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

Chapter 302

Zhou Yuan was in extreme anxiety and uneasiness. It was only through Tian Ren that he really knew that Zhang Bailong's side had already left the category of bandits and was a real court system.

Kill landlords, divide land, advocate equality between civilians and nobles, all people are soldiers, train in leisure time, and go to the fields when busy.

Pick up a hoe and you are a farmer, pick up a sword and you are a soldier. Because the distribution of land will create a huge cohesion, the pseudo-court can be said to be united from top to bottom and indestructible.

If they are given another two to three years, they may really be able to overthrow the rule of Dajin.

Of course, because the overall productivity of society cannot reach the level of civilization iteration, the economic foundation cannot support the advanced update of the political system and distribution method. Such a court will collapse in a few years.

But that's a story for later. At present, dealing with this Central Plains pseudo-court is enough to make people headache.

Can't delay any longer, we must speed up the process of suppressing bandits, otherwise Zhang Bailong will be more difficult to deal with than Beimeng and Donglu.

"Guanlu! Guanlu!"

Zhou Yuan couldn't help shouting.

Guan Lu hurried into the office building and whispered, "Sir, is there an emergency?"

Zhou Yuan whispered, "Go contact the chief secretary Zhuang and tell her that I want to see His Majesty at this moment."

Guan Lu's face changed slightly. Knowing that it was an urgent matter, he did not hesitate and hurriedly retreated.

After about half an hour, Zhuang Xuansu did not come, but Xiaozhuang came in person.

She did not talk nonsense, but said in a deep voice, "Get on the carriage, I will take you to the palace."

After getting on the carriage, Zhou Yuan began to think about how to resolve the crisis in the Central Plains, but the world was so corrupt that if he wanted to peacefully evolve and completely change the situation, he could only reform from top to bottom.

This kind of reform involving the foundation would be more difficult than conquering the world.

"Zhou Yuan, Her Majesty has been suffering from insomnia for many years. It was only after you came to Shenjing that she had a few good sleeps."

Xiao Zhuang said softly: "You help Her Majesty, and you should occasionally care about her health."

Zhou Yuan nodded and said: "Master Xiao Zhuang, how did you know His Majesty? It is said that you and Zhuang Sizhu have been with His Majesty for many years."

Xiao Zhuang smiled and said: "We are both Taoist disciples. Before His Majesty entered the palace, I was a good sister to her."

"She wants to create a prosperous world, so I naturally want to help her."

"Not only do I want to help her, but all of our elders are willing to help her, including Senior Su Youzi."

Zhou Yuan asked in confusion: "So Her Majesty's entry into the palace was premeditated from the beginning?"

Xiao Zhuang said slowly: "You should ask His Majesty about these things. If she is willing to tell you, you will naturally know. Although the relationship is very good, I cannot overstep my authority."

All the way to Ziwei Palace, the inner guards had all been withdrawn, leaving only Xiao Zhuang.

Then she took Zhou Yuan into the inner court bedroom.

The eldest sister was wearing a white nightgown, her hair was casually scattered, and she sat lazily on the dragon bed.

She closed her eyes, rubbed her temples, and looked very tired.

Xiaozhuang slowly retreated, and Zhou Yuan whispered: "Eldest sister, you were half asleep and I woke you up?"

Empress Zhaojing slowly opened her eyes, smiled slightly, and said: "You suddenly came to me late at night, I guess you have something urgent? Sit down and talk."

Zhou Yuan sat carefully by the bed, but there was no romantic thought in his mind.

He said in a deep voice: "Zhang Bailong from the Central Plains, the thief who established the Kaidai court, sent someone to find me."

Empress Zhaojing stood up immediately, with a cold light flashing in her eyes, and asked in a concentrated voice: "What is the purpose?"

"Contact, persuade, and win over."

Speaking of this, Zhou Yuan was silent for a moment, and then said: "The means are very clever, not a simple inducement, but a psychological attack."

"The man is called Tian Ren, probably a senior figure in the Kaidai pseudo-dynasty. He speaks very systematically and his rhythm is very persuasive. He has been talking about the so-called secrets of the pseudo-dynasty, but in fact he is promoting values ​​and trying to shake me from the foundation."

"He has a strong ability to speak, and at the same time has a relatively rich personal charm. Most people can't stand it."

