choke element

In today's Song Dynasty court, there is a proverb, which is called "the nobles and nobles in the Manchu Dynasty are all people from the Four Ming Dynasty".Shi Miyuan quoted his fellow countrymen and recruited party members, and he has already occupied key positions in the court.

When Shi Xiangqin orders things to be done, they must be done vigorously and resolutely, ten times faster than normal court affairs.

Just a few days after Shi Xiang recovered from his illness, the officials heard that Ying Chunzhi died of illness due to official duties, so they mourned and mourned. Well, the posthumous name is Zhongjing.

Xuan Zang took the decree and arrived in Yangzhou in just a few days.

As soon as he arrived at the ferry, the news spread to Yangzhou, and he couldn't hide it from Jia She, who was still thinking behind closed doors in name.Jia She thought that Xuan Zang came here to represent Shi Xiang, negotiating terms with himself who vaguely represented Zhou Guogong.He hastily summoned officials and bureaucrats to greet him at Shili Pavilion outside the city.Unexpectedly, after waiting for a long time, no one showed up.

Not long after, the servant reported that Xuan Zang had left Yangzijin, walked directly around the city, and went to the military camp in Shugang to the north.

The officials were restless for a while, and many of them whispered to each other, but they didn't dare to talk to Jia She.

Jia She's complexion changed slightly.

Of course he understood why.Ever since Jia Sidao's true identity was revealed, Jia She's status in Yangzhou has become a bit awkward, because no one knows whether this once-popular vice-envoy is from the Navy or from the Song Dynasty .

Therefore, the merchants were unscrupulous and kept in touch with him, but the officials inevitably became more distant.Even the one who received a lot of bribes from him is not as close as before.

This is human nature, and there is no need to be harsh.The key is that Jia She himself is a little confused and doesn't know what his identity is.

Let's say he is from the Song Dynasty. In the past two years, he has poached the corners of the Song Dynasty to an outrageous degree.His family members have also been resettled in Tianjin Mansion a long time ago.It can be said that he is from the Northern Ding Navy. Guo Ning actually did not ask him to do anything.

His ancestors were commoners who got official positions because of his studies. His father was a loyal minister of the Song Dynasty. Although he was wronged and died, after ten years of running around, Jia She abruptly overturned the case.He has complaints about Da Song, but also gratitude; he is disappointed, but also has a little expectation, so he has no motivation to overthrow Da Song.

The current corruption incidents are not so much adhering to Guo Ning's will, but rather an instinct tempered by Jia She in the troubled times for many years.

He has been an official for more than ten years, and he has always been like this. Otherwise, what will happen to the whole family?Otherwise, when you are fighting for your father's injustice, how can you please those high-ranking officials who can speak for your father?

It's just that now because of the flourishing business, he has naturally become bigger, and he has naturally reaped the benefits that he could not have dreamed of before.

He asked himself, he is really a simple and bright person, adhering to the principle of being an official for thousands of miles only for money, other than that, he will never be easily distracted.Even if they teamed up with Yang Miaozhen to kill Yang You and Ying Chunzhi half a month ago, it would still be a passive response.If those idiots hadn't plotted against him, he would definitely not be in this situation.

Therefore, although he secretly went to the north, met Zhou Guogong, and assisted Ding Haijun in defrauding the Kaifeng court, he was actually the deputy envoy of the Song Dynasty, and he was not slack in handling official affairs.

After Jia Sidao's identity was revealed, he also stayed behind closed doors and kept silent, as if waiting for disposal.

He has been wavering, but he is really unwilling to abandon his identity as a Song person; in the eyes of outsiders, he is just a treacherous magistrate.Until now, when he summoned the officials inside and outside Yangzhou City to meet the angel, the officials still have nothing to do.

However, if Xuan Zhen, who came on behalf of the imperial court, did not see him, what would it mean?
Jia She was able to overthrow Ying Chunzhi and Yang You by relying on the force of the Zhongyi Army. Now that Xuan Zeng went directly to the Zhongyi Army's barracks, what does that mean?
Although Yangzhou is located in the north of the Yangtze River, after all, it is an important town that has been in operation for a hundred years in the Song Dynasty.
Will the attitudes of so many officials and garrisons in and around Yangzhou towards Jia She be changed because of this?

