Xianxia version of Water Margin

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There are some things that you really can’t see clearly. Seeing them clearly will make your heartache. If you really don’t understand some people, it will hurt your feelings. Life is just a kind of confusion, a blur, you can’t say whether you understand or not, you can’t tell clearly, you are confused and vague. There are too many things in life that we cannot understand. To see them clearly and understand them is to ask for sorrow. Covering life with a mist is not self-deception, but self-protection. Taking everything too seriously will make you tired and tired.

This is Jiang Hongfei's current state of mind.

The cause was Cheng Wanli.

Jiang Hongfei felt like a mirror in his heart.

Cheng Wanli took the risk to come to his camp late at night to propose to him the plan to encircle Wei and save Zhao. In all likelihood, it was a delaying strategy.

Let's put it this way, if the decisive battle between himself and Mrs. Jia was won by Mrs. Jia, then the target of the armed attack by the three thousand officials, gentry and wealthy households organized by Cheng Wanli would most likely not be the Song army, but himself. The Liangshan Army.

But so what if you know this?

Not to mention that Cheng Wanli did everything flawlessly, all of this was just Jiang Hongfei's guess.

Even if Jiang Hongfei really discovered something, he could only pretend to be confused.

the reason is simple.

If Jiang Hongfei had not made any mistakes, he would have won a complete victory in this battle at Shuibo Liangshan, and he could also set an example for the wealthy officials and gentry who wanted to surrender later.

On the contrary, something unexpected might happen.

In addition, if Jiang Hongfei is pursued to the end, people will feel that Jiang Hongfei's pattern is too small.

Also, in the future, all cities attacked by the Liangshan Army may be fought to the end.

Therefore, Jiang Hongfei chose to ignore Cheng Wanli's little thoughts, and because the wealthy officials and gentry in Dongping Prefecture helped the Liangshan Army to defeat the Song Army, he issued a pardon to Dongping Prefecture, as long as the wealthy officials, gentry and wealthy households in Dongping Prefecture handed over the fields in their hands. , IOUs and food, they will be forgiven, and they can keep their families and other property.

Compared with the fact that if the Song army wins, the wealthy officials and gentry in Dongping Prefecture will not only not have to hand over anything, but will also receive awards, the policy given to them by Jiang Hongfei certainly cannot be regarded as preferential treatment.

But compared with other wealthy officials and gentry households in Shuibo Liangshan, the wealthy officials and gentry households in Dongping Prefecture are too happy.

Moreover, Jiang Hongfei didn't say it, but didn't the wealthy officials and gentry in Dongping Mansion still have some idea in their hearts that they were hedging their bets?

In the end, Cheng Wanli obediently sent Cheng Wan'er to Jiang Hongfei. At the same time, the wealthy officials and gentry in Dongping Mansion also donated one million soul coins to Shuibo Liangshan.

Seeing this, Jiang Hongfei appointed Cheng Wanli, who had high prestige in Dongping Prefecture, as the prefect of Dongping. Other officials were also appointed according to their talents.

Everyone is happy.

Jiang Hongfei ordered him to go down and hold a big banquet. He wanted to have a drink with the rich officials, gentry and wealthy people who supported Shuibo Liangshan.

During the dinner, Jiang Hongfei said over some wine: "All the problems in the Zhao and Song Dynasties were caused by land annexation and uneven distribution of wealth. If the wealthy officials, gentry and wealthy households did not hand over their land for redistribution, these problems would not be solved at all. If I don't rebel, others will rebel..."

Jiang Hongfei knew that these wealthy officials, gentry, and wealthy people would definitely understand his proposition, but they would definitely not accept it obediently.

But it doesn't matter. Jiang Hongfei just found a valid reason for what he did. What does it matter whether the rich officials, gentry, and wealthy people accept it or not? If you want to eat pork, can you still care about the life and death of the pig?

After the banquet, Jiang Hongfei returned to his residence in Dongping Mansion and saw Qiong Ying and Pang Qiuxia guarding in front of his door.

Jiang Hongfei walked directly to Qiongying, then grabbed her buttocks and picked her up directly.

Jiang Hongfei's habits are known to everyone around him.

Obviously, Jiang Hongfei was going to let Qiong Ying sleep with him tonight.

Although this was Qiongying's first time, Qiongying, who had been mentally prepared for this for a long time, was not afraid at all. She put her arms around Jiang Hongfei's neck and said: "Ms. Cheng is still waiting for the officials, and that Jia Madam, she is also locked up in the room next to her..."

Jiang Hongfei interrupted Qiong Ying: "They all have to line up, tonight I only belong to my great hero!"

After saying that, Jiang Hongfei carried Qiongying into the house.

