Chapter 400: The Navy Explodes the Camp
Old Cao was so angry that he sent a message to ask Wu Yuqi to temporarily take over as the magistrate of Daojiang County and investigate the unfinished streets for him before returning to Chengdu.
Zhao Yulin thought it was inappropriate and that Song Ci should be asked to take action.
He felt that the county magistrate's crime did not deserve the death penalty, so he wanted Song Ci to take action and work together with Wu Yuqi's Shunfeng Division to dig out the mastermind behind the scenes.
Lao Cao agreed and let Song Ci go, and he must get to the bottom .
He believed that Yongkang Army governed Qingcheng and Daojiang counties, and that it was established because of the importance of the Dujiangyan Irrigation Project. Now these officials relied on the mountains and the water to make a living, and chewed on the Dujiangyan Irrigation Project like a bunch of termites. He wanted to abolish Yongkang Army and save money to build the Dujiangyan Irrigation Project.
Zhao Yulin said that this matter could be considered, but it would be better to sort it out first.
The two of them came to the small hall in the back hall to rest. Shunzhidi came in to report that everything had been arranged in Jinguan City and Lord Cao could move in.
Lao Cao said irritably that he had no heart to do anything, so why move?
Zhao Yulin knew that he was referring to the matter that the old official sent someone to reprimand Cao Gong, saying that we don't have to worry about other things, we still have to do it well, with strong soldiers and horses, to rescue those people in Mobei.
He then said let’s move.
Shunzhidi asked carefully: The Ministry of Rites has planned a simple sacrificial ceremony, should it be held on a different day?
Lao Cao said that the craftsmen who were working on the project have not left yet, so let them move in first and hold the ceremony after the project is completed.
Zhao Yulin nodded and winked at Zhidi, asking her to go out first.
Cao Youwen had only been the king for a short time. Just when he was feeling a little like the boss, he received a secret imperial edict reprimanding him. He must have been feeling complicated.
Like Li Zhongmian, he was also an important official of the previous dynasty. When the emperor was still in office, he would submit memorials and never forget to write at the end: Long live the emperor, long live the emperor, long, long live the emperor.
Now seeing the old emperor's secret decree severely rebuking Lord Ding, it was like being hit on the head with a stick, as if he was being rebuked in person.
It must be hard to feel good.
Zhao Yulin asked Shunzhidi to find Zhao Feiyan and told her that the Ministry of Rites would arrange for the newspaper to publish an article about the good society of the New Song Dynasty and the good founding of the Republic, using typical examples to publicize fairness and justice, preaching that everyone is equal, and firmly opposing those who dream of returning to the past and dreaming of restoring the throne to become emperor.
Lao Cao understood what he meant and told him that he would go to inspect the army and the National Security Bureau tomorrow, and clearly demand that the army obey the dispatch of the Central Council and wholeheartedly support the New Song Republic.
Zhao Yulin gave him a thumbs up and said with a smile that these are what we should do. After all, the first priority at present is stability, and we must strengthen ourselves in a down-to-earth manner.
The two men dispersed after speaking in unison.
When he returned home, the Fire Phoenix had already arrived.
The woman learned how to make matcha for him.
While eating, Zhao Yulin said, "I'm already an adult, why should I learn this skill?"
Phoenix asked him unhappily: What's the matter?
Do you think I'm not doing my job well?
He immediately said it was delicious and handed it to her with both hands, asking her to try it too.
For Song Dynasty women, making matcha was a basic skill. Fenghuang was from a frontier tribe, so she had never learned this skill. She saw that all the women around her could make it, and they made men crazy about it. Gradually, she also wanted to make it to please Zhao Yulin.
But Zhao Yulin didn't like this sticky thing, and didn't want his woman to suffer from it.
When he saw that Fenghuang's expression was much relieved after taking two sips of tea, he put down the tea bowl, pulled the woman into his arms and said: In fact, he likes to drink Qingcheng tea, Zhuyeqing and other simple life, and does not need his woman to be so tired.
He told Fenghuang that he was feeling a little tired, and the heat was getting worse and he was feeling dizzy, so why not go to Qingcheng Mountain to cool off for a few days?
The woman is happy.
Zhao Yulin seldom asked for rest, but today he actually asked her to accompany him to Qingcheng to escape the summer heat. She immediately got up happily and started to prepare.
He smiled and said, "Why rush? It's not too late to prepare at night. Tomorrow we will accompany Lao Cao to inspect the military camp and then set off."
At night, Zhao Yulin was serving Fenghuang Huanxi when the guard outside the house shouted: "Master , an urgent military report has arrived. Lord Cao wants to see you."
Fenghuang hugged him unwillingly and refused to let him get out of bed. After a short rest, she got up and bathed and changed his clothes for him.
Zhao Yulin rushed to Lao Cao's residence and saw an urgent report from the navy chief Zhou Ping sent from Fujian: the Lin'an navy colluded with the Fujian garrison in rebellion, and one hundred ships of the Fujian navy, which had just surrendered to the New Song Dynasty, blew up their camp, and under the coercion of the commander-in-chief Zheng Qilang, broke through the coastal defense and defected to the pseudo-emperor Zhao Bing.
Lao Cao was furious and cursed these people for being fence-sitters who took sides with the wind.
Zhao Yulin smiled and said that it was normal. In the heyday of the Song Dynasty, there were thousands of sea vessels. Fujian had just surrendered, so it was normal to have a hundred or two hundred ships.
Lao Cao said with heartache: The key is that the Zheng bandits stole one of our warships equipped with red cannons, which had three red cannons on it.
The rebels fled in panic, blew up the shore defense positions of Fuzhou Naval Port, burned countless ships, and lost most of the Fujian fleet in the South China Sea.
