Chapter 223: Murder and Arson
Zong Ze did not say anything about this external conflict. He just sat aside with his eyes closed and thought about how to govern Liangshan.

Transform this lawless lake inhabited by demons into a paradise.

It has brought benefits to the local area and even laid a solid foundation for future recruitment, so it is worth his life as a bandit.

But as he listened to their plans, his temples began to throb violently, the veins on his arms bulged from the effort, and his teeth clenched and rubbed against each other, making a "crunching" sound.

"The Shandong rebellion has shaken the government and the public, but it is very different from what happened to Mr. Rulin back then. If we continue to use bribery to deal with Zhang Shuye, it may not have much effect. The court will not easily change its policy of suppressing bandits in Shandong again..."

"Wasp Sting" Huang Wenbing didn't care that Zong Ze and Zong Rulin were right next to him and continued to tell the story.

"This person is not as capable as you, so we can think of other ways."

"in my opinion……"

Zong Ze finally couldn't bear it anymore, and he shouted angrily, "The court dismissed me from my post. Was it you who planned it?"

Cao Jie nodded sincerely and said, "Yes! I am afraid that if you destroy Chen Xizhen, you will also destroy Liangshan and the Three Mountains of Qingzhou. It is better to strike first."

Zong Ze stood up with a bang, and grabbed Cao Jie's chest with his old but still strong hands, gritting his teeth and saying, "You really are worthy of being called Little Mengde, a treacherous hero in troubled times. Would you rather let you betray the world than let the world betray you?"

"If you don't use some tricks, you will send a man like you to the execution ground and chop off his head sooner or later. I have let you down!"

"Ugh!"

Zong Ze loosened his hand as if he had lost his temper. He said dejectedly, "Zhang Shuye is both civil and martial. I heard that his Qi cultivation skills have reached the innate level, and he has mastered the power of thunder magic. If we compare him to someone else, he is another Chen Xizhen."

"That's exactly what I was worried about!"

Cao Jie said in a deep voice: "Zhang Shuye and Chen Xizhen may have inherited the same soul. When they meet, they must appreciate each other. Moreover, Chen Xizhen was the chief of the Southern Camp in Tokyo. They may be familiar with each other."

"Brother, your guess is absolutely correct. We must not allow Chen Xi to have the possibility of surrendering. Once he surrenders, the first one to use him to build his career will be Liangshan. By then, Liangshan will be in endless trouble."

Wu Yong bowed and said, "Brother, please give the order! Send out troops in the name of Chen Liqing, and we will destroy Yuanbi Village."

The cuckoo took over the magpie's nest and took control of Yuanbi Village, placing Chen Xizhen under house arrest!

As for whether Chen Liqing objected or not, a daughter who is married off is like water spilled.

Since she lost her virginity and was trained by Cao Jie, there is no going back.

"Let's act according to this plan. Now that Qingzhou is peaceful, transfer Lu Zhishen, Hua Rong, and Qin Ming to Yizhou to wait for orders. Qingzhou will be guarded by Yang Zhi."

"Yes!"

"Mr. Yiqing, lead Fan Rui, prepare the palm thunder and be on standby at any time!"

"Yes!"

"There is no need to mobilize the heavy infantry. Let Xiang Chong and Li Gun lead 500 barbarian knifemen to hide during the day and travel at night to Yizhou to wait for orders."

"Yes!"

If you don’t take action, then don’t take action. But if you do take action, you must make a big splash.

Liangshan used 50% of its strength to deal with this disaster!
Then what can Chen Xizhen and Zhang Shuye use to resist?

At this time, Yizhou.

Although the prefect Zhang Shuye had just taken office, he already had a plan in mind to pacify Yizhou.

Cao Jie's guess was correct, he and Chen Xizhen were old acquaintances. Zhang Shuye was from Kaifeng, Chen Xizhen had served as the governor of Tokyo for many years, and both of them were "Thunder General" souls, and they both cultivated the Qi of thunder.

The eldest disciple under the seat of Thunder God, Shenwei Dangmo Zhenjun, is the soul of Zhang Shuye.

What is the status of this soul in the heavenly pantheon?

