Jiangning, Chen Garden on the south bank of Zangjin Bridge and Yuqian Street are separated by a song of clear ponds, it is in the early autumn and August, the summer heat in Jiangning has not subsided, the lotus flowers in the clear pond are spitting, and the faint fragrance floats into the house.

In the Fucui Pavilion of Chen Yuan, Li Zhuo was wearing a green cloth shirt, holding a chess piece in his hand, he didn't put it on the chessboard for a long time, looked at the chess pieces, and then looked at the lotus pond outside the Fucui Pavilion, hesitated for a long time, or threw the chess pieces into the chess box.

"What is Li Shuai hesitating about?" The middle-aged man sitting opposite Li Zhuo was nearly fifty years old, with a black face and beard, and a tall figure, if he wasn't wearing a Confucian shirt and a scribe's scarf on his head, others would think that he was a military general with five big and three thick, but he was the left squire of Jiangning's Ministry of Officials, and Yu Xinyuan, the left capital of Jiangning, Yu Xinyuan, squinted at Li Zhuo, and said with a smile, "The Chu Party fell too quickly, and Li Shuai was clumsy in coping?" ”

Yu Xinyuan and Li Zhuo were admitted in the same year, and at the same time they entered the Criminal Department as the chief officer, ten years of colleagues, and then served in the local area, and had a deep relationship. Li Zhuoji went to Jiangxi to be the deputy envoy of the inspector, and later Chen Xinbo was strongly recommended by Chen Xinbo to serve as the envoy of Jiangxi and the governor of Eastern Fujian, but Yu Xinyuan was not in agreement with Chen Xinbo because he belonged to the Wu party faction, and Chen Xiyan and other Wu party officials were kicked to Jiangning.

Li Zhuo didn't answer Yu Xinyuan's question, took out another white piece from the chess box and landed on the chessboard, and when it came to another matter, he asked: "Chen Xiyan played a stinky chess hand, and the Xixi Society will not stay away, so you will be the leader of the Wu Party?" ”

"If you talk about the lectures of the Xixi Society...... Yu Xinyuan chuckled, "Chen Xiyan is not in good health and returns to his hometown to recuperate, so I will reluctantly preside over the Xixi Society temporarily on his behalf." ”

Gao Zongting stood aside, his eyes falling on the chess pieces.

Since the great Confucian Chen Huangzhou lectured in the Xixi Society, the Xixi Society is the most important gathering place for the Qingliu scholars who drowned in Jiangning, and the Qingliu scholars were the most important gathering place, through the same year, the same door, and the township party, the Xixi Society closely linked the scholars and Qingliu in the Wuyue land and the surrounding areas with the children of the local clans, and the world called it the Wu Party, or also known as the Xixi Party.

Since Chen Huang Zhou, the person who presided over the lectures of the Xixi Institute was none other than the leader and leader of the Wu Party, and it can be said that in Jiangdong County, the leader of the Wu Party spoke more effectively than the Xuanfu envoy.

Chen Xiyan is a native of Jiyang County, Pingjiang Prefecture, more than 1,000 miles around Taihu Lake, and at this time he is stirring up people to suppress the rampant Donghai Kou, and Jiyang is not peaceful; Chen Xiyan returned to Jiyang at this time, so naturally he couldn't recuperate with peace of mind.

In the final analysis, he was still implicated in the Qu Jiatong bandit case, Chen Xiyan's reputation plummeted, and if he did not dismiss him, there would be an irreparable crack within the Wu Party; Yu Xinyuan was launched to turn the tide.

The Qu Jiatong bandit case was a big stinky move by Chen Xiyan, and it also made the emperor completely dead to Chen Xiyan's expectations. Compared with Chen Xiyan, Yu Xinyuan's ability may not be slightly worse, but his prestige and qualifications are ultimately insufficient, and the Qu family bandit case is a major setback for the Wu Party.

Li Zhuo casually sat down with Yu Xinyuan, and Gao Zongting could see that he was always worried between his eyebrows.

