Chapter 166: Throw Han Wu, it's you! (6k)

Manager Li was stunned by the scolding, and then he realized that he was too hasty in speaking. He immediately calmed down and reported the situation.

Fang Shen was stunned after hearing this. He thought that although Yang Chang was young, he had a huge courage and appetite. He actually took advantage of the time difference when he took office as a new official to empty the treasury.

How many years has he been a bandit? He has no idea how to be an official and only cares about making money without caring about the opinions of his colleagues?

Seeing Fang Shen was silent, Manager Li offered a suggestion without hesitation: "En Mansion, Yang Chang openly occupied the Qinzhou treasury. Should we report it to the court?"

"Be calm and wait. I have only been in office for one day. How can I be so reckless as if I were new to the officialdom?"

Fang Shen glanced at Manager Li and thought to himself, I am now the chief official of a state, how can I still do things like a county magistrate or a magistrate?

To continue to climb up, I have to cultivate my character. Look at how Master Cai handles things calmly. He is my role model for being an official.

The scenery you see is different depending on your location.

Fang Shen has now been promoted to prefect and his mindset has changed, but the job of his subordinate Li Guanshi has never changed. His duty is to help his master share his worries and he has to continue working even if he is blamed or scolded.

"Enfu, what do you plan to do about this?"

"It's already in his mouth, it's hard to ask him to spit it out, I can only make up for it from other places. Ask the kitchen to prepare some delicious dishes at noon. I want to chat with Wu Song alone."

“I don’t understand.”

"The Grand Master wants me to plot against Yang Chang. Should I not look for weaknesses around him? This mansion treated Wu Song very well in the past. Let me try to get his words out of him first and see if I can use them for my own benefit."

"I'll do it right away"

After saying this, Manager Li turned around.

He had just taken two or three steps when Fang Shen stopped him in time and whispered, "Notify the heads of all government offices as soon as possible and have them come to the prefecture tomorrow morning to discuss matters. No matter whose connections they have, they can't be more powerful than ours. A serious scholar should know the rules. Let's give them a lesson first."

"clear."

Fang Shen was tricked by Yang Chang and immediately turned his attention to his subordinates.

He deliberately "accidentally" brought up Cai Jing during the conversation, and through this method of borrowing the power of others to bully others, he showed how powerful his backing was, and the lower-level officials had no choice but to show their respect to him.

Fang Shen paid tribute to the high-ranking officials in the capital, and now he has to suck the blood back from his subordinates.

Exploitation at every level is an unwritten rule.

When it comes to the last level of exploitation, it is the ordinary people who bear the brunt of the burden.

This model has been operating "benignly" in other states and counties, but problems arose in Qinzhou.

Yang Chang implemented the equal distribution of land ahead of schedule and handed over the tools of production to the people free of charge, which reduced the opportunity for local officials to exploit them. As a result, they flocked to the provincial government to complain.

Fang Shen received a wave of gifts from his subordinates, and his life was comfortable and carefree.

When he received the report from his subordinates, he immediately jumped up from his seat.

If you make money yourself, your younger brothers must also share the soup. Yang Chang poured out the soup in advance, so how could Fang Shen not be anxious?
Li Guanshi saw Fang Shen's face was angry, so he stepped forward and added: "En Mansion, Yang Chang not only divided the land privately, but also interfered in the affairs of the state's engineering department, building roads, bridges, and rivers, etc."

"Isn't this possible?" Fang Shen looked incredulous and muttered, "No plan has been reported to the lower levels, and they will not levy corvée during the spring plowing season."

"He ordered the Qinzhou garrison to do the work."

"I went to the barracks outside the city and it seemed like they were training very hard. Did you believe the rumors?"

Manager Li shook his head and explained, "What you saw are four battalions with 2,000 men. Sun An's two battalions are stationed in Wuxiang and are dredging the river and building bridges upstream of the Nieshui River. Zhu Tong's two battalions are stationed in Qinyuan and are widening the official road to Tongdi."

