Lu Yijian cupped his hands and said: "Since the emperor wanted me to tell you, I couldn't hide it, so I told your majesty and everyone what I learned about the situation in this hall. What I heard is quite similar to what Master Yan of the Third Division reported."
I didn’t say anything about my comings and goings just now because I don’t want to cause any further controversy in the court.”
Zhao Zhen frowned and said: "Is there a discrepancy? Did Su Jin not calm down the incident in Yangzhou? Or was the suppression of bandits a lie?"
Lu Yijian said: "Your Majesty, I don't know much about the affairs of Yangzhou, and the food service falls under the jurisdiction of the third department. I dare not speak nonsense. However, there is some talk about the annihilation of the Bagong Mountain bandits."
Zhao Zhen said: "Tell me quickly."
Lu Yijian said: "I also have a letter here from Mr. Wang Qinian of Shouzhou. What the letter said shocked the old minister. I wanted to meet the Holy Admiral alone after leaving the court to report the matter, but now I will read it publicly to the emperor."
Zhao Zhen said: "Wang Qinian? Is he the Huainan West Road transfer envoy?"
"It was him who was recommended by an old minister in the first year of Kangding and transferred from eastern Zhejiang. In the second year of Jingyou, he passed the imperial examination. Because he and the old minister were from the same hometown and knew each other well, he was not sure about things. He occasionally wrote to ask the old minister
.”
Zhao Zhen understood that this was Lu Yijian's confession to him. He did not have any ulterior motives with Wang Qinian, but it was a normal interaction among officials. It was normal for officials to communicate with each other. They were as elegant as Yan Shu and others.
It is not surprising that he often mails his favorite poems to various officials and asks them to appreciate them.
"Nian, don't have any scruples." Zhao Zhen nodded.
Lu Yijian thanked him, stretched out his hand and took out a letter from his sleeve, opened it and read: "Xiang Lu's Dajian, I had a meeting with the Prime Minister's officials in the capital two years ago. After several years of cold and heat, I don't know how is Xiang Lu's health? Student
I wish Prime Minister Lu good health and that he can take care of the worries of the Song Dynasty. It is a blessing to the court and a blessing to the emperor..."
Lu Yijian paused and said: "Your Majesty, Wang Qinian is talking nonsense. They are just some polite greetings. Please don't be surprised, Your Majesty."
Zhao Zhen said with a smile: "That's how it is. He is right. Lu Xiangde is a noble man and is the backbone of our Song Dynasty. Your health is my blessing. Don't worry, keep reading!"
Lu Yijian breathed a sigh of relief and continued reading: "The student's rash letter today was really forced to do so. Because there have been a lot of troubles under my Huainan Road administration recently, there are some facts that I dare not make my own claims or make rash judgments on. Therefore,
I turned to Prime Minister Lu for help and asked him to give me some advice."
"You must know that banditry is rampant in Bagong Mountain on Huaixi Road. The imperial court has issued strict orders several times for students to join forces with the troops from various states under their jurisdiction to encircle and suppress them. The Xiang troops from Luzhou, Shouzhou and other places under my jurisdiction have also sent out troops to encircle and suppress them on several occasions.
Greatly combating the arrogance of the bandits, we also gained a lot. In July, we killed seventy-nine bandits, in August, we killed sixty-four bandits, we captured two bandit chiefs, and in September, we killed one hundred and thirteen people. We have soldiers on Huainan Road.
Under tight pressure, the bandits have not left much. The above data have been reported to the court, and Lu Xiang can verify and know; although the banditry has not been eradicated, there have been several more times and the Bagong Mountain bandits should have no place to stand."
"Your Majesty, I asked Privy Councilor Du to verify these figures yesterday. The Privy Council has indeed retained Wang Qinian's report, and your Majesty must have seen it." Lu Yijian cupped his hands and said.
Zhao Zhen nodded and said: "I know it, but five or six thousand troops mobilized the troops and the bandit troubles were not eliminated in three months. These numbers are nothing to show off. I didn't punish him. I just wanted him to continue his efforts. Did he mean
Is it because the court didn't reward him? This is really a joke."
Lu Yijian said hurriedly: "The emperor is kind and does not judge success or failure based on temporary gains and losses. This is actually the greatest motivation. However, the old minister thought that Wang Qinian's enumeration of these figures was not to ask for credit, but to say that bandits did not come many times. In order to avoid the large number of officers and soldiers,
By consciously adopting this countermeasure to reduce casualties and killing more than a hundred people every month, the banditry will be eliminated after a few months or even half a year. This is just a strategy of Wang Qinian."
Zhao Zhen said: "It seems to make sense, but how does this relate to Su Jin's suppression of bandits?"
Lu Yijian said: "Rong Chen will know if you continue reading." After saying that, he unfolded the letter and continued reading: "The Bagong Mountain bandits are fierce and tyrannical. They come from banditry. They burn, kill and loot. They are really unforgivable outlaws. Student
Since the encirclement and suppression of the banditry, the bandit leader has been in despair. He has requested to discuss with the students several times, promising to surrender and recruit peace.
I mean, although the students are not talented, they also know the serious harm caused by these bandits. The common people are eager to eat them. If the bandits are recruited, the banditry can be eradicated, but it is difficult to suppress the people's anger and teach those who have been harmed by the bandits.
The people were heartbroken, so they refused and told the bandits that unless they surrendered unconditionally, there would be no reason to compromise."
When Zhao Zhen heard this, he nodded and said: "What Wang Qinian said is quite right. How can we allow the bandits to do evil and be surrounded and suppressed by the officers and soldiers? Feeling that the end is coming, they surrender and be exempted from responsibility. Wouldn't this make it easier for these bandits to harm the people?"
