Mysterious Catastrophe

After being an official for so many years, he has seen through many things and seen them through.

Today is like this, it is still hard to cool down!

However, under this kind of court, the more you do things, the more you do practical things, the more desperate you are...

……

Taiping six years, January.

Golden Rock City.

King Liang took over Jinshi and took all of them from the south. With a new look in the new year, he immediately issued a decree—discontinuing the imperial examinations, promoting the public examinations, setting up government schools and military academies in various places, encouraging private teaching of the way of science, and collecting religious taxes, commercial taxes, and apportionment taxes. Ding into the mu, the government and the gentry pay the grain together, etc...

As soon as this order came out, Jiangnan was full of complaints!

Countless scholars accused Liang Wang and the prime minister of perverting the law!

But Aaron is just barking like a dog!

Regarding the howling of the defeated dog, he didn't even bother to kill them himself, he just waited for the big policy to be implemented, and the magistrate of the county of breaking the family and the governor of the house of killing the family taught them to be human again.

Amid all the turmoil, the New Year still has to pass.

The streets and alleys of Jinshi City are decorated with lights and festoons, and there is some snow on the roadside.

At this time, a carriage wrapped in a thick blanket slowly drove into the city.

"Golden Stone City really has a royal air!"

The curtain of the carriage opened, revealing a young Taoist priest, Zhang Zifeng, the son of the Jiedu Envoy!

"It's not true... this city is full of royal aura because of the presence of King Liang. There are people first, and then there is aura, otherwise everything is empty talk!"

In the carriage, there was also an old Confucian sitting with a white beard and hair, but his eyes were warm and soft, like a child.

"Mr. Haoran is right."

Zhang Zifeng sighed, and said: "The king of Liang parade at Xuanwu Lake in the new year, and reorganized the Songchao Navy. There are five hundred buildings and ships, with masts and masts everywhere, and banners covering the sun... Prime Minister Xu Lingzi wrote a poem on the spot - five hundred There are hundreds of thousands of soldiers on buildings and boats, and there are clouds rising from the sky to parade the martial arts. It is certain that the warships walk horizontally, and there should be military teeth embracing the stone city. The autumn sky is empty on the lake, and the tide is surging at the head of the river. Very royal! And the north, alas..."

Thinking of the tragic situation in the northern capital, even Zhang Zifeng couldn't help feeling sad.

Last year, the King of Jin threatened the capital, and the princes of the imperial court negotiated until the end, and they still negotiated a peace!

King Jin asked for 500 million taels of gold and 5000 million taels of silver coins, as well as land cession, but the court agreed without hesitation.

King Jin pretended to stop the army, and then took advantage of the covenant between the two kings to hijack the official house and demand double the ransom!

The imperial court couldn't afford the money, so they could only make up for it with women. In the end, even the daughters of officials, even the concubines and princesses in the harem were sent to pay off their debts, regardless of their shame... which caused resentment among the people in the capital.

King Jin took the opportunity to call the official family home, successfully broke into the capital, broke through the imperial city, and captured the official queen, queen mother, many clan kings, as well as court concubines, clan nobles, and ministers about 3000 people!And return to the north with coercion!

It was cold winter, and the barbarians directly stripped off the official's dragon robe and demoted him to a commoner. Some ministers wrote a letter, and were directly executed by the king of gold, and the corpse was fed to the dogs!

The concubines in the harem, and even the queen and princess, were all reduced to playthings.

Along the way, many ministers, clans, and daughters of the harem died.

Then when they arrived at the capital of King Jin, they ordered a prisoner offering ceremony to be held. The officials and queens were wrapped in handkerchiefs and sheep fur, and their bodies were exposed.

Dasong is now dead!

Even if Zhang Zifeng had enmity with the imperial court, he couldn't bear such a tragic situation.

"At this time, the north is full of barbarians. Mr. Haoran, who is expected in the sea, goes south angrily. He will definitely assist Liang Wang Mingzhu to drive out the Tartars and bring order out of chaos!"

Zhang Zifeng said.

This Mr. Haoran is not ordinary, he was born in the Zhang family in Xuzhou.

And the Zhang family is the leader of the famous religion, who once produced Confucian saints!It has survived for thousands of years and is known as a thousand-year-old family!Peerless!

It can be said that every move of the other party is related to the belonging of the hearts of scholars in the world!

The other party's ability to take the initiative to go south is obviously the severance of Dasong's orthodoxy, and the hearts of scholars in the world belong to Nanliang!

Mr. Haoran didn't have much joy on his face: "I've entered the Liang Kingdom, and I've seen it all the way... Liang Wang's government has many prime ministers, and Xu Lingzi is a true Taoist, but he can't rule by doing nothing. Unpredictable... In the final analysis, it is nothing more than suppressing famous teachers, suppressing powerful families, and allowing villains to rise to power! Over time, the country will fail! The old man wants to write a letter, and ask the king of Liang and the prime minister to hold an imperial examination, so as to accept the hearts of scholars , reduce taxes and taxes, do not compete with the people for profit, so... the world will return to the heart, and the people of the world will obey!"

