I am Emperor Shizu of Song

Chapter 73 Adding fuel to the fire

The next morning, at Murong's house.

Murong Yan got up with a haggard look on her face. Just after washing up, she saw her sister Murong Qiu preparing some medicinal porridge for her to nourish her body and bringing it to her bedroom with her own hands.

"Sister is the best," Murong Yan took a bite excitedly, then quickly fanned it to dispel the hot steam on the porridge.

She had been feeling unwell for the past few days. Some young women, young and inexperienced, experience dull abdominal pain and general fatigue during those few days of the month, so she went to bed early last night. Zhao Zicheng had come to her house, but she hadn't noticed a single movement.

"Zhao Zhixian came last night. I saw that you were not feeling well and went to bed early, so I didn't call you." Murong Qiu looked at his sister drinking porridge and said casually with a little guilt. It could be regarded as a synchronized message.

When Murong Yan heard this, she quickly asked, "Where are the people?"

Murong Qiu: "He left early this morning. He must have been busy with official duties recently, and others couldn't understand his efforts, which made him feel depressed. But I listened to him complain for a long time last night and gave him some advice. I think he has come to terms with it.

He probably didn't recognize me and mistook me for you. So I'm telling you this so you don't get lost when you see him again."

As Murong Qiu spoke, he recounted to his sister the details of his discussion of the past and present with Zhao Zicheng last night. This way, even if Zhao Zicheng really didn't recognize the difference between the two sisters, his sister would be able to pick up the conversation next time.

There was no point in hiding something like this from her sister, and as twin sisters, they would never hide things from each other.

Murong Yan was raised as a boy since childhood. She was generous and fond of martial arts. She was indeed not as well educated as her sister. After listening for a while, she felt a little confused. She did not expect that her sister could give her advice on analyzing such a sneaky political matter.

If she were to do the same thing, why would she be spying on the Zoroastrian rebels? If she found out who was planning a rebellion, wouldn't it be much easier to just march down and assassinate them with a single sword strike? Could those Zoroastrians' martial arts skills in single combat be any better than those of the Murong family?

"I didn't expect that Brother Zhao has to face so many troubles every day. When we were wandering around the world, I could still help him. But now he has to face the dangers of officialdom. I am really useless." Murong Yan sighed, looking a little decadent.

Murong Qiu knew her mother's plan, so she didn't want her sister to underestimate herself. She encouraged her, "Everyone has their strengths. I think County Magistrate Zhao likes your straightforward and honest nature. You don't need to underestimate yourself. After he leaves office and is transferred, you should get married as soon as possible."

Murong Yan blushed: "How can it be so fast? In the eyes of outsiders, I am still a man. This matter cannot be resolved overnight."

Murong Qiu: "That's fine. I've thought about it for you. When the time comes, you can just marry him as me. Outsiders won't be able to tell the difference anyway. From now on, you and I can just live our lives under different identities."

Murong Yan suddenly felt a little embarrassed: "How will my sister get married in the future?"

Murong Qiu: "Things will work out when the time comes. Besides, there's no other man in the world I'm interested in, so I can just be filial and take care of my parents for a few more years."

……

On the other hand, while the Murong sisters were colluding with each other, Zhao Zi claimed that he had returned to the county government office refreshed and continued to hold all the power.

Last night's discussion with Murong Qiu gave him a lot of inspiration, so after returning, he immediately made some drastic arrangements.

First, he called Lin Chong, Li Jun and others.

"I wonder what instructions the young marquis has for us?" Lin Chong and Li Jun asked respectfully as soon as they came in.

Zhao Zicheng composed his words and said cautiously, "I have been thinking over this matter over and over again recently, and I always feel that the situation this year is particularly critical. There are bandits in Shandong and Huaixi, and in Hebei, defeated Liao soldiers have entered the country to plunder and occupy the mountains to escape the Jin army.

Although our Jiangnan region is prosperous, Zhu Jie's plundering efforts are even greater than in previous years. Furthermore, since last year, we've already eliminated several of the Zoroastrian bandits' peripheral factions and vassal sects. The Zoroastrians shouldn't remain indifferent. If such a traitor intended to cause rebellion, they would undoubtedly have colluded with Zhang Jiao and Zhang Ling in advance, leaving numerous clues.

I want you two to lead a team of skilled and capable individuals, disguised as rabble-rousers and roving bandits, and go to the various prefectures in the mountainous areas of western Zhejiang to investigate the bandit situation. Yang Zhi, as the chief officer, cannot be moved lightly, and his face is too unremarkable to be recognized. Brother Lu Da's long hair is also easily revealed, and his large stature also attracts attention. You two are well-suited to disguises and are inconspicuous, so you can split up this task."

Upon hearing this, Lin Chong and Li Jun did not immediately refute, but reluctantly accepted the task.

