Chapter 35 Attack and Defense

"Hahaha...Zhang Jun Shou is indeed loyal.��

The main hall of the palace.

Zhang Kang stood at the bottom of the steps, with a bloody head in a wooden box under his feet, his eyes wide open.

It was none other than Du Ming.

He really followed his promise and killed Du Ming.

Zhao Xu immediately ordered Chang Wei to take over Dujiawubao.

From then on, only the Zhang family remained of the three families of Zhang, Huang and Du that dominated Yan County.

Glancing at Du Ming's head, Zhao Xu couldn't help but feel a chill.

This is the barbarity and cruelty of this era.

Now, as the King of Yan, He had no way to retreat.

If he retreated, this wooden box might contain his head one day.

The main hall was silent, as if it was shocked by Du Ming's miserable appearance.

Liu Fu thought he was quite courageous, and he was silent at this time.

For the first time, he felt that he had embarked on a road of no return with Zhao Xu.

At the end of this road was his ambition, but it was also full of blood and killing.

"As the governor of Yan County, I can't sit idly by and watch Du Ming rebel. Please rest assured, Your Highness. In the future, I will serve the palace and protect Your Highness!" Zhang Kang bowed his head and spoke loudly, like a model of loyal ministers.

Zhao Xu felt like he had eaten a fly.

He just felt that Zhang Kang was terrible. He could abandon the Huang family and the Du family. What else could he not do?

Liu Fu looked at Zhang Kang and whispered in his ear: "Your Highness, I don't know what evil intentions this person has. It's better to kill him now to prevent future troubles. "

"..." Zhao Xu clenched his fists, somewhat tempted.

But Zhang Kang had made great contributions this time, if he killed him rashly, it would surely cause criticism in the court.

After all, the Huang and Du families were destroyed because they intended to rebel.

And Zhang Qian was dead, even if he brought up the last assassination, Zhang Kang could blame it on Zhang Qian.

Besides, he had no evidence.

Zhang Kang noticed that Liu Fu's eyes were unfriendly, and his heart tightened.

He said in a loud voice: "Your Highness, I received a letter from my father-in-law the day before yesterday, and learned that Your Highness had recovered from his illness. He wanted to come to Yan County to pay a visit to Your Highness in the near future."

"Thank you for your concern, Governor Yuanzhou. I will definitely entertain you well when the time comes. "Hearing this, Zhao Xu stretched out his palms and had to give up the idea of ​​killing Zhang Kang now.

Although Yan County was his, he could not do whatever he wanted.

He had to consider the impact on the court when doing things.

After all, although Dasong was in decline, it was still standing.

The court system had not completely collapsed.

If he killed Zhang Kang for no reason, the Yuan family would definitely report him to Emperor Zhao Heng.

If things went wrong, it would be bad if his fiefdom was taken away and he was ordered to return to Beijing and be confined.

In Yan County, he had just established a basic base and was like a fish in water.

Back in the imperial city, he was like a fish trapped in a shallow shoal.

Thinking of this, he said: "Come here, reward the governor of Zhang County with a thousand taels of silver and a hundred pieces of brocade."

"Thank you, Your Highness. "A smile welled up in Zhang Kang's eyes.

He was sure that with the wisdom of the King of Yan, he would not ignore the Yuan family.

Zhang Kang received the reward and left. Liu Fu immediately snorted, "No wonder Zhang Kang is so indifferent. It turns out that he relies on the Yuan family behind him."

When Zhao Xu thought of the Yuan family, he felt a little uncomfortable.

The Zhang family, the Huang family, and the Du family are just small powerful families in Yan County.

And the Yuan family is a behemoth in Yanzhou.

The officialdom and commerce in Yanzhou are basically in the hands of the Yuan family.

It can be said that they are the real local emperors in Yanzhou.

In addition, the court is increasingly unable to control the local powerful families.

The power of the Yuan family in Yanzhou is steadily expanding.

Although it is not as good as the eight powerful families of Wang, Dou, Ma, Han, Liang, Fan, Xie, and Xiao.

But it also has a place in the court of Dasong.

