Chapter 219 Taking Over Jiangling Prefecture
Zhao Yulin said that Xiangyang Prefecture was now on the right track under the administration of the Grand Eunuch. The government office was full of talented people and officials, and the Grand Eunuch was very smart and would definitely be able to do a good job.
At this time, Zhao Yulin looked at the dog-beating stick beside her and couldn't help laughing.
When the female gang leader heard him talking, she felt like the residual heat of an iron was ironing her chest. She was very uncomfortable, but when she saw him staring at her and smiling, she felt unhappy again.
The gang leader asked him what he was laughing at and what was so funny.
He pointed to the dog-beating stick beside the female leader and said cheerfully: "Since the leader is the chief steward of Xiangyang Prefecture, she is the parent official of Xiangyang. It is not appropriate for her to walk around with a dog-beating stick all day long, right?" Those nerds and stubborn people would say that Xiangyang is the world of the Beggars' Gang.
The female gang leader suddenly realized that this was indeed the case. Even that blocky brother Guo Jing had said this to her.
She took the jade dog-beating stick, played with it in her hand, and said, "But it's the gang leader's token, what should I do?"
Zhao Yulin suggested to her that she should appoint a maid in the gang to keep the dog-beating stick for her, or she should resign as gang leader and become the chief steward of Xiangyang.
While they were talking, Qu Zhengxiang came in. Seeing the female gang leader was there, he first said to her with a smile that he had heard a report from Shunfeng that Zhao Fan, the governor of Yanjiang, thought that the Mongolian army was going to attack Jiangling, so he withdrew to Ezhou with some officials. He had no choice but to come and report to Commander Zhao.
When the female leader heard about the affairs of Jiangling Prefecture, she was sure that it was not her responsibility to manage the affairs of Xiangyang Prefecture. She smiled and said, "Of course, even the affairs of Xiangyang Prefecture still need the guidance of Lord Zhao."
Jiangling Prefecture is the seat of government of Jingzhou, and the administrative agencies of Jinghu South Road are all there. This is a big deal. Zhao Yulin did not dare to neglect it, and told Master Qu and Yang Xingyun to discuss and prepare a group of people, and he would personally take over Jiangling.
Several people immediately dispersed and went about their business.
The next day, Zhao Yulin led Yang Xingyun, Zhou Ping and Zhang Qi southward, with hundreds of warships following behind them, covering the river. The people of Xiangyang were shocked.
This is incredible! Where did the Shenwei Army get so many warships?
These are the new vehicles and boats built by the Shenwei Army on the shores of the big lakes in Zhejiang and Sichuan in recent years. The new warships equipped with rocker gears and spring assist are large and fast, and they disappeared from the sight of the people on the dock in a short while.
Guo Jing and the female gang leader sent Zhao Yulin back to the government office. The female gang leader was so happy that she forgot her identity. She jumped onto a chair with a dog-beating stick in her hand, squatted down, pointed at Guo Jing and asked him to salute the chief steward.
Guo Jing said seriously, "Rong'er, stop messing around. Now that the Shenwei Army has handed Xiangyang over to my husband and me, we are not just wanderers."
Qu Zhengxiang walked in and said with a smile that General Guo was right. The chief steward was now in charge of the counties in and outside the city, and he was no longer just the leader of the Beggars' Sect.
The female gang leader immediately jumped down from the chair and asked Master Qu to sit down and talk with a smile.
Qu Zhengxiang said that the city was stable at the moment, but there were still a large number of county affairs outside the city that needed the general manager's decision. Especially in the north, we had to manage the newly recovered cities. The people there had been waiting for the royal army for a long time. Now that they had returned to our Song Dynasty, the government would let them feel the warmth of home.
The gang leader immediately asked him what to do?
Master Qu suggested that she should start with the counties that had experienced war.
Right now the Shenwei Army is helping the people of Xinye repair their burned-down houses. We will purchase a batch of wheat straw, tools, wood and other materials and send them over first, then organize some craftsmen to help.
The female gang leader found the point of strength and immediately started to make arrangements.
In the evening, the gang leader, who had been busy all day, returned to the small courtyard to rest with backache and asked Guo Jing to give him a massage. Our hero Guo immediately took action.
The gang leader was just enjoying himself with his eyes closed when a thin, white-haired old man came over and said with a laugh, "It's just a small matter, and my daughter can't stand it?"
When the female gang leader heard that it was her father who came, she immediately left Guo Jing and shouted, "Daddy, Daddy is here."
The old man walked into the living room of their courtyard and said, "Is it not okay for me to come and take a look?"
Guo Jing had already greeted him obediently. The old man was walking around the room with a jade flute in his hand and on his back, not even saying a word to Guo Jing. He said with a smile that the courtyard was gorgeous, and he became the chief steward of Xiangyang without even noticing anything. He had grown up.
The female gang leader immediately said that no one could be as capable as her father. If her father wanted to be an official, even becoming a prime minister would not be a problem. Officials would all listen to her father's teachings obediently.
The old man was so pleased with the female leader's horse pat that he laughed out loud. The old man said that since he was a big official, he should act like one. What was the point of having a bunch of beggars following him around all day?
The female gang leader said weakly that Qigong asked her to take care of them. She couldn't just abandon them, right?
Then he sighed again and said, "Oh my, I'm really tired."
The old man said there was nothing to give up. The purpose of being an official was to ensure peace and prosperity for the country and the people. In the future, when the world is peaceful and everyone has food to eat, who would be willing to be a beggar?
The female gang leader asked him in surprise, did this mean she should stop being a gang leader and focus on managing Xiangyang Prefecture?
The old man then asked her earnestly, which is bigger, Xiangyang or the Beggars' Sect?
