Chapter 437: Song Jiang Accuses Gao Qiu

Looking at what he had and what the other party wanted, knowing the cause and effect, he understood the purpose. Speaking of which, he had really suffered a loss and been set up. There was no way; he was used to being high above, and although he was very empathetic, he inevitably had oversights.

And the scheming of these two, Song Jiang and Wu Yong, was time. He had just been thinking of chatting with Song Jiang anyway, since he was idle, and this was the only time they would meet, which was why he had accidentally been calculated into it.

"Wang has always been law-abiding and kind to others, never competing with anyone. For you two to scheme and use me like this, do you really think Wang has no temper?"

Since he saw it clearly, there was naturally no need to continue chatting about useless things. Wang Yan directly opened his mouth to interrupt the chattering Vanguard Song.

Hearing this, Song Jiang stopped his words abruptly, his face changed for a moment, and in the blink of an eye, he was smiling again, opening his mouth to deny: "General, you are joking. How would Song Jiang dare to scheme and use the General?"

"Big Brother..."

Wu Yong stopped Song Jiang, who still wanted to continue. Seeing Wang Yan looking at him expressionlessly, he knew he had been discovered. After all, this was a capable person who operated a huge industry and had countless wealth and subordinates. At first, he hadn't thought in that direction, but after chatting for a long time about useless things and still not entering the main topic, combined with their current predicament, he could understand their purpose just by moving his brain.

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He didn't shake his fan to act cool anymore, immediately rising in panic and cupping his hands to plead guilty: "General, don't blame me. This was entirely my own idea."

Seeing him like this, Song Jiang didn't play dumb anymore, quickly rising and cupping his hands: "General, it is not that Song Jiang intended to deceive you, but that my Liang Shan brothers are in a difficult situation with a worrying future. That Gao Qiu repeatedly deducts grain and supplies, and indulges his subordinates in insulting my Liang Shan brothers. My Liang Shan brothers are all good men who understand righteousness. Now that we have submitted to amnesty, it is only to serve the country. How can we be treated like this?"

"The General and Song Jiang are both from Shandong, and Yanggu County is only one hundred and twenty miles away from Yuncheng. In the past, your business was never harmed by us on Liang Shan. My brothers and I act on behalf of heaven, only robbing the rich to help the poor. All these years, we... The Emperor knows of our loyalty and righteousness on Liang Shan, and his holy grace has decreed amnesty, making Song Jiang fortunate enough to be an official in the same court as the General. If it weren't for Gao Qiu bullying us too much, Song Jiang would really have no other way but to use this desperate measure, finding the General to seek protection under your name and seek peace. I hope the General will sympathize..."

Wang Yan shook his head and laughed. Song Jiang's shamelessness was well-known; he was used to beautifying himself. Saying he had never robbed his goods, saying he was acting on behalf of heaven and robbing the rich to help the poor, and even pulling the hometown relationship with him, using all sorts of righteousness and hometown feelings to pressure him. It was as if they were the righteous side and he, Master Wang, was the villain. However, he didn't expose them, because they were all going to die anyway, so exposing them didn't have much meaning.

"Sit." He held his cup and took a sip of tea, watching the two who had finished bowing and thanking him sit down again: "Since you have stayed with me for so long, why say so much? I have no power in the court; I stand on the Emperor's holy favor. There are people who fear me, but I don't have the prestige you think. You Liang Shan robbed Cai Jing's birthday gift and tied Gao Qiu to the mountain; how could they let it go? This kind of great hatred, pulling my flag might have a little use, but it's not as big as you think. Although I am not in harmony with Cai Jing, Gao Qiu, and others, I have always kept them at a distance, and I won't speak for you and bring trouble upon myself. It is you who thought wrong..."

Song Jiang and Wu Yong exchanged glances, exchanged eyes, turned back, and cupped their hands: "What advice does the General have?"

Master Wang put down the teacup in his hand: "Gao Qiu deducts grain and supplies, and the distribution is insufficient. Then those that were not distributed must have been embezzled and sold. Grain, grass, and military equipment—who do you say would buy them? If not the great bandits like Tian Hu, Wang Qing, or Fang La, then it must be other bandits occupying mountains as kings. Even more, they might be sold to Tubo, Dali, Western Xia, or even the Liao Kingdom."

"If you were in the court and mentioned that you had captured Gao Qiu, and then mentioned this matter in your words, what would the Emperor and the court officials think? Cai Jing's faction is indeed powerful, but they don't cover the sky with one hand. As long as you start, the remaining matters will naturally be handled by others who are not in harmony with Cai Jing."

