Chapter 330 Liu Bowen’s Western Expedition Strategy
After three rounds of drinking, everyone was almost done eating.
Only then did Zhang Yangquan reveal his purpose and told the story of Liang Rong being bribed by Hangzhou businessmen and illegally promoting the children of those businessmen.
Liu Bowen twisted his beard and pondered for a while, then said: "Hangzhou is a big commercial city, and the businessmen there are very knowledgeable. I have handled several corruption cases in Hangzhou."
Zhang Yangquan frowned and said: "Who is the Tongzhi of Hangzhou?"
Liu Bowen said: "My name is Wang Qi. This person is not in cahoots with those businessmen, but he has a weak character and cannot control those businessmen in Hangzhou!"
The name Wang Qi was quite impressive to Zhang Yangquan. When he first arrived in the village, Wang Qi was one of the only scholars in the village. Like Guo Huan, he had been working beside Guo Niansheng.
Zhang Yangquan thought for a while and said: "Let Wang Qi go to Jiaxing Road to be a co-president, and let someone else manage Hangzhou. Does Mr. Liu have anyone to recommend?"
Liu Bowen smiled and said: "When I went to Taizhou to serve as an incognito, I found that the magistrate of Ninghai County in Taizhou was smart and capable. Among all the states and counties in Taizhou, only Ninghai County recovered the fastest!"
"Oh? What's the name of the county magistrate?"
"Yang Xian!"
Zhang Yangquan was stunned for a moment and said: "You mean Yang Xian?"
Liu Bowen nodded and said with a smile: "This man was originally a civil servant in Jiqing. He passed forty-nine in the second imperial examination and was appointed as the magistrate of Ninghai County."
Zhang Yangquan pondered secretly for a while, thinking that although Yang Xian deceived superiors and deceived inferiors when he later came to power, he was different from Hu Weiyong after all, so he said: "Okay, let him try it!"
Liu Bowen continued: "As for the Hangzhou businessman involved in this case, I think we should wait for a while!"
Zhang Yangquan's eyelids twitched: "Why?"
Song Lian said: "Your Majesty, most of the laws of our Jiangdu Army are still based on the Yuan Code. In the second year of the Yuan Dynasty, Boyan changed the Yuan Code once. The crime of bribery can be exempted with money. For those who pay bribes, it is almost considered a crime."
No punishment!"
Zhang Yangquan was shocked and said: "We should also formulate laws. How can we use Yuan Law again?"
Song Lian said sternly: "Your Majesty, it will take a long time to formulate new laws, and you also need to choose the right ministers to take charge. You must not rush for results, which will lead to a lot of loopholes in the laws."
Zhang Yangquan's heart trembled, he pondered for a while, and said: "As for the person who makes the law, do you two have a suitable person in mind?"
Song Lian and Liu Bowen looked at each other and said in unison: "Ma Siqing is proficient in the Code of Laws, so it is most appropriate for him to revise it."
Zhang Yangquan said "hmm" and said, "How long will it take?"
Song Lian said: "It will take several years."
Zhang Yangquan frowned and said: "Then until the revision is completed, we can only use Yuan Lv?"
Liu Bowen said: "We can first quickly revise a code based on the Tang Code for temporary use, and then let Ma Siqing slowly revise the new code, update it once a year, and transition slowly!"
Zhang Yangquan frowned and thought for a while, then asked: "What is the crime of bribery in Tang law?"
Song Liandao: "All crimes involving money in Tang law are collectively referred to as the 'six viscera', which are robbery, theft, breaking the law, not breaking the law, being imprisoned, and being imprisoned."
"The first two are crimes against property, and the last four are crimes set up for officials to commit dirty crimes."
"Bribery belongs to the category of dirty laundry. To seek perversion of the law, if you pay a bribe, you will be punished according to the law of one hundred rods, and then you will be punished according to the amount of the bribe."
Zhang Yangquan nodded slightly and said: "That's okay."
Liu Bowen hesitated for a moment and said: "Your Majesty, that General Liang in the army... I don't know how to deal with it?"
Zhang Yangquan waved his hand and said: "Liang Rong has been dealt with according to military regulations. The impact of his behavior is very bad. It must be dealt with as soon as possible without delay!"
Liu Bowen nodded and said no more.
Zhang Yangquan changed the subject and said: "Mr. Liu, do you think we have achieved internal stability?"
Liu Bowen understood what he meant and said, "Does your Majesty want to send troops to the west?"
"Exactly!" Zhang Yangquan said: "Many civil servants and generals have come to me to express their opinions on this matter, but my husband has never expressed his opinion. I want to hear your views!"
Liu Bowen was silent for a long time and said: "I think we should fight Zhu Yuanzhang first!"
Zhang Yangquan was stunned and asked: "Why?"
Liu Bowen did not answer directly, but asked: "I heard that Zhao Jun used to go to Jiangdu Mansion. I wonder if this is the case?"
Zhang Yangquan nodded: "It's true."
Liu Bowen said slowly: "Why does your Majesty think Zhao Junyong comes?"
"It should have been Liu Futong who sent him here to warn Zhu Yuanzhang!"
Liu Bowen smiled and said: "Does your Majesty think Zhao Junyong is suitable for such a thing?"
Zhang Yangquan's heart moved and he said: "What do you mean, sir?"
