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.
Liu Shiren is the head of Tiemao Village. Since the entrance to the village was closed, he often comes to the city to play and invites state and county officials for a drink from time to time.
Going into the city again, Liu Shiren invited Wang Jia for a drink, but unexpectedly Guo Wenzhong also came.
"Instead of going to the pub today, come to my house to taste the new wine!" Guo Wenzhong invited warmly.
Liu Shiren followed the good example and headed to Guo's house, waving his folding fan.
After a few glasses of wine, I started to ramble.
Guo Wenzhong winked quietly, and Wang Jia immediately encouraged him to drink.
"It's not elegant to drink like this. Drink slowly." Liu Shiren was not fooled and directly reached out to seal the wine glass. "Do you two have anything to say today?"
Wang Jia sighed: "I really miss Governor Zhu. Once he leaves, Jinzhou will be in ruins."
"Yes," Guo Wenzhong said with emotion, "I heard that the prefect is in charge of Guizhou, and I don't know when he will be restored. It would be great if he could come to Jinzhou to serve as an official again. Now this prefect Han seems to be approachable, but he is He is extremely difficult to get along with and always punishes us officials. He has no rules of his own, but he blames us for not doing things well."
Liu Shiren said with a smile: "How do I know when my husband will be resurrected? Just wait for the officials to calm down."
Wang Jia asked: "If the official family never calms down, won't the prefect have to stay in Guizhou for the rest of his life?"
Liu Shiren said: "Maybe so."
Guo Wenzhong asked: "The prefect has never thought about coming back?"
Liu Shiren suddenly became alarmed: "Why are you coming back?"
Guo Wenzhong deliberately revealed his secret: "Although the cliff in Tienmao Village is high, it is still possible to climb up. Brother Liu must leave someone on guard so that no one can spy on the new iron smelting method."
Liu Shiren had already understood, and he cupped his hands and said, "Thank you, Brother Guo, for reminding me that I usually arrange for someone to stand guard. I'm afraid someone happened to be on the run."
Guo Wenzhong said: "Whenever you need help, Brother Liu, just let me know."
"Definitely." Liu Shiren nodded and smiled.
After drinking the meal, Guo Wenzhong personally sent Liu Shiren out.
Returning to his room again, Wang Jia exclaimed: "It seems that the matter is true. I didn't expect Governor Zhu to have such thoughts."
Guo Wenzhong said: "Tiemao Village can make armor and sell some to the state. I don't know how much it has accumulated secretly. If you secretly train hundreds of elite soldiers, how can Jinzhou City be defended? What's more, it is the home of Zhu Taishou and his son. In Yangzhou, the soldiers there may be more well-trained. The officials in Yangzhou and Jinzhou are unprepared. Once we take action, the two states will fall. I am afraid that by then the entire Hanzhong will have the surname Zhu."
Wang Jia was actually a little excited: "Prefect Zhu might be able to become emperor."
"The spirit of the Song Dynasty is not exhausted." Guo Wenzhong shook his head.
But Wang Jia said: "No matter what he does, without Zhu Taishou, I am still looking at the gate, how can I be as prosperous as I am today? What's more, the world is in chaos, and there are frequent thieves in Jinzhou. Officials are still collecting taxes. If you want to make money, someone might rebel one day. Anyway, it’s a rebellion, and if Prefect Zhu rebels, we’ll be fine. If anyone else rebels and comes to the city, you and I will have our heads cut off."
Both of them are senior officials in the state government and are not directly involved in tax collection.
You definitely have to make money, but the main thing is to make filial piety money, or to get benefits from doing things for others.
They actually hate excessive taxation, because it is not conducive to making money in the long term, and may one day cause civil unrest.
Guo Wenzhong also thought about designing a trap to kill Zhu Guoxiang.
But Zhu Guoxiang has not been to Jinzhou for a long time. Even if Zhu Guoxiang can be killed, what will happen if Zhu Ming attacks? By then, everyone involved will definitely die!
Guo Wenzhong took a chance and said: "Perhaps these are just speculations. Tienmao Village is just practicing village bravery."
Also holding the same idea was Erlang Bai.
Zhang Guangdao mobilized too many villagers for military training. Although the training had been changed to every five days, Bai Chongwu, as the commander of Xixiang County, still vaguely heard some "rumors".
Bai Chongwu couldn't believe it and chose to pretend not to know, hoping that Zhu Guoxiang was just training troops to defend against bandits.
They are all trying to be a coward, trying to push things back as far as possible, and try to think of the best.
For example, Zhong Xiang has been preaching in Wuling County for more than ten years. He was cautious in the first few years, but gradually became too lazy to cover up.
The officials in Wuling County all pretended to be deaf and dumb, hoping that Prime Minister Zhong only wanted to make money and would not necessarily gather people to rebel. If they dared to break the window, they would force Prime Minister Zhong to rebel even if he did not!