"And the other two battalions?"

"They should be patrolling between different places. I heard they are searching for and deterring the remnants of Tian Hu."

“It’s quite packed, though.”

Fang Shen's eyes suddenly turned cold, and he slapped the table with his palm, saying coldly: "This government is also the general manager of the army, and Yang Chang, the deputy general manager, has never come to report to this government. Does he not understand official etiquette, or is he deliberately disrespecting this government?"

"Whether he doesn't understand or is doing it on purpose, I think we should report him. Didn't the Grand Tutor ask you to deal with him? The evidence we have is enough to remove him from office."

"Alright."

Fang Shen nodded and sat down, muttering to himself: "I have been here for half a month, and it is time to report to the Grand Tutor. I will write a letter now."

Soon, he wrote a few pages of paper and asked Manager Li to send it to Tokyo. At the same time, he instructed: "Go and make arrangements. Starting tomorrow, this government will inspect all places, including the garrisons stationed in various counties."

Manager Li was shocked when he heard this and asked excitedly, "Is the En Mansion planning to suppress it?"

"What action?"

Fang Shen shook his head and said calmly, "I'm just looking around. You have to remember one thing: if you want to turn against each other, you should do it to the end. Before you turn against each other, you are still friends. Only when the enemy lets down his guard can you strike a fatal blow."

"Your Excellency's advice is profound, and I will learn from it."

Manager Li complimented him repeatedly.

Yang Chang handed over the political affairs of Qinzhou, and several brothers helped in the military affairs of each camp. He finally experienced the joy of being a hands-off boss.

As long as the weather was good, he would go out for an outing with his two beautiful wives on the pretext of inspecting the garrisons in various places, and they would go horse riding and practice martial arts at the same time, enjoying themselves.

It is mid-February and the spring weather is warm.

Chang Yang went to the military camp outside the city to observe the training. He saw that the soldiers were shouting loudly and were full of energy. It was very different from last year when he took over. He couldn't help but admire Lin Chong's professionalism.

Seeing Yang Chang and Qiu Qiongying appear, Lin Chong asked Cao Zheng to continue training with the soldiers, while he strode forward to meet them.

"Brother Yang, sister-in-law."

"Brother, you have trained well. This is what a soldier is like."

"You're too kind. Most of the soldiers Tian Hu recruited before were young and strong farmers. It's normal that their combat effectiveness is low. After two months of training, there have been some changes, but they are still not elite."

"That's fine. We can practice whenever we have time. After a few months, we can switch to road repair."

Seeing that Yang Chang was speaking lightly, Lin Chong asked him curiously, "Brother Yang, there is one thing that has always puzzled me. Why do you train the soldiers to be so elite? We are more than capable of dealing with the public security and bandit problems in the state now."

"Weapons are not sharp if they are not sharpened. They are prone to cause trouble when they are not used. Although Qinzhou has been pacified, the world is not peaceful. Having a force in hand will always give you some confidence."

Yang Chang thought of the Jingkang Incident and thought to himself that this was not a training exercise for me. If my friends can really cultivate immortality in the future, no matter whether you are to protect the Song Dynasty or oppose it, you must leave some capital for your survival.

This guy originally planned for his brothers, but Lin Chong understood it differently.

He showed his leadership qualities in Liangshan, and now he is distributing land equally to the people and asking the army to help build roads and bridges for free. This is clearly an attempt to win the hearts of the people.

And you asked me to train the weak soldiers into elite soldiers. Just now you said that the world is not peaceful and you need to seize power. Could it be that you also intend to make yourself king?

I like his character. He is better than Song Jiang who is blindly loyal to the court. No matter what he does in the future, I, Lin Chong, will follow him to the end.

"Master Lin, Master Lin?"

"Huh? You called me?"

"Haha, what are you thinking about? My second wife is a martial arts fanatic. She has always wanted to ask you for advice but never had the chance. I wonder if you are free today? You can teach her how to use the spear, stick, fist and kick."

