Chapter 444: A Great Earthquake in the Officialdom
Ke Zhenxie pushed the door open and said that there was a letter from General Zhou, the commander-in-chief of the navy.
Zhao Yulin took the secret document and read it. It was forwarded to him by the Ministry of War. The navy ships arrived at Hangzhou Bay one after another and assembled. The next day, they set out for Hongzhou in formation.
Haha, this is Zhou Ping and the Ministry of War asking him if he has anything else to say.
He pointed to the secret letter and told Yuqi that Zhou Ping was going to take action, and it seemed that we had to speed up the process of rectifying the administration of officials.
This time, Zhao Yulin asked Miao Gui to concentrate all the ships into the Yangtze River to help recapture Hongzhou. This was to serve a dish to the old men and women in Lin'an Prefecture and let them see the power and unstoppable force of the New Song Navy.
Some time ago, Lin'an Prefecture sent ships to intercept the New Song South China Sea navy fleet cruising in Hangzhou Bay, which made Zhao Yulin very unhappy. It was obvious that this was a challenge to the New Song's determination to unify China.
Damn it, this trend must be nipped in the bud.
He asked Shunfeng to reply with just four words: clean and neat.
Hangzhou Bay was already bustling with activity. The South China Sea fleet of the Shenwei Army Navy came in. The Marines went ashore with iron trumpets and bows and arrows drawn, and directly requisitioned the large and small docks in the bay. The Navy used the new currency of the New Song Dynasty to purchase food, vegetables and daily necessities, and lived in the town and village without causing any trouble.
The surrounding Liangzhe garrison was at a loss when faced with the sudden attack of the Shenwei Army and retreated in a hurry. Hundreds of warships filled the bay.
When the Qiantang County Magistrate heard this, he was stunned and immediately sent the county lieutenant to inquire about the news.
The general stationed at the dock told him that the Shenwei Navy was conducting a landing combat drill and that all outsiders should go aside.
The county lieutenant asked again when the army would set out.
The general glared at him and said it was a military secret and he could not disclose it.
The county lieutenant hurried back to report and was at a loss as to what to do.
The county magistrate stammered and said: Although we have the responsibility to defend our territory, Prime Minister Shi has already declared that he recognizes the legitimacy of the Chengdu court. We are all officials of the New Song Dynasty. The South China Sea fleet coming in means that our own navy is stationed here, but we cannot engage in combat.
The county lieutenant knew about it. Last month, Lin'an Prefecture ordered ships to be sent to intercept the ships of the Shenwei Army. Now that there are hundreds of ships coming in, who dares to intercept them? Isn't that courting death?
However, the Lin'an Prefecture ordered the interception, which must have been because it believed that Hangzhou Bay was a small piece of land of Liangzhe and should not be allowed to be touched by the navy of the New Song Dynasty.
He advised the county magistrate to report to Lin'an Prefecture as soon as possible.
The county magistrate was appointed by Shi's son after taking his pulse. How could he not know the seriousness of the matter?
He said that I had already sent out a fast horse to deliver a message, asking the garrison along the coast of the bay to put their weapons into storage and retreat as far as possible. Do you understand?
Once a war breaks out due to an accidental discharge of a gun, the small Qiantang will be devastated. Our Qiantang can no longer withstand the turmoil.
The county magistrate still had some compassion in his heart. He knew that it was the common people who would suffer in a war, and he knew that if a war really broke out, the few troops under Prime Minister Shi's command would definitely not be able to hold out.
In Lin'an City, Shi's son had received a report that the Shenwei Army's ships had entered Hangzhou Bay in large numbers, and the navy of Liangzhe had placed a spy ship at the mouth of the bay.
The commander-in-chief of the navy reported to him: As of noon today, 360 ships of the Shenwei Army have entered the bay, and there are also a large number of warship formations on the sea.
