Lord: Start with a book of Water Margin

Chapter 470: Secretly Asking for Black Wolfberry

After the decree was announced, Zhao Zhen invited Hou Meng to sit in the hall.

Zhao Zhen asked, "Do we need to go to Huyan Command Office to announce the decree?"

"Why does the Jiedushi ask such a question?"

"I saw some carriages and weapons being guarded by the imperial edict guards. I think they are rewards to Hu Yanzhuo from the emperor."

Hou Meng shook his head and said, "The governor has indeed guessed wrong. Commander Hu Yanzhuo is preparing to attack Laiwu, so why would the emperor reward him with two elephants? This is a special gift from the emperor to the governor. In addition to these two elephants, there are also five pairs of Kangguo dogs, palace lion dogs, and Shih Tzu dogs on the carriage."

After hearing this, Zhao Zhen hurriedly thanked him: "Your Majesty still remembers my preferences."

"The Jiedushi is your Majesty's right-hand man, so these were added to the list of rewards drawn up by the ministers."

"I will submit a letter of thanks and ask for your imperial decree to return to the capital to report back to the emperor." Zhao Zhen said.

Zhao Zhen then said, "This dog has been imprisoned in the car for so long, it is better to put it down as soon as possible."

Hou Meng said: "The governor is right."

After that, he and Zhao Zhen left the hall and had the elephants and carriages sent over. Ruan Pashan led the two elephants to the elephant shed.

The thirty dogs of various colors ran around in all directions after being released, and Zhao Zhen quickly scolded them. With the help of the beast gathering technique, the thirty dogs surrounded Zhao Zhen.

Picking up a Kangguo dog, Zhao Zhen said with a smile: "I have never seen this dog before."

Hou Meng said: "During the Chongning period, an imperial decree was issued to ban the consumption of dog meat and to allow dogs from all over the country to be presented to the palace. Later, the students of the Imperial Academy protested and another decree was issued to abolish the previous decree. However, there are many more dogs of various colors in the palace, and they are specially raised. Fierce dogs that hurt people were gradually sent out of the palace, but these docile puppies were settled in the palace."

"The one in the Jiedushi's hand is called Kangguo Xizi. According to legend, this dog came from the far west and was once raised by Yang Guifei of the Tang Dynasty." As he spoke, Hou Meng also mentioned the palace lion dog and Shih Tzu.

After Zhao Zhen looked at them, he found that these dogs were just as Hou Meng had said, unfortunately, they were all ordinary dogs.

Zhao Zhen asked Zhao Yuanli to send all the dogs to the back house, and invited Hou Meng to sit in the hall again.

Zhao Zhen asked, "I have come here to announce the decree. Does the emperor have any other instructions?"

Hou Meng hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Your Majesty, please let me ask you, do you still have the [Black Wolfberry] that the Jiedushi presented to you?"

After hearing this, Zhao Zhen said to Hou Meng, "Announce the decree. The emperor has enough of these things to liven up the atmosphere, right?"

Hou Meng whispered, "There are more than 400 military states in our dynasty, and we have abundant natural resources. There is no shortage of these things to liven up the mood. Taoist priests and monks have also offered elixirs, but they are not as good as the [Black Wolfberry] from the Jiedushi. However, these things have always been opposed by court officials, so the government does not have many."

Zhao Zhen said in embarrassment: "To be honest, there is only one plant of [Black Wolfberry], and the yield is very small. If another three to five months pass, I will be able to present it to the emperor. At this time, I only have about a hundred left."

Looking at Hou Meng, Zhao Zhen said, "I will take out 50 black wolfberries and present them to the emperor. When the new black wolfberries are ripe in May or June, please leave your address in the imperial decree and I will send someone to deliver them to Bian Jing." Hou Meng was naturally very happy to hear that.

After finishing this topic, Zhao Zhen turned to ask: "Announcement, regarding the Qingzhou bandits, does the court have any other plans besides mine?"

Hou Meng sighed and said, "There were also some court officials who advocated for amnesty, but they were all rejected by the Grand Tutor, Grand Marshal Gao, and Secretary Tong, especially Grand Tutor Cai and Grand Marshal Gao."

