Song Emperor Jiangshan

When the first ray of light came into the room through the windows in the hall, Zhao Yuan stood up suddenly: "I don't want to settle down in a corner, and I vow to go north and take back the old frontier!"

Xiao Shan knew that Zhao Yuan had already made a decision in his heart, so there was no need to say more about the specific operation, Zhao Yuan would send someone to do it.

Xiao Shan bowed and saluted: "Since that's the case, the minister will take his leave first."

Zhao Yuan nodded: "Okay, you go down!"

Xiao Shan didn't attend the next day's court meeting, he didn't sleep all night, and was severely beaten by Zhang Jun, so he slept in his own room in the morning.

However, what happened at the court meeting in the morning reached Xiao Shan's ears at night.

Zhao Yuan first summoned the prime ministers and secretaries to discuss the matter, the main hall door was closed, no one knew what Zhao Yuan said, only heard that there were constant quarrels in the hall, from early morning to afternoon, before the hall door opened.Immediately after the imperial decree came down, Zhao Yuan selected ten censors, a group of five, to go to Li Xianzhong and Shao Hongyuan's department to investigate the matter of grain and grass.As for the soldiers in Jiankang City, Chen Junqing was the leader, and Zaizhi personally intervened about the matter of soldiers' salaries and food and grass.

It was still Gan Min who came to secretly send the news to Xiao Shan, and said to Xiao Shan: "Xiao Tongzhi, you don't know that today's court meeting happens to be servants serving on the sidelines, and when His Majesty said that he wanted to check the military pay, Zhang Xianggong is pointing the finger at you!"

Xiao Shan said: "I'm not afraid of him coming to investigate."

Gan Min approached Xiao Shan's ear mysteriously: "Where did he say that you were on empty pay? He said that you were with His Majesty all day yesterday, making slanderous rumors, flattering the Lord, and trying to shake the foundation of my Song army. You are a traitor. He will be expelled from the court and never hired."

Xiao Shan also knew that the fact that he stayed in the hall with Zhao Yuan all night last night would definitely be known, and if nothing else, Qi Julang would not forget to record it.But he never thought that Zhang Jun would attack him like this.

Xiao Shan said: "I'm not afraid of what he will say."

Gan Min smiled and said: "The situation at that time was very exciting. Zhang Xianggong said that he could not work with such a traitor in the same court. If His Majesty does not expel you from the court, he will resign and return to the land."

Xiao Shan cursed in his heart: Why do these civil servants know this all day long?There are no new tricks, but I don't know how Zhao Yuan will react.

Gan Min laughed and said: "Your Majesty immediately became furious and scolded Mr. Zhang severely!" Xiao Shan was stunned: "Then he must be gone...you can't let him go!"

Gan Min showed a flattering smile to Xiao Shan: "Your Majesty said that now that the country is facing a crisis, as an official of the court, if he is threatened with resignation after being scolded for a few words, he is not a loyal and honest minister at all, he is simply an accomplice of a gold thief He is no different from traitors and traitors. From now on, unless he is impeached by the censor, no one is allowed to resign, even if he takes the blame and resigns. His Majesty should discuss with the ministers and punish the crime. He can only admit his mistake and wait for the result of the above. You can’t just throw away your hat and quit if things don’t go your way.”

Only then did Xiao Shan feel relieved. Zhang Jun was threatening to resign from office. Zhao Yuan insisted that he would not accept this at all. .

It seems that Zhao Yuan thought about it all night, and decided to use thunder.

It's just that Xiao Shan looked Gan Min up and down, this news can't be spread by a eunuch like him?This eunuch doesn't seem to abide by the duty of being a eunuch, and he seems to want to rely on Tong Guan Liu Jin and the like.

But Gan Min didn't know what Xiao Shan was thinking, he just smiled and said: "I have been with His Majesty for more than ten years, I have never seen His Majesty be so strict today, General Xiao has contributed a lot."

Xiao Shan knew what Gan Min was thinking, and it was obvious that the other party wanted to get closer to him, so he came to tell him about it.Originally, the other party sent him a message, and he should be grateful, but after thinking about it, he smiled at Gan Min: "Thank you, Mr. Gan, for letting me know. I should have thanked you very much, but now I am also in the limelight. It’s not very convenient, only thank you again in the future.”