"Martial arts fanatic? I heard that my sister-in-law once asked my senior brother for coaching, which is appropriate."

Lin Chong stroked his beard and said with a smile: "He loves to wield spears and clubs even more than Madam Yang. But your husband's martial arts are better than mine. Why would my sister-in-law choose a stone over a beautiful jade?"

"My lord said that you are a better teacher and let me learn from the strengths of hundreds of schools, so."

"Well, since Brother Yang has taken the initiative to find me, Lin Chong is free now, so please give me some advice."

Seeing that Qiu Qiongying's eyes were full of Yang Chang, he thought to himself that Brother Yang is really good at controlling women. Ordinary men can't even handle Hu Sanniang, but you can handle two horses with ease. You are really a role model for men of my generation.

Ever since Yang Chang saw Qiu Qiongying's "natural martial artist" attribute, in addition to teaching her how to use spears, sticks, swords, fists and feet, he also let Qiu Qiongying learn from Hu Sanniang and Wu Song.

Facing Lin Chong at this time, Qiu Qiongying first used weapons and then fists and feet. The nearby soldiers watched and forgot about training, so Yang Chang asked everyone to take a break and watch the fight.

Lin Chong is proficient in all eighteen kinds of weapons, but the ones he is best and most skilled with are spears and sticks.

Yang Chang was watching the two people sparring from the side, and saw that after Qiu Qiongying had made dozens of moves, she was obviously having trouble countering their moves.

After fighting for half an hour, Qiu Qiongying was sweating profusely, so she said goodbye to Lin Chong and went home to take a bath.

The two men left the camp, mounted their horses, and soon arrived outside the city gate.

Yang Chang suddenly pulled the reins and stopped his horse, turned his head and looked at Qiu Qiongying, and asked curiously: "By the way, Master Lin showed his talent today. Did you learn anything from sparring with him? How is it different from me and my second brother?"

"Well," Qiu Qiongying pinched her chin and hesitated for a moment, then murmured, "Master Lin is really proficient in everything, and his spear skills are the most exquisite. I think he is not much inferior to you, but he lacks strength. As for comparing him with my second brother, my second brother is more powerful with his fists and feet, and the rest is..."

"understood."

Yang Chang nodded slightly. He didn't dare to use the [Eye of Insight] again, so he found a compromise, which was to let Qiu Qiongying pass the sparring test.

After many duels with others, Yang Chang was basically sure that Wu Song was the strongest in fists and feet, and his swordsmanship was probably on par with Hu Sanniang, while Lin Chong was good at using various weapons, and his spear and stick were able to suppress Qiu Qiongying, so it can be inferred that he was also [excellent in spear and stick].

Yang Chang was sitting on the horse with his brows furrowed in thought. Qiu Qiongying thought she had said something wrong, so she hurriedly explained: "I didn't say that the second brother is not good, he is just a little worse than Master Lin."

"No need, ma'am."

Just as he was wondering why Qiu Qiongying explained, Yang Chang looked up and saw Wu Song rushing over, so he pointed at the girl and joked: "Look how scared you are, my second brother won't care."

"Sir, please don't say anything nonsense."

Qiu Qiongying lowered her head with a red face, pinching her left and right hands non-stop.

Yang Changzong rode forward to greet Wu Song. He was about to say hello with a smile, but he saw that Wu Song had a serious look on his face.

"What happened?"

"Ah."

Wu Song pulled Yang Chang aside and said in a deep voice, "Brother Zhu sent a message from Qinyuan that someone has been spreading strange words many times at the station where he is building the road. He thinks this is suspicious, so he sent someone to ask Sanlang for instructions."

"What strange talk?" "Brother Zhu is far away from Qinyuan now, so the supplies for his two battalions are purchased directly from local villages and towns. Recently, they are stationed in Liujiagou to repair the road. Several villagers took the opportunity to deliver supplies and complained that the new county magistrate kept causing trouble. It would be better for us to take over the military management as before."

“Is it wrong to say nice things?”

