According to the normal trajectory, Zhang Gen should have been reinstated long ago. Just because he recruited Ju Ming as his son-in-law, he is now the deputy training envoy of Jinzhou League.
Zhang Gen was tricked badly by Ju Ming!
In June, summer grain begins to arrive in the warehouse.
Zhang Gen went to Han Zhao, the magistrate of the state, and suggested: "Prefect, the number of thieves in Jinzhou counties is increasing day by day, so we must recruit rural soldiers to prevent chaos."
Han Zhao said: "Let each county recruit its own archers. There is no need to recruit rural soldiers to increase expenses."
"What if there is civil unrest? Archers can't prevent it." Zhang Gen expressed his worries.
Han Zhao tried his best to maintain a respectful attitude and said with a smile: "Brother Zhichang is worried too much."
Zhang Gen was very angry: "Since the imperial court decided to conquer the Liao Dynasty, Jinzhou has increased levies and purchases, bought money, and forcibly levied money for free husbands in various counties. The people are miserable, and there are many people who have broken their homes and fled.
How can we not recruit local soldiers to strengthen the defense when the roaring crowds gather into bandits?"
Han Zhao cried and said: "There is no money in the warehouse. Brother Zhichang, please don't talk anymore."
After another round of nonsense, Han Zhao sent Zhang Gen away.
As the deputy envoy of Tuanlian, Zhang Gen, like Biejia and Sima, usually had no real power and had to obtain the governor's permission before he could do anything.
When Zhu Ming was the governor of Jinzhou, he allowed Zhang Gen to prepare his troops and "purchase" brand new armor.
Zhang Gen took the opportunity to train 500 infantry soldiers. Although the food and salary were not sufficient, the soldiers could barely make ends meet.
After Han Zhao took office, the situation took a turn for the worse.
Because the magistrate did not take care of things very much, he started to withhold food and pay for joining the army. The 500 infantry soldiers of the army had to find work by themselves, and the newly purchased armor was put into the armament storehouse to eat ashes.
Now the imperial court wants to fight a war and orders all roads to transport money, food and equipment.
Han Zhao planned to organize the 500 Xiang Army infantrymen, together with other Xiang Army servicemen, into the Gang Army to escort various supplies to Xiangyang.
Zhang Gen worked hard to train for two or three years, but it was all in vain!
The government is conscripting merchant ships because there are too many things to transport.
The merchants were made miserable and missed the days when Ju Ming was the prefect.
No matter how powerful Zhu was, most of the time he was reasonable. He allowed them to transport grain to other places for disaster relief, and he also gave them a lot of rewards. The goods they left were tax-free, and he also ordered them to remove all kinds of illegal tax cards.
But now, this prefect Han seems to be a man of few things, but he doesn't regard merchants as human beings at all.
Without saying a word, they forcibly commandeered merchant ships and boatmen, without giving any compensation or telling when the ships would be returned. It is estimated that the goods they brought with them on their return voyage were also private goods shipped back to the prefect, and the profits gained had nothing to do with the merchants' half a dime.
…
A farmer was crossing the river by boat and asked about the location of the county government along the way.
When they finally arrived at the county government office and faced the government officials, the farmers were in a panic and did not dare to speak.
The clerk in charge of receiving the petition was not around, so he was slacking off. The official said angrily: "If you want to file a lawsuit against an official, beat the drum first and bring out the complaint!"
The farmer hesitated and said: "I...I have no complaint."
The official said: "If you don't have a complaint, get out of here. Don't come here to entertain me."
As the farmer retreated, he said: "I just wanted to ask if I could report the gangsters for rebellion without paying the free money? My family really has no money."
The impatient government official suddenly became energetic: "Who wants to rebel? Say it quickly!"
The farmer said: "I went to the mountains to collect herbs in the spring. Once I walked far and climbed to the top of the mountain to rest. I saw many people practicing, wearing iron armor and holding swords. They didn't look like bandits. I thought, I'm afraid
Someone wants to rebel."
"Which mountain and which village?" the government official asked hurriedly.
Although the farmer was frightened, there was a sly look in his eyes, and he asked again: "If there is really a rebellion, and I report and meritorious service, can I not pay the free money?"
"No, no, tell me quickly!" the government official urged.
The farmer began to hesitate. He was afraid that the government official would take away his credit, and he was also afraid that the government official's guarantee was empty words. Although he was frightened and uneasy, he still said bravely: "I...I want to see the official."
