The morning at the beginning of July is the loveliest, when the lake breeze blows and is as cool as a bagpipe.

From time to time, shouts and cheers were heard in the city of Jiangzhou.

If it weren't for the ruins everywhere, it would be hard to imagine the tragedy of more than two months ago.

"The grass on the plain is far away, one year old and one withered, the wildfire is inexhaustible, and the spring breeze blows and grows, so the people are dogs," Song Jiu said.

This has a deep meaning, Guo Er and Wang Zhen can't understand it.

"Let's go."

The three of them packed their luggage, asked the uncle to take out the horse, turned over and left the inn. Watching them leave, Ru'er said, "They are really gone." ”

Liu's eyes were puzzled.

"Lady, I'll just say, they look like big officials."

"Don't be nosy, let's go and see the ground." Liu said. She still has a lot of things, after seeing the land, she wants to send Cheng Bo back to Huangzhou to hire people to come over to operate, and how to manage it in the next few days must also be planned. However, she looked at the backs of the three of them, and she was still suspicious in her heart.

……

"Right there." Ming got off the donkey and pointed to the three people in front of the waterfall and said.

Chen Qiu strode forward and wanted to salute, but Song Jiu shook his head: "Chen Kongmu, don't be polite, there are still some tourists here, let's go forward." ”

Several people led the horses and donkeys into the depths of the mountain forest.

The sun is blazing.

But it's not too hot here, and from time to time the crisp singing of small birds can be heard.

Song Jiu found a secluded place, sat down on the rocks, and Chen Qiu strode forward: "My subordinates have seen Song Gong. ”

"I haven't handed over yet, so I don't need to call my subordinates, let's talk about each other."

"Whoa."

"I came to you to ask a few things. In addition, I will entrust you with one more thing. ”

"Please command."

"How is this person in Ye Hao, De'an Zhi County?"

"Ye Hao," Chen Qiu thought for a while and said, "I have no dealings with this person. It doesn't seem to be evil. ”

As in Guangnan, most of the officials of the Southern Tang Dynasty would sooner or later be replaced by imperial court officials. However, some officials with good official evaluations continue to be retained, especially some subordinate officials, such as the state governors, the records of the army, the judiciary, the county chiefs, the county governors, and some counties, but more than eighty percent of the governors and general judgments of the states must be replaced by officials of the imperial court in case there is a change.

Jiangzhou retains fewer original officials. Of the various counties, only Ye Hao remained, and the rest were all counties transferred by the imperial court.

Except for some soldiers and soldiers who died in the battle at the mouth of the Anhui River, the rest of the people were not killed by officers and soldiers, and many Jiangzhou people fled to De'an for refuge.

Only then did Song Jiu turn his attention to De'an.

But when he first arrived, he didn't know much about De'an's situation, and he didn't know much about Ye Hao.

Chen Qiu was appointed as a Confucian official because of appeasement of people's hearts, and he also didn't know much about it. But Song Jiu can ask: "Chen Kongmu, then does he have a close connection with Zhang Zhizhou?" ”

"It doesn't seem to be." Chen Qiu thought for a while and replied.

"When you were in Lushan. Have you ever heard of any bad behavior of Ye Hao? ”

"Not either."

Song Jiu breathed a sigh of relief, don't expect Ye Haonai to be a cadre, even if he is a mediocre official, he is not evil. Second, don't collude with Zhang Ji and them.

Chen Qiu said cautiously: "Song Gong, can I say a word." ”

"Say it."

"Although there are some bad situations in Jiangzhou, it is not like that. Jiangzhou is a dead city. ”

"Go on."

"And most of the people in Jiangzhou City are from Jiangbei, including the box soldiers."

"It's not just the soldiers. The general judgment itself has the power to restrain it, right? ”

"That's what I thought." Chen Qiu said, I don't know how Song Jiu came to Jiangzhou mysteriously in civilian clothes, first found Mingqi, and then found what he was going to do, but he was worried, so he said: "Jiangzhou is not the Jiangzhou of the past. ”

"Don't worry, I won't overturn all of Zhang Ji's measures, keep the good ones, and eliminate the bad ones."

"And the Gu Tong Judgment."

"Not only is there a Gu Tong sentence, once I take over, Zhang Ji is in Raozhou, a neighboring state of Jiangzhou, and he has a close relationship with Zhao Pu, maybe he can continue to control Jiangzhou remotely."

"Zhao Pu?" Chen Qiu said blankly.

"You don't know what to do?"

"I don't know what to do, so I have to be more careful."

"Actually, I don't want to change too much, and there will be disputes when I move."

"yes."

"Not only is there a dispute, it looks beautiful, at least Jiangzhou has regained its vitality."

"yes."

"The imperial court also doesn't want to publicize this matter, so as not to float the hearts of the people in Jiangnan."

"yes."

"But have you ever thought that if such a big thing happened, you can hide it?"

Chen Qiu couldn't answer.

Song Jiu didn't suspect or blame him, to be reasonable, Chen Qiu's intentions were also good. He asked, "If you are not afraid of making mistakes, you are afraid of making mistakes and do not know how to repent." And because of all kinds of injustices, the remaining people in Jiangzhou are angry. This anger spreads, Jiangzhou is a state, but behind it are more than a dozen states in Jiangnan, hundreds of thousands of households and millions of Li people, can I not be afraid? ”

"If Song Gong insists on doing this, it will be a little difficult."

"What do I want to do?"

Chen Qiu was speechless.