Qiu Qiongying took over Wu Song's words and looked at the two brothers in surprise, thinking, isn't it good enough to just praise us?

"My sister-in-law doesn't know that there is a hidden story behind this matter. Brother Zhu has always been cautious in doing things. He found that something was amiss and followed the clues to investigate. Guess what happened?"

"how?"

"The person behind them was actually Bai Li, the lieutenant of Qinyuan County."

"This"

After listening to Wu Song's explanation, Qiu Qiongying kept shaking her head, feeling dizzy.

Then, she looked at Yang Chang who was deep in thought, and asked in confusion: "Sir, what does Bai Li mean? Are you trying to discredit yourself?"

"It's not that simple."

Yang Chang frowned and shook his head, muttering, "He can't be a fool to be the county lieutenant, even if he bought the position. Maybe he wants to bring someone down? But they have only been in office for more than a month, how could they have conflicts so quickly?"

"According to Sanlang, Bai Li wants to use us to overthrow the magistrate of Qinyuan? But this man is so careless that he can be easily discovered by Brother Zhu. Isn't he afraid of getting himself into trouble?"

Wu Song folded his arms, his brow still furrowed.

Yang Chang replied calmly: "That's not necessarily true. High-end hunters often appear as prey. Maybe Bai Li left a flaw on purpose, hoping to contact Zhu Jieji directly, or even contact me directly."

"hiss"

Wu Song took a deep breath and reminded Yang Chang: "Although Sanlang is the deputy general manager of the army, the military and politics in the state are separated after all. Isn't Bai Li's move going in the opposite direction? You shouldn't be a knife for others. I told Brother Zhu to just ignore it."

"Let Zhu Jieji make contact first."

"Officialdom's intrigues are boring. I advise Sanlang not to get involved in this mess."

"No." Yang Chang waved his hand to interrupt Wu Song and explained seriously, "I always feel that it is not that simple. The conflict of interests between the county lieutenant and the magistrate is not big, and the internal struggle came too quickly, so I want to play against the enemy and see what happens next. Maybe Bai Li is plotting against me."

"No way? How dare he?"

Qiu Qiongying, who was listening in, suddenly asked a question.

Seeing that Yang Chang did not answer, Wu Song nodded solemnly and said, "Brother Zhu has been a captain and a military commander. I think Bai Li should not be able to scare him. What else do you want to say, Sanlang?"

"Brother Zhu, you can start with Bai Li's identity and try to find out whose connections he is following. We can make plans later."

“Is this easy to check?”

"Why is it difficult to investigate? Some people will take the initiative to flatter themselves, like the prefect Fang."

Yang stopped talking halfway because he suddenly thought of a possibility: Fang Shen claimed to be Cai Jing's student, and he and Cai Jing had a grudge because Cai Jing had killed his son.

The old man first recommended me to stay in Qinzhou, and then sent Fang Shen here to be the prefect. Could it be that all this was a trap set by him?

Even if it wasn't Cai Jing's order, I'm afraid he has already held a grudge against me for cutting off Fatty Fang's financial resources.

Was Bai Li the hook he set?

"I withheld money and grain from the government treasury, divided up the land among the people, and used the army to build roads instead of civilians. I did a lot of things that offended people. Normally, no matter if it was Bai Li or Fang Shen, they would only hate me."

"No, didn't the master say that he is very polite and always smiles at you?"

"You may not know this, but Fang Shen has always been like this as an official, smiling at everyone."

"That's it. Second brother, you go there in person and tell Zhu Jieji not to refuse Bai Li. If this person comes over on his own initiative, he will definitely leave something to say. Let him clear his shit and piss first!"

"Don't worry, I'll be leaving soon. By the way."

Wu Song suddenly changed the subject, frowning and asking worriedly, "Before Fang Shen arrived, Sanlang did a lot of cruel things. Aren't you afraid that he will report you to the court?"

"Don't worry, I have a backup plan." Yang Chang smiled knowingly.