As an aside, when Lu Da fled Tokyo, Zhao Zicheng had An Daoquan glue a wig for him using deer antler glue. But that was only a temporary measure, and even the best glue only lasted a few months. Furthermore, since the hair itself was artificial, it couldn't receive continuous nourishment from the scalp and roots, and would eventually dry out and deteriorate.

So after returning to Suzhou, Lu Da's wig was essentially no longer needed. An Daoquan simply performed some additional medical treatment to help him quickly restore hair growth to the rest of his scalp, aside from the scar. Lu Da had been growing his hair for over four months now, but it was still essentially flat, making it easy to spot if he went out.

In comparison, Lin Chong had a much easier time. An Daoquan used the original recipe from Water Margin that was used to get the golden seal for Song Jiang. He first used medicine to rot the skin and flesh where the tattoo was located, causing the writing to rot away. He then used fine gold and jade to erase the scar. After half a year, the tattoo was no longer visible on Lin Chong's face, leaving only a few scars.

In order to completely change his image, Lin Chong changed his original style of only having a goatee on his chin to growing a full beard. He stopped shaving his beard even when it grew out. Now his appearance is really similar to Zhang Fei, the "leopard head and round eyes", and he deserves the name of Leopard Head.

Lin Chong and Lu Da did not use new names to make a name for themselves in the martial arts world. They just kept doing their job and trained the army under Zhao Zicheng, so no one in the martial arts world knew of their existence.

Lu Da's current pseudonym was Wu Da, and Lin Chong's was Linghu Chong. They had both adopted a surname with a similar sound, leaving their given names unchanged. Ancient people rarely changed their surnames to escape punishment, so changing surnames was more discreet. These pseudonyms were written on the blank petitions Zhao Zicheng had prepared for them, but they had rarely been used before, as they had kept a low profile for the past six months.

After Lin Chong accepted the task, he did not feel any danger. He was just afraid that Zhao Zicheng was being too lenient and might cause unnecessary trouble in the officialdom.

After hesitating for a long time, he finally gave a few kind reminders in a tactful way.

After all, Zhao Zicheng's current official position is only the magistrate of Gusu. Wouldn't it be a taboo in officialdom for a magistrate to keep an eye on the situation in a place several prefectures away?
Zhao Zicheng's attitude was undeniable. "That's not what you need to worry about. At this point, I won't hide it from you. I plan to impeach Zhu Jie in advance and petition the government to abolish the Flower and Stone Gang! That's why I need to understand the actual conditions of the people in the poorest areas of Jiangnan. Just consider this as evidence for my impeachment and go see how hard it is for those places to be forced to suffer under Zhu Jie."

After hearing this reason, Lin Chong and Li Jun immediately stopped questioning. This was a plea for the people, so evidence should indeed be collected.

They simply inquired about the specific operational arrangements: "Which prefectures should we focus on for overt and covert investigations?"

Zhao Zicheng wanted to just give them the answer and tell them to go to Muzhou. But he didn't want to appear too prescient, so he pretended to do a geographical analysis.

Lin Chong and Li Jun were also baffled by this geography, having never been to western Zhejiang. The young marquis concluded that they should conduct a secret investigation into the impoverished and remote prefectures of the Tianmu and Huangshan mountain regions. Zhao Zi claimed that the circle he ultimately drew was centered on Muzhou, with two or three other prefectures also included. He then assigned Lin Chong and Li Jun twenty meticulous operatives each, leaving them to conduct their own operations.

He also reassured Lin Chong and the others not to be too anxious. Even if it took a month or two or even longer to find out the movements of the local Zoroastrian thieves, it would be enough.

Before leaving, Zhao Zicheng warned Lin Chong, "When it comes to martial arts and loyalty, I trust you more. But when it comes to experience and adaptability, you're not as good as Li Jun. So let him take charge of the specific actions and adaptability, and you don't have to do everything yourself."

Lin Chong was also very clear about his strengths and weaknesses, and carefully wrote down this principle.

……

After Lin Chong and Li Jun received the order to investigate, Zhao Zi said that he would temporarily refocus his energy on civil affairs and war preparations, and would also inspect Yang Zhi and Lu Da's military training on a daily basis.

Whenever he had free time, he would practice martial arts diligently, as a way to combine work and rest, civil and military skills, and change his mind.

Throughout April, Zhao Zicheng conducted a preliminary screening and listed all the wealthy families and gentry in Suzhou who had grudges against Zhu Zhen, had been severely harmed by the Flower and Stone Gang, and would never reconcile or forgive Zhu Zhen.

Then find opportunities to talk to them one by one, do ideological work, and win them over.

These wealthy gentry originally had great distrust of the government and the imperial court. "If there were real bandits attacking, they would definitely want to join the bandits immediately and just sell out Zhu Jie." If Zhao Zicheng did not do ideological work and win them over in advance, these people would become internal instability factors during the war.

So Zhao Zicheng spoke frankly with them, discussing several key points: First, he emphasized that he and Zhu Jie were not on the same page. These people also had grudges against Zhu Jie, so even if Zhao Zicheng spoke these frank words, he was not afraid that they would report him in advance.

