Zhao Huan accepted the letter sent to him by the prison warden and was deeply saddened. Zhan Yunpeng was his lifelong pain, but before his death, he had done a great deed for the Song Dynasty that would be passed down through the ages.
Zhao Huan ordered the Ministry of Rites to print Zhan Yunpeng's "Collection of Case Solvings" in woodblock prints, and the Ministry of Justice distributed it to officials across the country. This book was also a frequently tested book in the Ministry of Justice's examination papers.
The Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun were recovered, and while the Song Dynasty appeared calm on the surface, it was actually turbulent, with various social contradictions constantly brewing. Zhao Huan now held power firmly, and most of the officials in the court were promoted by himself. The broken ship of the Song Dynasty began to slowly move forward in the long river of history, with the exception of Shandong.
Wang Xiaohu's power grew rapidly, and Wang Xiaohu lived a very free and easy life.
"I will kill anyone who dares to disobey me!"
Dengzhou Magistrate Liu Guisheng had become Wang Xiaohu's lackey since his surrender. He smiled and said, "Your Majesty is wise. Your territory is vast and the people are loyal to you. How about you choose a day to ascend the throne?"
Wang Xiaohu became interested when he heard this: "Are you saying that you want me to be the emperor?"
Liu Guisheng bowed his head and said, "Your Majesty is an extraordinary person, possessing the bearing of an emperor. The people are eagerly awaiting your ascension to the throne and to stand on equal footing with the Emperor of the Great Song Dynasty. This would be all the people's wish."
"Bullshit! What's so good about being an emperor? I still have everything I need to eat and drink. I think the emperor of the Song Dynasty didn't have it as easy as me."
Liu Guisheng knelt down with a thud. "Your Majesty, you may not know this, but many of your troops have been dispersed recently. Only by ascending the throne as emperor soon can the whole world submit."
The rebels had no logistics or supplies, so they had to rely on looting for everything. A severe drought in Shandong left thousands of miles of barren land. After robbing the wealthy and finding nothing left to plunder, Wang Xiaohu's army began campaigning. However, when they reached Suzhou, they were defeated by the Suzhou commander, Ma Sanqiang, and returned to Lai County in disgrace.
Wang Xiaohu became more and more aggressive, forcing the people to pay military fees. If they failed to pay, his homes would be confiscated and their heads would be beheaded, which made the people even more resentful.
Some people in the team that was originally formed were dissatisfied with Wang Xiaohu's arrogance and left one after another.
Wang Xiaohu looked at Liu Guisheng's servile attitude and was a little tempted: "That's something I can consider. But, when we establish our country, what should we name it?"
Liu Guisheng stood up and said, "If we want the whole world to submit, how about we call ourselves Dashun?"
Wang Xiaohu slapped his thigh and said, "Okay, Dashun, okay, let's call him Dashun. I'll leave this matter to you."
"Well," Liu Guisheng seemed a little embarrassed. "Your Majesty, the Second King has been even more outrageous these days. Not only did he stop the army from seizing food, but a few days ago he even cursed Your Majesty in private. If he knew Your Majesty was going to ascend the throne, I'm afraid he would stop it."
Wang Xiaohu was furious: "Humph! Crazy Pan, if I wasn't considering our fellow countrymen, huh!"
"Your Majesty, I have something to say but I don't know whether I should say it or not." Liu Guisheng said mysteriously.
"explain!"
Liu Guisheng's eyes rolled. "The army only knows the Second King, but not the King. The soldiers all obey the Second King's orders, so the King has to be on guard."
It seems that the struggle for power applies everywhere. Wang Xiaohu frowned and said, "Well, call a meeting of all the generals tomorrow!"
Liu Guisheng knelt down again with a thud: "Long live the emperor!"
"What the hell are you doing? Get up!"
"If the emperor doesn't tell me to get up, I won't dare."
"Well, you really are good at it. Um, wow, my dear, please stand up!"
