Outlaws of the Marsh

Chapter 593

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Zhao Huan believed that now that the Jin army was approaching the city and could launch an attack at any time, the country and country were threatened with destruction at any time. If he could negotiate peace with the Jin people, he would be able to preserve his ancestral country, the country, and his own life. Therefore, It is imminent to get enough gold and silver, and he is already desperate for this.

Zhao Huan issued an imperial edict and said: "The number of military supplies needed by Dajin is huge, and the imperial court does its best to respond. If it is a sacrifice to the ancestral temple utensils, it does not dare to be stingy. As for the prince's family and the family of hundreds of officials, an order has been issued to provide all the assistance. I’m afraid it’s not enough. Loyal and righteous people, it’s appropriate for the country, and those who are willing to help the country with their private possessions will be sent to Nie Shan, Minister of the Ministry of household affairs, etc. within one day.”

Soon, Zhao Huan issued another edict, saying: "The gold, silver, silk and silk of the kings of Fanyan House, the officials of Taoist officials, music officials, tricks, etc., and the five officials, inspected the belts that were given to them, and each family saw gold and silver, only now Nayuan Fengku If you dare to hide and transfer to Tibet, follow the military law. All the palaces and temples, the tombs of Pu'an, the six ministers, and the Kaifeng government use gold and silver for public use, and they will be stored in the left treasury."

Two days later, Zhao Huan summoned the chief executives to a meeting at Funing Palace to report on the gold and silver collection.

As a result, only 30 taels of gold and 800 million taels of silver were obtained.

This amount of gold and silver was too far from what the gold man wanted. The chief executives were panicked and apologized one after another, but only Li Gang did not.

Zhao Huan was very anxious. He thought that if the Jin people were not satisfied, they would not easily withdraw their troops, so he ordered Zhang Daoji to collect all the gold and silver utensils used for sacrifices in the ancestral temple in the palace, and converted a total of 500 million taels of silver. , 100 million taels of gold.

Zhao Huan then arranged for Tang Zhong, Xie Kejia, Li Yu, and Shi Ji to go to the homes of Cai Jing, Tong Guan, He Zhizhong, Zheng Shen, Gao Qiu, Wang Xian, Peng Duan, Liu Zongyuan, and their relatives to collect Gold, silver and treasures—take all the gold, silver and jewelry from these people directly, and send them to Yuanfeng Treasury for payment on the same day.

Song Qinzong said to Tang Zhong and others: "If they dare to cover up or turn to concealment, they will allow insiders to report. Once they are found out, half of the reward will be given to the informant. Those who hide will be followed by military law."

Among these people, Cai Jing, Tong Guan, and Gao Qiu are all Zhao Ji's favorite ministers, and some of them have passed away, how to hold the middle, and the most special status is Zheng Shen, who is Zhao Ji's old father-in-law, that is, Queen Zheng (now Empress Dowager), the father of Zhao Huan in name.

It can be seen that Zhao Huan is insane.

In order to get together the gold and silver that the gold man wanted as soon as possible, Zhao Huan racked his brains and racked his brains.

On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, Zhao Huan issued another imperial decree, demanding that no matter whether he has an official position or not, no matter who has been awarded a gold belt, he must report the gold belt to Kaifeng Mansion and pay it. If the report is reported, the judgment and deportation will be given according to the seriousness of the circumstances.

Maybe he felt that the imperial decree was not straightforward enough, and the effect was not immediate enough, so he also learned from Zhao Ji's practice and directly used the imperial pen to direct.

Zhao Huan wrote a copy of the imperial pen and handed it to Shang Shuxing, so that Shang Shuxing could directly go (rob) to get gold and silver.

The royal pen wrote:
"General Zeng should only be in the house of prostitutes, and Yuan Tao, Wu Zhen, Shi Yan, Jiang Yi, and Guo Laoniang will be expelled from their families and their wealth and records will be confiscated, and the provincial officials, Taoist officials, and medical officials will give gold and silver to the people with gold belts. , and Yang Qiu, Zhang Bu, Jiang Yaochen, Li Zongbao, Zhang Shibao, Li Zongzhen, Song Hui, Dong Xiangjinyin, and Yang Nieshan, He Li, Zhou Yiwen, and Li Guangzhizhi."

The meaning of this imperial pen is very clear, which is to directly confiscate all the properties of the named families.

And Zhao Huan mainly named three types of people, one is the family of prostitutes, the other is the servant who once specially bestowed gold and silver Xu with a gold belt, and the third is Yang Qiu and other corrupt officials attached to Cai Jingtong.