Yu Xinyuan was also secretly observing Li Zhuo, and said casually: "Gu Wuchen's disciples used homeless people to build a township camp in Chongzhou, and the villagers thought that this was a bad start, and there were many discussions about this matter, what did Li Shuai think?" ”

"Smack!" Li Zhuo fell a little heavy, and there was a crisp sound from the catalpa chessboard, Li Zhuo took his hand and said: "The article submitted by the local government, the Xuanfu envoy copied a copy to me, and the displaced people were not born to be diaspora, and most of the people gathered on Xisha Island were from Zhongzhou. Under the whole world, Mo is the king's land, and the shore of the land is not the king's minister. The people of Chongzhou are kings, but aren't the people of Zhongzhou kings? In addition, the displaced people are heavy on the land, so that they can live and work in peace and contentment on Xisha Island, and they will be the people of Chongzhou for a long time. Moreover, Chongzhou was still a tidal flat before the founding of the country, and how many of the people living in Chongzhou did not move in from other places? I think this matter is still a good ...... special treatment" Afraid that Yu Xinyuan would not look good on his face, Li Zhuo added another sentence and said, "Don't take it as an example......

Yu Xinyuan thought that when Li Zhuo was appointed as an envoy in Jiangxi, the Liukou were recruited to the army to appoint personal soldiers, maybe he had no opinion in his heart about Lin Zhuo's township camp among the displaced people, but in any case, Lin Zhuo was a member of the Gu family of the Chu Party, Li Zhuo did nothing in Jiangning, and had a great relationship with the Chu Party's suppression, and he agreed with Lin Zhuo's township camp on Xisha Island, Yu Xinyuan was still a little surprised.

Yu Xinyuan thought to himself: In terms of local military equipment, according to the Inspectorate Division, the right to speak is the heaviest, and Gu Wuchen is newly appointed as the Jiangdong Inspectorate, and it is indeed inconvenient to entangle on this issue at this time.

"It seems that this matter can only be handled in this way," Yu Xinyuan said, "In addition, it is rumored in Yanjing that Zhang Xie intends to increase the municipal tax to make up for the lack of national funds, what does Li Shuai think?" ”

Gao Zongting stood aside and was silent, but what Yu Xinyuan was thinking, he could also guess one or two: In order to make up for the lack of state funds of the imperial court, the Chu Party must first try it out at the local level, and Yu Xinyuan was worried that Jiangdong County would bear the brunt because of Gu Wuchen's relationship.

Gao Zongting followed Li Zhuo to fight in Eastern Fujian for several years, and knew that money and food came first in the management of the army.

Liu An'er's rebellion extended to Dongyang, Huai'an, Weiyang, Haozhou four prefectures, the disaster of luxury can only be said to be a slight solution, the extent to which the Donghai Kou will be fierce has not yet been known, the threat of the Donghu people on the northern front is becoming more and more serious, Huguang and Jiangxi are disasters this summer, the civil chaos is like a spark, the slightest relaxation will become a prairie fire, eventful autumn, what to do with insufficient national funds to eliminate such a big hidden danger?

The Chu Party transferred the object of widening the financial resources from the Tianding tax to the city tax, that is, to reduce the burden of the small people and let the local wealthy families bear more, and the big idea is correct. The so-called "plucking a hair to benefit the world without doing anything", the increase in municipal tax revenue touches the fundamental interests of the family and the local government, and the resistance is unimaginable.

Gao Zongting also couldn't see what the Chu Party could do in the center, but he didn't know how the Governor would respond to Yu Xinyuan's question.

Li Zhuo pressed his hands on both sides of the catalpa chessboard and said: "I have only cared about military affairs for many years, but my views on the matter of making up for national funds are shallow, and I really have no humble opinion that can be used to show ugliness......

Li Zhuo is tired of the party struggle in the imperial court but is unable to break free, at present, nearly half of Jiangdong County is Yayoi military disasters, bandits are difficult to solve, he is willing to drive for the king, bow to the pure, die and then he is not at ease, only hateful center to treat him like a tiger locked in Jiangning to feel at ease, in his opinion, Yu Xinyuan is not a person who has the ability to turn the tide, he has just replaced Chen Xiyan within the Wu Party, and what he seeks is only to restrict Gu Wuchen, and it can be said to limit the Chu Party's infiltration and control of Jiangdong and the two Zhejiang regions.

