News of the victory arrived at Jiangning Mansion Stone City earlier than Xiao Cheng.

The ministries at the front worked hard to deliver the good news back without any delay, and Xiao Cheng was still patrolling various places, especially the original Jiangnan Road area, where he made a full circle.

The original Jiangnan Road was the private land of the Second Auxiliary Army and other people, and it was also the area that Xiao Cheng would focus on rectifying next.

Ca Mau must be intact.

I don’t mean to say that you are heart-to-heart, but at least you have to be consistent on major issues.

The former Jiangnan Road was considered to be the most prosperous area in the south, but this time Xiao Cheng's inspection made him greatly disappointed.

The so-called wealth is just the wealth of a small group of people.

Those at the bottom of society are just making ends meet.

Of course, no one goes hungry, which may be the achievement that local officials are most proud of.

In Xiao Cheng's opinion, this is far from enough.

What I see are just some things floating on the surface. I believe that the more cruel truth that sinks at the bottom is something that the local officials will never let me see.

But this does not mean that Xiao Cheng has no way to know.

Of course, private visits on incognito servers are absolutely not allowed.

You should really do this. Some people really dare to let themselves disappear from this world forever.

Therefore, Xiao Cheng's inspection was conducted publicly with great fanfare.

It's just that he came very suddenly.

The assassination experience in Xuzhou has become a powerful protective color on his body now, so that the local magistrates have to be cautious no matter what the reason is.

Farmers have suffered extremely serious land loss.

These annexed lands were not used to grow food, but to grow mulberry trees, raise silkworms, and weave brocades.

Therefore, the food shortage in Jiangnan is very serious.

Food prices are more than twice as high as those in the Lianghu area.

Even compared to Guizhou Road, a place with many mountains and few fields, it is more expensive.

The urban poor have extremely low incomes.

Working hard every day, the income is barely enough to survive.

Once there is a natural or man-made disaster, the sky will collapse immediately.

A considerable number of people have no food left at home.

Earn money today and eat today, but if you can’t earn money tomorrow, you will have to starve tomorrow.

This is by no means what a stable society should look like.

There are many officials.

There are more officials.

For high-ranking officials, the court will allocate salaries, and the salaries are quite generous.

As for those ordinary officials, the court did not pay them. Their money had to be earned by the local officials themselves.

There is no rule for this.

Therefore, the officials here are also very wealthy.

Moreover, some people are richer than officials.

Officials also pay attention to an official who has a strong yamen and a good reputation, but the civil servants are all locals.

Another characteristic of Jiangnan officials is that they are notoriously indifferent.

As long as the due taxes have been paid, they will spend their days traveling around the country, enjoying the mountains and rivers, and making friends. Even if they write poems and songs all day long, no one will criticize them harshly. Instead, they will praise them as true celebrities.

From the wind.

Some people even claim that governing by doing nothing is the highest state of governing the people.

Is it really a matter of doing nothing?

It's just the officials controlling the place.

The only thing they need to hide is Shangguan.

Of course, rich people are really rich.

After seeing those private gardens, enjoying the attentive hospitality of local officials, and eating the best food and wine, Xiao Cheng stood up and returned with a smile on his face.

During the entire inspection process, he did not reprimand or dismiss any official. He was even more kind to those officials who were frightened and frightened. He just casually flipped through the household loans, yellow books, etc. presented by the officials.

The entire process is harmless to humans and animals.

It seems that this is just a tiger king patrolling his territory. The important thing is to show authority rather than trying to make anything happen.

With Xiao Cheng's departure, the entire Jiangnan region breathed a sigh of relief.

But what they didn't know was that Xiao Cheng was holding back a sigh of relief when he left here. If he didn't completely rectify it, how could he talk about enriching the country and strengthening the army, or talk about the Northern Expedition to regain the country?

If this continues, I'm afraid that I will be beaten to the shit by my little sister in the future!

Regarding the political reforms in the northern Liao Kingdom, Xiao Cheng did not dare to relax his vigilance at all.

Zhiqiuyuan's main energy was placed in the north.

Unlike himself who carefully wooed people from all directions and had to prepare for a long time if he wanted to do something, Xiao Yi, the third wife, took drastic measures in Liaodi.

That's a real statement.

Whatever she said, she did it.

Those who want to fight with her will only have one end.

die.

This is determined by her status and the long-standing tradition of the Liao Kingdom that the strong are respected.

