Wang Xiaohu and his men defeated the Mizhou garrison and expanded their power rapidly. They swept Lai County and seized money, food, and territory.
Lai County Magistrate Abe, his hair disheveled, was paraded through the streets by villagers. Barefoot and with his clothes torn to shreds, he was pelted with rocks and rotten eggs.
Wang Xiaohu was extremely proud. He and Pan Fengzi rode on tall horses and paraded Abe with drums and gongs, surrounded by a group of local militiamen.
Abe's hands were tied, and the other end of the rope was tied to the back of Wang Xiaohu's mount and pulled forward.
"Beat him to death!" someone shouted.
"Damn Abe, you will die a miserable death!"
"Abe, go eat shit! Beat him to death!"
Soon the crowd got out of control, and Lai County Magistrate Abe was killed by the hoes and fists of the people.
Wang Xiaohu hung Abe's dog head outside the yamen for public display, and the Lai County yamen became Wang Xiaohu's lawless place.
In the county government office, Wang Xiaohu and his men raised their glasses and drank, and everyone was overjoyed.
Crazy Pan said, "Xiao Hu, the people are starving. Shouldn't we open the granaries and distribute the grain from the county government?"
Wang Xiaohu looked unhappy: "Crazy, I've told you so many times to call me King. We all followed me to conquer Lai County, naturally for the sake of enjoying life. If we distribute all this food to the people, what will we eat? Food is for brothers, not for those poor people."
Crazy Pan was secretly furious. Didn't you come from a poor family? But he didn't dare to get angry now. He could only clasp his fists and say, "Your Majesty, if these people don't have any more food, they will starve to death. How about we distribute a little less and leave the rest for the brothers?"
Wang Xiaohu's eyes were blurry with drunkenness: "If it's all distributed to the people, who would still be willing to work for me? If not, I won't give you even a pound of rice."
Crazy Pan was furious and put his wine glass heavily on the table without drinking.
The originally noisy banquet suddenly quieted down, and Wang Xiaohu was stunned. Then he smiled and said, "Madman, how can you be so ignorant? I will consider your matter. I will consider it. Come on, let's raise our glasses and drink together!"
The banquet immediately returned to its lively atmosphere, with everyone laughing and drinking.
…
Seizing power requires gradual erosion. With the support of Zhao Huan from the palace's military and the four regents, a coup by Zhao Ji is unlikely. However, some veteran officials still support Zhao Ji.
Zhao Ji had established a small imperial court in Daojun Palace. Many of Huizong's old ministers would gather there to discuss state affairs, or lament the oppression they were receiving from the new generation. Among them was Bai Shizhong, who was the most vocal.
Zhao Ji finally got his fill of being an emperor again, and he began directing the suppression of the rebellion. Although he sometimes felt that this wasn't the right thing to do, power is something no one wants to let go of easily. He could only console himself by saying, "I'm your father. I'm just handling government affairs on your behalf. I'm doing this for your own good."
Zhao Ji always said that he would not interfere in government affairs, but fighting and government affairs have never been separated.
The most troublesome thing lately has been the Privy Council and the Three Yamen. They've been frequently receiving contradictory orders from the regents of the Purple Palace and from Zhao Ji, the Daojun Palace. For example, the Purple Palace issued an edict abolishing the practice of conscripting soldiers, which required each household to draft a single householder into the army. This was a policy Zhao Huan had to resort to during his Northern Expedition; the war against Jin demanded a solution to the military shortage. Now that the war has ceased, with great victory in the north, the conscription system can be abolished to expand the labor force.
Zhao Ji, under the pretext of suppressing the rebellion, issued an edict from Daojun Palace to the Privy Council to continue to implement the law of conscription. So the Privy Council had to put the matter on hold for the time being.
Zhao Huan of Nanjing Prefecture was in charge of garrisoning the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun and negotiating peace with the Jin Kingdom, such as restricting the Jin Kingdom's military development and continuing to open the market.
Zhao Huan received an urgent letter from the capital, carrying 100,000 troops, and was shocked to learn of the events in the Bianjing Palace. He handed the affairs of the north to Xin Benzheng, the imperial counselor, and planned to rush to Bianjing with 30,000 imperial troops and return to the court victoriously.
Daojun Palace, where a group of old ministers from the Huizong period gathered together.
"Your Majesty, should we release General Gao?" Bai Shizhong suggested.
Zhao Ji nodded and said, "Well, let's keep Gao Qiu locked up for now. Wouldn't it be better to let Huan'er release him?"
They are all a bunch of old foxes. No one knows a son better than his father. As for Gao Qiu, Zhao Huan would definitely not punish him. In order to show the harmonious relationship between father and son, he would definitely release Gao Qiu.
Guo Jing waved his whisk and said, "Zhan Yunpeng must be executed. Those ministers in the court only have the emperor in their eyes. If we don't kill their spirit, I don't think they know how powerful the emperor is!"
The old ministers nodded in agreement. "The emperor wants to protect Zhan Yunpeng," they said. "Then kill Zhan Yunpeng to show that the emperor is not so easy to mess with. Let's see who dares to disrespect him in the future."
Zhao Ji was a little hesitant. After all, killing Zhan Yunpeng would intensify the conflict.
Guo Jing saw Zhao Ji's hesitation, so he continued: "The Queen Mother has been crying every day these days. She said she missed her nephews, but Jiao Zifu was killed by Zhan Yunpeng."
Zhan Yunpeng sat in jail every day, and in the first few days he almost went crazy. Fortunately, he got used to it. Apart from the restrictions on his freedom, everything else was fine.
You eat delicacies from the mountains and the sea, and drink fine tribute wine. As for the accommodation, it is indeed a bit poor, but compared to the other rooms in the sky prison, you are like a palace.
The cell had a kang (a bed) that the warden had specially erected overnight. Two thick cotton quilts, incongruously embroidered with images of mandarin ducks playing in the water, clearly didn't belong there. Worse still, even the straw used for the floor had been carefully selected, dried and dewormed before being spread.
There was also a table and a willow toilet. Unlike other cells, the toilet had a lid to prevent odors from escaping. On the table was an oil lamp, which was always lit.
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com