……

"A thousand-year-old family?"

Aaron scratched his head, and casually threw the article in his hand into the stove and burned it: "There was a powerful family in the previous dynasty, known as the fourth generation and the third prince, but it turned out to be only a few hundred years...Cao Man, do you know why?"

"I do not know……"

Cao Man said helplessly.

"A husband's tongue survives because of its softness? Doesn't the tooth die because of its strength?" Aaron said with a smile: "The power of the clan is known as cross-state, and it participates in the general trend of the court and competes for the world. There are also many losses. Ten years of prosperity is the top of the sky... and the Zhang family is famous for teaching, gentlemen and not party, faintly in line with the Confucian spirit, so it has lasted for thousands of years, this is the way to use softness to overcome rigidity!"

Cao Man suddenly shivered, feeling the prime minister's murderous intent, and couldn't help but said: "Prime Minister...Mr. Haoran has not been an official, but has taught and educated people all his life, written books and passed on books. "

"You... don't be frightened by the twittering of a group of opposition factions. Are there Confucian disciples among our core and wings? We are not in chaos, the army is not in chaos, and public opinion in the officialdom is nothing but the crowing of crows!"

Aaron smiled: "But I'm not going to kill this person..."

He suddenly said again: "This article is superb, and the writing is good, it can be called a generation of famous writers... But look at the last sentence, it's not right, it's floating in the sea-this has a hint of resentment, if the court doesn't follow , I am afraid that he is not going to travel around the world, but is going to vote for Hu! This will also threaten the court and the Prime Minister, but the Prime Minister never accepts threats!"

"Isn't it possible?" A trace of cold sweat appeared on Cao Man's forehead.

"Why not? In fact, under the rule of the Hu people, they can still live quite well, even better than before...Gein Hu people don't take the Central Plains seriously at all, they rule according to the grassland customs, divide the tax-entrusted areas, etc... This is a small-scale feudal system, under this system, as long as the landlords feel comfortable with the barbarians and pay enough taxes, they will be the masters of the land, run amok, and even raise private soldiers!"

Aaron sneered, and suddenly sighed again: "Actually, this person's heart is considered sincere. If we really open the imperial examination, and even announce that all the achievements of the previous dynasty will be recognized, then it will really be the heart of the world. The barbarian is not good, and it will be done in a moment." Annihilation, and then open a new dynasty for 300 years... Simple and smooth."

"Then you have to ask me, why don't you take it?" Seeing Cao Man's doubts, Aaron smiled: "Is it what I want for the court for 300 years? I will govern the world with scientific methods, and let famous teachers see They are not the only ones who govern the world!"

"I have made up my mind to send troops to Xuzhou after the year. This is a real war!"

Aaron said: "Since the demise of Dasong and the destruction of Tianjie, Xuzhou has been in chaos for a long time. It took no effort to win it, but the subsequent governance will inevitably be resisted by all parties. I am afraid that tax resistance will emerge endlessly!"

After all, Xuzhou is the headquarters of the Zhang family, and the idea of ​​famous religion is deeply rooted.

"And the Prime Minister also has to admit that I am too scientific, and I still have some shortcomings. If I am instigated by a famous teacher, I will inevitably panic..."

"So?" Cao Man's heart twitched.

"This prime minister can't solve the problem, but he can solve the person who raised the problem. That's enough."

Aaron said: "After the beginning of spring, the prime minister led an army of [-] infantry, and [-] sailors went north...I took Tang Xun away, and Zhan Da, Hei Er, and Zhang Tie were promoted to guerrilla generals and stayed in various places."

Cao Man's heart shuddered, knowing that the prime minister's arrangement was like a killing spree!

Chapter 855

Dasong is gone, no longer unorthodox.

The south is naturally changed to Yuan, which was drafted by the prime minister himself, and it is the first year of Kaiping!

Xuzhou.

a temple.

"I've seen Master False Faith!"

The great Confucian Zhang Haoran clasped his palms together and greeted an old monk.

There is also a Taoist next to him, making tea under a plum blossom, quite enjoying himself.

"Amitabha... the benefactor went to the south to lobby, and the old monk chanted sutras and prayed for the benefactor day and night. Fortunately, Brahma God blessed him and returned safely!"

Master Xuxin's face seemed to be shining with compassion, with a look of compassion, two lines of tears suddenly flowed down.

"Monk, why are you crying?"

The Taoist next to him suddenly laughed.

"Layman Plum Blossom, this old man is not crying for one family name, but for the world... The King of Liang and Layman Xu Ling insist on going their own way, why should the people of the world suffer? The chaos will continue for many years, and the people will be devastated... Amitabha..."

Layman Meihua also looked dignified: "Daliang used the public examination to replace the imperial examination, and did not read the Four Books and Five Classics. This is the foundation of digging the famous religion... He also introduced a business tax. Hehe, you and I both know, how can ordinary people have the capital to do business? Isn't it mostly landlords? ...Finally, the religious tax is even more unbelievable. Historically, only the ruler of the country has donated to Buddhism and Taoism. How can I collect taxes in reverse? The monks and Taoists are not given the right to be tax-free... This is deliberately suppressing the Vatican and Taoism!"