"Moreover, you were granted amnesty by the Emperor himself, and you are about to go to Hebei to suppress bandits. Now that you are being bullied by that Gao Qiu, it affects military morale. What is this? This is Cai Jing's great disrespect to the Emperor. You should have heard of Lu Zhishen in Liaodong. According to what I know, that Lu Zhishen also has some connection with Lin Chong."

"A few years ago, when Lu Zhishen started his uprising and captured the Su and Fu prefectures of the Liao Kingdom overnight, the Emperor once asked me about the inside story. The Emperor knew at that time that Lu Zhishen and Lin Chong had been harmed by Gao Qiu, and he was already dissatisfied. It was just that he remembered they had followed him in his residence, so he just punished them with some salary and scolded them. However, holy favor sometimes ends. Causing trouble once or twice and bullying others—the Emperor has his own judgment in his heart."

"So as long as you report to the Emperor, the situation on your Liang Shan will improve greatly. A few days ago, I heard that your Liang Shan people killed a subordinate of Gao Qiu. That was a good opportunity. But it's not too late now. If you wait until you go on an expedition, and Gao Qiu makes trouble behind your back, then saying anything will be useless. You must know, the child who cries gets the milk..."

Song Jiang had always wanted to be an official, and plus he was just a small clerk before, so his vision and pattern were not enough. He feared imperial power and thought of imperial power as too sacred, thus thinking of Zhao Ji as too high. Now that he had just received amnesty, he didn't dare to open his mouth to make demands, and he was also afraid that Zhao Ji would think they were too incompetent.

But the key to the problem was that they had moved from outside the rules to inside the rules. They had no power to contend with Gao Qiu's power, and could only be kneaded and flattened by others, unable to resist. Then why were they still acting so reserved? Going to the big leader to complain—this was the only way out. Otherwise, they could only be punching bags like this.

And they weren't useless. Zhao Ji was the referee. Even if he was biased, at this time, he would at most not deal with Gao Qiu, but he would absolutely not do anything to Liang Shan.

As for later, of course, they should still die. Zhao Ji's heart wasn't big. He remembered that scene in Bianjing during the Lantern Festival.

After hearing Wang Yan's advice, Song Jiang exchanged glances with Wu Yong again, pondered for a moment, and said: "Thank you for the guidance, General. But if we say these things in front of the Emperor, what if Gao Qiu counter-accuses us of false accusation?"

"Whether there is evidence is not important. What is important is what the Emperor thinks and what the other court officials think. And you are about to go on an expedition to Hebei to fight that Tian Hu. You have already received the order and are preparing to march. Even if it is a false accusation, what can happen? We must fight this battle first. If you don't defeat Tian Hu, it's just one more crime for you. If you win, then what crime is there? There is Wang Qing in Huaixi and Fang La in Jiang Nan; there will always be a use for you. As long as you are useful, then there is no problem."

If they were useless, then they would die. This was said quite clearly. To tell the truth, he still hoped Song Jiang could give him some surprises, and could also bring some fun to his life that had no waves.

Song Jiang pondered for a moment, then nodded, rose, and cupped his hands to say goodbye: "Thank you, General. Your great kindness and virtue, Song Jiang and my Liang Shan brothers will never forget. The matter is urgent; the two of us will go back and discuss it with the brothers, and we won't disturb the General anymore. We will take our leave."

The original purpose had been achieved, and a new method had been obtained. Wang Yan's attitude was also very clear. Song Jiang wasn't ignorant; how could he not know it was time to roll?

"Easy to say, easy to say. The two of you go slowly." Wang Yan rose with a smile and returned the salute: "Someone, send the guests off."

Watching Song Jiang and the other leave, he turned around, changed into a set of clothes, and then went out of the city to wander and walk the streets.

The training of the Fu Bei Army didn't need him to stare at it all day. Zhao Ji also knew he was busy and never required him to report for duty. Anyway, he just looked at the results. So he basically entered the capital once every two months and stayed for half a month.

Before this, he had already trained a group of high-ranking martial officers like Lu Junyi and Dong Ping first, all of whom were disciplined, knew what to train, and knew how to train, and then these people went down to teach the middle and low-level officers and the common soldiers.

Furthermore, it had been a year; they knew how to train. He only occasionally checked the results, saw if there was progress, and by the way, promoted some people and kicked some people out, so he was really quite idle.

It was the turn of spring and summer, and the scenery outside Bianjing City was quite good. He took two long-term attendants and strolled along the Bian River, enjoying life...