(Historically, the wealth of Li Shishi and Zhao Yuannu was taken away by this order of Zhao Huan, and then dedicated to the Jinren.)
Li Bangyan was responsible for the implementation of this matter. He said to Nie Shan, He Li and others: "According to the imperial decree: if the people recorded in the imperial pen dare to hide their feelings and turn them into hiding houses, they are allowed to surrender on the same day. If there is any resistance, it will be followed by military law. If others have something to hide, they will be rewarded with half of it."

Later, Li Yu, the censor in the palace, suggested to Zhao Huan: "In order to collect the gold and silver as soon as possible, you can issue an edict that all citizens who pay a lot of gold and silver should be appointed officials first. This will not only show the people's trust, You can also be enthusiastic about those who come."

Even Zhao Huandang agreed to do so.

Therefore, two ordinary people named Wang Yi and Wang Ge were awarded official positions because they paid a large amount of gold and silver.

Wang Xiaodi, Minister of Zhongshu, made a suggestion to Zhao Huan, saying: "If you want to collect all the gold and silver from the officials, soldiers and civilians in Beijing to meet the needs of the peace negotiation, you must make an announcement in the thoroughfare of the city, and set a time limit for them to take it all out." Those who do not hand over to the public at the expiration of the deadline will be beheaded. Slaves, relatives, and others who can expose and report hiding behaviors will be rewarded with half."

Zhao Huan felt that Wang Xiaodi's suggestion was reasonable, so he agreed to Wang Xiaodi's suggestion, and made Wang Xiaodi a temporary organization, responsible for collecting gold and silver.

So Wang Xiaodi sent people to post announcements everywhere in the city, and the list said: "The gold and silver office that collects the Dajin Kingdom rewards the army: In face of the imperial decree, the Dajin Kingdom soldiers and horses surround the capital. Gold and silver coins and silk are required to form a good alliance. The Kingdom of Jin wants 500 million taels of gold and 5000 million taels of silver. The gold and silver that has been amassed today are collected from ancestral temples, palaces, palaces, and clothing. More than [-] taels, and more than [-] million taels of silver. Going forward with all the money, Da Jin saw that the number was not enough, and ordered the repatriation envoy to make it difficult for the army to retreat. Resentment and anger came to attack the city, all the men were killed, the women were expelled, the houses were burned, and the gold, silver, money and other things were exhausted..."

People in Tokyo read that "there is no shortage of gold and silver, and there will be resentment and anger, but they come to attack the city, all the men are killed, the women are expelled, the houses are burned, and the gold, silver, money and things will be exhausted." , kill all men, capture all women, burn all palaces, and take all gold and silver. What Wang Zhongshu said is a piece of nonsense, and some people ridiculed Wang Xiaodi as "Four Jue Zhongshu", which can be compared with Li Ye's "Six Such as Giving Things". comparable to.

Later, everyone said that the former prime minister Wang Fu, who had retired from office, engaged in corruption and bribery during his tenure as prime minister, and his family's treasures piled up like a mountain.
Zhao Huan then issued an edict to deprive Wang Fu of his official titles, exile him in Hengzhou, and confiscate all his family properties.

Officials got hundreds of millions of treasures from Wang Fu's family.

Both Wu Min and Li Gang suggested beheading Wang Fu.

But Zhao Huan felt that it was not appropriate to publicly behead the retired minister at this time, so he handed over the matter to Kaifeng Yin Nieshan for handling.

Nie Shan secretly dispatched warriors to chase and kill Wang Fu on the way, but announced to the outside world that Wang Fu was killed by bandits.

After searching for three feet, Zhao Huan felt that it was not enough, so he took the treasures, pearls and jade hidden by his ancestors and gave them to the Jin people.

Zhao Huan not only desperately collected gold, silver and jewels to satisfy the greed of the Jin people, but also ordered that from now on, the name of the country of Jin should only be called "Great Gold", and when the word "Guo" must be used, it should follow the original style. Implementation, not to mention the Kingdom of Jin.

In this era, whenever a certain country is mentioned, it means that it is a vassal state.

Although the vassal state has independent territory and sovereignty, it must accept the protection of the suzerain state and has a tributary relationship with the suzerain state.

To put it simply, the suzerain country is a big country, while the vassal country is a small country.

Zhao Huan made this decree, obviously to curry favor with the Jin people.

It was not just a trivial matter for Zhao Huan to please the Jinren, he also gave Wanyan Zongwang some good things every day, such as borneols, rafter candles, and incense, so that Wanyan Zongwang could take good care of himself, and he also gave Wanyan Zongwang some good things, such as Fuyu and rhino jade , belts, pearls, treasures, women's music, rare birds, fragrant medicines, tea, Jinqi wine and fruit, etc., to make Wanyan Zongwang live a little more comfortably outside the city, and to greet Wanyan Zongwang every day.