The King of Liang started to levy a religious tax, which has already been tested in the south, and it is said that it has aroused a lot of resistance.

But Prime Minister Xu Lingzi didn't make any concessions on this point, and directly took back the privileges of temples and Taoist temples, and would cut down mountains and destroy temples if he didn't comply.

The names of the Supreme Dao Bing and the Supreme Divine Thunder can already stop children from crying at night in the southern religious circles!

"Originally, when Dasong was destroyed and Daliang inherited the destiny, it was the trend of the times... But it depends on man's will... Liang Wang and Xu Lingzi acted in such a perverse way, the ownership of the nine tripods in the world is still uncertain!"

Zhang Haoran said.

"Oh? The plan will be released?" Layman Plum Blossom asked with a smile.

"Although the south is fixed now, there are still a few dragons in the north, such as King Kang of the Song Dynasty..." Zhang Haoran said: "When the old man left, he had received news that after the spring, Xu Lingzi will lead an army to attack Xuzhou!"

"The king of Liang really doesn't want to be peaceful, has he already started preparing for the Northern Expedition?" Layman Meihua muttered to himself.

"Xu Lingzi still looks down on me too much. If he accepts advice humbly, I will eat the pot of milk naturally to meet the king... But at this time, it is time for Xu Lingzi to see my literati's strength .”

Zhang Haoran said indifferently: "Although Xuzhou is small, there are six prefectures. If one city is attacked, how many people will die?"

Ancient city defense was far simpler than siege, and the requirements for defenders were also lower.

As long as the will to resist is strong enough, it can definitely bring huge damage to the siege party!

The Zhang family is a thousand-year-old family. Although it looks like a family of poems and books, in fact, the relationship in the officialdom is intricate. Xuzhou is its base camp, and its influence is deep-rooted in all aspects.

"Amitabha... I don't want to see the demon king gain power, so I can call on good believers and monks to help..."

Master Xu Xin clasped his hands together.

"In this case, we can also join..." Taoist Plum Blossom folded a plum, and suddenly smiled: "If the city is defended, how many days and soldiers will be consumed by King Liang? This delay will last for four or five years, and 10 people will die , the dragon spirit will be broken... When the north is unified, the chances of the south will be small. Since ancient times, it has been easy to conquer the south with the north, and difficult to conquer the north with the south!"

"Our three teachings work together to make Liang Long angry, and he has done it himself!"

……

The spring breeze is blowing, and the river is surging.

Bailongdu.

A navy slowly approached the shore, and groups of soldiers came down.

Xiaoyu also jumped out of the boat and paddled the water with her paws, as if she wanted to catch fish.

"Prime Minister, we have entered the territory of Xuzhou, which is now considered to be the boundary of Shuanghua Mansion. The front is Hemen County... The prefect of Shuanghua already knew about our arrival. It is said that there was a banquet, and he said that he would surrender. Then he suddenly changed his face and killed those who wanted to surrender. , This is to resolutely resist to the end."

When Tang Xun heard the whistleblower's report, his face was full of sadness: "Now Hemen County is under martial law, and the city gate is blocked with huge stones. It seems that we must firmly defend it! The county magistrate even killed his wife and children. The Dasong court is loyal... This has also been praised by the big households in the city and Fan Dao, and they have donated money and people one after another!"

He is a general, and he knows the situation of the world better: "If every city is like this in the future, how many people will die on our side? It will also delay the good opportunity to go north!"

"The three religions joined forces? This is normal... Who told me to offend all three?"

Aaron shrugged his shoulders and smiled nonchalantly: "But the scholars rebelled, and it won't work in three years... It's a dream to try to resist our army in a hurry! Pass my military order, first transfer [-] Liujia soldiers, follow me Siege!"

……

and door county.

The county magistrate stood on the city wall, looking at the dark army formation below.

Although he had already realized that he must die, but looking at this awe-inspiring army, he still couldn't help being shaken.

"Shariputra, form is emptiness, emptiness is form..."

Beside him, there were a few monks with bulging temples, bald heads, and scars. They needed to supplement nutrition when practicing martial arts. These monks looked like they often drank and ate meat.

At this time, there was no sadness or joy on his face, and he was reciting scriptures.

People can change!

Seeing how powerful the Liang army is, no matter how much the Zhang family and Buddhism and Taoism confuse them, no one may really be willing to die.

This team of monks is very important.

"Master...it's up to you to supervise the city defense."

The magistrate gritted his teeth.

"Amitabha, we will let the King of Liang know that the Buddha also has Vajra's glaring eyes... After this battle, we will be reborn in bliss, and Liang soldiers will fall into Avici Hell forever."

The leader of the monks put his palms together and proclaimed a Buddha's name.

Immediately, the beating of war drums was heard, and the sound shook the whole field!

"Siege!"

Aaron watched a wave of Liujia soldiers carrying shields and ladders rushing towards the city wall.