Guide to Traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty.

Chapter 370 0365 [The Great Clan Invests in Effects and Fights with the Court]

When Ju Ming first entered Chengdu, although he posted a list and An Minqiu did nothing wrong, the people in Sichuan still lived cautiously.

The market has obviously become more sluggish. Big households are afraid of leaking money, and small people are saving for self-defense, so they dare not spend money on the streets.

High-end consumer places even closed their doors directly, worrying that Ju Ming would focus on these places to catch fat sheep.

One day, two days.

January, February.

As time went by, everyone got used to Ju Ming's presence.

Especially during the Spring Festival, all kinds of commercial activities are flourishing again, and Chengdu is also prosperous and lively inside and outside the city.

As the Lantern Festival approaches, merchants even take the initiative to contact the "government" to jointly prepare for this year's Lantern Festival.Painted boats and pleasure boats also appeared, carrying rich and noble children to feast and sing.

"This is Zhang Bangying, named Guoyan." Gao Jingshan introduced an old man.

Zhu Ming smiled and stepped forward to hold hands: "Mr. Jiu's name."

Zhang Bangying flattered and flattered: "The general is here in Chengdu, and everything in the middle of Shu is as before. The people are happy, and the destiny is with the general."

"The old man is the one who understands." Ju Ming sighed.

Zhang Tangying and Zhang Shangying are seven brothers, from Xinjin, Shuzhou, which is also the Xinjin District of Chengdu in later generations.They were not a famous family, and they had to sell land to study at that time, so their conditions were better than those of small landlords.

At the highest level, Zhang Tangying served as a censor in the palace, and his family moved to Guang'an to settle down.

Zhang Shangying was a prime minister and fought fiercely with Cai Jing. After being demoted, he moved to Jiangjin to live in seclusion.

Zhang Bangying is the seventh of the seven brothers. He has no official status and has been living in Xinjin.After the separation, there are only a few hundred acres of land, and there are also a few shops in the county.

Although he is not considered rich, he has a great reputation in Sichuan. It is very good for Zhu Ming to come to seek refuge.

"Hou Shuyan Palace has the most abundant crabapple in Sichuan," Zhang Bangying said. "In two or three months, the crabapple will bloom. If the general is free, please condescend to enjoy the flowers and have a feast."

Gao Jingshan explained next to him: "Yan Palace has changed hands several times, and now it is purchased by the Zhang family in Chengdu. The Zhang family in Chengdu and the Zhang family in Xinjin are both descendants of Zhang Jiugao (Zhang Jiuling's younger brother). This Zhang family in Chengdu was a merchant in the world. A while ago, I donated some money and food to fund the military.”

Zhu Ming understood that the Zhang family in Chengdu didn't produce many Scholars, but their business was doing very well.Not only was he willing to take refuge with his family, but he was also afraid that his status was not enough, so he also brought the Zhang family from Xinjin over.

Ju Ming was naturally willing to accept it, and made good words to Zhang Bangying to win him over.

After some exchanges, Zhang Bangying began to probe: "I heard that the brother of the general is also a young talent with both civil and military skills, and he has no marriage contract yet?"

"It is true that they have never been married." Zhu Ming smiled.

Zhang Bangying said: "I have a granddaughter under my knees, who is both talented and beautiful. I wonder if she can be promoted?"

Zhu Ming said: "This is a match made in heaven."

After all, Zhu Ming is not an emperor, let alone a prince. Zhang Bangying still wants to save face, and he does not want to marry his granddaughter to be a concubine.So he found another way and planned to marry his granddaughter to Bai Qi as his wife.

The two sides hit it off.

The marriage agreement represents the Zhang family in Chengdu and the Zhang family in Xinjin, and they will fully rely on Ju Ming, an emerging force.

Moreover, Zhang Tangying's descendants in Guang'an and Zhang Shangying's descendants in Jiangjin are also very likely to come here with their families.

That night, Zhu Ming hosted a banquet and invited the elders of the Zhang clan in central Sichuan.

The two Zhang families promised that after the Lantern Festival, they would each send ten outstanding children to be dispatched by Zhu Ming at will.

