Water Margin: The opening scene involves assassinating Emperor Huizong of Song and forcibly taking L

After Chen Dong expressed his support, Liu Jian also immediately decided to support him, guiding the cabinet ministers to put aside their concerns.

This action is tantamount to Liu Jian voluntarily taking the blame and bearing enormous public pressure.

The powerful families of Jiangxi would not curse the emperor, but would only hate three people: Liu Jian, who was the head of the court officials; Wei Liangchen, who was in charge of the matter; and Li Bing, who first proposed the matter.

This upright and incorruptible old minister, even after years of lying low, never forgot his original aspirations.

Now that we've gotten ourselves into such a big mess, why the hell are we going to be so careful?

The next day at work, Liu Jian changed his ways.

He no longer votes every day unless it's a major issue that causes serious disagreement, finally showing some responsibility as prime minister.

A few days later, Liu Jian, wearing his newly sewn official robes, walked with a brisk pace and appeared energetic, a stark contrast to his previous frail and aged appearance.

When your mindset changes, your energy and spirit naturally change as well.

.....

Another imperial council meeting, today's main discussion is military affairs.

Li Bao, speaking on behalf of the Privy Council, said: "Based on a compilation of information from the chieftains of various ethnic groups in the southwest, as well as from traveling merchants and our country's secret agents."

"The barbarian tribes in the eastern part of the Dali Kingdom, which they called the Thirty-Seven Barbarian Tribes, were already powerful during the late Tang and Five Dynasties period, and even sought to marry a Tang princess in an attempt to establish a peace..."

"The thirty-seven barbarian tribes all originated from the Cuan clan's Wuman tribe. They were extremely united internally and rarely attacked or annexed each other. Instead, they would seize land from outside, send out their surplus people, and establish tribes in the newly acquired land."

"The Luodian Kingdom, located south of Juzhou (Guizhou), was built by the Yushi tribe of the thirty-seven barbarian tribes over a hundred years through the division of their clansmen."

"The Ziqi Kingdom, located in the westernmost part of Guangxi, was built by the Mile tribe of the thirty-seven barbarian tribes over a hundred years by a group of people."

"The Shicheng County of the Dali Kingdom is home to thirty-seven barbarian tribes, who are part of the same group as the Luodian Kingdom and the Ziqi Kingdom."

"More than ten years ago, thirty-seven barbarian tribes rose up in rebellion against Dali, and the kingdoms of Luodian and Ziqi also sent troops to help them."

"Of course, at that time, Ziqi had not yet established its own state and was nominally subordinate to the former Song Dynasty."

"Yang Zaixing's new army has been training for a year and requests to take advantage of the winter to send troops to destroy the Ziqi Kingdom."

“But after the Ming Dynasty sends troops, the thirty-seven barbarian tribes of Dali Kingdom, and even Naluodian Kingdom, are very likely to raise troops and rebel.”

"A single move can affect the whole situation; we must have a foolproof plan before we start fighting. We can't let Yang Zaixing lead his troops all the way; we must let Lin Chong lead his troops south to Juzhou (Guizhou) instead."

"Lin Chong is heading south, but the grain transport route is too far, so he needs the assistance of the barbarian chieftain Song to transport the grain."

"Although the Song family has submitted, it is still unknown whether they have betrayed us."

"If the fighting gets too intense at the front and the Song family suddenly rebels, Lin Chong's troops will be in danger. They'll run out of supplies and die there."

"The Luo Dian Kingdom and the Zi Qi Kingdom must be attacked simultaneously, and before that, the Song family of Juzhou must be dealt with. This is the strategy devised by the Privy Council."

Zhang Guangdao, representing the Ministry of War, said: "We must relocate at least 30,000 to 50,000 people to Juzhou to strengthen the border."

Zhao Yuan said, "The population of Sichuan is too dense, especially around Chengdu. There are many powerful clans and wealthy families there, and the system of 'equalizing land tax and poll tax' has caused a lot of problems."

Liu Jian governed Sichuan for a period of time, and now he is no longer afraid of being criticized. After all, he is not worried about having too much debt or too many lice.

He immediately suggested: "Send a governor to thoroughly investigate the land in Sichuan, and relocate some of the powerful clans that have maliciously concealed their land holdings to Juzhou."

“Re-conscript criminals from all over Sichuan, even those sentenced to death, and relocate them all to Juzhou to farm.”

Zhang Tang said, "Sichuan alone is not enough. We must also include the criminals from Huainan, and gather a total of 50,000 people to go there. Once these immigrants arrive in Juzhou, they will all be placed under military control."

“Each village was organized into a baojia system, with the baojia chief training the militia. They farmed during busy seasons, trained during slack seasons, and served as soldiers during wartime.”