The Liao Kingdom, which occupied the entire Hebei Road, plundered the city of Tokyo, and then completely turned the northern region into its own vassal, was making up for its previous biggest shortcomings.

Hundreds of thousands of people were robbed from Tokyo at one time, and most of them were craftsmen.

In the past two years, craftsmen from Hebei and other places have continued to be transported to Zhongjing.

Unlike many people who thought that these people had gone to hell, Xiao Cheng knew clearly that the treatment these people received in Zhongjing was probably much better than that in Song Dynasty.

Xiao Ai overcame all objections and gave these craftsmen the treatment of Chinese people.

As for Chinese people, in the past, it was only given to Khitan people.

In the Liao Kingdom, those who were really unlucky were the merchants, officials and their families who were taken captive.

If they can't show their role to the Liao Kingdom in time.

Therefore, many scholars changed their positions in a very short period of time and became Xiao Min's most loyal supporters, because only in this way can they change their own destiny and the destiny of their families.

Xiao Min used a large number of such people at the grassroots level, and these people became a solid foundation for her political reform.

The original tribal characteristics of the Liao Kingdom are disappearing rapidly, while the centralized characteristics are becoming more and more obvious.

The Pishi Army, the Shan Army, and the Gong Branch Army are reorganizing and expanding at an alarming rate, while the original Touxia Army, the Tribal Army, including the private armies of Han aristocratic families, are disappearing one after another.

Xiao Cheng knew that when the army's rectification was completely completed and Xiao Min felt that he could fully control the army, a large number of Liao troops would move south.

According to Xiao Min's current speed, if there are no other surprises, she will be able to achieve her goal in five years.

If you don't completely integrate the south within this time, you will be in trouble by then.

Xiao Cheng is not at all optimistic about the integrity of many people in Jiangnan now. When the Liao army comes to the city, they will not perform much better than those in Tokyo City back then.

But I can't imitate Xiao Min and carry out reform with a sword.

That will only make the situation worse.

Now, the only option is to compromise.

Of course, it is a limited compromise. If you take one step back, the other party must take five steps back or even more.

Otherwise, why would I have painstakingly planned such a big situation?

Every victory in a war will increase the chips in your hand.

I already felt this the day I left Yangzhou.

Many old immortals who claimed to be sick at home suddenly and miraculously recovered on this day, and each of them came to express their respects vividly, and swore that as long as the chief minister needed it, they would be able to do it even if they lost everything.

To support.

Xiao Cheng expressed his gratitude, but he sneered in his heart.

A great victory in Xuzhou! A great victory in Nanyang! A great victory in Shangqiu!

Yelu Dashu dies! Xiao Bo dies! Huang Chun surrenders! Liu Yu retreats!

Huge victories forced these people to take a stand.

You can start taking the first step.

"The chief assistant, the official and all the civil and military officials are waiting for the chief assistant at the north gate!" Han Yu's rich voice sounded outside the car.

When they were fifty miles away from Jiangning, Han Zuo, who had returned from Xiao County, met up with Xiao Cheng.

Of course, at this time, most of the Jiangning garrison had already returned to camp.

Xiao Cheng put down the file he was looking at, smiled at Li Ge, the minister of the Ministry of Industry who accompanied him on the inspection this time, and said: "Okay, it seems we can't sit in this car, so get off the car and walk all the way!"

"There are still several miles to go, so you might as well sit for a while before getting off!" Li Ge said.

"Why let people talk!" Xiao Cheng stood up with a smile: "Some people said that I used the emperor to control the princes. No matter how big and grand I am, I really give people a hand. Although it can't hurt my skin, it is still trying to please people.

I hate it. You don’t like someone buzzing in your ear like a mosquito all day long!”

Li Ge laughed: "Probably only Hu Yi and Duke Hu are the ones who dare to buzz in front of the chief minister! The others are just dancing behind the scenes!"

"Old Man Hu is an interesting person. He had a bad relationship with my father back then. It was simply because the emperor hired people without looking at the place. It was nonsense to let Old Man Hu go to the Third Division. He didn't understand but still gave orders blindly. Naturally, he behaved in a mess, like him

A person who is placed in the position of supervisor is definitely a sharp sword. What will happen if we hand over all the evidence in our hands to Mr. Hu?"