Liu Bowen smiled and said: "Zhao Junyong was already at odds with Zhu Yuanzhang. Liu Futong sent him here to remind Zhu Yuanzhang, which will only have the opposite effect!"
Zhang Yangquan looked thoughtful, his eyes flickered, and said: "Yes, Liu Futong seems to have other intentions!"
Liu Bowen added: "Zhu Yuanzhang seems to have a strong military front now, but in fact his foundation is unstable and there are many crises. This is why he came to join our army!"
Zhang Yangquan narrowed his eyes and said: "Mr. Liu, do you think Zhu Yuanzhang really wants to join our army?"
Liu Bowen said: "It should be 30% possible!"
Song Lian frowned and said, "I don't think so. Zhu Yuanzhang is very good at leading troops and has just won several victories. How could he surrender to others at this time?"
Liu Bowen glanced at him and said: "I just said that Zhu Yuanzhang's situation looks good, but in fact it is extremely dangerous. Zhu Yuanzhang is a far-sighted man, he should be able to see this, so it is not impossible to surrender to him for survival!" Zhang Yangquan was noncommittal and said: "Mr. Liu, since you think Zhu Yuanzhang may surrender, why do you propose to attack him first?"
Liu Bowen smiled and said: "In my opinion, Liu Futong also saw that Zhu Yuanzhang might surrender to our army, so he sent Zhao Jun over. On the surface, it was to warn him, but in fact, he deliberately forced Zhu Yuanzhang to surrender to us!"
Song Lian was shocked and said: "Forcing him to seek refuge with us? Why is that?"
Zhang Yangquan was also more confused and looked at Liu Bowen, waiting for his explanation.
Liu Bowen said slowly: "Actually, it's easy to explain. Liu Futong just wants an excuse!"
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Song Lian asked: "What excuse?"
Liu Bowen said: "An excuse to interfere in Jiangnan!"
Zhang Yangquan's eyes flashed, and he vaguely grasped the meaning of Liu Bowen's words.
Song Lian continued to ask: "Isn't Liu Futong on the Northern Expedition? How can he have time to take care of Jiangnan's affairs?"
Liu Bowen said leisurely: "I may not be able to take care of it at the moment, but as long as Mao Gui crosses the river and attracts the Yuan soldiers to withdraw to Hebei, Liu Futong will be able to intervene in the affairs of Jiangnan!"
Zhang Yangquan nodded in agreement.
For Liu Futong, the Northern Expedition was naturally important, but he did not dare to be careless in Jiangnan.
If during his Northern Expedition, a certain rebel army unified the south of the Yangtze River and stared at him from behind, how could he still go on the Northern Expedition with peace of mind?
So Liu Futong must prevent this from happening.
However, as the leader of the world's rebel armies, he cannot interfere in Jiangnan affairs without legitimate reasons.
Neither Jiangdu Army nor Tianwan Army agreed with him. Only Zhu Yuanzhang had a vassal relationship with Han and Song Dynasties.
Zhu Yuanzhang never went to Bianliang to pay homage. Now that he has grown up, he will not listen to his orders.
So he simply forced Zhu Yuanzhang to surrender to his side, and then he could use this matter as an excuse to ask Jiang Dujun for help.
It is naturally impossible for Zhang Yangquan to give in. When the time comes, Liu Futong will have a legitimate reason to intervene in the Jiangnan battle and prevent him or Chen Youliang from unifying Jiangnan.
I have to say that Zhang Yangquan did ignore Liu Futong.
Perhaps because of the failure of Liu Futong's Northern Expedition in the future, he never paid much attention to Liu Futong and valued Zhu Yuanzhang too much.
However, in Liu Bowen's eyes, Liu Futong's threat was obviously much greater than Zhu Yuanzhang's.
He wanted to eliminate Zhu Yuanzhang immediately, not because he was afraid of Zhu Yuanzhang, but just to give Liu Futong no excuse to interfere in Jiangnan.
Although he and Zhang Yangquan had different reasons, their strategies for dealing with Zhu Yuanzhang were the same.
Zhang Yangquan thought carefully for a moment and asked: "After capturing Zhu Yuanzhang, what do you think the next step will be?"
Liu Bowen laughed and said: "After destroying Zhu Yuanzhang, don't worry about Zuo Junbi and go straight to war against Tianwan's army!"
This statement fits Zhang Yangquan’s thoughts.
Zuo Junbi was arrogant, but his ambitions were not big. Moreover, his territory was all in the north of the Yangtze River, which did not affect the great cause of unifying the south of the Yangtze River.
"Sir, what strategy do you think is best for fighting against Cheonwan's army?" He asked again.
"The most important thing is to attack the heart!" Liu Bowen had obviously thought about it for a long time and quickly answered.
"How to attack the heart?" Zhang Yangquan asked again.
Liu Bowen smiled slightly and said: "Chen Youliang is a cruel and violent person who is unpopular and suspicious by nature."
"To deal with such a person, we only need to block his strong attack head-on, and then start from within, either to win over people, to spread rumors, or to use money to instigate rebellion, and the Tianwan Army will definitely be divided!"
"At that time, our army will send out a large army to attack in three directions. Within ten months, we can defeat Tianwan's army in one fell swoop and seize the land of Jiangxi and Huguang!"