Pang Qiuxia glanced enviously at Qiong Ying, who was already smiling, and then helped Jiang Hongfei and Qiong Ying close the door...

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The next day.

Jiang Hongfei raised a large tent in the Yamen of Dongping Prefecture, and all the generals came to obey his orders.

I saw that Liu Lin and others had already brought Zhang Qing, Gong Wang, and Ding Desun.

Jiang Hongfei said to the three of them: "You three are stubborn and help the tyrants to commit evil, so you deserve to be put to death. But there is a leader in our village who was originally a veterinarian in Dongchang Prefecture. His surname is Huangfu, and he has a good name. He is good at telling horses and knows how to lead. All symptoms of cold and heat in the mouth can be cured with medicine and acupuncture. He is really talented in Bole. He was originally from Youzhou. Because of his blue eyes and yellow beard, and his appearance, he was called Purple Beard Uncle. He told Zhang Dujian You are a close friend, please ask me to spare your life. For his sake, I will not pursue your past sins. If you are willing to go to Liangshan, I will treat you equally; if you are not willing to go to Liangshan, I will treat you equally. , I will ask someone to get you some food later, and you can leave after eating."

Zhang Qing knew very well that Huangfu Duan was just a step given to him by Jiang Hongfei. If he was smarter and chose to take this step to seek refuge in Shuibo Liangshan, everything would be fine. But if he didn't open his eyes, he would have been captured alive by the Liangshan army, and he still dared to take it. If you have to travel back home in Liangshan, you must do so at your own risk. Whether you can return home smoothly depends on the mood of the King of Hell.

The key point is that Zhang Qing and the others suffered a huge defeat this time, and Dongchang Mansion will definitely fall. Where can Zhang Qing return?

Moreover, if the Zhao and Song courts caught Zhang Qing and others, they would have to be punished for their defeat.

It can be said that Zhang Qing and the others would have no choice but to drown themselves in Liangshan.

So Zhang Qing knelt down and said: "Since brother Huangfu is in Guizhai, I am willing to surrender and gather with brother Huangfu and all the heroes.", and then kowtowed to Jiang Hongfei.

When Gong Wang and Ding Desun saw Zhang Qing kneeling down, they also knelt down together.

Jiang Hongfei immediately stepped forward and helped Zhang Qing and the others up.

The losses suffered by the Liangshan Army in this battle were not small. A few days later, Jiang Hongfei transferred 10,000 people from the garrison forces in various places to supplement the various armies, leaving more than 2,000 people, plus those selected from the Song army who were willing to surrender to the Liangshan River. With hundreds of elites who could ride horses, Jiang Hongfei gave Zhang Qing, Gong Wang and Ding Desun the 3,000 horses captured this time to form the Fourteenth Horse Army.

But that’s all for another day.

After subduing Zhang Qing and the others, Jiang Hongfei immediately sent Zhang Qing to lead a "remnant and defeated general" consisting of one thousand personal guards and two thousand infantry and thirteenth troops to capture Dongchang Mansion.

After Zhang Qing, Gong Wang, Ding Desun, Ruan Xiaoqi, Wang Tianba and others received the order, their troops and horses followed, rolled up flags and streamers, and all arrived at the gate of Dongchangfu City.

Zhang Qing's army and horses were in front, shouting: "Open the city gate quickly!"

When the Song Army sergeant guarding the gate shined his torch, he recognized Zhang Dujian, then opened the city gate and lowered the drawbridge.

Zhang Qing rushed in first and cut off the iron locks. Behind him, Commander Liangshan drove his men and horses into the city. They all went to Dongchang Mansion. An urgent order was sent to the general not to kill people or set people's houses on fire.

Next, Liu Huiniang mobilized her troops and captured the Dongping Mansion and Dongchang Mansion areas...

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At noon that day, a solar eclipse suddenly occurred over Tokyo. The bright white sun gradually turned black and dull, and the center of the sun seemed to be a piece of gold melted, and the golden solution was constantly boiling and surging. The surroundings of the solution were dense and green, as if a vast water wave was spinning. The eclipse lasted until the evening, when the sky returned to normal.

The ancients called this phenomenon "Sun Youyi".

Yi means disaster and suffering.

Zhao Ji's heart was cast into another shadow.

In the eyes of the ancients, a solar eclipse in the sky meant that the emperor acted inappropriately. This was a warning from God to the emperor.

Zhao Ji quickly promulgated the "Edict of Sin": "The ruler is unethical and the administration of government is uneven, which has led to chaos and rebellion in the world. I admire the brightness of the three lights, but I cannot govern and educate all living beings below. I am wrong. I wish to promote the virtuous and upright, I speak out and remonstrate with you in order to correct my mistakes..."

