After receiving the summons, Zhao Mengqi rushed to the palace.
In fact, he already knew the news from Fujian as soon as it was reported to the court.
Even though he rarely attended court meetings and rarely went into the city, the disturbances in the court could not be hidden from his eyes and ears.
What's more, he had been in contact with Uncle Xie Fang. When Uncle Xie Fang urgently reported to the court, he naturally also sent him a personal letter.
The letter said, "Although the veteran focused on Liuqiu and what His Highness told him, he did not ignore the civil affairs in the road. As the summer tax was levied, he also strictly ordered that no exploitation should occur in various places and that poor families should not be harsh. Ning Before the riot in Ninghua, all official exchanges were normal and no signs were found. When the chaos broke out in Ninghua, the old minister was very shocked and immediately ordered Zhang Yanran to try to control the situation and sent five hundred left-wing troops to go."
The Left Wing Army was established during the Shaoxing period. At that time, bandits were frequent in the border areas of Fujian, Guangdong and Jiangxi, and the troops sent by the court could not effectively combat them. Therefore, powerful militia groups and local troops were gathered together, and some stationed forbidden troops were mixed and established.
Institutionally, it is subordinate to the Dianqian Division and is a regular army of the imperial court. Officials are also dispatched by the imperial court. However, in fact, the finance is raised and supported by the local government and accepts the control of the pacification envoys. The members of the army are mainly from Fujian area and are aimed at Maintaining local security obviously had the characteristics of the local army, while the imperial court controlled the army through personnel appointments and command and dispatch, diluting the local color.
In the early days of its establishment, the left-wing army's combat effectiveness was still very strong. Not only did it suppress various local rebellions, it was even repeatedly dispatched to other battlefields by the court to participate in the battle against the Jin soldiers.
However, after the Kaixi Northern Expedition, the left-wing army also suffered heavy losses and its strength was severely damaged. It never recovered its strength. Instead, it had to rely on the Huai Army to quell the chaos in Fujian, and its combat effectiveness was increasingly reduced.
After Uncle Xie Fang took charge of Fujian, he focused on rectifying the military, weeding out the bad and selecting the best, and expanded the left-wing army's original strength of 5,000 to 8,000. The improvement in combat effectiveness was still significant.
Starting from March, Uncle Xie Fang followed Zhao Mengqi's instructions and began to send troops to land on Liuqiu Island to establish a development base and further understand the situation in Liuqiu.
So far, more than 3,000 left-wing troops have been sent to the island, leaving more than 4,000 to garrison Fuzhou, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, Tingzhou and Jianzhou respectively.
The number of people left in Quanzhou, including the navy, was less than 2,000, and Tingzhou originally had 300 people, so Uncle Xie Fang's sending of 500 reinforcements was the limit after weighing it.
Even though the Ninghua County rebels claimed to have more than 10,000 troops, they were all a mob. As long as they were dealt with properly, hundreds of regular troops with armor and weapons would be enough to deal a fatal blow to them.
Therefore, a total of 800 regular troops, even if they cannot annihilate the rebellion, can certainly control the momentum of the rebellion.
It stands to reason that local officials and powerful people should be familiar with dealing with such a common rebellion. Uncle Xie Fang did not pay much attention to it. He just felt that there must be something wrong with the Ninghua County Government and wanted to wait until the chaos subsided. Carefully review and deal with relevant officials.
But what he didn't expect was that after only four or five days of dispatching reinforcements, bad news was coming one after another from various places before they even reached Longyan.
Then, Uncle Xie Fang found that after leaving Quanzhou City, his official documents and orders were as if they were lost in the sea. There was no response at all, and all information from various places was interrupted.
For a time, Quanzhou City seemed to have become an isolated island. Therefore, Uncle Xie Fang had no way to gain a deeper understanding of the situation and could only muddle through and seek help from the court.