Liu Guisheng had no idea about the etiquette of an emperor. He just heard this line from a play and then used it, especially the "Wow!" line.
On the second day, at the Lai County government office, the leaders of the various rebel armies gathered.
Wang Xiaohu stood in the middle and clasped his fists. "Brothers, you have followed me on my campaigns. Now most of Shandong is ours. We should discuss our next plan."
A tall leader said, "Your Majesty, we should go north or west, enter Bianjing and kill that bastard emperor."
Crazy Pan said coldly, "Is your knife inlaid with diamonds? You are so ignorant."
The tall leader looked at Crazy Pan timidly, then lowered his head and dared not say anything more.
Crazy Pan ignored him and turned to Wang Xiaohu, saying, "Your Majesty, the Emperor of the Song Dynasty has just returned from his conquest of Jin Desheng. Going west or north would be a trap for us. Our only option now is to defend Shandong. If the government troops attack and we can't resist, we'll have to move south."
Wang Xiaohu was unconcerned: "Second Prince, you're worrying too much. We've seen the fighting power of our soldiers before. They can't possibly break into Shandong. Besides, we've already suffered losses in Suzhou, so how can we possibly go south again?"
Crazy Pan frowned. "Your Majesty, in the past we fought against local armies. Now the Emperor has returned from his personal expedition, and they are leading the elite troops of the Song Dynasty. Even if we were defeated in the south, we can bypass Suzhou and go straight to the south of the Yangtze River."
Liu Guisheng sneered, "Second King, you have the final say on everything. Why are you making such long-term plans now that the troops haven't arrived? I think that with Shandong now in submission, our King should ascend the throne as soon as possible."
Crazy Pan was shocked: "Your Majesty, are you going to become emperor?"
Wang Xiaohu raised his head and said, "Why can't I be the emperor?"
"Your Majesty, you can't do that. If you declare yourself emperor, the whole world will punish you. Right now, we can only preserve our strength and expand our territory southwards." Crazy Pan advised.
Liu Guisheng said angrily: "Second King, what you said is wrong. As the saying goes, the throne is passed down from generation to generation, and next year it will be your turn. Why can't you be the emperor? Second King is jealous!"
"Shameless villain!" Crazy Pan drew his sword and was about to chop Liu Guisheng to death.
"Crazy Pan! What are you doing!" Wang Xiaohu shouted angrily, and in a hurry, the second king stopped shouting.
Crazy Pan drew his sword in anger, bowed and said, "Hmph! Your Majesty, please forgive me!"
Even though he admitted his mistake, his tone remained firm.
Liu Guisheng fanned the flames: "My king, please take a look, please take a look."
Wang Xiaohu said coldly: "Second King, you should return to Dengzhou from today. We don't need you here for the time being."
This was to reduce Crazy Pan's military power, and many leaders shook their heads and sighed.
"You..." Crazy Pan was furious and left in anger.
"Your Majesty, there is no time to lose. We should plan for the enthronement as soon as possible. This Lai County government office is just right to serve as the imperial palace." Liu Guisheng bowed and performed the imperial salute.
Wang Xiaohu chuckled and said, "Liu Zhizhou is right. Let's pick a date. This king, no, I want to ascend the throne and become emperor!"
"Well, Your Majesty. When you ascend the throne and become emperor, you will be granted official titles and ranks." Liu Guisheng finally spoke out his true feelings.
Wang Xiaohu was not stupid at all: "Liu Guisheng, you've been going around in circles for so long just to get yourself a high-ranking official. Fine, I'll make you the Great General of the Protectorate, and give you this official title..."
Liu Guisheng was overjoyed: "He was promoted to Prime Minister and one of the Three Dukes."
"Yes, he was promoted to Prime Minister and became one of the Three Dukes." Wang Xiaohu waved his hand and said, "And all of you leaders are generals."
The leaders looked at each other in bewilderment. They only wanted to resist the tyranny and had never thought about who to support as emperor. At this moment, Wang Xiaohu and Liu Guisheng's singing and dancing was like a farce.
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