The attack teams of the Shenwei Army occupied the docks, towns and villages along the coast. Soldiers came ashore to purchase food and vegetables in an endless stream, but all transactions were fair and there was not a single report of bullying men and women or forced buying and selling.
The attack team he was talking about is the marines carried on the ships of the Shenwei Army. The brothers in the navy are not gods. They need to eat, drink, defecate and urinate. How can they enter the Hangzhou Bay without going ashore to buy some vegetables?
If you eat dry rice every day and don't get irritated and develop hemorrhoids, then it's not a bad thing if you can't defecate.
His general asked: What should we do?
Should we fight or not?
Shi's son glared at him and continued to drink tea without saying a word. He thought to himself that he was really a warrior who only knew how to fight and kill. Hasn't he ever read Sun's Art of War seriously? The best strategy is to attack the enemy's plans. The best strategy is to attack the enemy's plans.
Shi's son was still thinking about how to rescue the secret spy he had planted in Jiankang Prefecture, and Zhao Yulin dealt him another blow in Hangzhou Bay. He was upset and at a loss as to what to do. Could it be that he really wanted to fight a battle with the navy of the New Song Dynasty?
It's obviously like an egg hitting a stone. Only a fool would do such a thing.
You know, even with the ferocious Northern Barbarians, he still values peace. What's more, the people who have come ashore now are the benevolent and righteous army who are using the hard currency of the New Song Dynasty to conduct fair trade.
While he was still planning countermeasures, urgent news came from Haimen County: the New Song Kingdom's ships entered the Yangtze River in large numbers. The endless line of tall warships was visible from beginning to end and was approaching at high speed.
Haimen County is the Chongming Island of Shanghai in later generations. It was not yet called Shanghai. However, Liangzhe stationed patrol boats here to collect intelligence. The navy of the Shenwei Army was mobilized on such a large scale, and the people on duty dared not neglect it. While counting on their fingers, they hurriedly released pigeons to report to Lin'an.
Shi's son was completely confused. What was the Shenwei Army going to do?
The ships of the South China Sea fleet almost blocked all the waterways in Liangzhe.
Shi's son lost his patience and told the steward to find Mr. Xie Lingyun for him, then turned around and went to the study to write a letter to Zhao Yulin.
In Jiankang Prefecture, on the other side of the river, Zhao Yulin was holding a meeting in the government office.
These days he has been messing around with the officialdom of Jiankang Prefecture, causing chaos in the city. Many officials and businessmen with criminal records tried to disguise themselves and escape, but were stopped by the soldiers guarding the city and locked up in the military camp. The nine gates of the city were full of shows of house searches, arrests, and capture of criminals.
The people were delighted and bought big watermelons and watched the show with great relish.
Zhao Yulin was sitting in the court and saw that he and Wu Yuqi were the only ones on the podium. He said with a smile that it was all his fault and he had no help at all.
The hall below the stage was also sparsely populated, with more than 30% of the seats empty. It wasn't that the officials were still ignoring the rules he set and being late, but that they had committed a crime and were thrown into the cell.
He smiled and said that there was a shortage of half a dozen people. OK, we will use these people's salaries to encourage people to work hard. We will give out bonuses in the future. Those who do a good job will be rewarded. We will encourage capable people to volunteer to do more work. For every extra person who does the work, we will increase their salary by 30%. In this way, each person will get more, but the court will save a lot, right?
The officials in the audience looked at each other, not knowing whether he was telling the truth or joking. Only a few young officials showed joy, perhaps thinking that their day would finally come.
He looked at Wu Yuqi beside him with a smile.
Yuqi had already understood what he meant, but she smiled and ignored him. She opened the official document announcing the job adjustments. The people were still the same, and there were still a lot of things to do, so she had to put together a new team.
Wu Yuqi announced loudly: Zhen Debin will temporarily take over the post of the Transport Envoy, so-and-so will temporarily take over...
Within the time it takes to stick up an incense stick of time, every armchair in the yamen of Jiankang Prefecture was filled with people.