Jia She heard someone beside him sneer.

That was Li Jue smiling.

In the past few days, he was in the city, and Jia She sent people to stare at him in turn, as if he was under house arrest.At this moment, he cheered up.

Jia She stood still and thought deeply, not looking at this guy's face.After a while, he said relaxedly: "Zhi Fu Mo Xiao, your frontier minister has to continue, just like I have to stay in Yangzhou for a long time. The two of us should cooperate with each other and be harmonious."

Li Jue was stunned, and then laughed angrily: "Do you think that Qiu Ba of the Loyalty Army will always support you? Even if they lose their heads, what is this little force compared to Da Song?"

"What's the point? The Loyalty Army was originally the Song Dynasty's army! What's more, the Loyalty Army is not supporting me. In this world, they will only support themselves, just like me, Jia She, and you, Li Jue, are trying to support yourself .”

Li Jue shook his head: "It's too late for you to find reasons for yourself now! If such a big incident happened, Xiang Shi would never..."

"What happened in Yangzhou? It's just that a certain commander was kidnapped by the rebels and made trouble. The rebels have been suppressed and the commander is dead. Yangzhou is peaceful and peaceful as in previous years. Can you tell me, what happened?"

Jia She patted Li Jue on the shoulder and said with a smile: "Zhifu, Zhifu, Prime Minister Shi can see this more clearly than you... Something happened in Yangzhou, but nothing can happen in Yangzhou, so nothing happened in Yangzhou ...Do you understand? Because Shi Xiangye is only supporting himself."

Having said this, Jia She laughed and left.

Li Jue stared blankly at his figure, and after a while, he realized that a few of his companions approached cautiously.

During the few days that Jia She was under house arrest, these companions were nowhere to be seen. Now it seemed that they all looked good and had not suffered any hardships.

Li Jue shouted angrily: "What are you guys looking at me for? Hurry up to Shugang in the north of the city to see the movement of the Loyalty Army! If there is any change, report it immediately!"

There was no movement from the loyal army.

Outside the barracks, although the fights are strict and people's voices are quiet; inside the barracks, Yang Miaozhen hosted a banquet for Xuan Zang.

In the past two years, the Chuzhou Loyalty Army had always dealt with Liu Quan and Guo Yaoer.At this time, when she came out to entertain, she waited for Ruo to formally stand on the stage.

Xuan Zeng really didn't expect to see Yang Miaozhen in person so soon, let alone Yang Miaozhen who was so young and so heroic.There were women in the Song Dynasty who were exposed to the public and engaged in business, but there was absolutely no one who could lead troops to fight in modern times.

Since he was surprised, he respected Yang Miaozhen very much.After inquiring about Yang Miaozhen's experience from north to south at the banquet, he clapped his hands frequently and praised him. He even said that he was lucky to meet such a heroine. .

At this banquet, the wine is good wine newly bought from the city.Compared with the flavor of Lin'an, the dishes are inferior, and they are far inferior to the enjoyment of high-ranking officials and wealthy businessmen in Yangzhou.But Xuan Zong was out of airs, and dragged Liu Quanlian to drink a few glasses, and then dragged Guo Yaoer to toast each other, and soon got a little drunk, and his tongue grew louder:
"It's really easy for our two families in the north and the south to arrange some spies on the opposite side. In the early years, the value of the Song Dynasty was devalued, and there were exorbitant taxes. There have always been farmers in Huainan who have no means of living, and a large number of them fled to the north. Later, in the territory of Dajin In Kuodi, there are wars, and there are tens of thousands of people fleeing southward in Shandong every year. Not to mention the prosperity of trade in the past two years, with countless merchants coming and going, it is not difficult to plant a few spies in it. But... ..."

Holding the wine glass, Xuan Yan looked at Yang Miaozhen, then at Liu Quan and Guo Yao'er: "However, it is easy to install spies, but it is difficult to do other things. It is even more difficult for people from the south to directly seize benefits by force. Just like Yang You, it is really his own fault."

Liu Quan laughed loudly: "Fortunately, we are different from Yang You. If we are poor rats who are struggling for their lives, if the court does not give us food, how would we have any force? How would we dare to think about any benefits?"