Wen Huanzhang was aware of every one of these offensive matters, and he promised to inform Su Yuanjing and report them.

If the local officials complain to the court, they might end up shooting themselves in the foot.

Of course, Yang Chang did not expect Fang Shen to become the prefect, nor did he know that he would follow Cai Jing's connections. He had done it purely on a spur of the moment basis, out of compassion for the people of Qinzhou.

After receiving instructions from Yang Chang, Wu Song went to Qinyuan to meet Zhu Tong in person. He stayed there for half a month before returning to Tongdi and brought back Bai Li's request to get to know Yang Chang.

When Yang Chang heard the answer, he smiled mysteriously, and then led Wu Song to the back hall to treat him to wine, and asked: "Brother, have you found out Bai Li's identity? Who is he related to?"

"You said you have relatives in the provincial hospital?"

"No, he also followed Cai Jing's path."

"how do you know?"

Wu Song looked at Yang Chang in shock. He had asked Zhu Tong to get Bai Li drunk and interrogate him, but in the end he only asked about the relationship between the person who had run away and the provincial court.

Yang Chang explained as he poured wine: "It's a coincidence that Sun An was in charge of Wuxiang for a period of time and had some friendship with the new county lieutenant of Wuxiang. This man was seeking an official position in Tokyo and met Bai Li. He knew that Bai Li had once looked for Zhai Qian, who was Cai Jing's butler."

"According to Sanlang's analysis, Bai Li and Fang Shen are..." Wu Song suddenly realized.

"They are probably in the same group."

"So will you meet him?"

"not see."

Yang Chang shook his head firmly and said, "This guy wants to instigate me to learn from Tian Hu and then accuse me of rebellion. How can I be fooled by this little trick? Let Zhu Jieji keep in touch, and then secretly monitor him and Fang Shen to see if we can turn the tables on him."

"Listen to you."

Having had the precedent of scheming against Gao Qiu and Li Kui, Wu Song began to look at Yang Chang with new eyes, knowing that this brother was quite capable of making plans.

Fang Shen was not devoted to Cai Jing. Apart from writing a letter of complaint back, he usually acted like a smiling tiger in Qinzhou. By chance, the secret agent planted by Zhai Qian in Qinyuan was discovered by Sun An.

Cai Jing worked hard to plan this battle, but before even two rounds had passed, Yang Chang had seen all his cards. How could he possibly win?

Bai Li tried to make overtures to Yang Chang many times, but the other party was just putting on airs and refused to accept the offer, so Bai Li had no choice but to send someone to Tokyo to ask for advice.

When Cai Jing received the letter of complaint from Fang Shen, he held it in his hand and did not report it until Bai Li sent someone to find Zhai Qian. Cai Jing then sent someone to deliver it to the Censorate, and then reported it at the grand court meeting in March.

After hearing the censor's report, Prime Minister Wang Fu immediately suggested that Yang Chang be brought back to the capital for trial. However, Zhao Ji rejected his suggestion on the spot and dismissed the censor from his post. After the court meeting, he specially appointed Wen Huanzhang to fill the vacancy.

It turned out that Su Yuanjing reported to the emperor in advance and recommended his good friend Wen Huanzhang to serve as an official in the court. Zhao Ji blamed Yang Chang for being reckless and not knowing how to be an official, but praised him for being honest and able to do practical things for the people.

The duty of the censor was to report rumors, and in theory he would not be punished for reporting false information, but he offended Zhao Ji.

At this time, the Jin Kingdom had already captured Yanjing and was negotiating a handover with the Song Dynasty. The Song army showed weakness in the north, allowing the Jin people to blackmail them unscrupulously. They did not want the city from the beginning, but for resources such as population and annual tribute.

In early March, Ning Shuge led an embassy to Tokyo for negotiations, during which he kept asking Huizong for increasing rewards.

But in order to buy back Yanjing, Zhao Ji had to treat the greedy Ning Shuge with courtesy, until he could no longer bear it and refused after several attempts.

