A life of two souls traveling through time

"It's bandits again! It's bandits again! This time they are so lawless that they even dare to rob tribute. How unreasonable!"

In the court of Jingsong State, Emperor Jingdi, Duke Liangying, was furious. He threw the memorial that had just been handed to him down the high steps and said angrily in a deep voice.

Seeing the emperor's rage, all the civil and military officials in the hall were silent, lowered their heads and dared not say a word.

"Prime Minister, Crown Prince, aren't you usually quite quarrelsome? Why don't you talk? Why are there always rampant bandits in our Jingsong Kingdom except in the south? Where do all the troops allocated by the court every year to suppress bandits go?" Emperor Jing was furious when he saw that all his ministers kept silent with their heads down, so he glared at Crown Prince Gong Liangming and Prime Minister Yuan Lin, who were leading the two sides, and asked.

"Your Majesty, please calm down!" Prime Minister Yuan Lin was the first to bow and persuade with trembling hands.

On the other side, Prince Gong Liangming couldn't think of any good idea, so he had to bow and salute and continue to pretend to be deaf and dumb.

Faced with the banditry, seeing that even his own crown prince and prime minister were helpless, Emperor Jing felt disheartened. He couldn't even solve the banditry in his own country, so how could he want to compete with the Xiyue Kingdom? Wasn't that just wishful thinking?

After the court session ended and he returned to the Prince's Mansion, Gong Liangming hurriedly sent someone to summon King Zhao to discuss the matter of suppressing the bandits.

"Sixth brother, this is a great opportunity for you to make a contribution! If you can solve the bandit problem in Jingsong State, I will definitely help you achieve success and have a bright future!" Gong Liangming patted his sixth brother Gong Liangzhao on the shoulder and encouraged him.

"Don't worry, my Royal Brother Crown Prince. This bandit problem has always been difficult to resolve. It has been a headache for the court since the time of the late emperor." Although Gong Liangzhao had hidden ambitions, he still had to pretend to be fearful and terrified when faced with the Crown Prince's encouragement.

"How can I not be anxious? These bandits are getting more and more rampant. In the past, they only robbed houses and looted passing merchants, but now they are so bold as to rob tribute. When my father learned about this, he was very angry! Fortunately, Yuan Lin and I had no solution at the morning court, but we must not let that old guy get there first. If he comes up with a solution earlier this time, then I, the prince, will be even more useless in the eyes of my father!" Gong Liangming was as anxious as an ant on a hot pot at this time. How could he listen to Gong Liangzhao's consolation? It was a hot summer day, and even though there were ice stones in the study, he was still sweating all over.

"Brother Crown Prince, you might as well try to deal with the bandit problem as if it were a flood." Seeing that brother Crown Prince was competing with Prime Minister Yuan Lin again, Gong Liangzhao could not help but sigh inwardly, lowered his head and pondered for a moment, suddenly his eyes flashed, and he stepped forward and replied to the Crown Prince.

"Water control?" Gong Liangming narrowed his eyes and looked at his sixth brother as if he understood.

"Water management cannot be done by just dredging without blocking, nor by just blocking without dredging. It depends on the situation."

"Okay, tell me quickly what the solution is." Seeing that his sixth brother was still keeping the secret at this critical juncture, Gong Liangming frowned impatiently and urged him.

"The government's suppression of bandits is nothing more than pushing all the bandits to our enemy side. These bandits are like monkeys in the mountains. Although they occupy the mountains as kings on weekdays, once they face a powerful enemy, they will unite against the enemy and communicate with each other. Letting them work together will only be detrimental to the government. So, in my opinion, it is better for the court to lower its posture and use high-ranking officials and generous salaries to appease and appease them, so as to lure some of the bandits into the court's camp. Then let them fight to the death with the group of bandits who have not been recruited. When both sides are defeated, the court will be able to reap the benefits." Gong Liangzhao smiled at the prince calmly, and then spoke slowly.

"When the cunning rabbit dies, the running dog is cooked!" As soon as Gong Liangzhao finished speaking, Gong Liangming's happy laughter rang out in the study, but then he became worried: "Although most of these bandits are just illiterate ruffians, there are also some smart scholars. What if they see through this trick and come to attack us?"

"Scholars are not completely indifferent to fame and fortune, otherwise, what were the points of studying hard for more than ten years? It is impossible that they want to be bandits in the mountains for the rest of their lives, right? Everyone is greedy. The illiterate gangsters are only greedy for the money that is easily available, while scholars are greedy for official positions and careers." Facing Gong Liangming's concerns, Gong Liangzhao just smiled and then said.