Villain, once you have done your duty of eradicating evil, you still have a chance to plead guilty and obey the law, but it is wishful thinking to negotiate terms with the court."
Lu Yi simply said, "What the emperor said is absolutely true, and the veteran thinks so too. This Wang Qinian doesn't seem to be confused. He can clearly distinguish between what should be done and what should not be done."
Zhao Zhen said: "Well, is there anything else down there?"
Lu Yi's Jian Zhan letter read: "For this reason, the students adopted the strategy of monthly siege and ambush everywhere. A small group of bandits annihilated hundreds of them for me. The students believed that the suppression of bandits needed to be carried out everywhere, but not rashly. Eight
The terrain of Gongshan Bandit Village is dangerous. If we attack forcefully, it will be counterproductive. We can only attack everywhere and blockade it at all times.
, only by trapping the bandits to death in the mountains can they gain the greatest benefits with minimal damage. For several months, the students relied on this strategy to trap the bandits in the mountains. Their arrogance declined and they gradually seemed to be defeated. However, at the end of October, the imperial court
We sent Su Jin, the special envoy to raise food, to Huainan Road on official business, but he destroyed all the plans made by the students, which is really disappointing."
The letter mentioned Su Jin's name for the first time, and in one sentence he directly accused Su Jin of sabotaging the plan to suppress bandits in Huaixi, which shocked everyone in the court. Su Jin sabotaged the plan of suppressing bandits, but the fact was that Su Jin
But he also killed the Bagong Mountain bandits. Mr. Wang Qinian's brain was damaged by the door?
Everyone pricked up their ears and listened to Lu Yijian continue to read the letter. Zhao Zhen, Yan Shu and others knew that the following content was the key point. Zhao Zhen straightened up and Yan Shu turned his ears aside, fearing that he would miss a word.
"Su Jin is solely responsible for the grain affairs in Yangzhou, and it is not easy for students to interfere. However, when it comes to transporting grain from Luzhou to Yangzhou, Su Jin, the grain affairs envoy, has many biases. Students have no intention of blaming others, but
This move really undermines my plan to suppress the bandits, so I am willing to risk my back to slander you just to speak out in front of Prime Minister Lu."
"Since he came to Huainan Road on an errand and it was his supreme responsibility, how could he act arbitrarily without considering it? When Special Envoy Su came to Huainan Road, he first did not talk to the students, and secondly, he did not cooperate and coordinate with the state government.
In fact, it puts us in an extremely passive situation.
It must be said that there are too many fallacies. First of all, five hundred thousand dan of grain was transferred from Luzhou to Yangzhou. It should have been transported down the river directly to Yangzhou via the waterway. It was really stupid to take the official road through the Sujinshe waterway; secondly, knowingly
Under the situation where bandits are infested in Bagong Mountain,
Taking the risk of transporting grain through the official road gave the bandits an opportunity to take advantage of it, causing the grain to be robbed, which was an act of dereliction of duty; thirdly, when transporting grain, they did not invite the state capital road soldiers to escort them, and only sent 200 horse troops to escort them.
, this move is too careless. You need to know that after several months of attacks by our soldiers,
, the bandits in Bagong Village had already run out of water and food. How could they not take risks when a large amount of food passed by? The food was robbed, which was equivalent to giving a large amount of funding to the bandits. At this point, my strategy of coercion turned into running water and I had to go away.
It’s Su Jin’s fault.”
Everyone was shocked. Wang Qinian's accusations were like several knives inserted into Su Jin's vital parts. In the eyes of everyone, Su Jin's image suddenly became an arrogant, reckless, and inflexible man.
He neither communicated with the local state capital nor chose the best route. Although it was unintentional, he provided a large amount of food and grass for the bandits in disguise. Not only did his own errands be hindered, but the bandit suppression plan painstakingly designed by the states on Huainan Road was also blocked.
It was really stupid to completely destroy all the plans.
Zhao Zhen was silent and didn't know what he was thinking. Yan Shu couldn't help but said: "Master Lu, these accusations are unfair to Su Jin. Maybe Wang Qinian thinks so, but the fact is that Su Jin not only snatched back
Food, and the bandits were wiped out, so what is the meaning of Mr. Wang's accusation? Didn't Su Jin do enough? In my opinion, Wang Qinian may have ulterior motives in writing this letter to Prime Minister Lu at this time.
"
Everyone nodded, and someone said: "Yes, it makes no sense to blame others after they have made up for all their faults."
"I think he was just jealous that Su Jin had stolen his limelight. Think about it, what kind of troublesome and pressing strategy did he come up with? He only killed two hundred bandits in a few months, and he surrounded the bandits in a few days.
The root has been overthrown, where can I put my face? That’s why I say these weird things.”
"It makes sense. I think 80% of the time it's the same. This guy is really unkind. This Wang Qinian, luckily I praised him very much."
"Villain mentality..."
Everyone was talking about it, and every word he said fell into Lu Yijian's ears. Lu Yijian remained calm and said with a smile: "Master Yan, according to what you said, everything only needs results, not the process, right? I want to fight with you on this matter.
Tell me carefully, it is true that Su Jin wiped out the bandits and took back the food, but do you know how he took it back?"
Yan Shu said: "What can we do?"
Lu Yijian said coldly: "Fake imperial edicts, make random promises, ignore the life and death of officers and soldiers and refuse the assistance of friendly forces in order to gain the first victory. Please tell me, shouldn't we investigate this process in detail?"
Lu Yijian's words were shocking and shocked everyone on the spot.dd