Zhao Zhen did not agree, and said: "The thief Wang Lun only has hundreds of people, and there is no need for Qing to go in person." ”

Although Wang Lun gave the court a headache, he was just a chicken, and it was too much to use a knife.

Zheng Lang replied: "Your Majesty, Gaoyou is close to the Grand Canal, and at the end of June, the tax on tea and salt in Jiangnan, and the gold, silver, copper, and iron of the Ping'an Prison will all be transported from the Grand Canal to Jingshi. Moreover, from Gaoyou to the south, are the country's fish and rice warehouse, a large grain supply, thieves have eroded from Yizhou to Gaoyou, to the south is Yangzhou and Zhenzhou, across the Yangtze River is Jiangning, Runzhou, Suzhou, Huzhou, Hangzhou. ”

Every time Zheng Lang mentioned a location, Zhao Zhen's delicate face turned white.

In addition to the fact that the real state is slightly smaller, the other states and states cannot be eroded, and the annual tax revenue of these states and states is not hundreds of thousands, or even more than one million. Han Qi and Fan Zhongyan are grinding their mouths for 1,800 guan, what kind of number is 1 million guan?

"Zheng Qing, if you go, bring all the border troops with you."

"Your Majesty, no, although the thieves are brave, they fight against the water, and they resist stubbornly, but it is enough for the minister to bring a battalion, as for the reason, the minister will come back and talk about it." Zheng Lang replied. Wang Lun was a little better, and the immediate Zhanghai Uprising was on a huge scale, spanning Shaanxi, Henan and Hubei, and completely festering more than a dozen prefectures and counties in the capital. Don't use too many soldiers.

"There are too few people."

"Your Majesty, there are not many soldiers, but in the fine, how many forbidden troops and box soldiers have been stationed from Yizhou to Gaoyou, plus the surrounding places, the number of forbidden box troops and Yaqian can reach more than 10,000 people, why are more than 200 people invincible. Your Majesty, Princesses, please think again. ”

Zhao Zhen still hopes that Zheng Lang will bring more people.

After all, the news came from the folds that the enemy was too strong, and the prime minister came forward, in case of defeat, Zheng Lang was in danger, and the country could not afford to lose this face.

Zheng Lang said: "The minister is not good at military affairs, but he is not a layman either, please let the minister discuss." ”

It is modest to say that he is not good at it, Zheng Lang does not understand military affairs, so who in the court understands military affairs?

Zhao Zhen had no choice but to agree.

Coming out of the capital hall, Fan Zhongyan was still a little worried, and said, "Xingzhi, don't underestimate the enemy." Wang Lun rebelled, died if he didn't live, and was forced to a dead end, and there were many horses, and you brought a little less people. ”

"Brother Xiwen, I didn't underestimate the enemy, the enemy is on a desperate road, and he must be very strong in battle, I know this in my heart. As for the horses, don't worry, they have taken many horses from the government along the way, so the further back they go, the higher their combat effectiveness and faster they are. But from Yizhou to the south, all are inland, except for the horses used for communication, these horses have never been expected to be on the battlefield, and they are not a place to raise horses, there are many bad horses, and there are few good horses. And all of them were from infantry and were not good at riding. In just one month, what superb riding skills can be practiced? It seems that they were only used for riding, and it was not heard that they were specially trained in horsemanship, and were ready to fight on horseback. The terrain is also different, and if you go south, there are many swamps and low-lying places, and practicing riding skills is not of much use. ”

"But you're mostly cavalry."

"That's okay, at this time, the enemy was stationed in Gaoyou, and Chen Zhizhong sent Fu Yongji, the inspector of the capital, to chase all the way south, afraid of the strength of the enemy, he didn't dare to catch up, and carried out a short handover. However, the enemy also knew that his strength was weak and he did not dare to fight back head-on, and as soon as there was damage, the officers and soldiers of the surrounding counties and counties would pounce on him like wolves, so they continued to retreat southward. There are only three roads for Gaoyou to go south, one to Taizhou, the east of Taizhou is the sea (the coastline of the Song Dynasty is not as far as today), the officers and soldiers are pressed, they can only flee to Tongzhou, the south of Tongzhou is still the sea, and then they will be forced to the Jedi. Therefore it will not be chosen. The second road is Yangzhou, although Yangzhou is prosperous, but there are six battalions of troops, and there are many box soldiers and forbidden soldiers, the number of troops is more than ten times that of them, and they do not dare to invade Yangzhou in the south. Therefore, it must go to the southwest, enter Zhenzhou and Zhou, and can go west to Dabie Mountain and cross the Yangtze River in the south. The state capitals in this area only have one battalion of forbidden soldiers, and some state capitals do not even have forbidden troops stationed. The enemy will inevitably choose this route to go south. But Xiwen, what kind of terrain is it in the southwest of Gaoyou? ”

The west of Gaoyou is now not the Gaoyou Lake with a large area later, there is a lake, the earliest is Fanliang Lake, to the Tang Dynasty due to the increase of water from the upstream, the lake surface increases, it becomes Yongshe Lake and Zhu Lake, the lake surface of the Song Dynasty increases one after another, there are many small lakes, there are seventy-two streams on it, there are thirty-six lakes under it, among which the big one has Yongshe Lake, Zhu Lake, Five Lakes, Ping'a Lake, Xinkai Lake, Jin Lake. Until the end of the Southern Song Dynasty, the water of the Yellow River seized the Huai, forming a larger area of Wudang Twelve Lakes, and the Ming and Qing Dynasties adopted the strategy of leading the Yellow River into the Huai, and finally made the Wudang Twelve Lakes form a new big lake, which is Gaoyou Lake.