Zhao Yuan said, "We must send more doctors from the south, and prepare sufficient medicines to prevent heatstroke and malaria."

Qian Chen said, "In the next few years, a portion of Sichuan's transfer payments will be allocated to Juzhou."

Chapter 3575 An Excuse for Attacking You

"From Sichuan to Juzhou, official roads and post stations should be built along the way."

Qin Hui added,

"Although the imperial court ordered the various barbarian tribes in southern Sichuan to build roads, I'm afraid many tribes will outwardly comply but inwardly defy it."

"The imperial court wants to send troops to relocate people, so this is a good excuse."

"As long as there are troops stationed there for protection, the Ministry of Works can send people to supervise the construction of official roads and post stations along the way."

Hu Anguo said, "The envoy sent by the Ministry of Rites to Annam to demand an explanation has returned to the capital two days ago."

"According to the envoy, the King and civil officials of Annam were very polite and respectful to our envoys from the Celestial Empire. They also said that they would send another envoy to the capital next year to pay tribute and request investiture."

"But Annam's relatives and military officers were extremely hostile to our Celestial Empire's envoys."

“They even deliberately used provocative language in an attempt to provoke a war between the two countries.”

"Once our Great Ming sends troops from Yongzhou and Juzhou, will Annam take the opportunity to attack Yongzhou?"

"I suggest that Annam must be subdued before the immigration to Juzhou is completed."

"We can invite the three kingdoms of Champa, Zhenla, and Jinchi to cooperate with General Yang Zaixing in sending troops, and agree on a date to launch a pincer attack from all sides!"

Zhang Shuye said, "This plan is brilliant."

Hu Anguo added, "The thirty-seven barbarian tribes have rebelled many times, and the Dali Kingdom is exhausted from suppressing them."

“In the future, when we attack Luodian Kingdom and Ziqi Kingdom, we can also send troops from Dali Kingdom to attack the Thirty-Seven Barbarian Tribes, thus diverting their forces from the rear.”

"If Dali refuses to send troops, it will provide a convenient excuse to attack Dali."

Zhao Yuan laughed and said, "Minister Hu, you have quite the skills."

Hu Anguo said, "Although I am not knowledgeable in military affairs, the Ministry of Rites manages the vassal states, and those vassal states are just what I need."

After years of integration, the central government of the Ming Dynasty has become extremely efficient.

There may be factional conflicts in private, or some people may be secretly embezzling, but whenever it comes to matters of national importance, all the senior officials actively offer suggestions and advice.

Especially after destroying the Jin Dynasty, Zhao Yuan's authority reached new heights, and both civil and military officials gained confidence.

The court officials generally no longer objected to the emperor's orders, and even if they raised objections, they did so in a very tactful manner.

The attitude of civil officials towards territorial expansion changed drastically. As long as the finances were sound and there weren't major wars every year, they were willing to cooperate actively.

Since the reign title had already been set, "Reviving China" meant recreating the Han and Tang dynasties, which was the emperor's established goal.

Military generals are eager to fight because they want to gain merit and promotion, while civil officials have more on their minds.

Because they had read history books and knew countless stories of the Han and Tang dynasties, who wouldn't want to create an everlasting legacy and leave their name in history?

Officials from the Court of State Ceremonial, in particular, became increasingly irritable when they were sent on diplomatic missions abroad.

The envoy returned home and complained about the hostile attitude of Annam's maternal relatives and military officers.

There's likely an element of exaggeration involved; it's possible that the Ming envoys themselves were stirring up trouble, trying to emulate the Han and Tang envoys by engaging in staged incidents everywhere—they wanted to become Ban Dingyuan!

Civil officials often admired maps of the prosperous Tang Dynasty, fantasizing about the Ming Dynasty recovering those lost territories.

They imagined that a thousand years later, they would become famous ministers in history books, no less than the famous ministers of the Han and Tang dynasties.

The imperial meeting went very smoothly, with everyone speaking freely and pointing out any shortcomings.

Zhao Yuan finally made the decision, saying, "The Censorate will dispatch a Left Vice Censor-in-Chief with the imperial decree and flag to Sichuan to re-investigate the details of the land survey and the integration of land tax and poll tax."

“If there are powerful clans that collude with officials and conceal their land holdings, they will be separated and relocated to Juzhou to strengthen the border.”

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Chen Dong accepted the order.

Zhao Yuan then said, "The Ministry of Justice will select criminals and escort them to Juzhou to defend the border."

“In Sichuan and Huainan provinces, prisoners serving sentences of five years or more, as well as those sentenced to death or exile, will all be sent to southern Sichuan to await immigration.”

“Inmates serving sentences of less than five years can avoid jail time if they wish to immigrate to Ju County.”

