Alien Summoning System

Chapter 300 Negotiation
In the north, the Kingdom of Jin and the Kingdom of Liao fought fiercely, while the Great Song Dynasty continued to be a soy sauce party and surrounded the audience. One is stronger than the other. Although the court is full of optimism, there are some ministers who are really worried about the country and the people. They are worried about the growing strength of the Jin Kingdom. Throwing a stone in it will have no effect at all.

The debate lasted for more than three months, and today finally got some clues. Zhao Ji came down from the court tiredly. In fact, as the emperor, he knew very well what these people were fighting for. Yes, in fact, it is just a matter of interests after taking down the Yanyun Sixteen States.

Yanyun sixteen prefectures, that is a big cake, the prefectures, magistrates, and generals at all levels are all vacancies, so how can they not be tempted.

Zhao Ji didn't care about this, and in fact he couldn't. As long as he could recover the sixteen prefectures of Yanyun, reduce the shame of Tanyuan, and leave a good name for recovering mountains and rivers in his emperor's career, that would be enough. For the rest, let these people make trouble.

"Your Majesty, there is news from the south." An eunuch followed Zhao Ji and whispered.

Zhao Ji nodded when he heard the words. As an emperor, there are not many things that he can care about in this world, but it is by no means nothing, and it is also in the south, which is undoubtedly a very coincidental thing.

He did not give a reply immediately, but brought the eunuch directly to the imperial study room, and took the secret letter from the eunuch. This eunuch was with him during the period of King Duan, and there was absolutely no problem with loyalty, so Zhao Ji There are many things that the eunuch does not shy away from, and even many things are handled by the eunuch in the open.

Naturally, Zhao Ji knew about the disaster situation in the south, but now the whole country is preparing to recapture the sixteen prefectures of Yanyun, and the money from the treasury is basically used on the front line. Naturally, he is powerless to deal with the disaster situation in the south, so Zhao Ji is very unhappy. Responsibly hand over this matter to the southern state capitals.

He could almost predict that the catastrophe in the south will inevitably cause serious losses, but compared with the major national events, these losses are insignificant, at least in Zhao Ji's view, they are definitely not as important as the north.

The letter wasn't too long, but Zhao Ji read it for a long time. It wasn't that the letter was too difficult to understand, but the content of the letter made him have to carefully experience it word by word.

The letter is naturally about Zhuo Ao. After Zhuo Ao married Zhao Ling'er, Zhao Ji's attention to Zhuo Ao not only did not decrease, but increased. If not for the whole country's focus on the Northern Expedition, it would have been as early as Zhuo Ao married Zhao Ling'er. At that time, he will bring Zhuo Ao to justice.

In fact, the content of the letter itself is not a bad thing. The flood in the south has been solved. Not only did the casualty increase due to the coldness of the court, it was even the smallest flood in the past year.

Looking at this news alone, it is undoubtedly a pleasant news, proving that the officials under him are capable, but what makes Zhao Ji look ugly is that there will be such a result, not because he commanded properly, worked together, or even solved the problem. The person involved in this matter is not his person, or in other words, not someone in the officialdom at all, a nobleman, a name that Zhao Ji absolutely does not want to see at this time - Zhuo Ao!
He had too many reasons to hate Zhuo Ao, but this time, it was definitely not for personal reasons. What is an emperor most afraid of?For the courtiers, it is a master of meritorious service, but for the common people, it is too prestige.

He didn't know how Zhuo Ao solved the flood, but one thing is very clear, Zhuo Ao already has a very high reputation among the people in the south, and many people worship Zhuo Ao as a god.

If Zhuo Ao is a great Confucian, it’s okay, no matter how high his reputation is, it’s just the reputation of scholars. If a scholar rebels, if he fails in ten years, he will not be able to threaten his foundation. It’s a pity that Zhuo Ao is not a great Confucian, his reputation is more in the common people Zhao Ji remembered that Zhuo Ao also had a good status in the martial arts world. If such a person wanted to rebel, his reputation would be well received in the south, and he would lose half of his country in a short time. !
As an emperor, if he doesn't have a keen sense of smell in this aspect, then he will not sit on the throne for long. Zhao Ji is not a qualified emperor, but he is definitely a smart person. In this regard, he has the same political sense as other emperors.

How to do?
Sitting on his dragon chair, Zhao Ji felt uneasy for a while, so he immediately sent troops to destroy Zhuo Ao?
Now the most elite soldiers and horses of the imperial court are almost all in the north. Not to mention that it is impossible to draw them out in a hurry. Even if they can, they will not be able to quench their thirst. The court can afford it.

Descendants of Nuwa!

For no reason, the figure of Zhao Linger appeared in Zhao Ji's mind. Of course, Zhao Linger's identity had already been investigated clearly, the more so, the more unable to extricate himself.

My heart suddenly became hot, isn't this just a legitimate opportunity?
Sometimes, if you don't do one thing, you can find a hundred excuses for yourself, but if you want to do something, you only need one reason. Now Zhao Ji obviously has such a reason.

"Pass the decree, let Cai Xiang and Li Xiang come to see me immediately." As if a decision had been made in the bottom of his heart, Zhao Ji raised his head and said lightly.