Of course, the displeasure that the Jin envoy brought to Huizong was ultimately vented on the unlucky censor, thus preventing Cai Jing from succeeding in his frame-up.

Fang Shen and Bai Li were unable to do anything to Yang Chang, and the censor reported the incident at the court meeting and was dismissed from office.

Cai Jing was at his wit's end and resorted to a bad plan. He ordered Zhai Qian to secretly prepare dragon robes, golden swords and other items to put the blame on others, and send them to Qinzhou in advance to await his final instructions.

The negotiations between Song and Jin are coming to an end. Once Tong Guan completes the handover of Yanjing, the northern army will withdraw from the front line.

In addition, Cai Jing learned from Su Yuanjing that Song Jiang had won victory after victory in the campaign against Wang Qing and it was estimated that the campaign would be over within two months.

At that time, whichever side frees up their hands first will be the one to deal with the "rebellious" Yang Chang.

How quickly Tong Guan would hand over Yanjing depended on how much Song Huizong was willing to pay.

At that time, when court officials and front-line envoys were all fighting for the interests of the Song Dynasty, Zhao Ji almost completely agreed to the Jin Kingdom's demands, allowing Tong Guan to take over Yanjing on April 17, while Song Jiang was still fighting hard with Wang Qing in Huaixi.

On April 28, Tong Guan and Cai You led their troops back to receive titles and handed over the defense of Yanjing to Zhan Du.

Before Tong Guan set out for the expedition, he received a secret letter from Cai Jing regarding the rebellion in Qinzhou, hoping that he would suppress the rebellion and obtain evidence along the way.

Tong Guan, who had made great contributions in recovering Yanjing and was about to be crowned king, looked down upon the small merit of suppressing bandits, and so he sent his general Xin Xingzong to send troops to suppress them.

Xin Xingzong was Tong Guan's trusted general, and at this moment he only wanted to return to the capital to receive his title and reward. He immediately dispatched 20,000 cavalry and infantry troops and ordered his commander Wang Yuan to go to Qinzhou to quell the rebellion.

Wang Yuan immediately led his troops southwards upon receiving the order, and on the second day of May, he arrived in Xingzhou to rest.

At night, Wang Yuan took out the Qinzhou map and analyzed it to his officers: "According to the intelligence I have, this bandit chieftain is called Yang Chang. He was one of the leaders of Liangshan before and was also a hero in suppressing Tian Hu last year. I don't know why he surrendered and rebelled against the country. I heard that this man is brave enough to fight against ten thousand men. Although he has only a few thousand bandits under his command, his strength should not be underestimated."

"Yang Chang? Is he famous?"

"never heard of that."

"But I was born a rebel, no matter how famous I am, I am not as good as the Jin people."

Seeing everyone whispering, Wang Yuan quickly waved his hand to stop them and said, "Qinzhou is surrounded by mountains on three sides, and the terrain is slightly lower in the south. We should take Shexian, Licheng, and Xiangyuan to advance. I need a pioneer. Han Wu, it's you!"

"The last general takes orders."

Han Shizhong accepted the order with a fist clasp, and then heard Wang Yuan's solemn voice: "I know you are brave in battle. This time I will give you 3,000 infantry and cavalry to test the strength of the enemy army. If you find that Yang Chang is difficult to deal with, you should occupy the advantageous position in time and wait for the rear army to arrive. Remember not to be too aggressive."

"Don't worry, General. Han Wu has it figured out."

Just as Wang Yuan led his troops southward, Yang Changzheng took Hu Sanniang and Qiu Qiongying to escape the summer heat in Hujia Mountain under the pretext of training the troops. In fact, they did so to lower the vigilance of Fang Shen and Bai Li, and to go hunting and brush up on the [Camouflage Feathers].

On the first day of May, Cheng Wang, a personal soldier, brought in a man from outside the forest. It was none other than Cao Zheng, Lin Chong's deputy general.

"Manager, the fish have entered the nest, please go back and collect the nets."

(End of this chapter)