In short, the topography of this area varies greatly, and there are many lakes in the southwest of Gaoyou, but they are far less than the area of later generations. Further southwest, it is close to Tianchang, where the terrain is flat and an endless plain, which is most suitable for cavalry conflicts.

It may be difficult for other ministers to know the specific terrain, but Fan Zhong is drowned in Jiangdong and knows the terrain of this area very well, so it is difficult to say anything, but he sighed: "The number of people is still too small." ”

"I also want to bring the two battalions of the border army together, no matter how short the country is financial, it will not be short of more than 200 people to mobilize military funds. But I did it with a purpose, Brother Sven, and you'll know when I get back. ”

Not only has ulterior motives, but also to save money for the country, although Wang Lun has few people, the tail is not big, the court is helpless, not only to support Fu Yongji's pursuers, but also to send Xu's urging to all the soldiers to attack, mobilized nearly 10,000 people, only to force Wang Lun to Liyang County, Hezhou, and exterminate Wang Lun. Wang Lun was shot dead by Zhang Ju, a strong man in Liyang County, and others. Even the strong men (a kind of errand service) were used, so it can be seen how many soldiers and horses were used by the imperial court? There are only more than 200 people, and even the historians are ashamed of it, and they can't bear the specific number of bandits suppressed by the secretary.

How much money is wasted on the country?

What's more, there are more troops used to eliminate Zhang Hai later.

It is impossible to count, this uprising in several places exploded, bringing at least 10 million gold silk losses to the country! There may be much more than that.

Fan Zhongyan saw that Zheng Lang had made up his mind, and it was inconvenient to stop him, so he said: "Take care when you go south." ”

"Thank you, Xiwen."

went to the barracks and transferred the first battalion of the Qiangbian out, and the commander was Zhao Sheng. I have been in the capital for two months, and my life is relatively satisfying. However, it is not enough, although the capital is good, you have to have money in your hands, and if you want to have money in your hands, you must have a high official position, and if you want to have a high official position, you must keep making meritorious contributions. Zheng Lang said something similar in the northwest, but only when he lived in the capital did he know the meaning of this sentence.

Sooner or later, it will fall, but not so quickly, this army still maintains a strong combat effectiveness, and the battle is also very strong. Gathering the army and looking at the morale, Zheng Lang's heart was settled. Zheng Lang returned home and said hello.

"Why are you an official again?" Si'er said unconvinced.

Zheng Lang touched her head and said, "Si'er, you can't blame the court this time, I'm going to go by myself." ”

"Officials, there are so many bandits......

"I don't need to exterminate the bandits in other places, only for Wang Lun's department, not to exterminate them. These bandits are scabies, and although they hurt the court, they will not be fatal. The reason why I went there was to take advantage of the situation and to do another big thing. ”

"Official, be careful." Cui Xian did not stop and said with concern.

"I know." As soon as he said go, the speed was very fast, Zheng Lang hurried to the southeast with a battalion of border troops.

However, this trip has brought a great shock to the government and the opposition.

Ouyang Xiu wrote a 10,000-word recital, Your Majesty, why did the bandits of more than 200 people actually let the dignified prime minister lead his troops to exterminate them? What's wrong with this country? When did the people rise up on all sides and become bandits everywhere? Wang Lun's bandits, not only from Yizhou to the south, there are Huaiyang Army, Suqian, Chuzhou, Baoying, there are Xu, Hai, Su, Tai, Yang, Si, Lianshui Army and other state armies, where did the army of these state armies go? What are the officers of these state armies doing?

Ouyang Xiu never said that the lord was bad, but the other ministers didn't care, Yu Jing directly said that Zhao Zhen was inappropriate, cronyism, and sitting back on the officials, so as to damage the ancestral family business.

Cai Xiang and others also wrote a book, and they needed to inspect the affairs of officials, and officials could no longer develop like this.

It was normal at first, but when I reflected on it, it became more and more abnormal. First of all, Xiaodou Su Shen, this person is erudite and talented, Yizhou is rebellious, and the imperial court uses his strategy to send Feng Shenji through the Guizhou economic system, and he is barbaric. He also wrote eight things, rewarding the knights, choosing carefully, recommending them clearly, changing the uniforms, choosing the right talents, choosing the generals, distinguishing between loyalty and evil, and preparing for repair. Eight more gentle and good words, Zhao Zhen Jiazhi, moved to the Shangshu Rite Department Langzhong.