Li Gang disapproved of Zhao Huan's move. He often advised Zhao Huan and even argued with him.

Li Gang believes that rewarding these valuables is not enough for virtue, and the effect may be counterproductive, making the Jin people despise Da Song even more, thinking that Da Song is weak and deceitful.

However, Li Bangyan and other capitulators unanimously praised Zhao Huan's virtues, but did not take Li Gang's words seriously.

Facing the weak and deceitful court of the Song Dynasty, the Jin people became more and more presumptuous and unscrupulous in taking money, and even asked the court of the Song Dynasty to provide them with prostitutes, rare birds, and tamed elephants.

But Zhao Huan and others followed suit.

That's all, after all, the situation is compelling.

But Zhao Huan also issued an edict to the Taiyuan, Hejian, and Zhongshan prefectures that were still stubbornly resisting, ordering the guards of the three prefectures to surrender as soon as possible.

Zhao Huan's imperial edict says:

"Ying Zhongshan, Hejian, and Taiyuan prefectures belong to counties and towns as well as the northern state army. They have agreed in an oath to jointly deliver and deal with Dajin. Yesterday, Dajin used the imperial court to recruit traitors. Yu Yu swore, because Raise a large army until the capital. Focusing on the community, the ties are very large, so the three prefectures were cut off to find a happy alliance, and the worries of the generals were eliminated, so as to consolidate the good of the two dynasties. The canine teeth were uneven, and the two sides were exchanged. It will be implemented in accordance with the oath. If any state army refuses to obey, I will tell you this edict all over the world, and all affairs will be followed.

The two dynasties sealed off borders and bounded borders, and the same family of righteousness, each lived in Ninger, and the peace and harmony will always be maintained..."

It can be said that Zhao Huan almost has no bottom line.

Beginning on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the divisions of Sifang Qinwang gradually moved outside the city.

Li Gang placed these tens of thousands of people around the capital and established effective organizational structures.

On the [-]th day of the first lunar month, Ma Zhong, the governor, led soldiers recruited from the west of Beijing to the city, and happened to meet a group of Jin soldiers outside the Shuntian Gate.

Ma Zhong led his troops to take advantage of the momentum to attack them, killing many people.

The teachers of King Qin continued to gather, which gradually changed Zhao Huan's attitude.

Wait until Jingji and Hebei Road made Shi Zhongdao and the controlling officer Yao Pingzhong lead the soldiers from Jingyuan Road and Qinfeng Road to the city of Tokyo.

Zhao Huan, who had bowed his knees for a long time, finally straightened his back.

Of course, there are reasons for this.

As soon as Zhong Shidao and the Western Army came, the Jin Army immediately restrained its previous arrogant attitude, and quietly moved the village to the north, and built more fortifications. It seemed that they were going to guard Moutuogang with all their strength for self-defense, and the rangers did not dare to go out to plunder. .

but--

Before Zhong Shidao entered the city, Prime Minister Li Bangyan sent someone to send an imperial edict, saying: "The peace talks between the imperial court and the Jin people have been agreed, and those who dare to speak out will destroy the clan!"

Zhong Shidao was 76 years old this year, and he was sick, so instead of riding a horse, he entered the city by Jianyu.

After seeing Zhao Huan, Master Chong said: "I don't know that the capital is in such a hurry. I once speculated that the Jin people would not dare to cross the river, so I came late. Now that I am here, Your Majesty need not worry!"

Zhao Huan, who had suffered all kinds of grievances, almost didn't cry when he heard Zhong Shidao's words.

Zhao Huan said: "Does Aiqing have a plan to retreat from the enemy?"

Master Zhong said: "I think peace is not a plan. The capital is eighty miles around, how can it be surrounded? The height of the city is tens of feet, and the millet has been branched for several years. Refuse, keep waiting for the king's division, and the enemy will be trapped within ten months. However, peace has been made, and it cannot be abolished. Gold and silver are not enough, please fight with them according to the number, if they do not retreat, we will fight with them! The land of the town contains Baozhou, which is where Xuanzu's mausoleum is located, so it is not suitable to give it away."

As soon as Zhong Shidao said this, the faces of Li Bangyan and other ministers who advocated peace talks all became very ugly.

Wanyan Zongwang learned that the Western Army of the Song Dynasty had arrived at the city, and immediately sent an envoy Wang Rui to the city to meet Zhao Huan.

In name, this is a reward to thank Zhao Huan, but Wanyan Zongwang is actually observing and understanding the current situation of Song State.

Wang Rui entered the hall, prostrated himself on the ground, and expressed his gratitude to Zhao Huan for bestowing agarwood, rhinoceros, tortoiseshell wine vessels, rare animals and birds.