"General Gao hated the Qingzhou bandits for killing his brother Gao Feng, so he recommended Gao Lian from Gaotang Prefecture to lead an army of 10,000 cavalry and infantry to join forces with Yun Tianbiao from Zibo Prefecture and attack from the north."

"Grand Tutor Cai hated the Qingzhou bandits for robbing the birthday gift, so he advocated their destruction. This matter was only kept secret from the government."

Zhao Zhen nodded and said, "That's right. There are rumors in Bianjing now that Prime Minister Tong Shu is going to lead troops to suppress Tian Hu in Hebei?"

"Yes, otherwise, the Privy Councilor would have requested to suppress the Qingzhou bandits." Hou Meng took a sip of tea and continued, "However, in my opinion, it may not be possible. Wang Qing of Huaixi and Fang La of Jiangnan are both more harmful than the Qingzhou bandits. It's just that the Qingzhou bandits have offended the Grand Tutor, the Imperial Concubine, and the Grand Commandant, so they have become a thorn in their eyes."

Zhao Zhen said: "Thank you for your guidance, otherwise I would not have thought of this."

"I just held a provincial examination here, but unfortunately, there were not many qualified candidates. Now the government has asked me to supervise Yizhou, but I don't have much idea. Yizhou is mountainous and dilapidated, and now it is even more horrible to see the scourge of Qingzhou bandits. Many people who can't survive have gone to the mountains to become bandits. Yiyuan County was even forced to move to Qingzhou by Qingzhou bandits. Speaking of which, I have no shortage of warriors who are good at fighting, but there are few scholars who can govern the people. If there are any talented people who are not afraid of war, you can recommend them to Liangshan and let them become a Hundred Miles Marquis in Yizhou."

Hou Meng said: "I didn't expect Yizhou to be so difficult. Jiedushi, don't worry. The emperor has asked the Ministry of Personnel to select officials to come to Yizhou to take up their posts. It will just take some time."

Zhao Zhen sighed, "Now I can only pick a few capable people to go to various places first. It would be great if this scholar could also come to join us like a warrior."

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"A few days ago, two martial arts masters came from Lingzhou. I saw that they both had some martial arts skills. Now they have been appointed as officers to prepare for the expedition against the Qingzhou bandits."

Hou Meng heard this and said, "The Jiedushi has made many contributions in suppressing the Qingzhou bandits, so naturally many brave men will come to join him."

Zhao Zhen smiled and said, "Come to think of it, there are many brave men in Lingzhou."

"Oh, did the Jiedushi hear anything?"

Zhao Zhen said, "In the southwest of Lingzhou, there is a place called Zengtou City. There are more than 3,000 families in Zengtou City, and one of them is called Zeng Family Mansion. This Zeng Family Mansion is really extraordinary. The father was originally a Jin countryman named Zeng Changzhe. He gave birth to five children, known as the Five Tigers of Zeng Family. The eldest son is called Zeng Tu, the second is called Zeng Mi, the third is called Zeng Suo, the fourth is called Zeng Kui, and the fifth is called Zeng Sheng. The five brothers are all highly skilled in martial arts, and they have gathered 5,000 to 7,000 troops and set up five stockades. If the court can recruit troops from here, the chances of victory will be increased."

Hou Meng asked, "How did the Jiedushi know?"

"They are two strong men who came from my place. They used to be coaches in Zengtou City. They recently came to me to seek a career." Zhao Zhen replied.

"If it's true, the court will definitely issue an order to recruit these troops. Lingzhou and Gaotangzhou are adjacent, so they can join forces in one place."

Zhao Zhen also said: "The people of Lingzhou are tough and brave, and they love fighting. They are brave and righteous. If we can get this group of people, we will surely be able to wipe out the bandits in Qingzhou."

The two talked about the Qingzhou bandits for a long time. Zhao Zhen held a banquet and invited Tongpan Xiao Rang and other officials to entertain Hou Meng. The guards who came with him were entertained by Zhao Yuanli's messengers. That day, they played loud music and did not leave until dusk when everyone was drunk.

(End of this chapter)