One Piece of Song Dynasty

"Zongze is really smart." After reading the memorial all night, Zhao Gou had to express his admiration for Zongze. At dawn, he stood up and moved around, and found that the candle behind him suddenly extinguished without any wind. He turned around and saw a pretty woman quietly carrying a food tray, and said with a charming smile: "It's time for your emperor to have breakfast."

"I don't want to eat meat, move away." Zhao Gou sat down and was about to eat, when he saw that the plate was full of chicken and duck, his face sank. Gillian knelt down in a hurry, almost crying: "I didn't use meat, this is just tofu. If you don't believe me, please taste it."

"It's obviously not meat." Zhao Gou picked up a bite and ate it, nodding repeatedly, "It's indeed tofu. You girl, you know how to think about it. Get up, what's your name?"

"My nickname is Gillian." Gillian laughed through her tears, stood up and put on a coat for Zhao Gou, "It's a cold moon, be careful of freezing."

Zhao Gou was about to ask deeply when he heard the bustle of people outside and hurriedly looked outside. It turned out that Miao Fu, Wu Zhan and various generals were shouting, pushing and fighting each other in front of the government office in order to fight for military pay. Wu Zhan was beating and scolding at the same time: "The soldiers dare to steal food from the imperial camp. They are so tired of living."

"Everyone has a share in the military pay, so don't disturb everyone and be quiet." Zhao Ding and Song Qiyu were sandwiched between the Xiang army and the imperial camp soldiers, trying in vain to stop them. Miao Fu was punched by someone unknown and pulled out the knife angrily. The soldiers in the carriage also drew their swords one after another. The two sides were confronting each other. A large sedan chair fell in front of the door. Li Gang quickly stepped out of the sedan chair and glanced at everyone majestically: "Whenever you use a knife or a gun, put away your weapon."

"The Prime Minister's soldiers from all walks of life dare to rob and steal food from my imperial camp." Miao Fu and the generals then sheathed their swords. Wu Zhan, a man with a scarred face, also complained loudly: "My soldiers in the royal camp only get three mins of military pay per month. It is useless to recruit soldiers from all walks of life to fight. The military pay is also three mins. Isn't this freeloading?"

The other party immediately shouted: "You guys are freeloaders? Who fights and is useless? It's a mule or a horse that comes out for a walk."

"That's enough. Four million yuan of military pay for Jiangnan has arrived in Nanjing. There is no need to grab it. Go and line up to receive the pay." Li Gang shouted, and the generals immediately gathered around Zhao Ding to collect the military pay. Song Qiyu looked at the chaotic scene, shook his head and said to Li Gang: "Four million is needed to pay soldiers, pay salaries to officials, and comfort the victims. Evenly divided, it is still a drop in the bucket."

"Then what is Mr. Song's opinion?" Li Gang turned away in disgust and said to himself, "You are the only one who is smart." Song Qiyu still didn't know how to advance or retreat: "There are not many soldiers who are good, but if we reduce them by %, we can not only train them into elite soldiers, but also alleviate the financial pressure."

"Song and Qi Yu hate each other and the whole people cannot be soldiers. You are a treason and dare to sing the opposite tune. Sooner or later, I will be careful about your head." Li Gang shouted and left in anger. Zhao Ding, who was busy, raised his head and looked at Song Qiyu worriedly. Song Qiyu looked at Li Gang's back, shook his head and sneered.

Li Gang walked into the courtyard of the government office and couldn't help but angrily said when he saw Huang Qianshan: "The ministers of the Ministry of Household Affairs and the Ministry of War are here to suppress the payment of wages. How can Prime Minister Huang not care about it?"

Since Huang Qianshan lost his military power to Li Gang, he didn't bother to ask about military affairs. He sarcastically said: "Isn't the imperial envoy also served by Mr. Li? Why bother asking me?"

"Prime Minister Huang will really destroy the country if he keeps talking empty words." Li Gang stamped his feet and roared. Huang Qianshan smiled coldly and said: "Is Qin a country that will be destroyed by just talking about it?"

Li Gang said: "Prime Minister Huang compared me to Shang Yang, which is a great compliment to me."

The two were arguing when they saw Zhao Gou and Kang Lu coming out. They hurriedly called their majesties and bowed their heads in salute. Huang Qianshan said: "Your Majesty, Zongze reported that a Jin envoy was arrested and his head was to be beheaded in public. This is not appropriate."