This is totally imaginable.
Zheng Qillang was the commander-in-chief of the Fujian formation, and the losses that would be incurred if the commander rebelled would certainly be huge.
Zhao Yulin judged that this was because Zhou Ping had just taken over and did not have enough control over the navy. Another important reason was that he did not strictly examine the loyalty of the guards and did not select soldier representatives and set up a soldier association in accordance with the programming of the Shenwei Army in a timely manner.
He suggested not to reprimand Zhou Ping, but to order him to quickly restore the coastal defense.
Lao Cao nodded and said that’s what he would do.
However, those who should be held responsible still need to take responsibility. The Ministry of War should be informed of the detailed situation and Zhou Ping should be asked to guard the navy.
Zhao Yulin said that was natural, and reminded him especially to select good soldier representatives and to establish a soldiers' council on each ship. Only when the soldiers are in charge can our army be stable.
They discussed for most of the night before deciding on a strategy. When they looked out the window, they saw light in the east.
Lao Cao told him not to leave, to go out and have a bowl of Yibin yanmian and go directly to the military camp to inspect the morning exercises and review the three armies. After breakfast, the two came to the military camp, where Zhang Guoan was directing the exercises on the command platform.
Seeing them coming, they immediately went to the central military tent to welcome them.
Lao Cao waved his hand, took a few steps and jumped onto the platform, ordering them to continue the training.
Zhao Yulin was very satisfied when he saw that the soldiers of the Chengdu garrison were all in high spirits and were not inferior to the brave warriors in the border villages.
He asked the National Security Bureau to order a gathering, and the leader wanted to give a speech.
The assembly call was immediately sounded on the command stand.
Three thousand men rushed to the reviewing platform and stood still in a moment.
After the officer on duty reported the number of people doing drills and the training subjects today, he shouted: Please give us your instructions, Lord Cao.
Lao Cao was very pleased to see the powerful soldiers. As he had agreed with Zhao Yulin yesterday, he praised the Chengdu garrison. Then he changed the subject and asked the soldiers to redouble their efforts in training, work hard for the people and protect the hard-won republic.
He asked: What should we do if there is someone who still dreams of becoming an emperor and riding roughshod over the heads of the people?
Zhao Yulin yelled beside him: We will never agree to it.
The soldiers of the three armies shouted in unison: "Never agree to it, never agree to it."
Lao Cao was happy and waved his hand and told them to continue practicing.
The command flags on the stage waved, and the soldiers below the stage quickly dispersed and resumed their training.
Zhang Guoan wanted to send them out of the camp , but Lao Cao told him not to and let him lead the team.
Zhao Yulin asked him to have someone write about the king's inspection of the military camp today and publish it in the Chengdu Weekly.
Guoan understood immediately and kept saying that he would do it when he returned.
When he came out, Lao Cao said that he was old and had been busy all night, so he wanted to go back and catch up on his sleep.
Zhao Yulin asked for leave from him so that he could accompany Fenghuang to Qingcheng Mountain to burn incense and worship the mountain.
Lao Cao laughed and said, "Who is going to ask for leave from whom?"
Go go.
In Changguo County off the coast of Hangzhou Bay, the false emperor Zhao Bing assembled more than 400 warships to flee to the sea. After leaving the Lin'an court, Zhao Bing felt a rare sense of relief and his mental state improved a lot without the worries of military intelligence and taxes.
Changguo County is the area of Zhoushan Islands in later generations. There are many fishing grounds and frequent maritime trade. It is one of the few rich maritime counties in the Southern Song Dynasty. In the early years, it was also the place where the famous Prime Minister Wang Anshi served as a county magistrate.
After the Lin'an small court split off from Jiangdong, the income from sea salt decreased and it became more dependent on the maritime trade with Changguo.
Zhao Bing brought more than 20,000 troops and horses with him. The islands near the county government were immediately overcrowded and chaotic. But he didn't care about that. He took the queen and two concubines to visit Penglai, go to the beach, and try sea fishing to let himself go.
However, no matter how rich a county is, it is just a county. It cannot withstand the sudden attack of tens of thousands of people. With only half a month's supply of food and drink, the island's vegetables are in short supply.
This guy just realized now that he was on the run and wandering, and he was .
I have to think about how I'm going to live my life from now on.
The chief steward of the Imperial City Department reported to him: Your Majesty, we should plan to leave as soon as possible. There is a chicken coop in Liuqiu on the way south. It is said that there are many rich people there. Let's go there first to see if it is suitable for settling down and establishing a new court?
In the past, Zhao Bing was determined to become the emperor of the Song Dynasty. Although he had heard about the situation overseas, how could he be as familiar with the surrounding barbarian countries as a traveler?
However, now that we have set sail, we can only take things one step at a time.
He has traveled all over the islands here. Although they are purely ecological and pollution-free, they are not very big. He can walk from the west end to the east end in the time it takes to pee. If he wants to go south, he can go south.
Zhao Bing agreed immediately and set off south to Jilong the next day.
In the evening, the captain of the imperial infantry started working. He took the lead in rushing into the county magistrate's house and killed the county magistrate on the grounds that he had hidden tax silver. His cronies immediately searched the yard for all valuable and useful things. They even took the county magistrate's wife and daughter away and took them abducted to be entertainers on the ship.
The other officers and soldiers were also busy. They visited the wealthy families on the island one by one, robbing them of their money, women, grain and vegetables, making the entire Changguo County like a hell on earth.
After the Chief of the Imperial City reported to Zhao Bing the misdeeds of the Imperial Guards, Zhao Bing was also shocked. He thought, if this goes on, what is the difference between him and a pirate leader?
However, he will still have to rely on these hungry soldiers in the days to come.
We can't let the army lose its morale.