Zhao Ji hopes to use the "Edict of Sin" to eliminate doubts and uneasiness in people's hearts.

However, although Zhao Ji issued the edict of sin, there was still no good news from everywhere.

Especially the southeast region.

Today, hundreds of thousands of elite Song troops led by Tong Guan are fighting tug-of-war with Fang La's rebel army on the Taihu-Suzhou line and on the Xuanzhou-Guangde army line.

There are many reasons for this kind of war situation.

The first is that the people in the southeast do not side with the Zhao and Song Dynasty, and the dignitaries, wealthy families, and gentry in the southeast who should have sided with the Zhao and Song Dynasty have been wiped out by the rebels (actually by Jiang Hongfei).

This made the Song army, who was unfamiliar with the place in the southeast, passive everywhere.

Moreover, if the Song army were left alone, the common people would kill them, and then the common people would cover each other up, leaving Tong Guan and the others with no place to investigate.

Even more troublesome are the logistical supply problems of the Song army and the governance issues in the recovered areas.

In the Jiuzhou and more than 100 counties that Jiang Hongfei had previously occupied, all the dignitaries, wealthy families, and gentry were wiped out by the people from Shuibo Liangshan. In addition to leaving two stones of food for each of the people, these Jiuzhou, one More than a hundred counties can be said to be a bunch of empty cities.

This made it difficult for Tong Guan and others to regain some cities from Fang La's rebels, but they still had many difficulties in management and operations.

Let's put it this way, all armies and government agencies going to the southeast region must rely on the Zhao and Song Dynasty for supplies, especially food.

It can be said that the more areas recovered, the heavier the burden brought to the Zhao and Song courts.

Sometimes, because the food supply for the Zhao and Song courts was insufficient, the Song army even robbed civilians of their food. They burned, killed, looted, and committed all kinds of evil.

Not to mention compared to the rebels controlled by Jiang Hongfei, it was even incomparable to the rebels controlled by Fang La.

This made the people in the southeast hate the Zhao and Song Dynasties even more.

The key point is that even if the Zhao and Song courts turned a blind eye to the Song army robbing civilians in the southeast, it would still be very difficult to provide money and food to the Song army and government agencies on the front line.

This is also normal.

You know, the southeast was originally the largest supplier of money and food to the Zhao and Song Dynasty, and it supplied a large amount of money and food to the Zhao and Song Dynasty every year.

Nowadays, Southeast not only cannot provide money and food to the Zhao and Song Dynasties, but also has to ask the Zhao and Song Dynasties to supply money and food to the Song army and government agencies that regained the Southeast.

In addition, it is worth mentioning that when Jiang Hongfei was in the southeast, he collected a large number of ships and poached a large number of shipwrights and shipbuilders with high salaries. The public and private shipyards in his territory were moved to Fuzhou, Liuqiu and the Jiaodong Peninsula by Jiang Hongfei, both carrot and stick. .

This caused a serious shortage of ships in the Zhao and Song Dynasties.

As a result, the Zhao and Song dynasty provided Tong Guan and the others with insufficient food and supplies, especially grain and grass.

This undoubtedly greatly affected the combat effectiveness of the Song Army.

There was no other way. The Zhao and Song court could only order Southwest Jing Road, Northwest Jing Road, East Huainan Road, and West Huainan Road to transfer grain to the southeast in the areas controlled by the Zhao Song Dynasty. The task of ensuring the grain supply of the southeast front was assigned to It is close to Jingxi, Huainan and other roads in the southeast, and officials of the transportation departments of various roads allocate the amount of grain to the people.

What's even more despicable is that due to the lack of transportation capacity, officials from various transportation departments also specifically asked the people to transport grain to the southeast front for payment.

Sometimes, in order to transport one stone of grain, it costs more than ten or even twenty stone of grain along the way, which brings great trouble and even disaster to the people.

In addition, in recent years, famines have occurred in the Zhao and Song Dynasties year after year. The harvests were not good and people died of starvation everywhere.

As a result, people were so desperate that they all turned into thieves. In other words, many anti-donation storms or peasant riots broke out in the areas controlled by the Zhao and Song Dynasties.

They range from a few hundred to tens of thousands, rising and falling one after another.

The adverse consequences of losing Southeast are beginning to show!

——The Zhao and Song dynasties, which had always been prosperous, began to be short of money and food.

Facing the increasingly spreading civil unrest, Zhao Ji hurriedly adopted a two-pronged policy. One was to issue edicts to appease the people, and the other was to suppress them with force.

But either way requires money, and a lot of money.

Zhao Ji put this pressure on Wang Fu.