Zhao Gou said: "The two countries are at war and will not kill the envoy. Tell Zongze and the Jin envoy will be released immediately."

Huang Qianshan said again: "Your Majesty, there is a report from Hebei. Recently, thieves in the two rivers have been swarming, and they can hardly be suppressed."

Zhao Gou said in confusion: "That's not right. I ordered Zhang Suo and Fu Liang to appease the two rivers for nearly two months. How come the more you appease the two rivers, the more thieves appear?"

"Oh, your majesty is still in the dark. The imperial court ordered Fu Liang to cross the river and go north two months ago, but Fu Liang always shied away because the handling was not done, and he has not yet crossed the river." Huang Qianshan reported with added jealousy. Zhao Gou became anxious when he heard this: "Prime Minister Li, Fu Liang really hasn't crossed the river yet."

Li Gang did not answer directly, but gritted his teeth and said: "Your Majesty, Fu Liang was recommended by my minister. Huang Qianshan's slander of Fu Liang today is slander of my minister."

"Let's talk about the matter, has Fu Liang crossed the river?" Zhao Gou held on and continued to ask questions. Li Gang had no choice but to tell the truth: "Fu Liang has indeed failed to deal with it. I will urge Fu Liang to cross the river and go north today to look for opportunities to fight the Jin army."

"It is better to deal with it comprehensively. The enemy and us in Hebei are at war with each other. We have to rush across the river before we deal with it. I am afraid that if we are defeated, we will no longer be able to provide food and grass, and we will not be able to come back." Huang Qianshan seemed to be excusing Li Gang again. This confused Zhao Gou again: "Fu Liang has not crossed the river yet. No wonder the bandits in the two rivers are becoming more and more rampant."

Huang Qianshan responded: "The rampant banditry in Hebei is not because Fu Liang did not dare to cross the river, but because Zhang Suo crossed the river."

"Why did Zhang Suo cross the river?" Zhao Gou looked at Li Gang.

"The invasion of the Jin Army made the people of Lianghe miserable and forced to revolt, so thieves were rampant." Before Li Gang could finish his sentence, Huang Qianshan interrupted: "The invasion of the Jin Army did not start today. Open the skylight and speak frankly. Zhang Suofu, the governor of Hebei Province, After crossing the river, he allowed his subordinates to loot the people, and the officials forced the people to rebel, which made thieves become more and more rampant."

Li Gang said angrily: "Huang Qianshan, you are so bloody!"

"I have a memorial as evidence." Huang Qianshan took out a memorial.

"Prime Minister Li, sent Zhang Suo and others to appease the millions of people in the two rivers. How much food did the imperial court transport?" Zhao Gou's face darkened. Li Gang clenched his fist and said: "Zhang Suo crossed the river with a million dollars, half a year's army rations, and blank edicts. How could he plunder the people?"

"This small amount of food and salary has been exploited at all levels. How much can be spread to the soldiers? As far as I know, the millions of coins were used up as soon as they arrived in the capital. The empty imperial edict is just an empty favor and cannot be used as food. The officers and soldiers are short of food and clothing. We had no choice but to plunder, and it would be strange if the soldiers and people in the two rivers didn't fight back." Huang Qianshan gloated at the misfortune, and seeing Zhao Gou's face getting uglier, he added: "Instead of letting the Hebei army plunder the people, it would be better not to cross the river, and instead of not crossing the river, it would be better to abolish the Hebei Recruitment Department."

Li Gang said: "Does the removal of the Recruitment Department mean that we have to abandon Hebei? Your Majesty, I have strictly enforced military discipline and guarantee that Zhang Suo will never make such a mistake again."

Huang Qianshan sarcastically said: "Prime Minister Li has several heads to guarantee for him that the officers and soldiers have no food to eat and have to disturb the people. It's normal. Why bother to hide it?"

Li Gang said angrily: "In short, the Hebei Recruitment Department must not withdraw."

Zhao Gou saw that the two of them were arguing with each other again, and he became even more angry: "Since Fu Liang has not crossed the river yet, neither a man nor a horse can cross it. The Hebei Recruitment Department was abolished, Zhang Suo was dismissed on the spot, and the two rivers Bandits and insurgent armies will be brought under the control of Zongze. Let’s draw up an edict."

Li Gang was shocked and said: "No, your Majesty is now deciding on the Central Plains, and I am about to manage the two rivers. How can your Majesty give up so easily?"

Huang Qianshan sneered and said: "What is the initial determination of the Central Plains? How unreasonable is it?"