Tokyo.
The three-year scientific examination was finally over, and the emperor personally named the top three.
Immediately afterwards, a letter from the imperial censor stated that the four bandits were in trouble and people everywhere were devastated. The emperor was furious and rebuked the ministers for not being diligent in government affairs, which led to the rise of thieves and bandits everywhere.
"The thieves are causing chaos, and you are eating the emperor's salary and worrying about the emperor, why don't you put an end to the chaos?"
Zhao Ji was very angry. His dragon flag was stolen by Liangshan Bo Sun Lei, and he had already lost face. Now there are bandits from all directions making trouble. This is a slap in his face. Although he is not interested in national affairs, as a A big player values face very much.
"Your Majesty, the thieves are inciting the refugees to rebel. There are limited troops in various places. Your Majesty, please send troops to quell the rebellion!"
An official came out of work and saluted and said.
"How many troops and horses are needed?"
Zhao Ji waved his hand and asked impatiently. He wanted money to send troops, and what he lacked most was money.
Zhao Ji looked at Tong Guan, the privy envoy of the Song Dynasty. Zhao Ji always listened to Tong Guan on matters such as marching and fighting.
"At least 300,000 troops and horses are needed!"
Tong Guan left work with a serious face and said to Zhao Ji, clasping his fists.
"Three hundred thousand!"
Zhao Ji's expression changed greatly. Three hundred thousand soldiers and horses were not a small number for a man to eat. These many soldiers and horses were enough to fight a war with Xixia or Liao.
Above the court, Cai Jing and others looked at Tong Guan with squinted eyes. Why do we need 300,000 troops to wipe out some bandits? Everyone present knew Tong Guan. Tong Guan must have wanted to eat when he opened his mouth like a lion. The wages are empty. This bandit uprising is so powerful that it will be impossible to put it down in just one or two years. The empty wages are not a small sum of money.
"So many troops are needed to annihilate mere bandits?"
Zhao Ji said with some displeasure.
"Your Majesty, the Liangshan Po Sun Lei has been entrenched for a long time and is deeply entrenched. There are also water and natural dangers to resist. It is not easy to destroy it. How can it be destroyed without a large army? The defeat of the army in the past few times is a lesson."
"And the other three groups of thieves are also not good people. Hebei Tianhu went on the run, fabricated lies, and incited the ignorant people. Now they have conquered Weishengzhou and Biyang Mansion. It is said that they have 200,000 troops under their command!"
"Wang Qing of Huaixi has now captured Fangzhou, Jingnan and other places. The thieves in Huaixi have responded one after another. Now Huaixi is shaken. Wang Qing has more than ten thousand troops!"
"Among the four bandits, La from the south of the Yangtze River is the most vicious. Fang La has been spreading evil cults in the south of the Yangtze River all year round. Not long ago, he started an army. Those fools who were deceived started to cause chaos. The thieves hated the officials. After breaking through Hangzhou, they massacred the officials, cut their flesh, cut off their bodies, and took away their bodies. Their lungs and intestines may be boiled into ointment, shot through their bodies with random arrows, and tortured in various ways. It is simply heinous!"
Tong Guan still reported to Zhao Ji with a serious face.
"What?"
Zhao Ji and all the officials were shocked. They only knew that the four bandits in the world were making trouble. They never thought that the thieves would make such a big fuss. The one who frightened everyone the most was Fang La. They actually dared to torture and kill the imperial officials.
"There are such evil thieves in the world!"
Zhao Ji angrily patted the armrest of the dragon chair. Even if the thieves were causing trouble, they dared to kill the imperial officials. It was simply a heinous crime.
"Your Majesty, the evil thief Sun Lei brutally murdered my son. I am willing to lead troops to destroy Sun Lei!"
Seeing the emperor's anger, Gao Qiu immediately knelt down to the emperor with a sad face and asked him to fight.
"Are you willing to lead troops?"
Zhao Ji looked at Gao Qiu with some hesitation. Gao Qiu was just a companion he took when he was a prince. Because he was happy to serve him, he promoted him to a titular lieutenant. However, he knew Gao Qiu's ability very well. question, but leading troops in battle is really not his strength.