But his opinions are different from those of Wang Su, Ouyang Xiu and others, such as choosing carefully, Su Shen and Zheng Lang have similar opinions, send people down to investigate, who to send, and how to ensure that the comments of the inspection are correct? Therefore, it is better to think in the long run, officials are not incompetent, there is no way to govern this, who can guarantee that every official is like Lu Yijian and Fan Zhongyan? There are only a dozen similar officials in the entire Great Song Dynasty, and most of the officials are incompetent, but they can't do without them. This can be solved slowly, and the main thing is to control and gradually eliminate them, first reducing the number of officials year by year, and eliminating the disadvantage of redundant officials.

Ouyang Xiu and other officials listened to Zhao Zhen, but he didn't approve of it, and gradually disgusted in his heart, so he took the opportunity to ask for rain and said: "The five things of "Hong Fan", if you don't follow the words, you are not to be wrong, you are to blame, and you are punished by Changyang. ”

Referring to a passage in Hong Fanli, there must be rules for establishing political affairs, mastering the five blessings of longevity, wealth, well-being, virtue, and good death, and rewarding your subjects justly, and your subjects will respect your laws. The method is that there can be no evil party, and the officials should not be privately attached, but can only follow the example of the king. Ministers who have scheming and guarding will remember them, and if they behave unlawfully, but they have not fallen into a great sin, they will be accomplished. If they follow virtue, give them good. Don't be unjust, don't be unjust, obey the king's commands, don't do personal good, obey the royal way, don't do evil, and follow the right way. Don't be biased, don't form a party, don't violate, don't lean.

ridiculed Wang Su and Ouyang Xiu for forming a party and acting in a biased manner, and leaning towards each other privately.

It happened that Su Zao recommended Ma Duan, who was also a learned person, who served as an official under Fan Zhongyan and Pang Ji in the northwest, and had many contributions, so Su Shen recommended him as the supervisor of the imperial history. His mother had broken the law and sat on the spine of a cane. What does this do with Ma Duan? But Ouyang Xiu played a piece and said: "Duan's surname is dangerous, and in previous years, his mother often had a bad affair, and his mother sat on the spine of a cane. As a son of man, he can't use etiquette to prevent idleness, trap his mother in evil, and can't tolerate it, so that his mother will be punished, and he will disdain the official association for life, how can he be a judge of the Son of Heaven! Su Shen is compatible with the villain's popularity, and it is advisable to do so. ”

Su Shen may not be a good person, nor is he so bad, he is a capable official. Ma Duan had a little literary and military talent, but after letting Ouyang Xiu wear a big hat, the two of them were all sad. Su Shen was deposed, and the horse was released.

Therefore, Zheng Lang said that the Qingli New Deal is not a dragon and tiger fight, but a cat and snake fight, and if you want to do great things, you must unite and work together to implement one practical thing after another. What Su Shen said, a word of stubbornness, Zhao Zhen didn't take it seriously. If Ouyang Xiu made a joke with kindness at this time, it would be even more elegant, and it would not make Zhao Zhen feel very disgusted step by step. And his knowledge is enough to do it. However...... It's too much.

Knocking down Su Shen, the gentlemen thought of another thing. The status of the eldest brother is still too low, the deputy minister can, but what can the vice minister of Xifu do? So Ouyang Xiu, Yu Jing, and Cai Xiang all went to impeach Wang Juzheng for cowardly not taking office, and replaced him with Fan Zhongyan.

Wang Juzheng is a good old man, when he saw these gentlemen swarming down, his face was as frightened as dirt, and he said to Zhao Zhen, they are right, let the ministers retreat, so as not to delay the country's political affairs. So Fan Zhongyan took Wang Juzheng as the governor of the political affairs.

Zheng Lang arrived in Bozhou, and Xia Zhu also came to Bozhou at this time.

The capital didn't dare to look for Zheng Lang, kind-hearted, afraid that Zheng Lang would also go to the sea. But it doesn't matter in Bozhou, he warmly welcomes him out of the city, he is the old minister, one of the emperor's teachers, but at this time Zheng Lang's status is really equal to him.

Warm hospitality, not only Zheng Lang, but also the border army he brought, anyway, there are not many people, only about 200 people, and one person spends two times on hospitality, but only about 400. During the banquet, he asked: "Xingzhi, is it fair for Sun Luan to treat me like this?" ”

He stayed in the capital and didn't leave, he went to the book of ten thousand words to defend himself, and Zhao Zhen replied, so with that sentence, don't hum and chirp, do more practical things to wash away your infamy. Xia Zhu checked and checked, and finally found out who criticized this sentence, Sun Luan!

Zheng Lang couldn't answer.

In any case, it is a little unfair to Xia Zhu for the Gentlemen Party to do this.

"If it's someone else, what ability does Sun Luan have to criticize me with virtue?"

Zheng Lang couldn't answer, Sun Luan was not only inferior to Xia Zhu in terms of governance, but De Yan was also not much better.

"Xingzhi, if someone treats you like this, what do you do?"

If there is really something bad, or if he thinks he is incompetent, he will retreat and will not be angry, but a cloud of sewage is splashed out of nothing, how can Zheng Lang not fight back? Zheng Lang sighed, but couldn't answer.