Jiu Tian Ying Yuan Lei Sheng Pu Hua Tian Zun is the incarnation of the Southern Divine Emperor.

As the highest god of the Thunder Department, he is in charge of the complex Thunder God organization. Its headquarters is Shenxiao Yuqing Mansion, which consists of three provinces and nine divisions, thirty-six inner courtyards Zhongsi, Dongxihuatai, Xuanguan Miaoge, four mansions and six courtyards, and other Each department is divided into Cao Bureau.

General Jiutian Lei Gong, General Bafang Yunlei, Wufang Barbaric Thunder Envoy, and Lei Department Chief Soldier Envoy are all under the command of Jiutian Yingyuan Thunder Universal Heavenly Lord. There are thirty-six Lei Gongs in each department, who strike thunder on behalf of the sky, and they all listen to Jiutian Yingyuan. The sound of Yuan thunder universalizes Tianzun's command.

The thirty-six generals of the Thunder Department under Chen Xizhen's command are the incarnation of the soul of the Thunder God among all the officials.

In line with this tradition, Zhang Shuye’s first reaction to suppressing bandits was to issue an appeasement decree.

If you want to get an official position, you will kill people and set fires to be rewarded!

If you kill a few people and become a big thief, you are not even qualified to be amnesty. If you are caught, you will be sent directly to Tokyo to be beheaded.

Only when you have made your business bigger and stronger, like the Yuanbi Village that has wreaked havoc in an entire state, with thousands or tens of thousands of troops under its command, and the imperial court cannot wipe them out in a short time, or the cost of eliminating the bandits is too high, will you be qualified to issue an amnesty decree.

There was a folk song circulating in the Song Dynasty: "If you want a high-ranking official, accept the amnesty." This folk song reflects that the common people in the Song Dynasty believed that "becoming a bandit - being recruited - high-ranking official" was a shortcut to becoming an official.

In the Song Dynasty, Zhuang Chuo wrote two sentences in "Jilie Bian". One of the poems says "There is no shortcut to official career than being a thief, and the general's ingenious strategy is just to recruit", which means that the shortcut to becoming an official at that time was to be a thief. And the generals at that time had only one ingenious strategy to deal with the rebels, that is, "recruit them"!
Another sentence is "If you want to be an official, you must kill people and set fire to others, and then you can accept the amnesty and become an official." This sentence is more straightforward, and it vividly describes the social atmosphere of "If you want to be an official, you must kill people and set fire to others, and then you can accept the amnesty and become an official."

Chen Xizhen had a very unhappy time during this period. Firstly, his life soul was defective and his strength could hardly improve; secondly, the fruits of victory were plucked by others and Yuanbi Village was split; thirdly, his daughter was completely gone and he got a cheap son-in-law.

On this day, a letter finally arrived in his hands after many twists and turns.

"Brother Ji Zhong is here!"

Ji Zhong is the pen name of Zhang Shuye.

After reading the letter, Chen Xizhen said happily, "Ji Zhong is willing to help me recruit the pacification forces. Great! Great! Great things are to be expected! Great things are to be expected!"

Even though Yuanbi Village mobilized hundreds of thousands of civilians to attack cities and seize territories, Chen Xizhen never had the idea of ​​rebellion from beginning to end.

It can be said that he was forced to become a traitor by Cao Jie.

He was still dreaming of being Jiang Taigong in his heart!
Immediately, he called several of his loyal men into the big tent.

As soon as Chen Xizhen mentioned the idea of ​​recruiting the brothers Gou Huan, Gou Ying, and Luan Tingyu's younger brother Luan Tingfang, they immediately supported it.

If you can be an official, who the hell would want to rebel?
I live a life that is neither human nor ghost every day, and every time I open my eyes, I feel grateful that I have lived another day.

No normal person would ever dream of living a life like this.

Becoming an official is the life pursuit and goal of the serious people of the Song Dynasty.

And recruiting amnesty is a shortcut.

Small rebel leaders like Gou Huan, Gou Ying and Luan Tingfang were at best county chief clerks or county lieutenants.

They have been traitors. If they were responsible for collecting taxes, the landlords would definitely be more enthusiastic about paying taxes.

(End of this chapter)