Song Jiang didn't disappoint Wang Yan and did as he was told. Originally he hadn't done it because he didn't have him, and he really had no way. Now that he had said it so clearly, what else was there to worry about?

So Song Jiang and Wu Yong only studied it for one day, and on the third day, they requested an audience during the morning court. Thus, it wasn't a private report to Zhao Ji, but in front of all the officials in the court.

Facing Zhao Ji's inquiry about why they hadn't broken camp and marched north, Song Jiang directly stated that Taiwei Gao Qiu had been captured by Liang Shan, harbored resentment, and instructed the deduction of grain, pay, supplies, and military equipment, and speculated that the embezzled supplies and equipment were sold to other bandits and surrounding enemy countries.

Zhao Ji didn't expect such a thing, and Gao Qiu didn't expect Song Jiang to dare to target him in the court. Facing Zhao Ji's inquiry, Gao Qiu could only shirk, saying he didn't know the inside story, and would go back to investigate the matter thoroughly, while also making up the shorted supplies. Zhao Ji thought for a while, sent the Dali Temple to follow up and investigate, and at the same time encouraged Song Jiang, letting him receive full supplies and march north to suppress bandits as soon as possible.

This time there was really no problem. After the court dispersed that day, piles of supplies were pulled to Chen Qiao and distributed to the Liang Shan troops. Song Jiang was also decisive; he received the supplies and didn't stay at all. Early the next morning, he hurried away. Although Wang Yan's words were certain, he couldn't rest easy and it was better to get away as soon as possible...

Unsurprisingly, the next day, many memorials impeaching Gao Qiu were sent to Zhao Ji, talking about bullying, forcibly seizing land, harming the people, embezzling public funds, and so on. During the discussion, Zhao Ji asked for Cai Jing's opinion. That old fox wouldn't protect Gao Qiu anymore, but he didn't kick him while he was down, and at the same time pointed out that Song Jiang had visited Wang Yan the day before.

So, unsurprisingly, that afternoon, Wang Yan was summoned to the palace.

Looking at the expressionless Zhao Ji, Master Wang combed through the grievances between Cai Jing, Zhao Ji, and Liang Shan, as well as the amnesty process of the past two years, and also talked about why Song Jiang had come to him.

"Actually, it was also that I realized it too late; otherwise, I would absolutely not have looked for trouble. It was just that this time Song Jiang had already come to me and stayed for such a long time. Later, if someone takes this matter to attack me, how can I explain it clearly? Gao Qiu went too far, which forced Song Jiang to go and pull my name to act. Gao Qiu is incompetent, was captured by Liang Shan bandits, and harboring resentment and wanting revenge is understandable."

"But how could he do such a thing at this time? Your Majesty, if you want the horse to run, how can you not let the horse eat grass? The Liang Shan troops are stationed at Chen Qiao, and that is more than one hundred thousand people. Chen Qiao is only fifty miles from my capital. If the Liang Shan troops are forced into a corner and directly raise an army to surround the capital, what should we do? Of course, Bianjing City has tens of thousands of imperial guards, and there are more than twenty thousand stationed outside the city, and there is also the Fu Bei Army fifty miles away. The Liang Shan bandits are not a cause for concern and can definitely be suppressed. But if this happens, Your Majesty will definitely be affected. At that time, what crime should Gao Qiu be guilty of?"

"So I incited Song Jiang to come to the court to expose Gao Qiu's evil deeds, but those words were absolutely not taught by me. Song Jiang and the other Liang Shan bandits deserve to die, but Your Majesty's intention is to use bandits to control bandits. Now Song Jiang and the others have just set off, and Gao Qiu was too anxious. And I believe Your Majesty must attach importance to Gao Qiu's guilt. According to what I know, Gao Qiu has indeed embezzled and broken the law, harming the people quite a bit. Song Jiang's malicious speculation is malicious, but the matter of colluding with the enemy cannot be prevented..."

Although the Great Song also sold military equipment to other countries and then exchanged it for money to forge new military equipment, that was at the national level, and there were special officials responsible for the connection. But the country selling it versus an individual selling it were obviously two different things. Gao Qiu must have sold it; there was no doubt about that, but he must not have sold it directly. If he didn't even have this much brain, he wouldn't be in the mix. Instead, he went through several hands and experienced several people, which greatly strengthened the difficulty of investigation. Even Gao Qiu himself might not know where the military equipment went; after all, the people doing the work were those below.