Xuan Zeng glanced at him: "Old Liu! Don't worry, listen to me!"

"If you can't get it by force, it doesn't mean that you don't have benefits. For example, the elite soldiers and generals in my Great Song Army are often reformed people at that time. For decades, thanks to their defense and fighting, the country is safe. The money given by my Great Song Dynasty is expensive. , and not a few."

"If Da Song can trust us, we will naturally defend and protect Da Song."

"Of course Da Song can trust you all!"

Xuan Zang patted the table, the wine was spilled on the sleeve of his robe, without realizing it.

"How can you not believe it? The officials of the Song Dynasty were generous and the governors were wise. They always regarded those who surrendered as innocent children. There was absolutely no suspicion at all. This time Yang You caused trouble in Yangzhou, so much so that Huaidong Economic Strategy appeased him to death. There were many concerns in the court about this Guess. But the Prime Minister sent me here to tell you that the imperial court can trust you, and the imperial court will never be deceived by those nonsense! Chuzhou and Zhenzhou are still the bases of the loyal army, and the imperial court will not allocate a penny of money or food. Young Master! You will nominate the rulers of the two places yourself, and the imperial court will definitely agree! You can rest assured!"

Speaking of this, Xuan Zang looked around at the general, and all the generals turned to look at Yang Miaozhen.

Yang Miaozhen seemed to be a little distracted, and it took a long time to notice the eyes of the generals.

She smiled, turned to Xuan Zang, and said slowly: "The court of the Song Dynasty trusts us. Thieves, we will still mercilessly suppress them, and the imperial court can rest assured."

"Hahaha, great! Great!"

There are thorns in the words, Xuan Zang seems not to know.He laughed happily, laughed for a while, and then his expression suddenly calmed down: "No matter where the rebels come from, the loyal army will wipe them out, right?"

Yang Miaozhen also laughed.

Two years ago, she couldn't even understand the meaning of Xuan Zang's call, let alone play charades with each other.Fortunately, she is completely different now than she was two years ago.

According to her indifferent temperament, she didn't want to get involved in the military and politics. When the Red Coat Army was at its peak, she was only known for beheading generals and banners.Unexpectedly, her elder brother died in battle, so many people gathered around her with expectations, as if they took her as a sustenance, she had to take responsibility and respond to people's expectations.

After two years, although she can't be said to be leading the crowd, she has a thorough understanding of the thoughts of the tens of thousands of men and women in the rest of the Red Coat Army.

Their origins are inherently complicated, including the landless poor, bankrupt merchants, thieves, deserters, township tyrants, officials and many other backgrounds in the Shandong border. Everyone has different wishes.Back then, Yang An'er gathered them together by sprinkling a lot of money, and then seduced them with overwhelming wealth.As a result, within half a year of enjoying wealth and honor, the Red Coat Army failed. These people looked back on the past and thought of the experience of more than ten years from the uprising, the recruiting, to the re- uprising, and being betrayed, they have no trust in outsiders at all.

Not to mention that the high-ranking soldiers were all marshals, generals, and Jiedu envoys under Yang An'er's command.Even though they are down and out now, they are still very high-spirited, and they would rather be chicken heads than queens, and they are absolutely unwilling to serve others.

For them, Huainan is an excellent place to stay after the failure of Shandong.

To the north, you can rely on the Song Dynasty to fight against the Ding Navy; to the south, you can use your own force to deter the Song Dynasty; inside, you can rely on the huge number of reformed people to slowly take root, and outside, you can assist the business exchanges between the North and the South, and continue to obtain benefits... …

Is there a better place in the world than Huainan?
Such a good place is a rare haven in troubled times. No one can take it away!No matter who dares to introduce foreign forces, it will immediately trigger a violent backlash from the rest of the Red Coat Army!
Just like Yang You, speaking of which, he is also Yang An'er's nephew, the famous Nine Kings.If the Han Dynasty established by Marshal Yang had continued to this day, Yang You might even have become the crown prince.

But is it useful?