"There's chaos in the court!" Li Ge said with certainty: "With this person's temperament, he will definitely fight against Ci Fu and the others to the end. As a result, either Ci Fu will fall into disgrace, or he will fall."

"So, we have to carefully pick up these things before giving them to him. Now we still need Si Junchao and the others to help stabilize the situation in Jiangnan, Liangjiang and other places! It will be bad if we break our skin.

"

"Are they willing to bow their heads?" Li Ge said. "They are not fools. They should understand that once they give in, they will probably have to give in step by step in the future."

"That's why I need a big victory in Xuzhou, with the power of a big victory on the front line, and with the large amount of evidence obtained by the Imperial City Division this time, they have to make a choice, whether to compromise with me or to really

You want to fight with my bayonet!" Xiao Cheng sneered: "If they choose the former, they can still survive."

Li Ge smiled, since the chief assistant had already made up his mind, he didn't need to say more.

The two of them walked slowly forward as a car.

"There are many proletarians in the land south of the Yangtze River. These people gather in the city and make a living by doing odd jobs. They are often entangled with those with ulterior motives and can easily lead to unstable situations. Do you have any ideas as you accompany us this time?"

"As long as the chief minister is willing to take the money, the Ministry of Industry will have plenty to do!" Li Ge said with a smile: "The rivers need to be dredged, the roads need to be repaired, and a group of government-run workshops that have always been wanted to be built can also be put on the agenda."

Xiao Cheng nodded: "There will be money, and it won't take long before there will be a lot of money. These people are a worry for us above society, but you can organize them over there and let them have a

A place where we can make stable money to support our families, instead of just having a good meal, they will suddenly become our supporters."

"Is the chief assistant planning to attack the rich?"

"Don't you think many people are too fat during this tour? How can we not lose weight for them?" Xiao Cheng sneered: "I want money, but I have to get it in a wise way. If there is no way, it can be planned.

!”

Li Ge nodded.

"Didn't I say that we took Shangqiu this time and gained a lot?"

"Let's not think about this money!" Xiao Cheng shook his head: "Gao Yingxiang's pension and reward, the subsequent local appeasement, and next year's spring plowing, they don't ask us for any more money, I'm already thankful to God."

"Gao Yingxiang is quite capable. Whether it is military or civil affairs, he is the best choice!" Li Ge said.

"Of course, otherwise it would be worth spending so much effort on him?"

"Chief Assistant, General Manager Gao, does he still miss his hometown?" Li Ge asked.

Xiao Cheng laughed: "Whether he thinks about it or not, as long as he doesn't go back, everything will be like a flower in the mirror. In another five or ten years, in the south of Caiyun, no one will remember who the Gao family is anymore."

Got it!"

I saw the city gate from a distance, with flags fluttering, crowds of people surging, and a long red carpet extending out from the city gate.

Li Ge smiled and stopped.

The emperor led hundreds of civil and military officials to greet him, which was an honor that only belonged to Xiao Cheng.

Seeing Xiao Cheng walking all the way, many people behind the emperor couldn't help but feel disappointed. Some of the impeachment papers that had been prepared suddenly turned into a piece of waste paper.

Although these rumors can't do anything to Xiao Cheng, they can always create public opinion. All kinds of poisonous weeds accumulate over time, and maybe they can be gathered together to settle the accounts at some point.

Unexpectedly, Xiao Cheng, who basically held all the power, would be so cautious despite his great victory, not giving them a chance to speak.

"I have seen an official, how could Xiao Cheng be so virtuous and capable, but he bothered the official to welcome him personally!" Xiao Cheng crossed his hands in salute and bowed to the ground.

Zhao An jogged for two steps, stepped forward and helped his teacher up, "Teacher, oh, no, Chief Assistant, thank you for your hard work."

"It's hard work to share your worries and work for the country." Xiao Cheng said with a smile: "This trip will live up to the expectations of the officials. The puppet Zhao Cong is still alive, and the puppet Qi will also live in peace with me.

It won't be long before the officials can see our Song Dynasty army marching towards the old capital."

Looking up at the ministers with different expressions behind Zhao An, Xiao Cheng said loudly: "The old capital Tokyo is very close at hand. Everyone, as long as we work together, we will surely annihilate the rebels and regain the old capital!"

Under the gazes of Zhao An and Xiao Cheng, all the ministers did not want to think about anything, but at this moment they all bowed and agreed.
Chapter completed!