From a son-in-law to a favorite of the empress

Chapter 318

After the court was dismissed, the ministers slowly left the court.

Deng Bochi called Deng Su, his face solemn, and no one knew what he was telling him.

Yang Guozhong, Xu Shigong and others came up to Zhou Yuan, their eyes flickering.

"Zhongwu Bo volunteered, do you have a chance of success in this trip to the Central Plains?"

This was the first time the cabinet had a talk with Zhou Yuan, and Zhou Yuan was a little surprised, then narrowed his eyes and said, "What kind of answer does Yang Gelao expect to hear?"

Yang Guozhong was slightly startled, then smiled faintly and said, "As ministers of the Great Jin Dynasty, we naturally hope that Zhongwu Bo will succeed immediately, pacify the Central Plains, and return the majestic mountains and rivers of the Great Jin Dynasty to us."

Zhou Yuan said, "Are you not afraid that I will rise and threaten your Zhejiang Party's rule?"

Yang Guozhong's face changed, and he said in a deep voice, "Zhongwu Bo, be careful with your words, this world belongs to the Great Jin Dynasty, this The court is your majesty's court, so where does the Zhejiang Party rule? "

"There are no parties in the world, only the court."

Zhou Yuan smiled and said, "Mr. Yang always speaks so nicely, but it's a pity that what Zhou Yuan is going to do when he goes to the Central Plains this time may not be in line with your wishes."

As soon as the voice fell, Xiaozhuang had already strode over and said lightly: "Lord Zhongwu, your majesty, please come to Ziwei Palace."

Zhou Yuan clasped his fists: "Mr. Yang, Mr. Xu, excuse me."

All the way to Ziwei Palace, lunch was ready, and the eldest sister sat on the table and waved to Zhou Yuan.

"Come, little brother, let's eat together."

She spoke in a brisk tone, but there seemed to be an unresolved sadness in her eyes, and poured Zhou Yuan a glass of wine.

"Big sister, you don't have to be so polite."

Zhou Yuan sat down and said with a wry smile: "How can I ask you to pour me a glass of wine in person? I'm afraid I'll shorten my life."

Empress Zhao Jing smiled and said: "You call me Big Sister, what's wrong with pouring a glass of wine for your own little brother?"

Zhou Yuan drank a glass and couldn't help laughing: "I'm a little hungry."

Empress Zhao Jing said: "You will probably have to leave Shenjing for at least half a year for this expedition to the Central Plains. Alas, to be honest, it's lonely to think about it without you in the court for half a year."

Zhou Yuan was silent for a moment before saying: "Is there really no one in the court who can do things?"

Empress Zhao Jing shook her head and said: "The court is full of civil and military people who can do things, but they always put their own interests above the interests of the court. Everything they do is just to stabilize their own positions. Doing practical things is just to stabilize their positions. It's just a way to consolidate your position."

"I'm not a king without generosity, but I know too well what these officials are thinking, so I really have nothing to say to them."

At this point, she looked at Zhou Yuan and whispered, "Do you think everyone is like you, wholeheartedly for me and for this court!"

Zhou Yuan sighed and said, "I'm not that noble, I just don't want my country to become a scorched earth in the war."

Empress Zhao Jing said, "So, Junior Brother, you should know what I want to ask, why did you take the initiative? Do you have some control over the situation in the Central Plains?"

Zhou Yuan smiled bitterly and shook his head, sighing, "If I am given another half a year, it will be no problem to take over the Central Plains, but the incident happened suddenly, and now everything is not ready. To be honest, I dare not say that I am sure. ”

Empress Zhao Jing said: "Then why are you still..."

"There is no other choice."

Zhou Yuan growled: "Among all the civil and military officials in the court, only I can handle the complicated situation in the Central Plains. If I don't stand up, who will stand up?"

"It took Zhang Bailong less than two years to rise to power. And from the previous bandit suppression and the latest intelligence, this man can be said to be a man of great vision and wisdom. He is not only good at war, but also good at government affairs. He is not an ordinary person who can deal with him."