"That makes sense, that makes sense!" Gong Liangzhao's words instantly enlightened Gong Liangming. He was so happy that he patted his sixth brother's shoulders again and said with a smile: "Sixth brother, you are really my wise man!"

"Your Majesty, thank you for the compliment." Gong Liangzhao did not dare to be proud and just responded modestly.

After praising his sixth brother Gong Liangzhao, Gong Liangming couldn't wait to go to the palace to meet Emperor Jing.

Seeing that the prince did not bring him into the palace to meet the emperor this time, Gong Liangzhao guessed that the other party was probably afraid that he would steal his limelight in front of the emperor. So he felt aggrieved, and after leaving the prince's mansion in a depressed mood, he did not go directly back to his own residence, but drove the carriage out of the city.

"That's a good idea. Why didn't you say anything in the court just now?" In the imperial study, after listening to the strategy of recruiting and alienating the bandits proposed by Crown Prince Gong Liangming to deal with the bandit problem, Emperor Jing couldn't help but look very pleased. He immediately smiled at his son with a look of satisfaction.

"Father, this is a matter concerning the plan of suppressing bandits. I feel that it is not appropriate to let too many people know about it, in order to prevent the news from leaking out." Seeing that his father finally smiled, Gong Liangming secretly breathed a sigh of relief and then saluted in reply.

"Well, you've thought it through!" Gong Liangying also responded and nodded quickly, then turned to the prince and asked, "Who do you think should be sent to persuade the bandits to surrender? This task is not easy. If it is not done well, it will backfire and ruin the whole thing."

"This..." Gong Liangming was shocked when asked by Emperor Jing. How could he have forgotten this difficult question when he hurried over here? This matter was a long and arduous task, and he must find someone who was both eloquent and resourceful. Thinking of this, the figure of his sixth brother Gong Liangzhao appeared in Gong Liangming's mind, but he didn't want his sixth brother to achieve such a great achievement, so he was in a dilemma for a while.

"Don't you have someone who is eloquent and smart by your side? Why are you still hesitating?" Just when Gong Liangming was in trouble, Emperor Jing glanced at him with dissatisfaction and muttered.

"Father, are you talking about my sixth brother?" Gong Liangming's face froze, then he asked with a smile. He didn't expect that his father would remember his sixth brother today.

"How many capable people are there around you?" Emperor Jing chuckled, and then said solemnly, "Prince Zhao is eloquent, smart, and a member of the royal family. Those bandits will definitely believe what he says."

"Your Majesty is wise!" Although Gong Liangming was unhappy in his heart, his father had already appointed his sixth brother. As his father was both the crown prince and the closest brother to King Zhao, it was not easy for him to stand up and object, so he had to agree against his will.

After leaving the imperial study, Gong Liangming frowned in annoyance. He had failed to prevent it despite all his precautions. Now he regretted his previous stupidity and arrogance.

Why did he personally bring his sixth brother to the emperor? After a while, the emperor actually remembered him. Hey, wouldn't it be better to let him stay behind him and give him advice? Why did he have to act like a brother? I regret it now!

"Oh, Your Highness the Crown Prince is really quick!" Gong Liangming walked down the high steps absent-mindedly and met Prime Minister Yuan Lin face to face. Yuan Lin hurriedly saluted respectfully and said with a smile.

"It seems that the Prime Minister is getting old and his legs and feet are much slower!" Gong Liangming glanced up and down at the other party and laughed contemptuously.

"Oh, of course I can't compare to the young people. Time is merciless!" Yuan Lin was secretly annoyed, but the other party was the crown prince after all. He didn't dare to show his cold face openly. He could only sigh and laugh at himself. Then he bowed respectfully again and left.

"Hmph, old thing, I don't believe you can win today?" Glancing at the figure of Prime Minister Yuan Lin walking up the stairs, Gong Liangming snorted coldly and left with a flick of his sleeves.

Prime Minister Yuan Lin proposed to Emperor Jing that on the one hand, General Xia Yang should continue to lead troops to suppress the bandits, while on the other hand, the court should post a bounty notice to arrest the bandits who robbed tribute.

But since the Crown Prince had made a good plan, Emperor Jingdi was disgusted by the Prime Minister's meaningless advice. He immediately frowned and scolded him out.

General Xia Yang is now old, and as a monarch, no matter how incompetent he is, he cannot help but sympathize with the old generals in the court. Moreover, bandits are rampant nowadays, and if posting arrest notices is useful, the court will not be so troubled by this banditry!