One Piece of Song Dynasty

Master Qian looked at the refugees outside the city and said worriedly: "Master Sun, there are more and more refugees outside the city. It seems that the situation on Liangzhe Road is very bad."

Sun Xiancheng nodded and said: "Lord Qian is right. It has been more than a month since the magistrate gave us the order. The number of refugees has been increasing, which only shows that the scale of the peasant riots on the Liangzhe Road has been expanding."

Master Qian said bitterly: "The court's reaction is too slow. It has been more than a month and it has not been suppressed yet."

Sun Xiancheng said thoughtfully: "I think the officials on the Liangzhe Road side did not pay attention to the peasant riots from the beginning. Maybe the officials don't even know about the peasant riots on the Liangzhe Road."

Master Qian said in surprise: "The officials still don't know about this news? Isn't that impossible? It's been more than a month."

Sun Xiancheng said: "How is it impossible? The local officials may not have taken this peasant riot seriously. They just regarded it as a small riot and sent troops to suppress it. So they may not have reported it. They just forgot. The people in the southeast have been tortured by Hua Shi Gang in recent years, and I think this peasant uprising may cause something big."

Chief Qian asked: "How did Grand Master Cai know if they didn't report it? What big things does Mr. Sun think these rioters can cause?"

Sun Xiancheng replied: "Don't you know that the Grand Master has stayed in Hangzhou for a long time, and the tombs of Grand Master Cai's ancestors are all in Hangzhou, so if something happens in the southeast, the Grand Master must know first. As for what big things the rioters can cause, I think they might capture Hangzhou."

Master Qian took a breath when he heard that the rebels might capture Hangzhou: "Hangzhou is the capital of the Liangzhe Road. There must be a large number of soldiers and horses garrisoned, and it is also a strong city. Can the rebels capture Hangzhou? Besides, Hangzhou is very difficult for Master Cai. Important, will the Grand Master allow the rebels to capture Hangzhou?"

Sun Xiancheng said: "I am just guessing. There must be a large number of soldiers and horses stationed in Hangzhou City, but it is hard to say how many people these soldiers and horses actually have. I think Mr. Qian should also understand the things here. Not every city has them." It’s the same as our Hui’an, and Hangzhou is an important financial and taxation center for the imperial court and has a lot of money. The peasant riots also require a lot of money. Hangzhou is close to the rebel army and will naturally become a target when the rebel army grows. As for Grand Master Cai, maybe he feels the same as those local officials. This mob is not a big deal, right?"

Master Qian banged his head and said: "If Hangzhou is captured by the rebel army, it will be a big deal."

Sun Xiancheng nodded and said: "That's not true. If Hangzhou is captured, the imperial court's tax revenue will be severely hit. This peasant uprising is not something that can be solved in a short time. We can only endure it for now. During this period, thanks to the magistrate The Lord set up porridge shacks outside the city to stabilize the refugees. Although the number of refugees was increasing, there was no trouble. However, I felt that the magistrate's food supply was about to be exhausted. Lord Qian, you must be prepared to open a granary. 35xs ”

Master Qian replied: "Thank you, Mr. Sun, for reminding me. Qian knows about it. I just hope that the court will suppress the rebels as soon as possible."

Sun Xiancheng sighed: "Just wait, wait for the court to react and then send troops to suppress it. It won't be completed in a few months. The New Year is coming soon. I'm afraid this New Year will not be good."

Just one day after the conversation between the two, Li Xin called Master Qian to the county government office.

Li Xin said: "Master Qian, there are more and more refugees outside the city. Let's open a granary to store grain. If we don't stabilize these refugees, something will happen. How many stones of grain are there in the granary now?"

Master Qian replied: "Sir, there are shi of grain in the granary now. How much do you plan to use first?"

Li Xin thought for a while and said: "First give out five thousand shi of food. As long as the refugees are not allowed to starve to death."

Master Qian nodded and said: "Yes, sir, I understand."

A few days later, in early December of the second year of Xuanhe, the Fangla uprising army captured Muzhou and occupied Shouchang, Fenshui, Tonglu, Sui'an and other counties. Go straight to Hangzhou, which was the command center of Hua Shi Gang at that time. Soon, he went west to capture Shezhou, annihilated the middle part of Guo Division, the third general of the southeastern Song Dynasty, "Bingguansuo", attacked Fuyang and Xincheng in the east, and went straight to Hangzhou, calling on him to "kill Zhu". Hangzhou is the capital of the Liangzhe Road and the seat of the Zaozao Bureau. It is one of the Huashigang command centers and is home to a large number of officials, wealthy businessmen, and landlords. Chuzhou Huo Chengfu, Chen Houtong and others all joined the battle, and the Quzhou Manichaean organization also raised troops to respond. For a time, the entire Zhejiang Road was engulfed in war.

After Li Xin got the news, he summoned Sun County Prime Minister, Master Qian and Zhang Hu again.

Li Xin said: "Everyone, the current situation in the southeast of the imperial court is very unfavorable. This is the news I just received. Please take a look." With that, Li Xin handed the secret message to the three of them.

After the three of them finished reading, Sun Xiancheng first said: "The situation is so dangerous, what do you think?"

Li Xin said: "We can't control the southeast, but we must not cause trouble here. Zhang County Lieutenant, you must cooperate with Sun County Prime Minister to maintain the stability of the county. You must control every move in the city, and the entire city at night." Military control must be implemented in the county and no one is allowed to take to the streets."

Zhang Hu clasped fists with Sun Xiancheng and said, "Yes, sir, I will obey your orders."

Li Xin continued to order: "Master Qian, you have to take good care of the granary. As the situation continues to worsen, the number of refugees will continue to increase. In the future, the granary will become the top priority to ensure the stability of the county. Without my order, No one is allowed to touch a grain of grain in the granary. Lieutenant Zhang, you must also send troops to help Master Qian guard the granary."

Master Qian clasped fists with Zhang Hu and said, "Yes, sir, I will give you the order."

Li Xin continued: "Everyone, at this time of crisis, let us work together to ensure the stability of the county. Only in this way can we earn the trust of the people and the court."

The three of them stood up and clasped their fists and said, "Yes, we will definitely assist the adults in ensuring the stability of the county."

After leaving the county government office, Master Qian sighed: "I didn't expect the situation to be so serious as Mr. Sun expected."

Sun Xian Cheng patted Mr. Qian and said, "I didn't expect that the situation would become so serious so quickly. For now, we'd better try our best to help you maintain the stability of the county. We just hope that the rebels will not come to Fujian. If the rebels are allowed to break through the city, those of us who are officials will not end well. Those rebels have been severely squeezed by the officials on the Liangzhe Road. Now they don't care about good officials or bad officials, as long as they are officials, they may They killed me and ransacked my house."

Master Qian said angrily: "The officials of the two Zhejiang Roads have done good things, why do we have to take the blame too!"

Sun Xiancheng sighed: "It's useless to talk about this now, let's do our own thing first."

Master Qian replied: "Okay, Mr. Sun, Qian knows."