Emperor Zhao Heng took the eldest daughter of the Yuan family as his concubine, which is enough to show that the Yuan family It has become a force that even the royal family cannot ignore.

Considering this, he gave up the plan to kill Zhang Kang rashly.

Otherwise, the officials of the Yuan family would definitely attack him in the court.

And his relationship with Emperor Zhao Heng is like Schrödinger's cat, it is hard to tell whether it is good or bad.

Between abolishing the prince and offending the powerful minister, Zhao Heng might choose the former.

"Your Highness, Zhang Kang is backed by the Yuan family, but you are backed by the royal family. This layer of interests is beneficial if used, and harmful if abandoned. I think it is necessary for Your Highness to maintain the father-son relationship with the emperor, even if it is superficial harmony, so as not to be alone. "After frowning and thinking for a while, Liu Fu said slowly.

Zhao Xu nodded. Feng'er had already reminded him of this matter.

Now that the Huang family and the Du family have been destroyed, the situation in Yan County has completely turned to him.

It is indeed necessary to plan in the capital.

As he was thinking, someone suddenly came to report that Chang Wei was back.

He immediately let Chang Wei in.

"Your Highness, I have taken over the Huang and Du family forts. How to deal with more than 2,000 members of the Huang family and more than 3,000 members of the Du family, I hope Your Highness will make it clear." Chang Wei clasped his fists, his voice loud.

Zhao Xu smiled and said, "How to deal with these people is not up to me, but the people. You will take the two families to the East Market, summon the people of Yan County, and let the people judge. The innocent will be dispersed and relocated to other places to farm, and the guilty will be sentenced. "

Chang Wei and Liu Fu looked at each other and were both stunned. They had never heard of this method of judging a crime.

Liu Fu thought about it and understood the key point.

Let the people trample the powerful families who once trampled on them.

They will be grateful to the King of Yan after they have vented their anger and taken revenge.

And they will follow the King of Yan even more closely for fear that the powerful families will make a comeback.

"Your Highness is wise." Liu Fu praised almost flatteringly.

Chang Wei hadn't come to his senses yet, but the army only needed to obey orders, so he nodded.

Zhao Xu continued: "As for the private soldiers of the two families, if they don't want to join the army, they can leave. Those who join the army will be given the same salary. The land of the two families will be taken back to the palace and redistributed to the people."

"Yes, Your Highness." Liu Fu responded.

The land matters need to be handled by him.

They left.

Zhao Xu sent people to give some rewards to the Dong family, the Yang family and the Lu family.

After all, the three families' military operations greatly strengthened the power of the palace.

And the palace was well fed by the confiscation of the property of the Huang family and the Du family.

According to Liu Fu's estimate.

The land of the Du and Huang families added up to more than 600,000 acres.

There are more than 80,000 households in Yan County who are vassals of the two families.

This does not include the mines, shops and stored grain of the two families.

Just in cash, more than 500,000 taels have been found now, which greatly eased the finances of the palace.

Everyone dispersed.

Zhao Xu paced back to the backyard.

Feng'er and Luan'er were sitting in the pond peeling lotus pods.

Seeing Zhao Xu coming, they held the peeled lotus seeds and brought them to Zhao Xu.

"Your Highness, try it. It's fresh and sweet." Feng'er generously picked up a lotus seed and stuffed it into Zhao Xu's mouth.

"Well, it's delicious." Zhao Xu was in a good mood at this time and couldn't help laughing.

Luan'er said: "As the saying goes, people are refreshed when they are happy. Your Highness recovered from his illness and laughed so happily for the first time."

"That's right. From now on, Yan County will really be your Highness's Yan County. The Zhang family can't make much waves." Feng'er looked at Zhao Xu with little stars in her eyes.

For them, the days of fear are over.

Now, Yan County really feels like their home.

Zhao Xu chewed the lotus seeds, bitter with sweetness.

Although the Zhang family is still there, the offensive and defensive situation is different.

Unlike before, his political orders are difficult to leave the palace.

From now on.

He can build his own fiefdom openly.

As for Zhang Kang, he will keep a close eye on him to see what tricks he plays.