"... Such a situation is too mysterious. The veteran believes that this matter is not sudden, but has been planned for a long time, and the intention is very big. In this matter, the participation of local forces in Fujian is absolutely indispensable, so it is difficult for the veteran to distinguish who can I don’t know if there are any of their accomplices in the court, please be cautious, and also remind the officials and the central government to make careful decisions!”
"...The old minister is incompetent and has failed the official family and His Highness to trust him. He only wants to live and die with Quancheng..."
After reading Uncle Xie Fang's letter, Zhao Mengqi couldn't help but smile bitterly. He was still careless!
In fact, he knew that his political opinions would harm the interests of the bureaucratic landlord class, so he adopted relatively moderate methods, using force to intimidate and exchange interests, and gradually and slowly implement reforms.
Take the Jingjie Law as an example. Even though it was implemented smoothly and successfully in Pingjiang and Jiaxing, he did not intend to spread it across the country.
First of all, he understood that the most important thing about policies is implementation. Only by strictly controlling the implementation process can we avoid the occurrence of the crooked monk reciting the good scriptures bad.
Secondly, he planned to boil the frog in warm water and implement it in a small area, so that even if an accident occurs, it can be controlled within a limited range and can be properly handled.
To put it bluntly, even if all the powerful people in a state rebelled, Zhao Mengqi was confident that he would eradicate them all.
But these frogs were much sharper than he thought, and they didn't plan to react until the situation came to an end. They also knew that he was difficult to deal with, so they didn't make any small moves, tests, or negotiations, but just played with it. A big one.
Thinking about it now, it seems unbelievable to use a local government to hold the central government hostage, but it is indeed something these people can do.
More than 20 years later in history, Pu Shougeng, a foreigner, took control of Quanzhou and massacred and eradicated the anti-Yuan and clan forces and reduced the Yuan Dynasty.
This may seem like Pu Shougeng's shameless behavior, but it is actually the collective choice of local forces. In the eyes of these people, the interests of individuals and families always come first, and the country and nation are like papyrus. leave.
This time, I don’t know how long they had been planning carefully, but they chose the right time to strike. After digging the hole, they were waiting for Zhao Mengqi to jump in.
Even if Zhao Mengqi is unwilling to jump, they will definitely have a way to push Zhao Mengqi into the pit.
The carriage carried Zhao Mengqi into Lin'an City, and soon turned onto Yu Street. There was a strange sound of selling newspapers outside. It was not the crisp sound of a newsboy, but the roar of an adult.
"Sell newspapers. For just one penny, you can learn about the world's major events!"
"The latest urgent report is that riots have broken out throughout Fujian. Many states and counties have been captured by rebels and thieves. Hundreds of thousands of thieves are coming fiercely. Quzhou is in serious danger!"
"There is a great urgency, a great urgency! If the court does not handle it properly, the country will not be protected!"
"In times of crisis, only His Highness King Yan can be the pillar of strength!"
"According to the analysis of knowledgeable people, the officials are old and the prime ministers are weak, so they may not be able to do anything in the face of the crisis. At this time, there is an urgent need for wise and powerful people to take charge in order to save the people!"
After this sentence penetrated into Zhao Mengqi's ears, he became more certain that all this was coming for him.
Immediately, he ordered the accompanying bodyguard to buy a tabloid, but the bodyguard brought back four or five different copies.
Zhao Mengqi was not surprised, and just shook his head speechlessly.
Change is never easy. No matter how bad the original thing is, if you want to replace it, you will hurt the vested interests and make them your enemies.
In fact, taking the newspaper industry as an example, it is not that Zhao Mengqi did not provide future options for relevant practitioners. For example, vendors can resell Tianxia Daily, and craftsmen can go to the workshops in the new city to find employment.
The proprietors of newspaper shops are basically wealthy people. It is not impossible to change careers, but it is precisely these people who are the least willing to change.
As for those informants, they were originally making profits through illegal activities. If they were not held accountable, they would be let off.
Sighing in his heart, Zhao Mengqi browsed through these tabloids.
