Chapter 462 Loyal or Treacherous?

But they said that in Bianjing City, Dai Zong and Shi Qian were running all the way. They did not go to the store to settle down, but went straight to the East Hall Privy Council. Tong Guan, who inquired about it, had not been in the office today, so they turned around and headed straight to Tong Guan's house.

Shi Qian stepped forward and sang to the sergeant guarding the gate. He took out the waist card that Tong Guan had given him and said, "Sir, please report to the Prime Minister that there is a war in Liangshan Prefecture." After saying this, he took out one or two taels. The broken silver was put into the hands of the sergeant.

The sergeant weighed the money in his hand and said with a smile, "Wait here."

After passing through the gate, the cadre, and the general manager, they entered the palace commander's house. The two of them bowed four times, bowed and sang a song, and then they all stood up and stood aside.

Tong Guan pointed at Shi Qian and said, "I remember you, General Zhao Ze of Liangshan Prefecture. Who is this next to you?"

Shi Qian reported: "Prime Minister, the villain Shi Qian. This brother's surname is Dai Mingzong, and he can travel eight hundred miles a day. The two of us have been ordered to send military information."

"Why, there's trouble in Qingzhou again?"

Dai Zongdao: "The city of Yizhou was destroyed, and the prefect was beheaded..."

"Where are the official documents?"

The supervisor on the side quickly handed it over.

Tong Guan read it hurriedly and breathed a sigh of relief: "Fortunately, there was no big trouble. Zhao Jiedu envoy said in a statement that the formation beheaded three thieves. Have you brought the heads?"

The capital said: "The prime minister is outside."

Tong Guan nodded and said: "I already know everything about this matter. You two should not go anywhere else, just wait for each other in the mansion. Guan Li, please arrange for them to stay until I enter the palace to report to the Ming officials." , let’s talk again.”

Not to mention that Dai Zong and Shi Qian stayed in Tong Guan's house for several days before meeting Tong Guan again.

It is only said that Tong Guanxiu took the official document, took three heads, sat in a warm sedan, and went straight to the palace.

On the way, he asked the bearer to change the route and go to the Sanya Taiwei's Mansion first.

Seeing Tong Guan, Gao Qiu asked, "Where is the Prime Minister?"

Tong Guan handed the official document to Gao Qiu and said, "Please take a look at it, Lieutenant Commander."

Gao Qiu took the official document casually. As the document unfolded, Gao Qiu's expression suddenly changed and he lost his voice: "My brother Gao Feng is gone?"

Tong Guandao: "My condolences, Captain."

Gao Qiu was furious: "Hu Yanzhuo is useless."

"It's really hateful that Zhao Ze didn't save him until he died."

Tong Guandao: "Lieutenant, in the cold weather, Qingzhou thieves came in the snow, and no one was prepared for it. That's why Zhao Jiedu of Liangshan went to rescue him in the snow, which is considered to have done his best. Now he wrote a letter and sent someone to report. The imperial court only sent it to me first because my father-in-law came from my family."

"After receiving the memorial, I came to look for the Taiwei. There were three heads of thieves outside, which can be regarded as a small revenge. The messenger complained to me that in order to save Yizhou, countless soldiers and horses were lost, and he asked the court to allocate a group of war horses. He also asked the imperial court to send people to garrison, and he wanted to return to Liangshan to take care of the soldiers. "

Gao Qiu said: "After all, we are separated by one layer. I don't want to be loyal to the court, but only think about preserving my strength. He will not come forward if he is hurt. He takes in Lin Chong, Chen Xizhen and others. I haven't found him yet."

Tong Guandao: "He is just a man from a rough background. He is a gangster, greedy for money and lust. If he can send troops to Yizhou, it is considered his intention. Does the Taiwei have any ideas?"

Gao Qiu said: "Years ago, during the imperial court, the prime minister asked for an order to mobilize a large army to annihilate Tianhu in Hebei in the coming year. Now we want to annihilate Songjiang in Shandong instead. I am afraid that hundreds of officials will slander and the officials will suspect that we have abolished the public affairs for private purposes. However, If you don't kill Song Jiang, you can't eliminate the hatred in my heart. What can the prime minister teach me?"

