During his stay in Yangzhou, the Marquis of Wuchang was deeply humble, he lived in the building boat, and occasionally traveled, but also lightly and simply. Except for one lecture at the invitation of Xuezheng in Zhuyusheng, he never appeared in front of people again, and at the same time, the discussion about this person among the people became more and more enthusiastic. Some people admire it from the bottom of their hearts, some scoff at it, and some people sigh. Whether it is a restaurant or a tea shop, a thatched hut, or even a painting boat cruise, it is Zhao Xingde's business everywhere.

Riding the second floor of the Crane Tower, there is a faint sound of silk and bamboo singing, and an Accord seems very quiet. On the table, there are only candied fruits and the like. A man sat by the window, turning his wine glass, looking out at the mist and rain, his eyes full of worry. The rest of the guests were all dressed in green shirts and scarves, which were none other than Zhao Xingde, Liu Wengu, Ma Yuan and other officers of the water division. The officers lowered their voices and whispered about another matter in the court.

Therefore, Prime Minister Zhao Zhifu and the Privy Counsellor Cheng Zhi Hong Jun, Kaifeng Mansion Shaoyin Yu Mingshan returned to the south, and Zhao Zhifu also brought back a jade seal of the country. As soon as they entered the Daimyo's mansion, they were detained in a post house and forbidden to cross the river or to talk to anyone. Three days later, the imperial court appointed two officers of the military department of Zhengbian Liang who were on business, one from the fifth rank and the other from the seventh rank, and the two former daimyo mansions went to "find out the original situation", and the next day they went to the imperial court, alleging that the three ministers of the southern return had flickering words and suspicious deeds, and that they were "probable" to have collaborated with the enemy and committed treason, and that they were sent back by the Liao.

After the imperial court received the report from the Ministry of Justice, it let the Tokyo Left-behind Division deal with it directly without being tried by the three sessions, and the Left-behind Division sent the three to prison on charges of treason and collusion with Fanbang. A few days later, they were sentenced to beheading, at this time the ministers in Ezhou were pro-party to learn the news, they were not satisfied, and shouted injustice to the Prime Minister's Mansion, but the Criminal Department was vague, Wen Xunzhi even said that these three people were important ministers of the imperial court, and when the city of Bianliang was broken, they should be martyred with death. The pro-party asked the Criminal Department to come up with human and material evidence, but was rejected by a sentence of "unwarranted".

"It seems," Ma Yuan sighed, "that the princes of the court and the central government are ruthless and want to kill." ”

"The princes of the Northern Hunt are either involuntarily killed, or follow the saints, and there are very few who are willing to take prisoners, among them may not be without Su Wu, and now a few have just escaped and returned, how can the imperial court not be tried by the three halls, and all of them will be convicted of treason, meticulous work, and collusion with Fanbang? Family members and friends were not satisfied with the questioning, and the criminal department replied with a 'unwarranted', and even the effort to cover it up was saved, which was too much. ”

"Wu Angying, Xu Rubi and other gentlemen, the generosity and righteousness of Bianliang City are better than these people who end up like this today." Someone sighed, "However, if these people can survive, Chen Xianggong will also have a lot of help in the imperial court." "At the beginning, the imperial court used a group of pillars of the Society, and most of them scolded the thieves for martyrdom when Bianliang fell. So that there was no one available after Chen Dong was the prime minister, and Wu Zilong set up another faction, so that the society was divided. When it came to the affairs of the DPRK and China, everyone was a little silent. The rule set by the Taizu Dynasty that not to kill scholars and doctors and those who write and say things has been almost broken.

Someone muttered in a low voice: "The court is so slippery to kill, I don't know who will kill it one day." ”

Feng Li's face was pale, and he retorted: "Liaokou invaded the south, and tens of millions of people in Henan and Jianghuai died. He shook his head, "Zhao Zhifu fought against Cai Jing and Li Bangyan at the beginning, and he also had ten years of seniority in the political affairs hall, and his protégés and former officials were all over the world. In my opinion, Cao Yue and the two of them solved a big problem for the imperial court regardless of their reputation. ”

Speaking of this, Feng Lu's heart moved, and he unconsciously glanced at the window. At the beginning, he took the lead in opposing the use of troops to restore order in Ezhou in the southeast battalion, but now when the situation is compared, his thoughts are a little different, and there is a little remorse in his eyes. Zhao Xingde didn't see this gaze, he looked out the window at the smoke and rain in the south of the Yangtze River, and his face was gloomy and thoughtful. Yelu Dashi's move can not be described as ruthless, he has many Song Dynasty ministers detained in his hands, let three of them come back to test it first, no matter how Ezhou responds, he can use it to make some articles. Although the imperial court quickly cut through the chaos, it has lost a lot of people's hearts.

However, there are more things that worry Zhao Xingde. The three towns of Henan are well-armed, and after entering Jingdong Road, the land and population under their jurisdiction are greatly expanded compared to Henan, and if they are placed in the late Tang Dynasty, they can also be called a strong domain, and the old departments such as Lu Mingyu and Luo Xian still maintain the operation of the army. But now the three towns have become separated, Lu Mingyu, Luo Xianshi, and Deng Yuanjue are not subordinate to each other, and there is no restraint above them. Now that Zhao Xingde has not been gone for a long time, these generals still obey his orders and obey military law. But after the South China Sea Navy Division set out on the expedition, after years and years, how many people can withstand the temptation of monopolizing power? Hoping for the self-discipline of a few people is too risky.