Which is more important, national affairs or family affairs?
Since you are in the position, you should do your job.
The old man walked out in square steps while talking.
Guo Jing and the female gang leader immediately followed, but the old man shouted at them: Don't follow me, I don't need to welcome or see you off, the three brothers will stay here.
When the two of them walked out, the gang leader saw her three senior brothers standing at the door, and his father was nowhere to be seen.
The eldest brother said excitedly that the master asked them to come and help. The old man was worried that the younger sister was short of money, so he took them to Lin'an to kill a corrupt official and sent all the silver to them. The two younger brothers behind immediately threw the sacks on their backs to the ground, making a heavy thumping sound.
The old fellow also knew that his son-in-law Guo Jing was a generous person who would drink and eat meat with his brothers whenever he was happy. He had no source of income and was afraid that his daughter would suffer, so he not only sent people but also sent money this time.
The female gang leader's eyes were already filled with tears, and Guo Jing even stuttered as she asked the three brothers to come in and sit down to talk...
Besides, Zhao Yulin went all the way south to Jingmen, and Yi Shuigui excitedly welcomed him into the government office and sat him down. He simply reported that the thief's head was chopped off without letting Li Boyuan enter the city. Now Jingmen is completely under the control of our Shenwei Army.
Zhao Yulin said with a smile that this is not an operation in enemy territory, we are arresting traitors and we must maintain social order.
The water ghost immediately agreed with a "yes, yes, yes" and reported to him that with the guidance of the wind, the corrupt officials, bullies and habitual bandits in the city had been captured, and a lot of gold and silver treasures had been confiscated. The treasury was also intact, and they sent a squadron to guard it.
The water ghost acted quickly and was able to grasp the key points. Zhao Yulin was very satisfied. He asked Yang Xingyun to make arrangements and accompany Shunzhidi to the back hall to rest.
They continued their journey the next day and arrived at Jiangling Prefecture in the evening two days later.
The main general defending the city was named Jiang Hai, a subordinate of Meng Gong. When he learned that the commander of the Shenwei Army led nearly two hundred warships to Jiangling, he was confused about his intention and immediately issued a warning order. All the soldiers rushed to the top of the city.
Jiangling City has high walls and is a big city comparable to Xiangyang. Yang Xingyun saw the soldiers suddenly stand up on the city wall and was worried that Jianghai would also surrender to the Mongolian army and rebel.
Zhao Yulin said that was not necessarily the case, as not all the soldiers in Jingzhou were spineless and afraid of death.
They came to the city gate and watched from afar.
The city gate was soon opened, and Jiang Hai, accompanied by two guards, rode their horses to Zhao Yulin, bowed, and asked him: "What is your intention, commander, to come to Jiangling Prefecture with hundreds of warships?"
Zhao Yulin smiled and said that the warships were far away from here. It was rumored that Zhao Fan had fled to Ezhou, and there was no one in the city to take charge of the situation. This official had agreed with General Meng to use the Han River as the boundary to jointly resist the northern barbarians, so he came to take a look.
Jiang Hai hesitated for a moment and said that he had not received any letter from General Meng.
Zhao Yulin smiled and said that he was nearly thirty years old and there was no need for him to lie to others about this matter. The warships of the Shenwei Army were still in the Han River and would not disturb the people. He had less than five hundred people including his entourage and guards, so what was there for the Jingzhou Army to worry about?
He asked Jiang Hai to open the city gate first as he wanted to go to the government office to do some business.
The brothers around him were worried about accidents and advised him to wait and bring the navy troops with him before going in.
Zhao Yulin said, "We've already reached the city, why don't we go in? This isn't enemy territory, how can we just brandish swords and guns?"
Jiang Hai hesitated for a while and finally invited Zhao Yulin to go into the city .
When they arrived at the government office, Zhao Yulin went in and saw that most of the officials had left, except for a judge and a few stewards.
But Jiang Hai told him: Lord Zhao was worried that the northern barbarians would come too quickly, so he took away all the silver in the treasury.
Zhao Yulin nodded, thinking that Zhao Fan had looted so much gold and silver in Xiangyang that he had no time to take it away. He had plenty of time here, so he would naturally move the treasures. He asked the judge to come in and write an urgent report to the court, and asked Shunzhi Di to review it and send it out immediately, and ordered the Imperial City Office to report safety to the emperor first.
Then he asked what was going on with the riots in the city?
Jiang Hai reported to him that when the news of the escape of the governor and a group of officials came out, the dignitaries in the city thought that the northern barbarians were coming, and they all ran away in a panic. The hooligans on the street took the opportunity to come out and smash and rob. He saw that the situation was getting worse and worse, and it improved only after he led the troops to suppress it.
Zhao Yulin asked, is it true that the rumor that these government troops love to collect empty salaries and abuse the blood of soldiers?
Then I asked him if he had eaten.
Jiang Hai immediately became embarrassed.
Zhao Yulin said Jiang Hai was Lao Meng's man, and he would not care about these trivial matters, he was just asking casually. If he was willing to stay and join the Shenwei Army, he would return all the military pay he had received in the past before he would recognize him as a brother. If he was not willing, he would prepare to march to General Meng's place in Zaoyang, where the general had already set up a new camp.
Jiang Hai immediately said he was willing and turned back to discuss it with his brothers.
After a while, the kitchen prepared the food. After a simple meal, the Tongpan wrote the memorial. Zhao Yulin asked Shunzhidi to write down the situation of taking over Jingmen and Jiangling truthfully and ordered it to be sent out immediately.
Turning around, he asked Li Difu, the only remaining judge: Lord Zhao has taken away all the silver, why is Lord Li still staying in Jiangling?