Compared with the previous ones, Wang Rui's etiquette was much more respectful in this audience.

Zhao Huan turned around and smiled at Zhong Shidao: "He is afraid of you."

Prior to this, all the gates of Bianliang City were closed.

Zhong Shidao ordered the opening of the eastern city gate and the southern city gate, allowing the citizens to come and go as usual, so the people's hearts were a little more stable, but the Jin people were worried.

Zhong Shidao also suggested to Zhao Huan that he should not give the gold people the gold and silver that he extorted, and send a large army to strangle the Yellow River so that the gold army would not return the horses.

Song Qinzong agreed to this.

Zhong Shidao was ordered to go out to patrol the city. After inspection, he was confident about defeating the enemy. He said to his cronies: "The enemy is easy to defeat, but the enemy will not be plundered. When the enemy's food is scarce, you can enter the army. Then send troops to set up an ambush near the Yellow River, and attack it when it is halfway across, this is a surefire strategy."

Zhong Shidao wanted to know more about the internal situation of the Jin army, so he sent several brave men out of the city and captured three Jin soldiers.

Zhong Shidao asked them to talk about the situation in their army.

One of them would rather die than speak.

Zhong Shidao ordered to kill him.

Zhong Shidao asked the second person again. This person was very frightened, so he confessed what he knew about the situation in the army.

Zhong Shidao ordered another person to have his stomach cut to test what he ate.

After breaking his stomach, he found that there was nothing in the golden soldier's stomach, only some beans.

Zhong Shidao said to everyone present: "The enemy's food is running short, so they can be destroyed."

Afterwards, Zhong Shidao released the living Jin Bing and asked him to go back and tell Wanyan Zongwang about these things.

Zongwang was shocked when he learned of this, so he decided to seek peace.

In addition to Zhong Shidao and Yao Pingzhong, the officers and soldiers who came to King Qin included Zhang Jun and Han Shizhong from Fuyan Road, Wang Yang and Ma Qian from Huanqing Road, Yao Gu from Xihe Road, Zhong Shizhong and Zheyan from Qinfeng Road. There are also soldiers from the king of Qin, including Liu Guangguo, Yang Kesheng, and Li Bao, who claim to have 20 troops.

Qinwang teams from different places gathered outside the city, not belonging to each other, lacking a unified command system.

If the command is not unified, the armies will not be able to cooperate in combat.

Li Gang felt that this was not going to work, so he went up and asked Zhao Huan to order Zhong Shidao, Yao Pingzhong and other Qin Wang Guanjun to obey his own restraint.

Zhao Huan lowered his imperial pen and said: "The teacher is old and knows soldiers, and his position is already high. He is the same officer as Qing, and he can replace Cao Yu."

What Zhao Huan meant was to let Zhong Shidao succeed Cao Tie as the deputy envoy of the personal conquest and battalion.

In fact, such an arrangement is very reasonable, and it can also allow the Song army to form a unified command. As long as it is planned properly, the 5 troops of Yan Zongwang can be completely wiped out.

But soon Zhao Huan committed the old problem of their old Zhao family again. He was afraid that Li Gang's military power would be too heavy, so he retracted the order he had given before, and changed the order of Zhong Shidao to sign the Privy Council, filling Hebei, Hedong, and Gyeonggi. The Xuanfu envoy was under the control of Yao Pingzhong as the capital of the Xuanfu Division, and the Xuanfu Division unified the command of the Western Army and the division of the Sifangqin King.At the same time, the former army and the rear army assigned to the capital stationed outside the city were also under the command of the Xuanfu Division.

Zhong Shidao concentrated the troops of the king outside the city and divided them into two villages, one village was stationed in the southwest, and the other village was stationed in the northeast.

Compared with the Xuanfu Division, which cultivates the way of teachers, the authority of Li Gang's Xingying Division has declined, and the Xingying Division belongs to only the left, right, and middle armies.

The military power is divided into two parts, which are not unified.

When the Xuanfu Division plans to take action, it often entrusts it with confidentiality and does not report to the Operations Division.

As a result, the Xingying Division knew nothing about Xuanfu Division's military action plan outside the city.

Li Gang was a little lost, and worried about it!

But Zhao Huan didn't think so. He thought he had controlled the ambitions of his courtiers very well.

At the same time, Zhao Huan found that he had 20 troops on his side, which can be described as strong and strong, while the Jin army had only [-] to [-] troops.

Is that counterattackable?

As soon as this idea appeared in Zhao Huan's mind, it was out of control.

When Zhao Huan heard that the Jin people had excavated all the tombs of concubines, princes, and emperor concubines outside the city, he was very angry, so he made up his mind to go to war with the Jin army!
……

(End of this chapter)