The Zhang family in Chengdu is even more willing to provide various materials, some of which are directly donated, and some of which are interest-free loans, to unconditionally support Zhu Ming in the war.As for the return, don't even mention it, Ju Ming will definitely give benefits.

Returning to the back house half drunk, Ju Ming joked, "My family is indeed related to the Zhang family."

Zhang Jinping asked the maid to bring hangover soup: "The Zhang family here has nothing to do with my natal family."

Ju Ming lay on the couch half-closed his eyes, feeling extremely comfortable, and finally a big family took the initiative to help.Moreover, he is a relative of the former prime minister Zhang Shangying, and was related to Zhang Jiuling back in the Tang Dynasty. This matter has great political significance.

Zhang Jinping helped Zhu Ming undress, and Zhu Ming said: "After the Lantern Festival, I will lead the troops back to Hanzhong, and you will stay in Chengdu to supervise the military administration."

Zhang Jinping was startled: "A concubine is a woman, how can she be involved in politics?"

Zhu Ming said: "You don't have to do anything, just stay in Chengdu, and sit here on my behalf."

Zhang Jinping asked: "Why did you change your mind temporarily?"

Zhu Ming explained: "Li Bao has already captured Kuimen. He said that Kuimen is a natural danger, and it will be safe to garrison thousands of soldiers. Since there are so many redundant soldiers, they can be transferred to Hanzhong to fight."

Zhu Ming has had someone cast a big iron chain, and under the iron chain across the river, Kuimen is almost incomprehensible to the downstream troops.

Qutang Gorge is inherently narrow, and there are many hidden reefs and whirlpools, so there are only a few channels that can pass smoothly.One end of the iron chain is fixed to Kuimen, and the other end is fixed to the bottom of the cliff, so that all ships of officers and soldiers have to be blocked there.

Without any artillery, a catapult can be used on the Guancheng to smash the ships of the officers and soldiers.

Of course, the navy of the rebel army will also be dispatched, but the iron chain and the Xiongguan will be safe.

Zhu Ming has issued a military order that the troops brought by Li Bao from Hanzhong and Bazhou will go north immediately after the Lantern Festival.The troops recruited in Sichuan and the rebel navy were left to defend Kuimen and Baidicheng.

Li Bao himself had to stay in Kuimen, because the rest of the troops were all organized by him, and it would definitely not be able to be controlled by someone else as the coach.

Of course, this also has the meaning of suppressing Li Bao. He made great contributions in attacking Sichuan.Nearly half of Sichuan was defeated by Li Bao, so there is no need to participate in the defense of Hanzhong to claim merit.

Lin Chong and Shi Shu led their troops to station in southern Sichuan, ready to guard against barbarian invasions.

Bai Qi will be transferred back to Chengdu, and 6000 soldiers will be left for him to sit in Shuzhong as Zhu Ming's brother.Gao Jingshan was fully responsible for the government affairs here, and Zhu Ming led the elite troops to fight in Hanzhong himself.

After Zhu Ming left, Zhang Jinping was the mistress, used to suppress Bai Qi and Gao Jingshan.

There is no need for Zhang Jinping to do anything, she just needs to stay in Chengdu, where her status is symbolic.

Two days later, the Lantern Festival will start.

Inside and outside the city of Chengdu, there are bright lights, and the most lively place for the lantern festival is the area around Zhaojue Temple Square.

In the barracks of each unit of the rebel army, soldiers were allowed to take turns to go out to watch the lanterns.

But you can't carry armor, you must act in small groups.If there are troublesome behaviors such as bullying the people, the whole team will be punished together, and the team leader will be dismissed directly.

The soldiers were very happy, and those who had family members brought them with them, so that they could experience the prosperity of Chengdu.

During the ten consecutive days of the Lantern Festival, each soldier took turns twice, which significantly stimulated consumption.

At the end of the first month, more than 2 rebels from Chengdu and Kuizhou set off for Hanzhong.

……

Hanzhong.

Li Bangyan finally arrived with the recruitment team all the way.

Although this guy is a treacherous villain, he still has a brain. He observed the situation in the area occupied by thieves along the way, and found that the people's lives were obviously better than those outside.