Empress Zhaojing was silent After a long pause, he sighed: "Your rise has made them restless."

"The court is not short of generals, and there are many outstanding generals who can fight, endure hardships, and are loyal enough."

"But the pressure from the Northern Mongolians and the Eastern Tartars is too great, and they cannot leave their respective fronts, so they cannot conquer the Central Plains. This is one of the reasons."

"The more important reason is that to solve the dilemma in the Central Plains, fighting is only one aspect, and the problem of refugee resettlement must also be solved."

Speaking of this, Empress Zhao Jing couldn't help but look bitter: "Refugee resettlement is more difficult than fighting. It requires countless food, the need to stabilize social order, the need to establish new rules, and the need to restore production and life as quickly as possible."

"Among these,, and it also involves the ownership of the land and the evolution of local laws. I have been thinking hard, but I have never found a solution! "

Zhou Yuan said: "They are afraid of me because I can fight and handle internal affairs."

Empress Zhao Jing said: "It's good that you know this, but you are so eager to come to me so late, I'm afraid it's not just this matter, right?"

Zhou Yuan nodded and said: "Tian Ren revealed a lot about the Kaidai pseudo-dynasty."

He told Zhang Bailong's rise in detail, especially emphasizing the division of land and the whole people's army.

Empress Zhao Jing smiled, but shook her head and said: "I know all this, the Nei Ting Si and Jin Yi Wei are not eating for free."

"These situations make me worried and relieved."

"The worry is that the Kaidai pseudo-dynasty can indeed gain refugee support in a short period of time."

"The relief is that the pseudo-dynasty will be resisted by the gentry class of the entire Dajin, and it will not last long. ”

Speaking of this, she suddenly raised her head and asked in confusion: "Junior brother, have you thought of a way to solve the problem in the Central Plains?"

Zhou Yuan said: "There is no perfect way, we can only say that there are some ways that can be tried."

"But no matter what, we can't delay it any longer. If we delay it any longer, Zhang Bailong will really gain momentum."

Zhou Yuan did not necessarily want to maintain the rule of any feudal dynasty, but he was well aware of the changes in history and knew very well the fate of Zhang Bailong's actions - Li Zicheng, the King of Rebellion.

Equalizing land rights to seize the world, offending the gentry to lose the government, and then the Eastern Tartars entered the pass and the Han people became slaves.

This is the situation Zhou Yuan least wants to see.

If the pattern is smaller, he will lose everything.

If the pattern is larger, it will make this land stagnate and eventually be knocked on the door by the powers.

The only solution is to grasp power and take the initiative to follow the pace of the world.

Thinking of this, Zhou Yuan said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, I have three magic weapons that can solve the crisis in the Central Plains. "

Empress Zhaojing's face became serious, because Zhou Yuan did not call her "Big Sister" this time, but "Your Majesty".

"What magic weapon?"

Her tone became serious.

Zhou Yuan narrowed his eyes slightly and said in a concentrated voice: "Food, soldiers, rulers."

Empress Zhaojing said: "Tell me in detail."

Zhou Yuan said: "Prepare enough food, distribute food along the way, and use the refugees for me."

"I will personally lead the troops to suppress the bandits and destroy their system."

"Take the ruler and redistribute the land. If you want the Central Plains to recover as soon as possible, the land cannot be returned to the gentry."

Empress Zhaojing shook her head and said: "Anyone can think of such a way, but where will the food come from? Where will the military funds come from? How can the gentry be willing to give up the land?"

Zhou Yuan said in a deep voice: "I have a way. As long as I am allowed to take charge of all military and political affairs in the Central Plains, and given the imperial sword, I can be allowed to kill first and report later. ”

“In three months at most, I will hand over the entire Central Plains to the court.”

Empress Zhao Jing breathed quickly, but whispered: “I can give you power, but I can’t give you food!”

“In addition, I can’t give you military expenses. The family property was confiscated before, totaling 14 million taels of silver. I can only give you 1 million taels at most.”

Zhou Yuan said: “Order the provinces in the north to start planting potatoes on a large scale immediately. It’s the sowing season in February, and it can be unearthed in July. I will take it to the Central Plains.”

Empress Zhao Jing was stunned and asked in confusion: “What is potato?”