Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

When Ju Ming first entered Chengdu, although he did not commit any crime, the people of Sichuan still lived cautiously.

The market has obviously become more depressed. Large households are afraid of leaking money, and ordinary people are saving money for self-defense and are afraid to go out to spend money.

High-end consumer places have even been closed down, fearing that Ju Ming is specifically targeting these places to catch fat sheep.

One day, two days.

January, two months.

As time goes by, everyone has adapted to Ju Ming's presence.

Especially during the Spring Festival, various commercial activities flourish again, and Chengdu becomes prosperous and lively inside and outside the city.

As the Lantern Festival approaches, businessmen 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 wealthy children to feast and sing.

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

Ju Ming smiled and stepped forward to hold hands: "Mr. I have long admired your name."

Zhang Bangying flattered him and said: "Everything in Sichuan is as before when the general comes to Chengdu, and the people enjoy it as if they are glutinous rice. This is destiny and everyone's hearts are with the general."

"The old gentleman is the one who understands." Zhu Ming sighed.

There are seven brothers, Zhang Tangying and Zhang Shangying, from Xinjin, Shuzhou, which later became Xinjin District, Chengdu City. Theirs was not a prominent family. At that time, they had to sell their land to study, so their conditions were better than those of small landowners.

Zhang Tangying's highest position was to serve as a censor in the palace, and his family moved to Guang'an to settle down.

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

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

Although he is not rich, he has a great reputation in Shu. It will be very beneficial to Ju Ming for him to join him.

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

Gao Jingshan explained from the side: "The Yan Palace has changed hands several times and is now purchased by the Chengdu Zhang family. The Chengdu Zhang family and the Xinjin Zhang family are both descendants of Zhang Jiugao (Zhang Jiuling's younger brother). This Chengdu Zhang family has been a merchant for generations. I donated some money and food to support the military a while ago.”

Ju Ming understood that the Zhang family in Chengdu did not produce many Jinshi, but their business was very large. Not only was he willing to join his family, but he was also afraid that his status was not enough, so he also brought the Xinjin Zhang family over.

Ju Ming was naturally willing to accept it and offered kind words to Zhang Bangying.

After some exchanges, Zhang Bangying began to test: "I heard that the general's brother is also a talented young man with both civil and military skills, and he is not yet engaged?"

"It is true that we have never been married." Ju Ming smiled.

Zhang Bangying said: "I have a granddaughter who is both talented and beautiful. I wonder if she can reach a higher level?"

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

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

The two sides hit it off immediately.

After the engagement, on behalf of the Zhang family in Chengdu and the Zhang family in Xinjin, they fully surrendered to 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 join the whole family.

That night, Ju Ming hosted a banquet and invited the elders of the Zhang clan in Shuzhong.

The two Zhang families promised that after the Lantern Festival, they would each send ten outstanding children for Ju Ming to call upon at will.

The Zhang family in Chengdu was even more willing to provide various materials, some directly donated and some interest-free loans, to unconditionally support Ju Ming in the war. As for the reward, don’t even mention it, Ju Ming will definitely benefit from it.

After returning to the back house half-drunk, Ju Ming joked: "My family is actually related to the Zhang family."

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

Ju Ming lay on the couch with half-squinted eyes, feeling extremely comfortable. Finally, a wealthy family member took the initiative to take action. Moreover, he is a relative of the former prime minister Zhang Shangying. He is also related to Zhang Jiuling dating back to the Tang Dynasty. This matter is of great political significance.

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

Zhang Jinping was startled: "I am a woman, how can I be involved in politics?"

Ju 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?"

Ju Ming explained: "Li Bao has captured Kuimen. He said that Kuimen is naturally dangerous and a few thousand soldiers will be stationed there to be safe. Since there are so many extra soldiers, they can be transferred to Hanzhong to fight."

Ju Ming had people cast a large iron cable. Under the iron cable across the river, Kuimen was almost inaccessible to the troops downstream.

The Qutang Gorge is inherently narrow, with many reefs and whirlpools, and there are only so many channels that can pass smoothly. One end of the iron rope is fixed at Kuimen and the other end is fixed at the bottom of the cliff. When the boats of officers and soldiers come, they have to block it.

You don't even need any artillery. You can use catapults on Guancheng to smash the ships of the officers and soldiers.

Of course, the rebel navy will also be dispatched to ensure that the iron chain and Xiongguan are safe.

Ju Ming has issued a military order, and 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 behind to defend Kuimen and Baidi City.

Li Bao himself had to stay in Kuimen, because he had trained all the remaining troops, and he would definitely not be able to control them if someone else was the commander.

Of course, this also means to suppress Li Bao, who made great contributions when attacking Sichuan. Nearly half of Sichuan was captured by Li Bao, so there was no need to participate in the Hanzhong defense battle to gain credit.