Traveling from Ezhou to Yangzhou, Zhao Xingde is thinking about how to solve the hidden dangers of the three towns in Henan. From An Lushan to Yuan Shikai, he thought about all the heroes he remembered, and none of them could control his subordinates by relying on personal loyalty alone. The feudal town is a poisonous fruit, and once the boss makes a start, he can't prevent it from taking root again in his generals. The only solution is to use institutions to counterbalance the power and ambition of individuals.

When he was in Ezhou, Feng Yanlun also revealed that Xia Guo would change to the system of sergeants in Luoyang and Fangzhou. The "Uniform Land Redemption Law" allowed most of the peasants in the river to acquire small plots of land and take refuge under the protection of the sergeants. Within the time limit, the landlord would receive a price roughly equal to the average land price of the years before the Liao army entered the country, beyond which the Xia court would confiscate the land without compensation. Zhao Xingde thought about it countless times in his heart, Henan didn't need Juntian at all, and Jingdong Road forcibly Juntian, and the consequences were unpredictable. It's better to maintain the status quo and go your own way. At the same time, the people of Henan and Jingdong will directly elect civil protectors to check and balance the power of the sergeants and gentry.

Henan is full of devastation, there is no one in ten gentry clans, and the people rely on the protection of the army to survive, which is very similar to the situation when the Xia State was founded. After so many years of testing, the sergeant system has not caused any major trouble, and it should be possible to implement it in Henan. The sergeant will compete to win the 10-captain, and the centurion and the lieutenant will be promoted from the bottom up. Senior generals can only appoint military commanders or commanders above the rank of lieutenant, which makes it difficult for anyone to install cronies. Although it is not as perfect as the system of the five prefectures of the Xia State, it is enough to last for a few years, and in this way, it will win the trust of the Xia court and get the support of the prime minister and the military government.

Henan is at the forefront, most of the army will be stationed in Henan, and all the strong men are regimental training. Jingdong Road is the de facto rear, itself has not suffered many military disasters, and has always been a place where the power of the big clans and gentry is strong, if the sergeant system is forcibly implemented, it is only afraid that there will be civil strife. Therefore, in Jingdong Road, the magistrate can only be elected by the school, first, to win the hearts of the people, second, to continue to maintain the status of Jingdong Road, and third, to make the Ezhou Prime Minister feel at ease. The Zhenguo Army, the Huaixi Army, and the Henghai Navy have formed a three-sided encirclement of Jingdong Road. Zhao Xingde speculated that for the Song court, Jingdong Road had many household registrations, and more than a dozen prefectures and counties were well preserved, if Lu Mingyu and others blatantly cut off. The imperial court would rather let the Liao people see jokes, and they would not hesitate to fight.

"Dashuai, Zhao Jieshuai?"

"Hmm." Zhao Xingde came back to his senses, saw Ma Yuan and the others looking at him, and asked, "What's the matter?" ”

He's always simple. This time, I went ashore with my subordinates to play, and I first said that I would not be up/down, so as not to let others see my identity. Therefore, Ma Yuan and others took care of themselves and discussed, and Zhao Xingde also took care of himself and pondered, and the two sides did not interfere with each other. Zhao Xingde followed Ma Yuan's gaze, Zhou He was already standing outside the door, and when he saw Zhao Xingde looking over, he arched his hand and said: "Lord Xu sent someone to report that the keel of the newly built sea ship has been cast, I don't know when Zhao Dudu will go to inspect it?" ”

"Okay," Zhao Xingde nodded, got up and said, "Let's go and see, shipbuilding can't be delayed for a moment." ”

Although they have not been plundered ashore for nearly a month, news has come from time to time on the sea, and the southern state capital is full of soldiers. The military department repeatedly urged the naval division to form an army to patrol the sea in advance. However, judging from the known situation, Dashi was a nation skilled in naval warfare, and it was difficult for the Song State to overwhelm the opponent in terms of numbers, and it was only possible to gain superiority in the quality and tactics of the warships. In the First Battle of Nanshan City, the hull of the Xia gunboat could not withstand the recoil of the artillery, and it fell apart and sank, which impressed Zhao Xingde. Therefore, Zhao Xingde has always insisted on laying iron keels and iron ribs on newly built gunboats, rather than using some large lucky ships to transform them into gunboats.

"It's a pity," Ma Yuan said with a smile, "I can't see Qionghua again." ”

"Don't worry," Liu Wengu replied in a low voice, "You are good-looking." ”

The officers of the Zhongshui Division followed Zhao Xingde to the Yangzhou Iron Field. Originally, the Yangzhou shipyard was on the edge of the Yangtze River, but because the keel of the gunboat was too huge, the scale of the ironshop in the shipyard itself was too small, and it could only cast iron anchors and ship nails. Therefore, the iron keel can only be cast according to the size in the Yangzhou official iron yard, and then transported to the ship yard for laying. Because the size of the iron keel is too large, the iron yard master, commonly known as the "iron master", also tried to make it several times before it was successfully cast.

"Oh my God, such a big iron bar is much heavier than an iron cannon!" "Can an iron lump not sink in the water?" "This is heavier than the bell of the capital division, right?" The officers of the Sailor Division talked a lot, and when such a huge iron guy appeared in front of them, everyone couldn't help but gasp.