It can't be considered all nonsense, but it is 70% true and 30% false. It publishes the problems faced by the court, the situation in various places, etc. This is nothing. Anyway, Tianxia Daily also has relevant reports, but the tabloids cleverly exaggerate it. Then some specious and coherent comments and analysis are used to create a sense of the crumbling society.
They seem to have only one theme, "If King Yan doesn't come out, how can the world be safe?" '
At first glance, it seems that King Yan is building momentum for himself, and even seems to be trying to seize power.
Haha, this group of people is quite well prepared, and I don’t know what other tricks are coming, but this matter is really tricky.
Zhao Mengqi threw the tabloid casually on the floor of the carriage.
Qian Long stepped forward to clean up, took a few glances, and then asked softly, "Your Highness, do you want to send someone to sweep these tabloids?"
"After sweeping away those on the surface, more will emerge from the secret. These people are just tools." Zhao Mengqi curled his lips and thought for a while, "Tell Lu Derun and Mo Chun to cooperate with them in keeping an eye on these tabloids. Let’s see if we can follow the clues and catch the mastermind behind the scenes.”
This kind of small fish and shrimp is not worth the extra effort. If you really struggle with it, it will play into the hands of those people. As long as the root cause is destroyed, it will naturally disappear.
Immediately, Zhao Mengqi leaned back on his chair and closed his eyes to rest, silently thinking in his mind how to deal with the current situation.
Not long after, Zhao Mengqi's chariot and horse team arrived at Hening Gate. After a brief inspection, the carriage drove directly into the imperial city, while the guards could only wait outside the city gate.
Inside the Chongzheng Hall, the ministers were still racking their brains to find the troops to suppress the rebellion, but they could only cobble together more than a thousand troops.
Then they heard a cry from outside the palace, "His Royal Highness, King Yan, has been summoned to appear before you!"
Everyone turned around and saw King Yan walking into the palace gate, wearing a plain white crane cloak, no turban or hat, just a ponytail, looking casual and carefree.
This outfit that was incompatible with the environment made the ministers feel sluggish. They couldn't help but think of the last time they saw King Yan dressed like this. It seemed that it was when he was trying to choose a clan.
Dressed like this, at that time it looked empty, light and nondescript, but now King Yan is not only handsome and elegant, but also majestic and full of force...
When Zhao Guan's family saw that their son was so out of tune, they seemed numb and had no intention of scolding him.
"I think you should know something, so I won't talk nonsense and tell you what you want."
Zhao Mengqi looked very relaxed, "There are no requirements for serving the country, but you must have the authority to do things."
"Okay, I'll give you Zhang Junguo Shi, Yu Shi Dafu, and Fujian Jiedu Envoy."
Zhao Guanjia was also unambiguous, and even granted the empty post of Jiedushi.
A true Jiedushi integrates military, civil and financial affairs into one body, and thus has the conditions to separate one party from another. The Song Dynasty learned from the lessons of the previous dynasty and actually abolished this position and only awarded it to meritorious officials as an honorary title.
However, it doesn't matter if it is actually awarded to Zhao Mengqi. As the crown prince, he can't give up the real throne and just carve out a piece of land to become a local emperor.
This power is definitely enough, but Zhao Mengqi shook his head, "Not only Fujian, but also the southern part of Zhejiang Road, Jiangnan West Road, and Guangnan East Road. I want it."
Seeing their son's big mouth, Zhao Guan's family was not excited, but just confused, "Why?"
"Although there is gangsterism only in Fujian at the moment, I think the places bordering it are also uneasy. Since we have to do something, we should plow the place all at once!" Zhao Mengqi looked matter-of-fact.
Zhao Guan's family didn't think much about it, "Okay, here you go, you will be given the title of Military Envoy to the Southeast to control all areas where banditry occurs!"
As soon as these words came out, many ministers wanted to dissuade him, but they opened their mouths and then shut up. Especially some people were afraid that if they vetoed this request, King Yan would have an excuse to get rid of this task.