"Your Majesty, the hatred of killing my son is irreconcilable! I beg your Majesty to grant it!"
Gao Qiu kowtowed three times.
Tong Guan squinted his eyes and looked at Gao Qiu. He did not speak, but he was a little unhappy in his heart. He was going to take full control of the bandit suppression this time. With the help of the bandit suppression, he could accumulate a large number of soldiers, horses and wealth, which would play a vital role in regaining Yanyun. Can play a big role.
"Tong Xiang, the thieves have dispersed. I think it is better to mobilize troops on the spot. After all, Tokyo is the capital of the country and needs the imperial guards to defend it."
Li Gang, the living man at the end of the class, suddenly said.
After Li Gang took office and became a Jinshi in the second year, he managed to supervise the censor and serve as the censor in the palace of power. However, he was dismissed from his post as an admonisher due to his faults in discussing government affairs and was renamed as a minister wailang. daily life words and deeds.
"That's a good statement. It's better not to mobilize too many imperial troops. Aren't there still soldiers and horses in the area? It shouldn't be a problem to exterminate the thieves."
Zhao Ji smiled and said, although he doesn't like Li Gang, a guy who talks all day long, but what he said today is very popular with him. He doesn't need to spend too much money to kill the thieves in the local area.
"If the local soldiers and horses could wipe out the thieves, why would we be in this situation now?"
Tong Guan glared at Li Gang with cold eyes.
"In this case, it is better to join forces with the imperial army and local troops to fight against the enemy. This way we can avoid damaging the capital's defense."
Li Gang said with a smile, of course he knew that the thieves wanted to be exterminated, but he couldn't let Tong Guan take away 300,000 forbidden troops at once. What he said just now was just to pave the way for the future game. He didn't care about Tong Guan making money by eating empty pay in the army. very clear.
"His Majesty……"
Tong Guan looked at Zhao Ji, but Zhao Ji had a thoughtful expression on his face at this time. What Tong Guan wanted to say was not uttered in the end. He had followed Zhao Ji for many years and was the best at figuring out Zhao Ji's thoughts. At this time, Zhao Ji was obviously unwilling to transfer Tai. Many forbidden troops.
"Your Majesty, the local troops have limited combat power, so they may not be able to take on big responsibilities and follow in the footsteps of Liangshanbo."
Cai Jing saw that Tong Guan's face was not good, so he spoke at the right time and said that Tong Guan was very powerful now, and he still needed to make good friends and sell Tong Guan a favor.
"Why are these thieves so powerful? Our soldiers of the Great Song Dynasty can't destroy them!"
Zhao Ji said a little irritably.
"Your Majesty, the thieves are just some bandits and thieves. Although they have gathered to rebel, they are only a minor problem. It is better to send people to announce the order to appease them. They will be given brocade robes, silver belts, clothes, money, and promoted to official positions. Think of our great Song Dynasty. Soldiers!"
Lieutenant Su said when he left work, he also proposed the idea of recruiting people.
"Recruitment?"
Zhao Ji frowned and thought about it. In the past, there was only Sun Lei from Shandong, but now there are La from Jiangnan, Tian Hu from Hebei, and Wang Qing from Huaixi. All of a sudden, there are rebels from all directions. It would be too troublesome to eliminate them. Recruitment has become the best option. .
"The thieves slaughtered the imperial officials, and their rebellious intentions were clearly revealed. If you recruit such evil thieves with blood on their hands, how do you expect us to stand in this court? How do we face those colleagues who were killed by the thieves?"
After Gao Qiu's death, an official immediately came out and said, Gao Qiu and Sun Lei have a bloody feud. Gao Yanei and Gao Lian both died at the hands of Sun Lei. If Sun Lei recruits troops and becomes a court official, then Gao Qiu will still be there. What kind of face do you have to stand on top of Chaoban?
As soon as these words came out, the quiet court office immediately started to chatter, and all the officials were whispering to each other, all talking in low voices about the recruitment.
It would be fine if the thieves just attacked the city and killed some people, and it would be fine if they were recruited. But Sun Lei and Fang La slaughtered the court officials, which was unacceptable to them. Once this was opened, how could the safety of the officials be guaranteed in the future?
(End of chapter)
