scholar Xuan Gui, whom Su Che had brought along, who had some cunning ideas. He told the Su family's stewards that since they had already given away the substance, they should at least get back the face. They should distribute the porridge to the people and at least gain a good reputation.

With the help of the Su family and the imperial guards, the porridge quickly acquired a name and became known as "Su Porridge".

Su Che naturally didn't care about such trivial matters, because all he could see were reports of local prefectures and counties falling to the enemy.

After Li Yizhen's crushing defeat, Wenning County was lost almost instantly. In addition, counties along the way were lost one after another. The imperial guards searched everywhere and found that the White Turban Army was now eager to fight. Li Hong had usurped the title of emperor in Wenning County, calling himself the Emperor of Peace.

They are currently reorganizing their troops and preparing to march north to capture Cizhou.

In response to these reports, Su Che could only issue a document to each county, informing them that Cizhou currently had no troops and that, given the current situation, they could all leave and return to Cizhou to make further plans.

Since Su Che took power, Xiong Shou has made no other moves, only patrolling daily and arresting sorcerers. Wang Jian, who assists Su Che, felt that since there was no way to retaliate at the moment, it would be best to hint to the county magistrates below to select a few loyal ministers who would rather die than submit.

At least give the imperial court an explanation, showing that we really resisted, but failed to hold out.

Su Che had no interest in this method of relieving the emperor's blood pressure and rejected it outright.

Ten days passed in this way, and not a single messenger arrived from Jiankang. Meanwhile, Su Che gradually shifted Cizhou onto a different track.

At least the chaos was gone, the streets were orderly, and there were no tragic scenes of starvation everywhere. The people of Cizhou were even thinking about other uses for "Suzhou porridge", such as taking a bowl home to make sugar.

After handling official business for a day, Su Che packed his things and went back to his residence to rest.

Then he waited for Zhu Yi and Lu Bai in his study.

"Didn't we tell you to go back to Jiankang?"

Su Che looked at the two generals, Heng and Ha, who had returned, and put down the account book in his hand.

Miao Niangzi was massaging Su San Gongzi's legs, while Xuan Gui was reporting today's accounts.

“Once we have settled our families, we will return to serve you immediately. Our lives and property are one with yours, young master. If you do not leave, then we will live and die with you and guard this Cizhou together.”

Su Che laughed heartily upon hearing this.

"What nonsense are you talking about? I'm still alive. Besides, even if I die, what's the point of dying with you guys?"

(End of this chapter)