Tong Guandao: "Lieutenant, it is not difficult to send troops. Tianhu's rebellion is also a trouble for the elbows and armpits. Going north to connect with the Liao Kingdom will cause even greater disasters. The selection and deployment of the forbidden army has been completed. We will only go out in the spring of the next year. We must not change it. We must pay attention to the current plan. We need to go down to the state capital to select capable generals to go and conquer. As a plan, the Imperial Concubine Murong also deeply hated Song Jiang for killing her brother. If you say small things in front of you, as long as the officials are unwilling to implement the policy of recruiting peace, there is nothing to fear from the officials. "

Gao Qiu said: "They are all this group of literati, who are always looking for peace. There are ten festivals in the past, and they are all here to bring peace. Although many of them have made great contributions to the country, either conquering Guifang, conquering Xixia, and annexing Jin, Liao and other places. , but they are all unruly and cannot be easily mobilized. What is the use of these people? We must not add another Song Jiang. "

The two discussed in secret for a long time, and then went to the Taishi Mansion to discuss the matter.

Then, Tong Guan first went to the palace to report to Emperor Daojun, preparing to tell Song Jiang of Qingzhou to break through the city of Yizhou, kill the magistrate Gaofeng, and plunder the treasury.

The emperor said: "This bandit is a serious problem and must be eliminated. If you want to conquer Tianhu, Qingzhou really can't take care of it. What should we do?"

Tong Guandao: "The official family can invite the grand master, the three yamen Taiwei, etc. to come to the palace to discuss the matter."

The emperor said: "Now there is only a memorial from General Ningyuan, the pioneer of the Eastern Capital, Zhao Ze, who is close to the state capital. Don't you know? Wait a minute and see if it is true or false."

After hearing this, Tong Guan bowed and left.

At night, the emperor stayed at Concubine Murong's house. Seeing that the emperor was unhappy, Concubine Murong asked: "Guan family, New Year's Day is approaching, why are you so upset?"

The Emperor said: "Qingzhou Songjiang broke through the state capital and plundered the place, so we are worried. They say that the world is peaceful, but there are four major bandits. It is very ridiculous."

"In the official family, Taizong's literary and military strategy, Wang Xiaobo and Li Shun also rebelled. There are always desperate people with unsatisfied desires. For a moment, it is just a scabies disease. There are many people in the court who are accustomed to fighting, so they send troops to destroy them. How difficult can it be? If we don’t kill one person to serve as a warning to others, who will take the imperial court seriously?”

Seeing that the emperor was not in high spirits, Concubine Murong did not dare to say anything and only came to persuade the officials to drink deeply.

Two days later, Tong Guan went to the palace again and sent a memorial from Leyao, the magistrate of Feixian County, and Qiu Hao, the magistrate of Chengxian County, saying that Qingzhou thieves were ferocious and refugees were everywhere in Yizhou Prefecture, so he asked the court to send people to help.

After seeing this, the emperor said angrily: "Such a cruel thief cannot be recruited. It's just that this thief has been causing harm for a long time. Who can stop him?"

Tong Guandao: "The former Hu Yanzhuo led the army to conquer and won three battles in a row. Later he fought with the thieves at the border of Laizhou. Because it was too cold to use troops, he retreated to Fengfu. The former asked the court to dispatch reinforcements and asked the artillery bureau deacon to lead the army with high spirits. The artillery has not set off because of the cold weather. Now that Song Jiang is rampant, we should choose talented people to go and suppress it. "

The Emperor said: "Zhao Ze of Liangshan Prefecture has made great contributions in recovering the city and killing enemy generals. How about letting him lead the army to conquer?"

Tong Guandao said: "In the previous memorial, many soldiers and horses were injured in the Zhao observation envoy's memorial, which was said to be unfit for battle."

The emperor said: "Just give him a batch of war horses. The soldiers will be raised for the whole winter and have a rest. If you give them more rewards, their morale will naturally be high."

After saying this, the emperor taught the grand master Xuan, the three yamen Taiwei, and the chief officer of Yushitai all came to give advice.