Zhao Yulin told them: From today on, Jiankang Prefecture will enter a wartime control period. How long it will last depends on the needs of the court. At present, the control is only implemented in the city. Whether it will be further expanded also depends on the needs of the court. All officials must unite sincerely and do a good job in every task assigned by Wu Dazongguan.
Then Wu Yuqi began to divide the work: he ordered the garrison to deploy soldiers to the city to monitor the safety of the city and not to let any lawless person go.
Order the inspectors to dispatch patrol detectives and mobilize young and strong people to go to the streets to maintain order. No incidents of looting or smashing shall occur.
Order the transport envoy to organize the transportation of 50,000 kilograms of rice and 10,000 kilograms of vegetables, ensure that they are fresh, and store them at the dock in different categories for future use...
Seeing that she had finished the arrangements, Zhao Yulin knocked on the table and said that this was a wartime control. If anyone dared to be passive and lazy and miss the opportunity to fight, he would be committing a capital crime. This official would never plead for him.
Let’s go.
When the gentlemen in the hall saw Zhao Yulin and his wife leave, they immediately ran away like an arrow from a bow, ready to go back to arrange and complete the task.
Damn, it’s not easy to be this official. Even though you have been promoted several times, you will lose your head if you fail to complete your mission.
Zhao Yulin went to the provincial school to talk to Professor Zhou Duanzheng. Nanjing is truly a place of hidden talents, and this professor of ours is a famous poet in the Song Dynasty.
Professor Zhou heard that he was coming and hurried out to greet him. This gentleman had read several poems copied by Zhao Yulin from Mao's ancestors and had long since marveled that our Third Young Master was a god. He wrote such poems as "The Emperors of Qin and Han were slightly inferior to him in style." and "All the past is gone, and the heroes of today are still to be seen." He could write such earth-shaking and tear-jerking poems. If he was not a god, then who else could he be?
Zhao Yulin said with a smile: I really shouldn't have disturbed you, sir.
The old man was so happy to see him so humble that he couldn't stop smiling. He said incoherently: "The commander is thoughtful and the education of Jinling is a blessing to the people of Jiangdong. I am so grateful that I can't thank you enough."
Please go to Tingyuxuan for tea.
The old man personally led the way for Zhao Yulin, and the two of them came to the pavilion in the middle of the lotus pond in the backyard and sat down. The servant had already brewed the green lotus tea made by the old man.
The old man smiled and asked him to taste it. This tea is refreshing and moistens the lungs, and has the effect of quenching thirst and nourishing yin.
Zhao Yulin didn’t care what effect it had, as long as it quenched his thirst, the weather was hot.
When the old man saw him put down his tea bowl, he said happily that there was an official document from the Chengdu Education Office, saying that the court had transferred one million strings of cash to upgrade the provincial school to Jiangdong Academy, which would be the largest academy in the eastern part of New Song.
Seeing the old man was as happy as a child, he also laughed and said, "Congratulations, sir. Congratulations, sir. This is not to upgrade the prefectural school. Our prefectural school will continue to be preserved. We will build a brand new Jiangdong Academy separately."
The old man immediately said: Yes, yes, that’s right, the court wants to build a brand new academy.
When Zhao Yulin first came to Jiankang, he visited the provincial school. Like the previous dynasty, the school made a living by collecting land rent and house rent. The school buildings were dilapidated. How could they mobilize the most active young people to reform society quickly and effectively?
Seeing that the officials in Jiankang Prefecture were too mediocre and pedantic, he decided to start with education and mobilize the most energetic young people to reform the government.
Zhao Yulin waved his hand, and the guard captain Ke Zhenxie immediately brought over a large box and placed it in front of the old professor and opened it. Inside was a box full of glittering gold and silver coins.
Zhou Duanzheng was stunned and stared at Zhao Yulin blankly, not knowing what he meant.