Yang You leaned against Shi Miyuan, and was too deeply involved with the Central Committee of the Southern Dynasty.He himself wanted to be Song's dog, but that's all. He wanted to overwhelm the loyal army and make them all be Song's dog, so he immediately betrayed his relatives.Yang Miaozhen hooked his fingers, and Yang You's confidant shot his own general into a hedgehog.

The Loyalty Army has a good reputation, but the Loyalty Army will only be loyal to itself.

As the leader of the Loyalty Army, Yang Miaozhen must act according to the wishes of the Loyalty Army as a whole, otherwise the leader of the Loyalty Army will be replaced immediately.

Yang Miaozhen doesn't mind the substitution.She never felt that being the leader of these tens of thousands of men and women was enjoyment or satisfaction.But this group was left to her by her elder brother Yang An'er.This is the last trace left after the power established in front of his talented and strategic elder brother collapsed.

So Yang Miaozhen will not let go, nor can she let go.

She stood up solemnly, and saluted Xuan Zang: "As the boss said, no matter where the rebels disturb Huainan, the loyal army will definitely wipe them out."

Xuan Zang's horse came north, although he appeared to be relaxed and at ease, in fact he was so nervous that the clothes behind his back were soaked.

After all, the Zhongyi Army is not the Dingjun Army that is about to replace Dajin. In the final analysis, they are all desperate people with few scruples. However, their force comes from Yang An'er, who once controlled Shandong and founded the country and proclaimed himself emperor. The Jin Kingdom fought fiercely with heavy troops.

Although Shi Xiang was full of confidence and felt that nothing major would happen, Xuan Zeng was unavoidably suspicious.

After all, Shi Xiang sat in this position, and he didn't know some things, and others didn't dare to tell them directly, so although his judgment was sharp, he always overestimated Song's force.

Xuan Zong made a trip north this time, but by the way, he understood how bad Song's border defense was.

This kind of frontier defense has already been ravaged by the thirteen captains of the Kaifeng court, and several governors can't recover their vitality within three to five years.As for the naval forces along the river, they were bribed and infiltrated earlier.

The Zhongyi Army either rebelled on their own, or colluded with the Ding Navy to the north to expand their influence along the canal. Xuan Zhen was very sure that the Song Dynasty's official army would not be able to restrain them.And if a larger army is mobilized, at least half of the country will be disturbed and countless military resources will be consumed.

Outside the battlefield, the finances must first be unable to withstand it; if the finances cannot withstand it, the battlefield cannot support it; the battlefield cannot support it; the political struggle in the center immediately breaks out.The court of the Great Song Dynasty will soon be unable to hold on to the scene, and will be repeatedly trampled under the feet of this group of soldiers!

Therefore, when Xuan Zang came to Yangzhou this time, he had no confidence at all. He didn't feel relieved until he heard Yang Miaozhen's promise.

In any case, as long as the Loyalty Army does not collude with Ding Haijun and does not make the mess in front of us worse, it will be a great thing.What else are you asking for?

He quickly stood up: "It's a deal!"

Yang Miaozhen suddenly patted her forehead in fear, and said with a smile: "I forgot, there is one more thing, I have to..."

"Fourth Lady, just talk!"

"The imperial court originally allocated food and salary to the Loyalty Army based on fifteen thousand personnel. However, Sir, I have seen that our army has more troops than this number, and there are more than a thousand cavalry..."

Xuan Zeng has been to Zhenzhou several times and has seen Yang You's troops, but he has never been to Chuzhou.He didn't know the total number of loyal troops.What's more, if the food and wages of 3 people go out, this army will become more and more difficult to control, and it will inevitably become a problem after a long time.But Shi Xiang weighed the pros and cons, and has already decided to hide the situation, so why should he question it?
At that moment, he smiled wryly: "When I return to the court, I will definitely push the Secretary to review the number of troops in your army, and give 3... No, Shi Xiang is the most lenient, at least [-] people will be paid!"

"I have seen the officials of the Song Dynasty a while ago, and they are perfunctory. I am afraid that there will be some villains in the court who hinder the boss..."

Xuan Zeng said sharply: "Don't worry! Shi Xiang will definitely agree, and if I am watching in person, who dares to hinder?"

During the banquet, everyone was delighted, and raised their glasses of wine one after another and said: "The business is settled, let's drink, drink."