Li Bangyan was horrified and felt that he should leave a way out for himself.

He only became the deputy prime minister last year, and he doesn't have much power, not even a few followers.There must be corruption, and there must be evil, but they are all personal actions of him and his relatives and party members. There is no opportunity for policy-based large-scale evil.

It is also for these reasons that Chen Dong impeached the six thieves in history, and Li Bangyan was not qualified to be among the six thieves.

Zhu Guoxiang treated him warmly and did not kill Li Bangyan directly.

"My nephew is visiting my uncle." Li Bangyan called himself a junior when they met, making him and Ju Ming like brothers.

"Please sit down and have a banquet." When Zhu Guoxiang was in Tokyo, every time he went to see Song Huizong, Li Bangyan was by the emperor's side most of the time.Although the two of them did not have a deep friendship, they could be regarded as old acquaintances for many years.

Li Bangyan sat down with the envoy: "When I was in Tokyo, I admired my uncle's talents and virtues for a long time, but unfortunately I couldn't ask him face to face."

Zhu Guoxiang said with a smile: "There will be opportunities in the future."

The two kept reminiscing about the old days, talking about the old things in Tokyo, and did not talk about Zhaoan until the end of the banquet.

The next day, Li Bangyan paid a private visit to Zhu Guoxiang.

Li Bangyan said: "If my uncle wants to recruit security, he can be granted the title of Grand Master and Marquis of Hanzhong. Dalang can go straight to Longtu Pavilion, promote Jiuqing, and become the captain of the son-in-law."

Zhu Guoxiang did not refuse face to face: "There is always a fight. If we lose, everything will be over. If we win, we will talk again. But this reason?"

Li Bangyan turned his mind, and instantly felt that the opportunity had come, and said excitedly: "That's exactly the reason."

Li Bangyan is now looking forward to the defeat of the imperial court, when he will be an envoy again to call for peace.

What Zhu Guoxiang revealed was obvious. After the rebel army won, they would not rush out of Sichuan immediately, but were willing to negotiate with the imperial court.

The bigger the disturbance of the Sichuan rebels, the more important Li Bangyan's position in the court will be as the person in charge of the negotiations.Moreover, he could also take the opportunity to get acquainted with Zhu Guoxiang. To put it bluntly, once the situation reversed, Li Bangyan could secretly join him and serve as internal support for the Zhu family and his son in the Song court.

Regardless of Tokyo's harmony, the political struggle is more complicated than that of Cai Jing.

The conflict between Wang Fu and the crown prince has become public, and the conspiracy has been registered to establish Yun Wang Zhao Kai.After a series of personnel changes, Wang Fu finally became full-fledged and began to confront Cai You head-on.

Cai You was single and lonely, but he turned to the crown prince and won over Li Bangyan who was also excluded.

The two of them also secretly formed an alliance with Yushi Zhongcheng He Su.

Tong Guan is also competing with Wang Fu for favor, Wang Fu deliberately wins over Liang Shicheng, and the conflict between Liang Shicheng and Tong Guan is increasing day by day.

Zhu Xi was still fanning the flames, taking advantage of the increasingly difficult financial situation, and kept urging Song Huizong to reactivate Cai Jing.

But Wang Fu, Tong Guan, Cai You, Li Bangyan and others who were hostile to each other joined forces to prevent Cai Jing from returning to the prime minister.

The conquest of Zhu's father and son has also become a battlefield for power struggle.Tong Guan wanted to take this opportunity to get rid of Wang Fu's confidant (Hubu Shangshu), while Wang Fu planned to expand his influence to the army, expanding their power towards each other's base.

Li Bangyan can't get involved in anything, so he can only follow Cai You's ass and beat the drums, and Cai You can take the opportunity to grow stronger when he is in charge of the Privy Council.

It was Li Bangyan's opportunity to recruit Zhu's father and son.

Whether the thieves and bandits rule Hanzhong is none of Li Bangyan's business!

The thieves are getting bigger and bigger, which is related to Li Bangyan.He wished that Zhu Guoxiang and Zhu Ming could gain power, otherwise how would he show his role?
(End of this chapter)