Taishi Cai said: "The officials have decided to launch a spring expedition to exterminate Tianhu. I thought that Hu Yanzhuo could defeat Song Jiang. But now it seems that it cannot be subdued without heavy troops. Because of my foolishness, I don't need to ban the army, and only mobilize the next few troops." Chuzhou Prefecture went to carry out a sweep, and several large armies went together to make him unable to look at each other, so that he could win. "

Gao Qiu also said: "Song Jiang's group has repeatedly committed great evils. They robbed cities, looted warehouses, and gathered evil gangs. They killed the officers and soldiers, caused trouble in Yizhou, and occupied Qingwei. They killed all the officials and people, and stored all the warehouses. He has been taken prisoner and has become a serious problem. He will be killed this morning."

The emperor asked: "Where can I lead my troops?"

Gao Qiu said: "Gao Lian in Gaotang Prefecture, mounted his horse to manage the army, dismounted his horse to manage the people, mastered the art of Taoism, and combined the troops and horses of Zizhou, they can form a road. Then Zhao Ze of Liangshan Prefecture was asked to reorganize the troops and horses, and started from Yizhou Send out troops. If the three armies go together, they can destroy Song Jiang. Even if they can't defeat him, they can prevent him from invading the prefecture. When the privy envoys destroy Tian Hu, the army will be able to destroy Song Jiang. "

Tong Guandao: "Gaotang Prefecture is easy to talk about, but Liangshan Prefecture requires more rewards to stabilize his mind."

After listening to the report, Taiwei Yang said: "How dare Liangshan Prefecture be so arrogant and arrogant. All kindness comes from the superior, how can we be so indulgent?"

Tong Guandao said: "Liangshan Prefecture has indeed made meritorious service. Now the soldiers have suffered great damage, so the imperial court has to send troops to replace them. It cannot be said that they are arrogant based on their merits. It would be best if the Taiwei is recommended by someone to replace him."

Taiwei Yang said: "I won't tell you anything else. I just say that Tokyo is in charge of the Eighth Route Army Prefecture. Each has an army of 10,000. We only need the commander of the army and horse department to lead it. The Qingzhou thieves can't be captured easily."

Cai Jing said: "No, it is not yet time to use Tokyo to take charge of the military state. These places must defend Bianjing and cannot be touched lightly. In Liangshan Prefecture, just spending some money and weapons can drive their people into battle to kill the enemy. . As Captain Gao said, the three lines of officers and soldiers are enough to deal with it."

Cui Jing, the imperial censor, said: "Having said that, now that Yizhou is out of chaos, we should send officials there."

Tong Guandao said: "It is natural to select officials. Now that Yizhou is not in peace, many people have excuses to shirk the appointment. The official department has not been fully selected yet. They are all under military control in Liangshan."

Cui Jing said: "How loyal is this person? How can we let him supervise Yizhou? No one in the court dares to go?"

Cai Jing said: "The Ministry of Civil Affairs has started to select people. Now that Zhao Kuanshi has made a contribution, why not give him a temporary assignment to reassure him, and then order the Ministry of Civil Affairs to quickly send people to serve in the counties of Yizhou."

"Furthermore, it would be best if we can use his power to wipe out the Qingzhou thieves. At that time, the privy envoy returned from conquering Tian Hu, and if he was exempted from his mission and given more gold and silver, I understand that he would not dare to rebel."

After the plan was settled, the emperor immediately issued the imperial edict and commissioned Gao Qiu to send officials from the Provincial Court to carry the imperial edict and go to Gaotang Prefecture and Liangshan Prefecture separately.

Everyone bowed and retreated, leaving Cai Jing alone to play the duel.

The emperor asked: "Grand Master, is Liangshan Prefecture loyal?"

Cai Jingdao: "A great traitor looks like a loyal person. He looks simple and wild on the outside, but hides cunning and deceit in his heart. This man was born in the countryside, has a rough temper, is greedy for money and lust, and is useful but not trustworthy. Nowadays, when employing people, they reward gold, silver and beauties more to slow them down." Heart. Once the time comes, and the high officials and generous salaries attract the support of Bianjing City, it will naturally be no problem for the troops under his command to be distributed everywhere. "

"This is the advice of an old man to seek the country." said the emperor.

"Qingzhou Songjiang occupies the state capital, but he has never established an organization to honor him, unlike Tian Hu. The grand master thought that he could recruit troops and use them to conquer Tian Hu."

Cai Jing pondered for a moment and said: "That's what the officials said. It's just that now it is powerful and rampant. For the future, even if it recruits troops, it should be after a great victory."

The emperor heard this and nodded.