Lin Chong and Shi Shu led their troops to station in southern Sichuan to guard against barbarian invasions at any time.

Bai Qi wanted to be transferred back to Chengdu, leaving 6,000 soldiers for him to sit in Shuzhong as brother Ju Ming. The government affairs here were given full responsibility to Gao Jingshan, and Ju Ming led his elite troops to Hanzhong to fight in person.

After Ju Ming left, Zhang Jinping became the mistress and used it to suppress Bai Qi and Gao Jingshan.

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

Two days later, the Lantern Festival will begin.

There are bright lights inside and outside Chengdu, and the most lively place for the lantern festival is the area around Zhaojue Temple Square.

The military camps of each rebel army allowed soldiers to take turns to go out to watch the lanterns.

However, soldiers and armor cannot be carried and must operate in small groups. If there is any troublesome behavior such as bullying the people, the whole team will be punished together, and the team leader will be fired from his position directly.

The soldiers were very happy. Those who had family members brought them with them, so they had a good experience of the prosperity of Chengdu.

During the ten-day lantern festival, each sergeant took turns twice, which significantly stimulated consumption.

In the late first month of the first month, more than 20,000 rebels from Chengdu and Kuizhou set out for Hanzhong.

…

Hanzhong.

Li Bangyan and his recruitment team finally arrived by boat.

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

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

He only became deputy prime minister last year, and he didn't have much power, and he didn't even have a few party members. Corruption certainly occurs, and evildoing certainly occurs, but these are all personal actions of him and his relatives and members. There is no opportunity for large-scale policy-related evildoing yet.

It is precisely for these reasons that when Chen Dong impeached the Six Thieves in history, Li Bangyan was not qualified to be among the Six Thieves.

Zhu Guoxiang treated Li Bangyan warmly, but did not kill Li Bangyan directly.

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

"Please sit down and have a feast." When Zhu Guoxiang was in Tokyo, every time he went to see Song Huizong, Li Bangyan was usually by the emperor's side. Although the two of them don't have a close relationship, they can be considered old acquaintances for many years.

Li Bangyan took the envoy and sat down: "When I was in Tokyo, I admired my uncle for his talent and virtue for a long time, but unfortunately I couldn't ask for advice in person."

Zhu Guoxiang smiled and said: "There will be many opportunities in the future."

The two kept reminiscing about old times and old things in Tokyo, and they didn't talk about recruitment until the end of the banquet.

The next day, Li Bangyan met with Zhu Guoxiang alone.

Li Bangyan said: "If my uncle is willing to recruit people, he can be granted the title of Grand Master or Marquis of Hanzhong. The Dalang can direct Longtuge, promote Jiuqing, and be made Prince Consort Commander."

Zhu Guoxiang did not refuse face to face: "We have to fight before we talk. If we lose, everything is over. If we win, we can talk again. But is this the truth?"

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

Li Bangyan is now looking forward to the imperial court's defeat, when he will once again act as an envoy to recruit peace.

What Zhu Guoxiang revealed was obvious: after the rebels won, they would not immediately leave Sichuan, but would be willing to negotiate with the court.

The greater the trouble caused by the Sichuan Rebels, the more important Li Bangyan's position in the court became as the person in charge of negotiations. Moreover, he could take the opportunity to get acquainted with Zhu Guoxiang. To put it bluntly, once the situation reversed, Li Bangyan could secretly defect to him and work as an internal agent for the Zhu family and his son in the Song Dynasty court.

Despite the peaceful atmosphere in Tokyo, the political struggle is more complicated than Cai Jing’s time.

The conflict between Wang Fu and the prince has become public, and they are plotting to appoint Zhao Kai, the king of Yun. After a series of personnel changes, Wang Fu finally became full-fledged and began to clash head-on with Cai You.

Cai You, who was alone in power, actually turned to the prince and attracted Li Bangyan, who was also marginalized.

The two of them also secretly formed an alliance with the censor Zhongcheng Hesu.

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 increases day by day.

Zhu Meng was still fanning the flames, taking advantage of the increasing financial embarrassment and constantly encouraging Song Huizong to re-appoint Cai Jing.

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

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

Li Bangyan couldn't get involved in anything and could only play drums behind Cai You. Cai You could also take advantage of the opportunity to grow stronger by taking charge of the Privy Council.

Recruiting the Zhu family and his son was Li Bangyan's opportunity.

Whether the bandits separate Hanzhong or not is none of Li Bangyan's business!

The bandits are getting bigger and bigger, and it has something to do with Li Bangyan. He hopes that Zhu Guoxiang and Ju Ming can gain power, otherwise how can he show his role?