Gan Min smiled and said: "What is General Xiao talking about? The slaves don't ask for anything else, just ask the general to say a few good words in front of His Majesty, and I am already grateful to the general. Only when you and I help each other internally and externally can we be better Are you serving His Majesty?"

Xiao Shan smiled and agreed, and sent Gan Min out of the room, but his brows were gradually knit together, and finally he sighed slightly: Are you going to be drawn into the gang by a traitor?

The next day, Zhao Yuan came to visit Xiaoshan. During the conversation, Zhao Yuan also learned about the matter of the court meeting that day, but the emphasis of the two people was slightly different. Gan Min focused on how Zhao Yuan reprimanded Zhang Jun, Zhang Jun In the end, he confessed his mistake to the emperor in disgrace.As for Zhao Yuan, he focused on several ministers in the court, half of whom were against this matter, how could he use his words to persuade them.

Xiao Shan said: "Your Majesty, I have known about these things for a long time."

Zhao Yuan was slightly surprised: "How did you know that?"

Xiao Shan hesitated for a moment, and then said: "Gan Min came to tell me that day." He wanted to test Zhao Yuan's attitude, and thought that Zhao Yuan would be alert after hearing this, but unexpectedly, Zhao Yuan just smiled and said : "He has been with me for many years, but he can change his mind very quickly." It seems that Gan Min's flattery is patted on Zhao Yuan's heart, making him very comfortable.

Xiao Shan couldn't say anything more, but he just encouraged Zhao Yuan not to waver at this time, and to persevere to the end.

Half a month later, even Zhao Yuan was shocked by the result.

Checked three places, Jiankang, Zhenjiang and Li Xianzhong's department.Except that Jiankang, guarded by Xiaoshan, did not eat empty pay, the actual strength of the other two places was actually less than half of what was reported!Not only that, when Yu Shibao went to various ministries to investigate, he was met with soft and hard resistance from the generals everywhere, and the resistance in this matter was extraordinary.These places have always been places that the imperial court has paid more attention to, not to mention the garrisons in other places.

Once it is found out, how to deal with it is another problem.It is impossible to deal with all of them without punishing the public.

Zhao Yuan was a little angry: "I finally know where all the soldiers have been raised over the years!" Xiao Shan went to pat Zhao Yuan on the shoulder, and didn't know what to say to comfort him, he just asked: "Then Li Honger What about the human struggle for food and grass?"

Zhao Yuan thought for a while and said: "How many people, how much food and grass are given, there is not much at all, how can we afford those people to take the imperial court's food and grass and resell it?"

After the two talked for a while, Zhao Yuan asked, "How is your injury? I've been busy these days, so I didn't have time to look at it. Let me take a look."

Xiao Shan smiled and said: "You seem to have been injured too, show it to me first, and then I will show it to you."

Zhao Yuan blushed, of course he knew where Xiao Shan was talking about his injury, and it was an old thing, and he still had to take it out, he couldn't help but feel awkward, of course he didn't want to take the initiative to take off his pants in front of Xiao Shan, so naturally he also looked at it. It's not about Xiao Shan's situation.

The two chatted for a few more words, then Zhao Yuan got up and left, and went back to summon the officials of the court to discuss how to deal with the dispute between the two ministries for food and grass.

Most of the people agreed with how much to distribute, but Shi Hao said worriedly: "What I am worried about is that the distribution of food and grass is less, and if the generals withhold it, I am afraid it will cause riots."

However, his opinion did not attract everyone's attention, and Zhang Jun was the first to deny it: "This move can relieve the pressure on the national treasury, which is the best policy."

However, there was still a problem with this best strategy. Li Xianzhong knew that the emperor was coming to investigate, but he strictly ordered his generals not to mess around.Shao Hongyuan's troops were a bit different, Zhou Hong said to his generals: "It's winter now, the weather is cold, and the common people are sitting in front of the stove to keep warm, it's a pleasure, I'm waiting for the imperial court to suffer and suffer, isn't it just for some money? It is said that the emperor is not short of hungry soldiers, but now he is very hungry!"