"Observe the order." Eunuchs generally don't have their own opinions. Even if they do, they'd better hide them, otherwise their lives won't be too long. The masters in the palace generally like obedient people, so, Eunuchs are also professional scapegoats in the palace. Usually, eunuchs who can be famous in history will definitely not have a good reputation.

Soon, Cai Jing and Li Gang were brought to the Imperial Study Room, and Zhao Ji handed the secret letter to the two for reading, and after they had read it, he asked them, "What do you two think about this matter?"

"Your Majesty, I have heard about this Zhuo Ao." Cai Jing did not answer directly, but thought about it: "In the early years, he was just a rich family in the countryside, and he didn't have much property under his name, but where did the relief money come from?"

Disaster relief is not a trivial matter, especially this time the disaster is so severe that it has almost affected more than a dozen state capitals on both sides of the Yangtze River. In previous years, this kind of disaster would have to be done by emptying the treasury, but Zhuo Ao is a squire In layman's terms, he is a small local tyrant. Where did he get such a wealth that is incomparable to the country to provide disaster relief?

This is not a small amount, not to mention one squire, even a hundred or a thousand squires, can't get it out. I am afraid that only Shen Wansan, the number one merchant in the Song Dynasty who is now known as the North and South of the Song Dynasty, has this financial power. But according to the court's intelligence, Shen Wansan did not participate.

Holding the secret letter, Li Gang closed his eyes and meditated for a moment, then said: "Your Majesty wants to exterminate this thief!" Obviously, although there are political differences, Li Gang and Cai Jing have the same views on Zhuo Ao.

"Yes, this is not a small problem. If it is not handled properly, it may shake the foundation of the country. I invited the two Qing families here to discuss this matter." Zhao Ji nodded.

"It's just that now, our military forces are all concentrated in the north. I'm afraid it will be difficult to mobilize too many troops in a hurry." Li Gang frowned and said: "For the current plan, we should focus on being poor. Your Majesty might as well reward him with a idle position first, so as to save time." In his heart, after I succeed in the northern expedition, I will go south with a triumphant momentum to wipe out the banditry."

"The right minister's words are wrong." Cai Jing shook his head and said: "It is said that we must first secure the interior if we are fighting against the outside world. If we are in the middle of the Northern Expedition, then Zhuo Ao suddenly gathers a crowd to rebel, who can take care of it? Your Majesty, I think, This matter should be resolved quickly, if it is delayed for a while, I am afraid that if we try to wipe out the bandits after they have established their power, I am afraid that we will not be able to do so.”

After a pause, he continued: "As for the Northern Expedition, I think that now that the Jin Kingdom is resting and recuperating, it may not be able to fight again in the short term. We might as well take this opportunity to kill Zhuo Ao in one fell swoop, which will further encourage I'm majestic!"

"Your Majesty, Zhuo Ao is nothing more than moss. Even if you gather a crowd to cause chaos, you are only a mob. Why bother mobilizing the army to mobilize the Northern Expedition." Li Gang said in a deep voice: "There are [-] forbidden troops in Beijing, and there are government soldiers everywhere. It is necessary to mobilize an army of [-] and select a general."

Cai Jing heard that this time, he did not refute. He also felt that there was no need for a group of rebels to use the Northern Expedition Army. The most important thing is that once the Northern Expedition Army is mobilized, it will consume money and food. The army of the Northern Expedition, I am afraid that His Majesty will extend his hand to these courtiers.

"Besides, there is one more thing, Your Majesty has to be careful!" Li Gang continued.

"Oh?" Zhao Ji looked at Li Gang after hearing the words: "I love you, but it's okay to say."

"Yes." Li Gang nodded and said: "Although Zhuo Ao has rebellious intentions, he is really rebelling against him. On the contrary, he has a very high reputation among the people in the south. If the imperial court rashly sends troops, it will be an unknown cause, and the war will be fought in vain. It will cause resistance among the people, and it will be bad for His Majesty's reputation."

"It's not difficult." Cai Jing said with a slight smile, "I have a plan."

"Aiqing, please tell me." Zhao Ji said happily.

"You can order the prefect of Hangzhou and the governor of Liangjiang to secretly find a crime and strangle Zhuo Ao. If Zhuo Ao is captured without a fight, naturally everything is easy to say. If Zhuo Ao resists, it will be a rebellion, and it will also give the court an excuse to send troops." Cai Jing said with a smile. , This kind of thing was not uncommon in the Song Dynasty. No matter how famous the gentry was, if they offended the court or the government, they would die.

Li Gang glanced at Cai Jing, remained calm, but secretly disdainful in his heart, but he didn't stop him. If he didn't have to work hard, it would be the best.

"Alright, according to the Qing family's words, this time, I want to go to the imperial conquest!" Zhao Ji nodded in satisfaction and said boldly.

"Your Majesty, no!" Li Gang and Cai Jing couldn't help being shocked when they heard the words, and hurriedly stopped them.

"Needless to say, I've made up my mind!" Zhao Ji waved his hand and made the final decision.

(End of this chapter)