"The officials convicted in this major case in Jiangxi will all be granted amnesty if they wish to immigrate to Juzhou."

"Officials whose crimes were relatively minor could continue to serve as officials in Juzhou."

"Yes!" Pan Liangui accepted the order.

Zhao Yuan continued, "The Ministry of Works is ready to select a group of skilled officials to oversee the construction of the official road and post stations leading to Juzhou."

"The conditions there are quite harsh, but once you go there, you'll get a promotion and a generous monthly allowance."

"Yes!" Qin Hui accepted the order.

Zhao Yuan continued to issue various orders:

"The Ministry of Revenue, together with the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Works, should make proper arrangements for the immigration."

"Sichuan should also pre-emptively reserve sufficient funds and grain for next year's relocation and resettlement."

"It's set for next winter, when the army will lead the people to migrate to Juzhou."

"The Ministry of Rites selected envoys from the Court of State Ceremonial to once again inspect the tributary prefectures under the jurisdiction of Qianzhou."

"We also need to bring along the Ministry of Works' technical officials and the Ministry of Revenue's agricultural promotion officials to investigate the terrain along the way."

“See where is the best place to build an official road, where is the best place to build a city, and where is the best place to cultivate crops.”

"The Ministry of War should prepare weapons and distribute them to the able-bodied men among the immigrants, and ensure that the militia of Juzhou is also well-equipped."

“Once the immigrants arrive in Juzhou, Juzhou will be renamed Guizhou immediately.”

"Lin Chong was appointed as the General of Guizhou, and his military rank was also promoted by two levels."

"He is now a marquis, with a fief of three hundred households."

Chapter 3576 Immigration Strategy

"Once we have established a firm foothold in Guizhou, we will grant them an additional 300 households, and a further 300 households in actual fiefdom. We will also posthumously confer official titles and imperial edicts upon their parents."

"Yang Zaixing should not attack Ziqi Kingdom in Yongzhou first; he must subdue Annam by force before the Guizhou immigrants arrive."

"The Ministry of Rites will immediately send an envoy to Yongzhou to discuss the timing with Yang Zaixing before heading to Champa, Zhenla, and Jinchi to agree on a joint attack on Annam from all sides."

"Once the immigration in Guizhou is completed, the Ministry of Rites will send someone to Dali to order Dali to send troops to attack the thirty-seven barbarian tribes."

"After the immigration was completed, Lin Chong led an expedition against Luo Dianguo from Guizhou, and Yang once again led an expedition against Ziqiguo from Yongzhou."

“We must coordinate our troops to fight against the various barbarian tribes in southeastern Sichuan, western Hunan, and Guangxi.”

"We don't require them to send too many troops. Each unit can send as many as a few dozen or even a few hundred troops, depending on the situation."

"We must send troops to follow them anyway, so they can experience the might of the Ming Dynasty's soldiers!"

After the strategy was announced, all the ministers stood up in unison: "Your Majesty is wise!"

The scale of the war in the next two years was actually not large; the regular army only mobilized 12,000 men, and the garrison troops did not use many either.

However, the preliminary preparations were extremely complex, mainly involving the resettlement of people in Guizhou, which involved various departments from the central to local levels.

Moreover, the chieftain tribes were to be included, and all vassal states were to be ordered to send troops.

The three kingdoms of Champa, Zhenla, and Jinchi would probably be ecstatic, as they have been fighting Annam for many years.

With the suzerain state leading the attack, how could they possibly object?

By the way, the Luo Dian Kingdom, which the Ming Dynasty is about to attack, seems to have always been a vassal state of Dali, a fact that the Ming Dynasty's rulers and ministers have overlooked.

Regardless of whether Dali is happy or not, your unauthorized recruitment of a vassal state is a crime!

According to the concept of "all under heaven" and the tributary system, only the Ming Dynasty could recruit vassal states.

Dali, as a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty, created a whole host of other vassal states.

This was clearly an act of usurping the emperor's authority, and Zhao Yuan had a legitimate reason to send troops to conquer Dali.

.....

Jiangxi, Nanchang.

Wei Liangchen arrived in Jiangxi quickly with only a few servants and flag bearers, and invited Li Bing to meet on the very night of his arrival.

Li Bing, who sent two secret memorials that escalated the situation, was already over forty years old.

His hometown was in Rencheng, Shandong. It was first harassed by Song Jiang and then robbed by Li Cheng.

When the clansmen fled, they went their separate ways, and the family's wealth was almost entirely lost. The land was also distributed to the refugees in the first year of the Hongwu reign.

Li Bing served as an official in the small court in the southeast. By the time he surrendered to the Ming Dynasty, it was too late to reclaim his land.