As a result, the salaries of the sergeants in Zhenjiang Mansion were reduced by half again, and the sergeants were dissatisfied and made noises, and the fire could not be covered by paper, but it reached Zhao Yuan's ears within three days.

Zhao Yuan was worrying about punishing others and wanted to set an example for others, but Shao Hongyuan's men met the knife's edge, Zhao Yuan was furious, Shao Hongyuan hurriedly threw Zhou Hong out as a target.

When discussing how to deal with Zhou Hong, some said beheading, some said flogging and exile. When the discussion was very intense, the battle report came from the front. , Successfully crossed the river, but within three days he could reach Jiankang.

Fu Wushuang's misfortunes never come singly, following the news of Wanyan Liang's success in crossing the river, it was the news that Zhou Hong led people across the river to defect to the Jinren, and dedicated the deployment of troops along Zhenjiang to Wanyan Liang.

At this moment, all the spearheads finally pointed at the instigator—Xiao Shan.

Although no one explicitly said that it was Xiao Shan's suggestion to check the empty pay, several important officials in the court knew it well, especially Zhang Jun ordered Yushi to launch a series of impeachment attacks against Xiao Shan, and asked him to defend Zhou Hong. The official reason is that Zhou Hong is Xiao Shan's sworn brother, and the two must conspire to rebel.

According to the usual practice, the officials impeached by Yu Shi should voluntarily submit their resignations, but since Zhao Yuan borrowed Zhang Jun's resignation that day, things have changed a little bit.

Xiao Shan knelt down in the court hall and begged for orders: "Your Majesty, please allow your troops to take back Caishiji and capture the rebels with your own hands."

This battle is different from usual, in the past, if you lose, you will lose, but this time, if you lose, Xiao Shan will be very troublesome, he needs to win, and it is a beautiful victory!

Not only he needs it, but Zhao Yuan needs it even more. This battle is not only to resist the Jinren, but also the key to whether his own line can continue.

Zhao Yuan stared at Xiao Shan for a long time, the other party didn't bow his head like usual, but raised his head slightly, meeting Zhao Yuan's eyes.

Zhao Yuan took a deep breath and said in a steady voice, "Sure!"

In the Jinbing camp, Wan Yanliang was watching his men and horses crossing the river triumphantly. Zhou Hong, the newly attached Zhenjiang general of the Southern Dynasty beside him, said to him: "Your Majesty, the many generals of the Southern Dynasty are not to be feared. Only Xiao Shan There are clear rewards and punishments, orders are strictly prohibited, and it is a serious disaster to have him around!"

Wan Yanliang looked at Zhou Hong with contempt: "I heard that Xiao Shan is your sworn brother?"

Zhou Hong showed hatred on his face: "A real brother shouldn't block my way of making money, let alone fall into the place of righteous brother and disloyalty! This time I crossed the river to surrender, the old mother in the family is old and can't follow her, and has been ordered by the Southern Dynasty. Punishment as a crime of treason. Based on my understanding of the Southern Dynasties, Xiaoshan must be the one who sent troops to quarry this time. Your Majesty only needs to punish him slightly and kill him with 2000 troops. After he returns, he will definitely become a target of public criticism and cannot stand. Your Majesty will be able to remove a major obstacle in going south!"

Wan Yanliang laughed out loud, that day his Hongze water army was destroyed a lot of warships, it was Xiao Shan who did it, his teeth were itching with hatred in his heart, he just didn't know how to kill Xiao Shan.

Now that such a huge opportunity is presented to him, he doesn't need to win a big victory. As long as he is undefeated, Xiao Shan will be crippled by internal strife, Zhao Yuan will also lose his prestige, Wu Shan immediately, and capturing Zhao Gou alive is just around the corner!

But what Wan Yanliang didn't expect was that when the news of him crossing the river just came out, Zhao Gou had already rushed back to Lin'an. If he really wanted to catch Zhao Gou, even if everything went well, it would take a long time some days.