"Hey, you guys still don't believe me," the government official finally stood up, "Follow me in, and I will take you to see the official."
Why is the official so easy to meet?
Not to mention the county magistrate, the chief bookkeeper could not be seen. He only took the peasant to see the custodian.
The superintendent's name is Shao Yi, and he is having a headache at this time. He has almost completed the tax collection task assigned by the county magistrate, but only if he and his subordinates do not raise their hands.
It's impossible not to reach out, so the gap is still quite large.
"What are you doing here?" Shao Yi knew the government official.
The official came forward and whispered: "Someone wants to rebel."
"What?"
Shao Yi's hand holding the pen trembled, feeling both excited and scared.
If you are excited, you are very likely to perform meritorious service, and you may be promoted from a clerk to an official by suppressing the rebellion.
I am afraid that I am very likely to be unlucky. Nowadays, the government is imposing excessive taxes. If someone like Fang La appears, the heads of the county officials will have to be moved.
Shao Yi urged: "Please tell me the details quickly."
The farmer couldn't tell the difference between officials and officials, so he quickly told the truth: "I went into the mountain to collect herbs. When I climbed up from the cliff, I saw many people practicing."
Shao Yi asked: "Can I wear armor?"
The farmer nodded: "Put it on."
Shao Yi asked again: "Which township, which village and village is it specifically?"
The farmer said: "Renhe Township, Huizeli. It used to be called Tiehualiang, but later it became Tiemao Village..."
"Nonsense!"
Shao Yi interrupted directly and shouted angrily: "If you dare to make false accusations again, I will put you in jail and slap you on the wall!"
The farmer finally panicked: "I'm telling the truth..."
"Get out of here!" Shao Yi shouted.
The government officials were also frightened and picked up sticks to beat him.
The peasants were so frightened that they fled out of the county government office in panic. They did not stop until they ran out of the city and never dared to come back to report to the government.
The government official swallowed his saliva and said, "Tiemao Village...is...over there from Governor Zhu's iron smelting yard."
"Don't talk nonsense," Shao Yi quickly looked out the door and warned, "How could Prefect Zhu's people conspire against him? You are not allowed to say a word."
The official in front of the government office panicked and said, "I know, I know."
Shao Yi sent the government officials away, and the more he thought about it, the more something was wrong.
Over at the iron smelting yard, merchants were allowed to pass by in the past, but in the past year, the access to the mountain has been closed, saying they were afraid that the new iron smelting technology would be leaked.
Is Governor Zhu really going to rebel?
Shao Yi couldn't wait to get off work and immediately went to the state government office to look for Guo Wenzhong.
Guo Wenzhong was the second-in-command official in the state government. Like Shao Yi, he was promoted by Ju Ming himself.
"Brother Guo, come to my house. We have something important to discuss." Shao Yi said in a low voice when they met.
Guo Wenzhong didn't know what was going on, so he pretended as if nothing had happened and followed Shao Yi home.
Asking his wife to stay outside the study and not allowing anyone to approach, Shao Yi pulled Guo Wenzhong into the room: "Third brother, have you been to Iron Hat Village in the past year?"
Guo Wenzhong shook his head: "I've never been there, so how can I have so much free time?"
Shao Yi said: "A farmer came to complain to the officials, saying that he was going into the mountains to collect medicine and saw many people in Tiemao Village practicing. Soldiers and armor were ready!"
Guo Wenzhong's expression became serious and he thought of many doubtful things, but he still did not believe that the Zhu family and his son would rebel.
Shao Yi asked: "Should we inform the prefecture and county magistrate?"
Guo Wenzhong shook his head: "Don't talk nonsense. Even if...even if you really want to rebel, what good will it do to us? The credit belongs to the chief, how much can we get? If we really rebel and capture the city, you If I report it, I will be retaliated against, and I'm afraid that my life will be at risk. If I don't report it, given our relationship with the prefect, we might still be able to be promoted to official positions. Even if it fails and the sky falls, Prefect Zhu will be there to support us. I can find opportunities to recruit people as officials."
"It makes sense." Shao Yi was immediately convinced.
They have no future as civil servants and will stay like this for the rest of their lives.
Moreover, they have learned about Ju Ming's methods. If they don't rebel, once they rebel, they will definitely make a big fuss. If they go to report now, they will definitely die miserably afterwards. It is better to follow Ju Ming. No matter whether they succeed or not, they can act according to the situation.
To be continued...