This seat can't be regarded as a happy conversation, a game of chess until there is still an endgame, Yu Xinyuan said goodbye and left.

Sending Yu Xinyuan to the mansion, Li Zhuo and Gao Zongting said: "There is still the endgame left, you accompany me to finish." ”

Gao Zongting accompanied Li Zhuo back to Fucui Pavilion and said, "If you clean up the next game, there is no urgent business to deal with today?" ”

"Where can the fallen chess pieces be repacked back into the chess box!" Li Zhuo sighed.

Gao Zongting was slightly stunned, knowing that Li Zhuo was worried about state affairs, just as Li Zhuo said, it would be much easier to overthrow all the things in this world and clean them up, so he grabbed the chess pieces and played with them in his hands.

"I'm worried about the direction of Haozhou," Li Zhuo took the chess pieces in his hand, and said to Gao Zongting, who had followed him for many years, "Liu An'er's department has been dormant in Hongzepu for more than two months, and at such an urgent time, the Changhuai Town Army is not even enough to pay money. Although Zuo Shangrong has good news from time to time, the longer the time drags on, the more worried I am about the direction of Haozhou. If Haozhou is lost, the Hongzepu thieves will be connected with Huaishang and Zhongzhou, but the achievements made in this spring will be ruined, and the horse thieves and rogues in Huaishang, Zhongzhou, and other places who have been dormant or retreated into the mountains and forests due to the bandits will be re-energized, and may even be twisted into a closer force, and the situation in the hinterland of the Central Plains may be ten times more severe than before......

"Donghai Kou also has to worry," Gao Zongting said, "At this time, I hope that Ninghai Town will suffer a big defeat......

"Do you think that if the Ninghai Master collapses, the imperial court will use me?" Li Zhuo asked Gao Zongting rhetorically, he looked at Gao Zongting for a moment, shook his head first, and said, "If the Ninghai Division is defeated, it will only further prove that the Zhenjun army has become corrupt and useless, and the imperial court will naturally not take the Jiangning Naval Division to risk." Gu Wuchen is in Jiangdong, and he will suggest that the imperial court increase the scale of compiling and training Xiangyong...... I thought his idea was still feasible, and the key was to find the right person. The battle of the estuary, you have seen it with your own eyes, how can Lin Tie train his troops? ”

"Gu Wuchen uses Lin Tie as a knife, he may not be relieved to use him, in the final analysis, Lin Tie is too sharp," Gao Zongting said, "Hekou incident, Lin Tie was in Xisha Island for disaster relief, went to Taihu Lake to raise food, and participated in Taihu Lake to suppress bandits, and at this time he set up a township camp on Xisha Island without authorization, although it was temporarily suppressed, but nothing was in accordance with the rules......

"We just fell too according to the rules...... Li Zhuo sighed, holding the chess pieces and tapping lightly on the chessboard.

Gao Zongting knew that Li Zhuo regretted handing over all the military power, he was like a tiger locked in a cage in Jiangning, no matter how great his ability was, he could not do anything about the crisis faced by Jiangdong County at this time, and it was impossible for the Chu Party to give Li Zhuo the opportunity to increase his prestige, so he sighed slightly and said: "Lin Tie should be the best candidate, although this person is very ambitious, his root is to settle the people's livelihood, and many things are secretly-for-tat with the luxury family." Available is available, but his qualifications are too shallow, if we just carry him in secret, I am afraid it will not be of much use. ”

"It may not be ineffective, the key depends on how to lift it," Li Zhuo said, "Gu Wuchen is now an envoy, how long do you say he will endure it before he officially opens a prison city in Jiangdong?" ”

"Prison City?" Gao Zongting's eyes lit up, and he said with a smile, "Jiang is still old and spicy, I really didn't expect that I could take the sword and make dangerous moves." ”

Lin Jian served as the head of Jinchuan Prison Island, and if Gu Wuchen opened the prison city, the chief official of the prison city would not be Lin Lian.

Li Zhuo smiled slightly, and said: "This strategy is feasible, but it can only make the east a little peaceful, and it must also be used to bind this person......