"I think that except for me, no one in the Jin Dynasty can deal with him."

Empress Zhao Jing couldn't help but wonder: "You think so highly of him?"

Zhou Yuan said: "Killing gentry and landlords, measuring land, distributing it equally, using land to unite the people, training soldiers in leisure time, and farming in busy time... This series of methods makes me have to pay attention to him."

"This trip to the Central Plains is not essentially a military confrontation, but a confrontation of systems."

Empress Zhao Jing asked, "What is a confrontation of systems?"

Zhou Yuan was silent for a moment before saying, "What determines the outcome of the Central Plains war is not the 60,000 soldiers of the Five Military Camps, nor the hundreds of thousands of peasant soldiers of the Kaidai Dynasty, but millions of refugees."

"Whoever can make the refugees obedient can control the Central Plains."

Empress Zhao Jing said, "But Zhang Bailong is distributing land, and the people like this the most. How can you control millions of refugees?"

Zhou Yuan sneered, "Distant water cannot quench immediate thirst. Fields are fields, and food is food. If people are hungry, they can only see the food in front of them, not the fields in the future."

"I asked the Shanxi merchants to prepare 2 million stones of food, and they will knock these refugees unconscious."

At this point, Zhou Yuan's face became serious, and he said in a deep voice:"Big sister, this time I go to the Central Plains, the goal is not only to pacify the bandits, the most important thing is to make the Central Plains a new look."

"The rules over there have basically been broken by the bandits. I want to rebuild brand new rules and then promote them to the whole country."

Empress Zhao Jing asked in confusion: "What brand new rules?"

Zhou Yuan said: "One Whip Law, fire consumption is returned to the public, the two yuan is abolished and the yuan is changed, and the land tax is distributed according to the acreage."

"The One Whip Law will be implemented first, and the latter three will be supplemented to completely stabilize the national policy and gradually implement it throughout the country."

"This may take a long time and cannot be implemented at the same time, but it will eventually be done step by step."

"The Central Plains will start with the One Whip Law."

Speaking of this, Zhou Yuan smiled and said: "So please ask Big Sister to issue an order to allow the gentry of the Central Plains to start militia training and block the news that the five military camps are about to go on an expedition."

"There is no need to do the ceremony of offering sacrifices to the heavens and going on an expedition. I want to reach the Central Plains quietly."

Empress Zhao Jing does not understand grain planting, but is very proficient in national policies and government affairs.

She squinted her eyes and said, "Start a group training? Is this raising private soldiers?"

Zhou Yuan said, "I can't kill them, let the bandits kill them."

"Okay!"

Empress Zhao Jing said, "I will call a cabinet meeting in the afternoon to discuss this matter in detail. You and Deng Su will implement the One Whip Law. I will not bring it up to the cabinet for the time being."

Zhou Yuan nodded and smiled, "Thank you for your support, Senior Sister."

Empress Zhao Jing rolled her eyes at him and sighed, "Thank me? I should thank you. Go to the Central Plains and do it drastically this time. Junior brother, I also want to know what the Central Plains will look like after you have reorganized it."

Zhou Yuan whispered, "In fact, the vanguard of the Five Military Camps will set off the day after tomorrow."

Empress Zhao Jing said, "The Grand Commander of the Central Plains means that wherever you go, it is like the emperor himself. Your sword is the Emperor's Sword."

Zhou Yuan took a sip of wine and said in a deep voice, "Then the Emperor's Sword will be stained with blood this time."

The two looked at each other and couldn't help laughing.

After lunch, Zhou Yuan walked out of the palace, looked at the sunny sky, and sighed.

Since Lin'an Prefecture set its goal, after more than half a year of hard work, it has finally embarked on the road of saving the world.

The Central Plains is the real first battle.

If you lose, you will be out of the limelight, and if you win, your name will be recorded in history.