This is of no benefit to them, and they can't get any evidence. What Zhao Zicheng said was all said in private chat, and there is no basis for his words.

In addition, Zhao Zicheng persuaded them, "I hope you can cooperate with our county in all matters related to the court's taxation, transfer, purchase, and grain procurement this year. If there is an emergency conscription, I hope everyone will cooperate."

This kind of empty demand certainly would not directly win the cooperation of the gentry, and everyone's first reaction was resistance.

If this were the kind of bureaucratic world of intrigue and scheming similar to the one in "Da Ming 1566," the game of chess here would have taken up at least several episodes. However, Zhao Zicheng had a more swift and decisive way to deal with these people.

He didn't waste too much time talking to them, and just emphasized one point: as long as you cooperate with the county in these aspects, the county guarantees that it will do its best to protect you in the future when it comes to the issue of the Flower and Stone Gang.

Zhao Zicheng's approach was to focus on the major taxes and let the minor ones go. The damage caused by all the other taxes and levies combined was not as great as that caused by the Flower and Stone Gang. As long as he could keep them on the Flower and Stone Gang issue, he could gain their full cooperation in other areas.

However, it was obvious that no one believed him until now.

The Flower and Stone Gang was such a big deal, Zhu Jie could plunder anyone he wanted. What could you, a mere magistrate of Suzhou who had only been in office for two months, do?
Zhao Zicheng was not in a hurry, but first planted a seed in the hearts of those wealthy people who hated Zhu and whom he wanted to win over. He said to these people privately without leaving any evidence:

"I understand the people's sentiments and know that if Jiangnan continues like this, there will inevitably be people who will resist the Flower and Stone Gang. Therefore, I am willing to disregard my future as an official and risk my life to submit a petition to the government to abolish the Flower and Stone Gang!

I cannot guarantee success, but I hope you will make a promise with me: if one day I really risk my life to write a petition, I hope you, the local people, will cooperate with me in other local affairs. Is that okay with me?"

When the local gentry and wealthy families who hated Zhu heard Zhao Zicheng's statement, their first reaction was shock.

County Lord Zhao actually dared to confront Zhu Jie?!
But now that things have come to this, it would be inappropriate for anyone to act as if they are alone and without a sense of justice.

Therefore, almost everyone privately expressed in unison: If the county lady can advocate such a great cause, we will also sacrifice our families to help the county lady and support her.

Anyway, they don't have to bear any obligations until Zhao Zicheng fulfills his promise and publicly writes a letter of remonstration, and they basically don't believe that Zhao Zicheng will do so.

Zhao Zicheng also knew that even if he risked his life to advise them in the future, these people might still back down at the critical moment. But no matter what, he had to secretly connect with them first to unite their hearts, and he would give them as much as he could.

Zhao Zi said that here, he spent more than a month trying to win over the local wealthy gentry, make himself familiar with them, gain their hearts, and manage daily civil affairs.

Time passed quickly and it was mid-to-late May of the second year of Xuanhe. Lin Chong and Li Jun also returned from Muzhou and other places, and brought a lot of valuable information to Zhao Zicheng.

Li Jun was a meticulous person and was good at mixing with people in the underworld. He seemed to have successfully infiltrated some peripheral organizations under Fang La. He found out that in Muzhou and Wuzhou, it seemed that there were indeed Zoroastrians gathering in the mountains, preparing to cause trouble.

It's just that they are still doing it in a relatively secretive manner, and many of their troops are mixed with ordinary bandits and miners, making it difficult to distinguish them.

But no matter what, Li Jun confirmed a key piece of information, that is, the thieves did use the evil belief of Zoroastrianism to connect and organize each other, which was completely different from the nature of ordinary bandits.

After obtaining the key information, Zhao Zicheng sorted it out again. After confirming that Fang La would definitely not be able to turn back, he decided to formally accelerate his plan.

"In a few days I will go to see Wei Tongpan and discuss with him the impeachment petition. I hope you can do me a favor: after Wei Tongpan and I submit the impeachment petition, you will spread the news of my impeachment of Zhu Jie to the Zoroastrians in Wuzhou and Muzhou as soon as possible.

Then he made groundless accusations and emphasized that although I, Zhao Zicheng, held a low official position, was a relative of the Song royal family and a distant nephew who was very favored by the emperor. The emperor had a very good impression of me and promoted me a lot, so I was able to be promoted to the magistrate of Gusu County within just a few months.

Therefore, although my position is low, my memorial is highly valued by the emperor, and he will soon abolish the Yingfeng Bureau. Therefore, anyone who opposes Zhu Zhen should be patient and stop before it is too late. If they can hold on for another year or two, there will be no need to resort to war and bloodshed.

Lin Chong and Li Jun understood what he meant and said they would follow the plan when the time came.

At least Lin Chong thought he understood, but Li Jun thought more and couldn't help but take a deep breath in private.

(End of this chapter)