The person being asked was Yuwen Xuzhong, the Grand Secretary of the Zizheng Palace. He was responsible for negotiating peace with the Jin people during the Jing Kang period, so he was demoted to Qingzhou when Li Gang first came to power. However, when Huang Qianshan fell from power later, Zhao Jiu urgently needed to establish a secretarial team with political prestige, but he returned to the imperial court because of Zhang Jun's recommendation.
When this person heard Li Gang's question, he thought for a moment, then smiled bitterly and shook his head:
"Mr. Li, you are overthinking. Among all the generals, only Liu Guangshi has such qualifications, rank, and prestige. Although Liu Guangshi is not good at fighting, he is good at recruiting and raising troops. He is the best choice to calm the situation and wait for Zhang to stay."
Li Gang, who was over forty years old and four or five years younger than Yuwen Xuzhong, was slightly plump and energetic. At this moment, he was holding his belt, looking very elegant. When he opened his mouth, his voice was loud and clear, shaking the main hall of the small temple that was used as a meeting hall:
"Yes, I also think that Liu Guangshi can stay in Jingdong temporarily and serve as Zhang's assistant!"
At this point, the man did not ask Wang Boyan, the co-director of the Privy Council, but turned around to look at the other person who had seemed invisible before and asked: "What do you think, Your Majesty?"
Zhao Jiu, the official who was sitting under the Buddha statue and installing woodcarvings with the Buddha, finally took action after hearing what he said. He nodded repeatedly and said the most common words he had said recently:
"Just do as Prime Minister Li said!"
Li Gang was extremely satisfied. This time when he came back, the emperor's performance really left him speechless.
However, unlike before, Emperor Zhao, who was supposed to continue to make woodcarvings, asked another question: "So, do you want to transfer Han Shizhong and Zhang Jun here?"
Li Gang was slightly startled, then shook his head: "No need to send them all here... Huaidong is not peaceful right now, why not send a group to Shouzhou as a flank? Even if they come here, they are only temporary protection. When the Imperial Right Army has made merit and has captured some spoils and become stronger, veterans like Zhang and Han will continue to be sent out, either to suppress the rebellion or to station at the key points on the front line."
"Then let Zhang Jun go to Shouchun!" Zhao Jiu suddenly said. "Let Han Shizhong come here."
Li Gang felt puzzled, but such a small matter was not enough to create conflict with such a well-behaved emperor, so he nodded in agreement. This meeting in the imperial court, Buddhist temple and council hall ended successfully.
It can only be said that after Li Gang came, the official's life became so calm and ordinary.
Now that the important matters were settled, Prime Minister Li took care of the minor matters. The idle Emperor Zhao, under the protection of Yang Yizhong and Liu Yan, walked out of the Buddhist temple and strolled around.
When Zhao Jiu found a high place near the temple and looked out into the distance, he wanted to enjoy the scenery of Yingshui River, but unexpectedly he caught a glimpse of a small town seven or eight miles away.
"That is..."
"It's Jiegou Town." Yang Yizhong seemed to know everything. "It got its name because it is located at the junction of Chenzhou and Shunchang Prefecture (formerly Yingzhou, later Fuyang)... It is next to the Yingshui River and has a ferry, so it is quite prosperous."
Zhao Jiu nodded slightly. Although he was extremely curious, he just stood on tiptoe to look and had no intention of going there... There was no other reason. The imperial court had stopped at Mingdao Palace before, and now it was stopped in a temple in the wild. The original intention was to prevent disturbing the people and to prevent the people from hearing rumors, causing chaos and attacking the imperial court.
It can only be said that the disturbance caused by thousands of soldiers, hundreds of officials and their families here is inevitable, but it is better than nothing if they are farther away.
In this way, Emperor Zhao stood on the small slope and looked for a long time. He only felt that there were indeed people coming and going there and it was quite lively, but it was still vague and he couldn't help shaking his head.
"Your Majesty, don't worry." Yang Yizhong said with a smile. "If there hadn't been the Jin people, the world would still be prosperous, and this place wouldn't have been attacked by bandits, so it would have been really prosperous and lively... Even if we passed those towns on the way, although your Majesty was in the carriage and couldn't take a closer look, the buildings on the road and the clothes of the pedestrians couldn't be fake."
Emperor Zhao laughed dryly, then nodded and turned to go down. However, just after going down the small slope, Emperor Zhao suddenly turned back:
"Zhengfu (Yang Yizhong), Pingfu (Liu Yan), do you know how many people the Song Dynasty has?"
Yang and Liu looked at each other and blurted out almost at the same time:
"One hundred million and twenty million!"
"So many?" Zhao Jiu was stunned.
"Sir, this is what was recorded in the household register three years ago." Yang Yizhong bowed his head and replied carefully. "Anyone who is interested can understand."
"What about now?" Zhao Jiu asked in a daze.
Yang and Liu looked at each other again, but there was no definite answer.
"Once the world is settled, how many will there be?" Zhao Jiu asked again.
Yang and Liu could only lower their heads and remain silent.
"Let's go out for a walk. We don't want to cause trouble for Mr. Li, so we won't go to Jiegou Town. We'll just take a look at the surrounding countryside." Zhao Jiu sighed, adjusted his mood, and smiled slightly, as if he finally couldn't bear his curiosity and wanted to learn from the ancient wise kings to inquire about customs.
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