These things, Zhao Ji might not have known before, but now he knew. Plus the fact that Liang Shan caused a scene in Bianjing during the Lantern Festival and let people run away, and fighting Liang Shan and being captured, and now not caring about his safety and forcing the Liang Shan troops—all these things made Zhao Ji very dissatisfied. Sending people to investigate was a signal of falling out of favor.

And this point, the officials who were good at guessing the Emperor's intentions knew best; otherwise, they wouldn't have tacitly impeached Gao Qiu. So under these circumstances, even if Gao Qiu was fine, they had to create some trouble for him to handle. So to sum up, Gao Qiu would either die or be crippled this time; basically, he was finished. This was the benefit of centralization; when the Emperor was unhappy, one word could handle a high-ranking official.

Looking at the loyal and good son-in-law, Zhao Ji gave a long sigh: "You are right; Gao Qiu went too far..."

"Your Majesty need not worry. According to what I know, Taiwei Gao's family property should be several hundred thousand strings of cash. Just recently, the Ministry of Revenue has had difficulty allocating money and grain for the Fu Bei Army, so there is finally some income. Your Majesty, did I just say that when the former Liang Shan leader Chao Gai went up the mountain, it was because he robbed Cai Taishi's birthday gift? According to what I know, that birthday gift was worth one hundred thousand strings of cash. Is this Cai Taishi..."

Wang Yan didn't continue. It was enough to stop here. An emperor who doesn't love money isn't a good emperor, and an emperor who doesn't love the money in his officials' hands is even less of a good emperor. He first probed and seduced, seeing if handling Gao Qiu could open a small window for Zhao Ji to get rich quickly in the short term. If he could, then everyone would be happy—Zhao Ji would have money, he would have less trouble, and the commoners' lives could also be a bit better. If not, it didn't matter; it would also save Zhao Ji from wasting it, and leaving it for him to come was also quite good.

Zhao Ji stared at Wang Yan and remained silent. Wang Yan lowered his head slightly and didn't look at him.

After a long while, Zhao Ji waved his hand helplessly: "Go, train the Fu Bei Army well. If it's unusable when the time comes, your money will be the most..."

Wang Yan cupped his hands with a smile: "I take my leave."

It was quite casual; after all, he was a favored official, a capable official, and half a son, and he was considered a member of the imperial clan, so he was quite close to Zhao Ji and got along quite well.

Returning home, he didn't stay long, directly changed into battle armor, took his warhorse, led people out of the city, and ran to the Fu Bei Army camp. Because he saw that Zhao Ji was moved, and as an emperor, and Zhao Ji's kind of guy, since he had the intention, he naturally acted according to his heart.

It could be imagined that there would be no lack of trouble in Bianjing next. He had better stay far away. After all, Gao Qiu was the current Taiwei, and he had pulled a bunch of people below him. Since he was going to take action, how could he only handle one? He had to pull out a whole string to be good.

After the inventory, Zhao Ji might become an anti-corruption pioneer. After all, his garden was still being repaired, and he even planned to expand the imperial city. The first thing to expand the imperial city was to engage in demolition, and demolition naturally required compensation. Besides, those who could live at the root of the imperial city were not simple characters. Without compensation and engaging in forced demolition, the Emperor wouldn't have much.

In a super-large city like Bianjing with a population of one million, the population density could be imagined. Naturally, the housing prices here were very high, so the large mansions at the root of the imperial city were naturally more expensive. This was a huge sum of money.

Previous emperors didn't not want to expand the imperial city; it was just because they couldn't afford it, or rather, spending so much money wasn't cost-effective. But Zhao Ji obviously didn't care. If he had money, he dared to do anything...

The scene at the military camp was very spectacular. Some were in neat formations, fully armored, with long spears tucked under their arms, riding tall and sturdy warhorses, rushing forward at a very high speed toward a special human-shaped prop on a wooden stake as tall as a warhorse in the distance. Some were holding spears at fixed points, with stones tied to the spear tips, insisting while trembling. There were also those practicing martial arts with shouts, some running obstacles around the drill ground, some practicing horse stances, and some hacking at wooden stakes in front of them with long horse sabers, one slash after another.

Of course, there were also those being beaten, whipped one after another. After all, there were people making mistakes everywhere, and they always had to pay a price. Now it was physical pain; on the battlefield, it would be their lives.

Therefore, their training was repeating over and over again, forming muscle memory. Only in this way could they, when facing the enemy in a charge and seeing the boundless enemy, feel fear, and still stab forward with their spears according to the training of years, and if the spear was lost, quickly draw their sabers and hack without hesitation.

They didn't need to think they were geniuses and improvise; that was the privilege of those who survived... ===== CHAPTER 438 =====