"What you must do is to correct," Song Jiu said. Not only must it be corrected, but it can't make too big a dispute, and it can't be overpowering the ugliness of the officers and soldiers, it's really difficult, so Song Jiu has all kinds of arrangements, and said: "It's difficult in Jiangzhou, the officials, the people, the soldiers, and the soldiers are twisted together, maybe they can make me a puppet alive, but do you think it's possible?" ”

Chen Qiu didn't dare to answer, but he thought in his heart that the puppet may not be, but it is really difficult to regain real power.

"You have the wrong idea in your heart," Song Jiu looked at his face and said: "A few years ago, the court fought very hard, that level was too high, and the scheming was too deep, and I couldn't defeat it, so I tried to avoid it for a while, but my idea was too naïve, I didn't want to avoid it, and in the end I still got involved." ”

If you go to the depths of the south of the Yangtze River, maybe some big families do not know, but Jiangzhou is different, it is an important port, although the Song Dynasty banned trade, private merchants continued to flow in an endless stream, as the head of the local Wangmen, so Chen Qiu can hear some news of the Song Dynasty, including the vicious fight between Zhao Pu and Zhao Kuangyi. A small number of Song Jiu's deeds.

Song Jiu continued: "I didn't avoid that vicious fight and became a pawn for many people. Some people want to use it, and some people want to get rid of it. I didn't want to use it, but I was still used, I didn't want to be removed, but it was still very dangerous for a while, if it weren't for my role in the imperial court, I might be thrown into the Yangtze River now. But on the other hand, how many chess pieces can be put on the table in that vicious fight? Is it Zhang Zhizhou? ”

It's fun to be clear.

Although Song Jiu said it vaguely, it was still easy to understand. It is definitely an uncomfortable thing to be a chess piece, but there are not many people who can do it, and many people are not qualified to do it.

"I survived, I became a national prince, and I came to Jiangzhou to help in emergencies, is it true that I still have some role to play in the imperial court?"

Chen Qiu finally understood what Song Jiu meant, it was not easy to survive the struggle at that level, not only talented, but also scheming. What are Zhang Gu and the others?

Song Jiu said again: "If you can be a chess piece in that battle, you can be a chess player in Jiangzhou." ”

"I understand, please ask Song Gong to command."

"How many people in Jiangzhou City survived, and how many people outside the city survived?"

"Yes. Not many of the people of the city survived, some were killed in battle, and most were killed. And a small number of the people fled from the city, and they did not know where they had fled. As for the suburbs, the proportion of people who survive is a little higher. But there are not many, most of the people because of the arrival of officers and soldiers. Hurried into the city, and was killed. Some civilians were also killed in the pursuit of the fleeing civilians by the officers and soldiers. Now the people on the outskirts of the city are almost all people from Jiangbei. ”

"I've seen this." Song Jiu's heart was a little gloomy.

When Cao Han's army was in person, there was no tyrannical behavior, and there were still some people outside the city, and they continued to cultivate in fear, and there were some wastelands at that time, the closer to the city, the more wasteland, but far away, and even some people snatched up the wheat, and also carried rice, and planted beans and millet. Then the Song army entered the city, the killing began, the people fled, and the people of Jiangbei came to enclose the land, because there was no one to manage it, and the crops did not grow well. Many villages have become ghost villages, and when he came to meet Chen Qiu today, Song Jiu deliberately went into several villages on the road in the name of begging for water. After reading it, my heart was cold.

"So how many people have returned?"

"Yes, some people heard that the officers and soldiers had left and came back to ask for houses and farmland, but there was no reply, and many people left Jiangzhou in order to survive."

"Are there Jiangbei people over there?"

"Yes, there are many former Tang Tun fields and ownerless cultivated land on the Hukou side, but there are not as many contradictions there as there are on the Jiangzhou side."

"Then I will be clear, and now I will tell you to do something for me."

"Please instruct."

"Zhang Gu and the others accepted bribes, there must be account books, I want you to get it for me."

"This won't work."

"Since I want you to do this for me, I will create some conditions for you, originally I wanted to watch it for a few more days, and wait for my wife to come to Jiangzhou before handing over, but now it is handed over in advance, I will hand over in three days, and I will have some ......arrangements at that time" Song Jiu said his plan.

"That's ......"

"If it weren't for you, the chief of Myeongdong would do things for me, I would promise to restore the glory of Jiangnan Guoxue for him, and if you do things for me, I would bring many benefits to your people." After Song Jiu finished speaking, he turned over and got on the horse, but this time the three of them were separated, Guo Er returned to Jiangbei, and he and Wang Zhen went to De'an.

Watching them leave, Chen Qiu asked worriedly, "Can it be done?" ”

"We're also pawns...... Mingqi said with a wry smile. Zhao Pu and Zhao Kuangyi fought viciously, Zhao Kuangyi won a complete victory, Zhao Pu was safe, at most he lost some power, or continued to stay in Luoyang and Mengzhou to enjoy Qingfu and be safe. But what about the chess pieces? Some are dead, some have fallen, those who steal the country are waiting, and those who steal the hook are punished, this is the law of ancient and modern exchanges.

But reality forced them to be pawns.

……

"Lady, you see, these rice are growing well." Ru'er said.

"Jiangnan is a place of ointment." Cheng Bodao.

"I'm counting on it."

"Lady, this matter is done, if the Ding family has any grievances, it is theirs, and the lady can go back to her parents' house."

"Uncle Cheng, I don't know what to do." Liu's face was gloomy, even if she went back to her mother's house, she couldn't get rid of the burden of this Kefu, and she said: "And I always have some bad premonitions in my heart." ”

"Lady, what's wrong."

"That shop, these places are unknown after all."

"Don't you listen to that envoy, the government has approved it, what's there to worry about?" Ru'er said.

Liu smirked, perhaps because he was suspicious. (To be continued......)