Wang Fu, who received this task, also had a headache!

If you don't become a householder, you don't know how expensive firewood and rice are.

yes.

When the Zhao and Song dynasties were at their peak, the fiscal revenue was more than 100 million yuan a year.

On the surface, this financial revenue is indeed quite large, but the problem of three redundancies in the Zhao and Song Dynasties was extremely serious. Zhao Ji's monarchs and ministers were extravagant and lustful, and the expenditures were too huge, so it was inevitable that they would be stretched thin.

Although Wang Fu streamlined some organizations and eliminated a number of redundant staff after he came to power, the results were not very significant.

The key is that the Zhao and Song Dynasties are now missing the largest piece of financial revenue from the southeast.

The key point is that the Zhao and Song Dynasties are fighting everywhere now. "One cannon fire, ten thousand taels of gold" is not just talk.

So Wang Fu began to rack his brains and think hard to find countermeasures.

Wang Fu had an aide named Zhang Shili, who was from the same hometown as Wang Fu. They were both from Kaifeng. He was more than ten years older than Wang Fu. He has a thin build, a face like a horse's face, and a pair of triangular eyes that are often squinted, making him look unfathomable. He has been following Wang Fu for many years. On this day, when he saw Wang Fu feeling unhappy, he asked, "My husband seems to have something on his mind?"

Wang Fu then explained the current financial difficulties of the Zhao and Song Dynasties, and Zhao Ji asked him to find a way to solve it.

Zhang Shili chuckled and said, "What's so difficult about this? I have an idea. I wonder if your husband can adopt it?"

Wang Fu's eyes lit up: "Tell me and listen."

Zhang Shili said: "The suppression of the rebellion by the imperial court is a major event for the whole country of the Song Dynasty. All the people of the Song Dynasty should contribute. If they cannot contribute, then they should contribute money. From across the country, collecting free money per capita is not Is it done?”

Wang Fu suddenly became enlightened and praised, "Good advice! Good advice!"

Wang Fu felt that although this method might face some resistance, it could quickly raise military funds, so he hurriedly reported to Zhao Ji.

After listening to Wang Fu's suggestion, Zhao Ji had some doubts: "Isn't this just a donation? Can everyone contribute money?"

Wang Fu said: "This is different from fundraising, but somewhat similar to tax collection. In order to ensure that the special funds are used exclusively, I suggested setting up a special agency in the three provinces, called the Jingfufang, with full authority to handle the military expenditures required by each place without the Privy Council's intervention. , I will personally control it to ensure that all the expenses required to suppress the bandits can be paid in time."

It should be said that the establishment of Jingfufang was Wang Fu's initiative.

Zhao Ji likes creative proposals, which may have something to do with the widespread artistic cells in his thinking.

And in political decision-making, if artistic thinking is mixed in, the results may be very dangerous.

After getting Zhao Ji's consent, Wang Fu immediately started working. His work style was as vigorous and resolute as Cai Jing. He quickly issued instructions to all prefectures and prefectures across the country, requiring them to complete the collection of free money within a time limit, and sent supervisory officials there. Strictly assess the work progress of various prefectures and link it to officials' performance and promotion.

Soon, tens of millions of free husband's money were gradually transferred to the Jingfu room.

Cai Jing was worried about Wang Fu's establishment of Jingfufang!

Although Cai Jing has retired from office, he still pays close attention to the major events of the Zhao and Song Dynasties.

When Cai Jing heard that the Zhao and Song Dynasties were levying husband-free money on a per-capita basis across the country, he couldn't help crying.

Both Wang Fu and Cai Jing were selected by Zhao Ji to serve as prime ministers because of their good financial management, but their financial management concepts and methods were very different.

Cai Jing mainly used various means to get money from rich people and businessmen, with many tricks and clever techniques.

Wang Fu, on the other hand, collects money from all members of society regardless of category, using simple and crude methods.

On this day, Cai Jing entered the palace and said to Zhao Ji: "I heard that there is now an economic support room in the three provinces, and everyone has to pay free money to it. Is this true? Isn't this taking money from the people's rice bowls? ? This is not the right way and will damage the image of the official family. The saintly benevolence of the official family has spread to the world, but the ministers of the court did not think about the official family, nor did they think about the Song Dynasty."

Zhao Ji remained silent after hearing this.

Zhao Ji already knew that in order to complete the task targets issued by the Economic and Financial Bureau and obtain political achievements, officials in some places forced the people to pay, causing public resentment to boil.

Therefore, levying husband-free money is indeed a policy that harms the people.

But the boat has already been made, and the raw rice has been cooked. No matter how much Zhao Ji wants to make corrections, it is already too late...

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